Materialism Increasing among College Students

Kim Seung-hyun, and Lee Min-a

Kim Seung-hyun, and Lee Min-a. 2004. ¡°Materialism Increasing among College Students.¡± JoongAng Daily, October 26, 2004.


irst in a series. October 26, 2004 — In an apparent reflection of wider social concerns, recent surveys say that an increasing number of Korean college students are focusing on materialistic rather than idealistic or spiritual goals.

In 2001, 10 percent of 2,000 college students surveyed by Professor Auh Soo-young, of Ewha Womans University, were classified as ¡°materialistic.¡± The study was based on a four-item index measuring such tendencies.

The ¡°materialistic students¡± — who focused on economic growth, national security and maintaining public discipline — were a minority, while ¡°post-materialistic students,¡± comprising 10.4 percent, put more value on local communities, welfare and spiritual health. The remaining 79.6 percent were somewhere in the middle.

Three years later though, a similar study led by two academics showed that the number of materialistic students had risen to 17 percent. Post-materialistic students had waned to 9.7 percent.

¡°When a nation is economically stable and wealthy, the younger generation tends to care more about idealistic values than the reality they have to face,¡± said Seol Dong-Hoon, a sociology professor of Chonbuk National University and a co-author of the study in 2004 with a Yonsei professor, Han Jun. ¡°But in Korea now, college students are seeking more realistic and materialistic values; the prolonged economic stagnation and the high unemployment rate are preventing them from thinking about other values.¡±

In the United States by comparison, a similar study in 2000 showed that 30.1 percent of young people between ages 18 and 24 thought post-materialistic values more worthy; materialistic students were found to number a mere 5.9 percent.

In Korea¡¯s ivory towers, student societies debating philosophical or ideological issues were once common. Now, many academic discussions have disappeared as students turn their heads toward ¡°something that can actually help me get a job or earn money.¡±

In September, a poster at Hanyang University notified the student body that a discussion society on ideological issues would disband, ending its decade-long presence on campus. It said discussions on social issues once dominated by the rhetorical cut and thrust of young intellectuals had deteriorated into mindless waffle.

Around the same time, at Seoul Women¡¯s University, a new lecture course opened: a ¡°how to¡± class on investing and accumulating wealth. In less than two minutes, the school said, 350 students signed up, filling all seats.

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Kyung Hee University have opened similar classes. They invite authors of ¡°get rich¡± guidebooks and investment tomes as their lecturers. Entrepreneurial CEOs were among the class¡¯s favorite speakers.

In June, so-called ¡°riches societies¡± were formed at Ewha Womans University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Seoul National University.

¡°We study starting businesses and investing soundly,¡± said Kim Geon-hee, a senior at Yonsei University and a member of a riches society. ¡°This is not a circle of snobs. We are studying seriously for our future.¡±

Campus reporters at Seoul National University were bewildered when they heard a freshmen answer why he had applied to become a reporter for the school¡¯s paper.

The freshmen said ¡°I thought a career at the school press would help me look good when I enter a law school later.¡±

The interviewers were dumbfounded: They had expected a cub reporter to talk about his muse.

¡°But the reality is that more younger students are now thinking like that,¡± a senior reporter at the paper said. by Kim Seung-hyun <shyun@joongang.co.kr>, Lee Min-a <mina@joongang.co.kr>