In a recent New York Times essay, Helen Gao describes a troubling trend in China. As optimism about the economy weakens, frustration has turned toward successful individuals suspected of undeserved privilege and women blamed for men’s difficulties. The author describes online campaigns investigating successful individuals for evidence of possible favoritism or fraud that can discredit their achievements. Such scrutiny occasionally exposes wrongdoing, but can also show a difficulty believing that someone else’s success doesn’t threaten our own. When we feel uncertain about our own future, someone else’s success can become harder to regard generously. In Korea, these concerns are often expressed through the language of fairness. The 2026 OECD Economics Surveys: Korea explains that intense educational competition is closely linked to divisions in salary, future job security and social protection that one enjoys throughout their lifetime. University admission or a first job can shape future opportunities, making rules governing the competition personal to those involved. An unfair a