Korean ruling class
Encyclopedia
The Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite, represent those Koreans, who as a result of their upbringing, access to elite educational institutions—particularly overseas studies—as well as extensive family resources, especially access to chaebol
wealth and influential social connections, are able to assume positions of influence, privilege and authority in Korean society.
While the dynastical traditions of Confucianism
and the historical legacy of the yangban
are often used in comparing Korea's modern-day power elites, such parallels belie a huge disconnect and cultural gap between that era and today. As a result of over 35 years of Japanese occupation and subsequent Korean war
, which effectively brought that era and its traditions to a halt, any comparisons between today's power elite and those from a bygone era are facile at best.
Nevertheless, subtle comparisons persist and abound between today's privileged class, who have essentially gained positions of influence in modern Korean society on the back of recently acquired family wealth or successful real estate transactions, especially in the wake of six decades of hyper-inflated South Korean real estate prices, or as the result of having acquired blue-chip educations at Western institutions of higher learning, which typically pave the way for prestigious positions in the public and private sector. Nevertheless, despite the disconnect between Korea's past and present, the overriding Confucian virtue of stewardship of the nation's resources, respect towards seniors, loyalty to family and friends, as well as filial obligations to one's past social connections, particularly those spawned in one's formative years, continue to drive Korean loyalties to each other and their institutions.
period to the end of the Goryeo
dynasty. Korean buddhist monks also developed and used the first movable metal type printing presses in history—some 50 years before Gutenberg
-- to print ancient buddhist texts. Buddhist monks also engaged in record keeping, food storage and distribution, as well as the ability to exercise power by influencing the Goryeo royal court.
period. From the late 14th century onwards, the yangban class formed the administrative backbone of the Korean nation. They occupied the highest echelon of social caste system.
, Lee Byung-chul
, etc. In toto, these trailblazers who were educated in Japan during the colonial period, became the founding members of the Republic of Korea as well as movers and shakers in Korean politics and business all the way up till the late 1980s. Collectively, this generation is called the Japanese Generation.
and by the 1960s, a new generation of heavy manufacturing millionaires and soon to be billionaires came into being.
or the early years of the colonial period, who were trained and educated exclusively in Japan at elite universities and military academies during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1945. This first generation of Korean overseas students, who as returnees to their native country after Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945, were called upon to form the first sovereign Korean state in modern history. Their studies in administration, agriculture and engineering and other subjects that the Japanese had deemed useful in the creation of a Korean administrative sub-class, were quickly put to use in filling the administrative void and power vacuum left behind by the departing Japanese colonial government.
By quickly assuming key technical and administrative positions in South Korea's fledgling government and bureaucracy, as well as assuming leadership in its post-colonial military and police force at the behest of U.S. trusteeship, Korea's Japanese Generation proved themselves as quick learners adept at jump starting Korea's ancient tradition of self rule. These Koreans were also instrumental in forming, creating and leading Korea's post-war governmental institutions and driving its export-oriented economy well into the 1990s.
Today, near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, while a majority of the Japanese Generation has long since retired or passed on, their legacy continues to drive Korea's sociopolitical and economic scene for the time being, albeit less and less so. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of overseas educated Koreans—this time trained in the West and fluent in English—continue to return to Korea after their studies in overwhelming numbers seeking commensurate positions in Korea's public and private sector in order to establish their own imprimatur on Korean society based on their own experiences and learning acquired during their stints abroad as students studying at some of the best universities in America and Europe.
The overall impact of such disparate experiences in terms of influencing Korea's sociopolitical geography and economic millieu for the future is debatable though, as the current generation differs substantially from its predecessors. Specifically, Korea's current generation, although better educated and more privileged in many respects, lack a defining and unifying experience for their generation. The Japanese Generation, on the other hand was largely successful in terms of acting as Korea's legitimate power elites because they were able to quickly coalesce by capitalizing on the defining and unifying experience of their generation, which was the strong resentment of Korea's poverty and low status attributed to Japanese colonization and the Korean War
. As a result, that generation felt an overwhelming obligation to put Korea on the right track at all costs, in order to prevent another return to an abysmal state.
Forbes magazine has hinted at Korea having at the very least 7 high billionaires living on the peninsula, and at least ten families alone who control in the high billions in assets. There are possibly another 5 Korean billionaires abroad, mostly in the USA who maintain dual citizenship.
Low billionaire families are generally accepted to number more than 10 and less than 20; while domestic newspapers have indicated that there are at least 100 families who have more than $250 million in assets: primarily real estate and land being developed; or in manufacturing who have a high enough profile as to be reasonably defined as amongst the very wealthy of the world.
Estimates on the number of Koreans who own more than a million US dollars in assets apart from their houses, and discarding all debts, are figured to be in the range of 65,000 high net worth individuals (HNWI) according to Merrill Lynch research by June 16, 2004. Article cited below.
Amongst the historically most powerful business elite leaders have been:
Chaebol
Chaebol refers to a South Korean form of business conglomerate. They are global multinationals owning numerous international enterprises. The term is often used in a context similar to that of the English word "conglomerate"...
wealth and influential social connections, are able to assume positions of influence, privilege and authority in Korean society.
