[Opinion] Noblesse Oblige

Twenty-five consuls fought at the forefront of the second Punic War, between Rome and Carthage. Out of these, eight died. Also, Rome issued a 20-year, no-interest government bond to the upper class and members of the Senate. Noblesse Oblige, or moral integrity of the high social class, is what Roman history expert Nanami Shiono counts as the key to the Roman Empire’s prosperity of 1,000 years.

The kings of Chosun were busy running away whenever war broke out. However, there were many families who gave up their lives and fortunes to fight. There is the family of Goh Kyung-myung, of which three generations of men died fighting during the Japanese invasion of Korea, and the family of Lee Si-Young, the former vice-president whose six brothers spent the equivalent of 100 billion won today for the independence movement in Manchuria after the forced annexation of Korea to Japan. There is also the rich Choi family of Gyeongju, whose family saying was, “Let no one within your sphere die.”

The second son of England’s Crown Prince Charles, Prince Harry (21) has constantly been a source of trouble to the English royal family, with charges such as drug use. After graduating from the military academy recently, he has volunteered to serve at the forefront of the war in Afghanistan. He is carrying out a family tradition; his grandfather Sir Philip fought in the Second World War; his father, Crown Prince Charles, served as a pilot; and his uncle, Prince Andrew, served in the 1982 Falklands War as a helicopter pilot. This is the reason the royal family, despite suffering from scandals, still has the affection of the English people. According to a survey by Middlesex College last year, the performance of social responsibility of the British royal family was rated at 55 percent, which would make it five percent higher than that of the United Nations.

The downfall of Rome was due to internal discord, corruption, and lavishness. The Korea Independent Commission against Corruption surveyed 1,000 middle school and high school students, 78 percent of whom answered, “Our society is corrupt.” An indifference to morals is prevalent throughout society. To stop society’s internal collapse, voters must judge strictly in the local elections.

Lee Dong-kwan, Editorial Writer, dklee@donga.com