Power, justice and truth | Truth and Reconciliation | Ham Sok-Hon (1901-1989): A Maverick Thinker and Pacifist

05-27-2010 18:23       Power, justice and truth

By Kim Sung-soo ``Truth is not justice. Power is justice. Withdraw your lawsuit against the head of the Commission or you'll get hurt!" These are the words that I've been hearing many times from a colleague of mine ever since I filed a lawsuit for defamation against Lee Young-jo, president of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). I know that he means well and is just concerned about my welfare. In fact, the point he makes is not entirely absurd. This could be the reason why only two Koreans and one American decided to participate in the lawsuit against Lee among the three Koreans and three Americans who participated in the translation and proofreading of ``Truth and Reconciliation," a book which was banned for distribution by Lee. It was sad to hear the non-participating members say that they could not participate in the lawsuit ``in fear of potential retaliation by Lee." In March, during an official meeting, when I was still working at the Commission, Lee yelled at me, ``Shut up! I know your IP address." I retorted, ``Mr. President, is it okay in a free democratic society to deny an employee to speak during a meeting?" That's when he stopped his yelling and restrained himself. Recently I heard that he ordered his close associate to find out my new place of employment. It saddened me to know that he was seeking me out. What does he plan to do? He must be one of those people who believes power is justice. English is not a religion or a sanctuary. Anyone who studies hard can reach a certain level of fluency. The translators of the TRC's banned book have studied more than 10 years in English-speaking countries such as the U.K. and U.S. They are people with doctorate or master's degrees who make a living as professional translators. As for the proofreaders, they are educated Americans with master's or doctorate degrees who have been working as professional proofreaders for more than five years. The translators and proofreaders, including myself, who participated in the censored text, dedicated themselves to the project and were proud to have their names credited in the internationally distributed book. Not only did this involve professionalism, but also a sense of responsibility. However, as soon as Lee took office as the chief of the TRC last December, he banned the distribution of the book on grounds that ``most of the English translation was terrible." The irony is that Lee, a senior official of the Commission at that time, was actually one of the people who approved the publication of the English version of the Commission's findings before he became president. In an April 5 article by The Korea Times, a journalist asked the TRC, ``On what grounds did you decide to ban the distribution of the English book?" Lee Ok-nam, PR chief at the TRC, replied, ``We decided to stop the distribution of the book based upon an evaluation submitted by a native English-speaking proofreader." However, Benjamin Applegate, who took the job, told The Korea Times that he did not make such an assessment for the TRC, though he made a summary of the errors he found in the book. Yet considering that the ban was enforced in early December 2009, this evaluation which was submitted in March 2010 logically could not have been considered at all. Andrew Salmon, a correspondent for The Times, said in an interview with The Korea Times that the ban should be lifted. He pointed out that 21st century Korea is still an ideological battle ground, saying, ``The question facing the Commission is whether it can staff itself with professionals whose personal ideologies do not affect their work." And he said, ``Uncomfortable as it may be, the truth should be out." Correct. No matter how inconvenient it may be, the truth must be revealed, especially at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This is my reason for taking legal action. I believe that the banning of this book by the Commission is a serious violation of freedom of speech and expression. In a free democratic society, one must be able to freely express oneself despite his or her political or ideological preference. Lee's ban on this book is not only anachronistic but it goes against the principles and values of democracy which holds precious the freedom of speech and expression. Lee spoke in an interview with ``Weekly Donga" on March 9 to state his position regarding the controversy. He said, ``This was the only English book published by the Commission. It's the face of the Commission shown to foreigners, but there were many grammatical and syntax errors, and awkward expressions." He continued, ``The introduction written by the former president (of the Commission) was relatively okay because he received the help of a professional translator and it was proofread, but the rest was terrible." In response to this, I posted an open question on the Commission's online bulletin board. I stated, ``Not only was the president's introduction assisted by professionals, but the entire text was proofread three times by three different professional proofreaders." And I added, ``Furthermore, you (Lee) were given more than three months to review the text before approval, but chose not to correct any of the `terrible' parts. Is this not a neglect of duty? And why do you refuse to reveal which parts are incorrect?" Until the truth is revealed, I will continue to fight this battle. Just like my colleague was trying to warn me, I too understand that truth and justice do not always prevail. I know that I could get hurt for standing up against power and authority. However, as the late prominent dissident Ham Sok-hon once said, ``If you believe you are just, you must contend even with the absolute being, God." That is why I will take this libel case to the end until the truth is revealed. Kim Sung-soo, who has a Ph.D. in historical studies, was head of the international cooperation team of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). He was also the author of the ``Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-hon." He can be reached at wadans@empal.com.  