In it there is a notorious policeman named Suzuki, a pro-Japanese collaborator. He arrests, tortures, and kills numerous independence activists. He also falsely accuses people who he doesn’t like. Harim is one of the people who lost his family because of Suzuki, and Suzuki tries to find something by which to prosecute Harim.
Then, the WW II broke out and Harim is drafted for the war. But he somehow managed to escape and joined the US Special Forces, where he works for Korean independence. The Allied Forces win the war and Korea becomes independent. Finally a new world begins and Harim goes back to normal life.
But, one day Harim comes by a police station and sees Suzuki sending orders to his subordinates.
Having gone mad, Harim runs to him and grabs his collar and yells, “Suzuki! Why are you still here! Why are you still here! We achieved independence, Suzuki!” Suzuki commands his subordinates to drag Harim out and scornfully says, “Shit, that damn commie.”
It was really shocking to see this scene. Even after independence, pro-Japanese collaborators are not punished, with independence activists instead being accused of being communists and imprisoned. Though the country gains its independence, it seems that Korean society has not changed.
Seungman Yi, with the U.S. support, absorbs pro-Japanese collaborators in order to hold onto to power.
Pro-Japanese collaborators, such as the bureaucrats of Chosun government general and the police who were afraid of execution after independence, join Seungman Yi. When the Korean civil war begins, it gave pro-Japanese collaborators a way to get away from their past. Now they can’t stop talking about “commies”: “Commies are invading!” “Commies are going to kill us!” “We will save you from commies!”
Pro-Japanese collaborators continue to hold power and become the founding fathers of Korea. However, there comes another critical moment for them. The April 19 Revolution happens in 1960. They are scared about what will happen to them.
(The April 19 Revolution was a popular uprising in April 1960, led by labor and student groups, which results in the overthrow of the autocratic First Republic of South Korea under Seungman Yi. It led to the peaceful resignation of Yi and the transition to the Second Republic. The events were touched off by the discovery of a body in Masan Harbor, a student killed by a tear-gas shell in demonstrations against the elections of March. -wikipedia)
But luckily (for them), the May 16 military coup by Junghee Park happens a year later in 1961. It gives another chance of survival for pro-Japanese collaborators and they devote themselves to Junghee Park and his Republic Party.
To begin with, Junghee Park himself is a pro-Japanese collaborator who swore loyalty to the Japanese king. Anyway, his dictatorial rule begins. He revised the constitution so that he can serve as a president until he dies. National assembly? He doesn’t need such a thing: he dismisses it. Spending his nights with college girls, he gets assassinated in Oct 26, 1979 while drinking with them. There comes another crisis for pro-Japanese collaborators. But, here’s another person who can save them.
Doohwan Chun grasped the power with 12.12 coup. Pro-Japanese collaborators willingly lend their support to him.
He gets elected as a president in a meeting organized by his military backers and the pro-Japanese collaborators. The members of the Republic Party of former dictator Junghee Park transfer their allegiance and become members of the Minjung Party of Doohwan Chun.
In June 1987, there comes another crisis. Korean citizens come out on the streets asking for a fair presidential election. People come out in large numbers insisting that they should be allowed to elect a president with their own votes, instead of accepting one selected by an autocratic government.
Doohwan Chun, makes an agreement to transfer the presidency to his military subordinate, Taewoo Noh, and surrenders to the will of the people. So, the way is finally clear for the historic first popular election in South Korea!
Pro-Japanese collaborators are beginning to get nervous again, but then a miracle happens.
YoungSam Kim and DaeJoong Kim who worked together for democratization for a long time couldn’t agree on one candidate, and so their supporters are divided into two groups.
In the end, Taewoo Noh gets elected as a president with only 35.9% of the vote. The pro-Japanese collaborators survive again. And Youngsam Kim, who desperately wanted to become a president, holds hands with Taewoo Noh.
On January 30, 1990, Youngsam Kim’s party, the Minju (Democratic) Party, is merged with the JongPil Kim’s Republic Party and Taewoo Noh’s Minjung Party.
At the last meeting of the Minju Party, Youngsam Kim asks the members of his party “Do you agree to the party’s dissolution?”.
There was only one person, Moohyun Roh, who stood up and said “I disgree!” asking for the opportunity to make a speech.
However, Youngsam Kim ignores him and says, “Since there is no disagreement, I proclaim the party’s dissolution.” Then Moohyun Roh raises his voice up again, “I disagree!”
The Minju Party is summarily dissolved.
Those three parties together form the new Minja Party.
The only independent pro-democratization politician left, Daejung Kim, is isolated.
