Anti-Democratic Slurs

By Phillip Hartman

As a Canadian, I grew up in a very different political environment from that of South Korea.

Canada's democracy is an old one, slowly evolving out of medieval England hundreds of years ago. There was never a time Canadians didn't vote for their leaders, but the definition of who was a citizen didn't reach its zenith until immediately after World War 1.

Sometimes Canadian politics can degrade into some pretty juvenile attacks. The Liberal Party has been dogged for years with accusations of partisan money spending, some deserved, others just groundless. Our current prime minister, Stephen Harper, is often accused of having a hidden agenda to break the health care system, which is probably another imagined idea. But one attack you won't hear is calling a sitting prime minister anti-democratic, nor would such a statement be believed.

To see a former president like Kim Dae-jung and recently, the former Human Rights Commission Chairman, Ahn Kyong-hwan, go after a sitting president with such strong language over essentially partisan bickering is truly shocking to me. It's almost as if these two care nothing for Korea's hard-fought democracy. It is such a worthless commodity to them that they are willing to use it as ammunition for senseless bickering? Is nothing sacred? They complain about back peddling democracy, but the fact that they can speak out against the president so openly is proof enough that there is no danger to democracy here.

If the rhetoric about Lee Myung-bak turning into a raging dictator and back peddling democracy was limited to partisan types and the media alone, then it wouldn't raise my concern so much. But it's the fact that this same thinking permeates the minds of many ordinary Koreans I talk to on a daily basis― from schoolteachers to businesspeople― that has me most worried. Perhaps I'm not seeing the whole picture, as my Korean is quite poor, but from what I've observed so far, I'm still unable to identify how exactly democracy has been back-peddled.

It is true the government has been harder on protestors this year, blocking their attempts to hold illegal rallies. However, given the insanity of last year's U.S. beef protests, can anyone blame the government for being a little perturbed? Police were openly challenged, buses burned, yet the police showed a tolerance that would be considered timid in established democracies like Canada or the United States.

After those protests, the government went after the TV series that first started the rumors. Under normal circumstances, going after the media would be considered anti-democratic, but when the media is perpetuating false facts and these falsities are causing thousands of protestors to gather in the streets, the government cannot be so passive.

Another instance frequently noted is the Yongsan fire. Many have told me they consider the deaths of the protesters at the demonstration to be murder and that the President is directly responsible. I question that position on two points. As far as I see it, the police were doing their job by enforcing the law. The homeless were breaking the law and pushed the situation to the extreme by not backing down. And how President Lee fits into all of this is still a mystery to me. Is it not the police who are responsible for this operation? Was the President guiding the mission from afar? Did he give a direct order to start the fire and cause the death of the protestors?

As far as I can see, democracy is alive and well in South Korea. For the most part, people are allowed to express their opinions without undue censorship by the government. Secret police are not roaming the streets kidnapping and murdering dissenters, as they do in less democratic nations. Furthermore, a properly elected president sits in office. Whether or not some regret their vote is now irrelevant. Lee Myung-bak was elected. People knew he was pro-American, anti-North Korea, pro-business, and pro-free trade. When election time rolls around, the people can decide again whom they want to lead them.

Many countries around the world don't have it so good. Even South Korea didn't have this level of freedom just 20 years ago. That's why it's so shocking to me that the precious gift of democracy is being taken for granted by so many, especially former President Kim Dae-jung, who is acting shamelessly by engaging in petty politics.

Perhaps my view of democracy is a thoroughly Westernized one and Koreans have a different perspective, but I'll say this. When the citizenry starts saying that those who break the law are heroes; those that challenge law and order are righteous; those that spread false rumors and lies are innocent victims; those that give money to enemies to build weapons against the country are patriots; those that take bribes while in office are great leaders; and finally, those that disrupt the functioning of democracy by barring the legislature are democrats; then truly the citizenry has turned against its own nation and has become its own worst enemy.

The writer has worked in Korea for three years at EWAS Uijeongbu and LCI Kid's Club Gangdong. He can be reached at johannphilipe@hotmail.com.