God lost all hope and left Korea

By Chang Se-moon

Korea is going through an uneasy, trying time. To the surprise of many, those in power, after glorious promises of justice, equal opportunity and many other noble objectives, are tangled up in messy controversies and lawsuits, and are under fire for unkept promises.

Two conspicuous civic revolts are currently particularly visible. One is a song titled “Bitjaru” (broom), while the second is a petition to the President of Korea, titled “Seven Pleadings to Your Majesty.” Both have been spreading inside and outside Korea like wildfire.

The song is sung by a popera group called Inch Elo. The group is composed of three good-looking guys who begin their song with the words “Honest world without lies, the world we all dreamed of … freedom, equal opportunity, fairness and justice were promised to the entire world.” The song ends with the suggestion to “sweep away” all those leaders who kept none of their promises.

Both the music and lyrics were written by the same person, Chung Poong-song. The tone is pleasant but the message is very serious, i.e., the government gave us nothing but lies.

The petition to Korea's President, called “Seven Pleadings to Your Majesty,” is written by someone with the penname of Cho Eun-san. The author is a 39-year-old “ordinary” fellow. The style of the petition evokes an image of a peasant pleading to a Joseon king centuries ago.

Regardless of whether one agrees with his “Pleadings,” rational minds must agree that the petition is written superbly.

The Seven Pleadings are to: (1) lower taxes; (2) develop policies based on good reasoning, not emotion; (3) carry out diplomacy for real gains, not under faulty pretenses; (4) acknowledge that those in power used their power to get rich ― he compares the rich to pigs; (5) select public officials who understand and respect freedom, democracy and human rights; (6) respect and abide by the constitution; and (7) wake up, Your Majesty. This last item merits explanation.

The petition states that under the false pretense of cleaning up past wrong-doings, the government put hundreds of political opponents in prison. Now the target is the general public who are innocent. As of this date, none of the necessary actions have been undertaken nationally or internationally. The country is divided and fighting each other. Your Majesty, please wake up and do what you were elected to do.

One possible interpretation of both the song and the Seven Pleadings could be that they represent desperate outcries by ordinary Koreans who feel frustrated and threatened by the likely loss of freedom, justice and equal opportunity.

This interpretation, if accurate, may open the door toward purgatory for some who may have abused their power for personal gain while hiding their wrongdoings.

Roman Catholics believe purgatory is the place where people suffer for their sins after they die. They must spend time here before they can go to heaven.

Personally, I want all of those powerful people who may have abused their power to go to heaven when they die. But if purgatory is a reality, who will enter purgatory for punishment?

The answer is not simple. Consider powerful people who took actions that hurt many ordinary people, not with bad intentions but from pure incompetence. I can think of many who belong to this group. It would include those who developed bad economic, energy and housing policies which led to the loss of many jobs and slowing the growth of the Korean economy. Should these makers of questionable policies go to purgatory?

Another example, consider a powerful person, such as a Korean cabinet member in charge of law making. Let's assume that this cabinet member moves those prosecutors, who are investigating wrongdoings or fraud allegedly committed by public officials working for the current administration, to positions with little responsibility, or even forces them to resign. Should the cabinet member go to purgatory?

Assume that the prosecutors who now take over those positions responsible for investigation of public officials' wrongdoing or fraud drag their feet and quietly end the investigation. What if these prosecutors just follow orders from their superiors who want to protect their corrupt political allies or bosses?

Should these prosecutors who simply but knowingly follow the order to ignore laws go to purgatory? How about their bosses and allies who support them? Should they?

Well, I am glad that I am not in any position to make such decisions. My hope is that no one needs to go to purgatory. If, indeed, anyone needs to go, I expect God will make the decisions. Unfortunately, I am hearing a rumor that the corruption of political leaders and cronyistic law and order professionals is so rampant that God lost all hope and left Korea.

Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies.