1. Lobbying Bribery (Korea) | Lobbyist (US) S. Korea has no concept called lobbyist. Definitely no official lobbying firms exist. So when a company or trad

1. Lobbying Bribery (Korea) | Lobbyist (US) S. Korea has no concept called lobbyist. Definitely no official lobbying firms exist. So when a company or trade association wants something, it inevitably turns into something like bribery. 2. Dollar and oil Won (Korea) | Dollar (US) To be able to exist as a self determining nation in modern world, you need oil. And you need a lot of oil if you want an industry and provide a decent living standard. And oil is usually sold when buyer pays with with US Dollar. US can just run printing presses harder if more $ is needed. And still keep buying oil with no issue. S. Korea doesn't have such a luxury. And S. Korea has to keep earning $ in order to be able to defend their nation (both physically and to keep out undue influence) from Russia/China/Japan/NorthKorea. And this is why those firms who can bring in more dollars are valued in S. Korea. It's a matter of national survival. The last time Korea wasn't able to defend itself, the royal family that had been ruling the kingdom for 500+ years were literally tossed out to the street. Empress Myeongseong was killed in court by Japanese backed thugs, and her body was burned and buried unceremoniously. And the Japanese occupation led to the nation being split in two. A kingdom nation that had existed with same boundary for 500+ years. Much longer than Germany. And this led to the Korean war, war that brought a civil war to Korea that is probably more devastating comparatively than the Civil War of US. All because the nation couldn't pay for the things (people, material, technology) needed to defend itself in 1910. Even the much praised great preparedness against covid-19 in S. Korea was possible because firms brought in $ which meant more tax revenue for the S. Korean govt to use to pay for everything that is needed.