A Discussion with Mincheol Kim, Jesuit Scholastic and Graduate Student, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea
With: Mincheol Kim Berkley Center Profile
May 26, 2015
Background: As
part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in May 2015 undergraduate
student Dana Drecksel interviewed Mincheol Kim, a Jesuit scholastic and graduate
student at Sogang University, a Jesuit institution in Seoul, South Korea. In
this interview, Kim discusses the construction of the naval base in Gangjeong
village, Sogang University’s Jesuit identity, and social justice issues in his
country, including those related to the naval base, the environment, and
general human dignity.
First, let me say that I got your questions via email. I am
not an expert on these issues, but I can comment on a few things about social
justice issues like the Gangjeong village.
Well, I appreciate any and all comments that you are willing to provide! I do not need expert comments; I am just looking for your perspective.
First of all, I repeat, I am not so knowledgeable about the Gangjeong village matter. But as a citizen of Korea, many times I have heard about the Gangjeong village issue because the commonsensical, the just people are talking about that issues—now and many years ago also. So I have some information given by them.
So it started back in 1993. The Korean government decided that yes, we need to have a naval base in the southern sea area to secure the nation against the imaginary enemy, one of which was China. They were looking for a place to build the naval base; they considered Jeju Island the proper and right place to build it. But actually, it was not Gangjeong village that was first considered to be the right place. Actually, there were other places on Jeju Island. At first, the resident people were very much against it. They refused it. And there were some technical problems, so the government withdrew and looked for another location.
By the time of 2007, they started to consider Gangjeong village. But I think that they were afraid that they might fail again, because of the resistance from the resident people. So they used an illegal tactic; they manipulated the popular opinion about the naval base. As a protocol, they are supposed to have a consensus and voting of the resident people. So they arranged the vote for the naval base. But the problem is that number of resident people is over 1,000 people, but those who were present to vote were only 80 people! That is nonsense. But they argued that this is a legal vote; so based on this decision, they went through with the project. It is very problematic.
The content that I am talking about now you can get through the internet, so I don’t need to go into too much detail, but the general idea is that the government showed a very arrogant attitude to the village people. Though the villagers had peaceful rallies, and peaceful protests, the government blocked the way and stopped the rallying and manipulated the village people so that there was a division among themselves. That is a typical tactic that the Korean government uses against the people. It is ridiculous.
Wow, only 80 people came out? How did the government influence the people with the vote?
The government did not actually stop the voting. To have a vote, they had to announce the vote, so that the people have a lot of information and knowledge about that issue. But that period was only given by a week—a very short period. So many people did not know if there were going to be a vote or not. That’s why not so many people were present at the voting place.
What was the response like on Sogang’s campus? Are students generally aware of what is going on in Gangjeong?
I think that not just the Sogang people or students, but the Korean people heard about it many times. Because it has been almost 10 years since that issue was started, and many media covered the issue. But the thing is that it is sort of far from here; it is happening in the isolated island. It is not their own issue, because they are busy with their own things to do. So they don’t show enough concern for the matter that is happening in Gangjeong village.
So as far as I know, when it comes to Sogang students, I have never actually seen protests or other student activities promoting justice on the island. But I guess that the students do have knowledge about the issue.
So even though you said that people don’t actively oppose or support the naval base, when you consider your peers and the students at Sogang University, how do you think they generally feel about the naval base?
In general, there is division by age: so-called “young-age” and “old-age.” Generally, the old-age is for national security; so, they argue that we should have the naval base to protect ourselves. But the younger generation, they are more for the environmental issues. So they are more concerned for the biosphere and other ecological concerns. In general, more of the younger generation are opposed to having a naval base there.
In addition, I think you might have heard about it. In South Korea, there is a big division which is ideological: socialism and anti-socialism. This is because the Korean Peninsula was struck hard by the Korean War, which happened because of that ideological conflict. So the older generation has sort of an allergic response to socialism and communism. They hate socialism, and they hate communism. And they even hate social justice, because it is their trauma, it is their experience from the Korean War. They argue that it was caused from socialism or communism, so they hate social justice issues… even the environmental issues.
But the younger generation is different. They are more for the ecological concerns.
How do you think that transition took place?