Youngsam Kim, who sold his democratization activist experience and his conscience, and who held hands with pro-Japanese collaborators and the dictatorial forces, finally get what he always longed for, and becomes president after Taewoo Noh. Upon taking power, he changes the name of his party from the Minja Party to Shin-Han-Kuk (New Korea) Party.
During his presidency in 1997, he tears the economy apart bit by bit and finally brings about the economic crisis which we call the “IMF crisis”. The country goes bankrupt.
Countless companies go bankrupt, countless people are laid off, and countless people jump into the Han River or hang themselves.
Shin-Han-Kuk (New Korea) party secretly changes its name, this time becoming the Han-Nara (GNP) Party.
And with this change of name, they, who drove the country into bankruptcy, still manage to gain nearly 40% of the vote in the next election. It’s unbelievable!!!
Despite the GNP’s strong showing, Daejung Kim becomes a president in 1998, winning the election by a small margin. This is the first time that pro-Japanese collaborators had lost their hold on power. In a panic, they have no choice but to wait 5 years until his term is over. In the mean time, though, they accuse Daejung Kim of being none else than a “commie,” exactly as Suzuki did to Harim. The only way for them to survive is to trod the well-worn path of red-baiting their opponents.
“The theory of McCarthyism is the last thing left for them to hold onto, since the rightists don’t even value nationalism. As the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators who sold the country for their own benefits, they can’t use nationalism. The only thing they can use is the fear of communism. They justify being in power by their supposed anti-communism, and if they run out of it, they invent ‘pro-communists’ and proceed to prosecute them. Their anti-communism is all they have left, and that’s the only way for them to survive. But its no more than a fake anti-communism.” (Sangkuk Han, professor of Dongkuk University)
After pursuing these tactics against Daeyoung Kim, 5 years later, they unexpectedly lose, again, this time to Moohyun Roh (the same person whose objections to the dissolution of the Minju Party were silenced in 1990). Now they are about to go crazy.
So, for another 5 years…
They claim that Moohyun Roh is a commie.
They claim the economy is dying because of him.
They claim that he has made the lives of ordinary people miserable.
Despite all the attacks against the presidencies of Daejung Kim and Moohyun Roh, first efforts are made to identify and investigate pro-Japanese collaborators. The descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators are threatened, so they hinder the progress of it by claiming it is a form of political oppression.
So, they found the “New Right”.
Realizing that accusing opponents of being commies is no longer enough, they now stop trying to hide their identity. They try to fight back.
They claim that the Japanese colonial period was actually good. They justify pro-Japanese collaboration. With statistics, they claim that Korea modernized because of the Japanese occupation. They ask you not to call them pro-Japanese collaborators or a dictatorial group but instead to call them a force for “modernization.”
(Here are some problematic sayings by the members of New Right:
*: people who are very respected for their effort for independence of Korea
Their theory is simple: “What’s wrong with collaboration with Japan if I develop the economy?!?!” “What’s wrong with dictatorships if I develop the economy?!?!” And, they support Lee Myungbak with the same theory:. “What’s wrong with having a criminal records if he can restore the economy?!?!” “What’s wrong with being a liar if he can restore the economy?!?!”
Myungbak Lee became president in 2008 and New Right members are sitting in various important positions. They claim that the current history textbooks are biased in favor of the perspective of leftists, and want to revise the textbooks so that the colonial and dictatorial eras are considered and taught to be eras of “modernization.”
Pro-Japanese collaborators ➔ Jayu (Freedom) Party ➔ Gonghwa (Republic) Party ➔ Minjeong Party ➔ Minja Party ➔ ShinHanKuk (New Korea) Party ➔ Han-Na-Ra (GNP) Party have held power through most of South Korea’s history.
The only time they lost power was during the last 10 years, during the terms of President Daejung Kim and President Moohyun Roh.
They call this period the “lost decade”*
*: this is often used to blame Daejung Kim and Moohyun Roh’s regimes for supposedly destroying the economy
(this article is translated from http://blog.daum.net/sw8003/18272094)
On January 30, 1990, Youngsam Kim’s party, the Minju (Democratic) Party, is merged with the JongPil Kim’s Republic Party and Taewoo Noh’s Minjung Party.
At the last meeting of the Minju Party, Youngsam Kim asks the members of his party “Do you agree to the party’s dissolution?”.
There was only one person, Moohyun Roh, who stood up and said “I disgree!” asking for the opportunity to make a speech.
However, Youngsam Kim ignores him and says, “Since there is no disagreement, I proclaim the party’s dissolution.” Then Moohyun Roh raises his voice up again, “I disagree!”
The Minju Party is summarily dissolved.
Those three parties together form the new Minja Party.
