[MZ Column] In the Era of Survival of the Fittest, Let's Build a Community of Solidarity

[Asia Economy] Recently, I voluntarily held a New Year's gathering for the first time. The people gathered at the New Year's event were neither classmates from the same year nor colleagues or neighborhood residents. The people I gathered were the contributors of the currently running newsletter, "All Cultures of the World." It is a newsletter started about a year and a half ago, where various writers voluntarily contribute and create content.

At first, I thought of the newsletter simply as a means for people who like writing to consistently write. However, as time passed, the solidarity among people strengthened and continued steadily, leading me to think about creating a 'community.'

So, at the New Year, I arranged a gathering where all the contributors could meet. Since just chatting seemed somewhat empty, we also decided to hold a live online talk session. We informed subscribers of the talk schedule in advance, and on-site, various contributors discussed writing, different industries, and prospects for 2023. After the talk session ended, we had a free time for casual chatting.

Meanwhile, I also brought my child to this New Year's gathering. Nowadays, it has become common to exclude children, like in no-kids zones, but personally, I believe that a culture and society that exclude children cannot continue healthily. I have also brought my child several times to book talks celebrating my book releases. I always said, "You can bring your children to my book talks."

This time was no different, and my four-year-old child naturally wandered around, greeted people, and mingled in the space. Although the world shouts that children are noisy, cannot enter adult spaces, and must be excluded, I believe that if adults sincerely invite children, children can fully belong in this world. In fact, no viewers disliked the surprise appearance of the child during the online broadcast; rather, they liked it.

Thus, for the first time, I held a community gathering that included contributors, their spouses, and even children. The common characteristic of these members is that they are all passionate about 'writing.' Initially, most were people who participated in writing groups with me, and now they have become contributors to the newsletter and have come to continue the community gatherings.

What I feel is that, ultimately, what matters more than great achievements or goals is simply people. None of the contributors gathered here probably have the mindset of making a fortune or gaining great fame by massively succeeding with the newsletter. Rather, they like writing, like the people who write, and enjoy the time spent with those people, which is why they continue the community steadily.

Although society is often said to have lost neighbors and become an era of survival of the fittest, I think this new form of community points to a new era. For me, this is close to the realization of a dream. I have a dream: to have a community where people who share similar values and resolutions welcome and connect with each other. Perhaps this dream is the dream of our era.

Jung Ji-woo, Cultural Critic

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