Ending all this wasteful debate is overdue
Controversy over an activist song, "March for the Beloved,'' has become an annual event every May, causing our deep-seated ideological rift to deepen. This conflict has intensified even further this year as the government failed to act on President Park Geun-hye's indication of an affirmative resolution over the matter during her meeting with party leaders last week.
On Monday, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs rejected the opposition's demand that all the participants of Wednesday's 36th anniversary ceremony of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising sing the song in unison. Instead, the ministry said the song would be performed by a chorus and participants who wish to sing along can do so.
''In order not to disrupt national unity, we decided to invite a choir to sing the song while allowing attendees to sing along if they want,'' the ministry said. It also rejected another request to designate the song as an official anthem for the May 18 ceremony, citing the lack of a precedent.
The ministry's decision prompted immediate protests among the opposition parties, which held high hopes of singing the song together during the ceremony since their meeting with President Park. During her meeting with the floor leaders of the three major parties, Friday, President Park said she would instruct the ministry to find a solution to the issue.
The two main opposition parties threatened not to support the administration's policy initiatives unless the decision is overturned, casting a dark cloud over the possibility of cooperative politics. Even the governing Saenuri Party urged the ministry to reconsider its decision.
There is no question that the decision is wrong and short-sighted.
First of all, whether the song is sung by a chorus or in unison is not so important as to undermine a rare atmosphere for cooperative politics created since the April 13 general election. The opposition has vowed to see the government's forward-looking decision on the matter as the yardstick for changes in President Park's governing style. But the government rather sowed the seed of discord by keeping its position intact.
A presidential spokesman said Cheong Wa Dae did not issue any directive concerning the song, noting that it was the veterans ministry's own decision. Yet it's doubtful if the ministry could make a decision on such a sensitive issue independently.
In retrospect, it was the government itself that created unnecessary disturbances by abruptly changing how the song was sung in 2009. Until 2008, singing the song together was required during the May 18 ceremony, but some conservative civic groups complained that it was inappropriate to sing it, alleging that it was used as background music for a North Korean film. The truth is that it was written in 1982 for a posthumous wedding ceremony of two protestors killed during the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement.
It's long past time to end all this wasteful debate on the song. Allowing attendees to sing in unison from this year will be most preferable. But if that is not the case, the government should reach a quick conclusion so that this kind of controversy won't happen next year.
Controversy over an activist song, "March for the Beloved,'' has become an annual event every May, causing our deep-seated ideological rift to deepen. This conflict has intensified even further this year as the government failed to act on President Park Geun-hye's indication of an affirmative resolution over the matter during her meeting with party leaders last week.
On Monday, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs rejected the opposition's demand that all the participants of Wednesday's 36th anniversary ceremony of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising sing the song in unison. Instead, the ministry said the song would be performed by a chorus and participants who wish to sing along can do so.
''In order not to disrupt national unity, we decided to invite a choir to sing the song while allowing attendees to sing along if they want,'' the ministry said. It also rejected another request to designate the song as an official anthem for the May 18 ceremony, citing the lack of a precedent.
The ministry's decision prompted immediate protests among the opposition parties, which held high hopes of singing the song together during the ceremony since their meeting with President Park. During her meeting with the floor leaders of the three major parties, Friday, President Park said she would instruct the ministry to find a solution to the issue.
The two main opposition parties threatened not to support the administration's policy initiatives unless the decision is overturned, casting a dark cloud over the possibility of cooperative politics. Even the governing Saenuri Party urged the ministry to reconsider its decision.
There is no question that the decision is wrong and short-sighted.
First of all, whether the song is sung by a chorus or in unison is not so important as to undermine a rare atmosphere for cooperative politics created since the April 13 general election. The opposition has vowed to see the government's forward-looking decision on the matter as the yardstick for changes in President Park's governing style. But the government rather sowed the seed of discord by keeping its position intact.
A presidential spokesman said Cheong Wa Dae did not issue any directive concerning the song, noting that it was the veterans ministry's own decision. Yet it's doubtful if the ministry could make a decision on such a sensitive issue independently.
In retrospect, it was the government itself that created unnecessary disturbances by abruptly changing how the song was sung in 2009. Until 2008, singing the song together was required during the May 18 ceremony, but some conservative civic groups complained that it was inappropriate to sing it, alleging that it was used as background music for a North Korean film. The truth is that it was written in 1982 for a posthumous wedding ceremony of two protestors killed during the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement.
It's long past time to end all this wasteful debate on the song. Allowing attendees to sing in unison from this year will be most preferable. But if that is not the case, the government should reach a quick conclusion so that this kind of controversy won't happen next year.
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