Prologue_Misanthropy

Part 1: Individualists of all nations, say no to what you don't like.

The country is a Lego piece
The one who should step into the ring is you, the individual.
Why we are more unhappy
Death of the Demon King or Individualist
The whirlwind of recognition struggles, social media
The Pitfalls of Self-Development
A secret room hanging in the square
Happiness is also a science
The small happiness of an individualist
Was I an accomplice in fraud?
Memories of the National Chief
Are the dragons of the stream becoming extinct?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Class of '88
Sillim-dong Gosi Village returns after 20 years

Part 2: The Discovery of Others

It's not the generation that has changed, it's the times.
The reality our neighbors face
Tears of a Philippine Judge
No matter how much you believe it to be true, you shouldn't say it carelessly.
Words are weapons
Incheon's tragedy
Courtesy to witnesses
Etiquette that a country should have
I can't let a father who lost his daughter die on his own.
The power of literature
People who actually change the world
A chance for Jang Geu-rae!
The Secret of a Master Rower
thirty-nine-year-old intern
Avengers Legion Formed by 'Moneyball'
The future we will collectively purchase

Part 3: Facing the World's Inconvenient Truths

The truth is inconvenient
A world without answers
Why Left-Right Vending Machines Should Be Removed
The loyalty of gangsters and the ethics of citizens
The Minimum Values ​​That Bind Society Together—The Cambridge Diaries 1
Philadelphia at Noon—The Cambridge Diaries 2
The Beast Named Ignorance
Civilization and Violence
Sad Istanbul
I am not Charlie, I am Ahmed
What model society should we refer to?
Does heaven on earth exist?
A bold imagination dreamed by bold optimists
Values ​​that allow you to take on strong responsibilities
Fear of the Unfamiliar and a Mature Society

Epilogue: What We Lost

Living as an individualist in South Korea

In Korean society, where organization and hierarchy are important, individualism is often misunderstood as selfishness.
Even if you stand out, it's difficult to get a good evaluation.
However, on the contrary, in Korea, status is extremely important, so there is a culture of showing off, and people are constantly anxious about 'how others will view me.'
That is why it is difficult to understand the life of an 'individual' who lives according to his or her own individuality regardless of what others say.
The standards for happiness are also standardized, so people think that they must live 'like everyone else' to be happy.
You have to compete fiercely to be 'normal' and you have to get promoted and succeed to be recognized.
But are Koreans really happy?

This is what Korean society is like.
In a society where actual work and salary are important, 'whether others see you as decent' and 'what your rank is' are of real importance.
In a society where people in their fifties are middle-aged, showing up to a gathering in a car driven by a knight sends a different message.
The inconvenient truth of our society is that when high-ranking judges start showing up in chauffeured cars and then one day start driving old cars, the negative effect of being seen as a group with lower social status than before may be greater than the positive effect of being seen as a group with good integrity.
It is a society where appearance determines substance.
Pages 30-31

Human relationships, which should originally be a source of happiness, actually function as a source of unhappiness in a collectivist society due to the nature of those relationships.
Just as delicious food gives me a stomachache if I'm forced to eat it when I don't want it, relationships with others are not freely chosen based on my preferences, but are imposed on me regardless of my will, and are structured around a hierarchy of obligation and obedience. This cannot be a source of happiness.
Are the people in power-hating, competitive, subordinate-dominant relationships, those who evaluate and dominate me, those who unilaterally demand my obedience and service, truly useful tools for my survival? Aren't they closer to a threat to my survival? (pp. 56-57)

Nevertheless, why should we compromise and unite with others?
-Beyond the misunderstanding of individualism

The basis for democracy to function as an institution is the ‘individual’ in the modern sense.
An individual at this time is a citizen who reasonably performs his or her rights and duties.
Also, in order to pursue individual freedom and happiness, I acknowledge that others are just like me.
However, individualists clearly recognize their position and role as social beings, and thus know that the private and public spheres are strictly separated, and they know how to respect each other's positions and spheres.
However, in Korean society, where military culture and familialism are prevalent, these individualists are treated as an outlier and sometimes face social criticism.
When the demands of the group do not align with the individual's desires, or when an individual seeks to denounce the group's irrationality, the individualist is bound to experience 'discord' with the group.
The 'individual' is oppressed and therefore unhappy.
Koreans, in particular, have experienced countless instances in life where they either don't reveal their true feelings or suppress their desires out of fear that they are too strange.
And this, in turn, causes an unhealthy social community.


It wasn't until I became an adult that I realized it.
Whether it's home, school, or work, our society is fundamentally organized around the model of the military.
In an atmosphere where obedience to orders and group priority are emphasized, individual opinions, feelings, and tastes are often too easily ignored.
The word 'individualism' was a scarlet letter worn on the chest of a traitor who hindered the unity and progress of the group.
It was not within our society, but in law books, that I learned the true meaning of that word.
That ominous word, 'individualism,' has been the engine that has driven the development of human civilization since the Renaissance to the present day.
However, in the case of our society, it has only been a generation since democratization that we have begun to gradually learn the meaning of this word, and we are still in the crawling stage.
Pages 24-25

Dreaming of a society of rational individualists

To structurally change the chronic problems of Korean society, such as politics dominated by factionalism, excessive educational fervor and competition, a rigid academic-based society, and hierarchical standards of happiness, isn't it necessary to first look at each other as individuals and citizens, communicate, compromise, and unite?
To survive this era of low growth, where everyone is forced to live for themselves, and to create a society overflowing with individual, small, and diverse joys, the player who must step into the ring is you, the individual.

There are people who simply cannot understand why the chief judge says that he writes simply for fun.
Those people ask me this in a lowered voice.
“But, are you thinking of making a name for yourself and then going into politics later?” At times like that, I have many questions.
(...) Why do some people think that at the top of the pyramid of all occupations and achievements in this world, there is a final predator called the great 'politician'?
(...) Politics at this time was not a civic duty, but simply another word for personal advancement.
It is also a result of modern history, which has observed that power naturally comes with wealth, fame, and pleasure.
Pages 60-61

It is a world where it is as difficult as war just to live one's life happily as an individual.
To survive school, to survive the college entrance exam competition, to survive the job market, to survive the marriage market, to survive the workplace, to survive the pain of raising a child while working, to protect that child so that he or she can survive in this harsh world again.
How difficult it is for such individuals to support and care for one another.
And that is why it is so precious.
Page 279