Watch out for the 'Healing Trend'

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Watch Out ‘Healing Trend’
 
By Son Hyun-jee, Tribune Reporter
 
If you search ‘healing’ on the internet right now, you can find lots of materials related to it. Buddhist monks invite us to temple stays to heal our exhausted bodies and souls, and Jeju Island welcomes us to its 4th Healing Music Festival. In the department stores, various aromatic products which are good for healing are sold and lectures on healing are given in their cultural centers. Even the name of the TV program, which has become famous for the appearance of Ahn Cheol-soo, a strong potential presidential candidate, is called ”Healing Camp”. From cosmetics to best sellers, the number of healing products indulges our society all over. It seems like the ’healing trend’ has spread faster than any epidemic.
Why are people so obsessed with healing? Have they really been more damaged than they used to be? Most students enter universities, but they soon come to realize that there is a higher wall known to many Korean students as chiup or employmentblocking their ways. Our society wants more spec from job seekers, and students get more tired of living. As a result of keen competition, their relationships become superficial and they get emotionally hurt by other people. It is hard to find someone who does not need healing at all nowadays.
However, there are two problems we have to go over. First, we should be aware of our own status. Are we really so hurt that we need to seek healing, or do we just imitate others? Like plastic surgery and addictions to brand-name products, people have a desire to show themselves off. Some people purchase healing products so as to not lag behind others. Moreover, people who think they are not equal to others may feel anxious. Everything they do to heal themselves could ruin them. As a result, they need another kind of healing and it becomes a vicious circle. We should think again if we really need healing or not. If you follow the latest fads without reflecting on why, it might damage us in the long-term.
It seems that healing itself has nothing to do with capital; however there is strong evidence that healing is used to create a successful marketing strategy. From students who get stressed out from studying to the elderly, the whole nation becomes a target of marketing. This trend increases the value of a product by simply adding the word ‘healing’ on it. In this situation, it is time that we should reflect on ourselves. Do we really ‘heal’ our emotional and mental wounds? Do we really need to heal? No matter what kind of healing means we use, the main agent of healing must be us.
저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지