[Opinion] The Government’s Lexicon

In George Orwell’s novel “1984,” the new word “crimethink” appears. The idea of freedom and equality all fall under the banner of crimethink. By playing with words, the government toys with individual thought as well. The truth as mentioned in the novel is not about finding the truth of the past but an alteration of the past through government propaganda.

The ruling powers have often manipulated reality by altering history and language. The left-leaning American magazine “The Nation” published a Republican dictionary containing right-wing verbiage over the past 20 years. Examples of vocabularies and their definitions include “democracy= depleted domestically due to excessive exports overseas”, “God= head advisor of President George W. Bush”, “laziness= poor people out of work”, and “leisure= rich people out of work”.

In Korea, the two words “conservative” and “progressive” have changed meanings. Two years ago, President Roh Moo-hyun redefined the two words by saying, “Conservatives are people with power who do whatever they want, while progressives aim for togetherness.” He added, “In Korea, those who say that progressives are leftists and communists are evil forces who are out to block the development of the Korean society.” Early this year, his self-description as a “leftist neo-liberalist” is also in this strain. But factions of the Uri Party said yesterday that Kim Geun-tae could not assume the head position of the party because “he was a leftist.” Is Cheong Wa Dae allowed to be a leftist?

Political and historical descriptions aside, the National Academy of the Korean Language defined “progression” as “a betterment of quality or standard.” But was there any “betterment” in the quality and standard of national affairs after the leftist and “progressive” current administration took hold? The Roh administration’s so-called reform policies of the newspaper law, the law on private schools, and the law on contemporary history have shaken the constitutional spirit to its roots and resulted in a decline of liberal democracy. We should also publish a “dictionary of the Participatory Government.” But in this case, “participatory” denotes “their code.”

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