There are a lot of phrases that show the importance of hands or involve hands to express something important. The phrase "a lack of hands" refers to a shortage of workers. The phrase "It's within your hands" is used to describe someone's total control over something, while "taking one's hands off something" is used to refer to the severing of a person's relationship with something. Some people were raised by their "grandmother's hands" when they were young. A person is said to have been "played by someone else's hands" when they have been fooled. These varied uses demonstrate the importance of the hand as metaphor.

This is why technological and cultural advances involve hands. A few years ago, a housewife who immigrated to the United States in a newspaper article said her daughter was ostracized by American children every day, but one day they saw her playing jackstones and were so mesmerized by her hand movements that they all wanted to get to know her. Sewing and knitting used to be daily activities for Koreans, and a source of some entertainment. That is why Koreans are especially good at international sporting events involving hands, such as golf, archery, badminton, handball and hockey.

The culture of using chopsticks served as the basis for this dexterity. China, Japan and other rice-consuming Asian countries use chopsticks, but Korea is the only country that uses metal chopsticks. It takes precise and firm movements of the hands to use metal chopsticks, which tend to be heavier and thinner than wooden ones. Kant referred to the hands as "the brain that is visible to the eye." Adeptness at using chopsticks is also linked to the development of the brain. A few years ago, EBS TV checked the brainwaves of elementary students after they used wooden chopsticks, forks and metal chopsticks and found that using metal chopsticks required the highest level of concentration. The areas of the brain in charge of memory and emotions became 30-50 percent more active.

As more children use forks to eat and spend more time banging away at computer keyboards, more and more people are worried that the dexterity of Koreans is deteriorating. When asked whether they have ever used a nail and hammer to fix something, 100 percent of Finnish students questioned but only 15 percent of Korean students said yes.

Just as computers cannot replace the human brain, machines cannot replace the human hand. Even though high-quality, mass-produced products are unveiled every day, they cannot match the intricacy and human touch of handmade products. The strength of Switzerland's precision watch-making industry is said to stem from the country's culture of knitting. We need to develop our level of technology, but at the same time we must maintain our dexterity.

By Chosun Ilbo columnist Kim Tae-ick