Han, the sadness of being Korean

I've always wondered why Korean people are so sad. Love songs mostly talk about the pain of losing a lover and in surprising numbers some even talk about commiting suicide after a partner has died. Modern music is sad, but have you ever listened to more traditional Korean songs? The very key of the song is sad, like if the singer is depressed beyond Prozac. And movies and tv dramas always make people cry. Even in romantic comedies somebody has to die. And don't get me started on how dramatic and tragic Korean people can be.

I asked my wife about it because she's lived in Korea for a longer time and therefore she's "more Korean" than I am. She told me about Han, the sadness of Korean people. I started thinking about it and did a little research on the internet. Apparently people think Han is a result of the years of oppression suffered in the hands of several different invaders. Others theorize that it has its origin in the ancient class structures, where the yangban dominated the peasants.

But I think there's a different explanation for Han. It comes from our pride, from what we Koreans are made of, from our culture, from our blood. You see, being Korean is knowing you're better than anybody else in the world but never having to prove it. We know we have the potential to outsmart and triumph over anybody, but we never actually put it to test. That is the origin of Han, this eternal feeling of sadness present in the heart of every Korean.

There's nothing more depressing than unfulfilled potential and we Koreans are the perfect example of it. We are sad because we come to the terrible conclusion that since our potential is endless we will never be able to fulfill it.

I imagine even a very successful Korean is sad, because we always fall short of our perceived potential. If I win a gold medal in the Olympics I will cry because I didn't get two. If I make one million dollars I will be sad because I didn't make more.

Within a certain range of intensity everybody, Korean or not, is like this. But we Koreans top the list in that scale. We have too much pride, we have too many expectations, we think we're too good. Other people don't have the same expectations we do, that's why they're happier.

We Koreans think too much of ourselves to be happy.