I think there was a transition, and it happened in a short period compared to other countries. After the Korean War, the First Republic of South Korea had nothing to build the industry. Because of the Korean War, every social structure was broken; it collapsed because of the war. So we had to build ourselves from the base. So the famous dictator, Park Chung-hee, who was the leader in the 1960s and 1970s, concentrated all of his energy into building up the Korean economy, to having the factories and promoting exports to other countries to have more dollars and money to build a nation, and things like that. So he focused on having a rich country.
By way of that, he suppressed the voice of the people. He oppressed the need for democracy. He oppressed the people’s thirst for democratic values. So there were many oppressed amongst the people; many people died, many people were killed, many people didn’t have their own voices expressed in the public.
But in the 1970s, that dictator was assassinated by his colleagues. And after that, many things changed. Even though we had another dictator, things started to change. So, in the 1960s and 1970s we had a so-called “democratization” period. In the way of democratization, the Catholic Church showed concern and raised up a voice for the people. So that is why many people in Korea still remember the Catholic Church as being for justice. You can trust it. People still have this kind of sentiment. And that is why many Catholic priests are still engaging in these types of issues very actively.
During that democratization, people started to recognize that yes, we need democratic values, and yes, we need to have a democratic country—not like this. So people started to recognize values. It took place during this kind of period.
I know that you are very involved with environmental issues. Can you comment on some of the areas that you are currently involved with?
We have very serious problems regarding our river, the flowing river. We have a national project for irrigation; for irrigation, and other projects, the former president Lee Myung-bak started the project which is called Four Grand Rivers Project, which is supposed to make a canal which goes through the whole Korean peninsula. This costs a huge amount of money and will have a huge impact on the environment. Huge! And it has already started. But many ecologists were very much against this plan because it was obvious that this would ruin the whole ecosystem in the Korean peninsula. They will have to dig the canal and make an artificial bank. To do this requires a lot of money and will cause environmental destruction. It is already ruined, I’m afraid.
So every summer, we have some problems with that river, which goes through the center of the Korean peninsula. What is the problem? Every summer, when we don’t have enough rain, it smells. It ruined everything. Because of the construction, the river was ruined hugely. So every summer, when we don’t have enough rain, it emits stinky odors. And not only that—I cannot enumerate all of the problems. But already many living things, many beautiful and precious and rare animals and fishes have been killed. I cannot describe the huge amount of destruction. And the Korean government tries to hide this fact from the people. If you look on the Internet, maybe in English, you will find some information. It is a very serious problem that is going on now.
And also, we have another problem, which is related to the nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant issue is very urgent now. As far as I know, next to France—because, as you know, France is using the nuclear plant to make electricity and they are known for that; they are number one in the world— but next to France comes South Korea. A very serious problem. And we are using a very old nuclear power plant.
As far as I know, the nuclear power plant is only supposed to last 20 or 30 years, but the oldest nuclear power plant we have is 36 years old. And the Korean government decided to extend its usage so that they can use it longer. But the thing is that many ecologists and many planners are afraid that this may cause an environmental catastrophe. Like, you know, in the case of Fukushima? Japan is a very technologically advanced country, and they thought that they could control everything. But when the disaster just happened, they had nothing they could do; they just saw the nuclear power plant blow up. They couldn’t do anything about it. So this is an urgent issue, the nuclear power plant.
And, many people who are concerned about this issue sued against the government. I am one of these people. The national sue committee. And I am a part of it.
They are hiding something, just like the Japanese government. They are hiding something. In the committee for the nuclear power plant, which is supposed to supervise the whole system, the Korean government—as usual—is manipulating tactics. So we don’t have trust on our government. This is sad thing. This is true.
And heavy!
So how does the lawsuit work?
We have one Jesuit priest who is a theology professor at Sogang University. He taught me. He invited many Jesuit scholastics, like me, to participate in that movement to make a lawsuit against the government. And I took part in it. He is very active in this environmental issue.
Are other students very interested in this?
Sure, sure. I am not sure about other students, but when it comes to Jesuit scholastics like me, who are the theological students, many of them participated.
As you were saying before, there is a distinction between the younger generation and the older generation on social justice issues. How do you feel about the environmental issues? Are there distinctions between the generations?
Generally, we can say that the younger generation is more involved, but even among the younger generation, there is some division. There are some students who are more for the environmental issues, and on the other hand, there are some students who are not so concerned about that.
