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As World Literacy Day approaches on September 8, the controversy over literacy continues. However, according to the ‘2020 Adult Literacy Survey’ last year, the literacy skills of the 2030 generation were found to be superior to those of other age groups.
Recently, the word ‘heart heart’ (甚深) used in ‘sorrowful apology’ has been misinterpreted as a homophone, and vocabulary and literacy skills are emerging as a social problem.
In this regard, netizens share the literacy crisis they experienced, gaining sympathy from many people. Netizen Mr. A said, “I used the expression ‘I get cocky’ while having a conversation, but it’s so ridiculous that the other person was treated like a pervert while saying, ‘No matter how much you sleep with a child’.”
Person A recalled, “The other party is a college graduate. It sounds like a lie, but it’s a true story. Except for that person, the other people who were there exchanged glances with each other, and no one said anything.” Then he emphasized, “Even if it was just one drip, do you really need to do such a drip outside with a lot of people? Let’s think about it again before talking about it.”
Another netizen commented, “Isn’t the word ‘tooth’ used only for animals and should not be used for humans, so we’re not trying to understand the etymology? If you ask me why I don’t use easy words, it really doesn’t seem right.”
In addition, mockery of those who cannot properly interpret Chinese characters or homophones such as ‘today’, ‘three days’, ‘military service’, and ‘working title’ is pouring in. In response to this, a Chinese character writing game was also created on SNS, such as “Today, I give my heartfelt apology and wish you good luck for three days.”
As the controversy over actual illiteracy emerged, the OECD survey also drew attention. According to the OECD, the real illiteracy rate in Korea that cannot accurately grasp the meaning of a sentence read is as high as 75%. Some have even made a diagnosis that the literacy ability of the younger generation is declining due to the lack of Chinese character education, lack of reading, the proliferation of smart devices, and the increase in online learning.
However, the results of a government survey conducted last year were to the contrary. The 2030 literacy level was found to be the highest among all age groups. When measured out of 100 points, 95% of people in their 20s and 30s had the highest level of literacy.
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From October 12, 2020 to January 29, 2021, the Ministry of Education and the National Lifelong Education Promotion Agency conducted a literacy survey on 1429 people aged 18 and over residing in 17 cities and provinces across the country.
As a result of dividing the literacy level from 1 to 4, 95.3% of those in their 20s and 30s were both in the ‘4’ group, the highest level. ‘Level 4 or higher’ is a level with sufficient literacy necessary for daily life, and the 2030 generation was the highest among all age groups.
Criticism is pouring in over the literacy controversy, but some emphasized that it is necessary to keep in mind that the language changes, such as “Let’s not make fun of us for not knowing” and “Excessive use of Chinese characters is a problem.”
In this regard, culture critic and lawyer Jung Ji-woo saw the problem as a culture of accusing people of making mistakes or grabbing their tails during communication.
Jung said, “Even if someone uses a word that I don’t know, I can judge that they must have said something vaguely appropriate in a specific context. The problem is that trust in such communication is disappearing.” It becomes a war of ‘misreading’. Since you can’t trust your heart, there is only one word in front of you that you can trust. One of the great phenomena of our time is ‘waiting for a mistake’.”
He continued, “The phenomenon of celebrities, politicians, or business people waiting for a single mistake to make a single mistake and rushing to sniper and criticize is now very common.” You will know more about what you are doing.”
He continued, “We collect all the words that one person has said and analyze whether they are correct or not. Furthermore, the moment we catch any speech mistake, we begin to demonize it by saying that the mean ‘sincerity’ has finally appeared. No one can ever make perfect speeches. The fact that it can’t be ignored is ignored,” he said, emphasizing that we should look back on this culture.