The Myth of Confucian Capitalism in South Korea: Overworked Elderly and Underworked Youth

South Korea has long been regarded as a typical example of Confucian capitalism; the Confucian tradition of elderly support has not only been well preserved but is also highly conducive to economic growth by creating strong collective bonds between Koreans. Nonetheless, the existence of an unusually large elderly workforce and a disproportionately small young workforce, together with poor working conditions for both old and young workers, demonstrates that the assumptions of Confucian capitalism do not hold true in Korea. Explanations have conventionally attributed this problem to external factors that are unrelated to Korea's industrialization, such as increased life span, the changing quality of education and a shifting value system. This study, however, adopts a new approach that emphasizes the responsibilities of Korea's unique industrialization. It proposes that the main characteristics of Korea's development pattern have distorted the supply and demand structure of the country's labour markets and have caused the current demographic imbalance between the overworked elderly and the underworked youth. Specifically, this study suggests that two characteristics of Korea's industrialization—crony capitalism and growth absolutism—affect the behaviour of young and old workers, thereby preventing them from realizing the Confucian virtue of support for the elderly through labour markets. This study implies that the affinity between development and tradition is not automatically a given in East Asia but rather is dependent on how development is designed and implemented.