Care to have a glance through what it will be like to work in South Korea as a Korean?

At first, I was going to write about ‘1984’ by George Orwell because I realized I am becoming a heavy user of Social Networking Service and I wanted to take an introspective view on myself. However, I happened to use it less and less as I was reading 1984, not because it warned me of a possible danger but because I faced a series of assignments and sometimes outdoor activities with friends as my exchange life was getting ripe. However, I ended up taking a rather unfamiliar approach, deciding to write about something that is very relevant to my own country, South Korea. I took a further step on making this book report more relevant to me; and this book came into my thought and I could not help writing about it. Let me introduce 미생 by Taeho Yun.

Story Overview – ‘미생’

The book that I will talk about is named ‘미생’ in Korean and it tells a story about a salesman working in one of the biggest Korean firms as a high-school graduate who had no choice but to give up his career as a professional ‘GO’ player, a Korean equivalent of Chess. As a mere high-school graduate who had to give up his career because of family issues, the protagonist, Gerae Jang, was doing miscellaneous jobs that are treated contemptuously in the country, such as a floor cleaner and delivery guy. However, with a small help of his acquaintance, he could get a chance to do an internship in a big firm called One International. Knowing that he is a mere high-school graduate and was able to enter the big firm solely because of his ‘network’, supervisors and colleagues treat him in contempt and did not think he would pass a final interview for a full-time position in the end. In a high-contextual country where education is extremely considered, he had to deal with a series of (in)direct harsh treatments but eventually became a full-time employee thanks to his sincerity and eagerness.

Of course, this is not the ending but the beginning. Even after becoming a full-time employee, 미생 tells a continuous story of what a typical salesperson might face when s/he works in offices, fields and with other business people in South Korea. Not only is the story focused on this salesperson, it also includes stories of other people in the same organization, such as a life of his colleague or supervisor; for example, there is a colleague with excellent educational background who just turned to a full-time employee but his supervisor is giving him only minor works although he wants to achieve something bigger when he does not follow basics of the company such as creating a document in line with the firm’s official format. There is also a story of a saleswoman who does things with excellence but faces gender discrimination at work only because she is a woman. At the end of the day, 미생 wants to say that everyone is 미생, which means a yet-to-be successful pawn in GO’s term. In the context of people depicted in this book, it can be said that everyone is living and working hard for something what they call is successful but not quite get there yet while carrying personal burdens or responsibilities cherished in their own life such as families or personal value. And the writer says everyone plays his/her own GO with each person they encounter, just like they are treating each other differently in the real life. This seemingly-hard work is done naturally by the writer who is apt at connecting the storyline to what he is trying to convey to the readers while keeping a fine degree of reality and sympathy.

Reflections

I chose this book for two main reasons; first of all, since it is a creativity course I wanted to write about something unique that no one else in the class would write about. But more importantly, the story in this book reflects what is going on with workers who work in Korean firms and depict their life and feelings so well that I thought it could give me an opportunity to examine my own country in a right context and ultimately help me prepared for my possible future career in Korea as a graduate-to-be. Main reasons aside, I also chose 미생 because I found the book very creative in that it is the only book that relates people’s life to the Korean chess, GO, to a highly relevant extent where many current employees can sympathize with the stories of people depicted in the book. Meanwhile, readers do not have to study GO or have knowledge in GO in advance as the writer relates a story with GO in a succinct manner and with sufficient explanations if needed.

What I found the most creative about 미생 is the fact that it is a series of comic book. Right, it is a series of comic book that is most read by the late 20s to 40s. And it has to be with pictures as the story has to depict the high-contextual nature of the workplace clearly; for example, it is important to grasp each character’s facial expressions or gestures to understand their intentions.  Not only that, the visualization of GO is very critical for people to follow how the writer is trying to connect GO with the life of workers.

(The writer throws a question: if the play board of GO were infinite, if the word were as infinite, is it possible to win or lose? This leads to the point mentioned above, which is the fact that everyone is 미생–a yet-to-be successful pawn – regardless of their ranks in the organization, who is living and working hard for something what they call is successful but not quite get there yet while carrying personal burdens or responsibilities cherished in their own life such as families or personal value)

(‘I will never fail like last time when I tried to be a professional GO player’)

Writing this book report reminded me of myself as a graduate-to-be. I will be graduating next year around August. What will I be doing? Would I want to choose the path of this salesperson or whoever depicted in this book? Or should I just choose a job abroad and face a different set of difficulties and dilemma? As a person who has been living abroad for 9 years, I rather want to go back to Korea for now and experience what it will be like to work in Korea. Living abroad is great, but living in Korea could be better if I start to live in Korea for a long period again. That being said, I want to take a challenge in Korea despite all those hardships and dilemmas pictured in this book. Everything worth comes with a degree of pain requiring perseverance, and I am happy to take this exclusive challenge that is only in Korea.