The only independent pro-democratization politician left, Daejung Kim, is isolated.
Youngsam Kim, who sold his democratization activist experience and his conscience, and who held hands with pro-Japanese collaborators and the dictatorial forces, finally get what he always longed for, and becomes president after Taewoo Noh. Upon taking power, he changes the name of his party from the Minja Party to Shin-Han-Kuk (New Korea) Party.
During his presidency in 1997, he tears the economy apart bit by bit and finally brings about the economic crisis which we call the “IMF crisis”. The country goes bankrupt.
Countless companies go bankrupt, countless people are laid off, and countless people jump into the Han River or hang themselves.
Shin-Han-Kuk (New Korea) party secretly changes its name, this time becoming the Han-Nara (GNP) Party.
Despite the GNP’s strong showing, Daejung Kim becomes a president in 1998, winning the election by a small margin. This is the first time that pro-Japanese collaborators had lost their hold on power. In a panic, they have no choice but to wait 5 years until his term is over. In the mean time, though, they accuse Daejung Kim of being none else than a “commie,” exactly as Suzuki did to Harim. The only way for them to survive is to trod the well-worn path of red-baiting their opponents.
“The theory of McCarthyism is the last thing left for them to hold onto, since the rightists don’t even value nationalism. As the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators who sold the country for their own benefits, they can’t use nationalism. The only thing they can use is the fear of communism. They justify being in power by their supposed anti-communism, and if they run out of it, they invent ‘pro-communists’ and proceed to prosecute them. Their anti-communism is all they have left, and that’s the only way for them to survive. But its no more than a fake anti-communism.” (Sangkuk Han, professor of Dongkuk University)
After pursuing these tactics against Daeyoung Kim, 5 years later, they unexpectedly lose, again, this time to Moohyun Roh (the same person whose objections to the dissolution of the Minju Party were silenced in 1990). Now they are about to go crazy.
So, for another 5 years…
They claim that Moohyun Roh is a commie.
They claim the economy is dying because of him.
They claim that he has made the lives of ordinary people miserable.
Despite all the attacks against the presidencies of Daejung Kim and Moohyun Roh, first efforts are made to identify and investigate pro-Japanese collaborators. The descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators are threatened, so they hinder the progress of it by claiming it is a form of political oppression.
So, they found the “New Right”.
Realizing that accusing opponents of being commies is no longer enough, they now stop trying to hide their identity. They try to fight back.
They claim that the Japanese colonial period was actually good. They justify pro-Japanese collaboration. With statistics, they claim that Korea modernized because of the Japanese occupation. They ask you not to call them pro-Japanese collaborators or a dictatorial group but instead to call them a force for “modernization.”
(Here are some problematic sayings by the members of New Right:
- “‘Comfort women’ were actually prostitutes who sold their bodies for money”
- “Japan has legal and historical evidence to claim Dokdo is theirs”
- “We should be grateful to Japan for modernizing Korea”
- “Yu Gwansoon* was a female gangster”,
- “Ahn Joong-geun* was brave but he was just an injurious insect to Japan”
- “Ahn Joong-geun* and Kim Gu* are terrorists”
- “Kim Gu* formed a terrorist group called Han-In-Ae-Kuk-Dan [a group of people who love Korea]”
- “We shouldn’t idolize terrorists such as Ahn Joong-Geun* or Kim Gu*.”)
*: people who are very respected for their effort for independence of Korea
Their theory is simple: “What’s wrong with collaboration with Japan if I develop the economy?!?!” “What’s wrong with dictatorships if I develop the economy?!?!” And, they support Lee Myungbak with the same theory:. “What’s wrong with having a criminal records if he can restore the economy?!?!” “What’s wrong with being a liar if he can restore the economy?!?!”
These should not make sense,
but it WORKED!
but it WORKED!
Myungbak Lee became president in 2008 and New Right members are sitting in various important positions. They claim that the current history textbooks are biased in favor of the perspective of leftists, and want to revise the textbooks so that the colonial and dictatorial eras are considered and taught to be eras of “modernization.”
Pro-Japanese collaborators ➔ Jayu (Freedom) Party ➔ Gonghwa (Republic) Party ➔ Minjeong Party ➔ Minja Party ➔ ShinHanKuk (New Korea) Party ➔ Han-Na-Ra (GNP) Party have held power through most of South Korea’s history.
The only time they lost power was during the last 10 years, during the terms of President Daejung Kim and President Moohyun Roh.
They call this period the “lost decade”*
*: this is often used to blame Daejung Kim and Moohyun Roh’s regimes for supposedly destroying the economy
(this article is translated from http://blog.daum.net/sw8003/18272094)
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