[Editorial] Proud 60-Year History of the Republic of Korea

To commemorate the upcoming 60th Independence Day on August 15, 2008, luminaries from all quarters in society have gotten together to organize a preparatory body. Organizers explained that they plan to host various activities to turn the historic day into a national festival. According to them, they will organize diverse seminars, release publications and host art festivals.

In the meantime, the Roh administration has been sitting on its hands. Likewise, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, which has jurisdiction over this type of matter, has done nothing, saying that it’s business the next administration should handle.

Looking at the lukewarm reactions from Roh and his administration, we wonder if Roh really represents our country as president.

On August 15, two historic events took place: our liberation from Japanese occupation and the foundation of the Republic of Korea. After three years of the U.S. military trusteeship, South Koreans held their first general election on May 10, 1948, and announced the ratification of the 1st Constitution on July 17 the same year. Next month, we watched the birth of the Republic of Korea on August 15. In the 5/10 general election, 79.7% of the eligible South Korean voters registered and 92.5% of them cast ballots. This was a humble but significant stride toward a democratic Korea, which later surprised the world with its miraculous economic development.

During our long journey, we watched as constant sabotage by communist and socialist insurgents tried to topple our fledgling republic and turn it into a communist state. Against these threats, South Koreans defended the republic. Our Founding Fathers bravely chose a democratic governmental system to defend the integrity and freedom of South Koreans. Even when threatened by a hostile communist regime of North Korea, South Koreans diligently and passionately created an economic and democratic miracle in such a short amount of time.

Unfortunately, the historic meaning of our national independence has been disparaged. Although he is our president, Roh, for example, defines our history as the history of opportunists. Socialists and communists in our society have called our Founding Fathers various names, and advocated the legitimacy of the communist regime, the culprits that divided the Korean Peninsula in two different states to carry out Stalin’s orders.

Even in the absence of help from the Roh administration, it is still meaningful for our civilian leaders to get together to help our citizens understand how proud a country and history we have. There is no country that does not celebrate its independence. Without a country, there is no citizen. Now, it’s the time for us to make our history shine.