[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] Prime Minister Justin's Visit to Korea, Why Do Canadians Sympathize with the Trudeau Family?

Looking at the Korean Peninsula located at the eastern end of the Eurasian continent on the world map. Latitude 32~43 degrees, longitude 125~132 degrees. The Korean Peninsula has little snow and low mountains, making it difficult for perennial snow to form. Perennial snow forms at an altitude of 4000 meters. Without perennial snow, there is no chance of avalanche accidents. Avalanches frequently occur in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Alps, and the Himalayas. In English, avalanche. For professional climbers ascending Everest, the worst fear is an avalanche. In fact, over 90% of rescue accidents in the Himalayas are caused by avalanches.

A long time ago, I met someone who did heli skiing. I remember the saying that once you experience heli skiing, other extreme sports seem boring. It is human nature to seek stronger and more thrilling sensations. Heli skiing is the ultimate extreme sport and the absolute king. Heli skiing begins when a helicopter drops skiers at the summit of a mountain covered with perennial snow. From then on, it is up to the skiers.

Prime Minister Justin and late Prime Minister Pierre. Photo by Google

Recently, while reading the international section of a newspaper, a large photo of perennial snow in the Alps caught my eye. However, the photo caption was about an avalanche accident. It was an article reporting that six people lost their lives in an avalanche on Mont Blanc in the French territory of the Alps. It was said to be the worst avalanche accident in 20 years. Most of the Alps photos reported in the media so far have been about the melting and disappearance of perennial snow due to climate change, so news of a fatal avalanche accident was rare.

Whenever I hear about avalanche accidents in the Alps or the Himalayas, I think of Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919?2000), who served twice as Prime Minister of Canada. Pierre Trudeau led Canada for 15 years from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He is the most beloved leader among Canadians among all the prime ministers in history. During his tenure, Canada's national status greatly increased. Leaders from all over the world wanted to meet Trudeau and listened attentively to his words.

Trudeau was born in 1919 into a wealthy family in Montreal. He was brilliant from a young age, graduated from the University of Montreal, earned a master's degree at Harvard University, and studied abroad in the UK, graduating from the London School of Economics. After qualifying as a lawyer in Canada, he taught international politics at the University of Montreal.

Pierre Trudeau in his 30s when he was active as a writer. Photo by Trudeau Album

The period to pay attention to in his career is 1948. He traveled around the world, including Eastern Europe, China, Hong Kong, and Indochina. He especially witnessed the process of China's communization firsthand. In the 1950s, Trudeau regularly contributed articles to a current affairs monthly magazine in Montreal. His writing skills, insight, and vision gained more and more readers who sympathized with him. Adding to this was his attractive appearance, which exploded his popularity. The "Trudeau phenomenon." This syndrome pushed him into real politics. In 1968, just three years after his political debut, he was elected Prime Minister of Canada. He was 49 years old and unmarried. The first bachelor prime minister in Canadian history. He led Canada for 15 years with intelligence and charisma. Trudeau was also the one who established diplomatic relations with China, second only to France. He was the person who initiated d?tente in the 1970s.

Pierre Trudeau during his second term as Prime Minister. Photo by CTVNEWS

Trudeau was a man who knew style. Whenever he appeared in official settings, he always wore a red rose in his jacket pocket. He sometimes sported a Caesar hairstyle. The Caesar hairstyle means styling the hair very close to the scalp. He was the original "brainy and sexy man" who perfectly embodied the four qualities of appearance, speech, writing, and judgment. Canadians were enthusiastic about such Pierre.

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau dating Barbra Streisand. Photo by Google

He publicly dated American singer Barbra Streisand (born 1942). The date between the Canadian Prime Minister and the popular singer was a huge topic, but their relationship did not lead to marriage. Pierre broke up with Streisand and married Margaret Sinclair in early 1971. Trudeau was 52, Margaret was 22. The couple had three sons: Justin (born 1971), Sacha (born 1973), and Michel (born 1975).

The couple's relationship began to crack after a few years. The role of "prime minister's wife," which attracted attention and had many restrictions, was a difficult position for a free-spirited woman in her twenties to handle. Margaret was involved in various scandals, and eventually, the two separated. They divorced by mutual agreement in 1984 during Trudeau's tenure as prime minister. After the divorce, Trudeau raised the three sons and lived in Montreal without remarrying.

