As the weather lightens up, with trees are alight with varying shades of green in South Korea. "May was the colour of new leaves" as the protagonist in Hwang Sok-yong's book "Mater 2-10" notes. The verdant hue often paints the background of scenes in director Hong Sang-soo's films too. In the streets in downtown Seoul are filled with people of wide varying nationalities. The surge in the number of foreign tourists inserts a diversity if only briefly, into a rather strict uniform pattern community. Figures attest to it. Over 3.4 million foreign tourists visited South Korea in the first quarter, the highest figure since the outbreak of the devastating COVID-19.
For March alone, the visitors per month soared to highest, at 1.39 million, since the COVID-19. The hosting of the MLB opening games have been a key factor. People are actively returning to renormalize lifes disrupted the recent pandemic. As the visitors spend time in Seoul and outside of it, one cannot help but wonder what aspects of generations of modern Korean life and culture appears to the visitors. The Korean economy and culture at full-boom display is an almagation of history, development and lives, compressed and abbreviated. At the tail-end of the so-called "386-generation," I personally muse whether they can detect the distinctive smells of Korean kimchi jjigae and the remnants of Korean meet barbeques lingering from the night before when they walk about the streets. These were one of the singular scents of Seoul that I remember after entering the workforce after graduating from school -- olfactory signals of sharing and camaraderie of people living the heydays of industrialization. What do the MZ generation see? Fellow fans and consumers of K-pop and contents such as "Squid Games" or Overtourism?
Those who lived through the Japanese colonialism and the Korean War must feel a cataclymic change has occurred.
Then moments later, knowing the fortune invariably ebbs and flows, this writer's thoughts shift toward changes and challenges under way in Korea may alter what we have been enjoying to date. The rising food prices, the warning bells ringing regarding the Korean economy and the deepening polarization of Korean society have begun to prompt subtles changes. The hearty Korean foods, traditionally made laboriously and accompanied with slew of side-dishes for example have seen their number reduced and request for refills harder to make for customers. The only measurable comfort is in knowing that prices of food and eating out in South Korea remain relatively cheaper. in learning that eating outside remains relatively cheaper in Korea, no tips unless the server grills the meat. "Just bring your spoon" used to characterize the Korean dining culture of the old days, in a spirit of helping each other through difficult times. But today, even family members rarely eat together as respective demanding schedules of work for parents and private crams for children dictate our live styles.
The sharp divide between the have and the haves, between generations and the hyper-competitive society, brought on along with the country's affluence, have produced a mix of silent rage and lethargy.
The new zeitgeist or the negative part of it will determine the culture, ways of life and food even for the Korean future. Negativity is not neccessarily a bad thing. The poverty, oppression and the devastations of Korean War along with the traditional Korean sentiment of "han" or regret have fueled a desire to rebuild our society. Is there such a role for sentiments of silent rage and lethargy?
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