In 2014, the captain of the Sewol ferry and some crew members just left the ship in a hurry without coping with the situation. Otherwise, they could have minimized the damage. Eventually, their crime resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. Recently, many problems related to a lack of work ethic have been reported. One of them was that some workers did not properly bury hundreds of dead chickens and just left the site to eat lunch, which helped spread Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza(HPAI). They should have handled the deaths as the government directed, but they did not, so the mass media pointed out the problem as a failure of duty. The aforementioned two incidents imply that our work ethic should change. These situations have been caused not only by public officials but also by other workers. Since concerns over a lack of work ethic have increased, the people need to reestablish a work ethic.
  Neglecting a duty means that workers are not working at fixed working hours for any acceptable reason or are working with little efficacy. Here are some problems that were caused by neglecting a duty. The first example is about public officials. A transportation company got in trouble after paying lots of fines because of administrative errors in Seoul city. According to regulations, taxi drivers have to park their taxis in designated areas. Even though these violations were not verified with objective data, they paid 1.2 million won per each taxi just because parked cars were not in designated areas. The second issue is about medical workers. There was a controversy where some doctors took pictures and posted the pictures of the autopsies of donated cadavers on their SNS. It greatly aggrieved the donors’ families and depreciated the doctors’ statuses. The third example is about kindergarten teachers. They punished children by hitting them for not obeying, and the children were hurt both mentally and physically.
  Many people have claimed that the wrong work ethic in Korea has caused negligence in duties. In fact, according to a survey of Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training(KRIVET), job discrimination by Koreans was much more severe than other advanced countries, such as the USA, Japan, and Germany. Moreover, job satisfaction and life satisfaction were relatively low. The survey result of ‘Work Ethic of Koreans’ by KRIVET showed that Koreans tend to put salary and job stability highest when choosing their jobs. This was because the aim of their life is just the job itself. It has been proven through KRIVET that Korean people tend to see social recognition, wealth, and honor as paramount because many Korean people think that they can achieve those things in return for providing their expertise and technology.



  The aforementioned work ethic is closely connected with the personal criterion of selecting a career. An Ajou University student, Lee Chan-ju(ʼ15, Dept. of Digital Media) said, “I hope to get a well-paid and leisurely job so that I can enjoy my hobbies.” A Busan National University student, Baek Un-min(ʼ15, Dept. of Oriental Medicine) said, “I want a successful job that is honorable, influential in society, well-paid, and stable. This is highly affected by my parents’ criterion of selecting a job.” We’ve learned that all occupations are equally honorable, but it doesn’t seem so in reality. It has turned out that people put more emphasis on extrinsic value, like honor and income, than intrinsic value, like an aptitude, in choosing their job. It has been supported by the results of a survey about jobs conducted by the Ministry of Education because most students in elementary, middle, and high schools wanted to become a teacher. It is clear that stability and expected income were most considered when choosing a job. The problem is that this criterion of choosing jobs results in a negligence in duties.
  According to a dictionary, work ethic is defined as a peculiar demeanor, morality, or value that people have in a particular job, and it can differ depending on the job. A vocation is defined as having pride or responsibility in work and it is about being proud of it.
  The work ethic’s impact on our society is immense. This can be backed up by many theses and much research. According to the thesis ‘A Study on the Effects of Secretaries’ Professionalism Satisfaction’ by Kim Yun-gyeong, a profession is not only one of the most important things in one's life, but it is also a conclusive factor for social economic growth. This explains why people have a high work ethic only when they find jobs in which they are interested as those jobs lead to a high satisfaction in work and a good work ethic. Jeong Su-min(’15, Dept. of Bio Science in Chuncheon National University of Education) said, “I want to have a job which is realizable. This is influenced by my parents.” Han Bog-gyeong(’15, Dept. of Plant Medicine) said, “It would be great if I could get a job that I can do well,” and Shin Eun-gyeong(’15, Dept. of Plant Medicine) said, “I want to have a job in which I am interested. If I don’t have any interest in the job, I will not work for so long. Therefore, I think that the most important thing is my interest even if the income is low. The reason why I think like that is because I can see my friend who has a job that is not suitable for her and she is having a hard time.”
  Even though the social climate can have an influence on choosing a career, most people have said that understanding an individual’s aptitude is crucial. Work satisfaction will be high only when jobs are fit for people, and the work ethic will change only when work satisfaction is high. The recent disasters in Korea have left a message that the tendency of just seeking an easy and secure job has to change right now. Everyone says that we have to change the stereotype of jobs and spread an upstanding work ethic across the entire nation. In addition to this, there is a need for systematic vocational education to teach a better work ethic to the youth who are planning their dreams and careers. A blissful future will ultimately unfold if this is done properly.

By Kim Hyo-seon l hs37@cbnu.ac.kr
By Lee Ju-yeon l jy37@cbnu.ac.kr