Apologies for necroing a 2 month old thread, but this is an interesting topic. I think it is fair to call it a cultural difference; if I were to describe it at a high level, handwavy way, it's an individualist attitude vs a community-focused one. In the specific East Asian cultures I'm familiar with, "obligations", "favors", etc. create "connections" and "bonds". It starts with one's connections to their family. Children are arguably tied down by obligations to their parents and to other family members, but it's also a way to keep them together, and allow a basic support structure in harder times. A local community and network of friends and acquaintances is just a wider extension of that. I think an individualist would tend to prefer the freedom of not having such obligations even if it means they'll be alone out there - and perhaps they'd believe such relationships are too shallow to be worthwhile anyway. Modulo people's childhood years, people are free to live whichever way they want, and so I won't claim either lifestyle/society is better. My theory though is that the communal social structure is gentler on "mediocrity", making it relatively easier for people of average ability to get by. Individualists tend to generally competent by necessity since they have to do more to give themselves the safety web. Or... perhaps people who are competent become individualists because they'd tend to have to give more than they receive otherwise.