A comparative survey of elementary and secondary students in the two countries is particularly alarming. Some 20.6 percent of Chinese respondents said it is better if everyone lives equally even if they are poor than if there is a large income gap in a wealthy society. In Korea, twice as many or 40.7 percent of pupils agreed with the sentiment. The view that it is better for everyone to be poor flies in the face of the market economic principles, and the assertion that inequality "is more difficult to endure than hunger” found in articles on the income gap on the Cheong Wa Dae website is not a million miles from that.

Asked about the most important engine of economic development, 46 percent of Chinese students named businesses. Their Korean counterparts cited the government (32.7 percent). Our children have a completely topsy-turvy understanding of the role of the government and business in a market economy.

In October, the Finance Ministry found 446 errors in the explanation of concepts or instances of anti-market sentiment in 114 elementary and secondary school economy textbooks. The textbooks contained such preposterous statements as, "It is selfish for families to eat out," "The market is inhumane because money calls the shots" and, "However hard you may try, you cannot end poverty in a capitalist system."

The mind boggles to think how children brought up on such fare will adapt to the market economy when they grow up. Here is an idea: use at least 1 percent of the as yet orphaned W800 billion (US$800 million) the Samsung Group has donated to society for proper economics education.