The sad phenomenon is that, even among the younger generation, we start to see those students who are only concerned about themselves. They are not concerned with social justice issues—they are only concerned about their GPA, or records. That’s a sad reality.
How do the Jesuit values of Sogang University influence that generalization?
I believe that Sogang students, compared to other universities, care more about these kinds of issues. They care more about social justice, because, as you know, many American Jesuits came to Korea to build this university, and they implanted values of social justice, just as Jesuits do. So these values have an influence on the students.
How is the curriculum involved in fostering those values?
The Sogang University curriculum, in general, is based upon the Jesuit values and Catholic values. As you know Catholic values also include the kind of social concern, as you may find in the Catholic social teaching. So many students who are Catholic, and are active, and are interested in these Catholic values, I believe they have concern, deep concern, on this point.
Well, thank you very much for your comments. Those are all of the questions that I have at this point. Do you have anything that you would like to add?
Let me think… we have talked about the Gangjeong, the Four Grand Rivers Project, the nuclear power plant… ah, yes….
Aside from all of these ecological issues, there is a general issue, which is about life, human dignity. Because—I am not sure if you have heard about this incident—this tragedy, which happened last year, in which the ferry which was carrying the young students for a picnic capsized in the middle of the sea, the Korean Sea. Over 300 young students died. And when the big ship began to capsize, it was the students who called the police—not the captain, and not the other crew. They just ignored the lives of the young students in order to survive themselves. Not the students.
Can you imagine? It was the students who first reported to the police station: “We are dying! We are capsizing right now!” That is when the police approached. But it was a big ship, a big cruise boat, a big ferry boat, but they couldn’t do anything. It capsized slowly, but slowly, people died. It was—I cannot describe.
The government has the responsibility to save people, to make everything right when it comes to the transportation system. But the thing is that they didn’t do anything, and people have died, and many people are suffering from the loss of life even now. The Korean government didn’t investigate the cause of the incident. They just tried to hide something that might reveal the incompetence of the Korean government. They are afraid. It is ridiculous.
That is so sad. What was the response like from the citizens after the ferry incident?
Last year, it was the fifteenth of April. And a few weeks ago, it was the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. And many people gathered to commemorate, to mourn the loss of life. Still, many people are raising their voices: we need a thorough investigation of this matter. A thorough investigation! But the government is not doing anything—just giving excuses. That is why many commonsensical Korean citizens don’t have any trust for the Korean government. I’m sorry to say that.
Yes, well, I am very appreciative of your candid comments! These are the sorts of things that I can’t just get by looking on the Internet, so I appreciate your thoughts.
Well, I hope that they helped you.
They definitely did!
Well, I appreciate any and all comments that you are willing to provide! I do not need expert comments; I am just looking for your perspective.
First of all, I repeat, I am not so knowledgeable about the Gangjeong village matter. But as a citizen of Korea, many times I have heard about the Gangjeong village issue because the commonsensical, the just people are talking about that issues—now and many years ago also. So I have some information given by them.
So it started back in 1993. The Korean government decided that yes, we need to have a naval base in the southern sea area to secure the nation against the imaginary enemy, one of which was China. They were looking for a place to build the naval base; they considered Jeju Island the proper and right place to build it. But actually, it was not Gangjeong village that was first considered to be the right place. Actually, there were other places on Jeju Island. At first, the resident people were very much against it. They refused it. And there were some technical problems, so the government withdrew and looked for another location.
By the time of 2007, they started to consider Gangjeong village. But I think that they were afraid that they might fail again, because of the resistance from the resident people. So they used an illegal tactic; they manipulated the popular opinion about the naval base. As a protocol, they are supposed to have a consensus and voting of the resident people. So they arranged the vote for the naval base. But the problem is that number of resident people is over 1,000 people, but those who were present to vote were only 80 people! That is nonsense. But they argued that this is a legal vote; so based on this decision, they went through with the project. It is very problematic.
The content that I am talking about now you can get through the internet, so I don’t need to go into too much detail, but the general idea is that the government showed a very arrogant attitude to the village people. Though the villagers had peaceful rallies, and peaceful protests, the government blocked the way and stopped the rallying and manipulated the village people so that there was a division among themselves. That is a typical tactic that the Korean government uses against the people. It is ridiculous.
Wow, only 80 people came out? How did the government influence the people with the vote?
