By Ines Min
The concrete, physical health of a country’s culture, politics and economy is vital, but one cannot forget the people’s attitudes either, according to prominent lawyer Kang Ji-won.
The president of the Asia Journalist Association (AJA) is hard at work, using his influence throughout society to give momentum to his concept of creating a balanced country.
While active within the Presidential Committee on Social Cohesion, an organization that works to solve major conflicts within Korean society, Kang will also hold the world’s first international forum aboard a moving train this week from Thursday through Saturday. The Korea Times spoke with Kang on his ideas and motivation.
While the major conferences such as APEC or the G20 have priority in economy and politics, Kang believes the overall emphasis is shifting toward social thought.
``Material capitalists are moving to become mental capitalists,’’ he said Tuesday, referring to a personal sense of well-being. ``In Asia, there are mentalities of India, China, and Japan, which each have their own aspects of capitalism. Korea has its own mentality as well.’’
The lawyer, and husband to the well-known former Korean Supreme Court Justice Kim Young-ran, believes that Eastern values will rise to find harmony with those of the West. The geographical location of South Korea will be an advantage to establishing this balance, he added.
``I think that Korea is in a particular location. It’s a crossroads where East and West, continental and coastal countries meet,’’ Kang said, which will also enable it to work as a springboard for innovative thinking.
``The best way to create public harmony is to respect diversity and have social considerations.’’ Kang also emphasized the role of the media in this transformation of thought, as foreigners to the country look to the press with legitimate expectations.
Not that the country is perfect, just yet. There are roughly 15,000 people who commit suicide annually here, placing Korea first in the OECD countries for suicide rates.
``Koreans are easily hurt, self-esteem easily lowered, so we end up making dramatic choices,’’ he said. Koreans are influenced by the country’s compressed, turbulent 60 years of history that saw such expansive growth. ``To have so many people committing suicide, it’s not an individual problem, but a national and social problem.’’
``It’s important for us to find what makes people unhappy,’’ Kang said. ``We give blood tests for free, but we should also be providing psychological-evaluation tests as well.’’
``We should set a goal to help citizens build healthy mentalities. That should not only be the goal for Korea, but Asia as well,” he said.
The AJA is holding an international forum from Oct. 28 to 30 at Yonsei University and aboard the KTX en route from Seoul to the southern port city of Busan. Expected to be in attendance include former National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-oh, Rep. Lee Jong-kul of the opposition Democratic Party, announcer Jin Yang-hye, Ven. Beopryun and others, from celebrities to members of the press including foreign journalists.
inesmin@koreatimes.co.kr