Reciting the Constitution

On Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, 135 members of the U.S. House of Representatives took turns reciting the full text of the 4,543-word U.S. Constitution for about 80 minutes. The event was the first of its kind in the 222-year history of the House. House Speaker John Boehner (Republican-Ohio) solemnly read the Preamble. His predecessor Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California) then recited Article 1, Section 1 saying, “All legislative powers herein granted" to Congress. The event was at Boehner’s request to respect the will of the American people and represent them.

The scene recalled the scene of many a teacher calling students one by one to recite the Constitution as part of their education. How would Korean legislators respond to the same proposal? At the House event, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties put aside their ideological and political differences and were of one mind while reading the Constitution, pledging to uphold the spirit of the Constitution as written by the Founding Fathers. Many lawmakers also wore blue ties regardless of party affiliation.

When the Constitution of the Republic of Korea was declared on July 17, 1948, the National Assembly was overflowing with strong emotions. A Dong-A Ilbo article published that day described the solemn ceremony held at parliament. When Syngman Rhee, the first speaker of the National Assembly, announced to the world that the Constitution was the republic’s complete national law, people in and out of the assembly hall burst into shouts of hurrah.

Undergoing nine revisions amid a tumultuous history of military coups and authoritarian rule, the Constitution has been the mainstay propping up Korean society. The country’s freedom, democracy and economic prosperity are based on the Constitution. The people’s awareness of the Constitution has been enhanced since the 1988 founding of the Constitutional Court. Enactment of laws must also be based on the spirit of the Constitution. The National Assembly also needs to hold a Constitution-reciting event to ruminate its meaning.

Editorial Writer Yuk Jeong-soo (sooya@donga.com)