Building on Koreans’ psychology of simjeong (심정, the hurt or stirred heart within close relationships) and the way they pour it out in talk, the authors propose simjeong therapy as a Korean form of psychotherapy.
The Shimcheong (心情) Therapy for Koreans: A Formulation of an Indigenous Cultural Approach
한국문화적 심리치료 접근으로서의 심정치료
QUESTION
What is simjeong in Korean relationships, and can it be brought into counseling and therapy?
FINDINGS
The logic of simjeong is the private, intersubjective logic of jeong (정) among “us,” in contrast to sari (사리), the public logic based on reason.
심정논리는 '우리끼리'의 논리이고. 사적이고,
간주관적(intersubjective)이고 정의 는리이며
마음의 교류를 중요시한다.Simjeong logic is the logic of “among us” — private, intersubjective, the logic of jeong — and values the exchange of hearts.p7사리논리는 공적 논리이고 이성에 바탕을 두고 있으며…sari logic, by contrast, is a public logic grounded in reason…p7Simjeong is hurt when displeasure at a close person’s disappointing behavior turns, as one reflects on one’s own plight, into feelings of self-belittlement and self-contempt.
자신의 신세를 조방함으로써 자기비하감이나 자기
모멸감을 갖게 되어 심정이 상하게 되는 2차적
감정이 유발되는 것이다.…by reflecting on one’s own plight, one comes to feel self-belittlement or self-contempt, and the secondary emotion of hurt simjeong is aroused.p12상대방의 기대에 상반되거나 미흡한 결과를 낳아 불유쾌한 1차적 감정을 갖게 된다…produces a result that goes against or falls short of the other’s expectations, giving rise to an unpleasant primary emotion.p12Half of a simjeong problem is solved just by having someone who understands and empathizes with one’s simjeong.
자신의 심정을 이해해주고 공감해주는 사
람이 있다는 것만으로도 문제의 절반은 해결된
다.Just having someone who understands and empathizes with one’s simjeong solves half the problem.p12Simjeong therapy is a co-constructive form of Korean psychotherapy that reshapes a troubled simjeong through simjeong discourse.
문제된심정을 심정 담론을 통해 재구성하
는 공구성적인 한국형 심리치료의 한 가지 형태…a form of co-constructive Korean psychotherapy that reconstructs troubled simjeong through simjeong discourse.p14IN DAILY LIFE
When someone close falls short of expectations, the talk opens by lamenting one’s plight in a sing-song tone, as in “How could you do this to me!”
“네가 나한테 그럴수 있어!”. “지가 나에게
그럴 수 있어!", “너하고 나하고 이럴 처지냐?”“How could you do this to me!”, “How could he do this to me!”, “Are you and I really in a position to be like this?”p7심정당사자들의 상대에 대한 기대와 믿음에 못미치는 언행을 함으로써…when the other in the simjeong relationship acts short of one’s expectations and trust…p7신세에 대한 한탄을 타령의 곡조로 토로하는 것이다…pouring out a lament about one’s plight in the tune of a taryeong (lament song).p7Pouring out one’s simjeong typically happens in places like a drinking table, on the premise of jeong.
심정토로는 술좌석과 같은 자리에서 정을 전제로
한 자기 마음의 토로이다.Pouring out simjeong is unburdening one’s heart, premised on jeong, in settings such as a drinking table.p8In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
The study starts from research showing that Korea is a relationship-centered culture and that the stress Koreans experience most is tied to relationships.
한국인들이 가장 많이 경험하는 스트레스는 인간 관계와 관련되어 있다고 한다…it is said that the stress Koreans experience most is related to human relationships.p2특히 한국의 문화는 인간관계를 중시하는 관계주의 문화라 할 수 있는데In particular, Korean culture can be called a relationalist culture that values human relationships…p2Although the main problems in counseling stem from simjeong, the authors point out that the concept has not yet entered Korea’s mental health and therapy practice.
심정의 개념은 한국에 서의 정신 건강 및 치료 관련 직업 현장에 아직 도입되고 있지 않은 실정이다…the concept of simjeong has not yet been introduced into the professional fields of mental health and therapy in Korea.p8이밖에 한국의 상담자들이 호소하는 심리적 문제의 주종이 심정을 기저로 한 문제…moreover, the psychological problems brought to Korean counselors are mainly problems rooted in simjeong…p8Method
Not an empirical study but a theoretical paper presenting a model of simjeong therapy and counseling, based on the authors’ previous research and experience.
