You must still learn from Europe

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You must still learn from Europe

Published: 11 Aug. 2024, 20:25 Updated: 12 Aug. 2024, 13:15

Kang Chan-ho
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Certainly, Europe is declining while Korea is getting bigger. But we still need to pay attention to the old continent,” said Rhie Won-bok, chair professor of visual design at Duksung Women’s University in Seoul. Rhie, 78, was — and still is — an energetic preacher on the strengths of Europe, as implied by his hugely successful comic book series “Far Countries, Near Countries,” which sold nearly 20 million copies in the past four decades.

His presentation of a uniquely concise yet insightful perspective on the past, present and future of Europe helped a countless number of Korean youths hone their understanding on the culture, history and psyche of the old continent. But this time, I met the former president of the university at his workroom in Seoul to ask a somewhat provocative question — if Europe is really collapsing or, more precisely, if Korea doesn’t have to learn from Europe anymore.

“Well, when I first published the educational cartoon series 43 years ago, Europe was certainly a role model for Korea. We may have caught up with Europe economically, but the basic standards of our society are still European ones. As we are getting on par with Europe, we must understand the foundations of those standards. Only then can we really become an advanced country.”

When I visited his workroom on a steamy summer day, he was unexpectedly preparing to publish another educational cartoon series on Northern Europe. I was also curious about what drew his attention to the region.

Rhie Won-bok, a chair professor of visual design at Duksung Women’s University, smiles in his workroom in Seoul. His hugely successful comic book series “Far Countries, Near Countries,” published in both Korean and English, sold nearly 20 million copies in the past four decades. He is preparing another cartoon series shedding light on Northern Europe. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]

Q. Why did you choose to publish a cartoon series on Northern Europe?
A. That’s because Korean society goes to the extremes way too much. As world history has primarily revolved around two disparate values — freedom and equality — since the 1789 French Revolution, a country who knows how to strike a balance between the two is an advanced country. The Nordic countries are such examples, as they symbolize the noble value of “freequalance,” a new term I first coined to integrate the concepts of freedom, equality and balance.

As Europe’s growth stalled for a while, an increasing number of Koreans say they have nothing more to learn from the old continent. What are your thoughts on this?
That’s wrong. The standards of modern society are still based in Europe. Even if Europe is doomed, the metric system like kilometers or kilograms will not change. The roots of our constitutional government upholding “free democracy” and “the rule of law” also can be traced back to Europe, as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment designed to separate humanity from divinity led to the creation of democracy and capitalism. Countries who didn’t undergo that transition became authoritarian or autocratic states. Korea has joined the ranks of developed economies, but Koreans can make a mistake if they don’t understand Europe in a fundamental way.

What are the reasons for us to learn from Northern Europe in particular?
The Nordic region had been ruled by the Vikings until 1066. If male Vikings left their villages to pillage other parts of Europe, it took up to two years. In the meantime, female Vikings had to do all the things for their village on their own. That helped them be equal to their male counterparts early on. The looters’ dominant mindset — no monopoly of their trophies — helped them honor equality. The consolidation of their genes for equal treatment for a millennium inspired them to ensure women’s suffrage and their elections as the head of state before their neighbors did. But the newfound reality of powerful countries like Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom surrounding them also encouraged them to not provoke others. That partly explains why the Northerners behave humbly. If you buy a Porsche, you will immediately draw attention from others. So you buy a popular Volkswagen Passat instead, not to mention purchasing low-cost fashion brands.

Is that how the Law of Jante appeared?
In 1933, Aksel Sandemosse, a Danish-Norwegian writer, introduced an imaginary city called “Jante” in his novel “A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks.” In the Danish town, all residents keep close tabs on one another and turn away from those with distinctive personalities. That mindset was condensed into the Law of Jante, a code of conduct defined in the novel, which starts with Rule 1 — “Do not think you are anything special” — and ends with Rule 10 — “Do not think you can teach us anything.” Another important Swedish feature is “lagom,” which can roughly translate into “appropriately” or “properly” in English. If you ask a Swedish person how much coffee he or she wants to drink, they just say “lagom.” Scandinavia has been dominated by the Law of Jante and lagom. They also don’t talk too much as they don’t want to disturb others, and vice versa.

What we should learn from the Scandinavians?
Sweden has been infamous for its abnormally heavy taxes, but the country did scrap the inheritance tax in the 1990s. After a rapid reduction in national wealth from the massive exodus of global companies like Ikea and Volvo due to the inheritance tax, the government made the decision. When the need arises, the country changes its direction. Averting the extremes and seeking consensus are other points for us to learn from Sweden. But the precondition for compromise is equality. As leaders respect the views of their subordinates, all tables at conference rooms are round tables, and government ministers and janitors call one another by their first names.

Are there any problems in the society?
As 75 percent of people’s income goes to taxes, their motivation for making money is diminished. A heavy reliance on welfare benefits also can make people lazy. But compared to the high tax burden, Swedish people increasingly complain about their relatively fewer benefits. This is mostly related to wasting taxes. The biggest blind spot is medical services, as seen in the surge of lonely deaths on the streets. In Sweden, a family doctor usually takes care of 10 families. But getting a family doctor has become very difficult because doctors are paid the same amount of money regardless of the number of their patients. Some patients have to wait six months just to get a medical test. Welfare services can’t be cut once they start.

What do you think about the serious level of social chaos Sweden suffered in 2015 after accepting a large number of refugees from the Middle East?
Sweden took Germany’s side in the early period of World War II when Germany was winning, but sided with the United States and the United Kingdom after they turned the tide. Stockholm’s decision to accommodate those refugees was probably related to the need to compensate for its wrong decision in the past. Sweden also became a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission after the Korean War.

The European Union’s GDP was similar to the United States’ in 2012, but the gap widened to $9 trillion in ten years, with the EU’s GDP at $18 trillion and the U.S.’s at $27 trillion. What do you think is the reason for the growing gap?
I would attribute it to a lack of entrepreneurship in the old continent. In Northern Europe, Angry Birds or Bluetooth are almost the only successful startups. Without the spirit of innovation, Europe is becoming a boiling frog. Nevertheless, the continent will lead global standards for some more decades. I think that Northern Europe took a step closer to the far left while Germany reasonably mixed socialism with capitalism, as represented by its inexpensive quality brands produced by powerful small companies. The U.S. economy primarily based on the survival of the fittest can’t be compatible with our economy.

Koreans say that Europe was once their role model but not anymore.
Whenever I lectured, the audience asked me what kind of an advanced country Korea should be in the future. My answer was “We must become a country respected by others.” Most developed countries can’t avoid criticisms from outside. So we must act with common sense and abandon our obsession with “being the first in the world.” The government must draw up foreign policies without violating the rules and bolster its official development assistance for other countries. As Korea didn’t commit any wrongs like colonizing other countries, it can get along with them well — and has the ability to present new standards on global issues. The biggest pride I felt after publishing the comic book series came from a great number of young readers who were backpacking through Europe. As they have no inferiority complex towards the West, they confidently travel there speaking English while being polite, modest and unbiased.

What do you think is the source of the amazing success of your comic book series?
The biggest asset is my ten years of living in Germany as a student of visual art and history at the University of Münster. At the height of my inquisitiveness, I went overseas at least eight times a year to gather information about foreign countries. If you read history books over and over, their essences — and my inspiration — become crystallized. That’s the base for my comic books.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.