On a recent visit to Korea, I was struck by how often young Koreans used the word “boring” when discussing their country. The reasons for the boredom are various, but the dominant theme running through the conversations is a lack of diversity. The same Koreans assume that other “advanced” countries are more interesting than Korea, but mostly draw on media images and brief visits as tourists.
Is Korea boring? If so, what does that mean, and what can be done about it? Boredom is difficult to define. The Merriam-Webster website lists boredom as “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.”
For older generations of Koreans, “interest” was not something that necessarily mattered in life. People did what other people did without thinking because the social context demanded it. To do something out of context was viewed as irresponsible and required great courage. People spent their free time meeting family and friends. The focus was on camaraderie rather than the type of food and drink. Today, many people in their 40s and older still fit this mode, which helps explain the popularity of group activities such as mountain climbing.
Democratization and continued economic growth since the 1990s has created a new generation that views the world from a different lens. To context was added the idea of choice. Context remained important, but choice became important as part of self-expression and the search for happiness.
As in many other areas, the generational gap influences how people view choice and the types of activities they choose. For older generations, a lack of choice does not matter much because choice itself is not important to them. For younger generations, however, a lack of choice is frustrating because they want to use choice to express themselves. The desire for choice explains the craft beer and wine bar booms.
Boredom goes beyond leisure activities and extends to the workplace. For older people, work was a duty and rigid hierarchies were taken for granted, but democratization has changed expectations. For younger generations, the workplace does not define their identity and is not the center of their social life. They find rigid hierarchies and workplace-centered social life suffocating. Those in prestigious companies hang on because social context suggests they do, but see the company force people in their late 40s to retire and wonder whether the commitment is worth it.
If work is suffocating and leisure lacks choice, then it’s easy to see how younger people paint life in Korea as boring. For older generations, by contrast, who remember poverty in their youth, life in Korea has never been better. Boredom in Korea thus depends on who you are, with generation being an important variable.
The important question for the future is what younger generations will do about the boredom they feel. History shows that generations differ in their drive for social change. The strong drive takes different forms as they age, but they remain at the center of change. Other generations approach social change indirectly, making them difficult to define. Quietly, however, younger Koreans, who live in the shadow of the powerful 386 Generation ― Koreans born in the 1960s and politically active in the 1980s and 1990s ― are pushing change and working to create the diversity that they want.
One interesting trend that has received almost no media attention is the handmade goods ranging from decorative craft to everyday fare. Led mostly by younger women, handmade goods are becoming increasingly popular as an expression of diversity. Some people sell goods in the front part of their studio, while others open temporary shops in flea markets and craft fairs. These shops are not as lucrative as cafes or bars and have to struggle with rising rents, but the search for diversity is creating a growing customer base. The trend also reflects a desire to avoid hierarchical workplaces.
Related to the popularity of handmade goods is the growing interest in imported handmade goods and crafts from developing countries. Imports include fair-trade goods that reflect a broader world view gained from overseas travel. Quietly, younger generations are expanding the notion of imports to include inexpensive goods from developing countries.
The growing interest in handmade goods and imports from developing countries are just two examples of how younger generations are trying to make Korea more diverse and therefore more interesting. In the context of the 50-year drive to join the ranks of advanced nations, these trends are revolutionary and show that young Koreans are taking action to deal with boredom.
By Robert J. Fouser
Robert J. Fouser, a former associate professor of Korean language education at Seoul National University, writes on Korea from Ann Arbor, Michigan. ― Ed.
