[K-Women Talk]There Is Still Hope

Trusting in Korea's National Resilience to Overcome Crisis
Ending the Imperial Presidency as a Turning Point
Securing Ground for Moderate Rationalism

Not long ago, while carelessly swinging a knife, the bread I intended to cut flew into the air, and the flesh beside my intact finger was sliced as if filleted. I had a minor accident at the hospital where I rushed with my bleeding finger tightly bandaged, receiving seven stitches. The flesh was almost completely severed, but fortunately, the tip was still dangling, so they decided to suture it and wait to see if it would reattach. They warned me strictly not to drink alcohol, avoid getting it wet, disinfect frequently, apply medicine, and keep it exposed to air to prevent necrosis. Thanks to carefully tending to the injured finger like a precious heirloom, the torn flesh is healing well. It is truly amazing how the severed flesh is reattaching. This is the restorative power of our body.

Looking at the healing wound on my finger, I feel hope. If our body can do this, surely the wounds of our country can heal as well. It is said that within every misfortune lies a blessing that enables us to overcome it. Moreover, isn’t our country one with remarkable resilience to adversity? Despite thousands of years under the Sinocentric order, we preserved our identity; we saved the nation from the Japanese invasions; we established a liberal democracy from the ruins of colonization and the Korean War; we overcame harsh military dictatorships and the foreign exchange crisis. The history of our resilience is so extensive that it hardly needs listing. Yet, it is regrettable to recall the suffering of the people and the national costs endured through those many hardships.

Who would have imagined that such a disruptive event would occur in present-day Republic of Korea, which has earned its name in world history as a success story of liberal democracy? The country is staggering from a knife drawn wrongly and wielded recklessly, and all citizens, regardless of conservative or progressive, have been deeply wounded. Now, not only emergency treatment for this wound but also a prescription for ultimate healing is needed. To prevent further waste of national power through proper functioning of resilience, mere restoration to the previous state is insufficient. There must be a prescription to transform the constitution into a stronger one than before. We cannot deny the fact that we were struck down unexpectedly like being hit on the back of the head with a rolling pin in the middle of the night. However, as the British poet Robert Browning said, “If you have fallen, then think about what you should pick up from the ground,” we must rise by gaining something that compensates for the wounds caused by the fall.

What should we rise with? The end of the imperial presidency. This incident cannot be seen merely as the personal deviation of the president. To prevent such a personal deviation from exploding into such a terrifying crisis, the imperial presidency, which wields absolute power as an omnipotent weapon during a single five-year term, must be changed through this opportunity. It is realistically difficult to reach consensus on alternatives such as a multiple-term system or a parliamentary system in a short time, so at least we must stand up with a roadmap toward constitutional amendment to end the imperial presidency.

Furthermore, moderate rationalists must secure their ground. Although polarization of thought may be a global trend, our society’s reality and one of the roots of this crisis is that only extremists represent their groups while moderate rationalists have no place, due to the mixed legacies of Joseon Dynasty fundamentalism, pro- and anti-Japanese conflicts during the colonial era, left-right struggles and military dictatorships after liberation. To escape extreme ideology and frame politics, a political culture supporting rational thinking and compromise politics must be formed.

For this national crisis to become a turning point, all parties must prepare a serious roadmap for the country’s future beyond party lines. I worry that politicians’ minds seem filled only with vote calculations to seize the next administration rather than the future of the nation and its people. Nevertheless, watching the healing power of my injured finger, I send my faith in our country’s strong resilience. After the rain, a rainbow will appear.

Park Eun-ha, Former Ambassador to the United Kingdom