The government did not actually stop the voting. To have a vote, they had to announce the vote, so that the people have a lot of information and knowledge about that issue. But that period was only given by a week—a very short period. So many people did not know if there were going to be a vote or not. That’s why not so many people were present at the voting place.
What was the response like on Sogang’s campus? Are students generally aware of what is going on in Gangjeong?
I think that not just the Sogang people or students, but the Korean people heard about it many times. Because it has been almost 10 years since that issue was started, and many media covered the issue. But the thing is that it is sort of far from here; it is happening in the isolated island. It is not their own issue, because they are busy with their own things to do. So they don’t show enough concern for the matter that is happening in Gangjeong village.
So as far as I know, when it comes to Sogang students, I have never actually seen protests or other student activities promoting justice on the island. But I guess that the students do have knowledge about the issue.
So even though you said that people don’t actively oppose or support the naval base, when you consider your peers and the students at Sogang University, how do you think they generally feel about the naval base?
In general, there is division by age: so-called “young-age” and “old-age.” Generally, the old-age is for national security; so, they argue that we should have the naval base to protect ourselves. But the younger generation, they are more for the environmental issues. So they are more concerned for the biosphere and other ecological concerns. In general, more of the younger generation are opposed to having a naval base there.
In addition, I think you might have heard about it. In South Korea, there is a big division which is ideological: socialism and anti-socialism. This is because the Korean Peninsula was struck hard by the Korean War, which happened because of that ideological conflict. So the older generation has sort of an allergic response to socialism and communism. They hate socialism, and they hate communism. And they even hate social justice, because it is their trauma, it is their experience from the Korean War. They argue that it was caused from socialism or communism, so they hate social justice issues… even the environmental issues.
But the younger generation is different. They are more for the ecological concerns.
How do you think that transition took place?
I think there was a transition, and it happened in a short period compared to other countries. After the Korean War, the First Republic of South Korea had nothing to build the industry. Because of the Korean War, every social structure was broken; it collapsed because of the war. So we had to build ourselves from the base. So the famous dictator, Park Chung-hee, who was the leader in the 1960s and 1970s, concentrated all of his energy into building up the Korean economy, to having the factories and promoting exports to other countries to have more dollars and money to build a nation, and things like that. So he focused on having a rich country.
By way of that, he suppressed the voice of the people. He oppressed the need for democracy. He oppressed the people’s thirst for democratic values. So there were many oppressed amongst the people; many people died, many people were killed, many people didn’t have their own voices expressed in the public.
But in the 1970s, that dictator was assassinated by his colleagues. And after that, many things changed. Even though we had another dictator, things started to change. So, in the 1960s and 1970s we had a so-called “democratization” period. In the way of democratization, the Catholic Church showed concern and raised up a voice for the people. So that is why many people in Korea still remember the Catholic Church as being for justice. You can trust it. People still have this kind of sentiment. And that is why many Catholic priests are still engaging in these types of issues very actively.
During that democratization, people started to recognize that yes, we need democratic values, and yes, we need to have a democratic country—not like this. So people started to recognize values. It took place during this kind of period.
I know that you are very involved with environmental issues. Can you comment on some of the areas that you are currently involved with?
We have very serious problems regarding our river, the flowing river. We have a national project for irrigation; for irrigation, and other projects, the former president Lee Myung-bak started the project which is called Four Grand Rivers Project, which is supposed to make a canal which goes through the whole Korean peninsula. This costs a huge amount of money and will have a huge impact on the environment. Huge! And it has already started. But many ecologists were very much against this plan because it was obvious that this would ruin the whole ecosystem in the Korean peninsula. They will have to dig the canal and make an artificial bank. To do this requires a lot of money and will cause environmental destruction. It is already ruined, I’m afraid.
So every summer, we have some problems with that river, which goes through the center of the Korean peninsula. What is the problem? Every summer, when we don’t have enough rain, it smells. It ruined everything. Because of the construction, the river was ruined hugely. So every summer, when we don’t have enough rain, it emits stinky odors. And not only that—I cannot enumerate all of the problems. But already many living things, many beautiful and precious and rare animals and fishes have been killed. I cannot describe the huge amount of destruction. And the Korean government tries to hide this fact from the people. If you look on the Internet, maybe in English, you will find some information. It is a very serious problem that is going on now.
