By Park Moo-jong
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a megacity that has an official history of 628 years, and is considered the historical center of the country.
Ranked as an "alpha city," Seoul, with a population of almost 10 million, is the fourth-largest metropolitan economy in the world after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles, even larger than London and Paris.
Seoul is undisputedly one of the most favorite tourist destinations in the world, especially for Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asians, though the coronavirus pandemic is stopping them for now.
In October 1998, the editor of Hemispheres, the monthly inflight magazine of United Airlines, asked me to write an article titled "15 Fascinating Facts about Seoul." I accepted without hesitation and sent it overnight.
The 15 things I boasted of included, among others: Seoul is one of the safest cities in the world where foreign visitors, irrespective of gender, can walk in the streets even in the dead of night alone and it has numerous cultural assets like the four old palaces of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) in its heart.
In particular, I wrote that Seoul is surrounded by mountains that citizens can reach in less than 30 minutes by car or subway for hiking or climbing. The editor sent a question immediately: "Is it true?" I answered: "Seeing is believing." And he okayed it and sent a $400 payment by FedEx.
Such a global metropolis has abruptly become a "tasteless" or "vulgar" city. The mighty leader of the magnificent ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) branded the world city as a cheap one.
Rep. Lee Hae-chan, 68, chairman of the ruling party, dropped a "bombshell" remark during a forum held in Sejong City on July 24 about his party's resolute plan to move the administrative capital of South Korea from Seoul in a unilateral bid to solve the ever-worsening housing shortage in Seoul.
Rep. Lee, elected six times to the National Assembly in Seoul and Sejong, said we should not build a tasteless city like Seoul only interested in the prices of apartments along the Han River, explaining kindly that the Seine in Paris is lined with historic sites like Notre Dame.
What a coincidence! Sejong is the constituency of the ruling party leader.
He served as deputy mayor of Seoul (1995-96) thanks to his contribution as the chief campaigner in the election of Seoul Mayor Cho Soon of the then opposition Democratic Party of Korea, and kicked off an ambitious project to remodel the megacity. He also served as prime minister from 2004 to 2006 in the government of the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
Lee's absurd remark fueled the rage of citizens protesting the radical property policies of the Moon Jae-in government. If Seoul is a tasteless city as Lee says, the DPK which has been in charge of the municipal administration of the capital city for 15 years and Lee should take responsibility for the dishonor.
It is no wonder at all that big cities of the world have their own merits and demerits. Of course, many citizens, including me, have been critical of the expensive apartments of uniform design lining the Han River like square match boxes.
However, as I wrote for Hemispheres, Seoul is praised worldwide for its convenient traffic system, security and urban infrastructure, not to speak of the natural environment featuring the mountains besieging the city and the Han River crisscrossing it.
As a Seoul resident since 1953 after fleeing to the South from the North in 1951's Jan. 4 Retreat following the Red Chinese Army participation in the Korean War (1950-53), I feel insulted by Lee's remark along with 10 million Seoulites.
Earlier, during the April 20 parliamentary election campaign in Busan, Lee stirred up the anger of citizens of the nation's second-largest city, by saying, "Why is the city (Busan) so poor?"
As it happened, the mayors of the two cities of Seoul and Busan, the targets of Lee's absurd expression, were dishonored by their alleged sexual harassment of their city officials. One committed suicide and the other is standing trial.
I don't think Lee made a slip of the tongue. His said so intentionally with regard to the plan of the ruling camp to transfer the capital to Sejong City. It's not the first time that Lee invited public furor and criticism for his absurd and radical remarks as a politician.
I hope he will keep deep in mind remarks by former French President Charles de Gaulle: "Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word. Silence is the ultimate weapon of power."
Seoul may be a tasteless city for Lee for his political purposes. But Seoul is a tasteful city for me and I believe many other residents think so. I've been living well in the global city for 67 years as an ordinary citizen.
Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.
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Ranked as an "alpha city," Seoul, with a population of almost 10 million, is the fourth-largest metropolitan economy in the world after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles, even larger than London and Paris.
Seoul is undisputedly one of the most favorite tourist destinations in the world, especially for Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asians, though the coronavirus pandemic is stopping them for now.
In October 1998, the editor of Hemispheres, the monthly inflight magazine of United Airlines, asked me to write an article titled "15 Fascinating Facts about Seoul." I accepted without hesitation and sent it overnight.
The 15 things I boasted of included, among others: Seoul is one of the safest cities in the world where foreign visitors, irrespective of gender, can walk in the streets even in the dead of night alone and it has numerous cultural assets like the four old palaces of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) in its heart.
In particular, I wrote that Seoul is surrounded by mountains that citizens can reach in less than 30 minutes by car or subway for hiking or climbing. The editor sent a question immediately: "Is it true?" I answered: "Seeing is believing." And he okayed it and sent a $400 payment by FedEx.
Such a global metropolis has abruptly become a "tasteless" or "vulgar" city. The mighty leader of the magnificent ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) branded the world city as a cheap one.
Rep. Lee Hae-chan, 68, chairman of the ruling party, dropped a "bombshell" remark during a forum held in Sejong City on July 24 about his party's resolute plan to move the administrative capital of South Korea from Seoul in a unilateral bid to solve the ever-worsening housing shortage in Seoul.
Rep. Lee, elected six times to the National Assembly in Seoul and Sejong, said we should not build a tasteless city like Seoul only interested in the prices of apartments along the Han River, explaining kindly that the Seine in Paris is lined with historic sites like Notre Dame.
What a coincidence! Sejong is the constituency of the ruling party leader.
He served as deputy mayor of Seoul (1995-96) thanks to his contribution as the chief campaigner in the election of Seoul Mayor Cho Soon of the then opposition Democratic Party of Korea, and kicked off an ambitious project to remodel the megacity. He also served as prime minister from 2004 to 2006 in the government of the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
Lee's absurd remark fueled the rage of citizens protesting the radical property policies of the Moon Jae-in government. If Seoul is a tasteless city as Lee says, the DPK which has been in charge of the municipal administration of the capital city for 15 years and Lee should take responsibility for the dishonor.
It is no wonder at all that big cities of the world have their own merits and demerits. Of course, many citizens, including me, have been critical of the expensive apartments of uniform design lining the Han River like square match boxes.
However, as I wrote for Hemispheres, Seoul is praised worldwide for its convenient traffic system, security and urban infrastructure, not to speak of the natural environment featuring the mountains besieging the city and the Han River crisscrossing it.
As a Seoul resident since 1953 after fleeing to the South from the North in 1951's Jan. 4 Retreat following the Red Chinese Army participation in the Korean War (1950-53), I feel insulted by Lee's remark along with 10 million Seoulites.
Earlier, during the April 20 parliamentary election campaign in Busan, Lee stirred up the anger of citizens of the nation's second-largest city, by saying, "Why is the city (Busan) so poor?"
As it happened, the mayors of the two cities of Seoul and Busan, the targets of Lee's absurd expression, were dishonored by their alleged sexual harassment of their city officials. One committed suicide and the other is standing trial.
I don't think Lee made a slip of the tongue. His said so intentionally with regard to the plan of the ruling camp to transfer the capital to Sejong City. It's not the first time that Lee invited public furor and criticism for his absurd and radical remarks as a politician.
I hope he will keep deep in mind remarks by former French President Charles de Gaulle: "Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word. Silence is the ultimate weapon of power."
Seoul may be a tasteless city for Lee for his political purposes. But Seoul is a tasteful city for me and I believe many other residents think so. I've been living well in the global city for 67 years as an ordinary citizen.
Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.
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