[Opinion] Aching Stomach, Hungry Stomach

The eye is the fountain of sorrow, and the mouth is the fountain of joy. It is believed so because we see tears in our eyes if we feel sad and see smiles if we feel happy.

There seems to be no difference in all ages and countries in thinking that the heart is the fountain of love. Then, what will be the fountain of jealousy? There is an expression in English saying that “one became yellow because of his jealousy” or “one became green.” In the old days, it is said that Westerners believed that a yellow or green color appearing in the body indicated cholelithiasis. Therefore, the fountain of jealousy was the gall bladder to Westerners. Unlike Westerners, to us Easterners, jealousy coils itself in our stomachs. That is why we have sayings such as “one has a stomachache when his cousin buys land,” or “hunger is bearable but a stomachache is not.”

Honorary President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Jeffrey Johns said in a meeting with officers at Cheong Wa Dae, “For Korea to become rich, Korean attitudes, as seen in the saying, ‘Hunger is bearable, but not a stomachache,’ should be changed. It is considered to be an accurate diagnosis and treatment for Korea’s current situation that anti-rich sentiment and downward equalitarianism have held the ankle of the Korean economy. Jealousy, though, is not something that can be easily ridden if desired.”

Jealousy is persisting. Think about the poem phrase that says, “Jealousy grows with us as long as we are alive and stops when we die,” or a proverb saying, “A jealous person may die, but his jealous mind is inherited by his descendents.” How about using this jealousy as productive energy if it is so hard to get rid of? Since selfishness has been the psychological drive of capitalism, which has been more effective than any other economic system created so far, we cannot rule out the possibility that jealousy may become one of the most effective economic drives as well.

German psychologist Rolf Haub said in his book “Jealousy” that there are three types of emotions to deal with jealousy: depression, anger, and ambition. Depression transforms into self-rapprochement, and anger transforms into fight for distribution. On the other hand, ambition transforms into efforts to become like the object of one’s jealousy. Economic consequences of depression and anger are lowered international competitiveness and slowed-down domestic consumption. That is exactly what we are observing now. For all of us to survive, ambition should become the spout of our jealousy, not depression or anger. To that end, there is a need for an environment where equal opportunities are guaranteed and creativities and productivities are properly rewarded. When the vice minister of economy is caught up in depression and the ruling party is caught up in anger, our economy cannot revive.

Cheon Kwang-am, editorial writer, iam@donga.com