The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial policy of The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/12/160_66619.html   04-29-2008 15:51       Truth and Reconciliation By Kim Sung-soo Korean history in the 20th century witnessed Japanese colonialism, the division of the country between North and South, civil war and military dictatorship. Throughout this troubled century many civilians experienced oppression and human rights abuse but in many ways the families of these victims continued to suffer. For example, before and during the 1950-53 Korean War, more than 200,000 innocent South Korean civilians were massacred by their own police, military, anti-communist groups and even U.S. soldiers. Yet the bereaved families, guilty by association, continued to be victimized ― they were not allowed to get decent jobs or work in the public sector, police tailed them wherever they went and their children were bullied at school. Most of the eyewitnesses and survivors are already dead. Although even these victims' families are now quite old, memories of these human rights abuses are still fresh. During the periods of authoritarian rule (1948-60) and military dictatorship (1961-87), there were also frequent human rights abuses in the name of national security. Dissidents, demonstrators and sometimes even innocent people were dragged away by police and tortured or murdered. Some people simply disappeared and those who survived were either enlisted into the army or were permanently disabled after undergoing unbearable torture. It was only after Korea became democratized that it began to address this past. The past-dealing of the Gwangju Democratization Movement (Massacre) in 1980 may be the most well-known case among them. In the early 2000s civil society groups began a nationwide campaign to establish a body to deal with these issues. Working alongside these human rights activists and the bereaved families, liberal lawmakers proposed a bill to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea (TRCK) to expose this hidden history of abuse of power from the time Korea was colonized by the Japanese up to the military dictatorship of the late 1980s. After considerable debate the bill became law in May 2005 and the TRCK was launched on December 1, 2005. The TRCK is run by 15 commissioners who are appointed by the President, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court. It is an independent governmental body, and the scope of its investigations covers the following five areas: the anti-Japanese movement during the colonial period and the history of the Korean diasporas; the massacre of civilians after 1945; human rights abuses by the state; incidents of dubious conviction and suspicious death; reinvestigation of the above categories and other incidents as determined by the Commission. Since the government has never dealt with these kind of issues before, the TRCK has been charged with addressing some of the most sensitive and painful events in 20th century Korean history. The TRCK's truth-finding activities are not only to settle the grievances of the individual victims, they also function as preventive measures against a recurrence of the same sort of incidents in the future. Its goal is to prevent a distorted history leading to a distorted present and future. Korea is only country in Asia that reveals its shameful past to the public. However painful it may be, knowing the truth can help us build a better society in the future. Human history is like a root of a tree. We cannot expect a tree to flourish if we cut its roots. Equally, we cannot dream of building a bright future while we ignore our history. Kim Sung-soo, who has a PhD. in historical studies, works as head of the International Cooperation Team of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea (www.jinsil.go.kr/english). He was the author of ``Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Sok-Hon." He can be reached at wadans@empal.com. http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/12/198_23295.html Events Ham Sok-Hon (1901-1989): A Maverick Thinker and Pacifist Event Date: Tuesday, Jan 25, 2011 Event Duration: 7:30 p.m. ~ 8:30 p.m. Event Location: 2nd floor, Residents’ Lounge, Somerset Palace, Seoul Event Cost: Free (members), 5,000 won (non-members) Event Lecturer: Dr. Sung-Soo Kim Contact Name: Sue J. Bae, Phone: (02) 763-9483, Email: raskb@kornet.net       Ham Sok Hon was a prominent personage in Korean Protestantism, a courageous advocate of peace and a valiant fighter for democracy and the rights of the people. Born in North Korea, Ham experienced oppressive regimes under Japanese colonialism, under the Soviet military that occupied North Korea after liberation from Japan and, after fleeing to the South in 1947, again in South Korea under the autocratic regime of that time and later under the military dictatorships. Ham was originally a teacher by profession, but is known as a maverick thinker, a voice of the people and a prolific writer who spoke up on behalf of the oppressed people through his books, articles, lectures and participation in nonviolent protests despite attempts by the authorities to suppress him. A strong advocate for freedom from all types of repression, Ham always emphasized nonviolent means. His commitment to nonviolence has earned him the name of the 'Conscience of Korea' and 'Korean Gandhi'. Ham had his share of glory and tribulations; a pacifist who admired Gandhi, he was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and 1985, and as an outspoken activist he was incarcerated 9 times in total by the regimes he criticized. In this respect, Ham was an important Asian voice for human rights and nonviolence during the 20th century, despite numerous imprisonments for his beliefs. He was formally a Quaker, which is a nonsectarian Christian group, but he also concluded that all religions are one, atypical of most Christian thinkers. In 2000, Ham was selected by the Republic of Korea as a national cultural figure.  The main contents of the lecture  Introduction 1. Searching for Identity under Japanese colonial rule 2. A Pacifist during the authoritarian regime 3. Free from the Christo-centric view of Christianity 4. Between and above the Left and Right Concluding Remarks Dr. Sung-Soo Kim received his BA (honours) and MA in History from the University of Essex and his PhD in East Asian History from the University of Sheffield, in the UK. He is author of Ham Sok Hon: A Biography. He used to work for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea. Currently he works as a journalist for OhmyNews. http://raskb.com/site/events/single/ham_sok-hon_1901-1989_a_maverick_thinker_and_pacifist/