[Column] Freedom 3.0: A new phase of personal liberty

“Hell Joseon” is more than just economics; it’s about freedom of choice

While I was working with some experts to write a report urging a redesign of the policy paradigm of South Korean society, I found myself drawn to the argument for a fresh interpretation of “Hell Joseon.”

“Hell Joseon,” a self-mocking appellation for Korean society, has generally been understood as being focused on the question of making a living. According to this narrative, Korea is a hellish place for young people: even university graduates have a very hard time finding a job, and the jobs they do manage to land are poorly paid and unstable. These ideas were reinforced by the book The 880,000 Won Generation (referring to temporary workers who earn about US$800 a month).

The traditional solution for such problems has been to increase the economic growth rate, create more jobs and raise wages. If regulations are relaxed, companies promise, they will make investments and make jobs. The government is trying to raise wages by increasing the minimum wage. It has also promised to increase the number of jobs in the public sector. This is all fine and good.

But once all this is achieved, will we find ourselves living in a happier society? Is a per capita income of US$30,000 hell and $40,000 heaven? Can a society called “Hell Joseon” when the minimum wage is 7,500 won (US$6.71) be made happy by raising the minimum wage to 10,000 won (US$8.94)?

The problem of “Hell Joseon” isn’t limited to making a living, and so its solution won’t end with the economic growth rate, jobs or wages. The problem is the “freedom of choice” that an individual can actually enjoy. Even if the minimum wage is 10,000 won, for example, there will be a lot of people who aren’t content with such jobs, either because the job doesn’t suit their personality or because it doesn’t offer a future.

The younger the individual, the greater that tendency will be. The important thing for such individuals is the freedom to choose a different job. They need support from society to quit the job they’re doing and to prepare for new work.

Everyone has some kind of volunteering activity, creative project or business they would like to try even if they end up losing money on it. One who considers a job truly valuable may want to jump in even if the pay is low or nonexistent. The important thing for such people is receiving social support to maintain a basic livelihood while doing that kind of work. Such social support gives them freedom.

In the past, Korean society offered two versions of freedom. “Freedom 1.0” meant opposition to Communism during the Cold War. But this concept became obsolete after the dismantling of anti-Communist ideology. “Freedom 2.0” emphasizes the free market. This concept has recently led to the discourse about fairness. The neoliberalism that has dominated Korean society since the mid-1990s has forced everyone to keep moving and increasing their personal competitiveness.

But amid our increasingly uncertain lives, people have instead made a beeline for the few remaining safe zones. Talented people have congregated at the civil service exam; public enterprises have come to be regarded as better than the chaebol; and professorships have gained a reputation as the best jobs. With everyone competing to get into a tiny range of safe zones, the job of deciding who is allowed in has become of critical importance, which has made fair assessment and fair access key slogans of our day.

With society forcing the individual to shoulder too much risk, everyone has crowded to these safe zones. The result is that we find ourselves living in a country that still struggles with the question of making a living despite a national income of US$30,000.

Lee Won-jae, CEO of LAB2050

What we need now is to transcend all this with “Freedom 3.0.” Society must guarantee the individual a stable livelihood and create an environment in which people can exercise real freedom through that stability. Individuals who have been given this freedom will become happier, and some of those happy individuals will become innovators. That will ultimately institute a virtual cycle that will bring society new momentum. And that’s when we’ll be able to escape from Hell Joseon. Such were the ideas I shared with Gu Gyo-jun, Choi Yeong-jun and Lee Gwan-hu, the coauthors of the report.

By Lee Won-jae, CEO of LAB2050

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