Once again, professionalism is at stake in Korea. True professionalism means pride, honor and a sense of obligation in one’s job or position, not arrogance. True professionalism entails noblesse oblige -- the privileged caring for the less well-off -- as well. Therefore, if you were a prosecutor who has true professionalism and noblesse oblige, you would not take bribes from suspects.

Likewise, if you are a college professor with true professionalism and decency, you would never seduce or harass your female students, using good grades as bait. And if you were an elementary or secondary school teacher with true professionalism and integrity, you would not receive money from your students’ parents. In reality, however, such things are still happening -- if not rampant -- in Korean society.

All of these indicate that we seriously lack professionalism. We also lack decency, integrity and dignity that come with our job. A political leader, for example, if he had true professionalism, would never flee alone, leaving his people in danger during wartime. Yet our first president did so during the Korean War. He and his aides not only ran for their lives, but also destroyed the bridge on the Han River under the excuse of delaying the North Korean troops.

But what about the lives of the Seoulites who could not escape because there was no bridge to cross the Han River? Our political leaders did not care. Obviously, they are gravely deficient in the leader’s code and honor. 

Embarrassingly, the tradition still persists in the 21st century. For example, the captain of an ill-fated ferryboat abandoned his capsized ship for his life, leaving his passengers behind in the sinking ship. Undoubtedly, the sea captain had neither professionalism nor noblesse oblige.

We also saw an army officer running for his life, leaving his men behind when a psychologically unstable soldier began shooting randomly in a military camp. An army officer should take care of his soldiers and be ready to sacrifice himself for them in times of crisis. If your social status or rank is higher than others, you should act accordingly. That is, you should demonstrate noblesse oblige and a strong sense of responsibility in order to be esteemed by others. Respect is not something that is given to you automatically. You need to earn it and the price may be costly.

Some time ago, several Navy generals were arrested for taking bribes from munitions companies while contracting multi-million dollar weapons. Those corrupt soldiers, too, are short of professionalism and decency. If you have insignias on your uniform, you should be decent enough not to take bribes. If those generals had pride, decency and professionalism as soldiers, they would not have taken the bribes. This is what Leslie Fiedler lamented, calling it sarcastically “noble-less oblige.”

These days, South Korea’s National Assembly members have been criticized for their inappropriate acts and verbal slurs. In the case of the United States, Congressmen and Senators are highly esteemed because they are known to value decency and integrity suitable to their social status and seldom do despicable things. Unfortunately, our National Assembly members do not seem to have acquired the proper respect they deserve. Should they act and talk gently in a decent manner instead of abusing the power bestowed upon them, they, too, would be held in esteem.   

According to newspaper reports, there are some evil taxi drivers who try to rip off foreign tourists by detouring and demanding astronomical amounts as fare. These taxi-drivers-turned-robbers ruin the reputation of Korea and make the tourists curse and never want to return to this country again. These taxi drivers, too, seriously lack professionalism. Cab drivers should be nice and friendly to foreigners and take them to their destination safe and sound. Instead, the bad drivers take advantage of the situation for monetary profits, which is mean and disgusting. 

Privileged positions require responsibility and noblesse oblige. Instead, we tend to wield power and abuse those who are under us. That is what we call, “Gapjil,” which means, “Alpha male’s power-wielding.” The same thing goes to our pets. In the eyes of our pets, humans are more privileged than them. Then being human, too, requires responsibility and decency. Since we are in charge of our pets, we are responsible for their welfare and thus should protect and care for them. Unfortunately, there are so many abandoned kittens and puppies in the streets of Korea. Newspaper reports say that the Korean Animal Protection Society arranges adoption for alley cats and stray dogs to find homes overseas. It is a shame because the pet adoption, too, indicates that we acutely lack a sense of responsibility. 

We should have pride and professionalism in what we do, no matter what our job is. We should not lose decency and integrity. We should assume the responsibility that our position requires. We should play down the power bestowed upon us because of our title, and exercise noblesse oblige instead. Surely, then, can we build a better society to live in.   

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.