A happy retirement life
By Park Sung-ik
I retired honorably from a high school in February at the early age of 55. I thought I had exerted all my energy teaching English to students, and would now like to find the true meaning of life after quitting my lifelong job.
It occurred to me that I need not live competitively if I meet the necessities of life ― food, clothing, shelter, etc. Fortunately, I will receive a pension until death, enough to provide a living for my family; compensation for dedicated teaching over a period of 30 years.
The problem is that people around me ― my relatives and acquaintances ― keep asking me why I quit such a decent job. They make it sound as if retirement is the end of life. It seems that they do not know how to enjoy a leisurely life. I mean that they can't stand remaining calm and relaxed at home.
When I retired, I saved a young temporary teacher who was on the verge of being fired, because there was no position for him.
Retirement means giving up one's seat to another person, and it gives young unemployed people jobs when the unemployment rate among young people continues to rise. Korea’s youth joblessness has become a bigger problem than the rapidly aging population.
Therefore it is advisable that public servants and teachers should not be re-employed after retirement because they get enough pension money to be the envy of people in other professions.
That is because dirty connections between officialdom and industry turned out to be one of the causes of the Sewol ferry calamity that cost the lives of more than 300 people.
It is a general practice for those who retire from government offices to get jobs at related corporations. It is one of the biggest problems in our society.
The present government should sever that kind of ties between bureaucrats and business. The bad practice prevents new ideas from being injected into civil service and hampers the overall development of the nation.
According to the Bible, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed." Also Confucius said in The Analects, “Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel."
These passages can be also applied to an overhaul of the bureaucratic system. In order to build a safer and more secure society, the government should recruit private sector experts to higher positions, not re-employ old retired public officials.
The retirees should stay at home, not pursue more money, fame and power. They can find resources to keep themselves busy and enjoy their life without getting jobs and earning money if they get enough pension.
For instance, they can help wives perform household chores such as cooking, housekeeping, washing and gardening. They can enjoy every moment in life doing those kinds of chores. And they will become their routine, as time goes by.
In addition, they can enjoy hobbies such as writing, hiking, painting, playing musical instruments, travelling, playing sports, fishing and so on.
Furthermore, developing the habit of reading books is good for mental health. This adds lots of knowledge, and broadens their mindsets.
They can spend set aside time to read good, spiritual books, such as the Holy Bible and
. They can update themselves with the latest knowledge by reading newspapers and magazines.
According to The Analects of Confucius, when Confucius was at home, he was relaxed and comfortable. Likewise, they had better learn how to stay calm at home and enjoy their retirement.
The writer is a retired English teacher. His email address is parksi48@daum.net.