Transformer: Dr. Sung Baek, Dazed & Confused Magazine

Dr. Sung Baek is a genetic and propteomic researcher in cancer prevention and predictors, and head of reseach and development for Biodrux, a company that makes advanced versions of ancient herbal medicines. An accomplished sword fighter and renowned acupuncturists, he is also head of the the Donghane clan, a medical organization that is one of the oldest Taoist groups in Korea.

I know you are aware of the prophecies from the Maya and other cultures about 2012 as a threshold of transformation. What do you think it means?

I have talked to some of the Mayan people myself. They are actively telling people that the end of the Long Count calendar means the start of a new era. it does not mean the end of the world. The Maya are not depressed about Mayan Calendar ending. They are preparing for the new time. I think we can see that this is happening: Old humanity ends and new humanity starts. With the Taoist calendar, new era just started a few months ago – on July 19, 2012. Last year, many people who have been going through a lot of hardship, personal initiations, they felt like committing suicide or rebooting their whole life last year. Now they are feeling more positive, and a new life is starting.

What do you see happening to humanity in the next decades?

Definitely a big change is underway. In my work as a researcher, we are concerned with practical issues and we expect major crises. The Center for Disease Control and the Federal Government are now studying the issue of mutated germs. They have no control whatsoever of this, and it may be that new diseases will kill a lot of people in the next years. Also, it is possible we will see an increase in radiation from the Japanese disaster, as the situation there is still not stable at all. We will also be seeing an increase in natural disasters like earthquakes. It is likely that in the next 20 years we will lose a proportion of the population due to natural disasters, radiation, and mutated germs. At the same time, a spiritual and consciousness evolution is underway, and many people are learning to coexist with each other and with nature.

How will society change as a result?

Initially we are going to lose a lot of resources – power and food and all that. So there is going to be quite a lot of chaos, but people who are more prepared – especially mentally and spiritually prepared – they will survive better than the ones who are not awakened yet. Ultimately, taking a Taoist perspective, this is going to be a positive shift as the changes to come will filter out the people who are not ready to coexist with others and the universe. But from the point of view of average humanity it is not going to seem positive at first – people will be losing friends and family.

What about The Singularity – the idea that biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology will merge to make us superhuman?

This is definitely going to happen. Our technological development has been blocked by old ideas and religious prohibitions. As this opens up, the sky is the limit for what we can do. For instance, we wonʼt have to spend time researching and learning anymore. We will be able to transmit knowledge directly into the brain.Within the next 50 years, medicine will be perfected. We will have essentially achieved physical immortality. However we will be going through a period of intense natural disaster. People who are genetically adapted by new technology, or by their spiritual attainments, they will live on. The ones that stay the same will become an unfit species and will not survive.

How do Taoists describe this transition?

We call the next phase the Dragon period. The dragon also means the thunderbolt in our culture, and the bridge between two dimensions. We will probably lose 3 quarters of the population in the next 50 years, then another 3 quarters in the 50 years after that. We will end up with one-sixteenth of the present population in 100 years. But everyone who remains will be at the next level of consciousness. The cleansing period began in 1984, and we are now approaching a major peak of it.

How can people evolve spiritually to deal with this new world? What advice would you give them?

First, and most important, they have to realize that everything co-exists. Even diseases – we should stop calling them evil. Second, they should not blame anything from the past for what is happening now, but instead work together proactively to find the solutions. The Taoist approach is to expect the worst and do our best to prepare. That is all we can do.