[Student Voices] A Quiet Battle
Published: 19 May. 2025, 09:20
Updated: 19 May. 2025, 14:02
Woojin Chun, Daegu Gyeongsin Middle School
by Woojin Chun, Daegu Gyeongsin Middle School
“#%@$&*!”
The first word that struck my ears the moment I stepped into the school classroom was a curse. I was a transfer student who had just moved to Korea from the US. While my homeroom teacher guided me to the front of the classroom, I was stunned by how casually the students used curse words, completely ignoring the fact that the teacher had entered the room. Soon after I found my seat, the crowd became louder. As they discussed the soccer game they had played, cursing about who was the best player and cursing about who made the most mistakes, I slumped forward on the desk and covered my head with my arms.
I felt like I had been thrown into a completely different world, one filled with words I never used. It seemed like I was the only one in the entire school who didn’t swear. Since I didn’t want to begin my school life labeled a “nerd” or “loner,” I decided to approach a kid who seemed relatively innocent. It was during the lunch break, when almost everybody went outside to play.
“Hey, do you play table tennis?” I asked. “Wanna play together?”
“Yeah, of course! I love it. #%@$&* I actually won first place in last year’s school tournament! #%@$&*,” he said excitedly, then added, “#%@$&* I was sitting in this lonely classroom because literally #%@$&* nobody plays table tennis. I’m #%@$&* glad you get how great this sport is!”
As we talked more and more over the next few days, I noticed that he stopped swearing around me. But when speaking with other friends, he threw in curse words like everyone else. I wondered why. It wasn’t until a long time later, when we became closer, that I decided to ask him about it.
“Why do you never swear when we talk together?” I asked. “I mean, you use curse words quite frequently with others.”
He shrugged and said, “Because you never talk like that. I thought it was very awkward for me to curse, when you don’t.”
This reminded me of a proverb: If you speak nicely, you will hear nice words in return. As time went by, I found that this phenomenon wasn’t limited to just one person. Many other students almost never used curse words when talking to me. It appeared as if my voice unconsciously influenced theirs.
Around half a year later, I noticed a strange change in myself. The more I was exposed to swearing, the more my brain seemed to adapt to it. Words that once shocked me started to sound ordinary, almost like background noise. I realized that this was the state that my friends had been in all the time. It wasn’t that they made a deliberate choice to accept or embrace swearing; it was simply a part of the environment they had grown up in.
Over time, I began to notice that I had to filter my speech before opening my mouth. Those inappropriate words had slowly but surely begun to seep into my own thoughts...
I found myself in a quiet battle. I dislike profanity because, most of the time, it seems to fuel negativity and make interactions feel more aggressive. Beyond that, I believe that constant use of profanity can shape one’s character over time, influencing how they are perceived in society. So, no matter how familiar those words become in my head, I never let them slip from my mouth.
In a world where external impressions are so strong, we need to build a mindset that is independent of negative influences. Just as I manage to silence the profanity that enters my mind, your brain has to know what to follow and what to reject. Perhaps, in the future, more people may join the quiet battle and be mindful of how language affects their identity and influences those around them.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)