그러한 인간관계속에서 이루어지는 심정의 개념적 분석과 이를 상담 및 치료 차원에 도입할 수 있는 지에 대해 논하고자 한다…[we] intend to discuss the conceptual analysis of simjeong arising within such relationships and whether it can be introduced into counseling and therapy.p2필자들의 그 동안의 연구와 경험을 통해 하나의 모델을 제시하고자 하였다…we sought to present a model through our research and experience to date.p14Detailed findings
“My simjeong is hurt” is said mainly within close relationships; if someone met on the street behaves improperly, Koreans usually say their feelings (gamjeong) are hurt rather than their simjeong.
길거리에서 만난 사람 이 자신에게 부적절한 행동을 할 때 심정이 상했 다라고 말하지는 않는다When a person met on the street behaves inappropriately toward one, one does not say one’s simjeong was hurt.p3밀착된 우리성-정관계의 맥락에서 주로 사용된다…is used mainly in the context of close we-ness and jeong relationships.p3보통 심정이 상했다 라는 말보다는 감정이 상했다라는 말을 사용한다…people usually say “my feelings are hurt” rather than “my simjeong is hurt.”p3Because simjeong tangles together the relationship, a judgment of the other’s behavior and thoughts about one’s own plight, it is hard to notice — not only for third parties but even for the person who caused it.
제 3자는 물론 심정 을 유발한 상대도 자신의 심정을 알아채기 어려 우며…not only third parties but even the other person who caused it find it hard to notice one’s simjeong…p4상대와의 관계액락이 전제로 되고, 자신과 관련된 상대의 행동에 대한 주관적 평가가 관여되며…presupposes the context of the relationship and involves a subjective evaluation of the other’s behavior toward oneself…p4자신의 신세에 대한 조망이 상대의 행위에 대한 평가와 결부되어 나타나는 자기 관여적 복합 감정이다…a self-involved complex emotion in which one’s view of one’s own plight is bound up with the evaluation of the other’s act.p4Jeong and uri-seong (우리성, “we-ness”) define each other like two forms of one body: jeong is “felt we-ness,” and we-ness is “recognized jeong.”
정이 '느껴진 우리성'이라 한다면. 우 리성은 •인식된 장이라고 해석해 볼 수 있다If jeong is “felt we-ness,” then we-ness can be interpreted as “recognized jeong.”p5정과 우리성은 서로가 서로의 성격을 규정하는 필수적인 개념이자 단서가 되며…jeong and we-ness are essential concepts and cues that define each other’s character…p5정과 우리성은 역환적 이형동체(逆換的 異形同體) 라고 규정해 볼 수 있다…jeong and we-ness can be defined as reversible different-forms-of-one-body.p5When Koreans first meet someone, they often ask about hometown or school — a search for clues that they are “us”; once such a clue is confirmed, they easily slip into exchanging jeong.
관심 있는 사람을 처음 만나는 순간부터 먼저 고향이 나 출신교를 묻는 경우가 많다…from the moment they first meet someone of interest, they often first ask about the person’s hometown or alma mater.p5이러한 행동은 우리성 인식의 객관적 가용단서(可用端緖)를 찾기 위한 행위이며Such behavior is an act of searching for objective, usable cues for recognizing we-ness…p5이러한 우리성 단서가 확인되는 순간 한국인은 손쉽게 정을 주고받는 관계로 진입하는…the moment such a we-ness cue is confirmed, Koreans easily enter a relationship of exchanging jeong…p5Foreigners read the choice of expensive brand-name gifts as showing off, but the authors interpret it as reflecting the belief that a gift’s price is proportional to the jeong behind it.
선물의 가격이나 상표가 정마음 쓰기의 크기에 비례한다…that the price or brand of a gift is proportional to the size of the jeong-heart put into it…p6외국인들은 이를 과시행동이나 비합리적 행동으로 해석한다Foreigners interpret this as showing off or irrational behavior.p6Koreans rarely state their inner feelings outright, since doing so implicitly signals distrust or distance — which makes misunderstandings frequent.
자신의 속마음을 상대 에게 분명히 말하는 것 자체가 묵시적으로 상대 를 믿지 않거나 가깝지 않다는 것을 암시하는…stating one’s inner heart clearly to the other in itself implicitly suggests that one does not trust the other or is not close…p10따라서 한국 사람들은 오해(誤解, misundetstanding)와 곡해(曲鮮. misunderstanding Of intentionality and information)가 빈번하게 발생한다Hence misunderstandings and misreadings of intention occur frequently among Koreans.p10Pouring out a hurt simjeong is understood not as punishing the other but as seeking reconciliation to restore the “we” relationship.
