Blogging through Sociology of Development (2020)

Q. What toys are marketed for boys, and what for girls? A.  If you search Google for 'Boy Kids toys', you'll find mostly robots and cars. But If you search for 'girl toys' on Google, you'll find mostly dolls. When you search for gender and toys together, you find that certain toys are marketed for gender. So robots and cars are marketed for boys, dolls are marketed for girls.

Q. Is there ethnic cleansing or genocide happening today? If so, where? A. The Rohingya people in Myanmar are being racially cleaned. The act began in 2016 but is still ongoing. Even on January 23, 2020, the United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordered the government of Myanmar to take emergency measures to protect Muslim Rohingya residents from persecution and atrocities.  The Rohingya people and the mainstream people of Myanmar have been at odds over the religious differences between Islam and Buddhism and the historical background that has continued since the days of British colonial rule. You can read more about in this article, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561

Q. Which form of nationalism is more common in Korea? (Ethnic nationalism of civic nationalism) A. I think Ethnic nationalism is still more common in Korea. In this view, the lineage of Koreans makes up Korea's national identity. A little less ethnic nationalism than in the past, but it still exists. For example, Even if you look at people who still don't look like Koreans in Korea but they speak Korean well, they often ask like "where are you from?" rather than thinking they were born and raised in Korea.

1. Summary Since social development goals are not always clear or always in contact with people's daily lives, the authors noted equity, human resources, and the role of ethnic groups in terms of rights, empowerment, and resource use. Ethnic groups have objective and subjective attributes, which are cultural properties expressed by experience. Subjective attributes include the recognition of an individual's identity. The authors look at macro-social development, whose goal is ultimately to create a more humane world through institutions and organizations that will respond to people's needs. He said that social development would be possible if labor market policies were linked to social welfare plans and social issues were approached in a multilevel.   2. New/Interesting GDP and GNP were somewhat aware, but I learned that they had to think about the GNW (Gross National Welfare) and the perspective of social development. Especially when I first heard about GN...

Lego did not target women and men from the beginning. In the early days, it was sold simply as a toy for boys and girls. However, more and more home-made sets for girls have emerged. Not only that, but the first Lego humans had a gender-neutral look. Over time, however, these Lego humans have painted men's beard and women's lips with lipstick and hinted at the breast with flexion. Not only did he express this to Lego humans, but girls' Lego themes also featured Lego sets for relaxation, wave riding and simple experiences. But the boys' Lego themes have come out of Lego sets that can be described as active job owners. At one point the Lego Company gave up its efforts in the women's market and focused only on men. (EX. A scene where a father and son play with Lego in an ad) The fact that a focus group expected to consume Lego Friends is made up of girls and women, and that a focus group expected to consume lines like Atlantis, proves that TLG fundamentally believes b...

1. Summary Gender and development are studies that understand and apply the impact of economic development and globalization on people based on gender, social politics, etc. In the earliest days, the term "women in development" was used. The women's movement in developing countries was close to liberal feminism. They sought to eliminate women's disadvantages in society by promoting women's education and giving them equal opportunities with men. Women and development are theoretical and practical methods. They argued that women should actively participate in making development projects. Unlike the above approach, the GAD approach approaches how society assigns roles and responsibilities to both women and men. Meanwhile, the advent of neo-liberalistic approaches has brought attention to the economic power related to performance. Outsourcing is mainly allocated to women, who are called cheap labor, which has given women jobs, but also creates problems in t...

1. Summary The history of Korea's economic growth was well organized. The author says Korea's case is worth noting, given that economic development does not necessarily reduce poverty or income inequality. Land reform has been controversy over whether it has a positive impact on development, but Korea's land reform is positively evaluated in that it has created farmers who own their own land to reduce inequality in land ownership. Poverty has been reduced through land reform and the educational level of the rural population has risen. These human resources have again become an important labor force. In order to effectively develop the nation, Park Chung-hee established an effective bureaucracy through a coup. Korea's first compulsory welfare system was an industrial disaster insurance system. Workers with stable jobs (ex. civil servants, etc.) were the beneficiaries of the system. But gradually expanded to include workers with less stable jobs, such as farmers and ...

