The Seoul Spirit

It was so exciting a thought to ‎ visit  Seoul on  Foreign Study Tour (FST) as part of 119th Induction Training course for the IAS. Had only heard of South Korea as success story in nation building, in creation of smart cities,  enviable public spaces,   establishment of International economic city and all this in short span of five decades! The country that was the poorest in 1960s has risen to have the highest per capita income of $30k in 2010!  South Korea came into existence in 1945 -almost with India. It was ravaged by Korean war in 1950-1953. How come that such a small country with small geographical presence and limited human and natural resources could rise to be a power to reckon with! What makes Seoul a coveted place? What after all is their strength that the world stands amazed at? These were a few of the questions that my mind was grappling with besides the excitement of visiting foreign land when our group of 62 officers from various parts of India landed at Seoul. ‎ We were greeted by the Korean Development Institute (KDI) team on the airport who briefly explained the groups and supporting persons who, with group A , B plaques in their hands,gestured us to follow for boarding the designated buses. We were taken straight to the Seoul CityTower to feel the aura of Seoul spaces, greenery and the huge ,tall ,state -of -the- art structures symbolic of their stature amongst the developed countries. It also bespoke of the professional time management of the KDI to enable participants have glimpse of the City before even the check in ! It was only later that we realised that the City Tower stood taller than all other skyscrapers and could be seen from every nook and corner of Seoul!

What interested me was the people. In the very first presentation made by the Dean of KDI answered my query regarding the role of people when  the Korean spirit was described as unanimously iterating: 'Failure was not an option..'. After that it was presentation after presentation which reaffirmed the dictum how the mob, the mass, the crowd, the People of this great country held afloat the beacon of prosperity and richness not just at the physical economic  level but also for the cultural, health, education and above all the cleanliness and hygiene.

The City abounds in flyovers and underpasses and the strong public transportation is a marvel unmatched by many a developed countries. The leadership of the country was largely supported by the people, hence the pace of development was swift and sustainable. 

There was little fascination for the English language amongst Koreans but nevertheless they were helpful- especially the young people everyone of whom could be seen with their faces stuck on the mobile screens . But they would lift their head and try to understand the query, ask us to spell on the screen what was wanted, search for it and then gently would lift their hand to say: follow me! This gesture was so very commonplace and this supportive spirit to tread a few steps and show strangers a passage or a venue showed abundant human kindness. Even in hotel or Seoul Station their slight discomfiture on not registering the language we would communicate with was visible but so was their intention to help. 

Noticeably, the faces of korean on streets and alleys or shops and restaurants did not reveal conspicuously the 'happiness index' . The solemnity, seriousness, matter -of- fact or businesslike approach was pervasive which was actually saddening as was the horrifying data regarding    South Korea having the highest suicide rate and every third Korean having a mental health problem. It is hoped that the Governments and professionals must be working on these aspects as prosperity and development ought to bring peace and happiness too. 

So Young Lin, the manager of our group in a way symbolised the Korean spirit with all her patience, jovial ness, care and concern,compassion and her ability to hide the hurt. She and her team mates were excellent communicators with their little knowledge of English but ample empathy to understand and help others find the answers. The small gesture of the group to gift them was hugely appreciated as the support team displayed proudly the gift the next day as a mark of gratitude. 

Seoul would always be remembered and the memories of Seoul cherished‎ as it was great learning experience visiting there with challenges of availability of vegetarian . Besides, limitations of communication and strict sense of discipline reminded me of Tagore's 'Wrong Man in Workers' Paradise' where the spirit, zeal and commitment to work overshadowed the gaiety de vivre.

But Seoul, we will visit again!