Human Dignity is Inherent

In the View from the Ark column of the Catholic Times, a Catholic University professor laments her experiences overseas— "What the World Sees of Us and What We Are Losing"  

She attended an international academic conference held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the conference venue at the University of Malaya, Korean noodles were displayed in the vending machines, with their Korean brand labels intact. Foreign researchers she met at the conference told her about the influence of K-dramas, K-pop, and K-food. Since this phenomenon is now easily encountered worldwide, it feels both unfamiliar and gratifying.  

However, it quickly becomes bittersweet. She wonders whether they are holding illusions about Korea, and she also feels a heavy sense of responsibility, realizing that the messages we convey could have global significance. At the same time, the issues of people dying alone and suicide in Korea, treated in classes before leaving Korea, come to mind.  

In an era where Korean culture enjoys global recognition, there are still festering problems within Korean society. The reason it is not entirely pleasant to witness the rising status of K-culture abroad is likely because of this uncomfortable reality. In other words, behind these cultural achievements, we simultaneously face a reality in which people are isolated and losing their sense of life's meaning.  

However, she also realizes that these issues are not unique to Korea. The problems that arise when a nation focuses its policies on economic growth are now flowing from the West into Asia. The market economy system has established itself as the basic global order. We are simultaneously experiencing material prosperity while confronting many problems that arise from it.  

Victor Frankl, known as the founder of logotherapy, stated in a lecture in the United States in the 1960s, "Even amid material abundance, the younger generation is experiencing an erosion of spiritual values" (The Feeling of Meaninglessness, 1967). 

We also know empirically that humans are not merely material beings, but are both physical and spiritual. However, in a world where material things gain importance, spiritual values are neglected, leading humans to experience an existential emptiness that no material possession can fill and to lose the meaning and purpose of life gradually. 

Whenever we face this reality, Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan (Stephen) comes to mind. It may be because his outcry in modern Korean history still resonates with us today. He would say even now: "Human dignity is inherent... We must not use humans as tools for politics or economics. Humans are, rather, the purpose of politics, economics, and all else." 

Yet we easily forget this fact. Interestingly, even at this international academic conference we are attending, while ethics is criticized for failing to keep pace with reality, everyone unanimously emphasizes that the fundamental principles for addressing problems arising from advances in science and technology and the climate crisis must be grounded in ethics. And the foundation of this foundation is found in seeing and respecting humans as humans. When this is ignored, humans tend to judge others' dignity and use them for their own purposes.  

Modern society grants us many choices. And the expansion of these choices encourages understanding freedom solely as the fulfillment of personal desires while claiming to uphold human dignity. In other words, human dignity becomes separated from truth, freedom is absolutized, and human dignity is distorted. Furthermore, the market economy exploits this to maximize economic profit. In such a reality, we are inevitably compelled to ask again: who will explore and educate on what it means to be human, and when, where, and how will this be realized?