If young people come to me for advice, which is not likely, I would gladly oblige, hoping they would not repeat my generation’s follies. As someone who has extensively travelled all over the world and witnessed many things both in Korea and overseas, I may have some insights into what they want to know.

My first advice is that you should try to become an eagle-like person who can endure solitude and soar into the skies. Once in the sky, you will have a bird’s-eye view, and realize how silly you were, agonizing over trivial things. In the sky, you can see your country from a wider perspective, within the scope of the rest of the world. You can spread your wings fully and fly to different countries to meet other people and discover new places. They will open your eyes and broaden the horizon of your otherwise narrow mind. So never be afraid of being alone, and you will experience what Emerson wrote in “Nature:”

“Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, all mean egotism vanishes. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me. I am part or particle of God.”

You should not flock together like domestic ducks. They are gregarious poultry that arrogantly strut in a flock, and yet they cannot fly, hopelessly stuck on the ground for good. When in a flock, they quack loudly, full of wild spirit. When stray from the group, however, a duck will become helpless and at a loss. Watching you swarming at schools and on the streets, I cannot help thinking of a flock of domestic ducks. I hope Korea becomes an eagle’s nest and our young people fly high until they reach where only eagles dare to fly.

I would also advise you to be a lion-hearted person. If someone is vulnerable or wounded, you should protect him or her and not take advantage of the situation and do harm to the person. Only hyenas attack injured animals. A noble knight would never do such a mean, indecent thing. Likewise, when finding a person in trouble, you should help him out, not con him by taking advantage of his situation. A lion would never do such a mean thing.

The third advice I would like to give you is that you should be consistent. In Korea, consistency does not matter and thus people quickly and frequently change their words or loyalty. But that can easily deteriorate into cowardice and malice. By the same token, you should not create or join factions. A great man or woman would never be caught in factional strife.

My fourth advice is that you should be aware of imminent dangers and be ready for any possible disasters. A foreigner who visited Korea in the late nineteenth century wrote, “Koreans do not know about their internal affairs. Worse, they are even more ignorant of international situations.” Korea now faces unprecedented international crisis caught as it is in the crossfire between China, Japan and the United States. Not knowing the impending crisis, the older generation is still preoccupied with internal brawls and factional skirmishes. I hope young people are different from us. It is much better to be prepared than regret later. Remember Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius!

My fifth advice is “Do not give up,” and “Always think positively.” You are raised as rich kids who are thus vulnerable to hardship and tend to give up easily even before giving it a try. “I can’t do it,” you frequently whine, “It’s impossible.”

My advice is “Come on. You can do it.” Youth is a precious privilege. You have infinite possibilities and can do anything you want to. Do not blame your parents for you not having a silver spoon in your mouth. Jesus was born in a barn, and yet He became a savior for human beings.

Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” begins with the lines, “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.’”

Dear young Koreans, perhaps you do not realize that you have been raised on the graves of the older generation that has died fighting for freedom. You would never understand how your parents and grandparents endured and fought against hunger and tyranny to ensure that you grew up in a better world. You would not possibly know what kind of ordeals and social upheavals the older generation has gone through. So please do not blame them for your problems.

I know my generation should have left you a safer, better world. Brooding over the grim situation of Korea, I feel a sharp pang in my heart. You are the only hope we now have. Take my advice and change the future.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. He can be reached at sukim@snu.ac.kr. -- Ed.