Dasan's Teachings Still Hold Truth

Following article was contributed by Goh Kun, former prime minister and translated into English by NewsWorld staff -Ed.

The world is noisy and unruly and we can hardly spend a day in comfort these days due to surges in conflicts and confrontations in our society, although there have been similar situations in any period and society in the past.
There have been age-old conflicts such as those between the rich and poor, and management and labor, but lately those on ideals and between generations also have been rising, deepening the depth of conflict day-by-day.
We have entered the period of uncertainty in the 21st century. Despite the expectation that Pax Americana would stay for a while, the world is engulfed in all kinds of troubles such as those involving race, nations, religion and resources.
On the economic sphere, limitless competition is being waged owing to the spread of globalization and new liberalism, crossing over borders. The rapid development of IT, BT, and NT has been demanding the reform of civilization moving toward the knowledge-based economy, which is totally different from what we have been used to.
The situation has grown so acute that any country that can't cope with the change would be pushed out of the center of the historic development and relegated to second or third-class states. Indifferent to this serious reality, our responses have been too loose. The calls for reform in society, system, education, and the government have fallen on deaf ears, not able to make any progress, despite the pains we experienced during the foreign exchange crisis in 1997, triggered by the structural defects in our society.
Our growth potential that would support economic growth and social progress has been degraded. It seems the growth potential is not big enough for our sustainable development in the face of risks that face us in our future path, including the aging society, China's continuous expansion as an economic powerhouse, which is being compared to an economic black hole, and the rising cost of national reunification. Above all, we have to worry about our livelihood from 5 to 10 years from now because the prospect doesn't look that bright. All told, there is limit to our efforts to build an economic powerhouse, considering various points including our natural resources especially in the energy and environment, geopolitical and geo-economic factors. We can't expect labor and capital investment to do the job for us. The only way left open for us to overcome this situation is to maximize our national competitive energy and effectiveness to raise productivity.
We often talk about "lost 10 years" for Japan. We, too, have lost time not doing what we should do, not doing what we should have done such as making efforts to realize our future visions and strategy. We are at the dead end, now; we don't have room to step back and spend time aimlessly. Unless we make the top 10 countries in the world within the next 10 years, our future will be a bleak one.
We are at the crossroad of trying to grow to be among top 10 countries or step back and fail to be an advanced country.
We have to get together socially and upgrade political machine itself so that they can work.
What we need at this juncture is political leadership more than others. We have to have some one to draw up clear future visions and strategies and unite the country. But our political leaders are only engrossed in taking power back and keeping the power, leading to a circle of outrageous political schemes and naive fights for their political interest only. They approach national issues with political schemes.
The long dragging economic stagnation has made the lives of ordinary people grow worse and many young jobless are being pushed out to streets. The gap between the rich and poor has been growing worse. The political circle can no longer afford to hang on to their fantasies because there is no time left. Now is the time they have to worry about the future of the country with the people.
I am reminded of an old saying that "when the country is in jeopardy, you think about good ministers."Like the old saying I thought about Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, a scholar who worried about the country about two centuries ago, especially the people and the country's future.
It is difficult to describe the great scholar and thinker's achievements and his greatness in a word or two. But his love for the people, making up the basis for his thoughts and his practical philosophy calling for humanitarianism still touch our hearts today. His representative writings including "Kyung-se-yu-pyo," "Mok-min-sim-so"and "Hum-hum-sin-so"showed the right way for reforming state systems and for governing, along with just execution of laws in the country.
Dasan, more than anything else, called for right politics with special emphases on just and balance in politics. What he meant was that politics should be just, quoting from Confucian teachings and the gap between rich and poor should be eased with expanded social safety nets and public welfare. He also stressed reform with a dire warning that the country will fail, unless reforms are made on the country's distorted structure. His warning is still valid today as political system, social irregularities and other systems need to be reformed.
But the core of his thoughts could be his practical philosophy. He said the role of the government can be divided into two large sections; using people and increasing national wealth. He said economic growth and stable livelihood for people are the two key elements in governing. He meant economic stability would give social stability, providing opportunities for people to do their best to achieve what they want in life. I dare say that Dasan pointed out basic principles of governing crucial to the top leader of the country.
His call for technology development as a key to national development smacks of today'ss national policy that the development of science and technology is the only way for the country to make progress. He also called for the abolition of regional and personal segregation for national and social integration, which we so desperately want.
At times, the political circles thought of borrowing from Dasan's thoughts and apply them to today's politics. But they never did, with only big words, not backed by action. Political wrangling still goes on most recently over the formation of a coalition government, which was turned down. The political game makes people tired, but it goes on, which would only make our future bleak. The political parties could have differences over details of policies and their ideals but they should get together for the sake of the future of the country and its people.
I have high regard for the potential of our people. We overcame great adversities of war and national division and accomplished industrialization and democracy at the same time, a very proud achievement. I don't think it would be too difficult to create an advanced future following democratization if political leaders can point out a clear vision and strategy for our future and unite our potential strength. nw

Former Prime Minister Goh Kun.

A portrait of Jeong Yank-yong.