Driven by Passion: The Lives of Korea’s Student-Athletes
Student-athletes are often driven by a combination of personal passion, external influences, and a desire to challenge themselves. The balance between sports and academics demands both resilience and sacrifices as they navigate societal expectations and personal aspirations. For Lim Se-Eun, television played a major influence in her decision to become an athlete. Initially, she was drawn by professional rhythmic gymnasts’ beautiful clothes and movements. However, ultimately, it wasn’t just about the glamor—it was the joy and thrill of the sport that motivated her. She explained, “At that time I was doing it for fun, and my friend who was learning with me wanted to be a professional athlete, so I decided to become one too. I was so attracted to sports [for the above reasons], that’s why I decided to become an athlete. ” Thanks to her parents' support, Lim was able to transfer to a school with a rhythmic gymnastics team, allowing her to focus on her training. Her parent’s investment and encouragement fueled her drive to succeed, but they also added pressure. She didn’t want all of her parents' efforts to be in vain, she admitted, pushing herself to practice harder and achieve better results. “It was my decision, so I just thought I had to overcome the difficulties. ” Lim said, reflecting on her journey. Despite practicing six days a week for long hours, she never lost sight of her goal. “I believe that at the end of the day I will achieve my dream and all of this work will be worth it,” Her resilience enabled her to overcome moments of doubt and fatigue. While Lim’s story is one of triumph in sports, other student-athletes take a different route, focusing on academics as a more secure path. Lee Gisoo is one such example. He started rugby at age 15, but quickly realized that his chances of becoming a professional athlete were slim. “I did my best in every situation, but I was very fast to recognize I wasn’t that talented to become a professional athlete,” he admitted. Instead, he decided to prioritize academics while continuing to train, hoping to enter Seoul National University (SNU), as he desired to attend a renowned university. Rugby would only provide an edge over other applicants if he got accepted into a national team; this would not be the case for him, thus leading him to focus on his academics over his passion. Lee’s initial motivation for playing rugby came from his grandfather, a former track athlete. “My grandfather asked me to play rugby, because he graduated from the same middle school as me. ” Lee explains. His grandfather incentivized him to be an athlete to share the good experiences he lived, and hoped that it would be beneficial for his grandson. Although he never aimed to become an elite athlete, Lee remained dedicated to rugby out of respect for his grandfather, who supported him financially. Balancing rugby with his demanding studies required immense discipline. His daily schedule was packed: school from 8 a. m. , rugby practice starting at 2 p. m. until 10 p. m. , and then studying late into the night, only to go to bed at 2 a. m. When asked why he pushed himself so hard, Lee responded confidently, “I should do something more than others, that’s why I chose to study. Sacrifices were very necessary to achieve good academic results. So I tried my best to maintain the balance between sports and academics. ”The motivations driving athletes to pursue careers in sports are as diverse as the athletes themselves. For some, like Lim, it’s a burning passion for the sport. For others, like Lee, it’s about balancing the love for the game with the practical need to secure a stable future. Both athletes highlight the importance of external influences on the journeys, whether it be familial support or societal expectations. Their families provide a foundation for their growth, but societal expectations and pressures to excel in studies or sports create additional challenges. Despite their motivation to pursue their athletic careers and the support they received, both Lim and Lee eventually shifted their focus to more sustainable career paths. This is attributed to the lacking social support system in Korea, which will be explored further in the last article of this series, delving deeper into the sports industry by comparing the support structures for student-athletes in the U. S. and South Korea and examining how these systems shape the paths of young athletes, and their opportunities for success.
