OK, I’ll grant that the never-ending circus following Prof. Song Du-yul has been interesting, but the intensity in which this case is being followed is starting to irk me. Frankly, as a product of the American and South Korean academic systems, I find flaming Marxist scholars to be neither unusual nor particularly threatening, and what’s more, I’m not quite sure what this guy did that was so bad as to warrant the kind of legal attention being focused on him. Even if Song was in the employ of the North Koreans, he doesn’t exactly strike me as James Bond (or Chuck Barris) - given that he was barred from entering South Korea, his utility as a spy was pretty limited, and by encouraging radical Korean students to defect to the North, at least the case can be made that he helped South Korea by improving the gene pool. To be blunt, I can think of countless public figures in South Korea - both on the left and right - who have screwed this country worse than Song ever could. Yeah, Song’s a North Korea apologist, and no, I don’t consider him a “victim of circumstance” - to paraphrase what Shin Hye-shik told the Korea Times yesterday, rats like him will eventually be called to account once unification is achieved. And much like we on the right need to make it clear that we in no way condone the kind of shit advocated by a number of the old-guard fascists in the GNP, Korean progressives should make it a point to condemn Song’s activities and beliefs should the charges against him prove true. Moreover, my sympathy for Song’s desire to remain in South Korea only goes so far - as far as I am concerned, if he wants to spend the rest of his life in Korea, he should spend it up North. But if Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung can keep their asses out of jail, I see no reason to prosecute a guy who has done far less to harm the nation. Just let the guy enjoy the rest of his time here - maybe he’ll learn that South Korea isn’t such a crappy little neo-colony after all - and then send him back to Germany. Or if you’re feeling particularly generous, grant the guy residency and let him join the thousands of wannabe Commies teaching at South Korean universities. But whatever happens to guy, the media circus has got to stop.
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2 Comments
I agree with you that we need to “Just let the guy enjoy the rest of his time here.” But my position is quite different from that of yours: He is no more than a frail scholar. He is even not a Marxist. No sociologist claims that Habermas’s philosophy is based on Marxism.
Unlike your thought, I consider him a “victim of circumstance”
I hope you could read an article in Korean.
http://www.hani.co.kr/section-.....24121.html
Otherwise, please ask your students to translate that article titled: “An excue to Song Du-Yul.”
I made a comment on this matter previously.
http://www.gatorlog.com/mt/archives/000268.html
You probably know the Korean right wing is not a reasonable group to discuss issues. Horrible and ugly people….
They even argue that “We need to thrwo Roh’s government with a Military Coup because it is legitimate to topple over a dictatorian regime.” If you have not heard this arguement before, please let me know.
They will do everything to do witch-hunting with this Korean-version of McCarthyism. Let’s see: They will argue that President Roh Moohyun is in fact a high official of “No-Dong-Dang” in North Korea.
I e-mailed myself the article - actually, I e-mailed myself a ton of articles on Song that I was planning to discuss on this blog, but decided against it because, frankly, Im not sure why I should. The media has overdid this issue, and you’re right in pointing out that certain right-wing politicians are trying to milk this for all its worth - Rep. Jeong was way out of line for essentially accusing Roh of being a Commie. But let’s not jump on the McCarthyism thread just yet - a one week media circus does not a serious socio-political phenomenon make. If this continues, then it’s time to worry.
And coincidentally, it’s not just the hard right that’s pissed off. Even traditionally “progressive” voices such as the Hankyoreh have not been as kind to the man as one would imagine. I have an article that I found in a local Kwangju paper - of all places - quoting local scholars and NGO reps - of all people - as being disappointed in Song:
http://kr.dailynews.yahoo.com/.....13323.html
Granted, they were more angry that he lied rather than what he stood for, but read it yourself. And I’m sure you read Jang Ki-pyo’s rather scathing condemnation of Song in the Dong-A:
http://kr.dailynews.yahoo.com/.....33152.html
You’ll agree that Jang isn’t your prototypical evil right winger?
Look, I agree that a many of those on the far right (which, in the Korean context, is pretty far right) are not the most pleasant people with whom to engage in rational political discourse, but frankly, neither are those on the radical left. Yeah, rightists say stupid (and frightening!) stuff all the time, but the left resorts to the “anti-unification” (ban-t’ongil) and “anti-Korean” (ban-minjok) rhetoric pretty often, too - certainly, crying “treason” (whether its to the state or the race) is not a monopoly of the Korean right. Actually, I’m frequently impressed by just how much the political extremes in Korea have in common, although the same could probably be said of political extemists everywhere.
As far Song not being a Marxist, well, regardless of the man’s philosophical beliefs, he did join the Korean Workers’ Party in 1973, when it was still officially a Marxist-Leninist party, and apparently remained a member until at least 1991. And as far as a being a victim of circumstance, I can think of a lot more “victims of circumstance” - like pro-Japanese collaborators and those who worked with the post-’61 military dictators, that “progressives” show much less sympathy for. Do I feel bad for the guy for being kicked out the country? Yes. Do I think he should be prosecuted (and even Noh is saying he should be held accountable to the law)? No, because I think the law in question - the National Security Law - is bullshit. But let’s just say that it seems (and I’ll admit that the details are still doggy) that Song made some very unfortunate choices during his time in exile, and for those, he has no one to blame but himself.
PS: Always feel free to send me Korean language material. I do read Korean (although one of my fellow bloggers may take issue with that).
PING:
TITLE: Korea Briefing: 2003-10-14
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
OCT 14/03 TOPICS INCL: Must-read article; Asian values; Total Recall in SK too?; Wider regional role for USFK; NK Developments; Nukes updates; What to do about NK?; Lifestyles of the Rich and Stalinist; ROK forces to Iraq?; Food aid to NK; NK’s economy…