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Kpopmap's Best K-Lit: "Because I Hate Korea", A Novel To Make You Understand Korean Society

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In this novel by Chang KangMyeong, journalist and writer, we discover the life of Kyena, a young twenty-seven-year-old employee who decides overnight to leave her native country of Korea for an unknown country, Australia. What does she know about this island in Oceania? Nothing, except that life there seems more peaceful and less oriented towards constant competition.

Does she speak English? Very little. She uses "Konglish" terms, English words whose pronunciation has been adjusted to the Korean language. However, it is almost without glancing behind her that she leaves everything: friends, love, and family. The novel opens with her breaking up with her boyfriend, JiMyeong, while she is at the airport, ready for her first trip overseas. For Kyena, goodbyes are simple, devoid of pain and feeling. She is almost relieved to leave. Her reason? Because she hates Korea.

Note: This novel is only available in Korea, French, and Spanish. However, we thought its insight into Korean society was interesting enough to provide you with this article. Therefore, the quotations are translated by us.

About the author and the novel

DLKL

Born in 1975 in Seoul, Chang KangMyeong was a columnist for eleven years for a major daily before starting to write fiction. From his career as a journalist, he has kept a factual writing style that he puts at the service of current issues that agitate Korean society. The insight and analytical finesse of his approach have made the success of his novels. Due to his numerous literary awards, Chang KangMyeong became a well-known author in Korea.

To this day, Chang KangMyeong published 9 books, including "Because I hate Korea", published in 2015. The novel became an instant best-seller.

Synopsis: Why did I decide to leave? In two words, it's because I hate Korea. Kyena, twenty-seven, has everything it seems to be happy. So why does she decide to leave everything? Her country, her family, her job, all that to emigrate to Australia when she doesn't even speak English! But Kyena has planned everything, well almost: she leaves her boyfriend at the airport, leaves behind competition, hierarchy, and the too-narrow mold of Korean society; for her, it all starts now! The roommate, the meetings, the odd jobs, or even the bed bugs, not everything will go exactly as she had planned. But what a joy to reinvent yourself away from your family!

Quaterni / Yes24 / Picquier

Leave everything to start all over again

Her reasons for hating Korea, Kyena gives them to us over the pages. And the first exposed one is that of the competition. In a society of appearances where everyone is in competition with others, some individuals refuse to comply with the dictates of competition imposed on them from childhood. Kyena feels unable to fight every day to succeed. She does not ask for any recognition or aspire to go through the stages faster or better than the others, but simply seeks to flourish. This is how she left Korea to try her luck in a completely unknown country.

However, an obstacle stands in front of her in her quest for happiness, language. Kyena does not speak English. Unable to stand it any longer in Korea, she nevertheless decides to leave. She is so different from her friends who only aspire to make a good marriage, almost automatically recounting the setbacks of their lives over a bottle of soju, on the benches of the university where they once knew each other. These are unhappy, always complaining because of a mother-in-law who is too harsh or a job that is too demanding.

Kyena prefers to take matters into her own hands before becoming embittered like her former comrades. Leaving everything frightens her at first, but the excitement takes over when the plane lands in her "adopted country". Moreover, while she is still at the airport in Korea, alone after having passed the security checks, her period started. Taken aback, and without being able to do anything about it, she continues to move towards her future.

This is how I crossed the border. By bleeding.

Although the relationship to the female body is relatively taboo in Korea, this passage supports two interpretations. That of course physical, but also symbolic. By taking this plane, the young woman said goodbye to her loved ones and to her native land. Something breaks, tears, and even if this "goodbye Korea" is not forever, she has made a choice; renouncing a conformist society that does not correspond to her, renouncing her boyfriend that she will end up regretting, and renouncing this family which will make her pay for her individualism in a society organized around the Confucian precept of filial piety. The separation is difficult but is quickly overcome by this new life reaching out to her.

Is the female body a real taboo?

Talking about taboos regarding the female body may not be true, but it may not be entirely false either. Indeed, Korea is very much based on the cult of appearance: you have to be beautiful to succeed in life. This is a bit of the message that society sends out, which pushes more and more people every day to have cosmetic surgery to conform to the ideal image of society.

