Why Are Koreans Not Happy about Their Own State of Distribution?

Abstract

Although it is not clear since when and under what circumstances Korea has been called a "model country in distribution", no one has yet seriously questioned the validity of such an evaluation. The present paper examines whether there have been substantial improvements in the state of distribution in Korea which warrant such a compliment. The evidence examined in this paper strongly suggests that the answer to the question should be in the negative. Viewed from the standpoint of distributive justice, income distribution in Korea has gotten much worse than before, and Koreans have good reasons to be unhappy about their own state of distribution.