인성교육이란 무엇인가? - 한국어린이, 미국어린이

한국에서 예전에 교육을 받은 나로서는 요즈음 한국 젊은이들은 어떤 참신한 교육을 받았을까 호기심이 난다. 호기심이 나는 건 당연하다. 내가 자란 나라에 잘난아이들이 주렁주렁 자라면 나로서는 조국이 잘 뻗어 나가고 있다는 기쁨이니깐 내 주변의 친척이나, 우연히 만나는 사람, 심지어는 멕도널드에서 아르바이트하는 젊은이에게 까지 나는 때때로 요즈음 젊은이들이 받은 교육과 내가 받은 교육을 나 나름대로 호기심에 관찰 해 본다.  왜 호기심이 있을까? '될성 부른 나무는 떡잎 부터 알아 본다'하지 않나! 나라가 잘되려면 그만큼 떡잎이 좋은 아이들이 많아야 하지 않나?

세월이 많이 지났다. 세웰이 지났으니 교육도 더 좋은 방향으로 나아졌겠고, 좋은 떡잎들이 여기저기 눈에 많이 띄어야 함이 당연한게 아닌가? 나는 될성부른 나무들을이 되는지 젊은이에게 말을 건네 본다.

하지만 나의 생각은 비록 조그만 생활 반경에다 짧은경험에 의거 하지만, 그 첫번부터 신통치 않고 시큰둥하다.  왜 그리도 신통한 청년을 만나 볼 확률이 낮을 까! 즉, 여지껏 참신한 젊은이을 아직 만나보지 못한게 나의 고백이다.
미국에 사는 나는 신통한 백인, 인도계, 중국계 청년을 보게 된다, 하지만 한국에서 자란 청년들은 늘 싸하기만 하다. 미국서도 세대간의 차이는 있긴 하나 세데끼라 반목은 별로 없다. 생각이 보수적이냐 아니냐가 주된 차이정도이다. 하지만, 처음 보는 이가 말을 걸면, 그냥 수줍어 말 못하는 경우도 아니고,  싸가지가 없는 경우의  인상을 받는다.  왜 처음만난 사람에게 반목을 할까?  즉, 나로서는 좋은 떡잎은 커녕, 보통의 선선한  젊은이조차 보기 힘들다는 말이다.
나는 이 외에 어린 사람과 조금 시간을 같이 할 기회가 있었는데, 결국 미흡한 결론은 함국  젊은이가 화의적으로 느껴졌고,  이런 인간형을 만나보며 한국교육에 대한 의구심만 늘게됐다.

나는 나보다 나이든 선배가 몬스터일수 있다는 생각이 든다.  그러나 호기심은 안든다. 그네들이 받은교육과 나와의 것은 별 큰 차이가 없고, 권위주의적인 환경에서 자란 사람들이니 할수가 없다는  생각이 든다.

나보다 훨씬 더좋은 환경에서 자란 요즈음 젊은이가 더 좋은 인성을 같고 있어야 함이 당연 한게 아니 겠는가!  하지만 세월이 마냥 약이란 맞는 생각이 아닌가 보다. 요즈음 한국 젊은이는 무례하고 생각은 어리고 경쟁력도 없고 별로 환영 받지 못하는, 미국 젊은이나 중국사람 보다도 못하다는 깊은 의구심이 생긴다. 이것은 심한 인성교육의 부재에서 오는 것이라 생각한다.

어린 아이는 천진난만 해야 한다.
어린나이에 놀이는 중요한 공부다.

이나이에 놀이와 공부는 별개의 것이 아니다.
잘  놀줄 아는 아이들이 공부도 잘 하고, 장차 훌륭한 사람으로 성장할 수 있다.

이 놀이의 질적 역량이 계속이어져 인문에서, 학문에서 열정이 생긴다

한국교육과 미국교육의 차이을 한단어로 표현 한다면 "놀이"라고 말 할 수 있다.
한국 부모는 놀이와 공부을 별개의 것으로 생각한다; 학교나 사회가 보는 관점도
이와 흡사하다.  한국교육의 특징은 어린이 놀이에 교사거 빠져 있다는 것 이다 - 교사는 가르키는 사람이지, 놀이을 하는 사람이 아니라는 개념이다 . 미국교육을 잘 받았다고 할 수 있는 것은 놀이 공부 얼마나 잘 있혔느냐 이다.

친구들과 같이 놀고 유익한 시간을 보내는 것이 교육의 원동력이다.
놀이는  "선택"의 기술을 익히기 위한  좋은 방법이다. 어느 장난감 고르냐 부터, 친구 사귀기, 선택의 요지는 많다. 놀이도 공부인데, 한국에서는 언제 책상을 떠난 학습이 공부로 인정이 되었는지는 잘 모르겠다.

한국어린이와 미국어린이들의 놀이 문화을 비교해 보면 어떨까?.
먼저 "잘 노느냐?"을 어떻케 "정의"하고,  지켜보면 어떤 차이가  있는지...
가령 60여명의 한국어린이와 미국어린이을 각각 교실이나 빈공간에 있게하고, 인원이 놀기에부족한 장난감을 공급해 준 다음에 얼마나 같이 싸우지 않고 서로서로 재미있게 지내는지 보면 어떨까?  동네도 동네마다 다르겠지만, 보통 잘사는 미국 동네수준을 기준으로 본다면 아마도 한국어린이가 미국어린이 보다 잘 못 놀거라 생각 된다.

 아이들이 열심히 영어 공부해 타임즈까지도 읽을 수 도 있다는 뉴스을 얼마전에 보았다 - 부모가 못하던 걸 자식은 초장에 이루어 놨으니, 공부몰이을 안할 수 없으리라 생각 된다. 여전히 한국의 어린이는 "놀이 공부" 보다는 사회의 선택에 따라 "공부 공부"에 초점이 맞춰 있고 볼 수 있다.

결국 한국어린이는 초판 부터 미국어린이와는 전혀 다르게 키워진다고 볼 수 있다.
그이유는 한국의 어린이는 일찍부터 "공부", "입신", "출세" 등등 유교적인 면에 초점이 맞춰 있고 , 미국의 어린이는 먼저 초등교육이  "규율안 에서의 선택","자연에 대한 사랑", "표현"등등, 인간이 살아가기에 익혀야 할 휴머니즘에 접목이 되어 있고 볼수 있다.
유교와 휴머니즘은 서로 다르다. 휴머니즘은 인성에 가깝다면, 유교는 인성을 한번 걸러내 양념을 한 형태다. 영어을 직접 이해한 것이 아니고 번역본을 보는 형태이다. 유교가 왕정통치에 가깝다면, 휴머니즘은 민주주의을 쉽게 이룰 수 있는 쪽에 가깝다.

