On National Crises and the Intellectuals — Focused on GB and KR

Dear Mr. Stebbings,

Today is the thirtieth day of my challenge to post meaningful content on the web. As I sit down to write the last piece, I keep thinking about the crisis my home country, the Republic of Korea, is in. As a student, I feel responsible for the hard times ahead. Korea and the United Kingdom are struggling in a lot of the same ways, and as intellectuals, we have to think about how to help our countries get through it.

But the question stays. What can one person do about where a whole nation is heading? The scale of it can feel overwhelming. Still, the Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote, "Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends." One person can push for change and get progress moving, however small the push looks.

National Difficulties

First, let's look at what our two countries are going through. We can only start fixing the problems once we see them clearly.

• Economic Difficulties -- Trade barriers and political tension have hit both countries hard. Brexit keeps rippling through the UK, where business investment and consumer confidence keep falling. Nobody knows what comes next, and the country is still looking for its footing. In Korea, the trade fight between China and the United States has hit the economy hard. Stuck between two great powers, Korea has to walk a risky diplomatic line and keep its balance under growing pressure. And yet both countries still have hope of coming out stronger, because the UK is in a unique spot to balance Europe and the US, and Korea is in a unique spot to balance China and the US.
• Social Difficulties -- Britain has a long list of social problems, from poverty and domestic violence to drug abuse and mental health. Families are breaking down and children are left to fend for themselves. And yet the British keep going and hold on to hope against problems that look impossible. Korea's problem is different but just as hard. The birth rate is collapsing and the population is getting older. Young and old alike are lonely, and healthcare and social services are buckling under a growing elderly population. In this small country, everyone is pushing everyone else away and fighting each other. Koreans are trying hard to turn this around, but the tide seems to be against them as economic growth and productivity fall and inequality gets worse. And yet there's still some hope, a stubborn will to push through and come out the other side.
• Geopolitical Difficulties -- Scotland has wanted independence from the UK for a long time. After the divisive Brexit referendum, that wish got stronger, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for a second independence referendum. Korea has its own geopolitical problems that could upset the balance of power in the region. North Korea's missile and nuclear tests have raised fears of atomic terror. Despite these dangers, Korea stays committed to peace and stability in the region. It knows the human rights situation in North Korea well and still hopes for reunification in the long run. The road ahead may be dangerous and uncertain, but Korea is set on building a better future for everyone.
• Administrative Difficulties -- In the fall of 2022, Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after only 45 days in office because of administrative blunders. In October 2022, she announced a massive package of welfare cuts and tax cuts. With the UK already suffering from massive inflation, she took responsibility and resigned, and the government fell into political turmoil. In Korea, politics has its own problems. Corruption, polarization, and a lack of transparency are wearing down public trust in the government. Critics say the political system falls short of democratic principles, and high-profile corruption scandals leave people more disillusioned. The growing split between conservatives and progressives has made gridlock worse and meaningful legislation harder to pass. And yet people are working to strengthen democratic institutions and push for more accountability and transparency. I hope that work pays off, and that Korea and the UK come out of this stronger and more united.

Writing all of this down makes me sad. I can't help worrying about what's ahead. Our shared struggles weigh on me and make it hard to see much hope. I wish for brighter days, but the uncertainty keeps getting closer.

The duties of the Intellectuals

To really change where a nation is heading, wanting change isn't enough. We also need influence and power. We have to go get the resources, knowledge, and expertise it takes to make a real difference. With that, we can help steer our countries and move them forward. It's not a small thing. It takes care and a deep understanding of the problems. But it's worth working toward, and it's one of the most human things we can aim for.

So the first step is to get power. Not power from force or coercion, but power from education, knowledge, and understanding. Through those, we can make a real difference around us and use what we have to change things at scale.

• People in finance can make a good impact on society and on our country. Education and diverse perspectives are what everything else stands on. Building networks with like-minded people, investing in new startups, mentoring, and pushing for policy change are how finance people gain power and make change.
• Scientists and engineers shape where our country goes. They can do research and development, build sustainable solutions, take part in policy-making, teach the public, and mentor the next generation.
• Writers also have a duty to bring something good into society. They can stand up for social justice and human rights, start conversations about urgent issues, keep a nation's culture and heritage alive, help people make sense of complicated events, and teach and inspire others. If they use their writing to make change, they leave future generations a legacy of progress and enlightenment.

Put all of this together and you get the polymath. A polymath is someone with expertise in several fields, such as the sciences, the humanities, the arts, and the social sciences. Polymaths are good at connecting knowledge from different fields and using it on new, hard problems.