가해자의 화해를 통한 우리성관계의 회복 하기 위한 뜻으로 받아들여진다…is understood as meant to restore the we-relationship through reconciliation with the one who caused the hurt.p11가해한 상대에 대한 적대감이나 징벌에 목적이 있기보다는…rather than aiming at hostility toward or punishment of the one who caused the hurt…p11The drinking table is considered the best setting for simjeong talk, which is why bars often serve as venues for easing group conflicts or labor-management standoffs.
노사대치 상황에서 이를 완화시키기 위한 대 화의 장소로 혼히 술집이 꼽히는 이유도 바로 여 기에 있다This is also why bars are often named as places for conversation to ease labor-management standoffs.p11이러한 상황에 가장 적합한 것으로 술좌석이 대표로 꼽힌다The drinking table is named as the most fitting setting for this.p11Authors’ interpretation
Dialogue in simjeong therapy should not be one-way, as in psychoanalysis where the therapist listens and interprets, but a two-way everyday conversation.
양방적으 로 서로 대화를 주고 받는 일상의 대화 형태로 이루어져야 한다…should take the form of everyday conversation in which both sides exchange dialogue bidirectionally.p12정신분석에서와 같이 내담자의 이야기를 치료자가 일방적으로 듣고…as in psychoanalysis, where the therapist listens one-way to the client’s story…p12For such dialogue to flow naturally, the client must feel the therapist is a close person in a relationship of we-ness and jeong.
치료자가 내담자에게 우리성-정관계의 가까운 사람으로 느 껴져야 한다…the therapist must be felt by the client as a close person in a we-ness/jeong relationship.p12이러한 심정담론이 자연스러운 삶의 현장 형태로 이루어지기 위해서는For such simjeong discourse to take place in the natural form of everyday life…p12It resembles Rogers’ client-centered therapy in empathizing with inner feelings, but goes further with active intervention that reframes and reinterprets the problem from a new angle.
새로운 시각에 서 문제를 재조망하고 재해석하는 적극적 개입이 관여된다…active intervention that re-views and reinterprets the problem from a new perspective is involved.p12Rogers의 내담자 중심적 치료와 상당한 유사성을 갖는다…bears considerable similarity to Rogers’ client-centered therapy.p12Limits the authors note
The authors themselves state that the model was offered as part of exploring the need for simjeong therapy, and that it must be developed and clarified further through careful analysis of counseling cases from various approaches.
상담사례들을 면밀히 분석하 여 심정상담이나 심정치료모델을 더욱 발전시키 고 명료화시키는 과정이 요구되어진다…a process of carefully analyzing counseling cases to further develop and clarify the simjeong counseling or simjeong therapy model is required.p14한국인들을 위한 심정치료의 필요성에 대한 탐색의 일환으로 심정치료 및 상담에 대한 모델을 제시하고자 하였다…as part of exploring the need for simjeong therapy for Koreans, we sought to present a model of simjeong therapy and counseling.p14앞으로 여러 접근법으로 이루어지는 상담사례들을 면밀히 분석하여…by carefully analyzing counseling cases conducted with various approaches in the future…p14Key terms
Han (한, 恨) A form of simjeong: the feeling that arises when one suffers unjust harm from others that cannot be resolved or undone, because of one’s own powerlessness.
해결하거나 회복할 수 없는 부 당한 피해를 자신의 무능으로 인해 남으로부터 받게 될 때 마음속에서 생겨나는 감정과 심정의 경험질the experiential quality of feeling and simjeong that arises in the heart when one suffers unjust harm from others, which cannot be resolved or restored, due to one’s own incompetencep11한은 심정에 속하는 특정한 형태의 부정적 감정으로Han is a specific form of negative emotion belonging to simjeong…p11The truth-and-authenticity view of simjeong The Korean cultural assumption that feelings recalled while pouring out one’s simjeong are true and genuine, at least from the speaker’s point of view.
회고적 자기 감정은 적어도 그 당사자의 입장에 서는 '진실(truthful)하고 진정한(authentic) 것으로 한국문화권에서는 구성하고 있다…retrospective self-feelings are constructed in Korean culture as “truthful and authentic,” at least from the standpoint of the person concerned.p11Mind-self Unlike the Western self as a fixed, stable entity (entity-self), the Korean self as a “mind” that shifts with situation and context.
가변적, 불안 정적, 상황맥락적 마음성(mind-self)을 강하게 반영한다…strongly reflects a variable, unstable, context-dependent mind-self.p9고정적. 안정적. 초월적(transcendental) 물체성(entity)을 갖는 self 라기 보다는…rather than a self with a fixed, stable, transcendental entity-ness…p9서구의 self를 referential entity-self로 한국인의 inferential mind- self로 명명하고…we named the Western self the referential entity-self and the Korean self the inferential mind-self…p9