Letters from Seoul 34
Street of Seoul
Several days ago, a film crew with actors dressed in North Korean military uniforms worked to produce unscripted reactions from pedestrians along Yonsei-ro in the trendy Sinchon neighborhood of central Seoul.
The idea of North Korean soldiers on the streets of Seoul is shocking – unless the Communist Party finally takes control of South Korea. Officially, there has been no end to the Korean War (1950-1953). A negotiated armistice has maintained the status quo since July 27, 1953.
The slant of the brief film, destined for YouTube and campaign advertising, is to remind South Koreans what they stand to lose if the Communists win the upper-hand.
Everyone knows the American Empire is in decline, and China is poised to take its place in the Pacific region.
There is an on-going political crisis in South Korea that speaks to the immediate future of the country. In most every way, this conforms to the 80-year cycle of history and a conservative older generation that wants to preserve its hard-won standards, and a younger, energetic generation that is impatient for change.
It is the story of life.
The concept of an 80-year cycle in history addresses how the effects of a holocaust, a revolution or a war is only relevant through three generations. By the fourth generation no one really cares anymore, and the memories of struggles and accomplishments are consigned to the dustbin of history.
The 64-year-old President Yoon Suk Yeol is a conservative and represents the People’s Power Party. He put South Korea on a collision course when he declared martial law four months ago on December 3.
Yoon’s decision proved disastrous, and 11-days later he was impeached and temporarily removed from office. The beleaguered President has argued that the opposition Democratic Party is Communist, and has already been infiltrated and corrupted by both China and North Korea.
The older generation in South Korea value closer ties with the U.S., which has its largest overseas military base in Pyeongtaek, about 40-miles south of Seoul. The American flag is always prominent at every Pro-Yoon rally since his martial law fiasco because of how highly America is regarded.
Lee Jae-myung is the head of the Democratic Party in South Korea, and his followers want reconciliation with North Korea and closer ties with China. There are no American flags at Anti-Yoon rallies.
This week an appeals court overturned an election law conviction against Lee, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign – if Yoon’s impeachment is upheld by the Constitutional Court. A decision about Yoon’s fate is expected on April 18.
Yet if Lee’s election law conviction is reinstated on appeal, he will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office for five years, including the next presidential vote.
If this drama of political corruption, intrigue and scandal sounds familiar to Americans, to Brazilians, to the French, to Israelis, to countless nationalities, it’s because the appetite for power is insatiable and has always motivated sociopaths to sacrifice entire countries in order to gain absolute control.
As prostitution is considered the oldest profession in the world, being a politician is a very close second.
If Koreans are conflicted because the President tried to impose martial law, and his leading opponent has already been found guilty of election law fraud, Americans have it all in one neat package: a convicted felon-in-chief who is also an adjudicated department store rapist.
For those of you playing Jeopardy at home:
“Alex, I’ll take What the Absolute Fuck for $400.
“The Jeopardy question is: “Should one person make all decisions for millions of people?”
“If one Celestial Deity with a heavenly kingdom calls all the shots – yet who always needs more money, why not one man ruling an entire country?”
As for the pedestrians along Yonsei-ro watching the film-in-progress of three actors in North Korean military uniforms, the collection of idealistic college students, bored housewives armed with credit cards and intrepid tourists were remarkably unfazed by the spectacle.
“All in the game, yo.”
Omar Little
The Wire
