Hope in struggle
By Kim Seong-jun
On a recent evening there was an unexpected heavy snow fall. Many struggled to return home from work on the slippery streets, while cars were at a virtual standstill for several hours, slowly creeping along on the snow-covered roads.
Fortunately, I got home without great difficulty since I took the subway that night. But in my Kakao group chat room for company colleagues, many talked about the problematic situations they encountered. One said that he was trapped in a car on a main Gangnam road for more than two hours. Another wrote that he was getting off a bus and walking to a nearby subway station as the bus was unable to make it up a hill.
One of the junior staff strongly complained that it was 1:30 a.m. the next morning when he finally arrived home. The heavy snow that fell for several hours hit us hard, almost paralyzing the city. In our busy modern times, the snows of winter no longer excite us, nor do they bring the nostalgia of our childhood or bygone romances between lovers. Rather, I feel that they only create inconvenience in everyday life.
As expected, citizens' discomfort and various accidents that came with the snow eventually provoked criticism of the government's lagging response. Many complained that the government did not provide an accurate advanced forecast, nor did it make appropriate preparations. Of course, weather forecasts cannot be accurate every time and these days, abnormal weather like heavy snow or rain occurs all over the world.
In response to the rising voices of the people, the government just apologized again ― that was all. In recent years, the government has implemented a series of manifold policies for us; however, the majority of people I know cannot understand why it promotes policies that lack any deep thought and end up with unreasonable outcomes every time.
Housing and real estate policies have been adjusted more than 20 times, resulting in a sharp rise in housing prices in Korea, leaving people who rent accommodation with difficulty in finding suitable housing. Also, loans to buy a house have become almost impossible as so many complicated terms and high requirements have been newly introduced by banks. Now, more and more employees in companies across the country are engrossed in their own financial worries, investing in sky-rocketing housing or stocks as their future has become bleak and uncertain.
What alarms me most is that the traditional mindset and small dream shared by all people of buying a house and living a stable life by working hard has regrettably, gradually disappeared from our society. How to invest money in a timely and stable manner to increase their personal assets is becoming a major concern of many people.
I wonder where the sacred value of labor has gone in Korea and worry that we may only find it from economics books. In a democratic society, the government should plan and implement policies for the people as fairly as possible so that individual happiness is guaranteed depending on their own efforts.
And when such a policy goes wrong, there must be humility to admit it and correct it. The current administration consistently displays an attitude that does not care much about the people's opinion while avoiding communication.
Last but not least, I sincerely ask the government to be more sensible in 2021 so as not to make the people including the young generation realize that in Korea, there seems to be no hope in their struggle for a better future.
The writer (sjkhim@ekmtc.com) is a managing director at KMTC Line (Korea Marine Transport Co., Ltd.).