British and Korean history both have great examples of polymaths whose wide knowledge came with a strong sense of social responsibility. Their minds spanned the sciences, humanities, and arts, they left a lasting mark on their societies, and they still inspire people today. They kept learning and kept feeling a duty to the people around them, and that's what it means to be a true Renaissance person.

Rising to Polymaths

Knowledge is power -- Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was a visionary whose ideas changed where England went, and you can still feel it today. He pushed for the scientific method and for observation and experiment, which broke past the limits of traditional academic learning and opened the way for research across fields. That helped England move forward in science and technology and take a more evidence-based, inventive approach to knowledge. His push for inductive reasoning later led to the founding of the Royal Society.

But Bacon mattered far beyond science. His work in English politics and law helped shape the legal system and political institutions that still matter in England today. He played a big part in developing the statute law system. His ideas on the separation of powers and individual liberty still shape political debate in England and beyond.

Reading is our proper duty -- Dasan

This one thing, reading, enables us to keep company with the sages of old, to enlighten the people on the path, to master the divine law, to assist the king in his affairs, and to raise men above the class of beasts and worms, and to sustain the vast universe so that reading is our proper duty. (오직 독서 이 한 가지 일이 위로는 옛 성현(聖賢)을 좇아 함께 할 수 있게 하고 아래로는 백성을 길이 깨우칠 수 있게 하며 신명에 통달하게 하고 임금의 정사를 도울 수 있게 할 뿐 아니라 인간으로 하여금 짐승과 벌레의 부류를 벗어나 저 광대한 우주를 지탱하게 만드니 독서야말로 우리들의 본분(本分)이라 하겠다.)

Technology shouldn't be looked down upon. Technology plays a massive role in our lives, and we need to recognize that. It is not only the possession of humanity that distinguishes man from beast, but also the possession and development of technology. We should face the fact that we are backward and adopt modern Western science and technology as soon as possible. (기술을 천히 여겨서는 안 된다. 기술이 인간의 생활에서 차지하는 비중과 역할은 대단히 크다. 이를 올바로 인식해야 한다. 인간과 짐승을 구별하는 것은 인륜을 가진 데만 있는 것이 아니라 기술을 소유하고 그걸 발전시켜 나가는 데 있다. 우리는 낙후된 실정을 직시하고 어서 빨리 서양의 근대 과학 기술을 받아들여야 한다.)

Dasan was a visionary who gave his life to serving his country and moving it forward, even through the hard times Korea faced in his day. He spoke out loudly against corrupt officials and the social injustice in Korean society, and he used his knowledge and influence to push for reform.

His work covered science, agriculture, economics, and government. He came up with new farming techniques, brought in new technologies, and wrote a lot on economic policy and management. He wanted a more open, inclusive government that put its people's welfare first, and he saw those reforms as the key to Korea's progress and prosperity.

Dasan was also a central figure in the Silhak movement, which tried to bring modern Western knowledge and science into Korean society. He saw that leaning on old, traditional knowledge was holding Korea back, and argued for modern scientific methods and ideas to move the country forward.

P vs. NP Problems

When we look at what the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom are facing, we should see how much our combined effort can shape our countries' future. In a world full of uncertainty and conflict, we have to work together toward peace and prosperity. We have to use our knowledge and expertise against the economic, social, geopolitical, and administrative problems in front of us. We have to build understanding and cooperation, and use our different perspectives to find new answers to hard problems. Most of all, we have to keep going after progress and enlightenment, grounded in the values we share. Intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, and justice.

Thinking about these real-world problems, I kept coming back to the $P$ vs. $NP$ problem in computational theory. Right now, the best-known algorithms for $NP$-hard problems take exponential time in the worst case, so they're impractical for big instances. If someone found a polynomial-time algorithm (if $P = NP$), it would change many fields and matter a lot in practice. In the same way, finding efficient answers to hard social problems like inequality, discrimination, political polarization, environmental damage, and global poverty could change the social sciences and do a lot of real good for people and societies. So let's solve the $NP$-hard problems, our social and national challenges, in polynomial time, and fix the world's hard problems.

Let's carry on the legacy of polymaths like Francis Bacon and Dasan, who used their knowledge and influence to shape their societies. Let's follow their commitment to progress and new ideas, and use our own talents to make things better. We have to invest in education and diverse perspectives, build networks with deep-minded people, mentor the next generation, and push for policy change. We have to use our writing, research, and advocacy to stand up for justice, human rights, and sustainable development, and leave future generations a legacy of progress and enlightenment.

In the end, our countries' fate is in our hands. Let's work together to get through what's in front of us and build a peaceful, prosperous future for everyone. Let's use our knowledge and expertise to make things better, guided by the values we share. Intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, and justice.

We owe it to ourselves, our countries, and the generations after us to rise to this. So let's join hands and build a better future together.

Best regards,

Sunghyun Cho