History and our national daddy issues

By Kim Tong-hyung

Here's your midweek update on the stories in entertainment and media you might have missed because your life is a lot more fulfilling than ours.

Terrible case for Rhee as founding father

Lew Young-ick

It was certain that the presidential victory of Park Geun-hye, daughter of slain dictator Park Chung-hee, would initiate significant changes in politics and society. However, it's historians who are feeling the heat first.

The National Institute of Korean History (NIKH) touched off controversy last month by approving a high school history book designed to support defensive arguments about the military regimes of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Perhaps, the institute was just warming things up for its new boss.

In a decision that surprised no one, Park on Monday picked Lew Young-ick, a 77-year-old Handong University scholar and considered the spiritual leader of the conservative "New Right" movement, to replace Lee Tae-jin as the head of NIKH. The larger half of historians responded to Lew's appointment with a collective "eww." (Okay, that was pretty lame.)

Syngman Rhee, second from left, Korea's autocratic first president, arrives in Hawaii after his government was toppled by a popular uprising in 1960. Syngman Rhee, second from left, Korea's autocratic first president, arrives in Hawaii after his government was toppled by a popular uprising in 1960. If Rhee indeed should be considered the founding father of modern Korea, then Koreans should be proud they turned out pretty well considering the disastrous parenting. / Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing

Lew has been a staunch defender of Syngman Rhee, South Korea's autocratic first president who was thrown out by a popular uprising in 1960 and spent the rest of his days in Hawaii.

In Lew's opinion, Rhee should be respected as the nation's "founding father" because his accomplishments as an independence fighter and diplomat were supposedly great enough to marginalize the memories of political and civilian oppression. This is disputed by mainstream historians, who believe it's rather important to remember that Rhee was a dictator with more blood on his hands than Macbeth.

Lew's appraisal of Rhee has often been biblical.

"Rhee's accomplishments are comparable to those of charismatic leaders like King Taejong, the third king of the Joseon who laid the institutional foundations of the kingdom, Kemal Ataturk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey, Emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin Dynasty who completed the letters and institutions of ancient China, and Moses, who rescued the Israelis from Egyptian oppressors and presented them the commandments," Lew wrote in a 2012 media contribution that was titled "A Man Worth His Physical Weight in Diamonds."

This is as worse a sentence you could get from a man who expects to be taken seriously as a historian.

Rhee doesn't deserve to be mentioned with Ataturk, the former Army officer who led the Turkish national movement and established the republic after defeating forces sent by Allied Powers in the events that followed World War I.

In comparison, Rhee's defining military memory is fleeing Seoul two days after North Korean forces triggered the Korean War (1950-53). He was leaving behind unprepared government institutions, the parliament, and American Ambassador John Muccio, who remained in the capital until it fell, attempting to help beleaguered South Korean military leaders.

Rhee and Moses are similar only in that they didn't get to die in their respective promised lands. Admittedly, Rhee did treat civilians the way Shi Huangdi did.

Lew's arguments constitute the philosophical backbone of the New Right movement, a loose association of conservative scholars close to the power elite.

With school history books, they have been trying to emphasize Korea's industrial success and deemphasize the working-class struggles and suppression of civil liberties that accompanied it.

School books began leaning further toward the right during the previous Lee Myung-bak government as it empowered New Right academics. It seems the tilt will be more dramatic under the watch of Park and Lew.

Immigration officers show respect for Zizek

Slavoj Zizek

Kyunghee University has been ecstatic about acquiring the services of Slavoj Zizek, rock-star philosopher and cultural critic who provokes both the right and left with his views on society, arriving on a one-year contract to teach and conduct research at the school. Zizek might have to hose down his over-excited Korean colleague Lee Taek-gwang just to be safe.

Lee, a professor of English literature at the university, left a giddy tweet about his experience of taking Zizek to the immigration office and then found himself the subject of sarcastic cackle.

"I went to the immigration office today for Zizek's alien registration and (the atmosphere) was practically hell. (The officer) was not polite, so I showed him some search results on Zizek from my phone and explained who he was dealing with. Everything was done quickly and immediately. Enough said," Lee tweeted.

Lee's intention apparently was to comment on the regressive attitude of Korean public servants who tend to treat famous people differently. Twitter users found Lee equally regressive for exploiting the famousness of his partner anyway and bragging about it on social media.

"I wonder how Lee would have responded if the immigration officer looked at Zizek and said ‘so what?"' wrote one Twitter user.

"I had a meal with Lee recently, and after he showed a photo of Zizek on his phone, I finished my meal in blazing speed," read another tweet.

Lee revisited Twitter hours later and claimed his Zizek comment was meant as a joke.

"Next time, I am sending my assistant (to the immigration office)," he wrote.

Police track down IU's Internet troll

IU, who is generating buzz for her upcoming album, "Modern Times," said that the police have apprehended the person who has been spreading false rumors about the singer on the Internet. The untrue stories included that the 20-year-old was pregnant and preparing a secret wedding.

We could throw some needless background information here, but this column probably has a word limit.