You just left at an utter loss for words to learn that someone stole a child being carried on its mother's back, and that the perpetrator, not being satisfied, then killed the mother. The excruciating grief and screams of desperation from a mother who had her throat cut while begging that her child be spared pierce the skies and strike your ears.
The motive for the shocking crime hits you even harder. The temptation to "do anything for money" in this era ruled by the god of things material was all too intense. It is not how people should be to have to beg that the child be saved or to have to accept such a request. The era of the god of things material almost incites people to forsake the dignity of human life. The situation already appears to be beyond the danger level. This case is like a red light alerting you to how the times have forsaken human values. We are being taught of how the blade of the era of the god of things material, in which human life is thought of as the life of flies, is becoming a blade that is being pointed at our own necks.
It reminds you of the need for societal supervision and control of ethics in the workplace. So-called "errand centers" are a new kind of service that do not have much history. It is a "patented product" targeting modern individuals who have been turned into cogs by a modern capitalism in endless pursuit of profit. It was born to serve the pure enough function of lessening the troubles of modern man in his fatigue. The way you count the numbers in a capitalism that pursues profit blindly means that sometimes illegality does not get refused. These businesses have caused problems before, including the "resolving" of debt issues, intrusion into private lives, kidnapping, and other illegal activity. Naturally, that is because there is no supervision of these establishments by the authorities. There needs to be careful review of the wrongful business practices by these "errand centers."
They say the world is beautiful. But there is one precondition. That condition would be that people respect each other and maintain the dignity of life. The dominance of the god of things material is becoming more intense in these times, and we are in need of contemplation about life and nature more than ever before.
The Hankyoreh, 26 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
