[Opinion] Open House, Open Mind

Many people are interested in how a man of power lives. Therefore, it is natural for the U.S. White House, the home of the most powerful man in the world, to stand out as a popular tourist attraction.

Since 9/11, however, visitors have had to go through a host of complicated procedures to get tour tickets. Even U.S. citizens have to apply for them through the House of Representatives. But this meticulous process only permits them to see a couple of rooms out of the building’s 132.

A presidential open house party is even rarer, and usually only occurs when new U.S. presidents take office.

Cheong Wa Dae, on the other hand, is preparing an open house party to celebrate the third anniversary of President Roh Moo-hyun’s inauguration. This event is intended to generate more exposure for Cheong Wa Dae by inviting scholars, writers, columnists, and newspaper reporters who exert significant power in molding public opinions to visit.

About 30 to 40 people are allowed to tour Cheong Wa Dae at a time. The main building (where the presidential office is located), the reception hall, the Sang Chun Jae (used for VIP receptions), and places that have never been shown to the public before, such as secretaries’ offices, presidential guard offices, and the National Security Council’s Risk Management Center are also included in the tour.

President Roh, like other Korean presidents before him, used to keep most of Cheong Wa Dae closed to the public. Many Cheong Wa Dae correspondents have only visited two or three times. Viewed in this light, Roh’s idea of having regular open houses is now interpreted by observers as a sign of change in the direction of Roh’s presidency. This interpretation is also linked to Roh’s remarks during a hike with citizens in Mt. Bukak where he said, “I decided to open this mountain to citizens because I felt very sorry that I have monopolized the beauty of such a great mountain.” Mt. Bukak is slated to open to the public in April.

Mt. Bukak, which provides the backdrop to Cheong Wa Dae, was declared off-limits to the public after a North Korean attempt to storm Cheong Wa Dae through this mountain on January 21, 1968. Given that kind of historical background, we are very pleased that Roh is opening Mt. Bukak as well as his office to public.

What should be opened first is his mind, however. Roh should welcome all kinds of opinions regardless of who says them and what they contain. The effort to open Mt. Bukak and his office won’t have any meaning if Roh continues to see things with a narrow mind. His narrowness was witnessed in his recent appointment of unqualified ministers, despite the resistance of majority of Koreans. We are wondering how Roh can weather his term with such a narrow mind. Words not followed by action have little credibility.

Han Ki-heung, Editorial Writer, eligius@donga.com