A major hurdle for foreigners learning the Korean language is its use of diverse and complex honorific expressions. One is expected to apply the honorific terms in conversations appropriately, based on people’s age, status and familiarity.
Although that may be a frustratingly challenging factor for many foreign learners, Koreans have long valued the use of honorific terms as a virtuous social rubric that helps people to treat each other with due respect.
With the rapid industrialization of the Korean society and global integration as well as urbanization, Yonhap News Agency on Saturday pointed out that Koreans these days are using less honorific words, an indication it fears of a possible moral decay.
This concern was highlighted recently when a 39-year-old judge reprimanded a 69-year-old man during a trial, saying the latter was behaving “rude.”
Many Koreans found the “young” judge’s remark very “inappropriate.” The oldman indeed may have behaved in an ill-mannered way. But in the Korean language, the term “beo reut eop da” (rude) is exclusively used by an older person in rebuking someone who is younger. For many Koreans, the judge’s remark was unacceptable because the role was reversed and he was 20 years junior to the oldman.
Interestingly, the incident also opened an old debate in Korean society. That is, government employees are too authoritarian and do not treat ordinary people with due respect, often not using honorific terms.
According to Yonhap, the web sites of district administrative bureaus, fire departments, and police stations receive several complaints a day from angry citizens who said that the government employees didn’t use honorific words and were not friendly enough when doing their work.
But then, some of the government employees feel that such an accusation is not fair. In fact they say it was actually the people who first used the “low forms of words,” making the government employees feel not respected, from the beginning.
Experts say the fundamental problem lies in the education that doesn’t teach enough good citizenship.
“The Korean education doesn’t encourage students to form good citizenship,” said Lee Joo-haeng, a professor of JoongAng University in Seoul.
Han Sang-jin, who teaches sociology at Seoul National University, said “The prevalent lack of using honorific words reflects that the Korean society has a long way to go to become a morally mature society.”
Kwak Geum-joo, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University, said some people lack the awareness that verbal abuse is also a serious form of abuse that harms others.
Experts all pointed out that the fundamental cure should start in school, by teaching students the right moral way.
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