soryang
soryang's JournalSouth Korea: Lee Jae-myung slightly ahead of Yoon Seok-yeol in presidential poll
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 12.1.2021) Channel A News commissioned presidential polling 11.27- 11.29 results nationwide: Democrat Lee Jae-myung 35.5%, PPP (conservative) candidate Yoon Seok-yeol 34.6%, Justice Party Shim Sang-jung 4.9%, National Party Ahn Chul-soo 6.0%, Independent Kim Dong-yon 1.6%, others 2.8%, reserved judgement 14.6%. Lee's slight lead over Yoon is within the margin of error for polls of this nature which is usually 3 percent. Just over a thousand people were surveyed. The poll is believed to carry probative weight by the source democratic analyst as Channel A News is a conservative DongA media outlet.
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 12.1.2021) Who will you vote for in next year's (3.9) presidential election? By age group, percentage of prospective votes for Lee Jae-myung on the left and Yoon Seok-yeol on the right. Voters in their thirties favor Lee by a significant margin. Voters in their forties overwhelmingly favor of the democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung. Voters in their fifties are about evenly split between the two candidates. Voters in the sixties or older favor the conservative candidate Yoon Seok-yeol by a wide margin. Lee Jae-myung has apparently changed the momentum among the voters 18 to 29 somewhat in his favor. Yoon's "talk concert" campaign at youth campaign venues may have been counterproductive (see my previous post "Bro" Seok-yeol, Nov. 30). Yet many of the youngest voters appear to be reserving their choice at this point. Not happy with their social and economic prospects during the current five year term of democratic President Moon Jae-in, they may not like what they're hearing from the conservative Yoon campaign either, particularly concerning housing, wages, and labor conditions. Yoon's polling bounce after his nomination at the PPP convention appears to be over. Democratic pundits believe the more campaign exposure Yoon and his family receive the more support he could lose because of multiple allegations of unlawful acts currently under investigation.
On the other hand, conservative media sources had accused Lee of spouse abuse after a recent incident in which his wife lost consciousness and fell injuring her head. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The accusations appear to be unfounded but probably caused Lee to lose some votes among young women. Equal opportunity for women, and feminist issues have been a stumbling block for both parties in recent elections. A power struggle is under way in the conservative PPP between Yoon's camp and the party leader Lee Jun-seok. The struggle for control of the party's central committee involves both the youth vote and women's issues, as Lee Jun-seok is regarded as representing young male backlash against women's EEO issues. Democrats lost the mayoral campaigns in Seoul and Pusan in April this year in part because of deceased Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's improper office affair with his young secretary. This led to the democratic mayor's suicide when he was publicly accused of rape and sexual assault and allowed the right to pose as defenders of women's rights.
*See Reality Check in Seoul and Busan, 4.7.2021
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2021/04/reality-check-in-seoul-and-busan.html
and Deceased Mayor Park Won-soon- Trial by Media in South Korea 9.14.2020 https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2020/09/deceased-mayor-park-won-soon-trial-by.html
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 12.1.2021) Prospective presidential voting survey results by region, with democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and conservative PPP candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, right. From top to bottom. Seoul where Yoon has a substantial lead; Incheon and Gyeonggido (where Lee is governor presently) Lee leads; Daejeon, Sejong, and Choongcheong, Lee has a significant lead; In Kwangju and Cholla, Lee has a huge lead ( because of Yoon's Chun Doo-won gaffes* ) ; In Daegu and Gyeongbok, Yoon has a huge lead (this is the center of conservative regional dominance); In Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, Yoon has a significant lead, and finally Yoon has a small lead in Gangwon and Jeju Island.
