Agreed, historically anyway. Older Koreans (judging by my in-laws) hear "computer science" or "programming" and think of computer repairmen.
Oddly enough, Korea and Japan have even higher percentage of SMBs than in the US (can't remember the link but the OECD published such stats). However historically they served only as subcontractors to the chaebols and keiretsu groups.
I think that's changing in Korea and Japan as of recently. In the last 20 years, there has been a rise in startups serving massive audiences in online gaming, social media, and e-commerce. Think Nexon, Daum, Naver/LINE, Rakuten, SoftBank, etc.
IIRC, one big type of sector that they received flak for when they moved into it was bakeries. Food is one sector in Korea with a lot of SMBs, and at the time it looked like they were trying to steal even more of the economy for themselves.
Oddly enough, Korea and Japan have even higher percentage of SMBs than in the US (can't remember the link but the OECD published such stats). However historically they served only as subcontractors to the chaebols and keiretsu groups.
I think that's changing in Korea and Japan as of recently. In the last 20 years, there has been a rise in startups serving massive audiences in online gaming, social media, and e-commerce. Think Nexon, Daum, Naver/LINE, Rakuten, SoftBank, etc.