[Initial Perspective] "Harmless" Over "Beneficial"

At some point, the public began to prefer 'harmlessness' over 'usefulness.' Instead of reacting with 'cute' to a newborn baby lying down looking at a mobile or a clumsily toddling puppy, people cheer with the response 'so harmless.' Celebrities with clear and kind images, rather than charismatic or powerful faces, are chosen in the advertising market.

Somewhat insignificant but innocent and pure, and therefore evoking no sense of crisis, such characters are the epitome of this 'harmlessness.' Even an executive at a public institution, who seemed completely uninterested in this trend, recently mentioned the word during a conversation. His explanation was, "No matter how capable someone is, these days we don't hire people who might disrupt the organization. We prefer harmless people who stay within reasonable limits."

A major media commerce company (CJ ENM) also named 'harmlessness' as this year's content keyword. A convenience store (CU·BGF Retail) reportedly set 'harmlessness' as the theme for this year's Valentine's Day products, showing how broadly this appeal has spread. If both media and convenience stores have adopted it, isn't it a concept that has effectively captured everyone?

What does this peculiar preference, which desires not so much help but rather the absence of harm, tell us? Whether beneficial or detrimental, the wish for nothing to be brought to me, neither pushed nor pulled, but simply to remain in place, might reflect a comfortable social mood where an appropriate distance is maintained.

To exaggerate a bit, it might be a defense mechanism triggered in people exhausted by endlessly harmful incidents and influences. These days, the news is dominated by 'Donald Trump (former U.S. President)' and 'Yoon Seok-yeol,' these two presidents.

Every morning when you wake up, President Trump signs a new executive order. Even his signature is complex and full of presence, reflecting himself. He calculates strictly according to his own interests and has no concern for the aftershocks others may suffer. He pushes forward and suppresses?an archetype of harmfulness. Since he has targeted all the industries that have been growth engines for our country?semiconductors, automobiles, and steel?those working in related industries are under great pressure. A senior executive I met recently joked, "There’s no solution other than making a certain region of our country a U.S. territory."

President Yoon is engaged in a tedious battle over personnel and lawmakers. The once quiet courthouse has become a noisy battleground over impeachment support and opposition. As this period drags on, fearful civil servants withdraw further, and businesspeople who seem to be handing over their warehouses to the U.S. are troubled. A high-ranking official sighed, "If this atmosphere continues, the first half of this year will just pass by."

These two figures, like copy and paste, tirelessly harm the mental health of many people every day. Seeing such strongmen as part of daily life naturally makes one want to live like Bonobono, holding a single shell tightly in hand and floating on the water.

People who have suffered from harmfulness and now need the safe and peaceful feeling that 'harmlessness' provides. May everyone have a 'harmless' day repeated over and over.