There’s a push on to drop from a 6-day work week to a 5-day one in Korea, and it surprises me to hear that there’s a fair bit of resistance to the idea. Some of the most vocal opponents are Christian organizations. Dire predictions of the collapse of the country are being sounded, some of them coming dangerously close to verbalizing the kind of chauvinism that usually runs below the surface here. An example : “We know fully well that the present status of churches in western countries (whose congregations are dwindling) is not unrelated to the five-day workweek system.” Not unrelated, indeed. Idle hands are the devil’s boxer shorts.
In a related note, the male half of the young couple (a bit younger than us) who live in the apartment across the hall, has been spending no more than 5 hours a day at home for over a year, apparently. This five hours includes 4 hours sleep, and is the total time he is not either commuting or working. He makes less money than I do, and he’s happy to be doing it.
Sometimes, my mind reels. Other times it just kinda sashays around, coyly.
Category:
Korea-related