I’ve been home for nearly a month now and I’ve been asked the question time and again: “What’s South Korea like?”

As predictable and justified as the question is, I still haven’t an answer for it. How to summarize an entire nation, especially one as dynamic as this? Every country has its points of interest I suppose, but to me, South Korea is an especially fascinating nation.

Its economic development in hyper-drive since the 70’s, Korea is arguably the greatest economic success story of the second half of the 20th century.

In the early part of the century Korea proper was occupied and dominated by the Japanese, who went as far as trying to rewrite Korean history to create false heritage links to Japan and prohibiting their language. Such a massive undertaking was a failure, of course.

Resistance movements and the destruction of Japan by America at the end of World War II closed the domination of one power, only to be replaced by two others – the Soviets and the U.S. having divided the country in half.

From here comes the more infamous and disastrous Korean War, and its aftermath of devastating poverty for both Koreas, but most especially the South — initially.

In the 1960’s South Korea was one of the most poverty stricken nations, equivalent to some of the most poor African states.

South Korea is now one of the most affluent economies in the world and a member of the G20.

Meanwhile, Korea proper remains a divided nation. Not 25 kilometres from the South’s capital city and most important economic centre, is its unfortunate brother, the Democratic People’s Republic – North Korea.

Neglected by international politics from birth, twisted to the point of international delinquency, it has taken the complete opposite path of its sister nation – a totally impoverished cult state as close to the hard version of George Orwell’s vision in 1984 in terms of overt authoritarianism as exists (of course there are other very affluent nations that draw more than a few allegorical parallels as well, but that’s another matter).

These two countries – one nation divided in two – are the only two on this planet that share the same language, yet they are still at war to this day with no end in sight.

As people in the North eat grass to survive, people in the South spend the equivalent of $4 American dollars for a coffee on a whim – probably more than a typical North Korean sees in a week – or $200 on average for a pair of sunglasses at the local Lotte Department Store. Fancy air conditioners, plasma tv’s and kimchi fridges are at a premium.

A big problem in South Korea is online video game addiction.Big problems in the North include the possibility of lifelong imprisonment for betraying the Party, and finding a reliable source of food for your family.

Despite the apparent looming threat of the North, many South Koreans remain mostly unconcerned, perhaps justifiably taking the view that events are out of their control in this regard.

Pop music stars are idolized in a way that diminishes even America – though perhaps done so less cynically.

South Korea has a thriving television and movie industry, and they largely enjoy their own productions over those imported from the West.

South Korea is a lot of fun. If you live in a city, a wide array of distractions are at your fingertips. There are more things to do in a “small” city like Gwangju – 1.5 million or so – than what my home country can boast.

The previous generation created a thriving economy and built with sweat and blood a democratic state that became official just over twenty years ago (just before hosting the winter Olympics in 1988).

People now largely shun elections just like we do in the West, and politicians  pander to the public with absurd campaigns for endearment that would justifiably bring those who fought for democracy to tears (if a true measure of economic success is political apathy, South Korea seems to have made it to the finish line with us in the West long ago).

It is a nation that largely looks inward, but has developed to the point that it now gives internationally to relief efforts for such disasters as the Haiti earthquake, when it once would have been a target for aid itself.

As fiercely nationalistic as most Koreans are, they display a deep interest in those from abroad, even if they sometimes hold almost childish stereotypes of different nations and their people.

It is largely a superficial nation – many women succumb to the perceived need for plastic surgery just to be competitive on the job market. I recall a conversation I had with a woman who was emigrating from South Korea to Canada reflecting that if she stayed in Korea her daughter would have to get plastic surgery – she felt that she simply wasn’t pretty enough to be successful, which, especially after having seen her daughter, was absolutely absurd. It’s hard to say how many women do get some form of plastic surgery, but it is fairly common.

Indeed there are many examples of a nation that has, perhaps developed almost too fast for its social values to catch up.

Korean society displays an awkward blend of sexuality and conservatism. One actress was hectored to the point of suicide for appearing nude in a film, yet porn cards – sometimes displaying nudity – are casually strewn about the street and prostitution is rampant and essentially there for all to see – not to mention the soju ads of pop stars that often test the limits of decency.

Women are often almost absurdly beautiful. They rarely go out without make-up, and many will be caught checking themselves out on any reflective surface to see if they look up to standards. They wear high heals excessively – some feel that is a daily requirement, others say they are more comfortable doing so.

Just recently it is becoming much less common for parents to abort children simply because they’re female. Further, abortion itself is illegal, yet Korea has been dubbed “the abortion republic” for its excessive use as an alternative to birth control. The government is now looking at clamping down on abortions as a method to curb depopulation that is going to become a serious issue within the state in the future.

Yet – because of the social demands on parents to provide for their children, most families believe that more than one child is simply unaffordable. Education is not simply going to public school each day. It’s afternoon English academies, music lessons, math and science schools. It’s university that isn’t funded by the government (nor do they provide loans for the less economically privileged), it’s a year abroad to study.

This may give a sense of the fierce competitiveness of most Koreans. They work hard. They want the best for their families. I know a child who, when he was just six years old (Western age) he went to Kindergarten, then taekwondo, then Chinese school. And he had English home tutoring besides.

This is the work ethic that created the economic prosperity that exists today. It’s also the world view that fostered the almost excessively speedy development of the country up to this day.

Still one might argue that this constant work ethic, and the pressure on children and teenagers to work and achieve robs them of their opportunity to blossom and develop their own interests in life. It furthermore may lead to a diminished level of critical thinking, which could account for the almost absurd omnipresence of pop culture. This may be why some people believe in such things like fan death.

Even still, as a Korean man I knew once said – Korea lacks national resources of any kind. What it does have is human resources and work ethic. What it has created may, therefore, be beyond criticism given the circumstances. At any rate, critical thinking is something that may be more wide-spread as social values catch up with it’s economic progress.

Within this mad mélange is a sense of innocence. There is a real sense that Koreans still value the material gains they have achieved without developing the existential crises’ that are so typically common for the young in America. Yet, suicide rates are very high leading up to university entrance exams as pressure mounts on teens, so maybe there’s just too many paths to disenchantment for the human mind.

Still, crime rates among youth are clearly lower than in the West, where youth seem to be drifting further on a yearly basis.

But I digress… if you’ve made it this far I applaud your attention span. I could go on for hours.

I haven’t even talked about the age system, which dictates much of social interaction and is, to a Western point of view, pretty wild indeed. Or marriage and its importance for the identity of people here, especially women. Or the fact that people typically live with their parents until they are married. I could go on and on. Ultimately, it is a nation in extreme flux. Trends and norms are changing and Korea is becoming more “progressive” in many ways as I type.

Perhaps that’s why I came up with such a lame answer to my family doctor here in Canada when she asked that aforementioned question – “What’s Korea like?”

I said — “Um…it’s pretty nice place, I like it.”