Beauty criterias are usually known as: slim waist, long legs, pale skin, heart-shaped face, elongated nose, full lips, and most importantly, big eyes. The main operations are thus the nose and the eyes, but more and more people are having their chin and cheekbones redone, to have a doll-like appearance. It is therefore not uncommon to hear complaints that all Koreans, mainly women, are alike. This was the case several times for the election of Miss Korea, where the striking resemblance between all the candidates was pointed out. Nevertheless, men also take care of their appearance, using make-up, and also surgeries.

Miss Korea

K-Pop idols more easily admit to having surgery, like the rapper Jessi who does not hide having had her breasts and parts of her face redone, for example. Apart from the face, the weight is a matter of state. Many idols follow draconian diets so as not to exceed 50kg for women, regardless of size. Singers like PRISTIN's Kyla, IVE's LIZ, TWICE's JeongYeon, and Park Bom have received a lot of criticism for supposedly not taking care of themselves and being overweight. However, thanks to the many body positivism movements, people are beginning to defend these idols, emphasizing that being healthy does not mean being "fat". This does not prevent aesthetic clinics and hospitals from making more and more profits since even medical tourism is booming.

A phenomenon that is even very popular in Korea is the "Ulzzang". An Ulzzang is a person recognized for their beauty. Most end up becoming models, actors, and even idols, purely because of their beauty. Some people have been able to join K-pop groups only because of their "perfect" physique. We can therefore name EXO's SeHun, HimChan, MinA, Lee JoYeon, Lee Joon, and many others. These people are sometimes called "flower boys" among men for their delicate and timeless features.

A film that expresses well the malaise of Koreans around beauty and surgery that we recommend is "200 pounds of beauty", starring Kim Ajoong. On the other hand, a famous tv show called "Let me In" is about extreme relooking and plastic surgery, showing how much someone can change in a few months. It echoes the American show "The Swan" which had the same concept.

Read more about it: Daily Mail link 1 & link 2 / Wall Street Journal / Korea Times

What is filial piety?

Filial piety is closely connected to Confucianism, a phylosophy that arrived in Korea around the fourth century. It was in 1392 that it became an official ideology under the Joseon dynasty by advocating the harmony of society based on social and societal hierarchy. The fundamental ethical concepts are loyalty, filial piety, kindness and generosity, trust, propriety, etiquette, and knowledge. Confucius thus declared that there are three degrees of filial piety. The highest is being a credit to our parents, the second is not disgracing them, and the lowest is being able simply to support them.

Britannica

The family hierarchy is based on the legitimacy of age and the role and contribution of each in the family. Thus, grandparents are the highest placed in the family, and their words cannot be contradicted. Also, the husband has a higher status than the wife. Although Korean women have historically been housewives, in modern Korean society there are big changes, as more and more women prioritize work over family life at a young age.

Filial piety is practiced throughout the life of the Korean, even after the death of parents through ancestor worship. Some festivals, such as Chuseok (harvest festival) in autumn, are dedicated to paying homage to the elders because the Korean family is a strong and close-knit unit, which nevertheless loses its uniqueness as society evolves. In other terms, filial piety can be defined as the virtue and primary duty of respect, obedience, and care for the elderly, mostly family members.

AKBC

Read more about it: Korea Times / Korea JoongAng Daily / NFM

A precarious work environment

As soon as Kyena gets off the plane, she is confronted with the stereotypes foreigners have of Koreans. Indeed, the customs officer asks her if she has kimchi in her suitcase. She just heads out of the airport to a Korean student support center in Australia, where she is provided with accommodation in a garage until she finds a better place to settle down. Before leaving Korea, she had in mind that she would lead a normal life, and even hoped to end her days on Jeju Island after retiring at the age of fifty. She planned a regulated life filled with physical and artistic pursuits.

It must be said that life in Korea was a source of stress for her, especially public transport which made her want to cry. Without great ambition, Kyena was content with night work, less restrictive according to her. She had failed competitions to enter a large company, the holy grail of Korean society, and had ended up applying everywhere, accepting the first job offered to her. Much to her disappointment, she soon became aware of the unscrupulous methods of the bank that employed her. This lack of honesty led her to quit her job, the first step before expatriation.

