By Sah Dong-seok
People want to talk about hope as the New Year dawns. Having hope can offer solace at least, although things don't always work out as they wish.
Unsurprisingly, Koreans seem to need more hope than ever while saying goodbye to the year 2016 that is finally coming to an end. More than a few have suffered from mental anxiety as the hidden facts of the bizarre scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her shadowy confidant Choi Soon-sil have been laid bare one after another.
The candlelit vigils that drew hundreds of thousands of people every Saturday over the last two months have exposed the dire mess in state affairs perpetrated by the two whose relationship dates back nearly 40 years. The public has no other choice but to lament over the magnitude of their misconduct. The Constitutional Court is seemingly going to endorse the parliamentary impeachment of the first female head of state, but even Park's ouster will hardly make us feel comfortable.
Then what went wrong?
Some say all of this resulted from the fact that Korea has yet to break out of the developmental frame established by the late Park Chung-hee, the incumbent President's father and former dictator who ruled Korea for nearly two decades. Koreans showed the world something with their rare economic miracle in the post-World War II era, but their overall level of consciousness did not keep up with that development.
Those who voted for the daughter of the former dictatorial president who ran for presidency largely on the halo effect of her father must be held accountable first and foremost, but the entire nation has to pay a price after all. All of us might have had an empty illusion that a ''princess,'' aloof from the public, would come down from heaven to salvage us.
What is important at this juncture is what we can learn from this bizarre, unprecedented scandal.
In a recent seminar, Choi Jang-jip, an emeritus professor at Korea University, called the Choi Soon-sil scandal the demise of the Park Chung-hee paradigm. He defined this paradigm as being a state-chaebol alliance in a government-controlled economic structure; holding in check a pluralistic societal structure and regional decentralization of power; and strengthening an anti-communist, nationalistic education.
Prof. Choi assessed the death knell of the Park Chung-hee paradigm positively and expressed hope that it will lead to an expansion of political freedom and democratic labor-management relations, and the cultivation of a more autonomous and liberal market economy. All these are crucial factors for our society to move forward.
Now it's time to talk about hope again.
All things considered, 2017 is sure to be a tough year too. A presidential election could come on the heels of the Constitutional Court's decision on Park's impeachment. There are plenty of candidates who promise wealth and happiness, but few of them seem to appeal to the people who have been continuously deceived.
One candidate, who is too confident of his high approval rating arrogantly, acts as if he has already become the president. The other candidate conceals his real identity and deceives the public into believing that he could be an icon of conservatism. Another contender who jumped on the presidential bandwagon thanks to his years of overseas activities bluntly shows his greed for power without any consideration about what the voters think. One cannot help but feel heavy-hearted, although the election apparently is about choosing the lesser of two evils rather than the best.
The upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th U.S. president might cause Korea to grapple with challenges that have never been experienced. Concern about national security could intensify if the conflict over Seoul's sharing of the cost of keeping American troops here heats up. We cannot rule out the possibility that Trump might move to pull U.S. soldiers out of the Korean Peninsula unless negations go smoothly.
True, President Barack Obama has allowed North Korea to speed up its development of nuclear weapons by reiterating his futile ''strategic patience.'' In sharp contrast, Trump, a novice in diplomacy, and his hawkish aides might mishandle the nuclear issue and throw the security situation on the peninsula into total disarray.
Also, there is an underlying fear concerning possible cracks in the Seoul-Washington alliance if a liberal candidate is elected as the next president here ― as is widely expected ― and opts to reverse the incumbent administration's decision to host an American missile defense system. Even if the next administration holds firm to the missile defense decision, Seoul has to stave off challenges arising from its souring ties with China.
Turning our eyes to domestic issues is no relief either. People's livelihoods are going from bad to worse as the Korean economy shows signs of entering a long slump. Undeniably, we are surrounded by enemies on all sides.
However, this is certainly no time to sit on our hands, merely grumbling about our surroundings. Rather, the current plight can be a good occasion to reinvent the country, given that no one can disagree that we can't go on like this.
The most important thing is not to abandon our hope despite all odds, especially greeting the New Year. What we have achieved so far is too good to abandon.