In 1994, when I was a correspondent in Toronto, I sent an interview request letter to Trudeau's home in Montreal. Honestly, I did not have high expectations when I sent the request. About a month later, I received a reply from him. I was surprised by the unexpectedly polite letter.

"After retiring from politics, I have refused all interview requests from the media. I want to live quietly. I will continue to do so. I am sorry I cannot give you good news. I hope you complete your mission in Toronto well and return to Korea."

Glacier Provincial Parks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

In British Columbia (BC), Canada, there are several glacier provincial parks. One of them is Kokanee Glacier Park. These are glacier parks located in the heart of the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains. Michel, Trudeau's youngest son who graduated from university in Ottawa, was working at the Red Mountain Resort in this provincial park. On his days off, Michel often went backcountry skiing in the provincial park with friends. Backcountry skiing means skiing outside the slopes developed and managed by ski resorts. It is the highest difficulty skiing that only top-level skiers can do. Backcountry skiing, along with heli skiing, offers the greatest thrill in snow sports.

On Friday, November 13, 1998, Michel started backcountry skiing at Red Mountain Resort with two friends. When they were about halfway down the slope, an avalanche suddenly occurred, and in the blink of an eye, the avalanche covered Michel. Michel was swept into a glacier lake by the avalanche. The accident happened so quickly that his friends could do nothing. A search operation began immediately, but Michel's body was not found. The glacier lake was frozen, limiting the divers' search. The Trudeau family declared the search over.

November 20, 1998, at a cathedral in Montreal, immediately after Michel's funeral without a body. From the left: Pierre, Sasha, ex-wife Margaret, Justine. Photo by Trudeau Album

A week after the accident, on November 20, 1998, a funeral without Michel's body was held at a church in Montreal. Much later, the Trudeau family erected a memorial near a chalet close to the glacier lake where Michel drowned.

I vividly remember this incident because Pierre Trudeau's gaze at the funeral was etched in my mind. A photo of Trudeau, his second son Sacha, ex-wife Margaret, and eldest son Justin standing side by side. The eyes of the 79-year-old father said it all. The deep sorrow only parents who have buried a child can feel. The eldest son Justin was also overwhelmed by uncontrollable grief. After losing his youngest son, the mental strength of the giant, who had seemed like a sphinx, sharply declined. He passed away two years later.

Canadians share deep sympathy for the Trudeau family beyond political parties. This is similar to how Americans sympathize with the Kennedy family, which has faced continuous misfortunes. Therefore, Canadians have taken an interest in the two sons Pierre left behind.

The eldest, Justin, studied literature at McGill University in Montreal and earned a master's degree in education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He returned to Montreal, taught students, and engaged in various social activities. He had long aspired to politics and learned politics through activities in the Liberal Party youth committee. In 2008, he was elected as a member of parliament in Montreal for the first time, and in 2013, he became the leader of the Liberal Party. He then led the Liberal Party to victory in the 2015 general election and became prime minister. He was 44 years old, five years younger than his father when he took office. Canadians felt Pierre in Justin.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau is delivering a speech to members of both ruling and opposition parties at the National Assembly plenary session on the 17th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada. Coincidentally, Prime Minister Justin visited Korea on May 17 last year. It was about 40 years since his father Pierre Trudeau visited Korea as prime minister. After holding a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol, Prime Minister Justin gave a speech at the National Assembly. He also visited Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and held a memorial event for the Canadian soldiers who participated in the Battle of Gapyeong during the Korean War. In his speech at the National Assembly, Prime Minister Justin drew attention by mentioning North Korean human rights issues.

"Canada will work with Korea to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. Canada and Korea must lead (the improvement of North Korean human rights). This is for the same reason Koreans chose to fight for democracy during the Gwangju Democratization Movement 43 years ago."

Justin is currently criticizing China's interference in internal affairs and human rights issues and is calling for a strong anti-China liberal democratic alliance. Every time I see Prime Minister Justin's face on TV cameras, my father's face, Pierre, overlaps in my mind.