Entrance to the main government complex in Sejong, about 130 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Most of South Korea’s young public servants in their 20s and 30s tend to think that there are ‘kkondae’ at their organizations.
Kkondae is Korean term that the younger generation uses to refer to people of older age or higher status who act condescendingly.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety unveiled the results of a survey of 3,006 public servants working at central and municipal government agencies.
As many as 1,196 ‘senior public servants’ born in the 1960s and 1970s and 1,810 ‘junior public servants’ born in the 1980s and 2000s participated in the survey.
At 89.2 percent, the vast majority of the respondents replied that there were ‘kkondae’ at their organizations, referring to supervisors who have a rigid mind-set and an authoritarian attitude.
The most common types of kkondae were those who emphasize only past experience while neglecting generational difference (50.7 percent) and those who compel subordinates to follow military-styled top-down culture (23.9 percent)
The most hated type of Ggondae was those who ask others to run personal errands for them (32 percent).
In response to a question asking if respondents considered themselves to be Ggondae, 39.8 percent of senior public servants said no.
At 56.9 percent, more than half of the junior public servants surveyed gave negative answers to a question asking if they thought the public servant community had an efficient working system.
In contrast, among senior public servants, the share of those who thought the public servant community has an inefficient working system remained relatively low at 33.1 percent.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
