[Not Knowing Korean Meanings ②] From Prescriptions to Terms and Instructions... An Era Where Knowing Is Essential for Survival

Higher Literacy Leads to Greater Life Satisfaction
During Deficiency, Easy to Fall into Confirmation Bias
Social Conflicts Can Cost Up to 250 Trillion Won

Editor's NoteHangul will celebrate its 576th anniversary in four days. It is our script that King Sejong of Joseon promulgated in 1446 with the creation of Hunminjeongeum. It is also the lifeblood of our national culture. However, today, the situation facing our Hangul is difficult. The number of people who can read but cannot understand is increasing. This phenomenon is called a decline in literacy skills. It is not just a problem of some with insufficient literacy. It is a problem for all of us who have neglected the training of reading. On the occasion of the 576th anniversary of Hangul Day in 2022, this paper aims to examine the current state of declining literacy and seek alternatives.

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo, Byungseon Gong, Gyumin Oh] In other words, this is directly related to quality of life. If literacy is lacking, it becomes impossible to understand everyday documents such as medication dosage instructions or various service terms and conditions. The ability to read maps or discern fake news also declines. In other words, experts explain that direct and indirect impacts on daily life are inevitable.

This is also revealed in the 'Adult Literacy Survey' announced by the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education in August last year. The higher the literacy level, the higher the life satisfaction. Citizens classified at the lowest literacy level, 'Level 1,' responded that only 64.5% were satisfied with their lives. The groups including 'Level 2' showed 65.9%, 'Level 3' 75.1%, and 'Level 4' 82%, showing a proportional relationship.

Experts point out, "If one cannot properly interpret text and thus cannot absorb information necessary for daily life, life satisfaction inevitably decreases." For example, a typical case is purchasing electronic products but not understanding the manual properly, leading to the inconvenience of contacting the service center. Professor Inhwa Lee of the Department of Korean Language Education at Catholic Kwandong University also said, "According to the 2018 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Korean students had difficulty understanding texts combining letters, pictures, videos, and graphs," adding, "There is room to see that they struggle to select and understand information essential for daily life, such as reading maps."

Literacy also showed a correlation with political interest. In the Adult Literacy Survey, the political interest of the group at Level 1 was 23.3%, whereas it reached 50.9% for those at Level 4 or above. Especially in politics, with the recent development of YouTube and social networking services (SNS), an environment has been created where the thoughts and emotions of a nation's people can be 'manipulated' by hostile forces. Experts diagnose that if literacy to properly discern the authenticity of online information is lacking, people are prone to confirmation bias, which can eventually escalate into social conflict. According to the Samsung Economic Research Institute, the cost our society must bear due to such social conflicts is known to reach up to 250 trillion won.

Professor Woongjae Ryu of the Department of Media Communication at Hanyang University said, "Relying only on fake news and listening only to what one wants to hear in conservative or progressive camps can also be seen as a phenomenon of lacking literacy," advising, "This should not be viewed as a political issue divided between conservative or progressive camps but should be resolved through literacy education." Baek Won-geun, head of the Book and Society Research Institute, said, "Many problems could be solved if literacy were good, but since it is not, people get caught up in a few extreme words and fights break out," adding, "One of the causes of irrational communication is a lack of literacy."