우리나라에는 중국에서 부터온 유교가 조선시대 부터 널리 사용되었다.
하지만 중국에서 조차 유교는 근대사에서 신랄하게 비판되어 왔다. 중국은 서양에게 문화적 정치적으로 뒤쳐진 이유을 유교에 탓하고 책을 태워 버리고 유학자을 처단 했다.
하지만, 한국에서 유교가 핍박을 받은 경우는 드물다.  한 중국인 친구는 나에게 "중국의 문화는 문화혁명 때 많이 말소되, 그의 흔적을 보려면 한국에 가 봐야 한다"고 말 했다. 유교의 흔적을 말한 거였다.  유교가 중국에서 탄압 받은것은 바로 부르조아지 기득권자을 위하기 때문에  공산주의자의 이론에 어굿난 다는 결론 때문에 그동안 간직했던 유교가 탄압을 받고 박살났다.   유교는 민주주의에도 어굿난다; 공평함과 정의, 합리함을 추구하지 못하는 관습을 유발 시킨다.  공자가 아무리 위대하더라도 실질적으로 개인에게 일반 대중에게 떨어지는 알멩이는 빈털터리가 되곤한다.  결국 중국이 서양에 뒤졌다고 빡쳐서 "soul searching"을 한 이유와 타당성은 한국에게도 고스란히 남겨져 와 있었다.

중국에는 문화혁명으로 인해 유교가 없어 졌지만, 중국의 문제는 유교가 없어진 빈공간을  인성을 발달시킬 다른 사상이 채우질  못하고 있다는 사실이다.
한국에는 떨어지지 않는 유교가 있다.
유교가 한국에 남아 있는건 자본주의의 기득권층의 이익과 맞아 떨어지기 때문이다.  유교가 요즈음 중국에서도 다시 고개을 든다 한다. 그이유는 중국이 자본주의을 추구하기 때문이다.

인성이야기을 하면서 왜 유교을 꺼내 말하냐면, 그동안 유교의 관습이 인성이 있어야 할 자리을 차지한 까닭이다.  서양에서 휴머니즘의 바람이 불때 우리는 유교을 붙잡았다.

한나라의 미래는 인성교육에 달려있다.
한마디로 얼마나 초등학교 아이들은 천진나만하고 배움의 싹이 잘 자라고 있는지, 중고등 학생은 그토양 위에 정직하고 남을 배려하고 사회의 일원으로 책임있는 행동을 실천 하고 배우는 교육이다. 인성교육이 잘되려면 주위사람의 자질이 좋아야 한다. 즉, 이는 교육자와 부모들의 자질에 관한 일이고, 사회의 분위기에 관한 일이다.  어른들의 인성을 제꼐놓코 아이들의 인성교육을 말할 수 없다; 어른들은ㅊ아이들 앞에서 우쭐거리거나 호박씨 까는 행동을 보이면 안된다 . 인성교육이 안되는 큰이유는 어른들의 자질이 부족하고 사회의 위선 때문일 것이다.

 이교육은 기존의 유교방식을 철폐하고 새로운 가치관아래 우리 모두가 가춰야 할  기본 자세이고 지표다. 한나라의 교육의 발전, 문화 그리고 국민의 애국심의 높고 낮음을 인성교육을 제껴놓코 다룰 수가 없다. 한마디로 이는, "너의 집안이 어떤 집안이냐?",  "너의 생각, 사고, 행동은 사회에 영향을 미치는데, 너는 어떤 사고와 행동을 할꺼냐?"라고  묻는 것과 도 같다.

나의 아들은  10년전 쯤에 한국을 방문 했을 때 산 모자을 잃어 버리고 왔다. 여행 중 깜빡 벤취두고 온 모자는 다시 가보니 없어졌다.  삐싼 물건이 아니여서 다행 이었지만,  한국에서는 아직도 무엇을 잃어버리면 되찻는 경우가 드물다.

인성교육의 목적은 다같이 사는 방법을 모색하고 그렇케 삶을 사는 행동 방식이다.
세대간의 대화가 끊겼나? 인성교육이 안된 까닭이다.
교수가 학생을 성희롱?  사회가 인성교육을  몰라라 한 무지한 까닭이다.
도로 한복판에서 티격태격? 인성교육이 없는 까닭이다.
자식이 부모을 살해?  유교가 무너고 인성교육이 뒷받쳐 주지 못한 까닭이다.
부잣집 동네에는 있는 놀이터가 가난한 동네에는 없는가?
인성교육의 개념이  없는 사회인 까닭이다.

유교의 관습에 젖은 한국사회에서 참다운 인성교육 키우기란 정말 힘든 일 인지도 모른다.
사회적으로는 한국 기독교가 유교적 관습을 타파하고 새로운 인성교육 함양에 힘을 기울여야 했는데 기회을 놓치고 제 구실을 못했다.

한마디로 안성교육은 민도을 나타낸다.
인성교육은 사회을 잘 굴러가게 하는 윤활류이고 밑거름이 된다.
길을 묻는 사람에게 적당한 친절을 베푸는 것 또한 안성교육이다.
인성교육은 매너로서 나타내지고, 매너는 곧 "나는 몬스터가 아니고 사람 입니다."라는 의미이다. 한국사회의 대부분 문제가 사람들이 인성교육이 부족함에서 부터 비롯 된다.


지금에는 어떤지 모르지만 예전에 한국의 인성교육이란 도덕책이나  읽게하고, 선생은 어른에게 인사나 잘하라고 다그치는 정도로 그쳤다. 아이들은 생각도 해보게 히지  않고 그저 하라는데로,  극히 유교주의 관점, 즉 어른 들의 이기심에 치우친, 단편적인 개념의 발상이다. 이렇케 자란사람들은, 어른은 어른데로, 아이들은 아이들데로, 서로의 교감없이 세데차이 탓이나 하며,  이렇케 자란아이들은 윗사람에게 아부나 배우고, 나중에 정치,교육,경제 분야을 담당하는 윗사람으로 되면 온갖 비리를 저지르게 되는  몬스터가 되는 것이다.

신문이나 방송에서만 보게되는 몬스터을 옆에서 같이 말하면서 느끼게 되는 경험해 보았는가? 유교문화는 권위주의을 키우고 기득권을 보호한다, 그래서 몬스터가 나오기 좋다. 사회에서 만들어진 몬스터가 다시 인간이 될 수 가 있겄는가! 어려운 일 이다.

인성교육은 성교육과 비숫하다. 성교육을 사회가 잘 시키지도 않으면서 성폭력을 없애려고 하는 것과 같다. 내가 성을 갖고 있으면 남도 갖고 있는 것 이다.  그저 억누르거나 없는 것 처럼 행동하고 숨기면서 사는 전근대적인 유교적 방식이 아니다.

인성교육은 나이가 많고 적고을 떠나 서로가 인간임을 인식하고,  돈이 명예 그리고 권력이 전부가 될 수 없으며, 누구나 욕구, 인권이 있고, 행복하고 평등하게 살 권리가 있다는 개념을 확실히 심어주는 생활 철학이며 개념이며, 사회의 모든 일원이 서로서로 이개념을 생활 속에서 친절과 관용으로 서로 일깨워 주고 실행하며 사는 방식의 모태이다.

인성교육의 최전방은 교육자들이고 종교인이다. 이런사람들은 태권도의 검은 띄 사범님들 처럼 모든사람들이 인성교육에서 검은 띄을 따도록 사회의 모범이 되어야 한다. 그저 책이나 읽고 읊조리는 것이 아니고, 서로서로을 대할 때 상대방의 인격과 존귀함을 염두하고 친절과 관용을 베풀 수 있는 훈련이다.

