Do Looks or Books Make the Man???

C.S. Lewis wrote in his essay "On the Reading of Old Books" that for every new book one reads, one should read an old book, or if that is too difficult, at least one old book for every three new. From Lewis' perspective the old books help us to see what our contemporary eyes are blinded to. We need the insights of the earlier days, or what others have called "the wisdom of the ages," to give us broader views and deeper understandings of the challenges of life and what it means to be truly human. Lewis, I believe we may say, would strongly argue for the proposition that books make the man.

There is within Korean culture, however, a strong predilection (I'm beginning to find) that looks are what make the man. The Korean man views himself as "the Italian of East Asia" - suave, debonair, passionate. (No kidding! That is actually a quote I've heard from more than one Korean man who has tried to explain to me just how Koreans are distinct from other East Asians).

As you might imagine, such a view has more than a little tendency to clash with Lewis' notion of the making of a man. While Christians in Korea attempt to balance the two views by stressing the importance of learning, there is yet a strong inclination towards what Billy Crystal's character "Fernando Mahvelous" embodied in his memorable turn of phrase: "It is better to look good than to feel good." Really, could there be two more polar opposites that C.S. Lewis and Fernando?

So what does this have to do with an American trying to teach in Korea? Well, when students and some fellow faculty, for that matter, are as much or more concerned about "looking good" as they are about "learning good" you come face-to-face with a definite challenge. I don't know that I can say that this challenge to one's personal formation is peculiar to Asian culture -- there are, I would venture to say, plenty of Americans consumed with "looking good" as the highest good -- but emphasis upon the external appears to have an Asian twist that I feel I have not even yet begun to understand.

I'm hoping, though, that tomorrow will bring more opportunities to seek first to understand those into whose culture I've come before I start evaluating them from my perspective. Tomorrow, I expecting, will bring more occasions to read some old books when my cargo of 9 boxes are finally delivered. I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival for several weeks. I had received a call from the custom agent's office in Seoul about 10 days ago and requested a copy of my passport. I assumed that they wanted to verify that I had been issued an E-1 visa (granted only to professors).

Upon receipt of my fax, they assured me that the shipment was due in port on 27 Sep and that they expected it to clear customs easily since the cargo was not for commercial (books that would be sold) but was intended for educational purposes. I even got the impression that the lady at the custom agent's office knew about Handong and was trying to help me get my books as soon as possible. Then came the second call.

They now needed a letter from me explaining that the books would not be sold, but would be used in my teaching at Handong. Thankfully, my teaching assistant, Mr. Mok, was able to draft up a quick letter in Korean that set forth the requisite affirmations of use. I had no idea what I was signing since the letter was written in Korean, but I have come to trust Mr. Mok implicitly for all my needs. I knew he understood how much I have been looking forward to getting my books, and more than that, I think he, though being very much a young Korean man, is persuaded that books rather than looks truly make the man.

And with those 500 pounds of books I trusting will come the means that I need to sharpen my sensitivity, to hone my hearing, to refine my reflections on life and on learning in this new land. At this stage of life, I don't have much hope in "looks" but I do have a great expectation in "books" and in particular "the Book" making the man.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)