[Current & Culture] There Is Neither Moving to the City Nor Returning to the Countryside

There Is Neither Moving to the City Nor Returning to the Countryside

I travel weekly between Gangnam in Seoul and Gangneung in Gangwon Province. I spend weekdays mainly in Seoul and weekends mostly in Gangneung. Although I moved to Gangneung a year ago, my workspace remains in Seoul, so I live a life where work and personal life are separated. When I board the KTX at Seoul Station on Fridays, it feels like going on a trip every week. I get excited thinking about meeting my children soon, looking at the sea together, catching clams, and watching baseball. Of course, my body feels tired, but at least I try to take good care of my mind. Someone might say it’s a good thing to experience that excitement, which usually only comes during vacation season, every week.

When I say I’m going to Gangneung, the phrase I hear most often from people in Seoul is this:

"Have a good trip down."

When I say I’m going back to Seoul, the phrase I hear most often from people in Seoul is this:

"Have a good trip up."

In fact, these expressions are used conventionally without much discomfort. We use Seoul as the reference point and say “going down” for all other regions outside of it. Since Seoul is actually located to the north, it might seem like there’s no problem. However, I once heard a young person from the Gyeongsang Province say this:

"There shouldn’t be any hierarchy between Seoul and the provinces. I feel bad, like I’ve become a second-class citizen."

Thinking about it, I felt sorry for him because I’m no different. Whenever I had to go to the provinces for appointments, even if not Gangneung, I would say to the person in charge at the library or school, “I’ll be coming down soon, see you.” Or the person in charge would say first, “Please come down soon.” Or when I had to go back to Seoul, they would say, “Please be careful going up.”

We still have a premodern narrative of moving to the city and returning to the countryside. “Sang-gyeong” means going up to Seoul from the provinces. “Nak-hyang” means falling down from Seoul to the provinces. People, money, and culture are all concentrated in Seoul, but at least we should start changing the worldview embedded in our language. When someone goes somewhere, we should simply say, “Have a good trip.” When someone returns somewhere, we should simply say, “Have a good return.” More people should make an effort to speak this way.

I don’t know how long my children will stay in Gangneung. That’s not for me to decide but for them. The reason we moved to Gangneung was because of their bright love for the sea. I just hope they don’t set going over Daegwallyeong Pass to Seoul as their life goal or value. Whether in Seoul or Gangneung or anywhere else, they just need to live well as themselves. And I hope they live well as people who don’t use terms like going up or down to describe their movement, who don’t place hierarchy on places or people.

Kim Minseop, Social and Cultural Critic

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