Discusses, with survey material, what Korean simjeong (심정, the stirred inner heart) is, how it arises, and how it is exchanged in we-ness/jeong relationships.
A Psychological Analysis of Korean Shimcheong (心情: Inner Mind): Its Nature, Activation, Psycho-social Significance, and Practices
한국인의 심정심리(心情心理): 심정의 성격, 발생과정, 교류양식 및 형태
QUESTION
What is Korean simjeong (심정), how does it arise, and what functions and forms of discourse does it have in we-ness/jeong relationships?
FINDINGS
Simjeong combines a primary feeling caused directly by the other's action and a secondary feeling that arises from reflecting on one's own lot (sinse, 신세).
심정은 상대의 행위에 의해 직접 발
생된 일차적 감정과 더불어 자기의 신세조망
에서 발생하는 이차적 감정의 복합체이다.Simjeong is a complex of the primary feeling arising directly from the other's action and the secondary feeling arising from reflecting on one's own lot.p6Causes of hurt simjeong named by university students split into the other's behavior falling short of expectations and a sense of self-abasement from feeling unrecognized.
4~6까지는 범주반응은
자신이 상대로부터 인정받지 못한다는 자의식
에서 오는 이차적 부정반응으로Categories 4–6 are secondary negative reactions arising from the self-awareness of not being recognized by the other…p6이러한 결과를 보면, 1~3의 범주반응은 '상대의 행동이 자신의 기대치에 못미치는 데서 오는 마음의 경합이며These results show that response categories 1–3 are a stirring of the heart arising from the other's behavior falling short of one's expectations…p6자신이 상대로부터 인정받지 못한다는 자의식에서 오는 이차적 부정반응으로 자기비하감이…a secondary negative reaction from the self-awareness of not being recognized by the other, i.e., self-deprecation…p6심정이 상했던 사례를 준거로 하여 심정이 상하게 된 원인을 당사자들에게 자유응답토록…asked respondents, based on cases when their simjeong had been hurt, to freely describe what caused the hurt…p6The main “currency” of Korean we-ness relationships is the exchange of hearts rather than the exchange of actions.
한국인의 우리성 대인관계의 주화폐는
행위교환이라기 보다는 '마음주고받기'라고 볼
수 있다.The main currency of Korean we-ness relationships can be seen as “giving and receiving hearts” rather than exchanging actions.p2Students who watched a TV drama most often said they saw a scene as simjeong “because the character speaks their inner heart.”
응답수의 크기에 따라 첫 번째 범주는 '자신
의 속마음을 이야기하기 때문에'By number of responses, the first category was “because they talk about their inner heart.”p11IN DAILY LIFE
When a relationship runs into trouble, Koreans treat it almost as a norm to set up a drinking session and clear up misunderstandings by airing their simjeong.
한국인들이 인간관계에
문제가 생길 때 술좌석을 만들고 술좌석에서
심정토로와 심정담론을 통해When problems arise in their relationships, Koreans set up a drinking session and, at the table, through pouring out and talking about their simjeong…p11자신의 또는 상대의 오해나 곡해를 해소하는 방식을 규범시…treat as a norm the way of resolving one's own or the other's misunderstandings or misreadings…p11An airing of simjeong opens by recalling how long the two have been friends or how close they have been, and then continues with “but unfortunately…”.
심정토로
의 서두에 하고 나서 '그런데 아쉽게도'로 시
작하는 심정토로가 그 후에 수반된다.…saying this at the start of pouring out one's simjeong, after which the outpouring begins with “but unfortunately.”p12당신과 내가 얼마나 오랜 친구이었거나 가까운 관계였다는 것을 심정토로의 서두에 하고…at the opening of the airing, one says how long you and I have been friends or how close we have been…p12In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
In we-ness (urisseong, 우리성) relationships, the authors argue, Koreans tend to judge an action not by itself but by converting it into how much caring (maeum-sseo-jugi, 마음써주기) it carries.
그러한 행동에 실려있는 마 음써주기의 크기나 양으로 전환해석하여 상대 의 행동을 평가하는 경향이 크다…tend strongly to evaluate the other's behavior by converting it into the size or amount of caring carried in that behavior.p2한국인들은 우리성관계에서 상대가 자신에 대해 행한 행동을 그 자체로 평가하는 차원을 넘어…in we-ness relationships Koreans go beyond evaluating what the other did toward them in itself…p2But the heart cannot be seen directly, so — especially where conflict or misunderstanding is possible — the actor's and the interpreter's readings easily diverge; in such moments, simjeong is the cue for reading one's own or the other's heart.
