Roh Moo-hyun’s High-Tech Tribute to Kim Jong-il
by Richardson ~ September 21st, 2007. Filed under: Diplomacy, Engagement, Kim Jong-il.Between Roh Moo-hyun’s comments to U.S. President Bush in Sydney earlier this month, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s statement that, “human rights in North Korea should be understood in the context of that country’s different regime and culture,” and ROK Prime Minister Han Duck-soo [blind?] recently saying, “[t]he prospect of progress and result at the six-party talks is, I think, bright,” the administration seems to have asked it self, “how can we be anymore sycophantic than we already are?” They found the answer:
A South Korean official confirmed Wednesday that the government is considering giving Kim a new audio-video setup along with DVDs of South Korean hit movies as one of the gifts South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will take when he meets Kim next month.
The gift idea was first reported by the Hankook Ilbo newspaper, and reportedly could include the latest South Korean blockbuster “Dragon Wars,” which is still in theaters and not yet out on DVD for the regular public. The movie is also screening in the U.S.
“The idea was floated as Kim likes movies,” a South Korean official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said it was “inappropriate for him to make public” the list of gifts under consideration because no decision has been made yet.
[. . .]
Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung gave male and female South Korean dogs to North Korea’s Kim as a gift at their summit in 2000, the first between leaders of the two Koreas since the peninsula was split after World War II. North Korea’s Kim gave Kim Dae-jung two North Korean dogs in return.
Kim also likes chicks and money – anyone suggest rounding up a squad of South Korean virgins and a few truckloads of cash for the Dear Leader?
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:17 am
I just wanted to leave a short comment, mainly to say that I find a lot of interesting and informative blog postings here. I agree with a lot of your views, even though I could be seen as a NK apologist or an appeaser. (I see myself as a realist; I view KJI as an intolerable dictator with many sins to be unearthed, but I am afraid of consequences of an immediate regime change.)
Anyway, I am a die-hard Roh supporter and I was a bit disappointed to find that you do not share my enthusiasm for him. I like him not for his foreign policies but because of his uncompromising attitude towards the corrupt and under-the-table practices of past Korean regimes. I think you would agree that SK is a lot more transparent, even if somewhat more chaotic, as a society.
I just wanted to say that you were knitpicking when you described the movie collection gift idea as a tribute. If KIJ gives a collection of NK movies to Roh, you would not see it as a tribute.
The recent comments made by some of the high-ranking officials are more problematic. They were probably unnecessary, but there might have been some pressure from NK on SK government to say such things. I doubt it, but it is possible.
To conclude, as a Korean wanting to see peace on the peninsula, I am delighted to see the second summit happening in a couple of weeks. You might have said something about that here. If you haven’t, I would like to hear how you feel about that. Cheers.
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Hey mightygators,
I’m wondering what consequences of an immediate regime change you are afraid of that are worse than millions either starving to death, being sent to labor camps, tortured, executed, living in extreme fear, being forced to participate in a cult like system that deifies the “dear leader,” and is a major threat to world peace & security.
It’s something one would associate with a fantasy-horror movie, but this is real.
This isn’t propaganda, and there are plenty of citations on this site, or links to other sites that will pretty much agree.
Roh perhaps has done some good things, but there are also very good reason that his approval ratings are much lower than even Bush has in America.
I haven’t seen you on this blog before, so welcome. I encourage you to research more on this, as to be more informed. It has certainly helped me. There is some great information.
Kevin
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Mightygators,
I am always glad to hear my site is useful, but must admit I’m a bit puzzled that you find it so considering your appreciation of Roh Moo-hyun.
Concerning the, “consequences of an immediate regime change.” Well I also consider myself a realist, and it is my opinion that “soft landing” theories are flawed; the only question is how hard of landing it will be; hard or harder. If South Korea and China support North Korea long enough to get past its current issues (which would have to be decades since North Korea’s problems are based in its fundamentally flawed government and management, which it cannot and won’t change due to the cult aspect of the regime), then it will be many more decades before the Koreas reunify, if ever.
A “quick” reunification does indeed bring the prospect of war. So does reunification in ten years, and in the mean time how many have starved to death or been put to death in North Korea?
Also there is the flawed notion that somehow in the future South Korea will be able to better afford reunification, or that North Korea will somehow rehabilitate its infrastructure which would make reunification less costly. All that overlooks the fact that if North Korea is well enough off to do that, it will still not have any interest in reunification. Such a view also ignores the fact that South Korea, like the U.S., Japan, China, etc., will have a smaller ratio of workers to retired people, meaning less “disposable” funds in the budget.
This site views and judges Roh almost exclusively for his dealings with North Korea and the U.S., and in those areas I judge him to be an unqualified failure. He has continued a policy that has proven beyond any reasonable measure to be a failure. South Korea has not received one tangible benefit from the “Sunshine Policy” – North Korea has not reduced its military (including on the DMZ), still tests missiles, tested a nuke, and has not improved human rights on bit. Roh’s policies towards North Korea have failed utterly, and indeed he has allowed North Korea to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea. Roh is Kim’s useful idiot.
It’s not knit picking to say Roh is paying tribute to Kim. Read the definition; this specific instances falls somewhere between the first and second uses of the word. Also, considering the context of how/why Roh is going, it is indeed a fair use of the word.
My opinion of this summit is that it is a) a complete waste of time and money for South Korea, and b) that it is a foolish attempt by Roh to influence the ROK election in December. The 2000 summit seemed like a good idea on the surface, though later it was revealed that KDJ arranged for ~half a billion USD to go to North Korea for it, essentially purchasing his Nobel Peace Prize. This summit is worse that useless, it’s counterproductive.
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Thanks for welcoming replies, Kevin and Richardson. Yes, I am indeed new here. And, I came here because NK and Reunif. are increasingly becoming forgotten issues among Koreans. Of course, they become emotional and sentimental about these issues, but they do not want to discuss substantially about these important issues. I think most of them instinctively feel that there is no easy solution and these issues will present serious headaches no matter how things fan out. And, I have recently noticed that I am not paying as much attention to these issues as I used to, and in a way to kickstart my interest, I have joined your forum.
I agree that millions of NKs perished under Kim’s watch. I also believe that a sudden collapse of the regime will lead to a chaotic situdation akin to Iraq’s and a lot of NKs will also perish as result.
On the other hand, I have some doubts how willing South Koreans will be in helping North Korea into a soft landing. I do not want to see South Koreans marching into North Korea, buy up all the properties, and turn North Koreans into third-class citizens.
I think it is important to realize that Korea (both North and South) is still in the process of modernization. For South Korea, 200 years of industrialization and modernization have been compressed into maybe 50 years, and I do not think South Koreans have the level of civility or fair-mindedness that Germans had in 1989. So, I am in the camp to envision maturation of SK society and reform in NK going hand in hand and leading to peace and liberty.
Anyway, as long as this site provides useful information, I would be very appreciative. I will keep reading your past postings and try to join on your discussion time to time.
About Roh, I must say that I just like him. I’ve been telling people that as long as he is not involved in any personal scandals, I would continue my allegiance.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:57 am
I would consider complicity with North Korean genocide to be rather scandalous, but hey, that’s just me. Lord knows if you’ve changed your mind on Roh in the 6 or so months since you posted this, but it would seem that Korea has. Thankfully.