Korea is a dynamic country

                              Korea is a dynamic country

 

                                      By Lee Hyon-soo

                                                                  

In the golden age of Asia

Korea was one of its lamp-bearers.

And that lamp is waiting to be lit once again

For the illumination in the East.

 

The above poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1929. Lo and behold, that lamp has been lit and it illuminates not only Asia but also the whole world.

 

K-pop has taken the world by storm and it is a popular global phenomenon now. K-drama is also popular in many countries and Korean cinema is critically acclaimed internationally. To enjoy such cultural content, a multitude of people in many parts of the world are learning the Korean language.

 

What’s more, Korea has a rags-to-riches story which fascinates people around the world. Korea’s economy was a basket case over half a century ago, but it is now the world’s 10th largest economy as well as the seventh biggest exporter and ninth biggest importer. Also, Korea has a competitive edge in the production of semiconductors, cell phones, cars, electric batteries, ships, television sets, and other electronic goods. Many Korean companies such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG are household names worldwide.

 

Korean politics, too, is worthy of mention, as the country has made remarkable progress over the years to have a more democratic political system. Presidential, parliamentary and local elections have been held at regular intervals and political power has been peacefully transferred back and forth between the two main parties.

 

K-politics is anybody’s guess; it works in mysterious ways. Take the two recent elections for instance. The results of these elections took not only Koreans but also foreign Korea watchers by surprise - twice.

 

Many crucial policies that the former government led by President Moon Jae-in had pursued for five years did not achieve their desired results. So Korean voters wanted a change of administration, and it was generally anticipated that the candidate of the People Power Party would defeat his opponent easily. It, therefore, came as a surprise to many that the margin by which he won the election was very small.

 

About three months later a local election was held and Korean voters gave the People Power Party a landslide victory. It came as a second surprise that the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lost the local election by a bigger margin than they did in the presidential election. Why did this happen? Although there may be a variety of reasons, I think the course of action they took after the presidential election cemented their fate in large measure. Let me elaborate. 

 

After DPK lost the presidential election by a narrow margin, they did not take their defeat seriously. Instead of planning to win the voters back at the forthcoming local election, they hastened to devise measures to protect their leaders from punishment for their wrongdoing. With this hidden agenda in mind, they came up with prosecution reform bills aimed at weakening the public prosecutors’ powers to investigate and prosecute lawbreaking politicians. Although about 60 percent of Koreans opposed these bills, DPK unilaterally passed them through the National Assembly.

 

They thought they could get away with what they did, but their misguided intentions and arrogance seem to have turned voters off. It is no wonder then that DPK was defeated soundly at the local election. This episode demonstrates what happens if politicians go against the wishes of the voters.

 

Indeed, Korea is a dynamic country - culturally, economically and politically.   

 

The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is a freelance columnist and the author of “Tales of A Korean Globetrotter.”

 

NOTE: The above article appeared in the June 7, 2022 issue of The Korea Times.