The stranglehold that large "chaebols" (large family conglomerates) hold on the Korean economy and politics here is frightening. And it's still such an "honour"

The stranglehold that large "chaebols" (large family conglomerates) hold on the Korean economy and politics here is frightening. And it's still such an "honour" to work for them, a sign of social prestige, which makes change unlikely any time soon. Kind of like publishing in top journals is so prestigious and career-advancing for scientists. It makes creeps like Elsevier "above the market laws", virtually undisruptible (as well as fabulously rich). It's a deeply cultural thing, with glacial inertia, not a question of technology/funding! On a similar note, after the AlphaGo commotion, Korean government allocated some $860M to "AI innovation". I may be too cynical, but it wouldn't surprise me if the money ended up in "friendly hands", the likes of Samsung.