Monthly Toefl Essay #1

 

           Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.

 

           A country’s custom is differentiated from others by a number of environmental factors.  Korea is no exception of this. Having had been an agricultural society with the influence of Confucianism, its custom also centers around those themes. One of those customs that I’d like to introduce to foreigners is paying respect to adults, because it can promote order within the society and bring back the concept of family.

           Recovering the order of this society can be done by respecting adults. In our modern society, and especially within the western society, adults and children tend treat each other very equally. For example, the English language itself doesn’t contain forms exclusively used to address the elder, meaning their communication process is also quite equal. While this tendency is beneficial in a way that it doesn’t create an uncomfortable atmosphere between the young and the old, it may cause the young to become rude toward the old, ignoring the experience and knowledge the adults have earned through their years of living. So by promoting the atmosphere of respect towards the adults by ways such as bowing to them, the younger generation will naturally recognize the minimum hierarchy that must exist. The preservation of social order will be a product of this.

Adopting the custom of respecting the adults will help revive the concept of family inside the society. Respect accompanies the act of paying more care when treating the person. While keeping a friendly manner doesn’t cause trouble, it may cause the young to stay unconcerned about the old, and the old unconcerned about the young. On the other hand, reverence toward the elder would bring the young more attentive towards the acts of the old, since they try not to make mistakes while in front of them. For instance, when I’m in front of teachers, I become aware of what they say more because I’m careful not to blurt out something inadequate and disappoint them, eventually be regarded as ‘rude’. Observing the adults’ behavior would help the young know more about them, thus giving them an opportunity to create a close relationship with the adults. This connection between the younger and older generation is likely to develop into a relationship similar to that of a family, restoring the concept of ‘family’ in the society as general.

       Bringing the tradition of honoring the adults to other countries would benefit them in two ways: it would keep the society from entering the state of chaos, while also causing the society to become an enormous family. This custom does have its own weaknesses, since it is prone to authoritarianism in that it requires its subjects to conform to the higher-in-rank. However, if it is done in terms of not going against individual’s rights, it will create a desirable social atmosphere. The older generations won’t feel ignored of their life and achievements, while the younger generations will learn how to appreciate the older generations for building the society they are living in.