Changing Korea

People keep telling me that Korea is changing - and they are not talking about all the new construction or the faster Internet, they are talking about the culture, the people.  The older people say that the younger generations don't understand what life was like before.  They don't know how to live without a hot shower everyday.  They don't understand the suffering of the generations before them.  But the younger generations have their own problems.  TV programs warn of impending neck problems from texting and too many hours at the computer.  They complain about their tiger moms who don't understand their desire to free themselves from the burden of high expectations...
But there are tell tell signs that all has not changed.  The punk rockers with their Mohawk hair and spiked leather jackets bow to the audience before their performance, totally negating their credibility as true "bad boys".  The scripture may be read from the screen of a cell phone and the music projected from a MacBook, but the service still goes on until it is over without any apparent regard for time or schedule.
Change is inevitable.  It keeps life from getting stale or predictable.  How can we grow if we cannot change? How can we find a better way if we do not experiment?  The major change and growth of  Korea in the 1970s and 80s came with a horrible price.  The younger generations did not pay that price, but they bask in the benefits.  It is their time now.  They must be the catalysts of change and they must bear whatever consequences come with that change.
Those of us who are old enough to remember the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States can certainly remember our own youthful desire to change the world. Power to the people- right on.