[Voices of the MZ Generation Column] How Small Acts of Consideration Revive Community Spirit

There was a small but touching moment recently at the apartment I just moved into. While I was pressing the entrance password several times, confused, a neighbor uncle waited for me in the elevator. Since the distance between the entrance and the elevator is somewhat far, I naturally thought he would just go up, but he saw me from quite a distance and waited. It might seem trivial, but I was so moved by that consideration that I thanked him several times.

The reason such a small act of kindness felt unusual was probably because, at my previous residence, we didn’t even greet each other and had somewhat cold relationships with neighbors. In officetels, where many people live briefly rather than as a community, it’s hard to create a warm atmosphere among neighbors.

Similarly, even though we take the elevator every day at work, there is no affection among people from different workplaces. Most just ignore others and go up. Life among office workers in Gangnam is somewhat cold and individualistic, but in this somewhat older neighborhood’s old apartment, I often feel a different kind of warmth.

In this somewhat older apartment, whether children or adults, it is ingrained to greet each other. I was quickly influenced by this atmosphere, and a few days ago, I held the elevator for a delivery person who was waiting a long time at the entrance, trying to get the door opened through the intercom.

I pressed the open button and watched as the person came from the entrance to the elevator, waiting for a moment. Then I noticed that one leg was limping a lot, seeming to be injured or disabled. When the person arrived at the elevator, they repeatedly thanked me just like I did at first. I said it was nothing. It really was nothing, but in that moment, I felt like I was living a slightly better life.

In an era loved for its newness, anonymity, non-interference, and the coldness of big cities, I too might have become so fixed on the thought that others might find me strange or annoying that I forgot how to treat others kindly. However, I feel that small environmental changes and a single person’s small act of consideration gradually change one’s attitude.

Many people worry that our society is becoming more and more ‘each for themselves.’ Prioritizing only their own interests, people see each other as competitors, and the sense of living together as a society and community is gradually disappearing. But no human can live alone; we must hold someone else’s hand and continue life together.

And such a life doesn’t begin with grand campaigns or great policies, but simply from one person’s consideration and warmth. When we hold the door or elevator for someone, lightly yield, and show consideration, that act continues to another and creates influence.

Ultimately, a society that restores each other will begin from the small moments and hearts of each individual. With that heart, I also want to take a step forward every day. I hope to meet you someday on some street along that journey.

Jung Ji-woo, Cultural Critic