Can the Tiger Change Its Stripes?: Bridging the Information-Channeling Gap between the United States and Korea

Abstract

Because the locus of information in Korea differed from that in the United States, the two societies developed different patterns of organizational structure, recruitment systems, and career paths. Since the financial crisis of 1997, however, Korea has tried to emulate the American model in the reconstruction of its information channeling structures. We caution against the blind emulation of the American model, since it would require vast investments in education and could result in social disintegration among old and young generations. In this paper, we present a network-specific information system as an alternative. Multi-directional, autonomous, and decentralized, the network-specific information system will bridge the information-channeling gap between the United States and Korea.