Why did East Asia Develop while South-East Asia Still Struggles?
Why did East Asia Develop while South-East Asia Still Struggles?
source
March 17, 2026
Headlines
"Harmony in Every Heartbeat
Why did East Asia Develop while South-East Asia Still Struggles?
source
As a Chinese born after 2000, I really hate the impact of the Cold War on East Asia, and the pain and hatred it created is still there today, you know what I'm talking about
Global south is poor not just south east asia😂
Northern Vietnam (including Hanoi) is subtropical, not tropical.
🪭🏮🎎🧧🎏東亞>>> 東南亞🦧
East Asia has better economy and infrastructure
But South East Asia has basic morality
One word
Singapore
어디든 다 힘들지 뭐
이딴 동영상에서 한국은 빼줘
중국인하고 같이 엮여있는 사실이 한국인을 모독하는거다.
차라리 우리를 동남아시아로 편입시켜라
내가 나누는 아시아는 하나다
중국 그리고 반중국
중국을 지구상에 지워야 인종문화를 넘은 진정한 아시아 통합이 이뤄질꺼라본다. 중국인들은 지들도 거지면서 남들한테 인종차별하며 거지라 손가락질하는게 역겹다
중국이 유일하게 전세계로부터 인정받은것은 코로나 하나일뿐 나머진 다 짝퉁이다
Southeast Asia = Jungle Asians mentality 😂. No seriously: corruption, rentier statism, autocracy, inability to change policy including chasing economic opportunities just to name a few.
Ur pronunciation of Hyundai sounds weird. It's pronounced [hyun-dae] not [hyun-dai]
You all belong to Mongol Empire 💪🇲🇳
They have better temperature to work
It's very simple: the closer to the equator a population evolved, the lower their IQ and the less their personality traits that promote economic and social development, due to the lack of evolutionary pressure. There's, for example, a strong correlation between the closeness to the equator and brain volume.
iq
因为中国。。。中国文明是东亚文明的先行者和老师。中国文明是世界七大起源文明之一，是旧大陆人类世界四大起源文明之一，中国文明在4500年前就建立文明国家，然后辐射影响了东亚其他地区。彼时的东南亚还处于原始部落状态，文明程度慢于东亚
But Singapore is one of the richest nation on Earth.
In a lot of ways Singapore is not only as successful as an East Asia country (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) but it shares many attributes to them too.
Strong currency – Singapore has by far the strongest currency in South East Asia.
Education – one of the best education in the world.
Universities – the NTU is a top 30 university globally while the National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked 8th in the world, beating out even powerhouse Universities in East Asia such as Tsinghua and Tokyo University.
Airport – Singapore Changi Airport was in more than 10 occasions ranked first in the world and continues to be ranked in the top 2 or 3 globally today even though we faced stiff competitions from Incheon, Narita and Haneda.
Public Transportation – one of the top 2 or 3 in the world
Government Stability – we had the same government since 1959, been winning elections by a landslide margin till today and would most likely continue to be in power for the next 50 plus years at least.
Our first Prime Minister, The late Supreme Leader Mr Lee Kuan Yew was in power for a record 31 years. Still a record for a democratically elected PM who won by fair and square voting system. He later willingly stepped down in 1990 and eventually handing over power to his son in 2004.
Global Financial Hub – The 3rd most important global financial hub in the world (just behind New York and London) and 1st in Asia.
Port – 2nd busiest port in the world. (Behind only Shanghai port)
GDP Per Capita – Singapore GDP per capita is among the top 3 in the world. In fact our GDP Per Capita is so insane it is higher than ALL the rest of the other countries in South East Asia combined (Malaysia + Thailand + Brunei + Laos + Cambodia + Myanmar + Indonesia + Timor Leste + Vietnam + Phillipines)
GPD – 2nd highest GDP in south east asia, only losing out to Indonesia which has a population of about 50 times more than us and being one of the biggest Nation on Earth, even though Singapore is by far the smallest nation in not just SEA but in the world as well.
IQ – Highest in the world.
Football – oh ok, admittedly our football team is one big joke … but ok other than that we did reasonably well in most other fields.
Politics….SE Asia have now adjusted…are now ready bring on the 2nd wave of Economic boom to the planet.
Im sure it's the weather. Hot countires generally lack behind colder climate countires. Sounth is pooer than North. Also this is not limited onlt in asia, this is a globle fact. If you look at human history, you will find 9 out of 10 times that a northern country defeated their southern counterpart. Since Roman times. Most modern empires or powerful countries are united by from north to south, not the other way. US civil war(North Union vs South Confed), German unification war (Prussia North vs Austria South), etc. this is wild.
South East Asia = Balkan of the East
Confucian culture.