*Yoon Seok-yeol's "apple" apology and the Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship, 10.23.2021;
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2021/10/yoon-seok-yeols-apple-apology-and-chun.html
Prime Minister Kishida said he would support increased defense spending
Some of the other more extreme proposals by right wing factions in the LDP he had to negotiate with to become prime minister I don't think he favors. I noticed that Abe's faction, the largest in the LDP, supported him and that Abe's brother Kishi is still Defense Minister after the election. Don't think that Kishida supports constitutional revisions to "unleash the military" or proposals to allow deployment of nuclear weapons in Japan. I think he wants to avoid even the mention of these controversial measures. He is from Hiroshima (as I recall). Abe is viewed as the Shogun behind the scenes at this point. Reports about striking progress against the covid epidemic (for whatever reason, this is still unclear) may strengthen Kishida's hand from the far right elements in in LDP that he had to bow to in order to become PM. This is a fortuitous development I don't think Abe and Aso anticipated. We'll see.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday that nothing has been decided on whether he will accept his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi's invitation of an official visit to China.
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has taken a cautious stance on the request as the two countries remain at odds over territorial and human rights issues.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/11/8557cfaa94c6-japan-foreign-minister-says-no-decision-made-on-china-visit.html
Hayashi is really the only Kishida man in the cabinet. I read an assessment a couple of weeks back, that he has some positive ties with China and South Korea, that I think Kishida would potentially like to take advantage of. The political factions allowed the Hayashi appointment as Foreign Minister after they lost some seats in the last election, but Kishida's base is too narrow to get out from the right wing factions's control of LDP policy and the major cabinet positions. This is primarily the Abe and Asa factions.
South Korea: Yoon family cartoons
(Source- 알리미 황희두 youtube 11.21 cartoon original source Cha Yoo-rak) "This is a normal country." Before the court addressing them, "defendant Yoon Seok-yeol" (the conservative presidential candidate, center), "defendant Kim Gon-hee" (Yoon's wife, the prospective first lady, left) and "defendant Choi Eun-seun" (Yoon's mother in law, right). All three depicted with the list of their alleged crimes on their backs. Kim Gon-hee: Stock price fixing, unlawful sponsorship, fraudulent credentials, Ph.D. plagiarism suspicion, fake life. Yoon Seok-yeol: Coverup of bribery investigation, negligent investigation of financial scandals, interference in former prime minister Han Myeong-suk's investigation, unlawful investigation of sitting judges, instigating private charges while in public office (against political enemies), and finally, insubordination and "coup d'etat." Choi Eun-soon: unlawful income, forged proof of financial status, stock price manipulation, memorial park fraud suspicion, and other financial fraud.
(Source- 알리미 황희두 youtube 11.21 cartoon original source Cha Yoo-rak) This cartoon depicts the difference in the South Korean media treatment of former Justice Minister Cho Guk's daughter (top) as compared to the deferential treatment of Yoon Seok-yeol's wife (bottom). On the top the group of angry journalists say, "You dare to call us journalist trash?* Our physical strength is enhanced by practicing often." On the bottom the journalists encountering Kim Gon-hee's falsified background, and her alleged involvement in the Deustche Motors stock price fixing scheme, choose to remain mute, while saying they are zealously engaged in deep meditation.
(*Reporter 기자 + trash 쓰레기 = 기레기 journalist trash. The contraction is a relatively new word in Korean that is widely used in independent media commentary, particularly on the left. When encountering accusations such as these against Yoon and his family in independent media, the right typically refers to it as fake news ( 가짜 뉴스 ). Yet there have been very few successful defamation suits against the independent media that have reported on these accusations and the evidence supporting them. )
Cho Guk's wife, Chung Kyung-shim, was convicted of forging her daughters voluntary service award certificate, allegedly destroying evidence, and investing under a false name at her first trial. Professor Chung is in prison after a sentence of four years despite her obvious bad health. Cho Guk is also fighting criminal charges but is not in pre-trial detention. Cho Guk's daughter, Cho Min, was stripped of her degree by a university under questionable circumstances based upon the allegedly "forged" certificate. Charges were instigated against the family without prior investigation by Yoon Seok-yeol, described by critics as a "coup d'etat" designed to derail the democratic administration's judicial and electoral reform initiatives. In October 2019, after the charges were instigated, over a million people assembled in the streets of Seoul to protest. It is alleged that the chief witness against Cho Guk's wife, the former university president where she worked, was threatened and otherwise unlawfully induced to elicit false testimony. Because there was no prior investigation, the prosecutors issued an unprecedented eighty search warrants in an effort to find grounds to substantiate the politically motivated prosecutions. The protracted litigation is still underway. The press cooperated fully with prosecution efforts to defame and vilify Cho Guk and his family. Cho Guk has won several defamation suits on behalf of his family.
