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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment