Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nautilus]

Koreans Described as Doll That Rights Itself When Tipped Over

By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
Korea Times, August 15th

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung said Thursday Korea has written a miraculous story since the Republic's founding 60 years ago.

``There are some 150 nations that attained sovereignty following the Second World War. Among them, South Korea stands out as a shining example for other nations," said Kim.

The former President shared his thoughts about the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times Thursday at his residence in Seoul. He said Korea's rapid achievements in the past 60 years stand without comparison in modern history. He said Korea is a nation that stands strong in face of adversity and despair. ``Korea is a nation that just doesn't give up. Koreans turn challenges into new opportunities," Kim said.

``A lot of times, we Koreans are not even fully aware of our status around the world. If we continue on the right path, we can continue to excel on the world stage," he said.

``If we were to describe the Korean republic's modern 60-year history in one phrase, I would say it is falling down seven times but getting up eight times. During the colonial period, Koreans fought ferociously for our country's freedom and we had an active provisional government based in China."

``Even when we were in despair, that was not the end of the story for us. Even during times when our national economy collapsed, we always got back up. After the Korean War, our country and the economy laid in ruins, but former President Park Chung-Hee built our economy back up. During the 1997 currency crisis, we Koreans again succeeded in reviving the economy,'' Kim said.

``While dealing with all these, Korea also managed to turn itself into one of the most advanced countries in terms of information technology and a leading nation in this 21st-century information age.

``Even in South-North relations, we turned a new page, started a new chapter, and put an end to the previous Cold War, adversarial relationship. We have been following the path to reconciliation and cooperation.''

Kim said: ``Our nation, time after time, faced despair but righted itself, again and again. We are just like a doll that rights itself when tipped over. We are a nation that doesn't know how to give up. We fall down seven times but get back up eight times."

Korean Influence Felt Throughout World

``Since the Republic's founding six decades ago, Korea achieved all the hallmarks of a modern nation: genuine democracy, industrialization and a high standard of living and a national economy that is one of the largest and the strongest in the world," the former President said.

``Korea is also excelling on the cultural front. And the continuing `Hallyu,' or the Korean cultural wave phenomenon, in other parts of the world is an example of that," Kim said.

``This spread of Korean popular culture in Asian regions including Japan and China and Southeast Asian nations is also an important achievement in our modern era. In Japan, the Korean pop culture including pop songs and television series continue to be in strong demand. And in China, Kim noted, ``I've read that sometimes up to 100 million viewers are glued to their television sets watching the latest Korean soap drama series."

``This is significant because historically, both China and Japan traditionally held a belief that their nations are better, superior to Korea. But Korea turned both Chinese and Japanese people into major fans of Korea's popular culture, that's a big, big success for us Koreans.

``Now this Hallyu phenomenon has reached Southeast Asian countries and is even getting to the Middle East countries."

Resilient Nation

``The way Korea prevailed over the 1997 currency crisis shows how resilient we Koreans are," Kim said.

``In case of the Great Britain, it took them seven, eight years to recover when they ran into their own financial, currency trouble. We Koreans recovered in two years.

``Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin had remarked at that time regarding South Korea's rapid recovery that it was a truly remarkable turnaround," Kim said.

``In his autobiography as well as in a series of lectures, Rubin had said the quick turnaround from the crisis is a remarkable feat achieved by the Korean people and the Kim Dae-jung administration."

``But in fact, that recovery is not highly regarded by Koreans. We generally don't see the recovery as an achievement. But the rest of the world has been impressed by the way Korea quickly got back on its feet so soon after the crisis.

Korea's World-Class Economy

Kim said that Korea's economy ``leads the world in a number of areas including modern shipbuilding, steel processing and, of course, high-tech electronic and IT products."

``Our shipbuilding companies manufacture the best ships in the shortest time, at the lowest cost compared to other competitors around the world. Even our agricultural sector is beginning to turn high-tech in conducting business. Those that are engaged in electronic, online commercial transactions are seeing their bottom line improve significantly," the former President said.

``Some of these cases illustrate our nation's resilient character. We will fall down at times, but we don't stay down. We always get back up. Koreans are diligent and find ways to prevail over challenges."

``The Korean people's strongest, best character is that we don't give up. We don't know how to give up," Kim said.

``Koreans are forward-looking, always moving forward to the future. And Koreans are also very receptive to new things and ideas. This is a very special trait when compared to other nations that are rather closed-minded about accepting and incorporating other cultures and ideas into their own."

Traditional Emphasis on Education

The former President said that above all, one of the most important strengths that characterize us Koreans is ``our emphasis on good education."

``When you look at the history of other nations, in Europe for example, the official posts and duties in governments were inherited. But in Korea, these were not inherited," he noted.

``In ancient Korea, even children of senior ministers could not get government posts if they failed at the national government examinations. To get high marks in these difficult-to-pass state examinations, young students had to devote themselves to years of studying. Ignorant people, even if children of high-ranking officials, could not get into government service.

``So traditionally, that was the impetus for Koreans' emphasis on good education. In Japan, warriors ruled the government. In Korea, scholars ruled the country. Since influential government officials put emphasis on getting a good education and on studying, that trait was passed down to the general public and took on a national characteristic.

The former President added that ``to be sure, there are side effects and problems associated with an overzealous focus on education. But this national emphasis on studying churns out a well-educated, highly qualified workforce in Korea."
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/116_29363.html

[Guri Guy]

[Bigfeet]

Couldn't finish reading, the jingoism was too blinding.

[Nowhere Man]

No No No

Not shining

Sparkling

[ED209]

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

All this from the bloke who 'won' a Nobel Peace Prize after paying off the North.

He lives in his own "우리 나라' world, let's leave him there.

[mindmetoo]

[Guri Guy]

[nautilus]

Several phrases stood out when I posted that....

[endo]

You know what, I absolutely agree that the Koreans success story is remarkable and the Korean people should be very proud of themselves.

I also think non-Korean should respect what this country has acomplished.



BUT


Articles like this make it really difficult to do. Now I agree with 90% of Kim Dae-jung's thoughts, but it's the few comments like:

(1)

[Ilsanman]

Oh my. Where do I begin?

I am not even going to bother. This guy is scum.

[Kuros]

With a birthrate of 1.29/woman, Korea's sparkling age will come to an end soon enough. All self-congratulatory op-eds notwithstanding.

Still, they're doing better than lagging Japan (1.22/woman and a stalled economy). And that, ultimately, may be what Kim Dae-Jung and his leftist comrades treasure most.

*shrugs*

[nautilus]

[Ilsanman]

That will be no problem. Koreans are more open-minded than other people in the world.

[endo]