Are You Middle Class?
I once found myself in quiet reflection after reading an essay comparing the middle class in Korea with that of several European countries.
When people in Korea are asked, “Do you consider yourself middle class?”, most tend to answer based on their income and assets.
According to a recent survey, about 60 percent of Koreans regard themselves as middle class.
The benchmark they cite is a net worth—excluding debt—of roughly 940 million won, along with a monthly income of about 6.86 million won.
In countries such as the United Kingdom and France, however, the definition of the middle class is often measured less by income and more by cultural and social standards.
In France, for example, indicators include the ability to speak a foreign language, participation in a sport one genuinely enjoys, the ability to play a musical instrument, and the skill to prepare one’s own signature dish.
In Britain, the criteria tend to revolve around character and civic values: whether one practices fair play, holds firm personal convictions, participates in volunteer service, and possesses the confidence to stand up for and protect the vulnerable.
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu also outlined a list of twenty attributes associated with what he called the “new middle class.”
Among them are questions such as: Do you have relatives who are foreigners? Can you speak two or more foreign languages? Have you ever hosted a gathering for more than twenty guests? Have you made donations to international organizations such as UNICEF?
When we speak of the middle class, we often think first of income or wealth. Yet in parts of Europe, the middle class is not defined solely by economic standing, but rather by one’s level of cultural cultivation and civic consciousness.
- From Reporter's Notes by Ki Jun Kwon -
Today's Reflection
★Let us pause to ask ourselves:
Viewed through cultural and social standards, am I truly middle class?
Rather than asking how much we earn, perhaps the more meaningful question is how we live our lives.★
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