[Opinion] When Take Off The Other Shoe

It is not easy to distinguish the statespersons from the politicians. Many critics have argued the differences between the two but there is no satisfactory answer yet. A cynical answer to the question describes the difference as ``The statesperson is the politician who succeeded but deceased.`` Europeans often illustrated the politicians as overanxious in that they look like generous and broad-minded but in reality they are very narrow-minded and overanxious. A famous short story `a politician and a businessman` describes it humorously.

A businessman entered a small inn in a village. He asked for a room to stay for the night but the innkeeper refused to let him in. There was an empty room on the second floor. But the innkeeper said that the room could not be rented because a famous politician was staying in the room right below the empty room. The politician was too sensitive to noise to sleep. So the innkeeper left the second floor room empty.

Since it was too late to find another inn, the salesman begged the innkeeper to allow him to stay at night there. He promised to sleep sound and would leave early in the morning and of course would not make any noise. Finally, the innkeeper was persuaded by the salesman. Then the salesman crawled up to the second floor and slipped into the room. He didn`t even try to shave or take shower. But he started reviewing his business performance of the day. He did not make a single noise of the pencil scratches.

Creeping into the bed after finishing his calculation, he made a mistake. While he was trying to take off his shoes, he dropped a shoe on the floor. Then he paid more attention to take off the other shoe lest the politician would be awakened. And he slowly walked on his tiptoes to the bed and successfully lied down on the bed.

A couple of hours later, the salesman was awakened by the bangs from the door. The politician was standing in front of the door and his eyes looked red. The politician complained, ``When would you take off the other shoe? I can`t go to sleep. The other shoe disturbs me.``

This realistic story ridicules the politicians. The author might want to say that the politicians are those who always worry to death over every trifle. However, I would interpret the story a little differently from the traditional interpretation. The politician who is bothered by the one shoe that isn`t taken off is the real statesperson.

The nation requires of the politicians who could not go to bed by the anxiety for the one who might sleep with a shoe still on the foot and the politician who could go to be only after enduring all the noise of the neighbor. The nation yearns for the politicians who are so sensitive to the feeble voice of the people that they cannot go to sleep until all the noise fades out.

On confronting the most disastrous drought in the past 90 years, how many politicians could not sleep a wink and tossed and turned all night long by the anxiety for the farmers whose hearts have been cracked by the weather. The farmers might have felt insulted and very much disappointed when they had witnessed the politicians of the ruling party who had gone to play golf across the cracked fields by the dry weather.

It is sad to hear that a politician of the opposite party boasting his car plate numbered 2002 to convince his will to power and another politician, who has entitled him as a kingmaker, moved his parent’s tomb to the site that is known as a propitious site for a grave, bearing the so-called royal spirit. At the time of the emergency situation caused by the drought, the argument for the generation transition of the Presidential candidate is also very disappointing.

Due to those politicians, people are not moved even by the list of the statespersons who contributed `enclosures of money` for the farmers. People doubt the real intention of them now. The politicians would rather run to the dried fields to help the water supply taking a few day recess of the session.

The nation demands for the politicians who are very sensitive to the feeble voice of the people and who come to ask why not take off the other shoe.

Min Byong-Uk [Editorialist]

mincho@donga.com