Confucianism is all about tempering your instincts with intellectual discipline, with book learning.

Even North Korean people who are not necessarily happy with economic policies are still loyal to the state itself. It's a military-first state, so whether it does very well on the economic front or not, is not central to public support for it.

People used to expect literary novels to deepen the experience of living; now they are happy with any sustained display of writerly cleverness.

If South Korea is going to survive, and keep the peace on the peninsula, its citizens need to start conveying support for their state.