오만가지의 식물이 자라도 토양에서, 화분안에서 뿌리을 내리고 자란다.  인성교육은 사람으로 하면 이 토양, 화분에 관한 이슈이다.

고전책을 많이 읽으라 하고 권유하는 것도 이 인성함양을 하기 위함이다.

인성교육은 인간관계을 더욱 더 폭 넓혀 주고, 제데로 되어있지 않으면 인간관계가
쭈글쭈굴한 마른대추 처럼 재미도 없어진다.   구시대의 관습에 갖혀 새로운 형태의 인간관계을 형성하지 못하고 외롭게 사는 사람을 보게 된다. 인성교육은 새로운 인간관계을 형성을 모색하기 위함이다. 새로운 시대의 인간관계는 학연, 인종, 나이을 떠나, 어떻케 생각하고 어떤매너을 갖느냐에 딸려있다.

잃어버린 물건을 주인에게 돌려 주지 않코, 길을 묻는이에게 "왜 질문을 하느냐?"고 흘켜보는 관습은 유교문화가 얼마나 쓸데없는지을 한눈에 보여지게 하는 것이다.

인성교육은 가타 줄의 G-String이 있는 것 과도 같다.  없어도 별문제는 없는 것처럼 보일지 모르지만 동네 콘서트을 떠나 더큰 콘서트을 하려면  꼭 필요한 것이다.

Traveling to Korea

Korea is a country located in east Asia, in between China and Japan, which has five thousand years of history. People who visit Korea can enjoy touring various interesting places with historical background and natural beauty.

Following east coast, travelers may enjoy natural beauty and many historic sites of Korea.  At first, Surak mountain  located 80 miles east of Seoul, is often visited by people year round for its natural beauty.  Each visit of different season will be a new experience, with water falls formed streams along valleys of the mountains and breathtaking views of snow covered mountains in winter and failge in autumn and etc.   If you continue to go down further following the coastal line, you will meet "Haeinsa" temple, where buddhist scriptures were carved in 80,000 wooden blocks 800 years ago are kept.  These wooden blocks were made when no great carving tools and modern printing technology were available in the spirits of guarding the nation in buddhist faith against looting from Japanese pairats along the coastal line.

Further down south is Kyungju; the capital city of ancient Silla Kingdom.  This city preserves Bulguksa temple and Sukgulam's duddha stature  built around 500 A.D. exhibiting highlist of the ancient Buddhist civilization.

Travelers may wonder with many small dunes along the streets; these are the tombs of ancient kings and member of royal families of Silla Kingdom.  Several tombs were actually excavated fifty years ago and all the artifacts are being displayed at the tomb sites revealing ancient life styles of royal families.

When you visit Kyungju, you would probably well off taking one extra day to make a trip to "Hawhe" village located 20 miles north of Kyungju, where time was frozen going back to 500 years ago.  This village has many houses of aristocrats which you have seen in historical K-drama called "Saguk" especially for the period of Yi Dynasty.

Another historic place which travelers may find interesting would be the capital of Korea; Seoul, Seoul has been capital of Korea since the beginning of Yi dynasty, which was established 600 years ago.  People who visit Korea will be intrigued by the old blended with the new.  People would find historic places in the middle of high rise apartment buildings. Korea also has four distinct seasons; spring, summer, fall and winter.  Particularly, fall accompany with wonderful blue sky and pleasant temperature.  Ancient people painted pottery ater the color of the blue sky which modern technology can not imitate.  Unusally, many people visit to Korea to enjoy beautiful weather and taste of old intermixed with new harmoniously.  People would walk on busy streets of Seoul among high rise modern shopping centers, shops and old building next to one another. Seoul has many palaces where Yi Dynasty Kings and their families used to live.  These are now used as parks and museums for public. Also in Seoul, there are streets where hops are selling antique furniture and potteries.  "Insadong" street in downtown Seoul is famous for collectors attraction selling artifacts dating as old as hive hundred years.  In Insadong, exhibitions of art works are routinely held with free of admission fees.

Travelers may find Seould to be paradise of shopping opportunities and gourmet restaurants.  Travelers would have variety of choices for different meals for many months starting from pizza to authentic Korean dishes.

Korea has four distinct seasons, and fall is the best with pleasant temperature as well as with breathtaking view of blue sky. Ancient people made potteries and painted after the color of the sky producing world reknown potteries; Koryo blue porcelain.

Usually many travelers who once visited Korea may find themselves walking down streets of Seoul again and again for its vivrancy that never ceases because they know one visit will never quinch their thirst for uniquness of Korea that hey have experienced. 

수학천재의 추락 - demise of an arrogant genius

In our lives, one might come across with individuals who would make one feel underachieved; these individuals are smarter,  more talented and highly achieved one would consider himself/herself to be.  They may come to our lives in verity of types and flavor, but they are largely received in our sphere with likes and dislikes to them. The former people would bring us gaiety and joys to be around, but the latter individuals have quite divergent characteristics, whose demeanor can be characterized with lack of compassion for humanity to be called "brat" with full of pugnacity. Any country would have arrogant people, but Korean soil would breed more of latter type of people. It is so strange that the way individuality goes out of bound in the society where collective way of doing things is much emphasized. The increased number of people in latter type is result of individuality went out of bound, giving them privileges. In the society where collectivism is honored, such "brats" need to be hammered out; however, the rules become lenient to those privileged.  It is because the society has been historically lackluster in bringing a ruler of morality when such people commit wrongdoings.  As needs for industrialization became greater in post war era, excessive favoritism on individuals achieved in academia in hiring high positions were routinely practiced. Due to such environment, the education has been thwarted largely associated with gaining social status, which led to creating environment where majority of its people view one's academic achievements to be at the top of the pedestal mainly in doggy race going after social recognitions, material successes and aristocracy instead of becoming true leaders of the society.  Such environment led to creating social mafias.  Instead of moving toward bringing betterment for the society, these social mafias have been helping each other with pretext of becoming high ranking officials or a professors of good universities for high pay and social recognitions instead of sacrificing themselves to make contributions to the society with their talents.  In our casual encounter with such people, it is not frequent that such talented ones would come in our lives with sheer joys,  but rather they would come upon our lives with repugnance.  Their harmful effects could linger quite some time in our psyche.  From the former, their innate humanism can come as blissful moments bringing boons to us. However, the latter folks - those ones who are smart and arrogant - can smear our psyche with toxicity, implanting us with poisons from their rude behaviors. For that matter, when such repugnant people are caught in traps - which has been seldom a reality in Korea where Kama of ingratitude, rudeness, haughtiness and arrogance would often defy gravity of demise, one can not help but showing gleeful mood watching they caught themselves in a cob of web .  They have all along averted the quagmires as a privileged person, that ordinary people would have encountered.  Has Korea instilled itself finally to be able to server the privileged ones?  We now know that they are going though a hellava time finally like we all might be fallen into due to freaky nature of life itself.  It's a moment reaffirming the freakiness of human condition - absurdity and normalcy ever so intertwined in our lives, in this case, inability of defying the gravity of evil person's demise as normalcy would prevail finally.