행위 당자자와 해석자 간에 해석 의 불일치가 일어날 가능성은 높다…the likelihood that interpretations diverge between the actor and the interpreter is high.p3의미나 해석은 항상 præariousness의 위험성을 안게 된다. 마음은 직접 볼 수도 없고…its meaning or interpretation always carries the risk of precariousness. The heart cannot be seen directly…p2갈등적 상황이나 오해의 여지가 이미 내재해 있는 상황에서 상대의 행위를 마음으로 해석해야…in situations already involving conflict or room for misunderstanding, where the other's behavior must be interpreted in terms of the heart…p3자신의 마음이나 상대의 마음을 헤아리는데 사용되는 단서가 심정…the cue used to read one's own heart or the other's heart is simjeong…p3Method
A discussion of the nature, activation, and exchange of simjeong, presented together with empirical data from university-student surveys.
드라마인 '파트너'의 1회분을 78명의 대 학생들에게 보여주고 심정적 상황이나 대화를 찾아내도록 한 후…after showing one episode of the drama “Partner” to 78 university students and having them find simjeong situations or dialogue…p11한국인의 심정 Discourse의 양식이 어떤 형태를 띠는 가를 경험적 자료와 더불어 논하였다…discussed, together with empirical data, what forms Korean simjeong discourse takes.p1심정이 상했던 사례를 준거로 하여 심정이 상하게 된 원인을 당사자들에게 자유응답토록…asked respondents, based on cases when their simjeong had been hurt, to freely describe what caused the hurt…p6왜 그러한 장면이 심정으로 지각되었는가에 대한 심정탐지단서를 기술하도록 하여 얻어진 반응을 내용에 따라 범주화한…had them describe the cues by which they perceived those scenes as simjeong, and categorized the responses by content…p11Detailed findings
For simjeong to arise there must first be an expectation — given the relationship — that “at least this much caring” is due; simjeong stirs when the other's care departs from it.
이 정도 의 마음써주기'는 있어야 한다는 기대가 형성 되어 있어야 한다…an expectation must have formed that “at least this much caring” should be there.p5상대의 자신에 대한 마음씀씀이가 자신이 상대에 대해 가지고 있는 기대와 격차(정적 방향이든 부적 방향이든)가…when the other's care toward oneself differs (in either a positive or negative direction) from the expectation one holds of the other…p5Pouring out simjeong involves recounting the shared history of the relationship, so it usually takes the form of storytelling.
심정토로는 보통 이야기전개방식(stor丁 telling)으로 이루어진다Pouring out simjeong usually takes the form of storytelling.p5심정토로에는 이러한 역사적 관계맥락에 대한 서술이 이루어지는 것이 보통이며An airing of simjeong usually includes an account of this historical context of the relationship…p5What most distinguishes simjeong from ordinary emotion is that reflecting on one's own lot enters into how it arises.
심정이 감정과 구분되는 가장 중요한 속성으로서, 심정발동 과정 속에 개입되는 자기신세조망이다…as the most important property distinguishing simjeong from emotion, it is the reflection on one's own lot that intervenes in the activation of simjeong.p5Among causes of hurt simjeong named by students, categories 1–3 were an unsettled heart from the other's behavior falling short of expectations.
1~3의 범주반응은 '상대 의 행동이 자신의 기대치에 못미치는 데서 오 는 마음의 경합이며Categories 1–3 are a disturbance of the heart arising from the other's behavior falling short of one's expectations…p6Because pouring out simjeong closely resembles lamenting one's lot, it is often mistaken for sinse-taryeong (신세타령, bemoaning one's fate).
심정토로가 흔히 신세타 령으로 오인되는 경우가 많은 것은 바로 이 때문이다This is why pouring out simjeong is often mistaken for bemoaning one's fate.p6또한 심정토로양식은 자기신세토로의 양식과 매우 유사하다Also, the way simjeong is aired is very similar to the way one airs one's own lot in life.p6Simjeong and jeong (정) complete each other: jeong that never shows as simjeong is not jeong, and jeong feels thicker as expressions of simjeong accumulate.
심정으로 발현되지 않는 정 은 정이 아니며, 심정의 발현이 쌓일 때 정은 두터운 것으로 지각되고 경험된다Jeong that is not expressed as simjeong is not jeong, and as expressions of simjeong accumulate, jeong is perceived and experienced as thick.p7In Korea and other Chinese-character, Confucian cultures, wordless heart-to-heart transmission (isim-jeonsim, 이심전심) is held as the ideal way to exchange hearts.
