[Opinion] Imagination

There are quite a few books titled with a various kinds of `imagination.` - `Social Imagination` by Wright Mills, `Dialectical Imagination` by Martin Jay, `Historic Imagination` by Hayden White, `Symbolic Imagination` by Jiberre Durang, `Theatrical Imagination` by Robert Jones, `Interpretational Imagination` by Georgif Blacher and `New-leftist Imagination` by George Kachipikas. Imagination, indeed, has been a driving power and a source of learning and knowledge through the history of mankind. It is more than that, however, in today`s digital age. It is a prerequisite for survival.

▷30 years ago on January 27 in 1967, three U.S. astronauts Grissom, White and Chappi were training as usual. They were fastened with seat belts in a closed cockpit module for a launching test. And a fire broke out inside the spacecraft. The three were all killed trapped by raging fire. The tragic accident jolted the country and Americans grew critical of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which at that time were waging overheated competition with then Soviet Union for space programs.

▷U.S. Congress then held a public hearing to find out the cause of the tragic accident involving the Apollo 1. One of the diseased astronauts` colleagues was summoned later. He testified before members of the special committee, “As you point out, NASA has been in fierce competition with Soviet rivals. Yet the tragic accident was in large part due to `poor imagination` of the administration. We were prepared for a fire in the outer space, but never thought that a fire broke out during training.” His remarks indicated that the three astronauts were killed because NASA had poor imagination.

▷We will be able to deal with an emergency and survive depending on how well we can imagine. Imagination is the key to preparedness and improvement. In the past, endurance mattered. People and organizations that persisted and lasted long had better chances of survival. We are now living in a different age, however, where imagination is a competitive edge. French structuralism philosopher Gastong Bashulare stated that imagination is `mental productivity` in a society. Then what the production capacity of our imagination, especially political imagination, is like in this country? It has been a month since the government transition committee was launched with high-flying political imagination.

Jung Jin-hong, Guest Editorial Writer and Professor at Korea Arts School, atombit@netian.com