Before dealing with the topic about Wal-mart in Mr. Garrioch's class, I never knew that there are some markets called Wal-mart in America, which is similar to E-mart of Korea. I actually had no information about it, which means I can have mutual stance before I gather information, and can make a stance.
During the research, some of my roommates told me that Wal-mart failed in Korea, while it's the best discount store in US. I was impressed. Usually, big companies, more likely to be corporations, didn't fail in Korea. Such as Microsoft, Apple, HP, etc. What reason made them to fail in Korea? That was my first question and I would like to start from it.
Though Wal-mart had enough money and elegant system, those strong points became obstacles when they were in Korea.
The reason why they were unsuccessful in Korea was, the quality of their products. In the case of E-mart, they provide high quality goods in low price, but now lowest price. If we go to E-mart, we can see many high price clothes such as North Face, or Cnepa. However, in the case of Wal-mart, they have clothes that fits well with their prices. Though Koreans like cheap stuffs, they want high quality goods.
Though with these obstacles in Korea, they succeeded in America, and brute some serious problems.
I don't care on which way did Wal-mart succeed in US, I don't like it.
The first reason why I hate them is they give negative affect to small shopkeepers. Though Wal-mart have low quality, they also have low prices, which make ordinary people to go. As people go to Wal-mart, small shops lose their customers and incomes. The best example is my home town. My home town, Hanam city, nearby Seoul Metropolitan, it's half rural(farms, mountains, river, etc) and half urban. Our hometown's population is only about to 150,000. However, as the city grown, hypermarkets and discount stores started to come in. In this small city, we have Home Plus and E-mart. People started to go to those hypermarkets, rather than going to small supermarkets in town or traditional form of markets in old section of a city. As customers move to hypermarkets, small shopkeepers lose their customers, and they started discount to sell products in same price with other hypermarkets. In summer, the supermarket in front of my home sold ice-cream in 40% of production cost. Few supermarkets were closed. This effect is called Straw Effect, which make local economy to collapse. Somehow it's also called “Walmertization”.
The second reason why I hate them is because their employees paid less than average of workers in industrial area. Though Wal-mart says they are hiring people like a family, they pay 9 dollars per hour, while other industries pay 22 dollars per hour(Story of Minimum Wages, Dr. Kim, 1997, Korean Ecomonic Newspaper Company). Also, they hire coloured people, women, and hire them as temporary position. As they employee people as temporary position, they can fire them anytime they want. Paid lower than other jobs and have high possibility of being fired, but work a lot. This is pretty problematic for employees.
Also, in the Jisik Channel e, EBS team says that chlidren in South Asia, Africa, and South America are not paid, but spend all day long in factory or farm, instead of studying in school. Especailly the South Asians are making soccerball, soccer shoes, and other sports wares more than 15 hours a day, only with 5 dollars per day. However, big markets such as Wal-mart is selling stuff more than 30 dollars per ball.
The final reason is the problem between subcontractor and Wal-mart. The clothes and other stuffs are made in Southeastern Asia, or South Asia, Africa to keep the lowest price in the country. However, there once had a accusation in Saipan. The problem was infirngement. Confinement, beating, maltreatment, overworking; those were conducted by subcontractors of Wal-mart and other discount stores and hypermarkets. When the accusation was triggered, among 10 defendants, Wal-mart was the very first defendant.
Also, the problem occured in China. July 6th, 2010, the Chinese Government sued Wal-mart for selling Genetically Modified Rice(GMO rice). Checkbiotech Organization says that 'According to an ongoing Greenpeace investigation of nine Chinese regions starting in July 2009, GM seeds were traded in provinces of Hubei and Hunan, while GM rice and its processed products such as rice powder were sold in retail stores in Hubei, Hunan, Fujian and Guangdong provinces.' Especially, the government was banning GMO crops strictly, but Wal mart brought some problems, which can be regarded as the confliction between local government and subcontractor.
Those are the reasons why I can’t prefer Wal-mart. Though they are claiming to manage employees like a family, they pay less than average, they make employees to work more, and their subcontractors treat employees like a slave. Also, the problem in local economy occurred by Wal-mart is serious, and even called ‘walmartization’, and somehow they have problems between local communities and subconductors. Concerning those stuffs, though Wal-mart is comfortable to use, it’d be better to regulate and something must be done by.
#Story of Minimum Wages, Dr. Kim Jae won, 1997, Korean Economic Newspaper Company, page 109, Minimum Wages in Developed Countries
#Jisik Channel e (Season 1), EBS, 2007, Book House, page 272, Children in South Asia
