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| A students' committee holds a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Nov. 26, to welcome North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's expected visit to Seoul. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed on the visit during their third summit in Pyongyang in September./ Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Some students' welcoming of 'great man' raises ire of others
By Jung Hae-myoung
A bold statement drew attention at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Nov. 26.
"I am a fan of Kim Jong-un," Kim Soo-keun, the leader of the Korea Youth Solidarity (KYS), said. "I love communism and you will too," he added.
The statement came during a press conference by a committee of several students' organizations, led by the KYS, to welcome the planned Seoul visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un whom they referred to as the "great man."
Some passersby showed uneasiness, especially those who had directly experienced the tension between the two Koreas. Others were astonished to see such a daring disclosure of a political stance by young people who are usually deemed indifferent to political activities.
"People who lived through the Korean War can be critical, but the young are sensitive to changes and new ideas. We have to live in an open-minded world and have new perspectives toward each other," a KYS member told The Korea Times.
"We saw two inter-Korean summits live, and a peaceful atmosphere spread through social media, and we broke free from prejudice, realizing there has been a gap between the reality of North Korea and what we have learnt from textbooks."
On Nov. 26, 103 youth organizations gathered to show they welcomed Kim's Seoul visit and to encourage more inter-Korean summits.
"I think college students are not wholly indifferent to politics. Many who took part in the candlelit rallies to impeach former President Park Geun-hye were university students," the KYS member said.
Still, such avid "fans" of Kim are a minority among young people, with the majority of students saying that while "welcoming" the North Korean leader could be diplomatically appropriate, calling him a "great man" was not.
"To like Kim Jong-un can be a personal opinion, but I don't think they really have to say it in public," said a man surnamed Hong, 25, while passing by the rally.
A freshman student surnamed Jung said, "It is understandable if they are defining him as a historic figure in the literal sense, but if they are implying heroic nuance, that could be an issue."
The KYS member countered this by saying: "When we read biographies, there are different kinds of historic figures. If the unification process gains momentum, wouldn't President Moon and Kim be recorded as key historic figures for unification of the Korean Peninsula?"
Park Yeon-seo, a young member of a conservative civic group, disagreed, saying glorifying Kim's family violated the National Security Law.
"North Korea is still a dictatorship and people die and are tortured in prison when they criticize the Kim family. They have no freedom of speech or religion. Glorifying and justifying the Kims' behavior is spreading a distorted perspective of North Korea," Park told The Korea Times.
According to the National Security Law, a person or organization that praises North Korea or propagates behavior that threatens liberal democracy can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. Park, along with other conservative groups, have filed a complaint with the prosecution against the Paektu Praise Committee, a liberal students' association, for praising the Kim family.
Yet both conservative and liberal student groups alike supported holding an inter-Korean summit in Seoul and hoped for sincere reconciliation of the divided Koreas.
Kim Young-soo, a political science professor at Sogang University, says generations are decided by what historic moments they share.
"University students in 2018 are of a generation who believe what they see. They neither encountered communist soldiers, nor did they receive any anti-communist education in school, which gives them less inclination to form a specific political stance," Kim said.
"However, they have seen the Sewol ferry sinking and how people can overturn the government, which empowered them to take action, and gave them confidence for self-realization. They also saw Kim Jong-un's media exposure through two inter-Korean summits."
The professor said he feels students are certainly becoming more active and vocal after the candlelit protests that ousted former President Park over a corruption scandal.
"The fact that people can shout out 'we love communism,' as much as 'we hate communism,' can be proof of the country being a liberal democracy. But still more young voices are needed to actually lead the public discourse," he said.