I guess diversity plays an important role
East Asia countries are very homogeneous
Ex:
Myanmar(many tribes)
Indonesia
Yemen(somali,african,+Saudi intervention)
India(ancient india was a superpower maintained diversity by having many kingdoms bind together as a unit though the kingdoms were independent)
Afghans(tajik,pashtun,many tribes+intervention by us USSR)
Same in pak,iraq,syria
Others by corruption like Sri Lanka or Thailand
West also falling by increase in
diversity
Definitely not by hot climate
(Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley)
Damn Kimmy's Korea is an exception of east asia
If southeast is poor then what is south asia
south east asia need to reinforce their food production as they bleed money to sustain their population well being,then improve the industrial industry and high tech manifactures…supporting local product are prefered
You can’t just compare an apple 🍎 with an orange 🍊, even though both are fruits. That’s the simplest way to answer your question in this video😊
It's time to subdivide asian regions into each new continental terms. Because asia is too big and diverse to categorize as a whole. Also, east asians are quite successful, smart, futuristic, diligent, and great(which is an insult in same asia category). If you regard both EAs and SEAs as one, you bring shame to east asia
This video never get the critical point. It is believed that this video must be made by simple western foreigner. What is the difference between East Asia & SE Asia? Please go through the history of 5000 years first.
As a East Asian, i have much simpler answer. It’s too hot there to do anything!!!!!!!!! TOO HOT
因为东亚的祖先都是中国人，中国有最悠久的历史和文化，所以更聪明
Why didn’t you asked on why is SOUTH ASIA is way much poorer and dirtier than the rest of Asia?
lol…they left out North Korea and Mongolia which are basically economic deserts. Also, Mainland China is not even on par with Thailand or Malaysia when it comes to gdp per capita. So really East Asia only has South Korea and Japan which are economically advanced, but these countries are hardly considered sovereign nations with thousands of American troops on their soil dictating foreign policies. Taiwan is not even counted as a country by most of the world. This video will age like cheese for sure. Southeast Asia has some of the fastest growing economies and the future may look entirely different than the status quo.
1, wars and conflicts
2, get imposed sanctions by Westerners
3, devision and not united
4, corruption and not much good political ideas.
If you look at North Korea, you will see.
corrupt leaders!
Constant war in the region, braindrain afterward, having to play balls with all the big guys around.
Oriental people (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) are simply smarter.
Singapore is the only exception in south-east asia.
South East Asia is New Business center.
Democracy has its place, but without some fundamentals, it will grind down to a halt.
Democracy is not great at rapidly catching up to other economies.
This topic easily provokes racism.
Actually Taiwan is not comes in east asia..they are astronasian like more like south east asian.they have dark skin accept chinese community
It is correct to say that North Korea is not failing to develop, but that it is rejecting development itself.
If the North Korean regime collapses and its borders are opened, with the support of its brother South Korea, it is possible to overtake all of Southeast Asian countries except Singapore within at least 20 years.
Its because East Asians were attacking South East Asians for thousands of years and didnt let them grow. Thats the real reason lol
Most countries who were once colonized by the Spanish doesn't do well in modern times idk why
Yeah… we chill up alot 😅. We may not as rich and advance as other country but most of us live peacufully.
Because we are living in fuxxing cold land. We have to work hard and save diligently to survive while SEA ppl chil out in warm wheather . – S.korean
I see two huge factors that are limiting my country’s development, its corruption and lack of educated people making decisions thus slower technological and economic advancement. Upon observation, our opportunity for education has gotten better and I see it taking effect with having better choices with the government and people in the next decade or two.
These euro-/americocentric content creators often conveniently overlook colonialism when they begin their analysis post-World War II, neglecting a significant historical factor. Prior to the end of the 19th century, China, Korea, and Japan were already prosperous. However, their trajectories were altered drastically by Japanese exploitation, the Korean War, and Chinese civil war. Merely examining their economic history post-World War II or the Korean War fails to provide a comprehensive understanding.
The legacy of colonialism is evident in Southeast Asia's dependence on plantation economies. Hindered by European colonization, these nations were denied the opportunity to undergo their own industrial revolutions. Instead, colonial powers imposed plantation agriculture, while East Asia progressed industrially during the 19th century, manufacturing steel, ships, locomotives, cars, generators, and medicines even before World War II.
Following the wars, Japan and South Korea were able to resume their developmental momentum, aided by substantial financial support from the United States to counter the spread of communism during the Cold War. In contrast, Southeast Asian nations faced the daunting task of nurturing intellectual capital, reforming economies, fostering technological development, constructing infrastructure, and cultivating market capital—all the more challenging under the control of religious fundamentalists, anti-intellectual genocidal regimes, or due to geographical obstacles.
Also I would never say chinese products are 'superior in quality' lmao
it's the people. their societal and cultural values. that is the primary reason. is this video made by a westerner? i guess they are being too politically correct to say so. If you have gone through their respective education systems and work place culture, you would know what i'm talking about. sure, the governments of each respective country can some up with policies programs plans blah blah blah but if the people don't have the willingness, drive or ability to follow through it's useless. look at the average IQ of each country. the countries with the highest IQ in the WORLD are all east asian countries together with singapore which has a predominant chinese population. also look at the chinese diaspora in south east asia. they live in the same country and face the same factors that you mention here in south east asia, but they are far ahead economically than their peers in the same country. why? because their societal values based on thousands of years of culture gives them the drive and ability to get ahead.
SEA nations like slow and steady progress. Its in our nature since ancient times.