Why so busy?

By Park Moo-jong

How many times did you say today, "I have been so busy all day?"

People these days, notably we, Koreans, habitually blurt out, "I am so busy."

The highlight of the expression in Korea about being too busy can mean, "I am so busy that I don't even have time to die," or "I am too busy to find a time to eat."

I wonder if no time to eat may mean a time to die. What a pity!

When asked "how is it going?" the common response is typically, "fine, thank you," as most Korean beginners in English learn.

But a close second would be "busy."

Why are we so busy? What makes us feel busy, always pressed for time, even if we are not actually that busy.

Scenes at subway stations prove that people are really busy, enough to surprise foreigners visiting Korea for the first time.

As soon as the train arrives at the platform, passengers pour out of the coaches so hurriedly and dash to stairs or escalators; and most of them walk on the moving staircase, as if they are being chased by something dreadful.

I really asked a transit passenger politely some time ago, "If you hurry, does your train come faster?" He was waiting for a train when I got to the transit platform around a minute later.

Koreans are also second to none in terms of "speed" in eating. According to government statistics, nearly half of office workers finish their meals within 10 minutes. The increasing popularity of eating alone (or "honbap" in Korean) spurs on the speed.

An office worker's confession is be a good explanation: "As I have to return to work, I eat extremely fast,."

As I wrote a year-and-a-half ago in this column, the trademark phrase for busy and quick-tempered Koreans is "ppalli, ppalli" meaning "hurry up, hurry up" or "quickly, quickly."

This phrase has already become an international one that most foreign people working in the services industry well understand at restaurants, airports, hotels and elsewhere at tourist destinations worldwide.

The virtue of Korean tourists in package groups is that their food should be served as soon as they sit at the table.

It is not only ordinary citizens who (think they) are busy all the time. Leaders from all walks of life, especially, those in the political world and law enforcement authorities, are so busy that they seem to have little time to catch their breath.

All of society appears to be in a great hurry for possible "reforms" or "political interests" at the risk of the already groaning economy.

The independent counsel or special prosecutor, assigned to bring to light the truth about the "Choi Soon-sil Gate" scandal involving President Park Geun-hye _ impeached by the National Assembly _ is busily wielding absolute power, targeting whoever they want.

The special prosecutor team, which is set to end its activity on Feb. 28, has already asked for the extension of its legal existence.

Constitutional Court judges are also so busy in trying to wrap up the presidential impeachment trial, allegedly no later than the middle of March, even if there is no deadline for their job.

There is no reason for the court to be busy to reach a verdict on the parliamentary impeachment against the head of state, although it appears to have set a deadline for approval of the parliamentary action, perhaps pressed by the "candle lit rallies".

Indeed, they are so busy without any holidays, even legal ones.

Something else that is interesting is the cause of the parting of celebrity couples. Many of them make the excuse that they had to say goodbye because they were too busy to meet each other. What nonsense!

Telling somebody, "I'm so busy," in many cases, is an irresponsible answer for many of us. It's something like a reflex answer to any question people of today may receive from others.

Of course, saying "so busy" can be a good excuse to reject various invitations or avoid meetings one does not want to join.

Personally, however, I firmly believe there is no such thing as "so busy" in our daily life.

Few are busy actually. It's all about priorities.

If we truly prioritize something, we will be able to make time for it. Be it relationships, friendships or something else, we always have time for anything if we make it.

We all have time for what we choose to have time for. It depends on ourselves. There is definitely nothing that the people are too busy to do.

Hosts of many parties, dinners or conferences used to tell me, when I attended the events, "Thank you very much for joining us despite your busy schedule."

At many private or public gatherings, such as birthday parties or hearings, the host's first words are mostly the same. "I have to express my deep gratitude for you join us even if you are so busy."

My answer is always the same. "No, I am not that busy. Rather, I'd like to thank you for your invitation. Thank you so much." Making some time to do something like attending a dinner as an invited guest largely depends on a person's decision, no matter how busy they are.

I love to tell my friends or others who are late for various meetings for "being busy," jokingly, "Ah, you were so busy. Then, why didn't you come yesterday?"

Staffan Linder (1931-2000), a Swedish economist and conservative politician (who was minister of trade from 1976-1981) said, "So being rich can make you rich, but being rich makes you feel busier still.

Park Moo-jong is The Korea Times advisor. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper founded in 1951 after he worked as a reporter of the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei20@gmail.com.