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> to build factories on a smaller scale to Foxconn where employees live on campus I was recently in South Korea and was surprised to see that there were a lot

> to build factories on a smaller scale to Foxconn where employees live on campus I was recently in South Korea and was surprised to see that there were a lot of large apartment buildings around Seoul which appeared to be employee dormitories from previous decades (1980s I believe). Some even still said Samsung and LG on the side. However, I don't think this concept would work in Western society. The cultures between Asia and the West are very different. It's common for several generations to live in the same house in China/Japan/Korea, but this isn't the case in the West. I agree it would make sense to build dormitories, from a transportation and economic perspective it makes perfect sense. Economies of scale. But people in the West don't want to move to live near the factory/warehouse. They want to have a social life, and dorm life really doesn't facilitate having a social life.

amonette 10y ago
Many Samsung buildings in Seoul are simply regular apartments - Samsung and other chaebols (family-controlled megaconglomerates) have divisions in many more sectors of the domestic economy than one sees in the rest of the world. In particular, in South Korea Samsung manufactures a large portion of the country's automobiles, and developed and owns much of the residential real estate.
- contingencies 10y ago
  Many Samsung buildings in Suwon, Samsung's HQ town slightly south of Seoul, are still company dorms. I went there for 10 days and it scared the hell out of me.
navait 10y ago
I'm a little confused on why you think dorm life is less social. I went to college, and am now employed/live in a major US city. In my college, we had regular dorm events and I knew everyone on my floor, and was friends with many. If I try to talk to my neighbors, they treat me with suspicion. If I make a neighborhood event, 1-2 or two people come to eat my food, then leave. Ancedotal, but my intuition is that dorm life is much easier, though that may be inherent to college. It's extremely frustrating to know that few will give you any of their time to form friendships, no matter the effort you try. Also, I thought warehouses were the trendy places to live now.
- kogepathic 10y ago
  > In my college, we had regular dorm events and I knew everyone on my floor, and was friends with many. I'm sure dorms are great if all you want to do is party all the time. However given that people working at Foxconn/Amazon are probably working 8-16 hours every day, I'm doubtful that they'd really be in a partying mood after working that long. Hence, when everyone is finished working their shift and just wants to sleep, and you don't, it's a bit hard to be social without pissing off people around you. > Also, I thought warehouses were the trendy places to live now. You're talking about old warehouses which have been converted into trendy apartments. This is gentrification. No one actually wants to live in a functional warehouse.

amonette 10y ago

Many Samsung buildings in Seoul are simply regular apartments - Samsung and other chaebols (family-controlled megaconglomerates) have divisions in many more sectors of the domestic economy than one sees in the rest of the world. In particular, in South Korea Samsung manufactures a large portion of the country's automobiles, and developed and owns much of the residential real estate.

contingencies 10y ago
Many Samsung buildings in Suwon, Samsung's HQ town slightly south of Seoul, are still company dorms. I went there for 10 days and it scared the hell out of me.

navait 10y ago

I'm a little confused on why you think dorm life is less social. I went to college, and am now employed/live in a major US city. In my college, we had regular dorm events and I knew everyone on my floor, and was friends with many. If I try to talk to my neighbors, they treat me with suspicion. If I make a neighborhood event, 1-2 or two people come to eat my food, then leave. Ancedotal, but my intuition is that dorm life is much easier, though that may be inherent to college. It's extremely frustrating to know that few will give you any of their time to form friendships, no matter the effort you try. Also, I thought warehouses were the trendy places to live now.

kogepathic 10y ago
> In my college, we had regular dorm events and I knew everyone on my floor, and was friends with many. I'm sure dorms are great if all you want to do is party all the time. However given that people working at Foxconn/Amazon are probably working 8-16 hours every day, I'm doubtful that they'd really be in a partying mood after working that long. Hence, when everyone is finished working their shift and just wants to sleep, and you don't, it's a bit hard to be social without pissing off people around you. > Also, I thought warehouses were the trendy places to live now. You're talking about old warehouses which have been converted into trendy apartments. This is gentrification. No one actually wants to live in a functional warehouse.