Abstract
The eight countries of East Asia are among the most socially, politically, economically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse in the world. With a region-wide population of more than 1600 million people, or about 22 % of the world’s total, East Asia includes two communist countries (the People’s Republic of China and North Korea) and four countries with parliamentary, multiparty, democratic political systems (Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, and Taiwan). East Asia also is home to five of the world’s most ancient religions and philosophical systems, i.e., Buddhism, Confucianism, Shamanism, Shintoism, and Daoism and, in recent years, Christianity in South Korea. Folk religions are pervasive throughout the region as well.
Well-being in East Asia is among the highest worldwide. The region’s countries experience the world’s highest average years of life expectancy, the lowest rates of infant and child deaths, high levels of primary and secondary school enrollment, and high levels of access to university or technical school education. Two of the world’s three largest economies (Japan and China) also are located in the region. As a result, the region’s countries enjoy high levels of per capita gross domestic product and per capita gross national income. The gap between the region’s lowest and highest income earners is widening, however. Of special interest, too, is the fact that the region’s diverse populations assess their quality of life at levels well above world averages. Several of the region’s nations struggle with high rates of suicide—especially among women, middle-aged persons, and older adults. Natural and man-made disasters also are common in the region’s seismically active countries, and tens of thousands of lives are lost to these disasters each year. Even so, the region’s well-being has steadily improved each year since at least 1980.
There is no way to happiness
Happiness is the way. (Hanh n.d.)
The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.(Buddha n.d.)
Vulnerability is the only authentic state.
Being vulnerable means being open,
for wounding, but also for pleasure.
Being open to the wounds of life means
also being open to the bounty and beauty.
Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability:
it is your greatest asset.
Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it.
the new goodness that is coming to you,
in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you
when you are vulnerable, i.e. open.(Russell 1999)
Regional map of Asia (CIA 2015a; public domain)
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Notes
- 1.
Hong Kong and Macau are not, of course, independent nation-states. Rather they are Special Administrative Regions (SARs) within the People’s Republic of China and, as such, experience considerable freedom of choice in all sectors except the selection of their chief executive and the ability to conduct international affairs. Both SARs, however, differ appreciably from other provinces of China and are therefore sometimes included in the chapter’s more detailed analyses (Estes et al. 2002).
- 2.
These recently reacquired territories of the PRC enjoy considerable autonomy in managing their social, economic, and internal affairs. All matters relating to internal security, defense, international agreements and treaties, and the like are under the direct control of the central government of the PRC in Beijing. In time, all internal and external matters relating to the functioning of these territories will be transferred to China’s central government.
- 3.
America’s major contributions to the region have taken a variety of forms: (1) military occupation of Japan following the end of World War II; (2) military alliance with South Korea, where it fought to help bring to an end a protracted war (1950–1953) between the communist North and democratic South and where it continues to provide a significant military presence; and (3) defense treaty with Taiwan, for whom the United States continues to extend its defense umbrella to prevent invasion of this small, but densely populated, island nation by the PRC (Hickey 2005; Winkler 2012).
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Inoguchi, T., Estes, R.J. (2017). The History of Well-Being in East Asia: From Global Conflict to Global Leadership. In: Estes, R., Sirgy, M. (eds) The Pursuit of Human Well-Being. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39101-4_10
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