[Current & Culture] Is Your Hero Doing Well?

A new form of idol called influencers has emerged. Among influencers, those who flaunt flashy things and gain popularity through so-called flexing receive both admiration and criticism. The American drama "Inventing Anna," which took the top spot by pushing aside our drama "All of Us Are Dead," which had dominated Netflix following "Squid Game" and "Hellbound," can be seen in the same context.

"Inventing Anna" is a drama based on a relatively recent real-life event. The real person, Anna Sorokin, appeared in the New York social scene in 2013. Known as a wealthy German heiress, she mingled with celebrities and posted her luxurious lifestyle on social media, garnering public admiration. She lived in a Manhattan hotel, frequented high-end restaurants, hired a personal trainer to maintain her figure, and vacationed in Morocco. She even took out a large loan to establish an art foundation. Her glamorous life continued for a full four years.

Suddenly, everything collapsed. It was all a lie. She was not a German heiress but the daughter of Russian immigrant laborers. Her social activities consisted only of dropping out of college and briefly interning at a PR company. The criminal acts revealed during the trial were so sloppy that they were even more shocking. The first lie succeeded, and using that success as a stepping stone, she told a second lie, deceived someone to get close to them, then through that person got close to another, borrowed money through those relationships, and used the borrowed money to flaunt her pretenses as bait to borrow even larger sums... It was a typical scammer’s method. Indeed, throughout history, there have always been scammers who caused a stir in this way. However, it is true that the development of numerous media and social networks has created an ecosystem more favorable to scammers than any other era. People who are famous just because they are famous and who make money from that fame abound on social media and personal broadcasts.

The political world is similar. It is not unfamiliar to see yesterday’s hero fall today. Nevertheless, we constantly create heroes. The proud hero who stands up to power, the incorruptible hero who fearlessly wields the sword against corruption, the hero of the weak who keeps the torch of justice burning in cold and low places... The public, each waiting for their own hero, goes wild when a politician with a similar vibe appears. The politician who becomes a hero then uses the support of their followers as leverage to show even more heroic traits. However, true heroes in history are extremely rare, and most who have been treated as heroes are illusions reflecting our desires or the spirit of the times. There is no need to look far. Park Geun-hye, elected by the people, fell by the hands of the people, and Park Young-soo, the special prosecutor who investigated her amid the people’s fervent support, is entangled in various scandals. What about this election’s candidates? Are they the same as they were one year ago, two years ago, or long ago when we were enthusiastic?

Scammers on social media or YouTube face swift punishment when their scams are exposed. They are ousted by the public and punished if they break the law. But fake heroes in politics are different. Core supporters, expressed in various ways such as "ppa," "budae," and "concrete," turn a blind eye even when the hero’s flaws and lies are revealed. Through strange lines of reasoning, they develop and share ironclad defensive arguments. It suddenly becomes frightening. Could I be like that too? Fortunately or unfortunately, my hero is not a politician but a baseball player.

Readers who are reading this, please ask yourselves. Is your hero doing well?

Lee Jae-ik, Novelist

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.