Class Structure and Class Mobility in East Asia : A Comparison among South Korea, Japan and Taiwan

Abstract

The capitalist order varies considerably among post-war East Asian countries. The

new class system which has emerged in the course of rapid industrialization is most open in Taiwan, followed by Japan and then South Korea. Gross openness of the class system is affected by two factors: class composition and openness in class structure. Its cross-national variation is .determined by the openness rather than the composition in East Asia. It is the class openness that made class order in Taiwan more fluid than in Japan or South Korea. Differences in life chances for farmers mainly determined the cross-national variation in class openness. The life chances were the largest in Taiwan, followed by Japan and then South Korea. Furthermore, these have deteriorated in South Korea, have improved in Japan, and have been stable in Taiwan.