http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/opinion/international/south-korea-targets-dissent.html?_r=1


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International Opinion | Editorial

South Korea Targets Dissent


By THE EDITORIAL BOARDNOV. 19, 2015


Protesters marching to the Presidential House after a rally against government policy in Seoul, South Korea. Credit Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press


South Koreans can be as proud of their country’s emergence from dictatorship into a vibrant democracy as they are of the rags-to-riches development that made their country a global industrial powerhouse. So it is alarming that President Park Geun-hye appears intent on backtracking on the democratic freedoms that have made South Korea as different from North Korea’s puppet regime as day is from night.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets to protest two repressive government initiatives. One would replace the independently selected history textbooks now available to South Korea’s educators with government-issued textbooks. The other would change labor laws to make it easier for South Korea’s family-controlled business conglomerates to fire workers.

Ms. Park is also attempting to control criticism and dissent on social media and the Internet. On Saturday, Lee Sir-goo, the co-chief executive of South Korea’s most popular messaging app, stepped down. He is facing criminal charges for failing to prevent teenagers from posting lewd photos, but critics contend the real goal is to punish him for resisting government surveillance efforts and refusing to curb users’ opinions critical of the government.

Ms. Park is the daughter of Gen. Park Chung-hee, who was an Imperial Japanese officer in the colonial era and South Korea’s military dictator from 1961 to 1979. Rehabilitating her father’s image appears to be one motivation for making sure South Korea’s students learn a whitewashed version of their country’s history — especially the period when democratic freedoms were seen as an impediment to industrialization.

South Korea’s economy has been hit hard this year by an outbreak of MERS respiratory disease and a slowdown in demand from China and other Asian countries. The biggest risk to South Korea’s reputation abroad, however, is not economic but political, chiefly Ms. Park’s heavy-handed attempts to rewrite history and quash dissent.

International Opinion | Editorial

South Korea Targets Dissent


By THE EDITORIAL BOARDNOV. 19, 2015

Photo

protesters marching to the Presidential House after a rally against government policy in Seoul, South Korea. Credit Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press

Continue reading the main story

South Koreans can be as proud of their country’s emergence from dictatorship into a vibrant democracy as they are of the rags-to-riches development that made their country a global industrial powerhouse. So it is alarming that President Park Geun-hye appears intent on backtracking on the democratic freedoms that have made South Korea as different from North Korea’s puppet regime as day is from night.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets to protest two repressive government initiatives. One would replace the independently selected history textbooks now available to South Korea’s educators with government-issued textbooks. The other would change labor laws to make it easier for South Korea’s family-controlled business conglomerates to fire workers.

Ms. Park is also attempting to control criticism and dissent on social media and the Internet. On Saturday, Lee Sir-goo, the co-chief executive of South Korea’s most popular messaging app, stepped down. He is facing criminal charges for failing to prevent teenagers from posting lewd photos, but critics contend the real goal is to punish him for resisting government surveillance efforts and refusing to curb users’ opinions critical of the government.

Ms. Park is the daughter of Gen. Park Chung-hee, who was an Imperial Japanese officer in the colonial era and South Korea’s military dictator from 1961 to 1979. Rehabilitating her father’s image appears to be one motivation for making sure South Korea’s students learn a whitewashed version of their country’s history — especially the period when democratic freedoms were seen as an impediment to industrialization.

South Korea’s economy has been hit hard this year by an outbreak of MERS respiratory disease and a slowdown in demand from China and other Asian countries. The biggest risk to South Korea’s reputation abroad, however, is not economic but political, chiefly Ms. Park’s heavy-handed attempts to rewrite history and quash dissent.

http://community.koreatimes.com/board/board_Contents.php?board_no=1&no=253233&req=6

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tydikon [ 2015-11-22 07:09:49 ]
보다 젊은 사람들의 불만이 커지고있다는 것을 보여주는 사례이다. 세계적인 언론, 비교적 보수적인 뉴욕타임즈가 이러한 글을 실었다는 자체에 벌서 우울한 기분이 드는데... 이게 작금의 뉴욕 한인회가 34대자리 다툼으로 그 화려한 패싸움을 전 세계에 공표한 덕택이라 생각 하니 참으로 암담한 생각이 앞선다. 저러고도 자신들의 잘못에 대한 한마디 사과없이 그냥 개기고 밍게며 자리차지하고있는 꼬라지가 참으로 안스럽고 이곳 열당 인사들도 그 잘 열리든 큰입이 도무지 열리지 않는 것을 볼때 도대체 저자들이 양심있는 지식인이며 바른 인격을 가진 자들인가 의구심이 들지 않을수없다는 것이다. 그래서 '올린 글이 인격이 비례하지 않는 것이며, 행동이 결여되면 오히려 악이된다.'는 것이다.

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tydikon [ 2015-11-22 06:52:40 ]
윗 사설을 번역한 어느 내티즌 曰,

"잘 보시면, INTERNATIONAL OPINION 뒤에 “EDITORIAL ” 이라는 단어가 보이시죠? 국제 분야의 “사설”이라는 뜻입니다.

그리고 기사 작성자에 by EDITORIAL BOARD 라고 써있죠? 편집국이라는 뜻입니다.

이 기사는 신문사가 자신들의 회사 이름을 걸고 의견을 내는 글, 즉 사설입니다. 뉴욕타임즈가 사명을 걸고 박근혜 대통령을 “민주주의를 역행시키는 자” 라고 비난을 한 글이에요.

좋은 글이네요 역시 뉴욕타임즈!!

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