Based on a lecture by Professor Kim Joo-Hwan on September 12, 2026
What makes us willing to listen to someone, trust their guidance, or join them in pursuing a shared goal?
Professor Kim approaches this question through two qualities: love and respect. In his framework, love provides a foundation for liking, while respect provides a foundation for trust.
Together, liking and trust help make persuasion possible.
Leadership in everyday relationships
Professor Kim describes leadership as the ability to persuade people to act together toward a shared purpose.
This ability matters in ordinary life. Parents guide children, business owners work with employees, and meditation teachers invite people to practice. In each case, people need reasons to listen and confidence in the person offering guidance.
A prospective participant may like a meditation teacher but still need to trust their competence. Someone considering an investment may appreciate an entrepreneur’s enthusiasm but also need confidence in their commitments.
Both liking and trust matter, particularly when the decision involves a substantial commitment.
Earning confidence
Professor Kim uses the contrast between a con artist and a responsible entrepreneur to raise an ethical question about persuasion.
Both may inspire confidence, but a con artist does so through deception. A responsible entrepreneur earns confidence through credible commitments and the ability to deliver.
Persuasion therefore carries a responsibility: the liking and trust we receive need a sound foundation.
The same applies to a brand. A name or logo can evoke warmth and confidence because of the experiences people associate with it. Our own names also carry those associations. Over time, our actions shape what people expect from us.
Becoming respected and loved
The Korean word gyeongae (敬愛) combines respect and love. The expression gyeongae-haneun means “respected and beloved.”
Professor Kim uses it to describe an ideal of leadership: becoming someone others can sincerely respect and love.
He connects this ideal with the Confucian gunja (군자, 君子), or junzi in Chinese—an exemplary person whose character is cultivated through ethical relationships.
He also places his discussion within a broader tradition of rhetoric and education, referring to Quintilian, Socratic self-examination, and teachings about compassion and benevolence.
In his interpretation, these traditions share a concern with how we relate to ourselves and others.
What should education cultivate?
Professor Kim’s historical argument asks what happens when education places different aims at its center.
He describes earlier traditions of elite education as preparing people for leadership and exemplary conduct. In his account, the expansion of nation-states, compulsory schooling, and industrial production shifted the emphasis toward national identity and preparation for employment.
He points to patriotism and the traditional “three Rs”—reading, writing, and arithmetic—as important priorities in that shift.
This is the historical interpretation he offers in the lecture. Its central educational question is relevant beyond those examples: are we giving children enough opportunities to develop the qualities needed for healthy relationships and responsible leadership?
Educating for relationships
Professor Kim argues that academic learning can be combined with learning to offer love and respect.
For children, that might mean developing the capacity to care, cooperate, earn trust, and respond thoughtfully to other people. For adults, it means continuing to cultivate those capacities ourselves.
Self–other affirmation provides the practical connection. Forgiveness, compassion, and love develop one axis; acceptance, gratitude, and respect develop the other.
Through these practices, the ideal of leadership becomes something we can work on in daily life: becoming more able to care for others, respect them, and act together with their trust.
댓글 남기기