The writer is the executive editor of The Korea Times. Contact him at sahds@ktimes.com.
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Unsurprisingly, Koreans seem to need more hope than ever while saying goodbye to the year 2016 that is finally coming to an end. More than a few have suffered from mental anxiety as the hidden facts of the bizarre scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her shadowy confidant Choi Soon-sil have been laid bare one after another.
The candlelit vigils that drew hundreds of thousands of people every Saturday over the last two months have exposed the dire mess in state affairs perpetrated by the two whose relationship dates back nearly 40 years. The public has no other choice but to lament over the magnitude of their misconduct. The Constitutional Court is seemingly going to endorse the parliamentary impeachment of the first female head of state, but even Park's ouster will hardly make us feel comfortable.
Then what went wrong?
Some say all of this resulted from the fact that Korea has yet to break out of the developmental frame established by the late Park Chung-hee, the incumbent President's father and former dictator who ruled Korea for nearly two decades. Koreans showed the world something with their rare economic miracle in the post-World War II era, but their overall level of consciousness did not keep up with that development.
Those who voted for the daughter of the former dictatorial president who ran for presidency largely on the halo effect of her father must be held accountable first and foremost, but the entire nation has to pay a price after all. All of us might have had an empty illusion that a ''princess,'' aloof from the public, would come down from heaven to salvage us.
What is important at this juncture is what we can learn from this bizarre, unprecedented scandal.
In a recent seminar, Choi Jang-jip, an emeritus professor at Korea University, called the Choi Soon-sil scandal the demise of the Park Chung-hee paradigm. He defined this paradigm as being a state-chaebol alliance in a government-controlled economic structure; holding in check a pluralistic societal structure and regional decentralization of power; and strengthening an anti-communist, nationalistic education.
Prof. Choi assessed the death knell of the Park Chung-hee paradigm positively and expressed hope that it will lead to an expansion of political freedom and democratic labor-management relations, and the cultivation of a more autonomous and liberal market economy. All these are crucial factors for our society to move forward.
Now it's time to talk about hope again.
All things considered, 2017 is sure to be a tough year too. A presidential election could come on the heels of the Constitutional Court's decision on Park's impeachment. There are plenty of candidates who promise wealth and happiness, but few of them seem to appeal to the people who have been continuously deceived.
One candidate, who is too confident of his high approval rating arrogantly, acts as if he has already become the president. The other candidate conceals his real identity and deceives the public into believing that he could be an icon of conservatism. Another contender who jumped on the presidential bandwagon thanks to his years of overseas activities bluntly shows his greed for power without any consideration about what the voters think. One cannot help but feel heavy-hearted, although the election apparently is about choosing the lesser of two evils rather than the best.
The upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th U.S. president might cause Korea to grapple with challenges that have never been experienced. Concern about national security could intensify if the conflict over Seoul's sharing of the cost of keeping American troops here heats up. We cannot rule out the possibility that Trump might move to pull U.S. soldiers out of the Korean Peninsula unless negations go smoothly.
True, President Barack Obama has allowed North Korea to speed up its development of nuclear weapons by reiterating his futile ''strategic patience.'' In sharp contrast, Trump, a novice in diplomacy, and his hawkish aides might mishandle the nuclear issue and throw the security situation on the peninsula into total disarray.
Also, there is an underlying fear concerning possible cracks in the Seoul-Washington alliance if a liberal candidate is elected as the next president here ― as is widely expected ― and opts to reverse the incumbent administration's decision to host an American missile defense system. Even if the next administration holds firm to the missile defense decision, Seoul has to stave off challenges arising from its souring ties with China.
Turning our eyes to domestic issues is no relief either. People's livelihoods are going from bad to worse as the Korean economy shows signs of entering a long slump. Undeniably, we are surrounded by enemies on all sides.
However, this is certainly no time to sit on our hands, merely grumbling about our surroundings. Rather, the current plight can be a good occasion to reinvent the country, given that no one can disagree that we can't go on like this.
The most important thing is not to abandon our hope despite all odds, especially greeting the New Year. What we have achieved so far is too good to abandon.
The writer is the executive editor of The Korea Times. Contact him at sahds@ktimes.com.
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