Thanks for the explanation! It seems like Korea is not at all the badminton fanatic country I expected. People know who Kim Dong Moon is though right? I met a Korean exchange student in university playing soccer and out of the blue asked him and he knew who he was. Bottom line it seems that even a country with good players doesn't automatically make the sport popular.
thanks for the information event. Regarding your last paragraph, about how only a few went into the elite system can end up being so good. The answer was kinda answer by the recent scientific american journal which study showed that experts are nurtured and trained, not born. Personally i think genetic helps a bit, thats why china system has so many good players. They pick the best juniors + training. Training plays a biggest role. Over here, the best players (recreational and professional) are from private (rich) clubs.