[Viewpoint] The Worldview of Koreans

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On the 11th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a virtual speech to the Korean National Assembly. Unlike his speeches to the parliaments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, there was no standing ovation, and only about 60 members, representing 20% of the entire Korean National Assembly, attended. This event can be seen as a self-portrait of Korea, revealing without reservation the worldview of Korean lawmakers who represent the Korean people.

Worldview is originally a philosophical term widely used in religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, but recently, it has gained persuasive power as a hypothesis in brand marketing that a clear worldview is necessary to become a global power brand. Like BTS and Marvel, building a narrative is essential to having a global fandom, and furthermore, it facilitates entry into the metaverse (extended virtual world). Korea is now the 10th largest economy in the world. The reasons for expanding the worldview of Koreans to match their economic status are as follows.

First, conflicts are intensifying between liberal countries adopting Anglo-American capitalism and authoritarian countries such as Russia and China due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Russia-Ukraine war. Korea is currently sustaining a dual worldview with the slogan "Security with the U.S." and "Economy with China," but the position of this worldview is expected to diminish further in the future. It is necessary to take this opportunity to expand the worldview globally to regions such as Eastern Europe and Latin America, thereby naturally reducing China's share in the Korean economy.

Second, it is necessary to quickly overcome the phenomenon of cultural lag. Sociologist William F. Ogburn defined cultural lag as the confusion that arises because the rate of change in non-material and spiritual cultural elements is slower than that of material civilization. Korea is currently the fastest developing country economically over the past 100 years. The fact that the worldview of Koreans is absurdly lagging behind their economic power is undeniable. There is inevitably a large gap between the worldview of baby boomers who spent their youth when the per capita GDP was $3,000 and that of Generation Z Koreans who are growing up in an era of $30,000 per capita GDP. If baby boomers have a developing country mindset and a narrow worldview confined to the Korean Peninsula, Generation Z Koreans have an advanced country mindset and a global worldview. Civic consciousness and worldview commensurate with economic power seem especially necessary for Koreans aged middle and above.

Third, since 2020, Korea has been facing a population cliff. To sustain economic growth, it is necessary to increase intercultural sensitivity and shift to a global worldview. To achieve annual growth of over 3% without an increase in the domestic population, more than 30 million foreign visitors per year are needed. If the number of foreign visitors, which reached 18 million in 2019, is doubled, the crisis of the population cliff can be managed. The world-renowned philosopher Karl Popper dealt a fatal blow to the fixed idea that certain knowledge exists. Currently, we urgently need new hypotheses and adventurous worldviews for future sustainable growth. The Beatles of the 21st century are Korea’s BTS. The ARMY, a loyal customer community living in over 100 countries worldwide, operates with a clear worldview and leads the Korean Wave. Just as people visit Liverpool in the UK to see the Beatles’ worldview, MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) from around the world want to visit Korea to experience BTS’s worldview. It is necessary to expand the worldview of Koreans.

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