It is well known that Korean society is highly group-oriented and interdependent. Perhaps that is why in Korea individuality is often ignored or regarded as something selfish and thus incompatible with the community spirit.

Habitual gatherings at City Hall Square to watch the national soccer team is a good example of Koreans’ affinity for group activities. According to reports, on the night of the soccer game between Korea and Japan at the London Olympics, approximately 30,000 Korean soccer fans gathered at Gwanghwamun to watch the game together on a huge outdoor screen. Many Koreans seem to think: How can you watch such an important game at home alone?

Why, then, are Koreans particularly crazy about soccer among other sports? It’s because soccer is a group sport. Like many other games loved by Koreans, such as Hwatu or Yutnori, soccer, too, is a group game in which teamwork is key. Indeed, Koreans are not as interested in watching solo games like archery, shooting or weightlifting. Instead, Koreans love to watch teams play games such as soccer, basketball and baseball. Whenever watching a soccer game, therefore, Koreans feel their hearts pump wildly.

The notorious Korean custom of forcing peers to drink against their will also reflects the undeniable fact that Korea is a group-oriented society. When you and your colleagues gather together for a social outing, for instance, you must act collectively, not individually. Thus being sober in a company of drunken peers is something that is not tolerated in Korean society; everybody has to be drunk and broken unanimously. It is no wonder Koreans hate a black sheep who does not follow the group, whether in drinking, singing or dancing. It seems gathering together, drinking together and singing together are prerequisites to social life in Korea.

Similarly, Koreans hate a wet blanket. In Korean society you are not supposed to spoil the festive moods of others. In fact, there is an old saying in Korea that you should not take away the mat on which people are prepared to play. Naturally, having a different opinion from the dominant consensus cannot be tolerated. For example, if you take the side of the International Olympic Committee and agree that the Korean soccer player who spontaneously flashed a political banner after the team’s victory should be denied a medal, you will be immediately threatened and condemned by a number of angry soccer fans. The same thing will happen if you argue that the Olympic medalists, too, must fulfill their mandatory military duty, not unfairly exempted from it. It’s unfortunate that you cannot safely present a different opinion or viewpoint. But that is the way things are in Korea. It is only natural that in Korean society, loners, rogues and mavericks are not welcome, because you are always expected to be part of a group.

Due to the particular traits of Korean psychology, Koreans always care about what others think of them, rather than what they think of themselves. That is why most Koreans are constantly studying other people’s facial expressions and reactions. In the same fashion, Koreans also tend to be extremely sensitive to fashion. When others wear expensive North Face jackets, for example, I, too, have to wear one at any cost. When others buy a bestseller book, I need to buy one as well. And when others watch a particular movie that becomes popular, I must watch it, too. In Korea, nearly all fashionable clothes, bestsellers and hit movies succeed due to this collective psychology. Those who are indifferent to fashion or swim against the current will be immediately condemned as a black sheep or a wet blanket.

Under such circumstances, the masses are easily manipulated and lured by crafty people for political gain. The famous German fairytale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” well illustrates the potential danger of such a case. In the story, a man dressed in multicolored (pied) clothing is hired to get rid of the rats in a town called Hamelin. Soon the man lures the rats away from the town using his magic pipe. When he is not properly rewarded, however, the piper turns his magic upon the children of the town and lures them away never to return.

Initially, the townspeople trust the piper in multicolored dress who promises a rodent-free town. Soon, however, he turns out to be a menace who steals children. Not knowing their deadly destiny ahead, the children, enchanted by the piper, march into a trap. In the political arena of South Korea, there are also a number of Pied Pipers who try to lure us into deadly traps. Unsuspectingly, we often blindly follow the piper, swept up by the crowd. Aimlessly walking along with others, we are often like zombies that are dragged along in a group.

These days, cultural icons and celebrities boast of having millions of followers on the Internet. But some of our cult heroes may turn out to be another Pied Piper of Hamelin. We should be aware of the luring pipers.

By Kim Seong-kon 

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.