Despite a number of admirable traits, Korea will have to change a few things in its society if it is to emerge as a truly globalized country.
First, we need to be more organized and prepared. When Japan was hit by a tsunami a few years ago, some Korean newspaper columnists pointed out rather condescendingly that the Japanese people, accustomed to faithfully following emergency manuals, were at a loss because their manual did not have any instructions about tsunamis or a nuclear plant collapse. However, while watching the way we dealt with the Sewol ferry disaster and the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, I realized that we Koreans did not even have any manuals ready. Following the unprecedented outbreak, therefore, we once again moved around in circles in panic, hopelessly disorganized and unprepared. Instead of laughing at other well-organized countries, we urgently need to prepare a manual for emergencies.
Our society also needs to be more transparent. According to newspaper reports, the health officials were initially reluctant to reveal everything about the spread of MERS-CoV because they thought that the disclosure might result in unnecessary nationwide panic and unrest. If that is true, they did not learn anything from the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592.
Just before the war, King Seonjo dispatched two Korean envoys to Japan to see if the country was really preparing for war. Upon returning, one envoy warned that war was imminent. The other, however, denied the possibility of war, even though he, too, knew it was only a matter of time. His excuse was, “I don’t want to stir people up or make them uneasy and create panic.” Choosing to believe the latter’s report, King Seonjo did not prepare for war and the outcome was disastrous; seven long years of war laid waste to the Korean Peninsula.
We also need to overcome our prejudices. I was appalled at hearing that the children of doctors, nurses and the 119 emergency crews were being discriminated against at school because teachers and students feared they might carry the MERS-CoV due to their contact with their parents. This is outrageous. They should have been treated as the children of heroes who are bravely fighting the deadly virus while risking their lives.
Living in a small, insulated country for a long time, we have developed strong prejudices against others who are different from us. We should teach children at school that bias against other races and other cultures is entirely wrong. It is cowardly if we pick on those whose skin color is darker than ours, while being nice and friendly to those whose skin color is lighter. We should teach this at kindergarten and elementary school so our children can get rid of such racial prejudice.
We need to minimize contradictions in our mindset as well. Strangely, living with contradictions does not seem to bother us at all. For example, we often criticize Samsung harshly as if it were an emblem of corrupt capitalism, and yet it is the workplace of our dreams and we feel very proud when we get that dream job.
Likewise, we detest and condemn the rich but, at the same time, we are eager to become rich and famous ourselves. We chant slogans about social equality and disapprove the privileges of the upper class, and yet secretly want to become part of that powerful, privileged class.
We should also be generous enough to forgive others. Recently in the United States, a white man opened fire at African-Americans at a church and killed them in cold blood. Surprisingly, a bereaved family member told the abominable murderer, “I forgive you.” Now that is the spirit of Christianity and a truly advanced country.
Korea is a land where Christian churches flourish. Jesus taught us, “Love thy enemies.” Yet we are far from being generous enough to forgive our enemies. We do not have to forget the past, but we need to forgive what others did to us a long time ago.
Take the relationship between Korea and Japan, for example. It can only worsen if we cannot overcome our grudges and resentment. While remembering the regrettable past, we Koreans should have the capacity to forgive what Japan did to us in the early 20th century. It would be much better if the two nations stop faultfinding, seek reconciliation and work together to make a better world.
Of course, politicians are primarily responsible for the deteriorating relationship between Korea and Japan. However, we civilians can be different from politicians whose main concern is to win elections. Indeed, what good will come of two neighboring nations that keep antagonizing each other forever? In that sense, the recent reconciliatory mood between the two nations is quite encouraging.
There are a host of other things that need to change in Korean society, but the above-stated five issues are the most outstanding and compelling. In order to keep up with the rapidly globalizing world, Korea should radically change as well.
By Kim Seong-kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.