On the other hand, political actors in the prosecutors' offices and judicial branch until recently have stonewalled and derailed all lawsuits and investigations against Yoon Seok-yeol's family for many years without comment by the South Korean media. Recently, Choi Eun-soon was convicted of unlawfully operating a medical rehabilitation facility and illegally receiving approximately 2 billion won in tax supported medical funds. She was imprisoned by the trial court but the reviewing court released her pending the appeal of her case. Charges against Yoon will be probably be referred to the newly formed Committee to Investigate High Public Officials. Typically, none of these allegations against the right wing candidate for president or his family had been reported in South Korean mainstream media nor their English language outlets. There has been some reporting of the General Prosecutor's office being implicated in the preparation of private lawsuits against political rivals. The April 2020 election law violations have not been linked to Yoon as yet but only to his direct subordinate. The English language press worldwide generally avoids the topic as well. However, similar to the South Korean major media outlets, articles in the US press and VOA Korea broadcasts are critical of the democratic administration, its policies, and the democratic party's current presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung.
Yoon Seok-yeol Wins Conservative (PPP) Nomination for Presidential Candidate (ROK)
(Source- JTBC News 11.5) The final selection for the People's Powers Party candidate for president of South Korea was announced last night 1:45am EST. Yoon Seok-yeol, the former Prosecutor General, was selected as the conservative opposition party's candidate, over Hong Jun-pyo. The formula for selection was based on a 50/50 formula of party representative votes averaged with the results of a popular poll among voters. The above graphic shows that Yoon won the party member vote by an overwhelming 58 percent (approx) to 35 percent margin over Hong, despite the popular vote in the poll going to Hong over Yoon by a 10 percent margin (48 to 38 percent approx).
(Source- JTBC News 11.5) This graphic shows the relative percent of People's Power Party member votes garnered by each party candidate participating in the final stage of the nomination race. Yoon Seok-yeol placed first with almost 48 percent; Hong Jun-pyo, second, with 41.5 percent; Yoo Seung-min with 7.47; and Hwan Hui-ryong with 3.17 percent.
While some polls show that Yoon can beat the Democratic Party candidate for president Lee Jae-myung, the presence of a strong third party conservative candidate in the final race for president could make Lee Jae-myung the winner in March 2022. Yoon and the PPP will apparently engage in "unification" discussions with potential candidate Ahn Chul-soo, who has his own political party to prevent conservative votes from being diluted in the final race for president.
On an editorial note, it is sad for South Korea, that the constellation of vested interests in South Korean politics, particularly those in the PPP have rallied around Yoon despite the fact that Hong is more popular. Hong's policy positions are no more attractive than Yoon's. The difference lies in the several investigations currently pending against Yoon's family members, colleagues in prosecution offices, and Yoon himself based upon credible allegations of corruption, misuse of public office, fraud on the courts and so on. Yoon's wife is under investigation for stock manipulation, his mother in law was already convicted in a lower court of what Americans would call "medicare fraud," and Yoon himself left the office of Prosecutor General while under a cloud of accusations of ethical violations, including politicizing the office, interfering in investigations, and unlawful investigations of sitting judges. Yoon was suspended from office by a disciplinary committee which he challenged in court. The disciplinary committee's decision to suspend him from office for two months was ultimately upheld by a court which noted that Yoon had no grounds for appeal, and that he could have been dismissed from office for his misconduct. Yoon's former office (The Supreme Prosecutor's Office) is currently under investigation for preparing politically motivated private charges against his critics and democratic politicians. Those judges and prosecutors who have investigations or prosecutions of persons in Yoon's "network" or their critics and opponents put before them, cannot help but be intimidated by the prospect of Yoon potentially becoming the president of South Korea. Yoon as a candidate represents the worst of the so called "corrupt special interests" in South Korea, He is dull witted, superstitious, and arbitrary in disposition and will, if elected, become an authoritarian despot in all but name.
