Work Habits in Korea

By 8ball (Kim Dong-hun)

There is one saying that Korean people don’t easily agree with – “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” In our belief, those who work their fingers to the bone without rest should get ahead in life and they deserve as many rewards as possible. As many of you are well aware, a lot of Korean people are believed to be hard-working and diligent. Thanks to perspiration, effort and sacrifices made by former generations, Korea has achieved remarkable economic development. In the past our parents and grandparents worked very hard so that they and their families could live a better life. In their viewpoint any time spent not working was regarded as unproductive, worthless and wasted. For them resting is nothing but a luxury and working around the clock is the best and most effective way to success. But is that so?

When Korea faced the “IMF crisis” between 1997 and 1998, many people were laid off and a lot of companies went bankrupt. At that time we often said to ourselves that we had popped the champagne bottle way too early and we believed that that was why we had such a hard time. From that moment on we decided to go back to the way our parents and grandparents had done things in order to revitalize the economy – working as many hours as possible and not looking back. Unfortunately, many people from the older generation still keep that in mind and believe that the longer they work, no matter what the outcome and regardless of efficiency, the better workers they will become. Even if they rest after work, co-workers often hang out together – for example, they drink until they pass out or sing songs at a noraebang semi-unconscious with a necktie around their foreheads. So technically, they are not resting at all but working, just in a different way. Even on weekends when they are not supposed to go to work, they play sports such as golf, tennis or soccer with their bosses, co-workers or business partners. When will they ever take a rest from this seemingly never-ending cycle of all work and no real play? Are we destined to work incessantly till the end of our lives?

We need to rest. We are not machines or robots. No one wants to spend every single day working without any specific purpose or proper rest. If you keep doing this, you will end up getting sick, stressed out or exhausted. We all need to rest our bodies after working, and this allows us to be more refreshed so that we can think more creatively and be productive the following day. Some people even say that we can brainstorm much better and come up with all our good ideas when we are not doing anything in particular.

Being Korean myself, I think that a lot of us have no clue as to what we should do while we’re not working. A lot of us spend our free time going to the movies, drinking with friends or taking long naps. Sometimes these things can help you relax, but it doesn’t always work like that. I believe people should try different things to blow off steam and rest their body and soul.

Sometimes we may need to work many hours when we have to finish a very important project before the deadline. There can be some joy and pleasure while working like this, especially when the end result is good. However, if this pattern continues in the long-term, it can wear you out. I’ve seen many people in similar situations that eventually give up or feel sick and tired of what they’re doing. They distance themselves from their loved ones because of the enormous amount of stress they feel from their heavy workloads.

We all have an idea of what we need to maintain a work-life balance. I think it’s good to plan ahead not only when working but also when resting. If you have no specific plan for resting, there is no distinct boundary between work and rest. When you work, just work and when you are done with it, just forget about it and focus on resting, both for you and for your loved ones. We all have goals and objectives we wish to accomplish for a better life, especially in terms of our work, but at the same time people need a long-term plan for resting. We deserve to live a good life and feel satisfied with it.

The views expressed in this article are those of the writer.

A version of this article appeared in the March 2012 Gwangju News print edition.