While the dynastical traditions of Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
and the historical legacy of the yangban
Yangban
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who...
are often used in comparing Korea's modern-day power elites, such parallels belie a huge disconnect and cultural gap between that era and today. As a result of over 35 years of Japanese occupation and subsequent Korean war
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, which effectively brought that era and its traditions to a halt, any comparisons between today's power elite and those from a bygone era are facile at best.
Nevertheless, subtle comparisons persist and abound between today's privileged class, who have essentially gained positions of influence in modern Korean society on the back of recently acquired family wealth or successful real estate transactions, especially in the wake of six decades of hyper-inflated South Korean real estate prices, or as the result of having acquired blue-chip educations at Western institutions of higher learning, which typically pave the way for prestigious positions in the public and private sector. Nevertheless, despite the disconnect between Korea's past and present, the overriding Confucian virtue of stewardship of the nation's resources, respect towards seniors, loyalty to family and friends, as well as filial obligations to one's past social connections, particularly those spawned in one's formative years, continue to drive Korean loyalties to each other and their institutions.
Buddhist monks in comparison to medieval monastic power
As the Jesuits and other monastical orders did during the Europe's Dark Ages, the Buddhist monks became the purveyors and guardians of Korea's literary traditions while documenting Korea's written history and legacies from the SillaSilla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
period to the end of the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
dynasty. Korean buddhist monks also developed and used the first movable metal type printing presses in history—some 50 years before Gutenberg
Gutenberg
Gutenberg may refer to:People:* Johannes Gutenberg , inventor of movable type printing* Beno Gutenberg , a German-born seismologist* Erich Gutenberg , a German economistPlaces:...
-- to print ancient buddhist texts. Buddhist monks also engaged in record keeping, food storage and distribution, as well as the ability to exercise power by influencing the Goryeo royal court.
Bone Rank System of Silla
The bone rank system was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. It was used to segregate society, and particularly the layers of the aristocracy, on the basis of their hereditary proximity to the throne and the level of authority they were permitted to wield.The idea of royal blood in other societies is a close analogue to the idea of sacred bone in Silla thought. Bone rank was strictly hereditary, and thus acted as a caste system.Neo-Confucian Joseon period yangban leadership
The yangban Confucian scholars grew to prominence during the Joseon dynastyJoseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
period. From the late 14th century onwards, the yangban class formed the administrative backbone of the Korean nation. They occupied the highest echelon of social caste system.
Japanese occupation period
The annexation of Korea by Japan from 1905 to 1945 ushered in not only a harsh colonial period wherein the Japanese took over and dominated every aspect of Korea's sociopolitical, cultural and economic life, it ironically created a demand for Koreans skilled in working alongside the Japanese as petty bureaucrats, minor officials, junior administrators, clerks and low-level public officials such as policemen, station masters, railroad engineers, and army officers. This fostered the need and creation of a skilled indigenous workforce trained and schooled in Japanese ways and methods. Although small in number, this elite group of Koreans represented the first generation of Korean yuhaksaeng, or overseas students, to be sent abroad for foreign study. From 1910 to 1945 these Koreans studied mostly in Japan's best high schools and universities, especially Tokyo Imperial University. While many overseas Korean students were forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army to fight against the allies, many survived the war mostly by being able to evade routine roundups by the Japanese police, usually with the help of sympathetic Japanese teachers and mentors. After Korea's liberation from Japan on August 15, 1945, they immediately were called upon to form Korea's first provisional government in conjunction with a U.S.-administered trusteeship. As they represented the only class of Koreans who were capable of administering the newly formed Republic of Korea upon its establishment in 1948, they became the de facto inheritors of the Japanese colonial system and founders of the first sovereign Korean state in modern times. Among their ranks were a generation's worth of Japanese-trained and educated bureaucrats, administrators, technocrats, military and business leaders, e.g., Park Chung-heePark Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...
, Lee Byung-chul
Lee Byung-chul
Lee Byung-chull was the founder of the Samsung Group and one of South Korea's most successful businessmen. With the breakup of the Hyundai chaebol, Samsung is now South Korea's largest business groupHe was the son of a wealthy landowning family...
, etc. In toto, these trailblazers who were educated in Japan during the colonial period, became the founding members of the Republic of Korea as well as movers and shakers in Korean politics and business all the way up till the late 1980s. Collectively, this generation is called the Japanese Generation.
Post World War II
After the Korean warKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and by the 1960s, a new generation of heavy manufacturing millionaires and soon to be billionaires came into being.
- Chung Ju Yung, (1915–2001) the founder of the Hyundai Group and the richest man in Korea in the 1990s with over 170,000 employees.
Business elites and ruling classes
Korea's first group of business, political and academic elites was the Japanese Generation, or specifically, those Koreans born during the waning days of the Joseon dynastyJoseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
or the early years of the colonial period, who were trained and educated exclusively in Japan at elite universities and military academies during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1945. This first generation of Korean overseas students, who as returnees to their native country after Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945, were called upon to form the first sovereign Korean state in modern history. Their studies in administration, agriculture and engineering and other subjects that the Japanese had deemed useful in the creation of a Korean administrative sub-class, were quickly put to use in filling the administrative void and power vacuum left behind by the departing Japanese colonial government.