(South Korea) Yoon Seok-yeol's "apple" apology and the Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol gave a presentation in Busan, October 19, during his presidential primary campaign, in which he expressed approval of the former dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan. He basically said that except for the ROK Army's slaughter of popular resistance to Chun Doo-hwan's coup d'etat, in Kwangju, (May 18, 1980), Chun's martial law regime administered South Korea well. His tactless remark went viral on the internet and social media throughout South Korea and met with widespread disapproval. People's Power Party leadership called on him to apologize to the many Korean people offended by his thoughtless remarks. Yoon then posted a somewhat lengthy and circuitous apology on social media, which basically said he was sorry for his shortcoming, that he didn't adequately perceive the sensitivity of affected South Koreans, who had suffered at the hands of the Chun Du-won. Yoon asserted he would learn to be a better politician as a result of the learning experience.
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 10.22-10.23) (Left) Yoon's "Dol" celebration picture; (center) "memorable Indian apple;" (right) Yoon's Jindo dog being offered an apple, Dori like his father likes Indian apples. All comments on the posts had been removed.
However, after Yoon's written apology was posted, 10 hours later at night, a photo attributed to Yoon's instagram address was uploaded, suggesting that Yoon took the matter lightly and was taunting his critics. The picture of Yoon's traditional Dol ( 돌 ) celebration picture at age one, show's him sitting at the ceremonial table of fruit, holding an apple. This was posted on October 20. Sa gwa ( 사과 ) means apology in Korean; it is also a homonym for "apple." The caption under the Dol photo of Yoon as a one year old baby said, that even today Yoon favored apples over other fruit. On October 22, two more photos with a sardonic "sa gwa" theme were uploaded on social media, one of an indoor plant from which an apple hangs by a thread. The caption underneath says "memorable Indian apple." Another picture uploaded shows Yoon's Jindo dog (a Korean dog breed) being offered an apple (apology). The caption underneath said, Dori (Yoon's dog) resembles his father in that he likes (an) Indian apple (apology). Indo sagwa ( 인도사과 ) can also mean, moral or humane apology or guided or obligated apology in this context. One political pundit compared this kind of inappropriate biting sarcasm as characteristic of the "Ilbe" internet hate sites frequented by right wing young males so popular in South Korea now.
Shortly after the pictures were uploaded and went viral on social media, Yoon had a pre-scheduled televised debate, one on one, with a minor PPP candidate, Yoo Seung-min, during the conservative party's primary campaign process. In the debate, Yoo Seung-min questioned Yoon extensively concerning the circumstances surrounding the uploaded pictures of apples in various contexts. At first Yoon appeared to be taken somewhat off guard and responded awkwardly attempting to dissociate himself from the uploaded pictures. Seeing that Yoo wasn't letting go of the subject matter, Yoon came around to admitting the authenticity of the photos attributing them to an unnamed employee in his campaign. He said the pictures were uploaded in an office "near his apartment," and that his wife Kim Gun-hee participated in the process. He admitted that he had approved of the photos being uploaded on his instagram account. Yoon claimed that the intent of the photos being posted is being distorted by critics. Clearly on the defensive, Yoon chose to double down on the gaffe which had brought on the political demand for his apology and then its apparent sardonic and disrespectful repudiation by uploading the related photos. Yoon, digging himself into a deeper hole, insisted that his original gaffe concerning dictator Chun Du-won's martial law regime was correct, and that Chun ruled South Korea wisely and that this was widely understood, even in Honam, the region where the Kwangju uprising and massacre took place.
