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3/29/2018

Topic Reading-Vol.2178-3/29/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
South Korea to shut off computers to stop people working late
How hard-working Koreans are! Garlic girls (Vol.2177) aren’t the only ones to work hard to make their dreams come true or make their living. According to OECD, South Korea’s average annual hours that were worked per worker in 2016 were still over 2,000, the second longest only after Mexico. Though the figures used to be over 2,500, they have been declining steadily for the last 10 years. Just for reference, the average hours among OECD nations are 1,763, and German’s are 1,363. However, South Korea’s government workers work over 2,700 hours a year, about 1,000 hours longer than the OECD average, or two times as long as Germany’s.
Now the government is rolling out a new initiative to switch off their computers at 7:00pm on Fridays. How late do they usually work now and how late will they stay in their offices on other working days? Surprisingly, over two-thirds of the affected workers have already asked for exemptions from the switch-off program.
Why so? Are the government offices way understaffed? Is competition too keen? Do they need to earn more money? Or are they so insufficient?
Enjoy reading and thinking what drives Koreans work so hard either on ice or in offices.

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