The Science and Faith columnist of the Catholic Peace Weekly tells readers a story about a rabbit and a turtle compiled during the reign of King Injong of Goryeo in 1145.
It is a famous story about a turtle that went up to land to get the liver of a rabbit to use as medicine to cure the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, who was sick, but the rabbit cleverly avoided the situation.
In this story, adapted into the pansori “Sugungga” and the classic novel “Tokkijeon” during the late Joseon Dynasty, the rabbit’s wisdom prevailed over the turtle.
A fable written by Aesop in Greece around the 6th century B.C. tells the story of a race between a rabbit and a turtle. In this story, the turtle’s efforts to crawl slowly but diligently won over the rabbit. In this way, rabbits and turtles have been the main characters of stories that teach lessons to humans since ancient times. How would you compare the characteristics of the two animals?
First of all, the most significant difference is their lifespan. The average lifespan of a wild rabbit is 2-3 years, which is short. The lifespan of a turtle is generally known to be around 100 years, and some land turtles live up to 200 years. Therefore, turtles are considered a symbol of longevity to humans.
Rabbits are herbivores at the bottom of the ecosystem food chain, so they are always exposed to the risk of predators and suffer a lot of stress due to their social lifestyle. Stress promotes the secretion of the hormone cortisol and weakens the immune system, making them vulnerable to various diseases and shortening their lifespan. On the other hand, turtles that live alone are less stressed and have strong immunity to bacteria and viruses, so they do not get sick easily. In addition, they can regenerate telomeres, which are the ends of chromosomes that determine cell aging, resulting in slower aging.
Also, rabbits, which are mammals, are homeotherms with a constant body temperature, so they consume a lot of energy to maintain their body temperature and spend a lot of time finding food. However, turtles, which are reptiles, are cold-blooded animals whose body temperature changes depending on the surrounding temperature, so they do not need to consume energy to maintain their body temperature like rabbits, so they use energy efficiently and their body metabolism is about 5 times slower than other animals, so they can survive with a small amount of food. If people react sensitively to stress, like turtles, they will eat less and use energy efficiently, allowing them to live healthier, happier, and longer lives.
Nietzsche said that aging is not something you can choose, but you can choose how you age. So, what if you choose the wisdom of turtles that adapt to nature and live with the aesthetics of slowness?
The fourth Sunday in July is designated as ‘World Grandparents and Senior Citizens Day’ by the church. Everyone ages and eventually becomes an old person and a grandparent. As of December 2024, the number of people aged 65 or older in Korea is expected to exceed 10,244,550, accounting for more than 20% of the total population, and thus making Korea a super-aged society.
Just as water flowing for a long time cuts through rocks and soil to create deep valleys, the sweat and sacrifices of the older generation for the future of their children and the younger generation have created valley-like wrinkles on their hands and faces. In this way, the hands and faces of our elderly parents and grandparents contain the history of their hardships. This is one of the reasons we hold the elderly in high regard. ‘Stand up before the old and show respect to the old.’ (Leviticus 19:32)