In his most recent public statements, Yoon has apparently acknowledged his culpability, admitting posting the photos was his fault. His campaign office floated the idea that Yoon would go to Kwangju next month to apologize formally and make a visit to the memorial site where those killed during the 5.18 uprising against martial law were buried. The schedule for Yoon's visit wouldn't be confirmed until November 5. One observer questioned what difference this would make in Yoon's campaign when the primary would be effectively over November 5 with final selection of the People's Party presidential candidate taking place that day.
Someone keeping track noted 14 major gaffes by Yoon since he announced his candidacy June 29. Among the more memorable ones, were his comments that Fukishima never blew up; that it's okay to work 120 hours a week; and that adulterated goods shouldn't be regulated or poorer people wouldn't have lower price choices in the market place. In another gaffe, Yoon, used a Japanese yakasu term for "turf" or dominion used by thugs extorting business owners to refer to the Honam region as "his." Critics contended Yoon's expression was akin to using the "F" word in a formal setting. Further, critics felt Yoon's use of the gangland expression, reflected on his demonstrated character as "boss," when serving as Prosecutor General, willing to use state power arbitrarily against his rivals and critics. Yoon on another occasion denigrated concerns about pay for manual laborers, saying that manual labor was something from Africa. Yoon also made televised appearances recently over a three day period with the Chinese character for king ( 王 ) marked on the palm of his hand, which raised questions again about his possible shamanistic beliefs, and whether he washes his hands.
One interesting development in the online investigations and discussions of Yoon's latest public blunders, is that the photo of Yoon's dog being offered an apple, on close examination, reveals that the photo was taken most likely, in the Kobana Kontents office of Yoon's wife. The fixtures and dog's cushion are virtually identical. Also intriguing is that although Yoon publicly had denied direct participation in staging the photo, the reflection in a closeup of the pet's eye show's a man slouching in a sitting position with his legs splayed apart in the rude posture which is virtually a Yoon trademark. It should be noted that sending an apple or a picture of an apple as representation of an apology for some minor slight among friends is a practice now among young South Koreans. That Yoon would acquiesce to such an inappropriate gimmick with respect to comments he made concerning the mass murders and other criminal acts by Chun Doo-hwan, shows how poor his judgement is and who would really be running the administration, namely, Kim Gun-hee, his wife. Or would it be her Shaman? All this painfully similar in nature to the relationship between Choi Soon-sil and former President Park Geun-hye, now in prison.
A Korea Gallup poll of 1000 persons over age 18 during period October 19 thru 21 showed the democratic presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, leading Yoon Seok-yeol in a hypothetical presidential matchup, 34 to 31 percent. Range of error plus or minus 3.1 percent. So Yoon appears to have lost some support.
South Korea- Lee Nak-yon suffers early primary loss to progressive candidate Lee Jae-myung
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 youtube 9.5.21) Democratic presidential candidate contender Lee Nak-yon suffers serious loss to Lee Jae-myung in early Sep. 4-5 regional primaries by a 2-1 margin. Lee Jae-myung, far left, 54.81 percent; Lee Nak-yon, second from left, 27.41 percent. Jung Sye-kyun, (3rd place) 7.84 percent; Chu Mi-ae (4th) 6.67 percent.
Lee Nak-yon's greatest blunders? Stalling the reforms sought by the candlelight revolution when they put the democratic party in power after the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. Lee Nak-yon served as Prime Minister to Moon Jae-in and later as Democratic Party leader in the National Assembly. He is perceived as having stonewalled prosecution and press reforms sought by democratic voters. Worse, he later called for the pardon of corrupt conservative authoritarian presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. Additionally, he was critical of former Justice Minister Cho Guk who led the reform movement. Cho Guk, as a consequence, found himself and his family persecuted in the courts by the dictator in waiting, conservative presidential candidate, Yoon Seok-yeol. Yoon was Prosecutor General at the time.
