Oct 18, 2008

HyunJu Ji:Success' consequent price - the loss

"For the first time I realized that there were other students like me, and so I was able to frame the meaning of my academic success, its consequent price – the loss".
- The Achievement of Desire


When I read this article one of Korean dramas was came out from my mind. I don’t remember the title of drama but I think the situation is similar to this article.
In the 1960’s, right after the Korean war, an academic success was the only way to succeed in a poor family. Usually, the eldest son was grown up as a hope of the family. His parents worked hard for his education even his younger siblings worked to make money for him rather than taking schooling. Finally, he graduates famous school, get a good job and get married with a girl who are in a upper class and also rich. Until that, it seems like a happy ending. However, contrary to the poor family’s expectation the succeeded man does not care about their family and even most of dramas depicted the man as a selfish and wicked man. The family angers about no rewards to their sacrifices for him. Moreover, they think they are victims. But, the oldest son says to them even they cannot accept his thoughts, “ It was too hard to endure. Your expectations were so stressful and gaps between home and school were too big. I lived hard for your expectation. And I’m tired of the expectation. Please, set me free.”
“Please, set me free.” This word was so impressed to me. Who can blame him to think about his unspoken hardships. Maybe, he must hide his difficulties somewhere inside of him between two different world. He might be tired of dual lives as a good boy at home and a good student at a school. His family devoted with material things for him but he lost himself rather than to get the family’s expectation.

1 comment:

Leslie said...

To be an excellent son of a poor family is over-stressful.

A poor family usually accumulates all they have to support one child to succeed, expecting this successful child will bring enormous changes to the family's poverty. When this child really succeeds, and realizes that his shoulders could hardly support the burdens of the whole family, he has to be wicked and selfish by forgetting or even escaping from those burdens.

I am not trying to find excuse for this son, but just notice another hidden side of being successful. The successful person might be the one who work really hard and do most wrongs.