Write an essay that argues your position on whether the importance placed on seniority (Sunbae/Hoobae culture) is more beneficial or detrimental to Korean students and/or society as a whole.

 The famous soccer manager Hiddink, lead Korea’s soccer team to the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup. This is the biggest achievement that Korea has ever had in the World Cup. Hiddink made a huge effort to get rid of the sunbae and hoobae culture in the soccer team and this lead to better teamwork, and eventually the best result Korea has ever had. If Hiddink had not worked to get rid of the sunbae and hoobae culture, who knows how different the result could have been? I think that if Hiddink, had not rid of the sunbae and hoobae culture, Korea could not have gotten such good results. But, the World Cup is just one example. There are numerous reasons that clearly show the importance placed on seniority is more detrimental to Korean students and society.

 Firstly, because of the sunbae hoobae culture, an invisible wall exists between sunbaes and hoobaes. This makes it hard for sunbaes and hoobaes to interact and communicate. There is a famous accident in Korea. It is the plane crash that occurred in 1999. The plane crash was due to lack of communication between the hoobae flight attendants and the flight captain. If the hoobae flight attendants had talked to the flight captain about their suspicions, tons of lives could have been saved. This incident speaks volumes about the seriousness of sunbae and hoobae culture. Also, the sunbae and hoobae culture is said to be one of the reasons of low productivity. Because of this ‘invisible wall’ it is hard for sunbaes and hoobaes to collaborate and achieve more accomplishments. This is not only unbeneficial for individuals, but also for Korea.

 Secondly, these days Confucian traditions are continuously decreasing. Nowadays, some children do not address their parents with honorification. We can see that the distance between family members has decreased clearly and there are not as many regulations between family members as in the past. However, sunbae and hoobae culture is increasing. In the past, sunbae and hoobae culture was not like it is now. When I first came to Korea, I was shocked when I learned that I had to bow to sunbaes walking by and speak with honorification. When I asked my mother about it, she said that it seemed a lot different from when she was a student. Also, some people say that Sunbae and Hoobae culture is increasing because as it is getting harder to get acknowledgement from people. Because it is harder to succeed and live a happy life, people feel psychological anxiety and they try to reduce it through their hoobaes who are in vertical relationships with them.

 Like these examples, there are numerous reasons that clearly show the importance placed on seniority is more detrimental to Korean students and society and I believe so too. For our country to develop and improve, we must rid of this unbeneficial culture.