Lee Nak-yon also failed to support former Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae, (fourth place at 6.67 percent) who replaced Cho Guk in the office, in her efforts to restrain out of control Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's abuse of power and her efforts to discipline him, and remove his supporters from prosecution offices across South Korea. Lee Nak-yon's true colors exposed, his public support has plummeted. Virtually half of Lee Nak-yon's supporters say they will vote conservative if he is not the democratic candidate for president in the coming March 2022 election. These conservatively oriented Lee Nak yon supporters are probably about 5 percent of the general electorate at this point as his support has dropped to about 9-10 percent of the overall electorate.
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(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 youtube 9.5.21) Democratic Party presidential candidate primary schedule in South Korea. Daejeon/Chungnam 9.4: Sejong/Chungbuk 9.5; Daegu/Gyeongbuk 9.11; Gangwon 9.12; Gwangju/Cheonam 9.25 ; Cheonbuk 9.26; 10.1 Cheju; 10.2 Busan, Ulsan/Gyeongnam; 10.3 Inchon; 10.10 Seoul.
South Korea Democratic Primary Schedule
( Source- 언론알아야바꾼다 youtube 8.16) New democratic party primary campaign schedule dates: Sep. 4, circuit primary campaigns begin (previously Aug. 7); Sep. 12, party members caste votes in first round primary candidate selection; Oct. 3, second round balloting for presidential candidate; Oct. 10, final voting to confirm democratic party presidential candidate's nomination; Announcement mid-October.
( Source- 언론알아야바꾼다 youtube 8.16) South Korea's 2022 presidential election schedule. In 2022, official registration of presidential candidates begins Feburary 13-14, with the election activity officially beginning Feb. 15; Overseas balloting period February 23-28; Early ballots March 4-5 and final ballots March 9, 2022.
The important dates for the South Korean primary selection process for presidential candidates from an earlier 언론알아야바 video report had outdated information concerning the democratic party primary process. These two graphics are posted as an update/correction. These two graphics from the same source, are taken from the 언알바 youtube video on August 16. The changes in the schedule were secured by supporters of Lee Nak-won and Chung Sye-kyun. It was believed that a four to five week delay in the primary selection schedule would give them some more time to catch up to Lee Jae-myung, the leading democratic candidate and Gyeonggido governor. Lee Nak-yon is 12.9 percent in national polling, and Chung is less than 2 percent.
It was noted in the same program that Lee JM has a distinct advantage in the electoral race as the current governor of Gyeonggido which has more democratic voters than any other jurisdiction in South Korea. Competitors are unlikely to make inroads criticizing Lee JM's proposals for universal income payments to compensate individuals for the adverse economic effects of the pandemic. The reactionary ideological response from the right, that it isn't the government's responsibility to support the people economically is likely to fall flat. The "where are you going to get the money arguments" of centrist democrats like Lee Nak-yon aren't gaining much traction with democrats under the circumstances. As a governor, Lee Jae-myung can get the money right out of his own provincial administration budget and distribute it, while others carp about austerity. Another positive attribute of Lee JM's approach is that it is practical, and demonstrates a commitment to the public welfare and economic issues. Thus the focus of the election is directed away from a negative mandate on the Moon Jae-in administration, where centrists and conservatives without a policy program would like it to stay.
