“Love and Humanity Are the Most Important Factors for Our Life”
2012-05-18 장보람 객원기자
Why is that nowadays young generations choose to abandon romantic relations, marriage and babies in Korean society? Could we do something to change their situation and make our society a better place to live? The Chonnam Tribune interviewed Yang Gi-yung (Associate Professor, Department of Art) about this problem. - Ed.
In the Joseon Dynasty, there were three words put under taboo among the noblemen. These were desire for power, material gain and intemperance. They avoided these factors and made an effort to improve their minds. Likewise, about twenty years ago, young people still knew how important avoiding these factors was. We were talking about dreams and hopes which are usually derived from sincerity. At that time, people did their best even though they took on trivial responsibilities. But, when we look at young people now, they only consider specious jobs, good looks and superb materials. When it comes to trivial work, people do not even look at this matter because one must be regarded as a successful person.
This trend is what we call ’Sampo Generation’(People abandoning the three human rights which are love, marriage and birth.) How miserable it is! It is one of the clear instances where young Koreans have suffered from heavy pressures. Especially for university students, their expenses and lack of time may feel like a burden or an obstacle to be successful. Afterwards they may not be able to afford to pay for a wedding ceremony or to bring up their children. Likewise, the concept of ’Sampo Generation’has already settled down in Korean society.
Let us then reflect on Korean society. In a capitalist society, material is one of the most considerable factors while others are treated only as secondary ones. For example, art and knowledge of humanities are no longer important matters for us. That is the reason why people have been desolated by these circumstances. Koreans seem to not measure success as sensibility, love and achievement but merely an annual salary. According to the Korean standard of happiness, people must be able to afford a nice car and magnificent mansion. Nowadays, we also follow this standard unconsciously and may impose it on young people.
As a matter of fact, ‘Sampo Generation’represents a victim of materialism. People are anxious to buy materials and if they could not afford to buy them, they suffer from a sense of inferiority. Capitalist society provokes those feelings continuously and seems to be more generous to the rich than poor, but we should reconsider the precious standard of life. Korea is in this particular kind of situation now. In comparison, people elsewhere in the world still regard love and humanity as the most important matter of life and this is a general concept. Students of CNU, train yourselves on the background of life. Then, you can enjoy your life more deeply. Life depends on your own way of thinking.
By Jang Bo-ram, Guest Reporter
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