In 2015, the term “Hell Joseon” spread on social networking services and has now become the most common term to describe the current malaise that afflicts Korea. The term comes from Joseon, a name used to refer to the royal dynasty that ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. During the Japanese colonial period, Korea continued to be called Joseon, and it is part of the official name for North Korea. The name suggests rigidity and oppression.
The source of “Hell Joseon” anger is the growing unease over the future. Young people feel that they cannot find jobs that will give them access to the middle class life that they grew up with. Senior citizens, nearly half of whom live in poverty, feel deeply alienated from the society that they worked hard to build in their youth. Middle aged people are burdened by the need to take care of their children and aging parents at time same time. The optimistic drive that fueled growth in Korea for nearly 50 years seems to have expired.
From an international perspective, the problems facing Korea are the norm, not the exception, in advanced democratic nations. Japan has been in a malaise since the mid-1990s as low economic growth and an aging population have become a drag on the economy. In the U.S., GDP growth has been less than 3 percent from 2006 to 2015, the longest period since calculations began in 1929. Economic changes have caused dislocation in the employment market, leaving a large number of people stuck in low-paying jobs. Europe is experiencing slow growth and high unemployment, both of which are exacerbating social problems.
The political manifestations of the malaise have taken more time to appear, but are beginning to show a common trend toward nationalism. The nationalistic Shinzo Abe became prime minister of Japan in late 2012 after ousting the opposition in a landslide. Donald Trump, the flamboyant real estate mogul, has built his campaign around nationalism, and is now the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Nationalistic politicians in Europe are feeding off the current malaise to push their agendas. The rise of nationalism, of course, is part of a broader, anti-establishment movement that has changed the political order in a number of nations.
In Korea, however, the “Hell Joseon” malaise has not yet stirred signs of political change. Indeed, as the malaise spread in the 2010s, Korean politics has been remarkably stable. After winning the presidency by a landslide in 2007 and the parliamentary elections by a comfortable margin in 2008, the ruling Saenuri Party won the presidency and the parliamentary elections in 2012. The party came in a close second in local elections in 2010 and 2014.
Polls for the parliamentary elections on April 13 this year do not show a swell of support for the opposition. This is partly because of divisions among the opposition, but it also indicates that the “Hell Joseon” malaise has yet to sway many voters. Polls for the 2017 presidential election show opposition figures Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo in first and second place, which suggests that voters may be looking for a change. But on the other hand, President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating remains in the low 40 percent range, which is higher than her predecessors at the same point in their terms.
One explanation is that the “Hell Joseon” malaise is new and has yet to affect elections. The problem is that economic growth slowed sharply with the financial crisis in 2008 and did not recover to previous levels. Other social issues, such as rising household debt and senior poverty, began to make the news around 2010.
Despite this, the Saenuri Party has still done well, and remains the epitome of the establishment. The splintered opposition has not come up with a clear agenda for change. The minor political groups have shrunk and show no sign of gathering strength.
This leads to another explanation that Koreans are essentially conservative. Recent trends add credence to this argument, but the successful democracy movement shows that Koreans are willing to fight for change.
All of which leads to a more plausible explanation: Koreans are pragmatic and wary of ideology. “Hell Joseon” is frustrating, but people have yet to see an agenda for change that they can believe in. In the absence of something concrete from a leader they trust, all politicians look the same, which removes the incentive to take a risk on change. Change will come, but not in the kind of nationalistic outbursts that can be seen in so many countries today.
By Robert J. Fouser
Robert Fouser, a former associate professor of Korean language education at Seoul National University, writes on Korea from Ann Arbor, Michigan. — Ed.
