“Not a proper apology, but what is a boring apology? I'm not bored at all.” This is a response to an apology for the confusion during the booking process of a webtoon artist's autograph session on August 20th. The organizers used the expression "Bored” ('심심'* in Korean) apology, which became a hot topic. Internet users understood it as a "boring apology" and responded aggressively. The controversy spread widely at a cabinet meeting, on August 22nd, because the president emphasized literacy improvement.

The beginning of this controversy was a mockery of internet users who did not know the meaning of "심심.*" Still, most of the criticisms reached the problem of Generation MZ’s literacy. However, the idea was a total misunderstanding. According to a government survey on adult literacy, there is no abnormality in the literacy of young people in their 20s and 30s, but instead, the literacy of the older generation is poor.

* The word “심심” has two meanings in Korean. First, it is ‘boring’ in pure Korean words, and second is ‘deep’ in Chinese characters.

■ Internet controversy

The literacy of Generation MZ is a frequent topic. The debate appears every year. In 2019, movie critic Lee Dong-Jin was criticized for abusing difficult words, such as “clearness” (명징 in Korean) and "weaving” (직조 in Korean), when he used them in a line review of "Parasite." In 2020, former President Moon Jae-In's “three-day Liberation Day holiday,” which he mentioned at a cabinet meeting, made pros and cons arguments. And a reporter who interpreted the "luck" in the phrase "good luck" as "no luck at all" in 2021 was a disgrace. In response, internet users satirized the controversy over literacy by creating an internet meme that said, "I apologize for today's plain weaving and wish you luck for three days."

The story of the internet community of freshmen who applied for military service due to COVID-19, or undergraduates who failed to submit their assignments on time because they mistook today for Friday, is an anecdote that cannot be laughed at. An anonymous Professor (Dept. of Korean Language & Literature) said, "The proportion of students who perform according to the purpose of the assignment is lower than before. It seems that students are not used to reading, organizing, and transferring materials into writing."

Internet users, who said they were the older generation, lamented by saying, "Children these days lack literacy. They should revive Chinese character education." According to a nationwide survey conducted by the research firm Embrain last year, of 1,000 men and women, aged 16 to 64,, 34.8% said yes to "many people around me lack reading skills." One in three judged that the literacy of the people around them was insufficient.

■ University students' literacy is rather good

However, it is only prejudiced that the literacy of Generation MZ in Korea is low when the results of various surveys are collected. The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education conducted a literacy survey of 10,429 people, aged 18 or older, living in 17 cities and provinces nationwide, for 110 days, from October 12, 2020, to January 29, 2021. The Ministry of Education divided the literacy level from 1 to 4, and evaluated the highest level as 4. 95.3% of those in their 20s were in the group level 4, the highest among all the national age groups. Level 4 represents more than middle school education with sufficient literacy necessary for daily life. The results show the opposite of the controversy about the literacy of Generation MZ.

The literacy of the elderly was significantly lower. Only 64.4% of the people in their 60s and older reached level 4. Those in their 70s and 80s also recorded 41.1% and 22.9%, respectively. Middle-aged people also showed a high level, but those rated as level 4 were 91.5% in their 40s and 82.4% in their 50s, lower than those in their 20s.

■Bored vs. Whatever TV

Experts analyze that it is meaningless to criticize a particular generation for its low literacy because the reason for the controversy is the "difference in languages used between generations." Most of the controversial vocabulary (심심甚深, 금일今日, 병역兵役) is the "language" of the middle-aged. Just as the older generation feels unfamiliar with the new words of the younger generation, such as "What TV," the younger generation is also unfamiliar with the Chinese characters of the older generation.

It was also pointed out that "literacy" is a problem familiar to the older generation. Kim Kyung-Yeon (Professor, Department of Korean Language and Literature) said, "Just because I don't meet the standards of the past, I can't conclude that my literacy is poor. When the other person or generation uses an expression I don't use, I lack the will or posture to know where, how, and why it is different. The problem is the overall atmosphere of a society that I consider right, not just because I'm not used to it," he said. "There is more room for discussions between various groups and generations, and we need a willingness to understand each other by overcoming the break in communication."

Reporter Kang Ji-Won

Translated by Shin Ji-Won