[MZ Column] 'Haruchunja' Writing to Find Myself

[Asia Economy] Not long ago, I had a casual meeting with writer Kim Poong, and we talked about how people these days are showing a growing interest in writing. When I hold writing workshops, hundreds to thousands of people gather. There is also a lot of interest in writing books and writing groups. Whether they know it or not, quite a few people have resolved to write consistently in the new year.

There are several possible answers to why people are so interested in writing. One is the interest in side jobs. Recently, with the rise of N-jobbers and the side job craze, many people are curious about how to earn extra income and establish a second identity in life. The expectation that writing can be used like a side job?such as publishing a book or writing columns?also contributes to the interest in writing. More importantly, it seems to be about ‘finding the self.’ Writer Kim Poong said that people practically have no time to reflect on themselves outside of writing. They spend all day looking at social networking services (SNS), news, YouTube, games, and so on on their smartphones, leaving no time for self-reflection. Therefore, he suggested that there must be a desire to take time to look back and reflect on oneself, even if it is through writing. I deeply agreed with that statement.

Looking around on the subway, without exaggeration, nine out of ten people are staring at their phones. Occasionally, there are people reading books or closing their eyes. Many also walk with earphones in or watch YouTube on their smartphones while walking. It seems almost impossible to see anyone sitting quietly thinking or writing anywhere. In the past, it was not difficult to see people diligently writing something in their own diaries at cafes. But nowadays, since what steals our attention every second is in our hands, there is no time left for self-reflection.

Perhaps because of this, there has been a noticeable increase in people complaining about ‘burnout,’ which is said to be a disease of the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). Work is one thing, but the essence of burnout in our era might be the ‘inability of attention itself to rest.’ Filling every spare moment?bathroom breaks, commuting time, meal times?with smartphones so densely, by the time they go to sleep, people somehow feel that they had no leisure time at all during the day. As a result, concerns about who I am, what I have done in the past year, and what kind of life I am heading toward are forgotten, and people suffer from the feeling that only daily stimuli remain. In the meantime, they barely cling to MBTI and try to find ‘me’ within the alphabets, but that is never enough to fully address existential concerns. We seek ‘writing’ with the feeling that ‘I’ might exist on a ‘blank page.’

Writing group sessions are times when people pour out and share their long-suppressed inner selves and empathize with each other. Memories of parents forgotten in the rush of life, inner wounds that could not be shared with those around them, and stories about dreams hidden out of shame all come bursting out. The blank page waits for us, hoping that we will find ourselves.

Asia Economy is launching the ‘One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters’ campaign as part of the ‘2023 National Brain Health Project.’ How about putting your smartphone in your pocket for a while, quietly breathing with the world as you take a walk, and developing the habit of opening a notebook and writing? It only takes thirty minutes a day. That thirty minutes a day might help you regain your lost time, yourself, and your life.

Jung Ji-woo, Cultural Critic