Discussion
On April 11 2023, No.275 Japan Specialist Seminar was held in GSIS (Bldg 140) GL Room in hybrid format. With 15 participants on spot and 20 participants online, Professor Asahina Yuki from Graduate School of International Regional Studies, HUFS gave a talk titled The Paradox of Egalitarianism: Asking Millennials in Seoul and Tokyo About Inequality and Unfairness (平等主義のパラドックス──ソウルと東京のミレニアル世代に聞いた不平等と不公平). The below is the summary.
Introducing an interview survey of about 100 millennials in Seoul and Tokyo, the presenter said young people in Tokyo tend to be more tolerant of inequality than young people in Seoul. This is not because Tokyo is a more equal and fair place than Seoul, but rather because inequality is taken for granted among young people in Tokyo and there are many institutional inequalities compared to Seoul. Subsequently, the presenter analyzed the difference in perception among young people in Seoul and Tokyo regarding gender issues.
After the presentation, questions and answers followed. In the context of comparison with Japan, there were questions about how to evaluate the fixation of meritocracy and social class in Korea and the resulting strong perception of inequality. The presenter replied that rather than evaluating the difference in inequality perception between Japan and Korea as a criterion, it is necessary to think about the positive and negative aspects of each.
In addition, the seminar was concluded after discussions on non-marriageism, differences in education at home due to gender, the impact of income classes, differences in regional characteristics between Tokyo and Seoul, and trust in the system in Japan.
