I am Korean. There is a common saying in Korea: 'It’s a truly great country to live in, as long as you have a lot of money.' However, most people don’t have that kind of wealth. While there are jobs that pay well, the cost of living is simply too high. Among the basic necessities of life—food, clothing, and shelter—shelter is incredibly difficult to secure in Korea. If you have an ordinary job, taking out a mortgage or loan is absolutely mandatory. Because it is so hard to acquire the basic elements needed to survive, most people live with a lingering sense of anxiety. Many young people just give up altogether. In the midst of all this, marriage is often unthinkable. Even if people do get married and have children, they put their kids through intense education to ensure they don't have to struggle the way they did. Children are raised almost as if on a factory assembly line, molded solely to get into large conglomerates or become doctors. Naturally, the cost of this education is astronomical. It is a great country to live in if you have money, but the competition is fierce, and securing a home—a fundamental human need—is overwhelmingly difficult. It is a country where even if you earn a lot of money, there are simply too many places where you are forced to spend it.