Economic Development, Sociocultural Change and Quality of Life in Korea: Analysis of Three Generations Growing up in Colonial, Industrial and Digital Age

The article reviews key questions that are central to developing countries and provide a case study of South Korea (abbreviated as Korea): How could one of the poorest country in the world transform to become the 10th largest economy in the world? What are the psychological, relational, social and cultural impact of rapid economic development in Korea? How do these factors influence the subjective well-being, quality of life and happiness among three generations of Koreans? The first part of this article reviews the cultural history of Korea. The second part of this article reviews the rapid economic development that lifted Korea out of poverty into prosperity. The third part of this articles reviews the social and cultural changes that impacted the family, incentive structure and lifestyle of three generation of Koreans. The fourth part of this article reviews the impact of digital revolution on the psychological, economic and cultural life of Millennials and Gen Z (abbreviated as the MZ generation), and examine how they are different from their parent and grandparent generation. The fifth part of the articles reviews quality of life and social problems in Korea. In contrast to the economic prosperity that Koreans enjoy, the country is facing serious social problems with low marriage and fertility rate, high unemployment, divorce and suicide rate, and a bleak economic future for the MZ generation. The current situation in Korea is an example of Innovator’s Dilemma (Christensen, 2016), where the economic and political model that accelerated economic growth is serving as an obstacle to innovation and change. The fifth part of this article reviews empirical studies conducted in Korea during the past 20 years focusing on subjective well-being, quality of life and happiness. The results indicate that social support received from close relationships and self, relational and social efficacy predict high subjective well-being, quality of life and happiness. In contrast, income and socio-economic status had very little impact on subjective well-being, quality of life and happiness. For the MZ generation, friends have become much more important than their parents in promoting happiness and online social support is emerging as an important factor. The information, knowledge and skills that they obtain from the online community are changing how they view the world, relate to others and live. The MZ generation represents the most educated, globally connected and socially conscious generation. They are starting a quiet revolution, demanding changes to social inequalities, discrimination and climate change that were create by and for the baby boomer generation.