[Opinion] When Love Ends

As they got themselves ready for an election day early in the morning, people were surprised to find a headline on sports dailies. `Cho Sung-min and Choi Jin-shil Break Up.` The article on the front page was as shocking as the bombshell last night, `Chung withdraws his support from Roh.` The two couples have many things common from the characters to the way that their relationships ended. First, both Cho and Chung are young, tall and good-looking. Second, Chung was born in a rich family and became a leading figure after the successful hosting of the 2002 World Cup, while Cho was once named one of all star players in the Japanese professional baseball league as a strong-built pitcher. Third, the two poured out their pent-up feelings toward and put blame on their partners as they announced the breakup through the media.

▷Choi Jin-shil and Roh Moo-hyun, now a leading actress and a presidential candidate respectively, went through unhappy childhood and had to work hard to make it on their own. Choi said, after she became famous thanks to the line from a popular commercial “A woman changes her man,” she had had to eat Sujebi (a clear soup with wheat flakes) all the time because there was nothing else to eat. Roh, who came from a very poor farming family, caught the eyes of people as a fresh young politician through the parliamentary hearing on the Fifth Republic. Then, they responded in a much similar way when their partners said they wanted to end relationship. ˝I don’t want divorce. I have to think about my children,˝ Choi said. ˝The alliance is a commitment we made for people. The commitment must endure little misunderstanding,˝ Roh stated.

▷The most noticeable common denominator between the two couples is that they hoped their expectations would be met with people who are very different from themselves. Cho wanted his top actress to be a devoted wife and mother, while Choi expected her husband to follow her lead. Chung and Roh were rivals competing over the single candidacy. And when Roh won the candidacy, Chung thought he was guaranteed that he would be a candidate after five years, but Roh let it out that he saw Chung just one of likely candidates, whether it was another slip of tongue or a calculated move. It’s love for a moment and a relationship pursuing short-term interests.

▷As we never know what happen to a man and a woman deep inside in their relationship, we will not be able to find out what kind of a deal the two made. We can just say, `I knew it` with a bitter smile in our faces. Yet, it is a surprising coincidence that the `political show` and the `showbiz politics` took place on the same day. Late veteran comedian Lee Ju-il once said as he left the politics, ˝I have learned a lot about comedy here.˝ The, it may be time for politicians to move to the entertainment area to do some comedy. What can we trust in a world where there is no love and no loyalty?

Kim Sun-deok, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com