Will its experiment in multi-culturalism and multi-racialism lead to more prosperity? Will immigrants show the way forward?
Anthropologist Peter Frost writes:
“You’ll see Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesians, other SE Asians, and then you’ll see your Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans…..they are everywhere, at bus stops, at bus terminals, at your grocery stores, walking around in packs and large groups, many of them loiter around the alley ways or behind grocery store buildings and have little meetings speaking loudly in their native tongues. At night, if you listen out your windows, you’ll hear mostly Vietnamese and Tagalog guys and girls yelling and screaming either in drunken stupor or just flirtatious exuberance…”
South Korea is prosperous because it has … Koreans. Replacing them with immigrants will destroy its competitive advantage. We see this in the poor performance of second-generation immigrants, which is only partly due to social or linguistic handicaps. There is also a cognitive deficiency that persists even when these handicaps are greatly reduced. Sure, more research is needed. In the meantime, wouldn’t it be best to put this massive demographic experiment on hold?
It’s not too late for South Korea to change course. To do so, however, will require a willingness to chart one’s own course, as opposed to blindly following what others do.
