I have a hard time rectifying the idea that Korea's economy is highly state managed and largely operated by monopolies with a society "so efficient and competit

I have a hard time rectifying the idea that Korea's economy is highly state managed and largely operated by monopolies with a society "so efficient and competitive" that people are opting out of humanity in order to compete and store money. I almost think you have it entirely backwards. In a society where competition and choice is so severely limited you see people adopt these strategies because there is far less room to make a mistake or to engage with economically sub optimal decisions like having a child. I think you're seeing this effect creep into the US as well, as we've allowed more mergers and acquisitions financed by cheap interest from the Fed that people are effectively feeling this same squeeze here. Plus, I don't think people are at all effectively factoring in the consequences of the lock downs and crash of small businesses that were associated with it. This is a government monopoly problem, not a lazy population problem.