Sexual molestation charges being made against professors and politicians in Korea can not be viewed merely in terms of consensuality is involved. In Korea, sexual molestations or rapes charges are made against professors would often entail coercion  on professor's part.  Professors in Korea has so much power over students' sphere. In comparison with their counterparts in other countries, their power goes further even finding jobs for students, giving grades - getting good grades are weighed more important in very competitive society. As their power over the students even reach to coarse sex without getting punished.  This is a typical formation of the society that the western system is imposed on tranditional Confucian society.  

Following the incident of a politician sexually harassing an intern college student as he was accompanying the President Park in her trip to the U.S. recently, another sexual harassment change has been brought upon, this time, to  a renowned mathematic professor who allegedly molested slew of his female students. The professor was convicted, handcuffed and taken away.  What is shocking is that the  professorship, an epitome of Confucianism of the society has been demoralized.  The professor has achieved quiet a lot; he has chaired an international mathematical committee and written books, one of which is even used in Harvard and Wisconsin Universities. What is even more interesting is that he is a grandson of a famous scholar and a member of independence movements during the colonial era, who is widely known among young and old Korean, Jung In-Bo, and his father and mother were both scholars; a signature in-born of elite and aristocratic family.  This conviction of a professor is first of its kind in the history of Seoul National University, not a simple case that can be brushed under the rug.  What is even more shocking is of his mindset; he he even tried to escape the country to look for a job else where in foreign country.

Birth of a genius:

After graduating from Seoul National University majoring in Mathematics, he went on getting his PhD from the Yale University. A mathematical book that he published in 2012 has been adopted as a textbook in several universities in the U.S.  and he is exonerated for having upgraded mathematical researches in Korea on higher order. He was a recipient of Young Scientific Mind Award in 1998 and Young Scientists in 2002 from the Korean government.

His colleagues regard him as a talented person who can accomplish anything whether that be a slew of research articles have been published in highly acclaimed international journals, his fine lecturing skills, his orientation to details, his humors, story telling skills, writing skills, etc.  He has a baby face and he wears casual clothing and carries a backpack as though a student; nobody would recognize him as a professor.

How the mathematician became a sexual molester?

The professor stopped by at a park with a female student, on the way while his female student was giving him a ride to his home after having dinner with a group of students followed by attending a mathematical forum. The professor molested the female student sexually sitting at a bench. The professor asked the student to sit on his lap. When the student sat down in force, he then caressed her body.  After the incident, the student spoke to the group what happened. She said that she is in state of shock, and resigned from her internship.  After receiving the report,  the police immediately launched an investigation, and filed the case with pending conviction.  The case is then assigned to a prosecutor North Ward in Seoul.

The professor, in an interview with a news report from HanKeyRae Newspaper, stressed the fact that the student is a beloved student, and she gave him ride to home many times as he is hurt in a car accident. He said that they hug each other casually as they depart. He said that the intern student often sent text messages to him about mathematical mistakes she has made, so he took her out for dinner to cheer her up, and the incident happened inadvertently. The professor showed his emotion saying, "What a crazy man would do such thing in front of his house. I am crazy. I should be responsible whether my intention was misunderstood."  After the interview was over, the professor sent a text message asking, "Would my name be mentioned on the newspaper? If it did, many people will be shocked. I understand the trouble that she is having, but I can't help being thinking about myself first."

Nevertheless, professor's transgression is not limited to this incident.  After HanKyuRae newspaper published the interview, number of students posted their messages on the campus online message board  anonymously with similar charges on the professor.  One student claims that she has been sexually harassed by the professor over two years. According to her, the professor sent her text message saying that he wanted to see her. The student has been collecting such messages all along but she has never attempted to make this a public for she was afraid that revealing it public would jeorpadize her future career.  The student want to substantiate the fact that the professor is a routine sexual molester, not of mistakes or misunderstanding from the victim, and want to encourage those people like her to come forward.  The message board has been posted with 107 messages. One student posted a message that, in between 2009 and 2010, she has been received numerous message from the professor asking her to meet him with threats. She also mentioned that she was called for dinners, and he molested sexually in numerous occasions. One other student reported that when she said that she would have to go back to her home in remote province in response to being asked to meet her, the professor said that he would drive down to the province to meet her since he would be passing by the province on the way to a conference, where the place for the conference is 3 hours drive from her home.

After all,  he was a man who was born in a aristocratic family, having a Ph.D from Yale University  with recognition from the world academic community, pursuing excellence in writing, playing Hip Hop, mingling with students in no walls, bona fade, meeting the image of idealistic professor to students.

HIs power within the department sored up, nothing in the path of achieving unbounded confidence,  seizing a tyrannical power to bring demise any student who would disobey him.  Even the school that is craving for world recognition would not snub off his bizarre sexual behavior.

The victims then gathered together and organized a committee and collected evidences to be used against him in the court.  The evidences were collected in the file name called "X" as a variable that the professor would use as a single method in molesting his students.  For four days of work collecting the evidences, there have been 22 victims.  The first case on the list dates 10 years ago.  According to the X file,  the predatory approach that the professor employed has not been changed much.  He took the approach by sending a text message saying, "It's raining, and I am thinking about you.  What are you going to do this evening?  Can I buy you a dinner?"  Almost all the student say that it was hard to ignore his message.  When the students ignore his message or express resistance, he would respond saying, " You're getting overboard. Would I think of you as someone for a date?  I am baffled that you would think that way."  He would take the approach getting angry at students belittling them and he tried to find their personality and how far they can be pushed to get what he wants. When the students resisted much, he would then stop calling them.    The committee, based on the evidences have been gathered, reported a laundary list of sexual charges made against professor Kang, and called him "a habitual sexual molester."  The report revealed that the professor would  keep on asking the students' schedule for next two to three weeks in order to set up a time to molest them. despite their resistances to meet him.  The professor would meet one student at a time, and upon meeting the student at dinner table, the professor would treat her as if a girlfriend.  He would dinner and insisted on having liquor along with so that student gets intoxicated, and then change the place for sexual advancements.  

According to the Kang's acquaintances, they all say that what had to happen has happened.  According to one of the acquaintances, he knew what the word "K" on the newspaper refers to "Kang Suk-Jin" instantly.  Other acquaintances also could easily identify who the alleged sexual molestor "K" referred to on the newspaper, and it is well know fact that he was such person not only in the campus but also mathematical community in Korea.  They say that Kang's thinking is grossly overblown, mainly due to the fact that both his parents and his grandfather are renown scholars and he himself was well spoken,  a good writer and athlete,  to the point that all women like him, and it made them to think Kang is crazy.    

Kang claimed that the condition for research is not up to par and he moved his location for his research in different place outside the campus, and he moved back three years later.  He revealed the reason why he returned in an interview with Campus Newspaper in September 4, 2004, saying that he missed time doing research in close proximity with students.  One professor told that although he heard indirectly that students have been molested by the professor, actually hearing the news of his alleged sexual charges is shocking.

