What are your thoughts on the situation of the field of humanities studies being averted in Korea?

Recently, many university students have been suffering from the difficulty of getting jobs after graduation. Of course, there are some students who don’t have to worry about getting a job offer because of their majors such as medical science, engineering, education and etc. However, these students are only a few compared to the whole population of university students. Most students studying humanities are suffering from the difficulty of getting job offers. A major reason for this phenomenon is that our society views humanities a worthless study.

Capitalism has brought the concept of making a decision based on whether it creates the opportunity of making a huge amount of money. This idea let people consider profitability as a main factor when making a decision. Engineering, education and computer science are branches of studies that create money instantly after learning about the subject. If a person studies engineering in a university, he or she could get a job at an automobile manufacturing or a ship building company. In comparison, those who have studied humanities in college cannot apply their knowledge directly in their work fields. This is the reason why the field of humanities is treated as a valueless major.

In order to vitalize the study of liberal arts, the society should put an effort in trying to change the attitude towards it. The study of liberal arts might appear to be a useless effort. However, in developed countries, their foundation is the study of humanities. In other words, the study of humanities might not directly lead to the creation of wealth but it could be a concept that will teach people how to use money wisely or where the money should be distributed.

It is a pity that Koreans share the characteristic of wanting to see the result of a work or project immediately. Due to this, people cannot wait to find out a notable result which is a poor condition for liberal arts to prove its real worth. The study of humanities can prove its value after a long time since its application. Therefore, there should be a social mood of respecting the study of liberal arts and patience.