Returning Wealth to Society

Lee Moon-yeol’s novel “Choice” features a woman surnamed Jang who lives under the reign of King Seonjo in the Joseon Dynasty. The novel illustrates how she gives a helping hand to the destitute: “Every morning, I let my servants look around the village to see whether there is a house where no smoke came out from the chimney. No smoke from the chimney means the family is starving. But I didn’t want to offend them by giving food without any conditions. So, I called in some members of the family and had them do some work, and in return for the work, I sent food.”

During the Japanese colonial rule, there was a wealthy widow named Baek Seon-haeng in Pyongyang. As her husband died when she was 16 years old, she had devoted her whole life to accumulating fortune. Though blamed for being a miser, she was unfazed. When she turned 60, however, she started charity work. She gave away a huge sum of money to schools and set up a big church in downtown Pyongyang. Until she passed away at the age of 86 in 1933, she donated a vast amount of money amounting to more than 30 billion won at current value. Unsparingly giving away her whole property, she left this world. So much so that, some 10,000 Pyongyang citizens participated in her funeral and mourned her death.

As seen in both cases, charity and donations are only meaningful when they are carried out voluntarily and wholeheartedly. In the parliamentary confirmation hearing for Culture Minister-designate Yu In-chon, however, an indecent situation unfolded, relating to returning wealth to society. While grilling him over his vast wealth valuing at 14 billion won, United Democratic Party lawmaker Sohn Bong-sook put Yu in hot water by asking, “Are you willing to donate your wealth for the development of drama actors?” Yu got out of the awkward situation by replying unhesitatingly, “Yes, I am.” However, Rep. Sohn’s question was not the one that fits the confirmation hearing. What if Culture Minister-nominee Yu said no? What additional questions could Sohn pose to him? It’s wondering whether Sohn herself has donated any money, be it small or large, to society or done any charity work.

Even if Yu donated some money for theater, actors would not willingly accept it. That’s because it is not voluntary, nor something coming with no strings attached. We should learn from our ancestors who were thoughtful enough to consider those who received help when they gave assistance, and from those who expressed their sincere gratitude to the helping hands. What is needed is to promote an atmosphere where the rich voluntarily give away, not an environment where the wealthy are forced to do so for political gains.

Editorial Writer Hong Chan-sik chansik@donga.com