S101

Society Protocol 1

Aspiring Actor

Kang Min-hyuk was popular with girls from a young age.

When he walked down the street holding his mother's hand, people would stare at him, wanting to pat him like a cute puppy.

Even in kindergarten, he realized the difficulties of being popular with six other girls who adored him.

He began modeling children's clothing in elementary school.

His father was a researcher at a major electronics company, and his mother majored in dance.

His father was smart and gentle, while his mother was beautiful and passionate about everything she did.

His mother had longed to be a celebrity since childhood and sought to realize her own dreams through her son

Min-hyuk debuted in middle school as a child actor in a famous drama.

His handsome, intellectual face and fair skin made him quite famous among drama fans.

Min-hyuk's mother wanted to raise her son as a singer and actor.

However, Min-hyuk's grandfather and grandmother strongly opposed this idea.

Minhyuk's father wasn't very interested.

In his father's eyes, he didn't like the way Min-hyuk was putting on airs because he was a celebrity.

He had already lived with his beautiful wife's arrogant attitude for over ten years, so it was relatively less bothersome.

And his father would often slap him on the back of the head to stop him from being a troublemaker, and he'd come to his senses again.

He was actually envious of the gifts girls showered him with, something he hadn't received as a child.

So, while his father didn't object strongly, Min-hyuk's grandfather and grandmother weren't.

Still, his grandfather and grandmother, both former teachers, weren't so closed-minded.

They were concerned because they'd seen some of their students end up in entertainment but ended up in bad situations.

They understood that being a celebrity in itself was a privileged profession in modern society.

They concluded that Min-hyuk focused on his studies during middle and high school, and that they would not oppose him if he wanted to become a celebrity after entering college.

Even Min-hyuk's mother couldn't object to that.

While attending school, Minhyuk and his mother would often go to the theater on weekends, arm in arm, to watch movies or plays.

If there was an art gallery exhibition, they'd go together.

If there was a big musical, they'd always go see it together.

She kept in touch with her friends who were still in the dance world and those who had gone on to enter the entertainment industry.

The time had come for Min-hyuk to decide on his future career path before graduating from high school.

Min-hyuk, who took after his father and was a good student, had a family meeting to discuss what major he should choose and which university he should apply to.

He wanted to apply to the Department of Theater and Film, but he lacked the practical skills.

It was difficult to apply with only a few experiences as a child.

At that time, Min-hyuk's father said this

"These days, some actors graduate from prestigious universities and are taking on leading roles.

They're called 'engineering princes,' and engineering programs are quite demanding, but

studying something in science or engineering would be helpful in life,

and if you happen to become an actor, wouldn't it also help your resume?

Kim Tae-hee is pretty, but she wouldn't have become that famous if she hadn't graduated from Seoul National University.

Personally, I think so. What do you think?"

The tone of speech typical of electronics company researchers, who analyze and set goals based on premise, was conveyed as is.

Min-hyuk's mother only hoped her only son would become a huge star.

A good academic background would naturally make him more attractive to women.

Min-hyuk entered the Department of Electronic Engineering at a college in Seoul.

After his acceptance was confirmed, he enrolled in an acting academy and resumed his acting studies before classes began.

He also enrolled at an agency in Yeouido and began working as an extra.

And although he wanted to skip out, his father insisted he attend the freshman orientation.

He met a few friends there.

Minhyuk quickly became friends with both boys and girls, and soon,

he became known throughout the school as a freshman in the College of Engineering.

He became the cover model for the school newspaper and was featured in a news interview as a current student,

making him quite well-known among the female high school and middle school students.

However, he wasn't yet signed to a talent agency, and he had military service issues.

It seemed advantageous to complete his military service early.

So, he decided to enlist immediately after finishing his freshman year.

After the semester started, he wasn't particularly interested in what classes he should take,

So he followed the friends he met at orientation and took classes.

The liberal arts course included Politics and Life, and his major was taught by a professor who had previously worked as a researcher at a major electronics company.

Min-hyuk discovered something interesting while taking these two classes.

Both are members of the so-called "386" generation (those in 30s, college students in the 1980s, and those born in the 1960s, a generation that witnessed political protests in Korea in the 1990s).

The liberal arts professor, who had been involved in student protests and had been in and out of prison several times, wrote his articles.

He also knew and had close relationships with many famous politicians.

When a sitting National Assembly member from a district near the school came to give a special lecture,

reporters swarmed him with cameras, and photos of him shaking hands with the professor and standing at the podium were featured in online articles.

What they pursued was justice and equality.

In another introductory electronics class, he was a researcher at a leading domestic electronics company, also a member of the 386 generation.

However, he lived a life completely unrelated to student activists or politics.

He said he joined the company he worked for as an entry-level employee before it became a global powerhouse.

He began by cleaning factory equipment, became a researcher, and attended graduate school at night.

With the support of the company, he earned his doctorate.

As he grew older and could no longer pursue development, he returned to his alma mater.

