Having trouble keeping up with the Joneses? Try keeping up with the Kims.

I am not an economist, nor do I normally try my hand at playing one on this blog, but given the general financial state of affairs in the world at the moment, I feel the need to comment on the way things are going here in South Korea. See, right now the economy in South Korea is pretty good - it's been better, but it's definitely been much worse at other times in the modern history of this half of the peninsula.

Koreans love to shop. They love their fancy clothes and expensive gadgets. Smart phones? Hell, half my students (elementary and middle schoolers) have smart phones. They laugh at my several-year-old regular cell phone. ("Jane-teacher, why no touch screen??") And in a culture where appearances are so important... well, if you're not earning enough to keep up with the Kims, then you should definitely consider borrowing.

Nearly every commercial break has at least one (if not several) advertisements for quick cash loans - snazzy commercials with a sexy cast and a catchy tune that make borrowing money look hip and cool. (The exception to the 'hip and cool' loan company appears to be Rush and Cash, which seems to be targeting the 50+ crowd with their radish toting ajumma, and animated Korean radish.) I can sing along with the jingles to Hi Loan, Won Cashing, Welcome Loan, and Sanwa Money, just to name a few. You know how so many people (in the US at least) fell into the trap of re-financing their home for the sole purpose of getting extra spending money before the financial collapse? Here there are numerous re-fi commecials - several which have animations showing one's house/apartment (it is common to buy apartments here) serving as an ATM!

Here's an example of one of the Won Cashing ads (a spoof of the Korean pop group Wonder Girls):

The constant bombardment of ads such as the above makes taking out a loan - or loans - seem like such a fun and easy thing to do... so why not, right? Except that we know what sort of hole this kind of credit-based, mad spending, consumer-oriented economic model got the US into. This does not bode well for South Korea's economic future.

Check out the interesting graphics I found on this article on The Economist.

Already there are horror stories of loan sharks (private lenders; not the glitzy loan companies appearing on TV) forcing women who have fallen into arrears into prostitution (see here and here), and one wonders how long the fast-cash boom can be sustained...