[The Typewriter That Bakes Bread] A Life with Many Exits Is Better

"Individuals Struggle to Respond to Change Within Structures of Inequality"
Diagnosing the Vicious Cycle of Zero-Sum Games in Korean Society
The Solution Lies in 'Expanding Exit Options'

"If I make an exit here and now, will a better life await me?" Every human being has dreamed of escape at least once. All relationships in our daily lives?whether between office workers, husbands and wives, the elderly and the young?are relative, and are inevitably exposed to loss, discrimination, and exclusion. In such situations, exit is one of the main responses we can choose between resistance and loyalty.

'Open Exit: The Future of Inequality, Escaping the Cage' is a book that diagnoses the vicious cycle of the zero-sum game in Korean society and proposes structural reforms to provide individuals with freer 'exit options.' This is the final installment of the 'Inequality Trilogy' by Lee Cheolseung, a professor of sociology at Sogang University, following his previous works 'The Generation of Inequality' and 'The Rice Disaster State.'

In his earlier books, Professor Lee analyzed the structure of inequality created by the generational networks of the 386 Generation and the East Asian rice farming system at its root. In this book, he examines how three key changes?artificial intelligence (AI), low birthrate and aging, and immigration?are colliding with the existing 'social cage' to produce new forms of inequality.

The social cage refers to the collection of various systems and mechanisms that bind individuals to specific communities. These are psychological, institutional, and cultural barriers in families, workplaces, and the nation that make it difficult for people to leave.

In particular, Korea and Japan are societies where the corporate system based on East Asian rice farming culture remains strong. This system, which intricately intertwines academic background, internal labor markets, and seniority-based pay, creates a structure where collaboration, hierarchy, and competition operate simultaneously. Within this structure, which is difficult to enter or exit, people are guaranteed long-term employment stability, but must fiercely compete for higher positions and rewards. Members find themselves in a contradictory relationship of cooperating with each other while also being rivals.

The problem is that this system can no longer respond effectively to the changes of the times. AI-driven automation is rapidly replacing the existing manufacturing-based system. The phenomenon of low birthrate is a result of women resisting the patriarchal family structure, but for society as a whole, it brings about a crisis in population reproduction. For individuals, it is an exit; for society, it is an existential crisis.

Immigration is similar. Currently, about 3 million foreign workers reside in Korea. They take on jobs that Koreans tend to avoid. However, as their numbers increase, they can also provoke resentment among existing workers.

Professor Lee points out that the biggest problem in Korean society today is the excessive lack of exit options. The structure that forces everyone to compete on the same narrow path intensifies inequality. He argues that to resolve this situation, society must fundamentally change its structure so that especially individuals from the lower and middle classes can freely choose from a wider range of options.

The solution lies in 'expanding exit options.' The proposal is to move away from a closed competitive structure where people are tied to a single organization and restrict each other, and instead create an open society where individuals can make free choices. People should be supported in finding jobs, learning skills, and transferring or converting those skills to other fields to create new opportunities. Such efforts must be accompanied by a fair compensation system.

These changes must occur within the institutional frameworks of the market and the state. Professor Lee also emphasizes the need for exit in politics. People should be able to make flexible choices, moving away from politics polarized between the left and the right. One may join a particular party, policy, or leader, but it does not have to be permanent.

He says, "You can let go of a particular region, a particular person, or a particular ideology. You can leave them behind. You do not have to live that way, think that way, or be passionate about those things."

Open Exit / Lee Cheolseung / MunhakgwaJiseongsa / 376 pages / 18,000 won