SNU professor back with another advice book for youth


It seems like Seoul National University Professor Kim Ran-do still has a lot of advice to give to young people, even after the success of his first collection of essays, “You are Young, Because You are Suffering.”

The consumer science professor recently published another advice book, which is also written for 20-somethings in the country. While his former best-selling book specifically targeted university students, the new one, titled “You Become an Adult after a Thousand Struggles,” speaks to those who just started their professional career.

The book turned out to be another feel-good account of “painful youth,” filled with comforting words with no real discussion about the systemic problems faced by young people in Korea. 

“Many young people would come to me and say they want to quit their jobs,” Kim said during a press conference on Monday, arguing the first priority for young professionals should be “growing up.”

“They tell me they are always overworked, their boss is crazy, and they are not getting paid enough. My advice is stay as long as you think you can grow professionally and take the next step forward. And you should quit and leave your job ― regardless how easy and comfortable it is ― if you think none of that is happening.”

Kim said he wrote his first book, “You are Young, Because You are Hurt,” as he witnessed so many of his own students struggling. Too many of them were obsessed with the idea of success, beating out competitors, and securing a job that’s stable and popular, he said.

With more than 1 million copies sold, the book was the nation’s best-seller last year.

“I think many young people these days don’t get to experience what they are supposed to experience when they are teenagers,” Kim said.

“They put them off because they have to get into good universities first, and the competition is so severe. So when they are in their 20s, they are still emotionally in their teenage years. And when they start their professional careers, they are still dealing with the kind of problems that they should’ve dealt with when they were in college.

“Even if a young man secures a high-paying job, he is most likely unsure if it’s what he really wants,” he continued.

“That’s why the employment separation rate among young people is so high in this country, while youth unemployment rate is also high.”

Just like his first book, however, the newly published essay does not address the systemic problems, such as high unemployment rate, severe competition, and long work hours ― which young people face today. His message, while comforting and reinvigorating, ultimately suggests endurance ― not progressiveness or resistance.

Kim should be more than aware of the well-known statistics on youth in this country. Suicide remained the single largest cause of death among young people here for three straight years from 2008 to 2010. Of the youths polled, 8.8 percent said they had thought about committing suicide, with 53.4 percent citing excessive education-related competition as the main cause for it. Koreans work the longest hours among OECD countries.

What Kim said at the press conference, as well as the basic logic of his latest book is problematic, because he omits to question whether one’s professional growth is worth working overtime, not to mention being exploited and suicidal. According to what he said at the press meeting, it is also clear that he is aware of the severe competition in the current school system. Should the kids simply “endure” the system so they can “grow” into a capable professional in the end?

“Our generation is competing against each other for a limited number of jobs and resources,” said a medical researcher in her 20s, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“I did not like ‘You are Young, Because You are Suffering,’ because he is pretty much saying, ‘You must be sad that there aren’t enough jobs and opportunities. Well, that’s life. And who knows, you can be one of the winners.’ He just says it in a very comforting manner. But what he says is irresponsible, because he just dumps all the systemic problems to young individuals, and tells them to solve them on their own.”

“Is it even possible to grow, either professionally and personally, if you are being overworked and your boss is horrible?” said a graduate student in her 20s, who also wanted to remain anonymous. The life science major, who attends a prestigious university in Seoul, works 12 hours a day, six days a week at her advisor’s lab. What she gets in return is her tuition.

“I guess I’ve gained some practical skills for a number of experiments in this lab. I’ve not taken a vacation for the past year. I don’t think I grew at all at a personal level while being a grad student.”

In one of the chapters, Kim advises his readers to “love their destinies,” ― regardless of how harsh and unbearable they are ― by introducing a Latin term “Amor fati.”

The term, which roughly translates as “love of one’s fate,” describes an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in his or her life, including suffering, as good, and accepts them as they are.

But no human being, regardless of their age, should simply “accept” and “endure” their sufferings, especially if they are caused by unjust social structures and systems.

The duty of youth is to challenge corruption, Kurt Cobain once said. Anyone who takes Kim’s life advice will most likely leave that duty unfulfilled.

By Claire Lee  (dyc@heraldcorp.com)