Magazine_October_2023

COLOMN
La Clémentine par Excellence
Sungyong.
‘Palli Palli is
deeply ingrained
in Korean Society’
Sungyong Hong
International Trader
Aartsen Asia
www.groupe-kantari.com
Palli Palli: The Culture of Speed in South Korea
If you have ever visited South Korea, it might have got
to you how everything moves as fast as it seems to be.
From food delivery to construction, from internet speed
to public speaking, even from the government services
to the pace of consuming a meal. South Koreans are
always in a hurry to get things done as quickly as possible.
An interesting example of this is the Korean wedding
culture. Believe it or not, the entire wedding only takes
30 minutes, this includes welcoming, the ceremony as
well as the meal enjoyed with the guests after the wedding
ceremony. This is what in Korean culture is called the
Palli Palli culture. Which literally translates to "quick quick"
or "hurry hurry" in Korean.
Why are Koreans so obsessed with speed?
The roots of this cultural habit started during the rapid
industrialization and modernization that took place in
South Korea after the Korean War. South Korea was
strategically focused on extreme efficiency, which has
not changed and developed the society to speed up in
any particular way. This was different from the surrounding
countries, like China, which at that time was developing
a lot, partly due to its massive and low-cost labour resources,
and Japan, which was technologically more developed.
This is the foundation of how South Korea managed
to achieve a remarkable economic growth and social
development, becoming a global leader in fields such as
electronics, automobiles, cosmetics, and pop culture.
These impressive developments all happened in a short
period of time and this success is something Korean society
is proud of. And Koreans believe that the higher speed and
efficiency on different kinds of matters in life will be better for
every place and process. Because of this Palli Palli is deeply
ingrained in Korean Society. And Koreans believe that higher
speed and efficiency in all aspects of life is an improvement.
A Rat Race society
On the other hand, Palli Palli culture is also creating a high
level of competition and pressure for many South Koreans.
Through life it is very easy not to be able to keep up with
the pace in Korea everywhere. As a student in school,
office worker, social relationships or even on the road.
This caused that South Korea has one of the longest working
hours and highest suicide rates while the lowest bith rates in
the world. Many South Koreans suffer from chronic fatigue,
insomnia, depression, and anxiety. However, South Korea
these days start to look into these cultural problems more
and more by trying to balance it better. There are also
movements such as "slow food", "slow city" and "slow living"
that promote a more mindful and conscious way of living.
Fruits trend changes fast and extreme
Palli Palli integrates to the fruits business, this is why there
are a lot of Korean fruit and vegetable trends developing fast.
When it comes to the domestic fruit trends, Korea's Shine
Muscat production area increased from 7 percent of the
total grape cultivation area in 2018 to over 30 percent
in 2021, with an annual growth rate of 30 percent,
demands are keeping up and increased a lot accordingly
as well. Other items like imported pomegranates have seen
the other way within the last years with volumes decreased
by 40% in 2021, and 70% in 2022 where the decreasing
import numbers are meeting the limited demand and
interest in the product. The mango market is a perfect
example which had many changes with consumption
trends according to packaging and quality where the
latest trend is ready to eat premium mangos where the
market reacts very quickly to eat. Our brand Grandezza
is in a rapid pace gaining a lot of popularity in the market!
CULTURES | 71