[Korean Culture & Language] Characteristics of a Self-centered Person

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Being selfless (이타주의)’ and ‘양보(giving up for others)’ have always been important values in Korea. With the cultural shift, however, it appears that there are more self-centered(자기중심적) individuals than altruistic individuals today.

Some of these people are so severely self-centered that they have Narcissistic personality disorder. The NPD involves a lack of empathy and respect for others, arrogance, and obsessive expectations of admiration from others. They can be cocky, manipulative, selfish, and demanding. 

The K-web drama PICKGO clearly depicts the characteristics of a self-centered person.

At the beginning of the video, Hee-Won takes group pictures, but only cares about how she looks in them. Even though everyone else was obviously not ready for the picture, she says “짱 잘 나왔다 인스타에 올려야지 (Yay they look so good. I should upload them on Instagram!)”. 

Even when So-Hyun says that she isn’t in the mood for spicy food, Hee-Won insists on ordering a spicy hot pot for everyone. When Woo-Shik states he doesn’t want peanut sauce in his soup, she keeps insisting that he tries it. When he refuses, she says “먹을 줄 모르네 (You don’t know how to eat it right)”.

Hee-Won states toward the end of the video, “내가 나를 사랑하는데, 남이 상처를 받는다고? (People get hurt because I love myself?)”.

Only after Woo-Shik tells her that she has hurt Hyun-Soo and that everyone thinks and feels differently, she realizes that there is a difference between games and reality. She became nicer to Hyun-Soo.

At the end of the video, she says, ‘결국 우리 인생도 배틀그라운드 처럼 상처를 주고 받으면 배우는 거 아닐까?’. It means “I guess we learn from hurting and getting hurt by each other, just like in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds(PUBG)”

Do you agree with Hee-Won?

 

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