Hungarian Revolution proved value of freedom

Hungarian Ambassador to South Korea Gabor Csaba speaks to The Korea Times at the embassy in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Oct. 18. / Korea TImes photo by Choi Won-suk

Seoul can learn from Budapest's experience in embracing N. Korean defectors

By Yi Whan-woo

The Hungarian Revolution on Oct. 23, 1956 against Soviet-imposed rule resonated with many South Koreans following the 1950-53 Korean War in which millions of soldiers died to defend democracy and freedom.

The message of the revolution is still effective in South Korea today, given that it is surrounded by regional powers and also is technically at war with North Korea, according to Hungarian Ambassador to Seoul Gabor Csaba last week.

"We believe the message of the 1956 revolution is universal. In some places, it's more relevant and we believe Korea is definitely one of those places." he told The Korea Times at the embassy in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul on Oct. 18.

More than 2,500 Hungarians were killed while 200,000 people became refugees after their resistance against the communist government and Soviet forces failed.

Csaba pointed out that Hungary and South Korea shared common ground in that they were both middle powers in their respective regions and had fought for "survival in independence and freedom" throughout their histories.

"I would say that the Hungarian government's efforts to commemorate the revolution in a meaningful way focused on Europe, North America, Australia and all those places where there are a lot of Hungarians," he said. "But in addition to that group, Korea is probably one of the most important countries and we'd like to make sure that more people know about it."

Csaba said Hungary wanted to capitalize on the 60th anniversary of the revolution to make people more aware of two major incidents involving South Koreans' support for the historic event.

He referred to late National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup's attempt to form and send a student militia group to Hungary when he was a senior at Yonsei University. The South Korean government did not allow Lee's plan to proceed, citing ideological reasons.

In separate efforts, late poet Kim Chun-soo published a poem, titled "The death of a girl in Budapest" in 1959 to mourn the deaths of freedom fighters in Hungary.

The Hungarian government awarded Lee the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit in recognition of his efforts in 2002. Csaba met Lee after he was assigned to South Korea in 2013 and also attended Lee's funeral last December.

Kim's poem has been translated into Hungarian, and Hungarians know about the poem, according to the ambassador.

"We keep looking for further connections between the two countries." Csaba said.

The embassy organized several events to mark the anniversary of the revolution this month, including a reception at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul on Oct. 20.

It attracted several dignitaries. Among them were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hyoung-zhin, U.N. Development Program Seoul Policy Center Director Balazs Horvath, as well as ambassadors to South Korea, such as Charles Hay of the United Kingdom, Gonzalo Ortiz of Spain, Arslan Hakan Okcal of Turkey, Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia and Mohamed Gello of Kenya.

Yoo Jae-kun, 79, a former lawmaker, also joined the reception. Along with Lee, Yoo played a key role in mobilizing the university students to help Hungary.

Meanwhile, Csaba said the revolution could help raising awareness among young South Korean generations about the importance of inter-Korean unification.

Several studies had shown that younger people were apathetic about unification compared to older generations.

"This does not mean that they would not embrace the idea of a country when the historical moment arrives," the ambassador said.

"1956 represents universal values … and therefore speaks to generations and nations without boundaries. It is important to address young people and discuss with them important issues related to the past as well as the future of this country."

Concerning Hungary's transition from a communist state to a democratic nation, Csaba said South Korea could learn from this experience to better embrace a growing number of North Korean defectors.

He referred to Hungarian dissidents who had earlier left the country and participated in establishing a parliamentary democracy and free market economy after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.

"Those Hungarians who have assisted the transition also contributed to changing gradually the Hungarian mindset," he said. "This is very much our experience, but probably to some extent, I think it can be applicable (to South Korea)."

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