South Korean "Nationalism": A Dangerous One-Way Street(pointed critique)

South Korean "Nationalism": A Dangerous One-Way Street

Anger at Japan is understandable; lack thereof at Communist China is not

Over the last decade, the most powerful current running through South Korean politics has been "nationalism," as defined by the 386 generation that has championed it. To hear them say it, they are the only true defenders of the Korean nation from outside forces- usually the United States or Japan. These "nationalists" are the ones most likely to come to Kim Jong-il's defense, as best represented by President Roh Moo-hyun, who has repeatedly stood as Kim's apologist.

Now, a column written by an American anti-Communist is not usually where these people expect praise. However, the 386ers should get credit where it is due: they were instrumental in moving the Republic of Korea to an actual republic. Moreover, we Americans are thick-skinned enough to take a few verbal knocks (just ask the delegates to the United Nations?in our greatest city, New York- and, of course, France), and we will be the first to admit our imperfections. Japan itself has compensated South Korea for its actions in the colonial era?although the adequacy of said compensation is, to put it mildly, a subject that is far from resolved.

My concern with the new Korean nationalism is that is only goes one way- against the U.S. and its allies for their past misdeeds. For all their concern over the grievances of the divided Korean nation, the 386ers seem to have no such anger over the past and present actions of Communist China against the Korean nation and her people. If they are not careful, today's Korean nationalists could become tomorrow's Communist enablers.

Some past history is on order. Everyone remembers that the Korean War (1950-1953) left the Korean nation divided. Not nearly as many remember who caused said divisions. Contrary to popular belief, the repulsion of Kim Il-sung's invasion of South Korea in 1950 did not lead to an inevitable division. In fact, by late 1950, the fall of North Korea was imminent, and Korea was nearly unified without the scourge of Communism. The great power that interceded to keep Korea cleaved was Communist China, who entered the war to preserve Kim Il-sung's regime.

In the decades after the war, as American and Communist forces faced each other across the demilitarized zone, and South Korea slipped into military dictatorship, this history was largely forgotten. The notion of two superpowers dividing Korea for their own wishes slowly replaced what actually happened in the collective Korean memory. This quickly led to the moral equivalence the Communist powers have always craved.

In truth, had South Korea remained democratic, this would not have been an issue. The American Administrations of the 1960s and 1970s deserve their share of blame for allowing the ROK to become a military dictatorship. However, it should be noted that it was the United States- and the Reagan Administration in particular?that refused to allow the dictatorship to continue in the 1980s, thus beginning South Korea's return to the family of democracies.

Meanwhile, North Korea's sponsors- the now defunct Soviet Union and Communist China- made no such demands of Kim Il-sung. He was allowed to brutally torture and imprison the Koreans trapped in his regime until the day he died, after which his son, Kim Jong-il, was given free reign to implement disastrous economic policies that turned a difficult series of weather patterns into a devastating famine that killed up to three million Koreans. Why South Korea's new nationalists have said nothing about the brutal treatment of their brother Koreans by Kim Jong-il, and Communist China's continued support of this murderous regime, has shocked the rest of the world.

If that were the extent of Communist China's actions against the Korean people, it would be enough for any true nationalist to be just as vehemently angry at Zhongnanhai as he or she would be against Washington. However, even today, Communist China has made clear it will never accept a Korea that is free, democratic, and whole. The Communist regime is the largest aid benefactor North Korea has; it is widely agreed that without Communist Chinese aid the Kim Jong-il regime would collapse. However, that is only the beginning of the Communists' cruelty against the Koreans.

Over the last decade, hundreds of thousands of Koreans have crossed into Communist China, seeking food and a temporary sanctuary in their attempt to reach the South. Communist China, mindful of how a similar exodus from what was then East Germany led to the collapse of European Communism, sends back any refugee it finds, despite the fact that any returned Korea refugee is tortured and/or killed. For Communist China, the aspirations of Koreans- or even the lives of Koreans- are less important than the preservation of its piece of divided Korea.

Communist China is even going one step further in case the North Korean regime collapses- their "academics" are now claiming that North Korea is actually historically Chinese territory. While that may seem like nothing more than a speculative exercise, the Communists used equally flimsy "history" as justification for its conquest and occupation of Tibet. There's no reason to believe the Communists wouldn't follow suit to preserve its control over the northern half of the Korean peninsula.

Whatever their faults, neither the U.S. nor Japan has claimed any part of the Korean peninsula since World War II. Neither has either nation expressed opposition to a united Korea. In fact, the only recent objection to Korean reunification made by anyone outside Communist China or North Korea came from an envoy who told a stunned Washington audience he would rather see Kim Jong-il's regime survive- with nuclear weapons- than have the regime collapse. That envoy was sent by none other than the 386ers' champion himself- President Roh Moo-hyun. To be fair, the envoy insists he was "misunderstood," and we all make mistakes. Still, the idea that anyone in America (or Japan for that matter) would object to a reunified Korea is absurd.

The fact is, the Korean War never really ended. Communist China and North Korea simply moved it to other avenues, while the United States and its allies grew comfortable with the stalemate. For this, the Korean nationalists have every right to be annoyed. However, no one in either Washington or Tokyo would suggest the permanent division of Korea is the most optimal solution. Many of us in the anti-Communist community would take a democratic and reunified Korea at the first opportunity.

The real obstacles to ending the division of Korea are not in the White House or the Japanese Diet; they are in Beijing and Pyongyang. Korea's new nationalists should take care to remember that, lest they allow themselves to become duped by the very people who have thwarted their goals the most- Communist China and its Stalinist puppet Kim Jong-il.

D.J. McGuire is President and Co-Founder of the China e-Lobby, and the author of Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.