Recently, North Korea threatened the South by carrying out military drills that involved simulated attacks on Seoul using more than 100 pieces of long-range artillery.

The North insolently declared it would turn the South Korean capital into “a sea of flames.” Strangely, no one in the South seemed to care or be on alert.

Clearly, this situation posed a serious threat to South Korea’s national security, and yet the people in the South seemed completely oblivious. But what if the North were to actually strike the South? South Korea would immediately be thrown into chaos. Unfortunately, however, we do not seem to be prepared for such crises. 

The same thing applies to Korean drivers. When their car breaks down on the road, Koreans simply call roadside assistance and helplessly wait for the emergency towing car. This is a common scene on the streets of Korea because most Koreans know virtually nothing about what lies under the hood of their cars. In fact, whenever a car develops a problem in Korea, the driver brings his car to a nearby auto service center to have it fixed. Even bus drivers and chauffeurs, who are very good at driving, are likely to be unable to identify or fix even minor mechanical problems. When a major breakdown happens, therefore, they just panic.   

Other countries are quite different. While living in the States for about 10 years, I observed that most Americans could fix minor mechanical problems on their own. I also noticed that Americans were very good at maintaining not only their cars, houses and buildings but also their lawns, yards and garages.

Besides, Americans are fans of DIY. It is only natural that Americans are well prepared for emergencies. For example, most American houses have a room in the basement that stores emergency food rations. Some people even have electric generators for possible blackouts.

Americans always seem to have backup plans, just in case their initial plan does not work out. Even better, they have contingency plans as well for unexpected emergencies. Moreover, Americans act swiftly in an emergency or crisis.

One can find other interesting differences between the two countries. hile American society emphasizes the importance of being rational and reasonable, Korean society does not seem to be bothered by irrationality. As a result, contradictions are rampant in Korean society. For example, as soon as you retire, you will be bombarded by mandatory health insurance fees in Korea, usually twice as much as before your retirement. How they can increase health insurance fees for a retiree who does not have regular income eludes me. But it does not seem to be a problem in Korean society.

Even worse, the National Health Insurance Service imposes extra health insurance fees on people who have extra income even if he pays monthly insurance fees at work already. In addition to the monthly deduction, the NHIS sends a separate invoice to the person’s home address to collect more money from those who work harder to increase their income. In American eyes, this may be totally unreasonable, and yet it is perfectly all right in Korean society where people live and cope with irrationality every day.

Another example is the contradictory policies Korean college administrators are facing. Universities are informed that they will be given funding by the government if they expand their engineering or natural science departments. Since the student quota is fixed, they have to comply with the request by downsizing in the humanities.

This policy, called the Prime Project, is designed to develop advanced science and technology. At the same time, the government bestows a substantial amount of money to boost the humanities and liberal arts education at college. That policy is called the Core Project. To Western eyes, these contradictions may look like a Sphinx’s riddle. Once again, the lesson is “You should learn to cope with contradictions if you want to survive in Korean society.” 

Another example of Koreans’ tolerance of contradictions is that in Korea people often tend to reuse empty bottles whereas Americans throw them away. Here is what happens as a result: Koreans often put digestives in an empty bottle of cold medicine or vice versa. Americans do not seem to tolerate the difference between the label and the content. Americans seem to think that a cold medicine bottle should contain tablets or capsules because it would be confusing and even dangerous otherwise. However, Koreans, who are used to contradictions, can deal with such problems without difficulty.

Sometimes, embracing irrationality and contradictions is necessary in order to be flexible. Nevertheless, this can easily turn into indifference to crises, leaving us with no preparations and no plans at all. We need to build a rational society and prepare backup and contingency plans in order to deal with imminent crises, whether political or financial.

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. -- Ed.