[Kim Seong-kon] Convenient, but not yet graceful

Recently, a middle-aged Korean-American man wrote about his impressions of Korea on Facebook after a sojourn in Seoul. First of all, he was quite impressed by the convenient electronic devices pervasive in Korean society. “Thanks to the automatic identification system installed at the entrance,” he wrote, “Korean drivers can smoothly drive though the parking lot without stopping to pull out a parking slip.” He was also impressed when he saw Koreans efficiently transfer between the subway and bus with a single travel card. He also exclaimed, “Koreans can access their home, office and car with finger-touch electronic keypads!”

The Korean-American also wrote that he was awed at finding bidets installed not only at every home but also in public restrooms in Korea. He said, “In America, only rich people’s mansions are equipped with bidets.”

An American publisher, who came to Korea recently, wrote the following in his blog: “It was an unbelievable experience, not only was the hotel among the nicest I’ve ever stayed in, but the toilet in that hotel room was straight out of the 22nd century, and man, it makes you feel like you’re traveling back to medieval times when you come back to the U.S. and you don’t have toilets everywhere that wash and dry your posterior with heated seats!”

Foreigners also find many other things in Korea remarkable. For example, they are fascinated by the super-fast Internet and ubiquitous Wi-Fi. In Korea you can use your smartphone everywhere including the subway, the basement and the mountains.

These days, Koreans can turn their lamps, rice-cookers and air-conditioners on and off from a smartphone while still at work. The Korean-American was also surprised to find that every Korean home he had visited had a luxurious recliner, LED lights, and smooth sliding doors and windows. In addition, he was amazed to see black boxes installed in all the cars in Korea.

As the Korean-American pointed out, in Korea you can conveniently check the arrival time of the next bus on a screen. At home, you can enjoy approximately 400 channels from satellite TV. In addition, Korea has an excellent health insurance system run by the government, which, according to the Korean-American, is about 10 times less expensive than insurance policies in the States. Mortgages, too, are not too much a burden in Korea with only about 2 percent interest. Furthermore, unlike Americans who throw away $2,000-$3,000 per month for rent money, Koreans still enjoy the benefit of the “jeonse” or “semi-jeonse” system, under which you deposit a big lump of money with the landlord and are exempted from monthly rent or pay only a small amount of rent.                  

There are other conveniences you can find in Korea. In Seoul, all the taxis accept credit cards, so you do not need to carry cash. Korea has excellent delivery systems so you can have groceries, laundry and even McDonalds delivered to your doorstep without worrying about the delivery charge. No tipping is necessary at restaurants in Korea either, whereas you have to pay around 20 percent tip at American restaurants. The Korean-American felt sorry that he would lose this convenient life when he returned to the States. Of course, we need to take such comments with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, there is some truth in their words.

The above-mentioned Korean-American could not understand why, then, the Korean people should feel miserable and call their country Hell Joseon. There are several seemingly compelling reasons. First, Koreans complain that they are forced to resign from their jobs in their 50s, if they are employed at corporations. Unlike in the States, however, your employer cannot fire you in Korea because all regular workers’ retirement ages are legally guaranteed. 

On the contrary, America is a highly competitive society and thus you cannot survive unless you are outstanding and competent. Since America is a capitalist society, an employer can lay off his employees if the company suffers financial problems. The Korean-American pointed out that last year more than 8,000 American computer engineers were laid off. He implies that America is not a workers’ paradise, but Korea is. Second, young Koreans complain that they cannot find a decent job. But it is a worldwide phenomenon. The same thing is happening even to American college graduates nowadays. 

Korea is an affluent society, compared with other Asian countries. Thus foreigners find it inscrutable that Koreans feel unhappy and are full of discontent. The Korean-American wrote on Facebook, “Do not compare yourself to those who are far better off than you and become jealous. Compare yourself, if you must, to the people in the North. Then you will be happy.”

The Korean-American concluded, “Living in Korea is so convenient and graceful.” Surely, it is convenient to live in Korea. Unfortunately, however, our lives are not graceful yet. If we stop comparing ourselves to others far ahead of us and learn to be grateful for what we have, we will realize how lucky we are, and our lives will become graceful.

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.