He served as an assistant professor, then earned another degree in the United States before returning to Korea and becoming a full professor.

While his time as a professor was relatively short compared to professors in other fields, his experience in the electronics field is quite extensive.

He worked as an expatriate in both the US and China.

He was one of the few engineers fluent in both English and Chinese.

He also occasionally invited prominent figures to give special lectures. These included current CEOs and HR managers from major corporations.

This lecture, which discussed the kind of talent they seek and how they got there, was attended by many people from other departments.

Some students even launched a barrage of questions, trying to impress.

What they pursued was competition and effort.

Although they lived in the same era, they held completely different ideologies.

They lived differently, and their perceptions of each other were also different.

"Development isn't always good. Look at this destruction of nature.

Instead of talking to our friends and families, we're all on our smartphones and watching videos.

While some people live in luxury with great wealth, others live in misery, worrying about their daily meals.

To improve these things, people must wake up.

You are not slaves to the company. You are free.

In fact, you must become free as intellectuals."

This is a common repertoire for liberal arts professor.

He argued that government must grow and that big government must be a safety net to lift up those who have fallen.

The professor of the electronics department told a different story.

"Fundamentally, stagnation is the same as death.

Electricity is only truly alive when it flows.

Human blood continuously flows throughout the body, and the heart continually beats.

Blood must continuously circulate throughout the body to survive.

We must constantly move and strive.

Some people say happiness is found in doing nothing and lying comfortably,

but happiness is the feeling you get when you move your body, running, your heart beats faster, and blood is pumped throughout your body.

That runner's high is true happiness.

Through competition, we can strive harder, develop further, and improve in ever-better ways.

To settle is to die. To take it easy is to die.

To survive, we continually strive, run, challenge, and fail.

We learn from each step, and we challenge again. The Korean electronics industry is what we have achieved through this process.

It wasn't achieved by simply wallowing in one moment.

Just because you're groaning and demanding better semiconductors, semiconductor development won't happen on its own.

Before you start fighting for better cell phones, you should consider making your own efforts to create better cell phones.

Don't rely on me."

The electronics professor's speech is a bit longer, a bit stronger, and a bit more provocative.

Since only engineering students take the major classes,

even if someone disagrees, they don't openly oppose it.

This is partly due to the nature of engineering students and partly due to the significant power of the major professor.

However, liberal arts courses attract students with diverse majors.

They tend to express their agreement and disagreement relatively strongly.

Min-hyuk, who took these two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, found them quite attractive.

It means that in the same era, in the same country, in the same generation, there can be such different people.

Min-hyuk, who had developed a habit since childhood of focusing solely on himself and treating others as mere spectators,

even the two professors, who had achieved a certain level of success,

seemed like they were just trying to promote themselves or stand out.

And since he grew up with a mother who acted somewhat animalistically and emotionally,

and a father who always lived rationally and analytically,

witnessing this duality was somewhat familiar to him.

But Min-hyuk's thoughts were like this.

While the so-called left and right, democratization, and industrialization movements may seem different, they all had one thing in common: they had a decent living.

At the very least, they had jobs to work for, and when they fought, they had support and understanding.

Who would understand if we fought against dictatorship now?

If we were to tell people to work harder and get a job, we wouldn't be living in an era where they could just get a job.

We're not living in the era where they could just graduate from college and automatically get a job.

We're not living in an era where people can save up, get married, buy a house, have children, and live happily like those people.

Even a former electronics company employee, let alone a professor who was in and out of prison, who was a prominent activist,

is married with children studying abroad, which is truly ironic.

He doesn't even drive a domestic car.

Min-hyuk compared the two and decided to gather only their strengths and learn only what he needed.

After all, we can't become like them, and they were also quite successful in their time.

Like us, of course, excluding the handsome Minhyuk,

ordinary people only have the right to follow and emulate them,

but we have no chance of becoming like them.

He was determined to quickly debut as an actor, build his reputation,

enlist in the military, become a model soldier, garner the support of both men and women,

graduate as a prince of engineering, and become a perfect actor with an intellectual image, ready to stand before everyone.

[Politics, struggle, development, progress—these are all old, outdated ideas.

In an age where people cook ramen on inverter ranges, they're talking about grilling fish over a wood fire.

Nowadays, power comes from fame and wealth.

Of course, wealth has become a secondary attribute of fame.]

Min-hyuk, who developed the habit of writing down his thoughts on his smartphone, added his own comments whenever he heard or felt something.

His major classes were more interesting than he expected.

Electricity has positive and negative charges,

and alternating current has phases,

so the positive and negative charges constantly change.

The world is made up of yin and yang, there is progress and conservatism, plus and minus.

Yes, the world wasn't just one-sided.

Then, he began to wonder if there might be someone out there who was truly the exact opposite of him.

[This world is composed of yin and yang.

Just look at the Taegeukgi (Korean flag).

Red and blue aren't split in half, but rather seem to be chasing each other's tails.

But they revolve within their own circles.

The 386 people may seem different, but they're all the same.

The difference is between us and them.]