U.S. Ban on Chinese Software in Cars: How Korea Gets Caught in the Middle
On September 2024, the U. S. Department of Commerce proposed a ban, which will be effective from 2027, on key Chinese software in ‘connected vehicles’—a legal term used to describe vehicles that are equipped with extraneous technology such as the Internet and external devices—in the United States to address national security concerns. This regulation also includes a hardware ban taking effect in 2030. This initiative is intended to prevent Chinese intelligence agencies from monitoring and collecting information on American drivers from their connected personal devices. “When foreign adversaries build software to make a vehicle that means it can be used for surveillance, can be remotely controlled, which threatens the privacy and safety of Americans on the road,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Depending on the strictness of these regulations, Korean car manufacturers will have to work out a strategy accordingly, as they rely heavily on exports to the U. S. In fact, the U. S. is the largest automobile export destination for Korea, making up 42. 9% of their global automobile exports according to KIET (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade). Therefore, the Korean automotive industry has a vested interest in the U. S. ’s new prohibition plan. In fact, this measure could have severe consequences for the Korean automotive industry, posing a significant dilemma to Korean automakers. The first issue related to such a prohibition is that the definition of connected vehicles is excessively broad, which makes it difficult to discern the potential effects on manufacturers. Currently, the U. S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security proposes to define the ‘connected vehicle’ as an on-road vehicle that “integrates onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate via dedicated short-range communication, cellular telecommunication connectivity, satellite communication, or other wireless spectrum connectivity with any other network or device. ” Thus, regulations could potentially include even smaller Chinese parts such as bolts. In this case, most of the recently released vehicles would become subject to U. S. export regulations. Hence, in late April, the Korean government expressed the Korean automotive industry’s concerns over the U. S. ’s envisioned rule on connected vehicles and called for a “precise definition” of the term ‘connected vehicles’. Moreover, such initiatives take a toll on price competitiveness for Korean automakers, as China has long been a cost efficient source for auto parts. Regardless of the exact scope of the regulations, as long as the ban is in effect, automakers will have to localize and diversify the supply chain for auto parts outside of China, resulting in an inevitable loss of price competitiveness as well as an uptick in related costs. The dilemma is clear: adhering to the ban could strain Korea's trade relations with China, yet ignoring it may result in losing critical benefits from the U. S. , whether it be security or economic benefits. There are observations that the U. S. ’s actions may block Chinese automotive competitors from entering the U. S. market, which could be beneficial in the long term; however, the issue seems to result in a net loss for Korea for now. The U. S. -China trade conflict is not a bipartite issue, but a multilateral issue affecting an array of interrelated countries especially in terms of economic interests and political relations. This case in particular highlights how interconnected global markets have become ever since free trade has gained presence worldwide. South Korea has not been immune from it: it is caught in the middle, forced to balance its economic interests and political alliances. For Korea, solutions may lie in continued behind-the-scenes negotiations to secure more precise regulations, and minimize disruption to the auto industry.
Public Holidays: More Than Just a Sweet Treat
Public holidays are welcomed by most people, as they provide them with a brief relief from their responsibilities, such as studies or work. They certainly seem harmless—even beneficial to many, as most workers still get paid as usual despite the day off. However, what most people tend to miss is that when there is a public holiday, necessary services still must continue to be operated, but under extremely tight conditions as the amount of clients surges despite the limited workforce and higher cost of operation. Korea currently has a total of 15 public holidays annually and is in the higher quartile among other OECD countries like Japan (16 days), US (11 days), UK (8 days). It must be noted that public holidays are usually divided into two types: the statutory public holidays, which have been gazetted by the government and are fixed, and temporary holidays, which are spontaneous holidays that are decided by the government on a case-by-case basis. Since most public holidays are fixed, they allow in-advanced planning with more flexibility; however, temporary holidays are often dedicated for sudden events, and their spontaneity has the potential to make situations worse. One may claim that since public holidays can help to stimulate the economy, they are greatly beneficial to the country. On one hand, this is true, as they provide opportunities for people to consume more in various ways, bringing enormous cash flow to various industries. People are encouraged to go on shopping sprees, have a luxurious date night, or even travel domestically, all of which can greatly contribute to the nation’s economy. According to research conducted by the Hyundai Research Institute in 2023 regarding temporary public holidays, a temporary public holiday can bring consumers’ expenses up to 2. 4 trillion KRW and the total production volume can hit 4. 8 trillion KRW. As such, the Korean government has announced temporary public holidays on multiple occasions, citing the need to revitalize the domestic economy as a major factor. However, public holidays are not always benign to everyone. For example, during a public holiday, businesses like retailers will be burdened immensely due to the surge of customers. Furthermore, despite a potential leap in revenue, the cost of human resources will also inevitably rise. This is because during a public holiday, many employees are absent, and employers are required to pay increased wages to retain the necessary workforce. A temporary holiday may make the situation even worse, as it could be more difficult to secure sufficient resources within the limited planning time. Labor-intensive manufacturing industries are not an exception. The Korea Enterprises Federation has raised the concern that during temporary holidays, businesses can experience a decline in productivity and an increase in the labor cost. Therefore, the manufacturing industry may experience great losses due to the lack of labor, and consequent shutting down of factory operations. It remains questionable whether the potential loss will outweigh the gain from the public holidays, as this is hardly to be quantified accurately due to the innumerable factors. Still, it must always be aware that the economic benefits of a public holiday are not simply complimentary. The Hyundai Research Institute mentioned that supportive measures should be taken to encourage domestic rather than international travel in order to maximize the effect of domestic demand stimulation when there is a long holiday. So, to fully enjoy the reward from public holidays and relieve stress from many economic sectors, related policies and actions should be pre-emptively prepared. Overall, currently available public holidays as well as the decision-making process for temporary holidays should continue to be revised so that the benefits can be fully maximized, and the potential losses—which can harm the economy and even the competency of the nation—can be minimized.
