[Opinion] Korea in December 2021

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

1

This year has shown that our popular culture is among the world’s leading groups. The film Minari, the OTT series Squid Game, and in the music world, just a few days ago when BTS held a stage in the U.S. after two years, young people around the world cheered in unison. There are even talks that once the COVID-19 crisis passes, Korea will be the top country people want to visit. The NYT diagnosed, “Although Korea’s cultural output remains modest, its influence is immeasurable. As Korea emerged from the whirlpools of war, dictatorship, democratization, and rapid economic growth, Korean creators have keenly explored what people want to see and hear.”

Leading universities worldwide are opening Korean language departments. There are many YouTube videos introducing K-Food not just as Korean cuisine but as healthy food enjoyed globally. Videos of Western women married to young Korean men are also frequently uploaded. While some within Korea disparage these videos as ‘Hell Joseon’s nationalistic pride,’ it is clear that many people worldwide envy Korea as a country where traditional culture and cutting-edge social infrastructure harmoniously coexist.

2

Over the past two years, the COVID-19 crisis has exhausted the public, especially the low-income groups who continue to face hardships. This is not unique to Korea; the whole world is experiencing similar phenomena. The large amounts of money released have flowed into unproductive areas, further widening polarization. Transitional phenomena for restoration, such as difficulties in securing raw materials and financial contraction, continue to prolong their suffering. Epidemics bring pain whether they spread or subside.

There has also been much criticism of the government’s disaster response capabilities in handling COVID-19. In every country, the claims of experts, the administration, politicians, and the media are mixed, making the public more anxious and weary. However, I believe it is right to refrain from excessive criticism of the quarantine experts and the administration leading the economy. As an engineer, I can imagine how difficult and painful decision-making is in responding to a disaster ‘never experienced before,’ and I send encouragement to those individuals.

What exacerbates the difficulties of experts and the administration is the current government, “passionate about creating a country never experienced before.” Not only the COVID-19 crisis but also various passions declared at the government’s launch have encountered errors. The semiconductor sector’s ‘SoBuJang’ (materials, parts, and equipment) issue was turned into a political and diplomatic issue by singing the “Jukchangga” (a traditional Korean song) overnight, even though it is not a science and technology task that can be solved quickly. Such tasks should have been treated as national agendas comparable to defense projects. Despite vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 not being technologies that can be developed in a few months, the government was complacent in the early stages of the outbreak, thinking there was time to develop them and hesitated over purchase prices, missing the opportunity to secure them early. Nationally significant issues that should have been judged by science and technology experts were damaged by the political recklessness of non-experts, and the lives and property of citizens who should have been protected by the state suffered.

As a citizen and engineer, I would like to share two impressions of the past five years. First, globally verified knowledge systems and social frameworks were disparaged and denied, becoming targets for eradication. Especially bringing science and technology into the political arena caused not only regret but anger. Second, the disappointment of citizens who held candles hoping to eliminate the vested interests of the privileged is that they were met only with rougher and less honest power. If the markets, corporate dynamism, and intellectual assets of the nation and its people had been weaker, Korea might have collapsed under the grand experiment of a ‘country never experienced before,’ which sends chills down my spine.

3

It is election season. While the main opposition party is reorganizing with a candidate inexperienced in politics, the ruling party is conducting a speed campaign centered on a candidate with unique breakthrough power. I want to hear answers from the ruling party and its candidate to the following two questions: 1. Is it ‘Lee Jae-myung’s Democratic Party’ or ‘the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung’? 2. Will the next government inherit Moon Jae-in’s political ideology?

Politics is like a living organism, and public sentiment changes from morning to evening. With a single deep bow from a presidential candidate, citizens too easily relinquish their greatest rights and duties. Campaign promises that seemed unbreakable before the election disappear with an ‘if not, then forget it’ attitude once in power. There is no explanation or apology for why promises are broken. Five years pass amid the public’s forgetfulness.

Nothing in the world can be done perfectly or completely fail. Before wielding the sword of judgment on mistakes or covering them up roughly, wisdom to learn something from them is necessary for society to progress.

I want to keep the following two as lessons from the past five years: 1. The inauguration speech of the 19th president in May 2017 2. The Supreme Court Chief Justice’s conversation in May 2020: “To be frank, if I accepted the resignation now while the National Assembly is making such a fuss about impeachment, what do you think I would hear from the Assembly?”

The excerpt I want to highlight from President Moon Jae-in’s inauguration speech is as follows:

“Right now, my heart is burning with the passion to create a country never experienced before. And my mind is full of a blueprint to open a new world of integration and coexistence.

I dare to promise that May 10, 2017, will be recorded in history as the day true national unity began.

First, I will eliminate the authoritarian presidential culture. As soon as preparations are complete, I will leave the current Blue House and open the era of the Gwanghwamun presidency. I will be a president who communicates with the people frequently. For major issues, the president will brief the media directly. On the way home, I will stop by markets and have candid conversations with citizens I meet. Sometimes, I will hold grand debates in Gwanghwamun Square.

I will completely separate power institutions from politics. The conflict between conservatives and progressives must end. The president will take the lead in direct dialogue. The opposition party is a partner in state governance. We will institutionalize dialogue and meet frequently.

I repeat, under the Moon Jae-in and Democratic Party government, opportunities will be equal. Processes will be fair. Results will be just.

I will be an honest president who keeps promises. I will carefully follow through on the promises I made during the election process. I will not boast about doing the impossible. I will admit when I am wrong. I will not cover unfavorable public opinion with lies.”

Lee Soon-byeong, Senior Member, Korean Academy of Engineering