Sweethearts Splitting Up In Our Fascinating Twenties

 
    Gong Ji-young, one of my favorite writers, said, “People in your twenties! Love as much as you can! This kind of love -- so passionate that you do not even care for eating or sleeping-- can only happen in your twenties.” As she said, love is one of the most important parts of our lives, but in this age, I dare to say love for us cannot be maintained just for the sake of passion and romance. This love also reflects a gloomy portrait of our generation which is called the ’880,000 won generation’.
Yes, the break-up of sweethearts is very natural and not unusual. Nevertheless, the break-up of girlfriends and boyfriends in our generation is made by personal choice..  One of my co-reporters is separating with her boyfriend because her boyfriend is now performing his military service. Besides, she will go abroad to study in a few months and after that she plans to participate in the foreign exchange program. They really like each other and want to keep their relationship, but, unfortunately, they know that it is almost impossible for them to stay together in the future. Every young man of our country must go into the army, and nowadays, studying abroad has become an essential condition for university students to get jobs. In sum, this couple is just doing their individual duties as university students in South Korea. However, their duties are not in the least helpful for their love.
Here is another story: one of my friends is preparing for the examination to become a civil servant. She attends very tough prep courses that last from 7a.m to 10 p.m. Even on weekends, she needs to take the additional classes. At the same time, her steady boyfriend is still at school, so their schedule is totally different. As you can expect, they naturally drift apart. If they had not been in serious relationship, they would not have had chance to start. She is only 22 years old, which might be the most thrilling time in her whole life. However, she chose to study for the exam to get a job. My last story is about my cousin: he is now studying in another province. By no means does he need more money than I do as I am living with my parents. Also, to his credit, he wants to help his parents who cover the high tuition of his university. So he has taken a part time job after the classes. Despite his busy days, he had a girlfriend and they went on several dates. However, he confessed to me that he felt pressured to pay for the dates. (Well, most of us think that man should pay on dates.) Eventually, they broke up. The money problems at this young of an age are not new, but skyrocketing prices and tuitions are huge burdens for them and even this influences our love life.
In spite of all of these situations and unfortunate circumstances, should we keep finding love? Are they just excuses and personal reasons? Perhaps love is an extravagance for university students at the present time. This era does not let those of us in our twenties, the most fascinating and passionate generation, enjoy any romance or love. I really feel sad to say so.
By Lee Ji-woo, Head Student Editor
#302 Desk Column
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