Many people wondered about Pope Francis choice of vehicles for his visit to Korea. He requested the use of a small Korean car instead of a larger more luxurious and bulletproof vehicle. These days there are many articles being written, and stories on the news, about our insatiable desire for luxurious goods. For example, a student was recently arrested for illegal trafficking because he wanted to purchase a luxury bag for his girlfriend. There are many people who earn their money through predatory lending practices or by working at decadent entertainment establishments to try to achieve this luxurious lifestyle. Besides earning money through these morally questionable practices, directly purchasing luxury items abroad is also in vogue. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that our drive for luxury goods has been steadily increasing.

The reason behind this disturbing trend is modern people’s idea about luxury items. Many people believe that luxury products bestow a certain degree of dignity or class upon the owner. Moreover, they believe it themselves, as somehow being the title holder of the luxury product magically means they are of a higher class than others. Korea’s demand for luxury products has grown 12% annually from 2006 until today. We are now ranked 8th in the world for luxury product demand and 3rd in Asia, behind Japan and China. According to the consulting company Mackinsey, 40% of Korean customers of luxury products believe that it is normal to make these purchases. In addition, only 22% of Korean people believe purchasing luxury products is considered a bad consumption practice. 27% of people living in Europe and the USA thought it was a bad practice while 38% in China and 45% in Japan agreed. This proves that Koreans are already addicted to luxury goods.

It is also a problem worthy of noting that the rate of increase in prices for luxury goods in Korea is particularly high. After the fall of the Euro, the prices of luxury items in Japan and China fell while prices for similar items in Korea remained the same or even increased. In addition, when the dollar was running high in 2008 after the financial crisis, the price of luxury item rose 20 to 30 times but purchasing remained the same. After the crisis subsided, the prices didn’t change. This leads us to believe, that as compared to other countries, Koreans are greatly affected by the ‘Veblen effect’. This expression means that demand increases as prices rise, because the purchase of higher priced goods either excites a person’s vanity, or is somehow connected to their status in society, the consumer believes. That is to say that many people today spend money to show off the exclusivity of their goods as a status symbol rather than to satisfy their basic needs.

The reason for this social trend is because we judge a person by the property they own. As a result of capitalism, the rich have found their position in society by humiliating the poor. People today buy luxury products to provide others with the illusion that they belong to a higher class of society, as class has been ambiguous. People make judgements regarding others based on the luxury items that they own. However, in advanced countries, people don’t make the same judgements or look down upon the poor. Rather, they try to help the poor respecting for them, not disregard.

Increasing concern for the mass accumulation of luxury goods is growing into a serious problem. For example, there are many people who drive luxury foreign vehicles but don’t have a suitable abode or even comfortable resting place. It is ironic that many people want to look rich even if they don’t have a proper dwelling to go home to. Even though this situation is obvious, non-sensical people still make these same ludicrous choices, and it is a problem.

The government should help people realize the importance of internal value over that of luxury products. For this to happen, they can launch a public service campaign with the theme of the ‘value of internal worth.’ If more people took the time to recognize this as a social problem, a society where people judge one another by their personality instead of their assets, will result.

However, a public service campaign alone will not be enough to reverse the trend because it is already so prevalent in our society. Perhaps a TV program dedicated to the issue would be a great solution. It is important for us to understand that the society that estimates the value of a person based on the property they own is not one with any worthy moral values. Most of all, people need to recognize that luxury products do not represent an individual’s personality and level of dignity. Luxury goods can’t reflect a person’s worth because our value comes from our thoughts and beliefs instead of our belongings. Once people grasp this concept, we will be off to a great start for a better society.