The source 언론알아야바 also noted the public policy discussion scheduled by the conservative People's Power Party for its presidential candidates on September 17 and 25th. Yoon's camp had indicated a reluctance to participate with a large slate of minor candidates. Hong Joong-pyo has criticized Yoon for his reluctance to debate characterizing it as fear. In another provocative and politically significant move, Hong has gone beyond general criticism of Yoon's politicization of the Prosecutor General's office, to a specific attack on the corruption of the law enforcement processes concerning his mother in law, who was recently convicted of fraud in the operation of a medical facility. Hong specifically raised the issue of whether or not there was political interference in the earlier investigation of the case when a nolle prosse determination was made concerning Yoon's mother in law, Choi. Recently, mother in law Choi, was found guilty at her first trial and sentenced to three years in prison. So Hong has taken the initiative here, firing a shot across the bow, indicating that he accepts the allegations of progressives on the left, and the prosecution reform faction of the democratic party, that Yoon compromised his former public office and the rule of law in South Korea. This is Yoon's Achilles' heel. One could argue, that Yoon has to become president in order to protect himself and his family from further investigations and prosecution. There are currently several corruption investigations pending against Yoon, his wife, and mother in law. The conservative mainstream media is avoiding this subject matter as much as possible. They are stake holders in the Yoon political scheme referred to commonly as press-prosecution collusion (to protect corrupt special interests).
If matters related to the alleged corruption of the prosecutors' offices and Yoon's family are fair targets in a political campaign how will the press avoid the issue when they are debated on a televised debate? How will they avoid the issue if Yoon declines to participate? Hong wins either way, and democrats benefit from conservative infighting. Will Hong's scathing commentary on Yoon be limited to Facebook posts and social media? Checking the English language media last night, the internal fissure in the PPP was described as a candidate Yoon- Party Leader Lee feud. This was covered in our prior post, but the Hong- Yong rivalry is likely to be more damaging, as Hong is an experienced and able campaigner.
The above supplements my earlier August 14 polling update at the link below which has more discussion about the early presidential campaign maneuvering in South Korea:
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2021/08/south-korea-august-12-polls-in.html
Originally a friend recommended that I post what I translated
Originally, i did it to learn the language. I translated news articles mostly. She encouraged me to write down what i was doing. I listened to songs and memorized them when I was a driver to pass the time. Eventually i realized how beautiful some of the song lyrics were and began writing them down. When my friend died I translated this song:
친구여 조용필 가사 Dear Friend, by Jo Yong Pil, lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=fCTbT85876s
꿈은 A dream
하늘에서 잠자고 In the sky sleeping
추억은 Memory
구름따라 흐르고 flows following clouds
친구여 Dear Friend
모습은 어딜 갔나 Your visage, where has it gone?
그리운 친구여 Missed dear friend.
옛 일 Past days
생각이 날때마다 each time those thoughts arise,
우리 our
잃어버린 정 찾아 lost affection, I seek
친구여 Dear Friend
꿈속에서 만날까 in a dream shall we meet
조용히 눈을 감네 Quietly, close our eyes
슬픔도 기쁨도 Sadness and Joy too,
외로움도 함께 했지 loneliness too, we had together.
부푼 꿈 을 안고 Risen dream, embrace
내일을 다짐하던 Tomorrow, our promised
우리 굳 센 약속 어디에 Our sure strong pledge where is it?
꿈은 The dream
하늘에서 잠자고 Sleeps in heaven
추억은 The memory
구름따라 흐르고 flows following clouds
친구여 Dear Friend
모습은 어딜 갔나 Your visage, where has it gone?
그리운 친구여 Missed dear friend.
If overtaken by events and I stop to listen to or work on some translation of a beautiful song, it restores my sense of balance and well being. I know poetry or other great art can do the same. These are not my lyrics, but I want others to experience the beauty of these songs.
South Korea: Current presidential candidate standings, as of August 5.
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 youtube 8.8) Joongang survey of public opinion from 8.3 to 8.5: percent approval of leading presidential candidates: Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggido, democratic party, 25% ; Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General, People's Power Party, 19 %; Lee Nak-yon, national assembly member, former prime minister and party leader, democratic party, 11 % ; and Choi Jae-hyung, former government audit agency head, PPP, 4%.
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 youtube 8.8) This line chart follows chronologically from Feb 2021 week one (left) fitness for presidential office opinions by percentage surveyed by NBS up to the first week in August (right) for the top three candidates: Lee Jae-myung, democratic party (top blue line, 28% ); Yoon Seok-yeol, PPP candidate (red line, 22% ); and Lee Nak-yon, democratic party (blue-green line, 10% ).
