SEOUL: Thirty years after South Korea became a democracy, voters born in the period go to the polls Tuesday frustrated over their prospects and demanding change as growth slows and job prospects fade. But its younger voters complain bitterly that times have changed dramatically from their parents’ generation, when hard work paid off with wealth and success regardless of social origin. South Korea is a notoriously performance-driven country, where the pressure to get into a prestigious university is so intense that most children begin after-hours studies at cramming centres while at primary school. “I think the biggest problem is inequality,” said Park Hye-Shin, a 27-year-old student at Hankook University of Foreign Studies. The mounting economic and social frustrations were underlying drivers of the giant anti-corruption protests last year, when millions of South Koreans took to the streets to demand president Park Geun-Hye’s removal.

Source: Manila Times May 08, 2017 14:48 UTC