By Kim Ji-soo
As warm weather takes hold, people are catching up on meetings that had been put on hold with friends, colleagues or acquaintances. It may even be reunions with former teachers. Former teachers? Yes. A good relationship with former teachers, whom are regarded as beneficiary figure, has long been gone from Korean society, but few people still value and engage in it.
This writer reunited recently with a college professor and former classmates. Having first met the professor in my 20s, it was a rare opportunity to see how the procession of time and life transforms us. Despite the passage of several decades, the social role of the teacher as a vessel of life wisdom and guidance and the student as an enthusiastic learner still remained. It was assuring to be able to connect with an "elder" to talk about our past, present and future and make sense of it; this ultimately is what everyone seeks to do, no?
Formers classmates who were there all said the meeting prompted them to think about life in one way or another.
One may argue in the times where most Koreans are bogged down in the quest for a stable job, a stable family life, a stable mind, a stable retirement and even a stable death ― meaning at home rather than at a facility or alone ― such reminiscence over former teachers may come across as idle.
Why not make use of innumerable amounts of knowledge on the web or on apps, people may say, virtually just a click away? But different groups or individuals have different levels of access to such knowledge, and the fast pace of change that has descended on Korea calls for an elder or a guide or an interpreter, whether they be young or old, versed in the ways of the human heart and sensibilities and in how they interpret life in the fast-changing Fourth Industrial Revolution era.
The existence of such needs is partly being met ― along with traditional religious centers ― with the emergence of "life" schools. They include the School of Life in Seoul, a life school founded by Alain de Botton in London and run in Seoul by co-chairwoman Sohn Mina; the "Mind Healing School" run by Ven. Hyemin, and other ones operated by local governments to aid people redesign their lives.
Apps and programs aside, one subtle undercurrent that may be preventing people's search for elders' wisdom or teachers may well be the current zeitgeist in Korea to regard anyone in a position of authority as "kkondae," an older person with an aggressive attitude who tends to talk down to younger people, and the current political trend where previous governments are "jeokpye" or accumulated corruption.
These sentiments no doubt were incurred as a result of poor actions and steps taken by the former administrations, in particular by Park Geun-hye. The former President Park has been sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won ($16.8 million) on corruption and other charges. Essentially, the court found Park -- as prosecutors demanded and the electorate demanded through the candlelit protests that led to her impeachment -- guilty of abusing the people's mandate by enabling her confidant Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs. Another former President Lee Myung-bak is awaiting trial on multiple corruption charges. Also, regarding the older generation as "kkondae" may be a natural process in any society. Yet the bleak economic prospects as evidenced by the high unemployment rate for young people may well promote the ill-feeling toward any "elder" groups.
In sum, reaching out and looking for the wisdom of "elders" beyond generations and political spheres is what we need to work on, to find our path in the chaos of change.
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This writer reunited recently with a college professor and former classmates. Having first met the professor in my 20s, it was a rare opportunity to see how the procession of time and life transforms us. Despite the passage of several decades, the social role of the teacher as a vessel of life wisdom and guidance and the student as an enthusiastic learner still remained. It was assuring to be able to connect with an "elder" to talk about our past, present and future and make sense of it; this ultimately is what everyone seeks to do, no?
Formers classmates who were there all said the meeting prompted them to think about life in one way or another.
One may argue in the times where most Koreans are bogged down in the quest for a stable job, a stable family life, a stable mind, a stable retirement and even a stable death ― meaning at home rather than at a facility or alone ― such reminiscence over former teachers may come across as idle.
Why not make use of innumerable amounts of knowledge on the web or on apps, people may say, virtually just a click away? But different groups or individuals have different levels of access to such knowledge, and the fast pace of change that has descended on Korea calls for an elder or a guide or an interpreter, whether they be young or old, versed in the ways of the human heart and sensibilities and in how they interpret life in the fast-changing Fourth Industrial Revolution era.
The existence of such needs is partly being met ― along with traditional religious centers ― with the emergence of "life" schools. They include the School of Life in Seoul, a life school founded by Alain de Botton in London and run in Seoul by co-chairwoman Sohn Mina; the "Mind Healing School" run by Ven. Hyemin, and other ones operated by local governments to aid people redesign their lives.
Apps and programs aside, one subtle undercurrent that may be preventing people's search for elders' wisdom or teachers may well be the current zeitgeist in Korea to regard anyone in a position of authority as "kkondae," an older person with an aggressive attitude who tends to talk down to younger people, and the current political trend where previous governments are "jeokpye" or accumulated corruption.
These sentiments no doubt were incurred as a result of poor actions and steps taken by the former administrations, in particular by Park Geun-hye. The former President Park has been sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won ($16.8 million) on corruption and other charges. Essentially, the court found Park -- as prosecutors demanded and the electorate demanded through the candlelit protests that led to her impeachment -- guilty of abusing the people's mandate by enabling her confidant Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs. Another former President Lee Myung-bak is awaiting trial on multiple corruption charges. Also, regarding the older generation as "kkondae" may be a natural process in any society. Yet the bleak economic prospects as evidenced by the high unemployment rate for young people may well promote the ill-feeling toward any "elder" groups.
In sum, reaching out and looking for the wisdom of "elders" beyond generations and political spheres is what we need to work on, to find our path in the chaos of change.
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