It’s myth-making, and shouldn’t be confused with “dropping out to take care of your sick parent” or “dropping out and going to work at McDonald’s”.
Are you talking about his family specifically, or South Korea in general? What makes it extremely strong or privileged?
The fact that his parents were math and literature professors who entertained him dropping out of school to write poetry. If I had done that my parents would have offered me exactly three choices, get a job, go back to school, or pack your bags and pay your own rent which would have forced me to get a job, understandably so because as working class people they didn't have the resources to sponsor me for another decade while I go soul searching
Sinply put, most working class parents simply don't have the financial respurces to support an older child's artistic pursuits. It is a privilege, i.e., an _advantage_, to have those means and werewithal to do so.
My point being that it’s not about finances, it’s not that much more difficult for most working class families to support an extra mouth to feed, especially when it’s an adult. It’s more about the difference in perspective and future financial stability.
While typing it, I realized it is actually more expensive in US than just a mouth to feed. Medical insurance, car insurance, car payments (you need a car), all add up to much more.
I would say that was a pretty brave decision, or perhaps he is special
I believe Einstein dropped out of high school and traveled a bit through Italy.
We definitely need a world where more young people can drop out for a few years.
In your country, how easy is it for someone to professionally work on their _art_ - i.e. have a career not just art-adjacent, like doing creative work as a graphic designer or animator or tattoo artist, but actually their own art, such as original paintings, poetry, or novels - which pays the entirety of their bills (presuming their bills actually include rent, food, transportation)?
In your country, is their any pressure on an individual working in the arts to work another job?
Can they sustain a family?
Do artists typically live with their parents or receive familial support until they hit it big?
Do they live out the starving artist stereotype or are they given a less meager existence?
Of the people that grew up poor that you know, do you know how many of them wanted to be artists, but had to take care of family or their own survival ahead of pursuing their art?
Of people you don't consider wealthy growing up, how many of them could afford a year at a prestigious private school for a year ahead of high school? (Relevant to the author here)
If you can answer these, it may give you some insight on SK. I can give you more if that's not enough.
I don't see how this relates to South Korea, maybe it's the same maybe it's not. What familiarity with South Korea do you have to be able to present an informed judgement on this issue and call someone else disingenuous for not sharing your view?
The answer to that question has nothing to do with my own ignorance on this topic, and the fact that you keep dodging this tells me a lot more about who in this conversation is the actual asshole.
So I lived in Korea for some years, friends with 3 artists there trying to make it in capital A art in Seoul. The answer is (obviously) there is no significantly different familial support system between artists living in Korea and other developed capitalist countries that would somehow change the lifestyle of the average artist, and the suggestion is some strange orientalism or severe ignorance of lives of artists in capitalist countries. Ask on the Korean subreddit if you want variations on this answer.
Anyways, this exchange gave me a chuckle at least, a hostile+willfully ignorant or orientalist person wanted to call someone an asshole but did so in questions rather than a statement, and got upset when they were called ignorant in questions rather than a statement.
Where's the myth making?
Looking into it, I think they actually translate their version of it as GED too:
https://www.ice.go.kr/en/cm/cntnts/cntntsView.do?mi=10019&cn...