[Opinion] Saluting the Flag

˝I hereby pledge allegiance to my country that I will fight for this country and my people with my body and soul.˝ `The practice of saluting the flag` was first introduced by the local school board in South Chongcheong Province in 1968 and adopted nationwide by the Ministry of Education later in 1972. It was in February 1984 that the regulation stipulating the practice was placed under the law. Although it was a time of military dictatorship, noteworthy is that the practice was not forced by the military government but initiated by a local school authority. It cannot be seen as a means of government propaganda, therefore. Strictly speaking, a nation and a government are two quite different entities.

Rep. Rhyu Si-min of the Korea People`s Party for Reform, who earlier caused a stir by appearing at his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in casual clothing, recently sparked another controversy by criticizing the practice of saluting the flag. ˝It is unimaginable for a democratic republic to have its sovereign people pledge allegiance to the flag in open places,¡° Rhyu said emphatically. In fact, it is not the first time that the student activist-turned politician expressed his opinion about the way people treat the national flag. When there was a heated debate about the incident during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, in which short tracker Kim Dong-sung seemingly threw away the national flat after he was upset by the referee call, Rhyu put a message `So what is wrong about throwing away the flag?` over the Internet. This indicates that his latest remarks are not an isolated incident.

Some might find his remarks as warning against an excessive form of nationalism, but lambasting the practice as `relics of fascism` seems way too much. If the practice of saluting the flag is relics of fascism, the U.S., where kindergartens teach little children to recite the practice, must be a fascist country. Since the country enacted the law governing the practice of saluting the flat in 1942, there was not a single incident indicating that the government forced its people to carry out the practice. And it is not right to compare the time of Japanese colonial rule when people were forced to pledge allegiance to the Japanese flat with the present day when people pay respect to the symbol of their country.

Long past the time when people were obliged to stop to pay respect to the national flag when it was lowered every evening. Everyone knows that respect is not something imposed upon people. As we witnessed during the World Cup last year, people voluntarily express their love for the country. Yet, the `form` part is still necessary. Love between two persons are felt more dearly when expressed, love for one`s country will further grow through a form such as saluting the flag. If he finds the practice is not right, he is free not to follow. Why he makes an issue out of the practice?

Song Moon-hong, Editorial Writer, songmh@donga.com