Gobjil

In the midst of the boring Corona virus quarantine in Korea, one of the hotest potatoes of this week was one media-artist. He has recently received an artistic funding which is around 140 million KRW (about 12,000USD) from Seoul Arts Council. The problem was that the specific artist happened to be the son of the current president, Moon.

People called this ‘Gobjil’. ‘Gob’ in Korean means the one in power, and ‘Uel’ in Korean means the one who is under the power. Gob’s wielding the power to Uel is called ‘Gobjil’. People said that the Moon, the son, taking the artist fund is ‘Gobjil’. Why?

People say ‘the Son’ should have known about his father’s position and refrain himself from applying for the funding from the beginning. Some say he should have just received the money from his father to make his arts from the first place. They say that funding could have helped other artists in worse positions. People are raging online, saying that he does not know the concept of ‘Noblesse Oblige’. 

People talk online how deprived they feel, witnessing the president’s son receiving the ‘governmental’ money from ordinary people’s tax. The case got worse because the funding itself was made to support the artists who were affected by the Corona virus. Moon, the son said that he had to cancel 3 exhibitions due to the corona. It was his first exhibition in 8 years in Korea. He also mentioned that the funding was for the artwork itself, not for himself and all the execution of the money shall be monitored by the Council. People say ‘ordinary people’ are going bankrupt because of Corona. People say that president’s son making arts in the midst of Corona is ‘Gobjil’. 

‘Noblesse Oblige’ is a good word, but what I wonder is if it is normal for president’s 40-year-old son to receive money from his father. It seems more normal to me that grown-up sons trying to make their own livings. For artists, quite often, fundings are the main way to keep their work going. Maybe making arts itself is ‘Gobjil’, because quite often, arts are slightly stepped aside from the economic system. 

Gob and Uel is the term that can be translated in the power relationship.  I am witnessing this symptom of people’s trying to translate everything into power-relationship very worriedly. I can’t shake off the feeling that people who actually inject this feeling of ‘deprivation’ are actually the people who are in the power, and using this with intention.

I am confused why he is still called as a ‘son’ when he is working in the totally different field from his father. He was not involved in any of the political action, but was digged out by the opposing party to the public just because of his father. It does seem like he has living his own life even before the president has become the president. Just because his father decided to be a president, he automatically receives the job of ‘the president’s son’? Is this the modern way of feudalism? That’s what I do not understand.