1. Summary ICT technology has brought about great economic, social and political changes. In particular, one of the changes made with this technology has enabled the expansion of markets, social projects and public services. It is also important to note that there are negative aspects of cell phones, such as cybercrime and terrorism. The openness and control of these networks raise concerns about political vested interests with control. Nevertheless, the mobile Internet has had a great impact on the bottom layer of the hierarchy. For example, increasing mobile access and mobile-based services can give them greater access to public services. So poor people spend a lot of disposable income on these cell phones. The author talks about how ICT technology has affected them in five areas. The first is the part just summarized above. The second is employment, finance and business, which are carried out over the network. These include mobile banking and mobile loans. Third, access to know...

Q. Some economists and sociologists predict that in the near future, China may replace United States as the world's economic power. Do you think this may happen?   A. I don't think China can replace America's global economic power. First of all, I acknowledge that China's economic impact on the world is growing. But I think it is difficult to replace economic power because global confidence in China is still significantly lower than in the United States. An example is the case of Covid-19. China disclosed the number of confirmed cases in connection with the Covid-19, many people thought they were unreliable. Furthermore, I find it difficult for people's credibility to be higher than that of the United States, even because of the politics that are now close to Chinese dictatorship. That's why I don't think it will happen.

1. Summary The writer says there is no guarantee that investment for social development will lead to economic growth. The main asset of the poor is labor, and some of the policies the state has set for social development are said to be actually penalizing these workers. Creating social programs is not simple. In some circumstances, it is said that social programs lack resources. One reason, the writer says, is that much of public spending goes to the relatively poor. It is also said that there is a politically sensitive compromise between poor countries. Another reason is that social programs are difficult to operate efficiently. Countries that have succeeded in social development emphasized universal access to basic services such as primary education. It also relied on private and community initiatives. The World Bank is lending money for this social development.   2. New/Interesting I first learned that countries that have succeeded in social development have succeed...

1. Summary The fundamental goal of economic development is the improvement of human welfare. In order to continue this growth, the state needs educated people. Meanwhile, the education rate and economy are proportional. Investment through education comes back. Some educated women have healthier children. It is also true that educated women have fewer children, but it can be said that they can raise their children healthier because they have various plans to raise them. In addition, there is a direct economic impact of social investment. The shorter working hours, the less likely you are to get sick. But poor people find it difficult to make this choice because of money. For this reason, the writer says investing in social development is a good economy. This is because higher incomes lead to more economic growth and more education.   2. New/ Interesting Several cases were presented to support the writer's argument, which made it more understandable and new cases known. ...

Q. Can the government suspend human rights of some individuals for the 'good of the wider society'?   A. I think the government can suspend some individuals' human rights for the greater good of society. For example, I thought of prison. Prisoners in prison cannot act at their disposal. They are also monitored by CCTV to prevent escape from prison. This could be seen as a violation of the human rights of some individuals. But if they don't do this, prisoners who need to be re-socialized and punished will be brought back to society, which could cause great confusion in society.

Q. Who died in the Holocaust? A. In the Holocaust, various people, including Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled, and political prisoners, were massacred. Especially Jews died the most. As the brutal massacre in the Holocaust became known to the world, the United Nations designated January 27 as the International Holocaust Memorial Day since 2005. The resolution urged the recognition of Holocaust acts and condemned the intolerance, hate instigation, harassment, and violence inflicted on ethnic and religious groups. The Holocaust has awakened the importance of human rights around the world.