When I was working, I didn't think.

Like Charlie Chaplin in "Modern Times", we act mechanically, without thinking, and the days go by according to an established pattern. It was this conformism that Kyena blamed on her ex-boyfriend, JiMyeong. He wanted a life granted to Korean standards, where every day is the same, but it did not suit the young woman who felt lost and disoriented regarding her uncommon desires for someone her age. She did not intend to undergo this daily stress by staying in Korea. She was tired of hearing politicians encourage women to have children, the country's birth rate being one of the weakest in the world. She didn't envision a life of obedience, so she had to act, and fast.

She had been considering Australia for some time, her departure will be on a whim. She did not have many ties in her native country anyway, she was too introverted and shunned contact with others. In addition, her bank - a common occurrence in the professional world - adopted an inappropriate attitude towards the fairer sex, placing women in "suitable" positions that did not require much effort, highlighting their physic to attract customers: in Korea, many people are hired primarily for their looks or the reputation of the university they attended rather than for their skills.

The novel also documents many other aspects of the working environment in Korea, such as going for a drink with colleagues after work, even if the day often ends very late, or even going to karaoke. The life of individuals is organized around their professional life, which almost takes precedence over family life. Kyena does not like to eat with her colleagues, stays away from them, she does not like her work, it is a general fed up that is established in her mind.

She also does not like her superior who tries to stir up the sympathy of her female colleagues. And she's not the only one who's had enough of the misogynistic jokes, seen as outrageous. Many people in his circle of acquaintances make the same observation but refuse to emigrate for fear of being badly seen, and especially because they are convinced that everything is just a bad patch, that the problems will be solved by them. themselves. In reality, it is fear that holds them back.

Why Australia?

Australia is often one of the destinations mentioned when a Korean is asked where he would like to live or study. However, it is not that simple for them to obtain an Australian residency card or citizenship. Australia is a country that for several decades has been close to Asia. Its population is multicultural, where social cohesion reigns. Australia is also a country that is very attentive to its tourists and nationals, so it can be complicated to get there simply to travel. Strict rules are put in place to guarantee the safety of its people and their development.

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, more than 2000 Koreans were granted citizenship between July 2017 and June 2018 and is one of the fastest-growing immigrant communities in Australia. But citizenship is something else. The concept of social citizenship refers to the idea that people have the right to live a life that is generally comparable to that of other individuals in society. This can be done through the employment of people who are able to enjoy a reasonably comfortable level of material comfort.

ABS

Several emigrations can be cited regarding the Korean population in Australia. During the 1960s, the number of Koreans who came to Australia started to increase and became more significant during the 1970s. Then, economic reasons lead Koreans to immigrate following the 1980s. You can see above the percentage distribution of selected immigrant groups in Australia by birthplace and time of arrival. We can then see a shift in immigrant tendencies before and after 2000. In 2016, an Australian Bureau of Statistics for the Department of Home Affairs' Census recorded 98,776 South Korean-born people in Australia, an increase of 32.5 percent from the 2011 Census.

Many people in Australia consider Korean churches to be a significant part of their culture. They also help maintain traditions through their cuisine, dance, and language. The Korean community can be found in various places such as language schools, Korean television broadcasts, and publications within Australia. However, the lack of engagement in cultural activities in Australia is attributed to the low level of English proficiency of Korean immigrants.

Read more about it: Sage Journal / ABS / Cosmopolitan Civil Society

Is Korea that competitive?

Dutch sailor Hamel Hamel was stranded on the island of Jeju in 1653, and he was held captive there for 13 years. He wrote about his experience in Korea and how he was surprised by the country's intensive education. Nowadays, South Korea's students have been rising in the global academic competence rankings. They are among the top performers in various assessments such as the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). Moreover, the high education completion rate in Korea is among the highest in the world. This is because many adults in the country have already earned their degrees. But competition doesn't stop in education, it actually impacts many other fields such as jobs, promotions, and even marriages sometimes, resulting in a really low fertility rate.