Kang's incident is only a tip of iceburg.  This is not simply a Kang's incident,  but it goes into further as an incident that symbolically unsurfaces the obligatory condition that the students are subjected to put themselves in with their professors in Korean educational environment.  One student in KAIST referred to his professor as though a CEO of a small company.  According to him,  his professor has a too much power over his sphere as a student: from rights not to pass his qualifier for graduation and even to rights to allocate how much financial assistance for the project that he is involved with. He said, "There is nothing that goes through without his supervision, and if he is disked by the professor, there will be nothing getting done."  He also said that number of professors in KAIST have been charged with sexual molestation by their students, and there has been an incident where a professor hit one student with a notebook computer on his head, and these things happen more frequently in graduate school where professors would have more power over students' sphere."   One person who graduated from SNU as a mathematic major says that Kang is an exceptionally gifted professor, and whoever studies under his guidance with his liking of him/her would receive good ideas for their thesis, and if anyone raises issues about his sexual advancements would surely jeopardize his future career ruining his/her chance of getting hired. For this reason, many of the victims would not go public and try to forget the past once he/she found a job, and that's why his sexual behavior has not been revealed.    

The victims said to the committee that they have not been able to bring the issue due to the fact that there lies no laws that protect from the professor's sexual abuse when they go on public.  The committee proclaims that the main reason that the issue has not been publicized is the fact that the binding contract, although they are not spelled in papers, is putting more disadvantage to students than the employer and employee relations with regard to sexual abuses.  The reason is that in employment, there is option to change the job, but in school in Korean context, there is less degree of freedom to change school.  The grades that professor gives is reflected directly on his/her career, and if one pursuit a career in academia,  his whole career hinges on his liking of that student.  The committee also blames the school trying to protect high achieving professor. According to a person who has received a Ph.D from SNU says that the school's interests lie on keeping high achieving professors for its name recognitions in international stage.  Unless the accused professors are not reveled with solid evidences of sexual abuses, the school would not punish the professors, it is especially the case in SNU where high achieving can mean being forgivable in every transgressions.

--Being forgivable in every transgressions--

SNU has been criticized  with "laying-off" the professor instead of "firing" in 26th of November, within 24 hours after the incident,  due to the fact that "lay-off" is not as harsh punishment in comparison with "firing."  In the case of "lay-pff," Kang would receive no adversary in benefits; his retirement fund will be intact and he would have no problem finding other job as his record in paper has no blemishes.  When the uproar occurred as a result of the decision, the SNU reverted the decision and stated that the school will not process his resignation until the court decides.   Finally, Kang was arrested on December 3rd, 2014 with charges on habitual sexual molestation and abuses. According to the head sectary of the University, Mr. Paik Seung-Whan, "Upon conviction of Kang with sexual charges have been made, he will instantly lose his professorship from the University, and a hearing will be held whether to fire him as soon as the results of investigative findings are published  from both Human Rights Center on Campus and the prosecutors.

Professors at SNU say, "We have to reflect upon structural flaws exist in our academic community."
The head of professorship committee states that the school overlooked misbehaviors of those high achieving professors.  When such professors publish more articles in international academic journals or praised by the international academic communities, their misbehaviors would not be brought against them.  It has become more important in hiring process of their achievements than their ethical standing as a professor.  The environment has become so thwarted that , after employing professors on merit basis,  professors has become competitors to each other, when a professor achieves more, his/her transgrassion becomes ignored. We need to discuss in depth for the cases such as Kang's. According to Ms. Lee, a committee member for Strategic approaches to Women's Issues in Korea, " The academic environment is more leaning toward individual's transgression than industrial sectors in Korea and thus it is important for individuals in academic coming to realization of the importance of self-control on this matter seriously, not abusing the freedom with their own interpretations, and the more important thing is that school  itself should take the matter seriously and make improvements"

Kang, who loves sports, mentioned the basketball player, Her Jae, in his book, "A mathematician sitting on a football," where the player gets disqualified to play for Asian Men's Basket Game as a result of being found sneaking out of the camp, getting drunken and then got into an accident in driving a car.  Kang expressed his view of the incident that Her Jae should not have been disqualified for the misdemeanor.

여기에 대해 강 교수는 이렇게 썼다. “형편없는 직업의식을 가진 선수가 투철한(?) 직업의식을 가진 다른 누구보다도 농구를 잘한다면 그의 직업의식을 트집 잡아 국가대표팀에서 제외시킬 수는 없는 노릇이다.” 이 챕터의 소제목은 이렇게 달려 있었다. ‘오만한 천재의 추락’.

서영지 기자 yj@hani.co.kr

청도이야기- My lovely aunty

      A recent headline news about a traffic accident happened in Chung-Do drew my attention bringing a string of memories of visiting the place once in my teen years.  It was summer of 1973 when Korea's industrialization took off less than a decade ago yet its impacts had not touched upon the place, exuding its rustic countryside atmosphere that was so unique and fragile.  As with landscape of any farming village in Korea at that time, the place was drenched with amusing sceneries of summer: green rice paddies on which growing rice plants with their stalks drooped under scorching sun, weeping wallows by a stream swaying it branches gently in hot summer days in breezes, and mountains around simmering in scorching heat of August; these were some of the most beautiful sceneries to the eyes of a young man.   In Korea, summer weather in beginning of August accompanies scorching heat with clear blue sky making one feels unbearable to stay outside with no shade even for ten minutes.  Monsoon season comes in mid July and ends before arrival of this sheer scorching hot weather that last for couple of weeks in August. As the season ends and strands of cool breezes are felt on cheeks as precursor for coming of fall. In this segment of hot season rice crops go through last phase of maturation process growing with its grains getting larger and weight of it make it stalks droop;  the natural colors and scents one feels looking at farm houses over a stream beyond rice paddies would provide quietness of farming village atmosphere, of which scenery perhaps would be so hard to grasp nowadays due to urbanization and industrialization has pulverized the scenes, so soothing and so peaceful.  Sitting by bank of the stream and having the view would be the ultimate place and moment for relaxation in mind and spirit, so peaceful, untainted, and refreshing. This town is where my aunt was born. If it had not been for my aunts' affiliation with the town, perhaps, the news would not have opened up my eyes wide.

        My aunt grew up in Chung-Do and lived in Busan briefly prior coming to Seoul.  She married to my uncle when I was four years old, and had lived briefly in bigger family with her parent-in-laws as a newly-wed.  Her marrying my uncle brought traditions from Chung -Do; she brought spices, jests and beautiful memories to my life.  I remember the time when she was wearing Hanbok speaking in heavy provincial accent. Her accent was so stringent to my ears for quite some time at that time when my notion of having accent is not too well established as I recall, often times unable to catch her meaning quickly enough, wondering why she spoke differently.  However, her accent became agreeable to my ears as she gradually learned to speak in Seoul's tonality. Her accent diminished perceptively after ten years of living in Seoul although I felt the residual accents still remaining throughout her life.

        In each year, when Kimjang season arrived, she would come to my house and help out my mother making lots of Kimchi for winter. Image of her sitting by a big bowl in the foyer, putting the prepared ingredients in between the leaves of cabbages had ingrained in me as her signature.  At an instance, walking by her, she said, "Come over here, and and this," and she would shove a mouthful of kimchi in my mouth even before I said,"Yes."  And she asked, "It's delicious, isn't it?" waiting for an answer while my mouth was still full of Kimchi.  I responded to her by nodding, unable to speak.  When she moved in, she brought heritage of her old town along with her, and I witnessed her heritage is getting transferred over; the way she prepared Kimchi during the Kimjang season was one of them.   For several winters when one Kimjang seasons started, she would suggest to my mother to make Kimjang in KyungSang style by adding new items such as fruits such as pears. And one year, she convinced my mother to add something new(i.e. raw fish). And in another year, I saw the fruits being added in the pot of that year, which I found rather unusual and interesting for I had never seen anything like that is added in the Kimchi that my mother prepared. When the fresh Kimchi was on a dinner table, I had chance to taste red meat fish fished out from the clay jar. That winter, I had chances to eat the unusual ingredients that had been added, and I loved it!! 

