North Korean Sociology

Well, looks like taking Sociology has finally paid off

To defectors who come from living in North Korea, a closed country, small things of a democracy state can appear significant to them.

There are things about South Korea which are incomprehensible to the eyes of defectors.

First, from the moment defectors step foot in a Korean airport, there is the image of the airport staff sincerely bowing their heads. North Korea is a stratified country. Kim Jong Il is the first of his country, where people’s ranks are decided by their level of privilege and power, which means that the general populace is inevitably the last. Thus, even the elderly have to bow their heads in front of a young party staff.

Greetings have only been thought of as signs of obedience and submission in the North, but in South Korea, the fact that it is just a sign of familiarity, gentleness and goodness makes the defectors puzzled. Even then, they cannot help but to shed tears and don awkward expressions as they receive bows from the airport employees. In the first moment of their lives where they are treated like human beings, smiles stemming from happiness and gratitude continuously appear on their faces.

This is ironic since in service industries like the airport things like bowing and smiling are part of the regulations dictated by the company. This is especially the case for flight attendants, whom one can presume those are some of the first South Koreans a defector would encounter. In other words, flight attendants in some airline companies smile and bow because it is required.

But still, the reason it is required is because that is what passengers expect. Coming from a place where even your interactions are dictated based on one’s political rank, I would think it is an astonishing sight.