사용자:Yunseon Choi/연습장

Spoon Class Theory is widely talked about in online communities in South Korea. This term appeared in 2015. It means classifying individuals based on the assets they inherited from their parents. Individuals are divided into class that range from a gold spoon to silver and bronze, and finally, dirt spoon.

Using the dirt spoon, It’s hard to feed the food and leave your property to descendants. Many young Korean people are emphasized that this theory can be applied to real life. A bond of sympathy, which is based on the defeatism, is developed between the young generation in south Korea.

Origin of a word

It’s from the English idiom “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth”. In the past, Europe Privilege often use silver dish and children were fed using silver spoons by nannies, which indicated the wealthy of the family. In south Korea, This expression is subdivided into several categories, which means gold spoon,silver spoon, bronze spoon and dirt spoon.

Sociological interpretation of Spoon Class

Hyo Chan Choi explained the meaning of gold spoon that is prevalent our society related with Jean Baudrillard’s simulacres. He suggested that gold spoon is included in a simulacre that doesn’t have an original. Continuing ‘gold spoon scandals of celerbrities’ and commercial that make it idealize made nonexistence as an existence. Regardless of pro and cons about gold spoon, it became an important image of our life. He also said that as our society accepted images which doesn’t have original and thought those are symbols, gold spoon became a hyperreality. We accept media’s reproducing images that don’t have original as more than an existence. ‘simulacre’ means an image without substance, itwieldsd strong influence than aㅜ existence. Simulation means a process of producing hyperreality, existences change as a real without origin or reality. Hyperreality means images without reality replacing most part of images and a phenomenon that simularce replaces reality and influences all over the world.   

Today, young generation’s Entering a university, employment, marriage and delivery things are related with Korean society of polarization and inequality of an economic structure. For example, many corporations in Korea require a higher grade and fluent English ability, many young generation have to lean on their parent’s economic power. Young people whose parent are the middle class can’t prepare the good condition for employment because they should work to maintain living and study at the same time. This economic polarization not only influences employment but also effects other things like marriage. The causes of unfairness in our society are sociological polarization and phenomenon that poverty is passed from generation to generation. This unfairness is making Korean society as a new class society. However, some people overcome their parent’s low sociological class and economic inferiority, Some people who raise in the wealth family are criticizing the unfair and do some movement for changing society. Unfairness of our society became a burden of young generation, this barrier couldn’t easily solved and made Korean society similar as spoon class theory.         

Standard Sheet

The golden spoon - 1% of population, with over $200K annual salary, and over $2 million in assets.

The silver spoon - 3% of population, with $80K-$200K annual salary, with $1 million to $2 million in assets.

The bronze spoon - 7.5% of population, with $50K-$80K annual salary, with $500K to $1 million in assets.

The rusted spoon with assets totaling only $100K, plastic spoon are assets totaling $50K, and the dirt spoon are the assets totalling less than $50K, with only $20K in annual salary. .

Statistical aspects of Spoon class

In the 1980s, the share of assets contributed by gifts and inheritance was 27 percent, but the comparable share rose to 29 percent in the 1990s and to 42 percent in the 2000s, according to a recent paper by Kim Nak-nyeon, an economics professor at Dongkuk University. The share is still lower than advanced countries such as Germany (42.5 percent), France (47 percent) and Britain (56.5 percent).

The survey, conducted between June and August, followed 1,342 men across three age groups spanning 19 to 75 years old: 181 men born between 1940 and 1959, the generation of industrialization; 593 men born between 1960 and 1974, the generation of democracy; and 568 men born between 1975 and 1995, the information generation.

The results of the poll found that the spoon class theory not only existed in Korea but deepened with each successive generation. The study showed that the persistence of poverty across generations has deepened, with 50.7 percent in the youngest generation answering that both father and son were in the lower class - an increase of almost 15 percent from the 36.4 percent who answered the same in the democracy generation.

In the oldest generation, only 35.9 percent answered that both father and son were considered in the lower class.

Criticism

It is more like a self-mocking expression, but this expression often is used for classifying. Someone who uses class spoon theory blames a gold spoon regarding as a criminal.They have to proof their ability that doesn;t come from the parent's background. It is a serious problem to judge someone depending on their assets and to criticize people who were born in a wealthy family.

2015, as Korea society enters into new class society, a sociological discontent at inequality becomes bigger and bigger. According to Global Attitudes Survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Korean citizens answer the most threaten thing is an inequality. Other countries those content at inequality are 8 countries.Greece is one of the countries. In Contrast, Japan answers the nuclear weapon and radiation is the most threaten thing. This survey result shows awareness of inequality is much higher than nuclear accident and environmental pollution.

Examples

Nut rage incident in Korean Air

ilicit admission in Ewha Uni. of Jeong Yura

Chung Yoo-ra is a South Korean female dressage rider. She competed at the 2014 Asian Games, where she won a team gold medal. Also, she is also known as a daughter of Choi Sun-sil, who made a biggest political scandal related in President Park. She is now suspected of illicit admisson in Ewha University.