When we ask
people who have different nationalities about custom they want to inform
others, everyone will have more than one answer. I also have a great deal of
ideas but now I will focus on one Korean traditional custom, being polite to
others. Recently, even though people can meet each other faster and easier than
ever before, thanks to the Internet, they are feeling left out. This is largely
because after capitalism became the main stream, we are forced to compete with other
participants of society and win. These nonstop competitions caused a human
alienation phenomenon, which means people think they cannot believe anyone in
the society which they are included. By adopting our custom, however, the world
would be a much better place to live in. Now, I am going to support my idea by
presenting two reasons.
First, Koreans
have the tendency to respect the elder, only because he or she is older than we
are. Korea was once called as 'the country of courteous people in the East’ by
the Chinese. We acquired this fame because the Chinese were surprised to see our
forefathers being very kind to their grandparents. As this information tells
you, our forefathers stressed the importance of being polite to others
especially to the elder. For example, even today it is normal in Korea to give up
the seat, which you were sitting on, for the elders regardless of your tiredness
in the subway. If you respect people who are older than you, the next
generation will do the same to you. This I believe is an important factor to overcome
alienation because feeling that you are respected makes you to be more
enthusiastic in building a close relationship with the next generation.
Second, Koreans
emphasizes relationships between neighbors. In ancient times, Koreans relied on
agriculture and the success or failure of the year’s farming had a critical
impact on people's survivals. In order to maximize the quantity of crops Koreans
helped each other. As time passed, this tradition changed into trust and cooperation
between neighbors which is very helpful to feel that you are being welcomed to a
society. Let me explain with my personal experience. A few years ago I had a
hard time adjusting to a new school. I felt lonely and left out. However a boy
who lived next door approached me only because I was his neighbor. We became
close friends then, and I did not feel lonely anymore. The keystone for people
not to feel left out is having a friend, but it is quiet hard to build friendship
because of alienation. However, if other countries adopted our Korean custom,
they would solve human alienation phenomenon.
No one can deny that
even in Korea, more and more people are feeling isolated. Nevertheless, this
tradition keeps our society from falling apart. Therefore for all countries which
suffer from human alienation, I suggest to those countries to take Korea as a
model and adopt our tradition of being polite to others, and break through the
problem.
They are terrible but didactic
They are terrible but didactic
Categories:
Essay
Hi. I am Seunghyun Lee, your classmate. I read your essay very interestingly. However, I wonder that there is no concern between being friendly to neighbors and being polite to others.
TO. King Jong Hyun!!
Hi I'm Haeun :)
Because I agree that it will be good for other countries if they adopt our polite manner, I read your essay interestingly.
But, like Seunghyun, I thought your essay must be better if you wrote more about how the relationship between neighbors and being polite is related.
See you tommorow:)
FROM. Haeun
Jonghyun, this essay is very good and I enjoyed reading it. But there are several points that I would like to unwillingly point out.
You didn't address the fact that other cultures embraced customs similar to this custom in nature. Most countries teach children to be polite to others. Also, the focus of this essay is kind of scattered - the readers will be somewhat confused about the main theme. I think it is good to clarify whether it is the elders or the neighbors you are focusing on.
Otherwise, it was very good, with only few errors in grammar. Thank you!
hum. So I am not polite. OK.
I'm trying to understand your rationale here: why would you write an essay which is essentially stating that only Koreans are polite? Basic manners are taught universally, and while those manners may differ, they are the cornerstone of any civil society. While you may be excused for being naive, it is my duty to ensure you avoid making these kinds of unfounded, generalized, and some may argue, chauvinistic, statements.
From my understanding of Korean history, the divide between the rich and the poor was much wider before the advent of democracy and capitalism; also, the civil service exams pitted many students against one another for a limited number of positions. Simply stated, your argument does not stand up to logical criticism even on a superficial level.
As far as organization is concerned, focusing on one of the examples you bring forth would bring more cohesion to your essay; list the specific aspects you will discuss in your introduction as well.