Park uses dogs, noodles as metaphors

President Park Geun-hye speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. She stressed policies oriented to the welfare of the people at the weekly meeting. / Yonhap

By Kim Tae-gyu

To deal with the criticism that she has failed to properly communicate, President Park Geun-hye has started using various metaphors this year to explain her political or economic beliefs to her aides and eventually the people.

Featured in such tactics are Korea’s Jindo dog, traditional food and calendars. Of note is that she did not resort to such form of communication last year.

“Once a Jindo dog bites, it does not let go. We need this spirit. We’re required to mobilize all means to normalize abnormalities,” she said before a briefing by ministries on their plans for this year early last month.

“After this meeting, you might forget all about the regulations and remember only the Jindo dog. So I will remind you once again so that you will not forget,” she said.

She came up with the Jindo dog metaphor to stress the significance of doing away with irregularities in government, and using deregulation to galvanize the slumping economy.

In order to pressure the National Assembly to pass bills on crucial state affairs, she likened the situation to noodles that have become too soft to eat.

“When noodles are warm, they are tasty and easy to digest. Who would want to eat noodles that swell up after being soaked too long in water that are not tasty?” Park asked after the briefing.

“Timing is important for policies. We can efficiently cope with market demand only when the related laws can win parliamentary approval at the right time. Otherwise, they would have little effect like ill-tasting noodles.”

Last month, when Park checked the yearly plans submitted by ministries, she asked for the timeliness of policies by talking about calendars of previous years.

“Let’s say there is a gold-rimmed calendar that has splendid natural landscapes. However, it is of no use once a new year comes. It is ridiculous to arrange meetings with last year’s model,” she said.

“When demand in industry shifts, the government should change, too. You cannot stick to old-fashioned policies because they worked in the past.”

A Cheong Wa Dae official said that Park prepared the above-mentioned comments herself.

“We make manuscripts for her remarks in advance and in many cases, she changes them. And most of metaphors are devised by President Park. She appears to regard it as an effective way to deliver her message,” said the official who asked not to be named.

During her inaugural year, Park was criticized for not making an effort to communicate with the opposition and the people.