According to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the total fertility rate ("The total fertility rate in a specific year is defined as the total number of children that would be born to each woman if she were to live to the end of her child-bearing years and give birth to children in alignment with the prevailing age-specific fertility rates." - OECD) in 2018 was 0.98, the lowest in the world. It has been the case for several years actually. You can see below the evolution of the total fertility rate including Korea as the lowest and Israel as the highest. You can check more data here. Korea's fertility rate is a direct result of competitiveness as people are more focused on their work and success rather than their family life.

OECD

Moreover, the "bbali bbali' culture aims that everything should be done quickly not to lose time, and it can be considered as a form of competitiveness. A direct example is the "Miracle on the Han River". In just 70 years, Korea ranked itself among the world's top 10 economic powers alongside Canada (9), Italy (8), France (7), India (6), the United Kingdom (5), Germany (4), Japan (3), China (2) and the United States (1). Korea also joined the OECD in 1996 after only three decades of outstanding growth. During the 1960s, the country started implementing export-oriented economic policies. Initially, the main export items were light industrial products, which were mainly manufactured in small factories. During the 1970s, Korea started investing in heavy chemical facilities.

The 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul provided the country with an opportunity to join the "elite group" of advanced nations. The media in the United States and other countries regarded Korea as one of the four Asian tigers (Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong). In 1996, it became a member of the OECD. By 2010, Korea had emerged as the world’s 7th largest exporting country. The peninsula is now a leader in several exportation fields and part of the G20. As a member of the G20, Korea is actively involved in shaping policies related to global issues such as climate change mitigation and international trade. It is also working to bridge the gap between developing and leading economies in Southeast Asia.

KITA

Read more about it: OECD / Korea JoongAng Daily / Irish Times

First steps in unknown territory

Life in Australia does not change much from that which Kyena led in Korea, on one point: housing. In Korea, she shared a room with her two sisters; in Australia, she lives in what is called a "coop", a kind of student dormitory in a house or apartment also run by a student. While strolling the streets, she notices that cars drive on the left, unlike in Korea. But she discovers a new freedom: she, who did not correspond to the Korean beauty standard, is thin and much whiter than the locals.

It is true that in Korea, having an hourglass figure and a porcelain complexion is important. This is associated with wealth, purity, and elegance. A person with "tan skin" will refer to the countryside, to workers in the fields exposed to the sun, while a person with a rather plump build will refer to a person who does not take care of himself and who neglects himself. Thus, Kyena finally fits into the "beauty standard" box, without actually being in it from the Korean perspective. This simple observation gives her self-confidence, and she feels more ready to explore this new world.

Discovering an Australia that is less populated than in her thoughts makes her think of AhYeon, the popular district of Seoul where she grew up. She then remembers the ajeossi, men of a certain age who are sometimes a bit rustic, and notices that unlike them, the Australians have a gesture that she describes as charming and calmer. They remind him of Turtle Man, the singer of the famous song 'Bingo' that appeals to ajeossi so much. Bursting with debt, this singer died because he was unable to pay for his medical care. It illustrates the sad fate of many elderly people, often neglected by their families. In Australia, Kyena does not meet ajeossi, or even ajumma, the female equivalent of the ajeossi, working in the streets collecting bottles and boxes until their last breath in order to survive. People are freer in every way and can enjoy their retirement more peacefully than in Korea.

Excitement, loneliness, sadness, all these feelings mixed inside me.

At the help center for young Korean students, Kyena meets JaeIn, a cheeky young boy who doesn't hesitate to talk to her even though she's older than him. It is customary in Korea to ask the age of your interlocutor during a first meeting. Thus, we adapt our level of language to the person with whom we discuss, disregarding Confucian principles that command respect for elders. Kyena does not accept this "familiarity" at all, while JaeIn reminds her that social codes are different in Australia. The young woman must abandon her old habits.

I want to be happy and here [in Korea] it's impossible.

Before leaving Korea, Kyena was in a relationship with JiMyeong, a young boy a little younger than her with whom she was in a relationship for six years. She began to lose interest in him when he gained weight, focusing on his journalism studies rather than his appearance. Kyena found him too "nice" for her, lacking in spirit, passion, and ambition. Yet JiMyeong refused to take over running the business from his father. Aware of the difference in social class, JiMyeong's family was contemptuous of Kyena, whose parents were a building superintendent and a stay-at-home mother, and never missed an opportunity to dissuade JiMyeong from maintaining a relationship with the girl. A situation that ended their couple.

What is about white skin?

The obsession with skin color is not unique to Korea but is a widespread phenomenon worldwide at different scales of intensity. Indeed, as said before, having white skin, for an Asian, means being rich, and above all, not having to work outside. It is therefore not uncommon to see many women of all ages wearing sleeves to protect them from the sun, and using an umbrella when they are outdoors. Some even wear visors to protect their faces. Last year, the Netflix dating show "Single's Inferno" highlighted this societal malaise, when one contestant's remark is translated as “She is so white. My first impression of her was she is very white, so purely white.” Another participant outbid by adding “She is so white. I like people with white skin.”

Having white skin is a standard of beauty that has had its roots in Korea for a long time ago. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, the history of Koreans’ preference for white skin dates back thousands of years ago. Thus, skin whitening treatments are easily found in cosmetic shops, and there are also more advanced treatments for faster and long-term results. According to a study conducted by Global Industry Analysts, the spending on skin lightening is expected to reach $31.2 billion by 2024. This method works by reducing the amount of melanin produced in the skin. Melanin is a pigment that helps protect the skin from ultraviolet radiation. In addition, it's widely believed that Korea has developed a preference for white people due to the country's racial hierarchy. This is because the country has absorbed ideas about racial superiority from the US military according to the Korea Herald.

IU Instagram / Kai Instagram

Thus, some K-Idols are known for their beautiful skin completion, which sometimes is white such as IU, Red Velvet's Irene, and TWICE's DaHyun, and sometimes "tan" such as EXO's Kai, MAMAMOO's Hwasa, and HyoLyn. Thanks to more and more idols with different skin shades, Korean people are feeling less pressure to whiten their skin. However, the media industry promotes mainly white-skin celebrities and people ask cosmetic clinics to have the same skin as their K-celebs. Indeed, Dr. Chris Lim of the ME Cosmetic Clinic in Seoul told Artefact Magazine: "Celebrities definitely have an influence. Many patients ask us to make them look like one of their celebrities. They’ll bring a photo of their favorite celebrity to make their face look exactly like them."

Despite those beauty standards coming from ancient Asian times, Korea is influenced more and more by western culture, leading to more appreciation towards "tan skin". In summer, people start to tan, wear bikinis when they're going to beaches, and progressively adopt western beauty standards. It promotes "health beauty", mainly oriented around being in shape, and slim but muscular. As a result, some particular sports are getting really popular nowadays such as the flying yoga that BTS experienced in one of their "Run BTS!" show episodes.

Weverse

Read more about it: The Korea Herald link 1 & link 2 / The Guardian / Artefact Magazine.

Turbulent relationships

After finding her first job as a waitress in a Korean restaurant, Kyena begins a relationship with HyeongSeo, a compatriot who arrived in Australia three years earlier using a WHP (Working Holiday Permit). When HyeongSeo's visa expires after a year, she discovers that her companion is illegally staying in the territory. Not accepting that HyeongSeo isn't trying to change anything about it, she then decides to leave him and resigns from the restaurant where they both work.

Sometime later she meets Dan, a student from New Zealand. He teaches Kyena to surf, introducing the young girl to a new form of freedom. However, other than surfing, the couple has little in common. Kyena leaves Dan, whom she finds not smart enough. It was during the same period that she enrolled in a master's degree in accounting at Cambera. Finally, she will meet Ricky, an Indonesian who has come to improve his English. Quickly, he proposes to her in order to obtain a Korean residence permit and work in the country.

Consider it a business proposition.

