By Walter Long

A teacher's role is revered in society. We must set a good example for our students, in our personal conduct, as well as in our classrooms.

We must not steal. I object to having my children subjected to copyright theft within the school environment. I realize piracy is a common activity in South Korea, but that in no ways mitigates the gravity of the moral breach. In other words, being widespread does not make it right.

Morality is the ineluctable basis for growth and progression into becoming a leading and advanced country. Presumably, we all want this, and the full respect that it entails. For long enough now, as a culture, we have been pushed around by greater powers ― and consequently occasionally found ourselves handicapped, facing life with a bit of a chip on our shoulders.

It is time for our day in the sun. A recent Goldman Sachs study found that South Korean income is set to rank second in the world within a few decades, thanks to our emphasis on education and a modest birthrate: ``It expected Korea's per capita GDP to reach $81,000 in 2050, outpacing Japan with $80,490 and Britain with $79,200.''

Let's not spoil this moment with a tarnished, retrograde moral message that is all too easy for the younger generation to witness and remember. Let's leave them with something better. There is no reason we cannot do this, with but a little concerted effort. I have a vested effort in the cause, as my partner and I have four children, with another one on the way.

This morning, my oldest son reported that he witnessed an instance where his teacher perfunctorily copied a full storybook I had lent her. He said they used the copied format in class, and he felt it was wrong, which visibly pained him, as he has reverence for his teacher. The two other students in class witnessed the piracy, as well.

The students lose out, in not being able to see the book in full color. However, they also lose far more in the sense that they learn, albeit unconsciously, from their teachers' acts, that casual piracy is OK. These students look up to and seek to emulate their teachers.

I can think of no greater handicap in life than to graduate from a school and have embedded deep within me the assumption that theft is morally and socially acceptable.

Theft would seem to be a clear violation of the Golden Rule. Some claim it is de facto legal in South Korea, where there is purportedly a significant gray area between the law and actual practice. Is this really relevant? Our primary concern should be the students, and the moral heritage we leave them. We dare not breed in them an egocentric, myopic world view.

The Christian perspective is that we all make mistakes from time to time, that humans are not perfect, but ever in need of forgiveness and redemption. But, to blatantly continue an avoidable practice of public theft seems not only puerile but also foolhardy. I cannot believe anyone who steals in full view of children has ever seriously considered the consequences of their actions, or the effect upon the children.

Corruption and copyright theft are far more common in undeveloped countries. However, we are no longer a developing country. Our government estimated that we spent 15 trillion won on private English education alone last year, far more than Japan, or any other country.

With the Les Miserables story, it is easier for the common person, from his moral viewpoint, to overlook or condone the theft of bread to feed starving children. But in our current situation in South Korea, I believe we run a far greater risk of damaging children by instilling within them a cavalier attitude towards morality.

If we do not respect a person's work, we fail to respect their soul. The product of a person's labor is integral to their personage, identity and being. When we steal a person's work, we make a direct statement to the effect that we have little love or concern for their being, let alone gratitude for their creation ― a work ironically intended for our benefit, those who have something to learn from their labor, insight and creative faculties.

No creation occurs without sacrifice. And for ``sacrifice," there is no closer synonym than ``love." Accordingly, there may be no greater expression of ingratitude than to steal a creation, which we believe gives us value, for example, a text written well enough that we rate it worthy of copying.

The writer teaches at Deok-Song Elementary School and Hannam University in Daejeon. He can be reached at wnlong3@hotmail.com.