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[Writer's Notes] The “Culture of Relationships” Between Korea and China scrap
by Hong Jungsun
November 11, 2014
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Without fail, books on China published in Korea mention the importance of relationships in China. Such books state that China is governed not by laws and rational procedures, but by relationships, and advise that before doing anything in China, you should first establish good relationships with people. The advice isn’t entirely wrong. However, is there any place in the world where relationships aren’t important? So often, things that could have worked out don’t work out because of relationship problems, and vice versa, regardless of where you are. Thus, the advice is seriously flawed, for it could sound as though you should establish relationships with people any way you can, no matter what it takes.
It is certainly true that China places great importance on relationships. However, that does not mean that China places importance on all kinds of relationships. What matters is a trustworthy relationship, and a trustworthy friendship. The “three bonds and the five moral rules in human relations” state that “faith should reign over the relation between friends.” A trustworthy friendship is so important in China that the people of China take care to treat with respect even a friend of a friend. People often say that the Chinese don’t trust people easily, but that once they come to trust someone, they do not easily let go of the person. Such a culture arises from the context of “a trustworthy friend.”
Unlike Korea, China is a nation of vast lands, diverse people, and heterogeneous customs. Consequently, it is natural, for instance, for someone from Beijing to go to Shanghai, or for someone from Harbin to go to Urumqi, and seek help and advice from friends and acquaintances. There’s nothing wrong or unusual with that, just as there’s nothing wrong with Koreans going abroad and seeking help from other Koreans. Even in Korea, where everyone lives in the same time zone, shares the same culture, and uses the same language, people are glad to run into someone from their hometown; it’s no wonder that people are glad to meet someone from home in China, where things are strange and familiar whenever you go to a new town. It’s no wonder, too, that people from the same town want to help each other. In that respect, the “relationship of cultures” in China is a valuable custom and tradition created by their natural and cultural environments.
For that reason, I feel optimistic that the Korean-Chinese writers conferences sponsored by the Paradise Cultural Foundation and the KLTI forums overseen by the Korea Literature Translation Institute to be held in the future will be even more successful than the three previous ones. In those three years, the writers of Korea and those of China have built a trustworthy friendship. Without this, why would Shu-Ting have wiped away his tears, sad to say goodbye, and why would Zhang Wei have invited Korean writers to his lecture hall? And why else would Dong Cheng Long have volunteered to arrange the next conference in Xi’an? I believe that these actions by Chinese writers demonstrate the essential beauty of China’s culture of relationships, and feel hopeful about the future of the Korea-China writers’ conference and the KLTI forum.
by Hong Jungsun
* Hong Jungsun is a professor of the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Inha University. He is co-head of Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. His major books include Historical Life and Criticism, Prometheus’ Years, and Literature as Humanities.
Writer 필자 소개
Hong Jungsun
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