First to Reduce — Food Expenses
why are the young hungry?
Life Lab is a practical lab where anyone can reflect their life with growing pains. We wonder your experience, no matter it is success or failure. We believe everyone can tell their failure for ourselves as well as future generation who will walk along the way where we have passed.
Meal, Less than one dollar
On June 1, 2015, Seoul National University began offering “A Meal of 1,000 won” that was breakfast at the student center’s restaurant for 1,000 won(0.92 dollar). It expanded to dinner in 2016, to lunch in 2018. The university gave” A Meal of 1,000 won” to 187,000 students until December in 2017.
But it can’t solve all the problems. The price of one meal is originally 2,200 won(2 dollars). To buy “A Meal of 1,000 won”, only students in the university can get a coupon for it. There are two issues: one is that students can know who bought it even though buyers don’t know to expose it and the other is other students in their 20s are still hungry.
As an undergraduate, I went to school at 9 am. After finishing all classes at 3pm, I took the subway and bus to work. Right before going to work, I bought a chocolate bar which was my favorite and cheap. When going back come, it was 11 pm. Managing to clear all assignment, I couldn’t sleep enough. Thus, my meal was only twice: breakfast in home and weak snack between lunch and dinner. I lost my weight even if I had already done so because of preparing for college.
In those days, I couldn’t said “I am not okay.” Because most of my friends have lived like me. Plus, my parents’ generation had lived more harder than now: they didn’t have their own house, ate the same menu for meals and lacked enough clothes. Yet, I felt something wrong. I was always busy even if I have nothing. What made me sadder was my performance such as grades and career path. My college friends got A scores. but I didn’t. I spent as much time as I could, but it wasn’t enough. But I had no choice. I paid for university tuition fee and living expenses. To reduce my little spending more, the only choice was food expense.
Other friends all live like that, too. I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I don’t have time to think about my health. (p.40 in the book “Report on Youth Clay Rice”)
Saving makes Failure
In Li:Fe Lab, Boram suggested an experiment: Check our expenditure and analyze it. Choose one of all expenses. Then, find its background like home, work, region, etc. Lastly, analyze it to figure out which issue I focus on and how I view the issue.
Each of us chose different consumption; food expense, investment and subscription fee. Discussing on why we chose it, we concluded that we were running not to got left behind. Saving food expenses makes a little room for me to do extra activities. Investing opens a chance to grab new possibilities. Subscription fee lets me learn enough to go upper. Though we picked different consumption, we agreed that the first expense we reduced when we needed extra money was our money for food.
The book “Report on Youth Clay Rice” showed an image above. Even though the young save their money for food as best as they can, they end up lacking money and failing to get a job. Because they are busy on solving all problems that are coming right now. To live now and prepare for the future, the young can’t help giving up their health issue, which makes ironic choice when they are free to use their money: they have expensive meals to encourage themselves.
Are you Okay?
Coming back home, I said “I had my dinner, Good night!” to my parents. They have been always worried about my health and I have known it. But I couldn’t confess that I didn’t have my dinner and just had a poor meal. My mom has always given me small snacks because she has wanted me to have them when I can’t concentrate on my study and need some sweets. I know that my family support me a lot, which is why I can’t tell the truth.
I am sure it’s not only applied to me. The most painful as well as powerful motive that makes the young keep living with growing pains is heartful support. Cheap meals and enough opportunities to get a job solve present issues, but can’t heal them.
By talking with team members, I reflected on my story and theirs. Growing pains have made me stronger. It is undeniable. But all the difficulties don’t have to repeat to my younger friends. In 2016, a university started to support meals. In 2019, the government began to provide free regular health checkups. Recently, local governments implement support measures for young people in their 20s.
The problems of youth have been overlooked or pushed back on the priority list for too long. Those issues left on young adults. Now it should stop. Looking at young adults running towards their future without caring themselves, people and young adults themselves have to ask: Are you okay?
Everyone is giving up the present for the future, even with the food they want to eat right now. But what does the future mean if you don’t cherish the present? (pp.54–55 in the book “Report on Youth Clay Rice”)