Lee Jae-myung, is the popular democratic governor of Gyeonggi Do (province) a major suburban area around Seoul. He is regarded as the progressive candidate. Yoon Seok-yeol is the conservative independent candidate who just joined the PPP conservative opposition party. Yoon is a former prosecutor whose family is embroiled in controversy and legal investigations. It is widely believed by critics in social media that Yoon and his family are corrupt. His supporters claim that the allegations against him, his spouse and mother in law are politically motivated and unproven. The conservative mainstream media support him. His mother in law was recently sent to prison for a medical benefits fraud scheme after her first trial. The decision is being appealed.
Lee Nak-yon, is the centrist democratic candidate whose criticisms of former democratic Justice Minister Cho Guk (now subject to prosecution initiated and allegedly politically motivated by Yoon) has eroded his support somewhat inside the democratic party. Lee Nak-yon's expressed desire to pardon former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, has also lessened his popular support recently. Choi Jae-hyung, who like Yoon Seok-yeol, held an important post in the democratic Moon Jae-in administration, is regarded as something as an opportunist now posing as a rock ribbed conservative. The presence of Yoon and Choi as PPP candidates is believed to reflect a weak conservative field of candidates. Party primaries initial and secondary, and party designations of their respective candidates have not taken place and won't be completed till fall 2021. The presidential election is scheduled for March 6, 2022.
죽창가 Bamboo Spear Song
The original poem is attributed to Kim Nam-ju ( 故 김남주 시인 ) according to an article in the International Newspaper July 16, 2019 shortly after the final episode of the dramatic series Noktu Flower ( 녹두꽃 ). Noktu Flower portrays the Tonghak reform movement in late 19th Century Chosun.*
* 조국 게재한 죽창가 가사 내용은? 정치권 의견 분분, 이영실 기자, 7.16.19 국제신문 ; http://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0100&key=20190716.99099007677
This mountain village, soar together!
Let's become a flower. The flower
nurtured by falling tears and broken feet
let's become noktu flowers
This mountain valley all together take flight!
Lets become a bird. A bird
To north and south it cries,
Let's become the flying blue bird
This field alight together
Let's become a fire. A fire
burning plains lighting the darkness
Let's become the field afire
Let's do that, it's time for that
One more time, this village
Let's become a rebellion
Green pine green bamboo fixed in our heart
Let's become the bamboo spear
( 죽창가 / 김남주 시, 김경주 곡 )
I've taken a liberal rather than literal interpretation in order to convey the aesthetic and emotional appeal of the original in hangul. From watching the Noktu Flower drama series and learning from other sources about the period I tried to capture the spirit of the uprising's Bamboo Spear Hymn. The poem by Kim Nam-ju won a literary award in 1989. At some earlier point it was set to music by Kim Kyeong-ju, and sung by college students during the uprising against the Chun Du-hwan dictatorship. A song with similar imagery actually arose during the Tonghak rebellion period. There is an academic argument about the use of the symbolism of the "blue birds" as compared to the use of the symbol in '새야새야' ( Birds! Birds! )a folk song from the period in which the birds could be interpreted to symbolize invading foreign armies alighting on the mung bean (noktu) fields offending the spirit of the ancestors whose souls reside there to ward off the birds.* The seasonal coming and going of the birds takes a entirely different meaning in The Bamboo Spear Song.
*조국 수석의 '죽창가' 인용, 무엇이 문제란 말인가? 19.07.23 12:01l최종 업데이트 19.07.23 19:05l추준우 ; http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002555923
The poem and the song are politically controversial in the early stages of the current South Korean presidential political campaign. It is said by conservatives to represent "harmful" populist nationalism in South Korean politics. There is more on the historical background of the poem in the article at the link below:
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2021/08/bamboo-spear-song.html
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