I remember the time when I went to my professor’s office for a small talk. I had worries about my future carrier. I did not know what I like and what I am good at. As a student studying in university, as a Korean, as a woman, as a daughter of one family, WHAT should I do in the future? WHAT am I living for? HOW should I get ready for it? I wanted to release myself from this chronic problem that I had suffered from since I was a little girl.

The professor’s answer was quite surprising, he said he also do not know the answer for himself. A man who has studied for a long time and has his carrier settled was still uncertain about his own future. He said the question that I wondered should be answered during my whole lifetime. Life is just a journey looking for the answer. All we could do is doing our best in things that we do. Everybody has same worries. Nobody is certain about their life. I still do agree with him, which I thank him for his wisdom. Because of his words, I could work harder to find my own answer to the question.

Still, life is full of uncertainty and busy schedule with no goal is exhausting. I thought I fully understood his words, but now I know that I did not. I desperately need a destination of my life. As time goes by, we are getting older every day. One day, we will have to graduate school. I know that many people in our society are suffering from this kind of problems.

Recently a drama ended with favorable reviews: Cheongchunsidae. The drama is about five female college students and their concerns as a college student: Future carrier, job preparation, conflicts with family members, student loan, romance, and sex. The characters and their concerns in the story aroused sympathy to many young girls. However here, I am not talking about the sympathy and consolation the drama gives. Sympathy and consolation for the youth is a cliche these days.

 
The message that Cheongchunsidae can give us is something different. It is something more. The characters in the story share their own difficulties to others and at the same time they consider others’. They listen to their friend’s feelings and try to help them out. The real message that the drama gives us is the sincere hearts the five characters have and the warm bonds among them. I would have considered the young, including myself, as who need comfort from the society. However, in the drama, the young characters comfort each other. They are not only just receivers but also active givers. Because we are all going through a tough time, we are becoming more self-interested. But maybe now it is time to look back and check if we have been too selfish, being ignorant to our friends’ difficulties hiding behind our own.

None of the characters in the drama finds their answer of life in the end of the drama, but their lives have changed due to the sharing. Jin-myeong Yun has the darkest character among them; she had to find many part-time jobs to manage her family. This circumstance naturally made her close mind to others. But those warm hearts that bonded 5 characters changed each character’s life. Yun finally opened her mind and her life journey became happier.

It is said that young people are having most difficult time ever. The young are giving up their hopes but our society is arguing which generation is responsible for. This is useless. Maybe the best thing that the young can do is not only receiving, but giving comforts to each other. Then, just like the characters in the drama, the life journey can become happier. Let’s not forget people around us and their pain.  


Soh-young Ahn
Dept. of Business Administration, ’15
ahn951212@gmail.com
 

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