         One day, my uncle bought a nice stereo set with amplifier that had a turn table. The turn table was encapsulated in a nice lacquered compartment outside with two small red lights get turned on as arm is moved and placed on the vinyl.  The system had lots of vacuum tubes in another compartment below where the turn table sit, which also had its shinny front side lacquer painted nicely. I used to visit my uncle's house and enjoyed listening to music coming from the stereo set.  One day, not long after the stereo set was purchased and brought into her house, an unfortunate thing happened;  cranking up the volume a bit,  I heard a sound something "pop." Apparently, one of vacuum tube was blown out.  Taking a look immediately inside of a compartment, I noticed that a tube got a black mark quite visible inside. Drawing my finger and touching it, I had to take my fingers off instantly feeling hot. I was baffled how could the system got broken so easily with toggling in volume.  The power to the system was completely shut off - no red light would get turned on inside the compartment staying black; the stereo system was totally broken.  A thought just came across my mind, "I just wrecked the expensive stereo system that my uncle bought!" and a feeling of guilt rushed down though my spine!  I could not believe that the stereo system could have gone bad so easily. Nobody was there in the room, and I pulled my hair for using the system. The hour until my aunt came was dreadful for I did not know how to fix the damn thing.  When my aunt returned home, I told her that I broke the system waiting for a reprimand, but suprisingly she told me not to worry, and told me that she would call a repairman to come and fix it.  I was feeling relieved and yet sorry for the rest of the evening despite the fact that my aunt told me not to worry.

       During the summer vacation when I was in middle school, her elder brother from the city came over to visit her. The man had even a thicker accent. He was a gentleman, and he invited all his nephews and even neighbors' children over to his place in Chungdo over the summer.

We were all excited and could not wait for the day to come. We headed out to Seoul Station and hopped on the lowest fare train (완행열차) heading to Chung-Do. For I had had a trip down to Busan taking the same route down several years earlier,  the ride didn't come with much unfamiliarity; whenever the train stopped, there would be peddlers selling snacks, and when it stopped at ChunAnn, I could not resist my temptation to buy its famous snack, walnut crackers.

Arriving at Chung-Do train station late in the evening, the gentleman came to the train station to show the way. We walked along the path in between rice fields carrying a backpack on our back. We trudged along the rice paddies in the dark. Upon arriving at his house, we unloaded our backpacks. While we were resting sitting on 툇마루, he brought some Makgolli in a jug with a long spout from his winery nearby his home and passed around bowls. We poured the drink in the bowl and started drinking Mogolli out of the bowl to quench our thirst.

       On the following day, waking up early, my cousins and I walked around the village and found a wide stream running nearby. On that after noon, we played at the stream well into the afternoon.  We learned how the local boys catch fish using a glass bottle with both end opened, which was sold in the convenient store. My cousins and I decided to try the same, so we rushed to the store and bought several glass jar and set it up to catch fish. We had luck to catching several fish, but we ended up destroy the glass jar when it was pushed by the steam and crashed hitting pebbles.  Later in the afternoon, the gentleman's younger brother came to the stream to catch fish; we were sitting by
the bank watching him drawing a net and catching in first try more than what we had for all day long.

       Next day, my uncle arrived driving his car. He came with aunt along a girl in his neighborhood. My uncle was a gregarious person who had many friends in the neighborhood. He went to Korean army joining a band; she showed me his old trombone that he used to play w/ at the band.  I saw the girl time to time in the neighborhood, the girl was one year older than me, but we had never talked each other until the trip.  We went to the stream together and she was wearing a swimsuit. We visited an elementary school, and we took a rest nearby a parallel bar in a hot summer day at the conner of the school as cool breeze was blowing through.

       On that evening, We all visited his liquor store and the gentleman showed us around the winery and offered us each a cup of Makgollie to drink in the end. The winery had full of smell of the liquor.
On the next day, We went further down in the stream where it gets deep as color changed to green. The water ran fast with sound of running echo underneath the bridge.  The water seemed to be running faster near the rocks. We swam to the rock, each time climbing up on the bounder and sitting in the middle of it on top.

       On that night, the gentleman took us a river in distance and we camped out on sandy beach.  It was hot weather and the temperature kept rising well into the night. There were hundreds of mosquito making buzzing sound and biting us, and we could not fall asleep.   We tried many methods to chase away the mosquitos, but none of them found to be useful. As I was restless and feeling itchy all over our bodies, we heard a rumble of thunder, and it started raining all of a sudden. The rain was pouring quite heavy and we were well into the night unable to move out with no transportation; we stayed there until the morning. When we woke up, the river swelled up and the river looked quiet again. My cousins and I were counting number of mosquito bits, and I counted over fifty all over my body, and one of them was so itchy that scratched so hard and it started swelling up with pinkish red.

       The middle school girl came along looked fine with no bits, and I was wondering why I fell victims to the mosquitos. The girl's mother was a neighbor of my aunt came along. She had two pony tails as mandated to most of  middle school girls, and she became mature physically. One time, I saw my aunt chatting with her mom when I visited my aunt's house. My aunt referred to the lady as "lady from bean sprout house" for her family ran a bean sprout factory close to my aunt's house. The factory had been in business for a long time before my aunt moved into the neighborhood. I can recall first time taking a little tour inside of the factory following my aunt. My aunt wanted to buy some bean sprout, and she was ushered into the factory get fresh bean sprout. Standing along with my aunt, I could see all the beans sprouting in large partitions with water hoses drawn into. The place was damp and lights were dim. The moisture had to be kept inside with the door firmly shut, and I was feeling a little stuffy. It was at the time when I saw an article on a newspaper reporting that a bean sprot grower was indicted with allegation of adding illegal chemicals to expedite the process of growing bean sprouts. For this reason, I was looking around a bit suspecious whether I would run into any suspicious chemical containers around the area. The girl went to high school located nearby my middle school, and I often saw her waiting at the same bus stop where I normally wait for at the bus stop. Sometimes, I met her in the bus already, and I would bow to her to say "hello." She asked, "are you going to school?" frivolously. She was wearing a uniform with a white color and a school badge on her chest. Standing by her, I did not know what to say. The bus was very crowded and occassionally when bus made an jerky stop, I would bump onto her shoulder. I was fully aware of her standing besides me, and I would smell fresh smell of shampoo thinking that it's her smell. After we got off the bus, we briefly walked together and then she said, "I go this way." and reached out her hand for a handshake. I felt the warmth of her hand until  my history class that was taught by a teach who looked like a bulldog.

       On the day we finish the trip,  I found that one mosquito bit that I scratched hard became an infection; it was on my right wrist. Upon arriving home, I went to a local clinic in Shinchon Rotary l to get treated. A young doctor treated me squizzing the pus out; dark blood spewed out,  and cleaned the infected area with swipes; there was a large whole.   The scar that was formed from mosquito bites still remains as a permanent reminder of the trip I had to Chung-Do in the summer of 1972. The beautiful memories of the place where she had lived - I treasure them so dearly as marked by a mosquito bite on my wrest.

