financialwar Wrote:as of today,
China 17 Gold,
S. Korea 6 Gold
N. Korea 4 Gold
Japan 2 Gold
GDP Per capita, Japan is highest in Asia, why does Japan suck at sport so much?
One flaw of this "analysis": you are comparing an absolute measure (total gold medals) with a relative measure (GDP per capita). If we're going to have a good analysis, we'll need to do a per capita measure of medals as well.
http://www.medalspercapita.com/
First we will compare two variables: the population of a country and the total amount of medals (gold, silver and bronze).
http://www.medalspercapita.com/#medals-per-capita:2012
Rank Country Medals Population Population per Medal
13 South Korea 12 48,580,000 4,048,333
15 North Korea 5 24,052,231 4,810,446
26 Japan 17 127,650,000 7,508,823
42 China 30 1,347,350,000 44,911,666
Here, Japan isn't doing so bad. China however, does suck. Under this measure, China needs about 180 medals to match Japan's performance (Japan is 6 times better than China). The gap between the Koreas and Japan is less, they are about twice as good as Japan (Japan needs about 26 medals to match the Koreas).
Second: The population and gold medals.
http://www.medalspercapita.com/#golds-per-capita:2012
Rank Country Gold Medals Population Population per Gold Medal
6 North Korea 4 24,052,231 6,013,057
7 South Korea 6 48,580,000 8,096,666
19 Japan 2 127,650,000 63,825,000
21 China 17 1,347,350,000 79,255,882
Again, the Koreas lead the Asian countries. The distance between the Koreas and Japan is also similar. However, under the gold medal measure, China almost catches up to Japan. This measure and the above may indicates that there is more Olympic medal equality in Japan than China. Similarly, this is reflected in Japanese and Chinese society: income inequality is less in Japan (which is a good thing) compared to China, where there is more income inequality. This means that China shows more extremes of the wealth gap, with dirt-poor subsistence farmers (or Gold Medal winners) on one side and corrupt government bureaucrats (or those lacking medals) on the other. Basically, think of the bell curve.
Third: The GDP of a country and total medals
http://www.medalspercapita.com/#medals-by-gdp:2012
Rank Country Medals GDP1 GDP per Medal
1 North Korea 5 22.00 4.40
16 South Korea 12 1116.25 93.02
27 China 30 7298.10 243.27
36 Japan 17 5867.15 345.13
Here's an interesting measure. Usually, we would assume that rich high GDP countries would spend money on sporting facilities and the training of athletes. So why is Japan placed so low? That's because that is a poor assumption. Sure, we can argue that there is a positive correlation between the GDP of a country and the amount of medals that country wins. However, we don't actually know where the money is being spent and how much. Maybe a rich country simply doesn't care about sports or doesn't have the sports culture that other countries have? Unlike the above measures, this one is of dubious value.
Now I'll comment on each country:
Japan: In terms of total medals per capita, they're doing the best out of the 100 million+ population countries like USA and China. This just goes to show the Japanese brand of equality: instead of letting a few win Gold, they prefer more to win Silver and Bronze. No one leaves empty-handed is their motto. Furthermore, unlike USA, Japan lacks their enthusiasm/craziness for sport. And unlike China, Japan lacks their ultra-nationalism. All these things considered, we can conclude that contrary to the OP's belief, Japan's Olympic performance isn't so bad. In fact, it's quite good indeed.
Rating: B+
China: A pretty lackluster performance. With their inferiority complex and their desire to impress the international community along with their ultra-nationalism that rivals the likes of even the most patriot Americans, I expected a better performance. Even the docile "I don't care about sports like the Americans and Chinese" Japanese managed to beat China Gold Medal per Capita. The difference is even more stark on the Total Medal per Capita measure. If China doesn't want to look like a fool, they need more Gold Medals, and not just gold, but silver and bronze as well. The divide between the Haves and Have-Nots in Chinese society is huge. Similarly, the divide between the Have-Medals and Have-No-Medals is just as huge.
Rating: C
South Korea: A surprise showing indeed. Japan and South Korea are similar in many ways but in the Olympics, South Korea proves that they have more than just crappily manufactured K-Pop to give to the world. South Korea convincingly beats both Japan and China in terms of Total Medals per Capita and Gold Medals per Capita. It's hard to find any fault in their performance... except for one thing. They have been overshadowed by North Korea.
Rating: A
North Korea: If South Korea was a surprise showing, then North Korea was a surprise nuclear explosion. It would appear that they were more successful than USA and China in converting their ultra-nationalism and their love for the Dear Leader into Gold Medals. What we ignorant Westerners thought was a poor destitute country was in fact a training ground for today's (and tomorrow's) Olympians. North Korea has proven that at the 2012 Olympics, they are in fact, the superior Korea.
Olympic Performance Rating: A+
Human Rights Performance Rating: F. I'm sorry but while North Korea's Gold Medal accumulation was certainly impressive, their country still sucks and I think it's a fact that shouldn't simply be forgotten or ignored. If only they put in as much effort into alleviating poverty...
