Chapter 10 intellectual debt

Many Chinese scholars think that Korea has achieved democratization, and that it will run smoothly into a bright and splendid future.This kind of thinking is very similar to seeing the Chinese people overthrowing three mountains and thinking that communism is only a bag of cigarettes away from us.In fact, since the democratization of South Korea, Korean intellectuals have experienced the hardships of knocking out their teeth and swallowing their stomachs while rejoicing.Since Roh Tae-woo's "democratization" regime came to power, many intellectuals have always feared a "tyranny of the majority" and kept silent about many injustices.This of course includes their affirmation of the long-term democratic struggle, including the affirmation of the blood shed by the martyrs.There is an atmosphere of maximum tolerance for those in power who have ushered in a new era of democratization and reform, because they have endured all kinds of pain and oppression for 30 years.Those who call for democracy owe a debt of favor to those who practice it.

Objectively speaking, in the face of loud slogans such as "democracy", "unification", "justice" and "reform", who would dare to say "I do not agree"?At most, they can only mutter, "Reform is good, but is this approach worth considering." Even so, it will inevitably lead to anger.What is particularly worrying is that once they criticize the "civilian government" or the "elected government", they will be regarded as "conservative and reactionary" people who are nostalgic for autocracy. As a result, only one liberal voice resounded in the intellectual space, while others were timid and silent, forming a new era of "white terror".Under the sword of Damocles who is "anti-national, anti-reconciliation, anti-reform, and anti-unification," people have no choice but to give in to the "reform of the current regime" and the brutal populism of vested interest groups.Breaking the silence of all horses in the era of autocracy is undoubtedly gratifying, but for sacred freedom, any form of "one size fits all" is equally dangerous.True freedom, of course, should include questioning freedom itself.

Happily, things have changed recently. Too many failures and dereliction of duty of "civilian government" and "elected government" have shattered the myth of "monopoly of justice".Those cautious "intellectuals who think otherwise" can finally abandon the reason for timidity.Some newspapers and periodicals appealed that it is time for these intellectuals to speak out and come up with a new plan. Intellectuals seem to owe a huge debt to the democratizing regime, but now they feel that this debt should be repaid. People have seen enough and experienced enough how the "democratic regime" and its affiliated institutions run the country.Moreover, intellectuals are feeling the taste of "democratic autocracy" now.Therefore, some people say that now is the time for Korean intellectuals to fully prepare for the "next era", and it is also the time for Korea to be reborn again.

In anticipation of such shouting, some intellectuals made a new voice in order to stir up the banner of "Future@Korea".This is an extremely precious and happy event for the Korean nation that has suffered a lot.Because this is an act of intellectuals breaking the long silence and declaring that they are no longer afraid of any criticism and intimidation "in the name of the public".For a country with tens of thousands of US troops stationed there, it takes superhuman courage to dare to doubt "democracy". The most urgent task facing Korean intellectuals is to get rid of the extremist thinking mode, get rid of the either-or dispute between autocracy and democracy, and strive to develop a healthy and pragmatic "middle way".This "middle way" is neither the arithmetic mean of various opinions, nor is it a subjective guess made behind closed doors.This should be a guiding consensus approved or accepted by most citizens, and it is the spectrum of "harmony without diversity" as Lao Tzu said.Standing at this height, real intellectuals should abandon the faded ideas that have been widely polluted by financial oligarchs, and bravely challenge the ugly things wrapped under the banner of "democracy".

(This article does not dare to say that it is a guide for Korean intellectuals, it can only be said to remind myself.)