[Contribution] Not in one smooth and swift gulp

The tale of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il gulping down a shot of liquor in a "bottoms-up" fashion is talked about and delivered from mouth-to-mouth with envious humor by Southerners.

Overshadowed by the tales of the grandiose drinking style of the Northern leader, not many know that President Kim Dae-Jung had a hard time, reciprocating the North Korean leaders` drinking style as it is considered the drinking etiquette to do as the counterpart does.

Not even the President Kim`s closest aides noted the hardship President Kim had at that time imbibing the offered drink in a gulp. And it is of foremost worry that the ruling party and the government may well be approaching Northern policy as something that can be achieved in one smooth and swift gulp, without a moment of hesitation nor any opposition.

But it seems a needless concern, as the nation`s ruling and opposition parties have begun bickering over the government`s North Korean policy. The two camps have been wrangling for days on, fighting over every detail, and it seems as though they are headed for the worst of the gridlock. With North Korea very engaged by Seoul, the bickering is developing into a dubious three-way argument.

Currently, there are a lot of humanitarian projects pending between the two Koreas, issues that have been on hold for decades to devastate the heart and the minds of the Korean people involved. We just hope the current dispute and wrangling do not render the ongoing projects futile. But as the moment provides, let us touch upon some points.Not a few are anxious that the opposition and the press are doing their best to antagonize the North, forcing them to drop all commitment to the agreements reached at the June 15 inter-Korean summit.

It is to a certain extent a justified anxiety, considering how difficult it has been for the two Koreas to come as far as they have. However, they need not be anxious. Of course, maintaining dialogue with the North is not an easy thing, something that requires the utmost of our efforts. But we should not over-work ourselves nor pander to the North`s every whim and wishes. That will only drive us to lose our goal and stoop lower than necessary in our dialogue and negotiations with North Korea. In the North, every decision-making may well be done through one swift gesture taken by its leader, in the same way that he gulped down the liquor.

On North Korean leader`s one word or command, all will salute and comply with his word. But in the Southern society, there is the freedom of expression, a freedom to have a different opinion. That is the merit, strength and pride of our society. To be afraid to show our true strength, lest it should cause confusion in our policy toward North Korea, is uncalled for. If we are still at that point, then what we might really want to reconsider is our North Korean policy itself. As Chairman Kim Jong-Il said, the North is fully aware of how things are run in the South. Thus, there is no need to worry that the current achievements will come tumbling down at one or two objections or different opinions raised by the opposition camp.

Rather, the government and the ruling party should take in the opinions raised by the opposition camp, and aggressively approach the North to see the concerns raised. There is no reason why we can not use this opportunity to let North Korea experience South Korean democracy. Moreover, the ruling party and the government should not be tempted, in light of the glowing success of the inter-Korean summit, to impose their North Korean policy unilaterally for the opposition party to merely accept. High-ranking officials in the ruling camp are reportedly highly dissatisfied with the noise and wrangling that they believe the opposition party and the media is causing. In their minds, the unity of the near-fanatic welcome proffered by citizens of Pyongyang lingers strong. But we should not mimic North Korea and we cab not be.Let us face the fact that under such unity is the deadened silence of democracy.

Democracy is not an easy system to be sure, as the French political thinker Rousseau once said that "it is only possible in the Kingdom of God." However, let`s not forget how 2,400 years ago, General Nichas saved his motherland Greece from a make-or-break crisis by giving soldiers pride in their country and morale and courage necessary to fight to protect.Surely, it is easily linked with controversy, dispute and confusion, but as we all know, that is the strength and merit of a democratic system. So let us not fret over the opposition for doing its part. Demonstration of the strength and the effect of a one-man rule that we saw with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is an illusion that we should avoid, in order to save our democracy. The opposition party`s actions are not without blame.

But things are at the stage where the Southern people should decide how the North Korean policy should proceed. Chong Wa Dae is only giving off the impression that it is going on the defensive to uphold their North Korean policy, by blasting the opposition party for holding onto cold-war mentality. What is cold-war mentality but the attempt to use the division of the Korean people for political purposes? The ruling party and the government should first rid itself of any political and ulterior motives to use the current development for their political gains. Are they dissatisfied with the opposition camp for disrupting such a sanctified process as realizing unification? If so, it is time that those in the ruling party and government recall a line from poem written by Chung Hyon-Jong. "Let your self go, then will you see that there is the wide sky above you, the freedom and the love."