[Column] A Different Interpretation of Sangseonyaksu (上善若水)

Isun Byung, Senior Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea

I have been connected with engineering for over 50 years. To be honest, I didn’t even know what engineering was, let alone civil engineering, and I simply followed my homeroom teacher’s guidance for college admission when I was a senior in high school. Although there is a social atmosphere that disparages the construction industry, civil engineering has been a beneficial and enjoyable lifelong companion for me.

Engineering is the discipline of utilizing natural phenomena to create civilization. An engineer combines various technologies with humanistic elements to make optimal choices. For example, a dam is a structure that uses the natural phenomenon of ‘water flowing to lower places’ to benefit our lives. It’s not just about the technology to block water; the location is decided after considering economic feasibility, minimizing harm to residents, and reducing damage to cultural heritage.

However, when I hear politicians attacking their opponents by calling their actions ‘political engineering,’ I feel very uncomfortable. When the words ‘politics’ and ‘engineering’ meet, one of them is bound to be damaged, and to me, it feels like engineering is being tarnished. Wikipedia’s definition of political engineering can be summarized as ‘the act of legitimizing means to achieve a goal.’ The 2018 book “How Democracies Die” cites examples such as bribing judges, suppressing critics, and tilting the playing field.

While engineering utilizes natural phenomena, political engineering fundamentally differs by utilizing human phenomena. Natural phenomena have only one answer, such as ‘water flows downward,’ and there is no deception. However, in human phenomena, the answer to a question like ‘Is there a threshold at Namdaemun Gate?’ tends to be the one given by the loudest voice.

The best experts on word definitions and sentence interpretations are those who deal with the law. In common terms, prosecutors who ‘fabricate crimes that don’t exist’ and defense attorneys who ‘make existing crimes disappear’ argue, and the judge determines the truth. For those involved in a case, the first legal procedure was to check the personal details of the prosecutor in charge. During the trial, the judge’s personal details are also referenced to reinforce the defense team. Because of this empirical background, the public had high hopes for the eradication of deep-rooted evils.

Unfortunately, the justice ministers of this government have consecutively faced difficulties due to their children’s issues. It is truly pitiful for the public to have to helplessly watch the high-ranking officials’ endless disputes over “I only inquired” versus “That is a request” on YouTube. Communication theory considers facial expressions an important tool, but the law only recognizes physical evidence, so suspicion has no legal effect. In plain terms, the blame may fall on the diligent practitioners who ‘know what’s going on.’

Veteran lawmakers of the current ruling party, who endured harsh hardships after being caught reading ‘subversive(?)’ books quietly during the dictatorship era, have been forged as warriors. Our sentiment of ‘we can endure hunger but not humiliation’ chose them. However, this choice has led to new pains. The public’s compassion for them and belief in fairness and justice have turned into disappointment, increasing the people’s anger.

“Citizens bear four major duties: national defense, taxation, education, and labor” is something most people remember even if they weren’t model students. However, as they live their lives, they begin to feel that those who can twist the interpretation of these four duties are the ones who succeed. As newspaper articles about social elites’ military service evasion, tax evasion, falsification of credentials, and multiple home ownership increase, the idea of a ‘country where we live well together’ drifts further from the hearts of the people.

The phrase Sangseon Yaksoo (上善若水) from Laozi’s Tao Te Ching is often quoted. The words of a master like Laozi are difficult to fathom deeply, and the Chinese characters often have varying interpretations. Some interpret it as ‘The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without competing for credit and stays in places that everyone dislikes,’ but I simply read it as ‘The foremost virtues of living together are honesty and humility.’

If the character seon (善) in Sangseon Yaksoo is misread as seon (選), it can be interpreted as ‘The best way to conduct oneself is to live like water in a vessel, adapting to the flow of the world.’ Regardless of the regime, experts who move like hands and feet in each field are needed to implement its philosophy. They know from long experience that ‘the regime needs me.’ If they have the skills to achieve the goals of the living power, they have learned from Sangseon Yaksoo the principle of living comfortably.

It is said, “Loyal ministers think of the country, while treacherous ministers think of the king.” History is full of examples of countless treacherous ministers. History teaches us not to repeat mistakes, but many people twist that lesson into a guide for enjoying wealth and glory. Those who have reached the level of Sangseon (選) probably do not care much about future evaluations. The Gabunggae (crayfish, carp, frog) will disparage them as sunflowers, but they will call the Gabunggae “fools.” “The world may improve little by little by feeding on the blood of the naive, but I will survive. Even if my grave is dug and my head cut off after I die, will my dead body feel pain?”

The controversy over pro-Japanese collaborators, popping up like a whack-a-mole game, has long lost its way. There are rebuttals that Kim Il-sung also employed many pro-Japanese collaborators, and some use the plum blossom chant to wash their identity. Amid this current of survival tactics, the respect for those who saved the country at critical moments has been downgraded. On the 18th, a newspaper article reported that the late Bishop Ji Hak-soon was acquitted in a retrial held 46 years after being charged with violating emergency measures.

It is said that a snake must shed its skin to live, but the process is very painful. What kind of country is Korea undergoing this painful shedding to become?

Currently, one in six members of our National Assembly is from a legal background, and the number of young legal professionals entering politics has increased. It is said that judges and prosecutors in Japan, whose culture is similar to ours, do not enter politics easily because their beliefs differ. The word Chobalshim (初發心) means that it is truly difficult to keep the initial intention. I hope that our young legal professionals who entered politics with the initial resolve to learn the law will uphold their philosophy and goals and practice good politics.