[Opinion] The Father`s Son

Zeus, the god of Greek gods, was not the greatest god from the beginning. Zeus` father Kronos, who killed his father himself to take the throne, was so paranoid about being expelled by one of his sons. So he swallowed his own sons whenever his wife gave birth. So furious about her husband, the wife then put a big stone instead of the youngest Zeus in cloth. Kronos swallowed the stone and Zeus had his father throw up his brothers to fight with him. After winning the war with his own father, Zeus became the great god of Greece. The story carries a symbolic meaning that a son must go through hardships like the patricidal ritual to stand above his father`s achievement.

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbolism defines a father as a symbol of production, ownership, dominance and authority and a symbol of castration and inhibition at the same time. He is generous but competitive and gives birth to their children but also can kill them. In this regard, He is two-faceted. To become a father himself, therefore, a son must become like his father. Refusing to be like his father, a son becomes like his father. Hoping to be recognized by his father, he knows that he cannot beat him. So, the son`s psychology is very complex. Gyeonwon and Shingeom, Lee Sung-gye and Lee Bang-won, and Heungsun Dawongun and King Gojong from the history all had the father-son relationship of love and hatred.

According to Ahn In-hee, who translated `The Portrait of Great Father and Son (written by Polkmar Brownberens),` it is hard for a son overshadowed by his great father to shake off the shadow of his father. Goethe, a great writer who examined human nature in depth, treated his only son August only as his personal secretary because he loved him so much. Bismarck made his son Herbert his heir, but the son could merely help his father. Both Goethe and Bismarck lived long until 83, but their two sons died earlier. Fame and wealth might not be accompanied by fatherly happiness, then.

Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mon-hun, who committed suicide yesterday, was a dear son to his father late honorary chairman Chung Ju-young. The father trusted him so much for his carefulness and academic mind. Despite the ongoing speculation about the cause of the suicide, many believed that he must have felt pressed and guilty for not being able to carry out the father`s will - running a successful business in North Korea. It must not have been easy to live as a son of the legendary father who fulfilled all of his dreams except becoming a president. May his soul rest in peace.

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