Kyena leaves him on the spot, and starts to miss JiMyeong, his first love remained in Korea. Before leaving, he had tried to dissuade her from pursuing her dream, asking her to stay with him, that he would face his family and that they had a future together. However, the real trigger for her adventure was Kyena's parents. Very poor, they wanted to borrow money to be able to move, their house being sometimes invaded by mice, sometimes by ants. Kyena is the only one her parents begged for money among her siblings. Her big sister worked in a cafe, and her little sister spent her day locked up playing video games, a sign of a possible Hikikomori. Kyena did not accept the situation, her parents asked her to put aside her ambitions to help her family. Why did everything have to come only from her? Her discomfort only worsened, and she decided to leave, alienating her family.

Are there Hikikomori in Korea?

The Ministry of Health in Japan has defined Hikikomori as: "It is the state of a person who avoids all social participation due to various factors and causes and who remains permanently cloistered at home for more than six months." This phenomenon, coming from Japan, arrived in South Korea in the early 2000s. It concerns young adults in their teens to their 30s, and mostly men. In 2021, the Korean government estimated that around 320.000 Hikikomori lived in the country, maybe more than 500.000. Of course, Hikikomories aren't only located in Japan and Korea, but they can be found everywhere in the world. A reason for South Korea's Hikikomori? "Ultra-competitive society".

Due to COVID-19, even more people became Hikikomori. Life is quite convenient for Korean Hikikomori as there is a lot of website offering delivery, such as food, clothes, furniture, etc. Hikikomori do not need to go out anymore, as everything come to them. Usually, the only thing they need is a computer, to stay a little bit connected to the world. To fight back against this societal phenomenon, two main actors: the Korea Youth Foundation and a nonprofit called Gong GamIn. Through programs such as one-on-one counseling and group therapy, the organization aims to help Hikikomori find a job and develop social skills. It also offers educational programs and activities.

Korean Neuropsychiatric Association

Due to their cultural backgrounds, Hikikomori often face various forms of marginalization and discrimination. They may have been bullied due to their academic performance or their shyness. They may also have been pushed to conform to conventions but eventually failed to reach them. According to a KBS report (Korean Broadcasting System), 15% of school-refusal students were Hikikomori. Another way to help Hikikomori "make peace" with society is the Home Visitation Program, consisting of 65 mental health personnel. They would visit home where parents gave written informed consent beforehand and they'll talk with both the parents and the Hikikomori to come up with a solution.

Read more about it: Wired / JKNA / Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences / Frontiers

Moving forward

Kyena, as expected, returns to Korea regularly. She visits her family as well as her friends, shocked to discover that they have not made any progress in their professional and private lives. She decides to take the IELTS, the International English Language Testing System. She gets a very good mark, and her friends ask her to take the test for them. Kyena refuses, disgusted to realize that people are trying to use her when a few years ago, she was accused of wanting to emigrate. Returning to Australia, JaeIn, the unpleasant young Korean whom she had met the first day when arriving in the country, tells her that he wants to stop his studies to become a cook. Over time, Kyena gets to know him better and the two become close friends.

Kyena finally gets her resident card. She becomes more and more responsible and is even the manager of a "coop" in an apartment at the top of a building. She manages to evolve, while everyone around her stagnates, except JiMyeong who manages to become a journalist against his parents' wishes. Kyena, then, meets a young American who will bring her troubles. Indeed, the latter will make a parachute jump from the balcony of Kyena's apartment, which will result in him being expelled. Having to pay a heavy fine for a fault she did not commit, Kyena obtains a well-paid job thanks to JaeIn, who takes the opportunity to declare himself to her. But at the same time, JiMyeong calls her back. She is the woman of his life, and he is ready to wait for her.

Kyena does not think anymore and leaves to join him in Korea. They will live together for two months, two months during which Kyena is on vacation. JiMyeong proposes to her that she return to live in Korea and that in exchange they spend their retirement in Australia. Kyena doesn't share his opinion, she does not see herself ending up as a housewife, like many married Koreans, and discovers a JiMyeong different from her memories. She discovers in him an ajeossi¸ already well anchored in the work system. The passion ended up deserting them. Kyena gets tired of Korea again and compares herself to "Pablo the penguin", a chilly animal who does everything possible to escape from its ice floe and reach a tropical island, like Kyena who wants to leave Korea to join Australia. She then decides to break up with JiMyeong, not without tears this time, and knows that this time is for good. Shortly after, she will learn that he is engaged to a co-worker.