There is not much trace of history left in Shinchon - 신촌에는 역사의 흔적이 그리 많치않다

In my recollection, fifty years ago, there was a small old wooden hut in the neighborhood made for Confucian ritual. I saw one day it was getting demolished, and soon after, an apartment building was being built on the site. Several years later, the apartment collapsed killing many people as a result of shoddy construction.  The demolition of the Confucian building was disturbing to my eyes; the thought of something that old could be gone all of a sudden saddened me. Every time when I passed the site where it stood for centuries my mind would go blank with a big question in mind: "How could people do that?" Thinking that many historic buildings could have been demolished as easily as it with no regulations and deterrence caused me queasy feeling, knowing the destruction and plundering of old artifacts that the country had to endure from Imperial Japan during the colonial era prior.

Artifacts and historical landmarks that should be preserved to teach and show trace of its past to the generations to come were not treated with respect. In that respect, Korea rid of many valuable voluntarily. How many artifacts must have been disappeared and gone in our memories in the process of industrialization!!  I guess that there was no old folks who could have protested against demolishing the tradition even if that alter meant only to a certain family.

In considering the fact that Shinchon was already urbanized as far back as I could remember five decades ago, Shinchon does not exude historical aspects of its past. Korea has been mainly in agriculture, and Shinchon may well had been reflective of its landscape baring nothing but rice paddies as what my grand-father attested to me, recalling what the surrounding area of my house looked like before I was born.  However, bustling atmosphere of Shinchon often erased my memories of what my grand-father said, "I could see all the way to Shinchon rotary standing on the hilltop where our house was built, and there was nothing but a long stretch of rice fields stretching all the way to there."
Despite what my grand-father had said how agricultural landscape of Shinchon, the bustling place would make me to forget his testimony asking to myself spurring curiosity again: why the place has no trace of its history?

I had to employ a recollection of my childhood to quell the burning curiosity once: the landscape of neighboring town Yunhee-Dong that I know of, as a reference.  I can speculate what Shinchon may had been looked like recalling Yunhee-Dong in my childhood, when it had begun its facelift getting urbanized after Shinchon.  I witnessed YunHee-Dong transforming itself well into my teenage years.
All throughout my childhood. I remember walking a long path in between rice paddies there and  I had even seen several thatched roofed houses without hick-ups in YunHee-Dong.

Founding Yunsei University in late 19C may have played a major role why was Shinchon urbanized much earlier than YunHee-Dong. Shops frolicked along the road that stretched from the main gate to Sinchon rotary.

When my mother got her a Canon camera as a gift - after learning how to take pictures from her younger brother - first thing that she would do was taking her children to different places in Shinchon to take pictures of her children.  It was my first experience getting to know broader view of Shinchon, following my mother, going beyond the boundary of daily sphere of living visiting periphery of Shinchon. One of the places that she took us was a ancient tomb site near Yunsei University. I think that the tomb is still there, but may not be in exact physical forms as what I saw five decades ago.  It was an interesting place as a child because it was not only my first place ever visiting an old tomb site but also a place where I was staying in close proximity of death at the time when the notion of death was seen too remote to come into my consciousness. At the site, there were statues of various animals carved out from marble standing guarding the tomb. So, naturally, the place exuded senses of mixed feelings where aura of death and an atmosphere of merry-go-around in a town fair intermingling together. Hopping onto a pony statue for a photo shot and looking out, there was an old building at the bottom of the hill painted in brown exuding an eeriness with tall weed growing all around it. The building was probably was used by son of deceased person to mourn the death of his father as the mores of Confucian culture dictated in hundred years ago, and it bore no trace that it had ever been used recently making me to wonder when it was last time a person stayed in there.

It may not had been a desirable place for taking pictures, but moments at the tomb site left me indelible memories.   I want to visit there to see how much it has been changed over time. Although I have not visited the place despite my numerous times visiting Korea;  I regretted that the thought of going to visit never occurred to me all the time.

After so many years of living in Shinchon, at least to my knowledge, there is not much trace of its past.  I would speculate that Shinchon may had been regarded as outside of enclave of loyal residence, with four main gates at the periphery, from which would take at least half a day to reach one of the four gates that led to loyal residence by walking, Namdaemun. Shinchon must have been largely a rural area cultivating crops, not much different from Yunhee-Dong or MoRaeNae.  I would suspect that the urbanization of Shinchon started as the universities, such as Yunsei Unversity, were found and started growing.

In my recollection, the tomb and Shinchon Train Station are about the only historic sites that I can even think about in my birth place; the old clock town in Shinchon rotary was gone in early 80's and the Shinchon Market is shrunk down hardly suit the tastes of my visits thereafter when I was little.

Does society owe its people a certain level of retaining obligation for keeping old buildings and shape of streets allowing the people to be reminiscent about a period of time that they had lived some twenty, thirty years later?  In light of Shinchon had been mostly a farming place which would not have accrued or played a pivotal part in Korean history until turn of 19 century, it has accumulated fairly good substances of it since the time has past and have had a history of being urbanized.  Even when I was little, there were skating place converted from rice paddies in winter time and there were strong wind blowing scents of people working hard to survive their living; it was a place where people gather and sell stuff and see each other making their living.

  It would be even better if the air they had felt or the smell of wind coming from afar still feels as good as before. I recently bought a box of Korean grapes from a Korean grocery which has the same taste that I had enjoyed every summer when I was living in Korea, which I had solely missed for so long after coming to the U.S.  Wouldn't it be great, at least, a certain district in Seoul, preferably the place where I had lived - Shinchon, has been kept frozen in time at least the physicality has been retained.  At least I would love it to be. In Europe, there are places where Mortzart and Beethoven grew up, and not only they birthplace are retained but also the surrounding area, and even town retain its old physique as it was hundreds years ago. In Korea, the old palaces are retained, but as a person who have not often visited the old places, my sense tells me that the notion of town or places trying to keep old places is. Nevertherless, it is virtually impossible to expect to still that is the case some 40 years later, it is impossible to see the old Shinchon; it maybe only a dozen things that I can think about. For instance, it would be impossible to see the street vendors taking baked sweet potatoes out from their signature makeshift baking equipment made out from oil drum.  Furthermore, it would be impossible to see the old Confucian ritual alter that had been demolished, located at the periphery of Shinchon when I was so little, to be rebuilt after 20 years later when I visited the town.  The alter is gone permanently, maybe even without any indication placed, to most of young people that it ever existed; out of sight, even ten years ahead for the project of building an apartment nearby. I guess that why folk village is there nearby Seoul for people to come to see the old village with all sort of old style house lumped up and clustered in one big place, but antiquity of old and old life style have its own spiritual elements that can not be compromised with in the forms of touring folk village or eating sweet potatoes made from electric oven.  

In Korea, everything physical changes as if old things are not worth keeping.  The old house that I used to live in Shinchon has gone, and pretty much all the churches in Shinchon could no longer keep their old physique out of necessaity to get larger to accomodate more church people other than testifying the fact that it still reside on top of the hill at the same place although some churches have moved to a different part of the town.

