Korea loses one of its finest...

To the surprise of few who have paid attention to the news, Kim Dae-jung has finally passed away after a month in the hospital battling pneumonia. It took nature and age to take away the life of a man who has several assassination attempts put on his head, was sentenced to be executed and nearly killed by Communists during his lifetime. You can find numerous news articles everywhere, and Gusts of Popular Feeling have a series of nice photos over the span of his life. Kim Dae-jung joins former President Roh Moo-Hyun and fellow 80s democratic fighter Cory Aquino of the Philippines who all earned their wings this year.

In the west, he is best remembered for the Sunshine Policy and the controversy surrounding that (including sending money directly into Kim Jong-il's pocket). I will forever remember him not as a President, but as one of the leader of the democracy movement in Korea. As one of the few Asian leaders who took a swipe at the "Asian Value" concept that authoritarian leaders were arguing. As the leader whose goals had reached so many people, the the ILWU refused to handle Korean shipping until Kim Dae-jung's life was spared.

I will post more when I get my thoughts cleared on this matter. I am currently incredibly sad at this moment.

Say a prayer for Kim Dae-jung...

Former President Kim Dae-jung is not doing to well. He has been in the hospital for a while now, and is still going through a crisis now and then. What really makes me worry is the news that Kim Young-sam, who has been public for his dislike of his fellow democratic opposition leader, decided to pay Kim Dae-jung a visit in the hospital to reconcile after their relationship fell apart nearly twenty years ago. The JoongAng Daily has more on the situation:

Kim Young-sam also said he wished Kim Dae-jung’s family the best of luck and added, “I said there are always miracles in life.”

...

A source with knowledge of Kim’s condition said the former president “may not last very long.”

“The X-rays of his lungs showed that his condition has worsened,” the source said. “He did improve slightly from early Sunday morning [when his blood pressure plunged], but he is still relying heavily on the respirator and medication to maintain his blood pressure level.”

First Roh and now maybe Kim Dae-jung in one year. Meanwhile Chun Du-hwan, the biggest monster south of the DMZ line, still remains alive and active. Life is cruel like that I guess.

RIP: Corazon Aquino

For those who have not heard, Corazon Aquino, the first democraticly elected leader of the Philippines and wife of anti-Marcos martyr Ninoy Aquino, died Saturday from colon cancer.

Corazon Aquino become President in 1986. Running against Marcos (who had ordered the death of her husband 3 years before), she was announced as the loser in a obviously rigged election. The announcement of the election results caused a massive wave of non-violent street demonstrations all over the Philippines. Dubbed as the People Power Revolution or the Yellow Revolution (in reference to the yellow ribbons worn), the demonstrations managed to overthrow the Marcos regime and installed Aquino in office. During her term in office she survived numerous coup attempts as she pushed through land reform and a new democratic constitution. She spent the last few years of her life being involved in the street protests against the authoritarian and corrupt Arroyo regime.

Cory Aquino was not without her faults. Her presidency as a whole was a mixed bag and failed to end some of the major economic problems in the country. She initially worked with the Communist forces against Marcos and released hundreds of prisoners when she took office. Unfortunately, the two sides were unable to reach a peace agreement and she restarted the bloody conflict against the communist insurgency. Despite this, Jose Maria Sison and the National Democratic Front have only spoke of goodwill and condolences to her family.

Rest in Peace Cory