Unemployed or Funemployed?

By Chung Eun-ji

I read the article ``'Funemployed' Love Their Status" recently published by The Korea Times in its special section and thought that I wish I could be a ``funemployed" person when I quit my job, because the people in the story take advantage of being out of work and enjoy the time for themselves.

Instead of lamenting about being fired and jobless, these people chose to make use of the time and devoted it to things such as traveling, reading, or even going to the beach and enjoying margaritas.

So after reading the article, several things came to mind. Why can't people in our society bear the state of being unemployed? Unplanned things can happen: the company you work for may go bankrupt, they may fire you, or you may have difficulty finding a job right away after graduating from college. Suffering from the stress of not having a job only pressurizes people more.

Due to the depressed economy, the employment rate is reportedly down. It is not difficult for me to find jobless people around me. Actually, I am well aware of the frozen job market since many of my friends are having trouble getting jobs. So it has become taboo to ask recent university graduates whether they have a job since such queries will only trouble them more.

I hear stories from my friends that they have sent more than 100 resumes, but all of them were rejected. They tell me the frustration of not being accepted. They say that it is sad that the companies for which they apply to work do not recognize their abilities. However, many say that the thing that makes them even crazier is that they feel like they are disappointing their parents, their friends ― who once regarded them as a talented student ― and even themselves.

I understand their feelings. To us, getting hired means much more than just making a living. It is a name tag that labels you as ``somebody," and indicates that you belong to ``some group." Therefore, if you do not get accepted to ``some group," you are labeled as an outsider who does not belong to a portion of society. So for those who have always been in a group ― labeled as a ``student" before graduating from college ― the fact that they are no longer titled as a decent ``something,'' but sorted out as the ``unemployed,'' is hard to face.

I have met many people who were not satisfied with their jobs but decided not to quit. Many times it was because they were reluctant to quit jobs that others considered as a fairly good one. But I doubt that they felt truly satisfied throughout their five weekdays of work.

Let's be generous to ourselves and stop being so self-critical. Don't we work to live a happier life? We do not always have to belong to a certain group. I believe people will get more satisfaction when they do what they love, not when they chose to do something that others consider valuable.

In this regard, I suggest that jobseekers get rid of their frustration and consider this time as a short vacation given to them to think about what they truly want to do. As Steve Jobs said in a commencement speech at Stanford University, ``Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

So to those readers who are in agony because they don't have a job at this moment, I want to tell them to change their thoughts a little and cherish this moment. If you happen to be ``unemployed," then make yourself ``funemployed."

After all, the only difference between the two is one letter.

The writer is a longtime reader of The Korea Times who lives in Seoul. She can be reached at Comoros@hanmail.net.