[One Sip of a Book] Author Jang Kang-myung, Thinking of Chaplin While Eating

Publication of a Prose Collection... Includes Over 90 Contributions to Daily Newspapers and Magazines

The film 'Comment Army,' starring Son Seok-gu and Kim Sung-chul, which opens on the 27th, is based on the novel of the same name by author Jang Kang-myeong, published in 2015. It was first adapted into a play. The theater troupe Baba Circus premiered it in early 2017 and performed it again in 2018 and 2019. I saw the play 'Comment Army' in 2019 when it was officially invited to the Seoul Theater Festival. That year, I watched 9 out of the 10 officially invited works at the Seoul Theater Festival, and it was the most interesting.

Author Jang Kang-myeong debuted in 2011 by winning the Hankyoreh Literary Award with his novel 'Bleach.' True to his background as a daily newspaper reporter, he wrote many works focusing on the social ills of our society. 'Comment Army' deals with the National Intelligence Service's public opinion manipulation scandal.

While actively publishing novels, Jang Kang-myeong consistently wrote columns for various media such as newspapers. His essay collection 'The Era of Micro Frustrations' selects about 90 pieces published in various daily newspapers and magazines from 2016 to 2024. His critical perspective on society remains intact, and he shows insightful observations into phenomena in many places.

The most surprising thing in the United States was neither the Golden Gate Bridge nor San Francisco's famous cable cars. It was the enormous amount of trash they throw away. (omitted) According to statistics released last year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as of 2014, South Korea's household waste recycling rate was 59 percent, while the United States' was only 35 percent. (omitted) I am proud of South Korea's recycling waste policy. I believe it is a model for the world. However, I also think there is room to refine the policy carefully so that citizens are less burdened while achieving the same effect. (omitted) If social enterprises responsible for separating recyclable waste were created and supported in cities nationwide, wouldn't apartment residents and security guards breathe a sigh of relief? If there were more social enterprises that take children to daycare or school in the morning and bring them home in the afternoon, how much more relaxed would the lives of young couples be? It would also create jobs. (pp. 25?27, The Free Labor of Urban Workers)

Recently, provocative information that is rapidly replicated and spread on the internet and social media has been called 'memes.' (omitted) The object closest to memes in reality might be potato chips. (omitted) To make potato chips stimulating, the area coated with oil must be expanded, and as much seasoning, including salt, as possible must be sprinkled. In other words, they must be thin. If potato chips were truly delicious food, they would remain tasty while chewing. But they do not. The taste of potato chips quickly disappears while chewing because the flavor is not deep but comes from the impact of oil and seasoning when crushed in the mouth. The pleasure memes provide also comes from a shallow impact. When watching them, dopamine is briefly released in the brain and then disappears. (omitted) Currently, Korean media imitate internet memes, and news platforms are filled with meme-news. The Journalists Association investigated which articles people viewed most on Naver in 2021. The top article, clicked by about 2.13 million people, was 'Song Jong-guk, who became a natural person after divorce, gathers medicinal herbs in a mountain 1000 meters above sea level.' The reporter did not even cover the story but introduced a broadcast program. (omitted) Does reading many such articles accumulate knowledge and wisdom? Do these 'contents' provide opportunities for reflective thinking and insight about marriage or honor? (pp. 51?53, Potato Chips and Internet Memes)

The biggest drawback of capitalism is that it pursues only one value: efficiency. However, in life, we pursue various values besides efficiency, such as human rights, ethics, love, friendship, truth, beauty, culture, and community spirit. (omitted) My position is that capitalism is a very excellent tool but not perfect. We must sometimes accept inefficiency for other values in life. When choosing inefficiency, we must clearly confirm how that decision can nurture or protect other values and set the right direction. Opposing efficiency simply because it is inhumane is foolish. (p. 78, Independent Bookstores, Traditional Markets, and Capitalism)

When the Kim Young-sam administration announced the New Economy Five-Year Plan in 1993, an economic newspaper's commentary included this sentence: "This is not a plan that 'may or may not be done' depending on changing conditions but a plan that 'must be done.'” And as everyone knows, after that five-year plan ended, the foreign exchange crisis came. Afterward, the Korean government did not issue long-term economic plans for a while. In 2014, the Park Geun-hye administration announced the 'Economic Innovation Three-Year Plan,' calling it the first economic plan in seventeen years. When the three-year plan ended, the Park Geun-hye administration was impeached. (omitted) At some point between the New Economy Five-Year Plan and the Economic Innovation Three-Year Plan, many, including myself, lost faith in long-term plans. How can we plan years ahead when the future is utterly unpredictable, and what use are plans in such a rapidly changing world? The only thing becoming more certain is that everything is becoming extremely uncertain. (omitted) We end up saying more often, 'Life really doesn't go as planned.' I call this 'micro frustration.' (pp. 94?96, The Era of 'Micro Frustration')

Korean speakers must first consider whether to use honorific or informal speech when meeting someone. The language demands it. One must always engage in a vulgar reconnaissance battle. Using this language makes one too accustomed to the idea that there are high and low people in the world. No matter how much one learns the spirit of democracy in the classroom, it is useless. Everyday language reminds us dozens of times a day that 'there are people above people and people below people.' (omitted) When you can freely use informal speech and honorific speech with me, but I can only use honorific speech with you, I quickly become powerless. I become submissive. At such times, honorific speech cannot properly convey any content. Challenging ideas that could change the world get trapped and disappear inside one person's head. (omitted) No one wants to frequently use language that does not protect their self-esteem or is easily scolded for being wrong. The short-term solution is not to talk with superiors, teachers, or older generations. The long-term solution is to rise to a high position. I think the dense generational distinctions and severe class disconnections in Korea, and the society's strong careerism, owe much to language. Doesn't everyone want to avoid situations where they must use honorific speech but receive informal speech? Being forced into such a position for a long time accumulates resentment, and when it ferments, it creates the uniquely Korean emotion called han. (omitted) My proposed solution is to use honorific speech with all adults except family or friends. (pp. 281?288, Dissatisfaction with the Korean Language)

A few days ago, I had toast for lunch and picked up a packed lunch for dinner on the way home. The lunchtime scenes at the toast shop and the lunchbox shop were exactly the same, as if copied. Because they are relatively inexpensive menus in an era of high prices, they were crowded with customers. The delivery app's order notification sounds rang incessantly. (omitted) Carrying the packed lunch home that day, I recalled a scene from Charlie Chaplin's film 'Modern Times.' The unnamed protagonist played by Chaplin tightens screws endlessly to the speed of a conveyor belt. Then, after sneezing once, he misses the speed. The protagonist is eventually sucked into the machinery while tightening screws. It was chilling that the workplace scene remains the same more than eighty years after 'Modern Times' was released. Holding the lunchbox, I thought: This is the limit; people cannot be busier than this. If this continues, they will collapse or have accidents. When people become too busy, they cannot observe the present or prepare for the future, and it seems our entire society has reached that stage. (pp. 414?416, 2022 Restaurant Scenes and 'Modern Times')

The Era of Micro Frustrations | Written by Jang Kang-myeong | Munhakdongne | 432 pages | 18,000 KRW