[Insight & Opinion] Does Work Really Have to Be Enjoyable?

If You Only Want Enjoyment, Keep It as a "Hobby"
To Become a Professional or the Best,
Move Forward with Responsibility and a Sense of Achievement

A young office worker recently said, "There are many times when work is not fun. Even old literature says that no one can beat someone who enjoys what they do. Shouldn't I be good at something only if I enjoy it, and feel more fulfilled only if I do well?"

Not long ago, an acquaintance who loves golf said, "I really enjoy golf. My dream is to die playing golf on the golf course." Of course, he is an amateur who spends a lot of money on golf.

On the other hand, I recall an interview with Se-ri Park during her active career. She said golf was not enjoyable. "I did not enjoy golf for 25 years amid 1,000 swings and training sessions a day, diet control, and tremendous pressure." Sure enough, after retirement, she said, "I'm fed up with golf. I don't play golf after retirement." She appeared on TV recently and said she had played golf fewer than ten times in the past five years. She still says she is not ready to enjoy it.

Last time Yuna Kim appeared on 'You Quiz on the Block,' I watched it and she said something similar. She hardly exercises these days. She said exercising during her active career was very boring and tough. When asked during her career, "What do you think about while practicing?" she answered, "What do I think about? I just do it," which became a famous quote.

I remember an interview with Young-jo Hwang. "Every time I ran a marathon, when a car passed by, I thought it would be less painful to run into that car and die." Of course, there was the joy of victory, but the process was not without pain.

There are many times when work is enjoyable, but more often it is not. Much of the time, people work out of responsibility or obligation. Sometimes they work with vague hope. Sometimes they work with their own purpose.

If you do something only for enjoyment, it is clearly a 'hobby,' like the person who said they want to die playing golf. A hobby is not something you make a living from. Therefore, there is no responsibility or obligation. You just do it if you want to.

However, living as a professional, and furthermore becoming the best, is another matter. No one can become the best while just enjoying themselves. You may enjoy good results or occasional moments, but you cannot enjoy bad results or difficult processes. Fortunately, if a boring and tough process leads to good results, the past process is glorified. But if it does not lead to good results, it can become a trauma.

Therefore, work does not necessarily have to be enjoyable. Also, it is hard to say that you can do well only if you enjoy it. As quoted in 'The Dignity of Work,' "The goal is admirable, but the path to the goal is full of piles of dung. It is a boring path. The question that determines success is not 'What do I want to do?' but 'What kind of pain in the process can I endure?'"

If you only want enjoyment, it is better to keep it as a hobby. It is difficult to become a professional or the best at it. Those who become the best are people who, through that boredom and sense of duty, sometimes responsibility, sometimes small rewards and achievements, sometimes the pride of small growth, sometimes camaraderie, and sometimes the mission and meaning they want to accomplish, train intentionally every day and advance steadily like a rhinoceros horn.

Soo-jung Shin, Head of KT Enterprise Division