The more I know about Australia, the more I realize that it is not such a clean country.

Returning from Korea, Kyena is arrested for the concealment of false checks. She, who in the meantime had again become the manager of a coop, received from one of her future roommates false checks which will lead her to court several times. JaeIn will continue to support her through this long ordeal until she is free. Kyena felt truly lonely during this episode of her life, understanding that even if she were granted Australian citizenship — which she will eventually be after spending six years there — she would still remain an outsider to the locals. Nevertheless, she remains attached to Australia, where the mentality is profoundly different from that in Korea. Moreover, she notes that this difference is inscribed in the national anthems, where that of Korea encourages sacrifice for one's country, while that of Australia encourages people to live their lives as they wish while being with sharing with others.

Once her troubles with the law are over, Kyena manages to become an accountant, as well as a volunteer Korean teacher for the children of Korean expatriates. She has definitely stopped managing "coop", and is going back to Korea, but this time with JaeIn. They learn that now that they have Australian nationality, they have to make a choice: that of their nationality. They are forced to sign papers that make them renounce their Korean nationality. Kyena no longer recognizes her country of origin, having the impression of plunging back into a period of dictatorship under Chun DooHwan, president from 1980 to 1988.

Who was Chun DooHwan?

Was Chun DooHwan really president of South Korea? Well, for most, the answer would be no. Indeed, he was mostly considered as a former military dictator. In 1996, a court in Seoul sentenced former him to 10 years in prison for sedition and mutiny and charged him with killing protesters during the coup during the "Gwangju Uprising" in 1980. He was also convicted of taking bribes from powerful political families known as Chaebol, which are businesses that expanded into conglomerates through government favors and tax cuts. He ruled from 1979 until early 1988 and his objective as a president was the economic growth of Korea, the process by which a nation’s wealth increases over time.

Associated Press

On May 18, 1980, pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets of Gwangju to protest the martial law proclaimed by Chun DooHwan. Hundreds of people died during the ten days when the army violently repressed this movement. An official report from the Korean government reports around 160 dead, including soldiers and police, and more than 70 people missing. After the May 18 Movement in 1980, various democratic movements were organized to demand the truth about the movement. These movements led to the June 10 Democratic Uprising, which overthrew the Chun DooHwan.

Read more about it: New York Times / Gwangju City / Britannica

And happiness, in all this?

After these few years in Australia, Kyena has advanced, professionally, but above all psychologically. She who long doubted her choice to leave her native land to go into the unknown, she is now sure of herself: she made the right decision. Living in Australia will not always be easy, but it feels freer and more confident than in Korea. She is no longer surrounded by superficial people obsessed with all these social norms and finally understands what was "wrong" with her. The people around her were satisfied with little, simply to fit into pre-established boxes, without inspiring more. She is in a way a revolutionary in the quest for personal fulfillment.

Until Koreans change these archaic habits, wherever they go it will be the same.

Happiness is above all the search for dignity and respect for oneself before thinking of others. There is no harm in devoting your life to doing something you really love rather than complying with some moral law. This endless pursuit of appearance and devotion to hierarchy has never been part of Kyena's life goals, and she has come to realize this after so many years. Yes, she chose to be selfish, but if it's to be happy, where's the harm? She couldn't grasp what happiness was like during her life in Korea, and taking a step back, and building her life for herself rather than for her family made her realize that was all she was missing. For her, happiness is a question of capital and liquidity. You have to know how to capitalize on the love you receive to return it in the form of happiness in terms of liquidity rather than being satisfied with one or the other.

His new motto in life? "Have a nice day", a motto we should all adopt to start seeing the bright side of life and being kind to others, and Kyena understands that.

Kpopmap Rating : 7.5/10

What do you think of Korean society? Even though this novel depicts the bide sides of it, there is plenty of positive outcomes when living in Korea! Share your opinion with us in the comment below!