[News Terms] The 'Two Cities Story' Mentioned by Prime Minister Candidate Park Young-sun

Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, who has been rumored to be appointed as Prime Minister, quoted Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities on Facebook on the 18th. Published in 1859, this historical novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. The book portrays London and Paris as symbolic spaces representing different social and political situations, vividly depicting class inequality, the corruption of the aristocracy, and moral decay that led to the French Revolution. It is said to be the best-selling single-volume book worldwide, excluding religious texts such as the Bible and the Quran, and is loved globally.

Source=Sigongsa Homepage

In particular, the preface beginning with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." has been widely quoted since the book’s publication and remains one of the most beloved opening lines in British literature. Former Minister Park also cited this line that day, emphasizing that cooperation is more important than anything else in a deeply polarized Korean society.

In the novel, London is depicted as a relatively stable society despite the large gap between the upper and lower classes, while Paris is portrayed as a place of unrest and chaos. The story is structured around these two contrasting cities, overlapping the lives of two men who look alike: Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat who loves a woman named Lucie Manette, and Sydney Carton, an English lawyer.

Lucie Manette, who rescued her father Alexandre Manette from long imprisonment and moved to London, marries Charles Darnay, who has abandoned his aristocratic status and also moved to London. During the French Revolution, Charles returns to Paris to save a servant of his family who is imprisoned. When Charles Darnay is imprisoned after it becomes known that he fled his homeland for London, Lucie’s father uses his past experience of being imprisoned in the Bastille to secure Charles’s acquittal. However, Charles Darnay falls into crisis again and is imprisoned. At this time, Sydney Carton, who had secretly entered Paris, uses his resemblance to Charles to help him escape from prison, impersonates Charles, and ultimately goes to the guillotine in his place.

This work, set against the French Revolution, was praised as an expos? of the ills of the aristocratic society at the time. It also calmly depicted the tragic reality where even innocent people faced threats to their lives during what is considered the most famous citizen revolution in history. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness." The tragedy is also felt in Sydney Carton’s inner monologue, regarded as a masterpiece alongside the preface.

Meanwhile, former Minister Park wrote on Facebook that day, quoting the preface of A Tale of Two Cities, "Considering the future of the Republic of Korea, this is such an important time that cooperation is essential," adding, "However, I think our society now looks like two trains running toward each other, like A Tale of Two Cities."