The term "Hell Joseon" was widely popularized (Joseon is the old name of Korea, and incidentally still the name used for North Korea in Korean, Chinese and Japa

The term "Hell Joseon" was widely popularized (Joseon is the old name of Korea, and incidentally still the name used for North Korea in Korean, Chinese and Japanese). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Joseon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Joseon "Escaping Hell Joseon" is apparently a thing: https://asiatimes.com/2019/12/75-of-young-want-to-escape-south-korean-hell/ https://asiatimes.com/2019/12/75-of-young-want-to-escape-sou... I think only a small percentage of respondents have brought their aspiration into practice, but they obviously think other countries are better than Korea. I'd love to see a poll asking them which countries they would prefer. I don't think they are entirely wrong. Economic hardship and uncertain future for young people are prevalent in all developed economies, but South Korea also suffers from terrible work-life balance and strict work culture (probably significantly worse than Japan on both counts). And recent admissions scandals[1][2] have made Koreans even more skeptical about the fairness of the system. I'm not sure if Ivy League universities are any better, but the Korean scandals were really in-your-face. [1] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/disgraced-ex-south-korea-minister-gets-two-years-jail-over-graft-scandal-2023-02-03/ https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/disgraced-ex-sout... [2] https://graphics.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/Interactives/2017/03/south-korea-scandal/chung-yoo-ra.html https://graphics.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/Interactives/...