By Tong Kim
I have been back in Seoul for a month now, and I have just started teaching a course at Korea University's Department of North Korean Studies. My course is called ``Contending Powers Over the Korean Peninsula." I was in Korea from 2005 to 2007, working on a research program and teaching at the same university. This time I am learning more about Korea.
This morning I installed a landline telephone at my residence. It took me a quick visit to the local KT branch yesterday to prove that I had a telephone in my name during the last five years, allowing me to be waived of a 60,000 won deposit requirement for first time telephone subscribers. My place, like most apartments in Seoul, is wired for Internet, cable TV, and telephone. An engineer showed up at my place punctually at the expected hour and spent no more than 10 minutes to check the line connections outside and inside the house. The phone was immediately operational.
Things have changed in Korea. Early in the 1960s, residence phones were rare commodities and they were owned and used only by the privileged. Unlike the many cell phone shops, which are ubiquitous now, there were few telephone brokers in the old days. People paid dearly for having access to a home phone line.
Into my second month back in Seoul, I find many things have drastically improved. I find my new Internet connection to be a lot faster than the one I used in Washington. In contrast to two and a half years ago, the platforms at subway stations are now all protected with sliding glass doors, which are synchronized with the doors of the train cars. There are no safety devices like this in the United States.
Speaking of the transportation system, I was impressed with the efficient utility of the transit cards, which people can use for the subway, busses, taxis, and even public telephones.
A week ago I had the opportunity to ride a KTX bullet train to a city about 100 miles south of Seoul. The ride was smooth, comfortable and very fast and the fare was reasonable. It was better, faster and much cheaper than the lines that run between Washington and New York.
Seoul is considered as one of the world's most developed cities. What perhaps impresses an American visitor most would be the restroom facilities available at each subway station. In Washington, the facilities in buildings are locked and you have to borrow a key to use them. Public restrooms are rare in American cities and they are not clean.
Today's Korea, with the benefits of its impressive economic performance, is geared to move towards becoming a global power. The present government, like its predecessors, stresses the goal of becoming an ``advanced nation" or a nation with global recognition and global power. In the Winter Olympics last month, Korea produced the best results in the history of Asian countries, including China and Japan, taking fifth place with six gold, six silver and two bronze medals. Kim Yu-na was celebrated as the best female figure skater in the world.
One hundred years ago, Korea lost its independence to Japanese imperialists, who later forced Korean women to serve their soldiers as ``comfort women," the survivors of whom are in their mid 80s and still suffering from the nightmares of the past. This year Kim Yu-na defeated her Japanese rival by a wide margin.
South Korea's economic ranking runs between the 10th and the 13th depending on statistics. Korea is recovering fast from the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis that began with a Wall Street failure. It will host one of this year's G-20 conferences. It has an ambitious green energy policy goal, taking the initiative in global efforts to protect the environment.
Korea takes pride in its transition from a recipient nation of international aid to an aid-providing country to other nations in need. Korea remains appreciative of U.S. security assistance that helped defend its freedom and independence during the Korean War. Now it supports U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
South Korea certainly is becoming ― if it isn't already ― a world-class, free, capitalist society. Everybody is working hard to compete and to get ahead of others for a better life. Both the government and people are busy moving towards a higher standard of living with more material affluence and more technological convenience. The system of market economy and democracy by its inherent nature creates a widening economic gap between the rich and the poor. This is where the role of governance comes in to maintain a viable balance to sustain public tranquility.
Given the ingenuity and industry of the Korean people, I have no doubt that South Korea will cross over the threshold to become one of the most advanced nations in the world. The government is also expected to carry out adequate and fair policies not just to support big businesses but poor, small businesses and low-income people as well.
Last year, Harry R. Lewis, a former dean of Harvard College, published a book called ``Excellence Without a Soul," in which he discussed the shortcomings of Harvard's undergraduate curriculum. He argues Harvard may prepare students to do well at jobs, but it does not teach character or morality for them to become better people. Lewis questions the purpose of education.
As I see Korea become more and more Americanized, or globalized; as I see the students' zeal for learning English from mediocre native English speakers while their families paying expensive tuitions; as I notice English signboards inundating every street; and as I notice the phenomenon that public and private institutions target for globalization, I cannot help but think about what is becoming of Korea. Does Korea want to become a global power without a soul?
If South Korea loses its spirit and its purpose as a nation, it will also lose the values of its history, culture, and national traditions. Even in an age of globalization, a nation should preserve and maintain its identity and pursue its national purpose ― that is what Korea wants to do for its people and for its role in the world.
Leadership for national direction may originate from political leaders, especially from the president. But the incumbent president of South Korea is yet to display that kind of leadership. Maybe it is high time for South Korea look at itself and slow down its speed of globalization. Maybe it should do more internally to improve its political system and to address its social and educational problems. National leaders should think about what national character their people should cultivate for themselves. What's your take?
Tong Kim is a research professor with the Ilmin Institute of International Relations at Korea University and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He can be reached at tong.kim8@yahoo.com.