By quickly assuming key technical and administrative positions in South Korea's fledgling government and bureaucracy, as well as assuming leadership in its post-colonial military and police force at the behest of U.S. trusteeship, Korea's Japanese Generation proved themselves as quick learners adept at jump starting Korea's ancient tradition of self rule. These Koreans were also instrumental in forming, creating and leading Korea's post-war governmental institutions and driving its export-oriented economy well into the 1990s.
Today, near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, while a majority of the Japanese Generation has long since retired or passed on, their legacy continues to drive Korea's sociopolitical and economic scene for the time being, albeit less and less so. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of overseas educated Koreans—this time trained in the West and fluent in English—continue to return to Korea after their studies in overwhelming numbers seeking commensurate positions in Korea's public and private sector in order to establish their own imprimatur on Korean society based on their own experiences and learning acquired during their stints abroad as students studying at some of the best universities in America and Europe.
The overall impact of such disparate experiences in terms of influencing Korea's sociopolitical geography and economic millieu for the future is debatable though, as the current generation differs substantially from its predecessors. Specifically, Korea's current generation, although better educated and more privileged in many respects, lack a defining and unifying experience for their generation. The Japanese Generation, on the other hand was largely successful in terms of acting as Korea's legitimate power elites because they were able to quickly coalesce by capitalizing on the defining and unifying experience of their generation, which was the strong resentment of Korea's poverty and low status attributed to Japanese colonization and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. As a result, that generation felt an overwhelming obligation to put Korea on the right track at all costs, in order to prevent another return to an abysmal state.
Technocrat elites and ruling classes
Technocrats with degrees in the sciences or engineering have mostly been subsumed in power and influence in the political process, but have contributed to great success in the larger manufacturing combines, energy and resource cartels, chaebols, and cross-linked industries.Tele-com and internet elites and ruling classes
By 2005, a new ruling elite spurred by telecommunications and the internet had come into being: and English studies abroad fell, with a new class of elite studying in China, and planning on extensive business dealings with China upon graduation. At the same time because of the similarity of the Turkic languages to Korean, there have been extensive links with Mongolia launching new elites who will base their fortunes upon export and development in this region.The Korean rich list
There is currently no published Korean rich list, despite the Wikipedia entry, but Forbes and other chroniclers of the power elites of the world have found sufficient high profile rich in Korea as to generate accurate numbers.Forbes magazine has hinted at Korea having at the very least 7 high billionaires living on the peninsula, and at least ten families alone who control in the high billions in assets. There are possibly another 5 Korean billionaires abroad, mostly in the USA who maintain dual citizenship.
Low billionaire families are generally accepted to number more than 10 and less than 20; while domestic newspapers have indicated that there are at least 100 families who have more than $250 million in assets: primarily real estate and land being developed; or in manufacturing who have a high enough profile as to be reasonably defined as amongst the very wealthy of the world.
Estimates on the number of Koreans who own more than a million US dollars in assets apart from their houses, and discarding all debts, are figured to be in the range of 65,000 high net worth individuals (HNWI) according to Merrill Lynch research by June 16, 2004. Article cited below.
Amongst the historically most powerful business elite leaders have been:
- Chung Ju-yung (정주영)Chung Ju-yungChung Ju-yung was a South Korean businessman and the the founder of Hyundai Group.-Early life:Chung Ju-yung was born in Tongchon, Kangwŏn province , during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. Born to a large impoverished family of peasants, he was the oldest out of six children...
- Chung Mong-hun (정몽헌)Chung Mong-hunChung Mong-hun was the 5th son of Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the South Korean Hyundai conglomerate. After the death of his father, he took over part of his father's role and became the chairman of Hyundai Asan, the company in charge of various business ventures between North and South Korea...
- Kim Woo-jung (김우중)Kim Woo-jungKim Woo-choong was the founder and chairman of the Daewoo Group. Born on December 17, 1936, in Daegu, he was the son of the Provincial Governor....
- Kim Yong-san (김용산)Kim Yong-sanKim Yong-san was a Korean businessman. He was born in Siheung, Gyeonggi province. He is a pioneer in the industrialization of South Korea, specifically the construction business. In 1948 he founded the Kukdong Business Group, one of the largest construction companies in South Korea...
- Lee Byung-chul (이병철)Lee Byung-chulLee Byung-chull was the founder of the Samsung Group and one of South Korea's most successful businessmen. With the breakup of the Hyundai chaebol, Samsung is now South Korea's largest business groupHe was the son of a wealthy landowning family...
External links
- Number of Korean millionaires increases. Study cites 65,000 high net worth individuals in Korea
- Secrets of Korean real estate millionaires, 110 multi-millionaire Korean real estate investors identified, and interviewed
- Daewoo billionaire story
- Forbes Asian rich list 2002
- Biography of the Hyundai group and Chung Ju Yung, includes billionaire Chung's attempt to win a position in the 1992 presidential elections
- Kim Jeong-Hoon biography