이심전심(以心傳心)의 마음교류방식을 이상적인 것으로 받아들이고 있다…accept heart-to-heart transmission (isim-jeonsim) as the ideal way of exchanging hearts.p8흔히 심정의 교류는 말을 매개로 하여 이루어지기보다는 비언어적 심정전달단서를 통해 이루어진다Exchange of simjeong usually takes place through nonverbal cues rather than through words.p8한국을 비롯한 한자 및 유교문화권에서는 우리성-정관계에서 마음을 마음으로 전달하는 방식…in Korea and the Chinese-character and Confucian cultural sphere, the way of conveying heart to heart in we-ness/jeong relationships…p8Students watching the drama identified cues such as speaking one's inner heart, but did not pick out the “simjeong-logic discourse style” as a simjeong cue.
심정논 리적 담론양식에 대해서는 응답자인 대학생들 이 심정단서로 찾아내지 못하고 있다…the student respondents did not find the simjeong-logic discourse style as a simjeong cue.p11응답수의 크기에 따라 첫 번째 범주는 '자신의 속마음을 이야기하기 때문에'By number of responses, the first category was “because they speak their inner heart”…p11Authors’ interpretation
The authors conclude that simjeong is the most important, core concept for understanding Korean culture and the Korean mind.
한국문화와 한국인의 심리를 이해하는데 가장 중요하고 핵심적인 개념은 심정이다The most important and core concept for understanding Korean culture and Korean psychology is simjeong.p10Because Koreans see heart and simjeong as arising naturally and purely, as long as someone speaks theirs honestly, even unwelcome content is not blamed on that person.
그 마음과 심정의 내 용이 듣는 사람에게 부정적인 내용을 담고 있 는 것까지도 그러한 마음과 심정을 갖는 당사 자의 책임이나 잘못으로 귀인하지 않는다…even when the content of that heart and simjeong is negative for the listener, it is not attributed to the responsibility or fault of the person who holds it.p11한국인들은 마음과 심정이 인위적으로 만들어지는 것이 아니라 자연적으로 생긴다는Koreans hold that the heart and simjeong are not made artificially but arise naturally…p11바꿀 수 없다는 '마음-심정 순수관'을 한국인들은 갖고 있다…Koreans hold a 'pure heart–simjeong' view that it cannot be changed…p11당사자가 자신의 마음과 심정을 있는 그대로 진실하게 말한다고 믿는 한…as long as they believe the person is speaking their heart and simjeong truthfully, as they are…p11Yet simjeong is not unique to Koreans: Western phenomena such as sympathy and confession also imply simjeong.
심정은 외국인에게는 존재하지 않고 한국인 에게만 독특하게 존재하는 심리적 경험이며 현상이라고 생각하지 않는다We do not think simjeong is a psychological experience or phenomenon that exists uniquely in Koreans and not in foreigners.p13서양에서의 sympathy, confession와 같은 현상은 심정을 함축적으로 내포한다Phenomena such as sympathy and confession in the West implicitly contain simjeong.p13Limits the authors note
Key terms
Simjeong (심정, 心情) The heart that feels what has arisen within, together with the content of what is felt.
심정은 '마음속 에서 일어난 것을 느끼는 마음과 느껴진 마음 의 내용으로 정의된다Simjeong is defined as “the heart that feels what has arisen in the heart, and the content of the felt heart.”p5Simjeong logic and sari logic (심정논리·사리논리) Simjeong logic explains why one's heart moved as it did; sari logic explains things and principles rationally.
전자는 심정 논리(心情論理)로 후자는 사리는리(事理論理) 로 명명된다The former is named simjeong logic (心情論理) and the latter sari logic (事理論理).p5이와 같은 심정과정설명양식은 사물(事物)과 사리(事理)에 대한 합리적 설명양식과 대비되는 것으로This way of explaining the simjeong process contrasts with the rational way of explaining things and their principles…p5Hasoyeon (하소연) Pouring out one's simjeong not to the person who caused it but to a third party, seeking sympathy.
부정적 심정을 일으킨 상대가 아닌 제 3 자에게 자신의 심정을 말하는 경우가 많으며 이러한 형태의 심정토로를 보통 '하소연'이라 고 부른다…one often tells one's simjeong to a third party rather than the person who caused the negative simjeong, and this form of outpouring is usually called hasoyeon.p12자신의 어려움이나 입장에 대한 공감을 얻으려는 동기가…the motive of gaining sympathy for one's difficulties or position…p12