Summary:
Episode 14 is shorter than other episodes in length. Episode 14 begins with Sung-Jae’s workplace again where he is visited by Hak-Chan and Yu-Jung where he is asked to show the way up the mountain. Then the scenery changes to the hospital where Jun-Hee works and where Tae-Ung is hospitalized. There they talk about Tae-Ung’s upcoming surgery and how the centre head to be is going to do the surgery herself indicating that Tae-Ung is a VIP. Also, we can see throughout the episode that Tae-Ung works continuously at the hospital as well, reflecting the working culture in the Korean society.
Yun-Je then appears in his car thinking of his times with Jun-Hee and reflects on what Jun-Hee told him in the past, coming to realize that Jun-Hee hinted at him that the person he actually likes is Yun-Je. Later on Si-Won visits Yun-Je’s work by bribing the front office for an entrance to his office. Si-Won attempts to look at Yun-Je’s laptop in which Yun-Je stops her quickly. This part is interesting because, Si-Won did an illegal act at a location where they protect the law.
Then the scenery shifts back to the hospital where the dept. head asks Tae-Ung on a dinner date, in which Tae-Ung refuses. Then she starts counting the number of Tae-Ung’s family members. After, Yun-Je and Si-Won goes to the staircase of the hospital and Si-Won asks Yun-Je if he still likes her and he responds by kissing her. At the end of the episode, Tae-Ung finds out that his brother also loves Si-Won. The last clip of the episode is at present day where Dong-Il is talking to either one of the two Yun brothers and complaining Si-Won’s lack of sincerity in providing her parents with allowance. He then tells Tae-Ung when he becomes president, raise the salary and working hours of screenwriters for broadcasting stations.
Some questions to consider while watching the episode and reading the summary are:
1) At the beginning of the episode Jun-Hee tells Tae-Ung that the future centre head is going to perform the surgery as he is VIP. Do you think this is ethically correct? Shouldn’t all the patients have the same access to the best quality of doctors? From my own experience working at a university hospital in Korea, professors tend to spend more time on the VIP patients than others, perhaps due to potential bonuses.
2) Throughout the episode, we can see that Tae-Ung works extremely hard event when he is hospitalized. Do you think this represents the working culture in South Korea?
3) We can see that the doctor who is going to perform surgery on Tae-Ung begins counting his family members and at the end mentions that it won’t be easy. In South Korea, females tend to not want to marry people with too many siblings or the eldest child as it could require more work and more criticisms. Can you see this in other cultures? Also do you think this exists in South Korea still today?
4) Dong-Il over the phone complains the lack in sincerity of the small allowance he received from his daughter. Do you think he should be happy to receive any allowance at all as allowance providing to parents is not widely seen in western culture (my opinion, not too sure about this part)? Do you think the culture of providing allowance to parents will change in South Korea in the future?
5) Through Dong-Il telephone call we can see that Tae-Ung is running for president. He was a professor and a technology entrepreneur. Do you think he resembles a political figure in South Korea? An Cheol-Su perhaps?
– Edward Kyoo-Hoon Kim
I’m unsure about the western culture, but I do know that giving allowance to your parents once you have a stable job is not only common but expected in the Korean culture. Although filial piety has reduced over the years, filial piety is still being practiced in other forms today (1). Showing respect for parents ranked first on the frequency of actions and on importance of reason, fulfilling filial responsibility came in second, and repaying debts to parents in third. With parents living in a separate households nowadays, the children are expected to show their filial responsibility/obligation through giving them allowance. Welfare in Korea is still developing and seniors receive very little or no benefits. In the Western culture, parents would work to save up for their retirement, but in Korea, it seems like the parents give everything to support their children. In return, the parents expect their children to take care of them once they are no longer able to support themselves. In the case of Dong-il, his son in law is a judge, her daughter is also working, plus he looks after their kids. I personally think it’s plausible for him to think this allowance is too little. And sometimes it’s not all about the money—parents love to brag to other parents on how much they received from their kids. The money they receive reflects the social status and successfulness of their child which reflects how well they raised their child. I think the act of giving allowances to one’s parent will diminish over time. Ways to spend money (living expenses, money for self-leisure, buying a house, etc.) is increasing in Korea and life is already hard enough to get through by one-self which leads me to think people would become more selfish thus the gradual extinction of allowances.
Kyu-Taik Sung. 1990. “A New Look at Filial Piety: Ideals and Practices of Family-Centered Parent Care in Korea.” The Gerontologist 30 no. 5: 610–617. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/30.5.610.
Like Dohee mentioned, filial piety is weakening in younger generations and the amount of aging poor are increasing. Korea experienced compressed modernity and with it came a competitive, individualistic, and ruthless society. Lee Sun-Young, an administrator as a senior centre in Seodaemun district of Seoul, told the Washington Post “It’s almost like people don’t have the psychological space to care for other people.” This is reflected in government polls over the last 15 years, which showed that the % of children who think they should look after their parents has shrunk form 90% to 37% (1). Another attestation to the decreasing support for elderly is reflected in the suicide rates in elderly which has tripled since 2000 and as we’ve learned from class, it is compounded with the weak government support for the elderly.The elderly grew up in a time where filial piety was strongly valued so when they were adults, they sacrificed much of their time and money for their children as they expected that it would be returned when they retired. But as mentioned before, their children are too busy trying to survive the cut throat Koran society. Therefore, to answer you question, yes, I believe that change is already occurring as filial piety values are decreasing and the society is becoming more competitive.