The Korean churches bolding bears no responsibility contributing anything to the cause of retainability in its architecture; the old churches have been demolished and a new one is built on the spot  to accomodate increasing capacity of church goers. The small size with wooden floor whose heating was provided by kerosine  burner installed in the winter time was gone. And  of its wooden floor and heard sound of children playing heard through the windows in the summer time can seldom experienced nowadays. Although, we are all in the wind of governance of time, we wish and often keep defienance that something is kept still without changing.

뽀다구 타령과 세월호

누구나 뽀나구가 나는 걸 좋아한다.
뽀다구가 잘 나야 이성도 생기고 직장도 잡을 수 있는 확률이 올라간다..
성공한 사람은 반짝반짝 빛나는 검정색 세단차에 운전사가 있어야 했던 때가 있었고, 반바지 입고 데이트에 나가도 뽀다구 구겼다고 그다음 부터 만나주지 않는 경우가 있고,  스타벅스 커피는 뽀다구의 대명사가 됐다.

나라도 그러하다. 전번 월드  컵의 우승국 포투갈은 이번 10강에 끼지도 못하는 참패을 맞이했다. 가뜩이나 경제가 어두워 무직률이 25%나되 축구왕좌에 앉아 그동안 위로을 삼았는데, 이제 그신세도 바닦났다.   한국은 어떠한가?  축구는 세계인의 비아냥 거리, 세월호, 윤창준 등등 뽀다구와는 거리가 먼지 오래됐가.

 한국은 가난 했었기에 뽀다구 나는 걸 무척 좋아하고, .뽀다구도 많이 나야한다. 누구나  뽀다구가 나는 걸 좋아 한다,  하지만 이도 어느정도 내용이 있어야 제 빛을 발할 수 있다.

뽀다구도 나고 내용도  아주 알 차다면 얼마나 좋을까!
뽀다구는  저절로 날 것이다.
하지만,  내용을  알차게 하기 위해선 얼마나 각고의 노력,개혁, 혁신과 시간이 필요한가!

그래서 뽀다구와 내용 중에 하나를 고르라면 대부분이 뽀다구나는 쪽을 선택한다.

미국이 잘나가던 80년대에 다니던 회사의 어느 미국백인은 요령을 피우는 짓을 "중국인이 도랑판다"고 중국사람을 빗대어 비하하며 말한 것을 들어본 적이 있다.
이런 말을 듣고 있던 한 중국인은 나에게  10년 전에 일어났던 삼풍사건을 들먹이며, 사실 찐짜 도랑파는 사람은 종종 한국인이라며 나에게 놀려댔다.

세월호 사건이 한국의 뽀다구을 왕창 구겼다.
선장의 직무유기,  해양경찰은 "꽝"이고, 검찰은 물빠따,  나라의 위기대처 능력은 바닦, 도망간 미꾸라지 회장놈하나 제데로 못잡는 무능력 - 미국은 미꾸라지 하나 잡는데 일주일이면 족하다 . 한류에다, 정말 즐비한 고층건물들, 깨꿋한 거리,  G20 멤버...한국은 뽀다구가 났다.  이러한 뽀다구가 사회 모든 전반에 깔려 같이 뽀다구가 나는 착각을 나게 했다. 천안함 사건도 대충 넘어 가고, 폭설에 가라앉은 지붕도 대충 넘어 갔다.  하지만, 세월호 사건은 G20멤버 답지않는 뽀다구 "빵"이다.
한국이 뽀다구 "빵"나는 거 좋아하는 나라는 많다.
특히, 이사건이후 그때 중국인이 더욱 더 좋아하리라 싶다.
만약내가 그 회사을 아직도 다니고 있고, 그녀석이 내 앞에서 세월호을 운운했다면 내심정이 어떠했을까? 이제 그 직장을 다니지 않치만, 생각 만해도 그 중국인을 만날 수 없는게 다행이다.

뽀다구도 어느정도는 내용이 있어야만 한다.

세월호사건은 내용을 팽개친 결과이다.  뽀다구는 없어졌다.

인간의 굴레 - Philip and Sally

My sister, who is six years older than me, started buying monthly women's magazine beginning of her college year. Every month, the magazine came with a thick paperback noble as a complement, of which from a list of top 20 world classic literature. She had kept the nobles on her desk, collecting dust, and it started piling up as months turned a year.  I often went into her room to read the magazines out of curiosity, but reading those thick nobles printed in fine characters made me feeling a bit queasy prompting me just to flip through randomly to see any pictorials might be seen and then close the cover to read authors' name written on the front cover page.  One of the books was written by Somerset Maugham: On Human Bondage.  I read the book recently four decades later, not in Korean, but rather an abridged version published in America with Maugham's introduction on the front section of the noble.  Whenever I see this noble, it not only reminds me of the image of my sister's old wooden desk upon which it had been placed so long, but also the time in which I had lived through in Korea early in 70's - Sally's father Trophe Athelny talking on marriage was reflective of the time.  Like what Trophe told to Philip, my uncle once talked about his view on marriage to me in 70's.  It seems to me that Thrope's thinking on marriage manifested upton his daughter, Sally. My uncle told me, "You should marry someone who has full of amicability and beautiful. That's all you should ask for in the woman."  Sally would have been an ideal type of a woman to be married in early 70's in Korea. As a person who grew up in Korea, I dreamt of meeting someone mature like Sally.  The abridged noble describes Sally as a person who has high level of maturity despite her youth and her caring mind.  Philip was astounded with her fine qualities.  In fact, I met someone similar to Sally back in 70's although she was four years older than I, which was inconceivable even to think about getting married with someone older back then. In fact, when I was dating her, she even said a phrase exactly matches what Sally said, as my eyes were fixed to a couple kissing each other on a corner of street once, "They are busy." As I was reading the book and reading every word that Sally said, this phrase she uttered at the moment popped into my mind reminding of the her.  Nowadays in Korea, the societal norm is such that marrying a woman 10 years older is acceptable; how societal norm changes has changed so quickly making me feel somewhat betrayed.

Marriage in Korea has had twists and turns in Korea over generations. It was O.K. young girl as young as eleven years old to get married. My parents met during the war did not have much monetary help being given to them to start their married life, and yet they managed to spend so many years together.  Since their time, marriage has been accruing expenses;  by the time when I get married, people spent millions of Won without complaints as though they are expected of.  However, rising cost of getting married seems to have hit the ceiling; skyrocketing cost involved in getting married to someone made many people to abandon their marriage which has long been considered important part of living.  Marriage has survived for long in human history because it gives joy of raising family and pleasures of various of sort despite it surely entails difficulties and hardship.  Nowadays, people avoid getting married because they feel too much burdened by all the cost involved. The rise of cost in getting married and maintaining marriage skewed the seesaw up and up making people married life unaffordable; the once important element is losing its air to make marriage to happen: pure love.

I think It is important nowadays for all "would like to be married" Koreans make the seesaw tipped over, making "pure love" become the sole factor to make the marriage happen, ridding all the societal norms and constraints that would make the marriage become tainted and make less materialized. As the way Philip falls in love with Sally, our parents married because of their love and attractions for each other, and so be it he way without age constraints, racial barriers and materialism.  Falling in love and getting married is the purest humanistic endeavor; how much human are you, that's the question.