"Why Should We Live?" A Teen's Question Answered by an Intellectual with 'Gangaji Gureum'

Hot Topic of Teen Questions on Naver KnowledgeIN
"Hope You Find Many Things You Like" Answer

What do people live for? When a Russian literary giant Tolstoy, who pondered the meaning of life, posed this question, and today’s Korean teenagers asked it again, one netizen’s answer has brought a quiet emotion. A person who identified themselves as a teenager, Mr. A, posted a question titled 'The reason to live life' on Naver’s Q&A service ‘Jisik-in’ on the 5th.

Dog cloud drawn by Mr. B. [Image source=Captured from Naver Knowledge]

Mr. A wrote, "Why do we have to live life?" and asked, "Do we have to fill our teenage years with studying hard to get into a good university, get a good job, and earn money? Will happiness come to greet me if I get a job and earn money? Looking at my mother and father, it doesn’t seem like that, so what exactly do people live for?" He added, "Why do humans have to live? Why is human life noble?"

In response, netizens gave common answers such as "There is no particular reason, because we were born," "To make a living," "Try living simply," and "Finding the reason for life is a human task." However, netizen Mr. B caught attention by replying, "You must have said this because you feel skeptical about living life, right? I want to tell you to find many things you like."

"When you have many things you like, you want to live more even without a reason"

Mr. B shared, “I dropped out when I didn’t want to live anymore, but after dropping out, I had a lot of time. I really found many of my tastes during that time. I found that I like a lot of things.” He continued, “When you have many things you like, you don’t really think about finding a reason to live. I wanted to stop living because I couldn’t find a reason to live, but now, even though I still can’t find one, I want to live more.”

He added, “I’m still at an age where I have to study, so I don’t know well, but life seems to be nothing special. If you’re happy, that’s the end.” He advised, “I recommend looking up at the sky for about 10 minutes. If you find a puppy cloud, you’ll become happy.” He also attached a photo where he drew a puppy on a cloud in the sky and named it ‘Angry Puppy Cloud.’

Mr. B’s answer, which talked about small happiness, spread across online communities and brought quiet emotion. Netizens responded with comments like “This is touching,” “An excellent answer,” and “I’m an adult, but I’m comforted too.” Mr. A also expressed gratitude by selecting Mr. B’s answer among more than 40 responses.