(1)Harlan, Chico. “South Korea is rich, but half of its elderly are poor.” The Washington Post. January 21, 2014. Accessed November 03, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/for-south-koreas-seniors-a-return-to-poverty-as-confucian-filial-piety-weakens/2014/01/20/19769cf2-7b85-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.html?utm_term=.206e02e1e50e.
Hi Edward, thanks again for your summary and for the different questions. I’d like to answer your second question. I think that these portrayals are reflective of South Korean working culture. Similar images can be seen in contemporary variety shows. As an avid watcher of Superman Returns and of Ko Ji-yong’s son Seung-jae, there are numerous instances where Ko Ji-yong has to work despite the filming of the show. Even recently in episode 205, Seung-jae has to play at his dad’s office because he had to work late and seemingly couldn’t play with him at home. Though of course, it could have been the case that the producers wanted to display his cute son in a different setting, the figure of the father working deep into the night is an image that becomes reinforced and normalized. I believe that these are testaments that reflect the working culture of Korea.
The recent extra-long ten day chuseok holiday, a sort of Thanksgiving, was in part because President Moon wanted to create a better work-life balance (1). This shows just how prevalent the problem of maintaining a work-life balance is within Korea. This can be empirically seen as well: according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, South Korea has the third-most annual hours worked behind only Mexico and Costa Rica in the OECD countries (2). To add insult to injury, there’s even a term to describe death by overwork, called 과로사 (kwarosa) or Karoshi. While I’m not sure to the extent to which this is normal in Korean society, I would have to say that there are clear cases where work-related stress/hazards contributed to a person’s death and thus, would have to say that working while in the hospital shouldn’t be seen as entirely irregular (3).
Sources:
(1) “Overworked South Koreans jet off for rare long break” The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/overworked-s-koreans-jet-off-for-rare-long-break
(2) “Hours Worked” OECD.org https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm
(3) “[K-Terminology] Koreans being overworked to death in ‘kwarosa’” Korea Times http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2017/02/641_224791.html
Not sure if it’s because I am Canadian and have enjoyed the perks of universal healthcare, but the idea that the richest get the “best quality doctor” sounds absolutely absurd to me. One’s right to healthcare and life should not be less than somebody else’s just because they are poor or of lower status. It becomes incredibly dangerous when doctors only save lives for capitalistic reasons, and not for the benefit or health of their clients. Dr. Jong-Chan Lee writes that although South Korea has moved onto universal coverage, access for all Koreans may be a growing issue. There are discrepancies in the number of health professionals between urban and rural areas. Young doctors are choosing to practice in major cities. This may present a problem in the dispersion of equal access to quality healthcare for Koreans.
However, South Korea’s healthcare system on a global scale isn’t anywhere close to bad. In fact, it is one of the best in the world. An incredibly high number of Koreans have access to relatively high quality of healthcare.
Lee, Jong-Chan. “Health Care Reform in South Korea: Success or Failure?” Am J Public Health 93, no. 1 (January 2003): 48-51.
OECD Indicators. “Health at a Glance 2015 | OECD READ edition.” OECD iLibrary. 2015. Accessed November 06, 2017. http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2015_health_glance-2015-en#page26.
Thanks for the post Edward!
In time when both my cousins have recently married in the past few years, your third question stood out to me in the sense that marriage can be seen through different perspectives. While I am a bit unsure about the ‘work’ that newlyweds face when it comes to the number of siblings, I can only make the assumption that family gatherings or events would require more gifts and spread attention across all the family members. Coming from a large extended family, it isn’t common that the amount of siblings is seen as a concern for the spouses as opposed to how socially and economically capable the couple is with each other. This could be due to the one child policy that China has adapted since 1979 that has phased out in 2015.
In my opinion, I feel that bigger families are actually seen to be more respectable as the stigma of a ‘powerful family’ is still applicable in the present day Asia. While this may not fully apply to the case of South Korea, it is interesting to see how the dating culture in Korea has evolved beyond romantic affection during the first stages of falling for someone. It is also interesting to note that the tradition of pyebaek is still prevalent in modern day Korea. The pyebaek tradition of the unification of both families entails gifts that the bride provides to the grooms families; and while this may be the reason the doctor thought marrying Tae-woong was a bad idea, it will forever remain a mystery to the viewers at home.
Proctor, Maile. “Tying the Knot Around the World: 4 Unique Korean Wedding Traditions.” TakeLessons Blog. August 25, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2017. https://takelessons.com/blog/unique-korean-wedding-traditions-z11.
Edward 규훈, great job setting up the discussion
도희, great reference, great response on the subject of filial piety
연실, continuing the discussion, awesome.
예찬, you’re on fire here– esp. when you speak of how the TV shows imagery normalizes this type of overwork.
Kelly, nice job. I love how this group is all staying away from just plot rehash type comments and working on issues. Good job bringing in some literature, and addressing one of Edward’s as yet unanswered questions. The Seoul-centric nature of all Korean life will bring a lot of problems in the future, but equal access to medical care is def. one of them, and particularly worrying as the elderly with more health concerns are so often out of the city.
Zifeng, I think you’re misunderstanding some stuff here.
The eldest son is the least desirable to marry in contemporary Korea because he will become family head and he will be responsible for ancestral ceremonies and hosting groups of relatives. So the larger the family, the more cooking, cleaning, and hosting that goes on– the work is mostly the woman’s. So, Tae-ung is already family head (because his dad is dead and his dad was older than the uncle) and he has younger siblings– if he was an only sibling they could maybe do a little ceremony and then do something fun, instead of more cleaning and more cooking.