1. Summary The international human rights movement began mainly due to the Holocaust of World War II. Through the 1993 Bangkok Declaration, Asian governments began advocating Asian values. They argued that the human rights movement centered around the West was wrong. This is because the West has colonial responsibility for Asian countries. Supporters of universal human rights argue that these Asian countries' claims should be morally reprehensible because they do not support human rights and the government is trying to benefit. Meanwhile, supporters of Asian values accuse those who support universal human rights of being cultural imperialism and ethnic centrists. With these two arguments at odds, people sought to find a way to accommodate both Western individualism and Asian communism.   2. New/Interesting I took it for granted at first that human rights are universal. Reading this article, however, I have learned anew that human rights, including these values of Weste...

1. Summary Human rights are natural and legally absolute basic rights. Such human rights are guaranteed by international law, and the United Nations is the only one that has such legal jurisdiction. There are organizations in each country that strive to promote human rights. Africa has a transnational coalition of 55 African countries. They try to end internal conflicts in Africa. There are OAS and IACHR in America. Human rights are often classified as civil rights, political and economic rights, and social and cultural rights. Supporters of cultural relativism argue that human rights conflict with some cultures because they are not all universal. But Michael argued that cultural relativism is also a concept used to justify those in power abusing those who do not.   2. New/Interesting I was surprised that it was necessary to prioritize human rights. Because I have thought that the types of human rights cannot and should not be prioritized. It is said that the first gen...

1. Summary Population aging means an increase in the proportion of people aged 65 or older, which is happening at a rapid pace worldwide. There are many factors. Among them, it appears to be the main reason for the increase in life expectancy caused by technological advances. This aging population is causing policy problems. It is a matter of work, retirement, and pension, health, well-being, etc. The aging and declining population is a problem because it is related to the contraction of the economy. There are several ways to solve problems for older people who are more vulnerable to income stability, external viruses, etc. after retirement. William said the elderly population should come up with ways to maximize their potential as they can still do important labor based on wisdom and life experience. The NRC panel argues that the database should be created through research through multidisciplinary research design.   2. New/Interesting As William said, it was impressi...

1. Summary Demographics is a tool for analyzing social phenomena at a macro level. It mainly uses data such as birth, death, etc. The higher the level of education for women, the lower the fertility rate. But education itself does not mean that the birth rate is lowered. Childbirths are related to the degree of development in the country. Death rates are also somewhat related to the extent of the country's development. In developing countries, infant mortality was higher. The world population is growing every year, which could also lead to overpopulation. To solve this problem, there are ways to protect the local environment and improve women's rights. Urbanization rates vary from country to country but are expected to increase steadily worldwide. Urbanization affects the environment, economy, and so on.   2. New/Interesting This was interesting because I didn't think demographics could play an important role in identifying social phenomena. I've often been t...

Q. Why do we value the Internet?   A. I think the Internet is valuable because it has changed our lives generally positive. The Internet allowed us to experience more of the world indirectly. We can check in real-time what's happening in the world through the Internet and talk to people far away for free. All of these things can be done simply and quickly thanks to the Internet. In addition, the Internet is now part of our lives. Therefore, I think that everything is done based on the fact that the Internet is available.

Q. Do you think that access to Internet should be a human right?   A. I think it has become essential in our lives like food and clothing. I saw some news on SNS recently. The content was that people who used public Wi-Fi such as libraries in the U.S. were in trouble because they could no longer use the Internet as public facilities closed. It's not just the American story. Nowadays, digital devices and the Internet are essential for online lectures in Korea. I think it's almost human rights because I think the Internet has become a necessity for the minimum quality of life.

Q. Can we think of some examples of how Internet has changed our culture?   A. Personally, I don't look up the dictionary very well because of the Internet. In the past, when I read news or books, I think I asked adults or looked up dictionaries if I didn't know a word. But after the Internet was established, I just searched on the Internet. Another change is that I no longer listen to music only on CDs or radios. Now I can listen to it whenever I want on the Internet, so I don't carry around a CD player or radio, but just a mobile phone.