[Bread-Baking Typewriter] A 'Brave New World' That Even Huxley Would Admire, 2022 Republic of Korea

The future depicted in Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World is literally wonderful. In the future world of this book, there is no conflict among people, only happiness. When gloomy thoughts arise, one can simply take 'Soma,' a drug-like tranquilizer. After a deep sleep, everything is resolved in this world.

However, the book introduces the 'Savage,' who opposes this. The Savage does not enjoy the happiness of the Brave New World. He unnecessarily mentions 'Shakespeare' to the advanced civilized people and emphasizes the happiness that can be felt through art. Yet, the civilized people insist that they are already full of happiness. Ultimately, the Savage fails to adapt to the Brave New World and ends up living like a monkey in a zoo.

The way civilized people pursue happiness is somewhat bewildering to savages like us. Even if one is demoted or transferred at work, taking Soma solves the problem. Or watching a 'feelies' film improves one’s mood. Feelies are not videos with proper narratives but focus solely on satisfying sexual desires.

Since there is no conflict, people even share each other beyond possessions. They deny forming families or becoming lovers. Noble words like father and mother mean impurity in the Brave New World. On the other hand, remarks close to sexual harassment are considered compliments. People share reviews of sexual encounters with men or women. Nevertheless, to resolve human possessiveness, a system called 'caste' is used. Castes are created through genetic manipulation from the embryo stage. Castes are clearly distinguished by appearance. The higher the caste, the better the looks, strength, and intelligence.

So, what would Huxley say if he saw our society today? He might exclaim, “Wonderful!” South Korea, once proud as a drug-free country, has now become a place where drugs can be obtained anywhere. The media reports daily that drug offenders are overflowing.

Families are disintegrating. People no longer respect or care for fathers or mothers as much as in the past. According to Statistics Korea, the proportion of elderly living alone among the total elderly population is 19.5% this year and is steadily increasing. Elder abuse is similar. In the first half of this year alone, there were about 6,000 cases of elder abuse. Ninety-six percent of the perpetrators are spouses or children. It has certainly become a 'Brave New World' where families have broken down.

Castes are clearly divided. Among 36 OECD member countries, South Korea ranks 28th in the Gini coefficient, which indicates income inequality. These castes are passed down to the next generation through education and other means. A representative example is that 45% of law school students in the past three years come from high-income families earning over 120 million won annually. The saying “a dragon rises from a small stream” has now become a thing of the past.

However, Huxley would be perplexed at a critical moment. Members of our society are not happy. Unlike the Brave New World, where everyone from the highest caste to the lowest was happy, South Korea ranks near the bottom in happiness. According to the 2022 World Happiness Report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), an advisory body under the United Nations, South Korea’s happiness index ranks 36th out of 38 OECD member countries.

Many of the satires in Brave New World have been around for a long time but still offer profound insights today. It resembles Korean society in some ways, which makes reading it somewhat bittersweet. It would be interesting to read while comparing Huxley’s absurd future with Korean society.

Brave New World | Written by Aldous Huxley | Translated by An Jeonghyo | Sodam Publishing | 400 pages | 13,800 won