And also, we have another problem, which is related to the nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant issue is very urgent now. As far as I know, next to France—because, as you know, France is using the nuclear plant to make electricity and they are known for that; they are number one in the world— but next to France comes South Korea. A very serious problem. And we are using a very old nuclear power plant.
As far as I know, the nuclear power plant is only supposed to last 20 or 30 years, but the oldest nuclear power plant we have is 36 years old. And the Korean government decided to extend its usage so that they can use it longer. But the thing is that many ecologists and many planners are afraid that this may cause an environmental catastrophe. Like, you know, in the case of Fukushima? Japan is a very technologically advanced country, and they thought that they could control everything. But when the disaster just happened, they had nothing they could do; they just saw the nuclear power plant blow up. They couldn’t do anything about it. So this is an urgent issue, the nuclear power plant.
And, many people who are concerned about this issue sued against the government. I am one of these people. The national sue committee. And I am a part of it.
They are hiding something, just like the Japanese government. They are hiding something. In the committee for the nuclear power plant, which is supposed to supervise the whole system, the Korean government—as usual—is manipulating tactics. So we don’t have trust on our government. This is sad thing. This is true.
And heavy!
So how does the lawsuit work?
We have one Jesuit priest who is a theology professor at Sogang University. He taught me. He invited many Jesuit scholastics, like me, to participate in that movement to make a lawsuit against the government. And I took part in it. He is very active in this environmental issue.
Are other students very interested in this?
Sure, sure. I am not sure about other students, but when it comes to Jesuit scholastics like me, who are the theological students, many of them participated.
As you were saying before, there is a distinction between the younger generation and the older generation on social justice issues. How do you feel about the environmental issues? Are there distinctions between the generations?
Generally, we can say that the younger generation is more involved, but even among the younger generation, there is some division. There are some students who are more for the environmental issues, and on the other hand, there are some students who are not so concerned about that.
The sad phenomenon is that, even among the younger generation, we start to see those students who are only concerned about themselves. They are not concerned with social justice issues—they are only concerned about their GPA, or records. That’s a sad reality.
How do the Jesuit values of Sogang University influence that generalization?
I believe that Sogang students, compared to other universities, care more about these kinds of issues. They care more about social justice, because, as you know, many American Jesuits came to Korea to build this university, and they implanted values of social justice, just as Jesuits do. So these values have an influence on the students.
How is the curriculum involved in fostering those values?
The Sogang University curriculum, in general, is based upon the Jesuit values and Catholic values. As you know Catholic values also include the kind of social concern, as you may find in the Catholic social teaching. So many students who are Catholic, and are active, and are interested in these Catholic values, I believe they have concern, deep concern, on this point.
Well, thank you very much for your comments. Those are all of the questions that I have at this point. Do you have anything that you would like to add?
Let me think… we have talked about the Gangjeong, the Four Grand Rivers Project, the nuclear power plant… ah, yes….
Aside from all of these ecological issues, there is a general issue, which is about life, human dignity. Because—I am not sure if you have heard about this incident—this tragedy, which happened last year, in which the ferry which was carrying the young students for a picnic capsized in the middle of the sea, the Korean Sea. Over 300 young students died. And when the big ship began to capsize, it was the students who called the police—not the captain, and not the other crew. They just ignored the lives of the young students in order to survive themselves. Not the students.
Can you imagine? It was the students who first reported to the police station: “We are dying! We are capsizing right now!” That is when the police approached. But it was a big ship, a big cruise boat, a big ferry boat, but they couldn’t do anything. It capsized slowly, but slowly, people died. It was—I cannot describe.
The government has the responsibility to save people, to make everything right when it comes to the transportation system. But the thing is that they didn’t do anything, and people have died, and many people are suffering from the loss of life even now. The Korean government didn’t investigate the cause of the incident. They just tried to hide something that might reveal the incompetence of the Korean government. They are afraid. It is ridiculous.
That is so sad. What was the response like from the citizens after the ferry incident?
Last year, it was the fifteenth of April. And a few weeks ago, it was the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. And many people gathered to commemorate, to mourn the loss of life. Still, many people are raising their voices: we need a thorough investigation of this matter. A thorough investigation! But the government is not doing anything—just giving excuses. That is why many commonsensical Korean citizens don’t have any trust for the Korean government. I’m sorry to say that.
Yes, well, I am very appreciative of your candid comments! These are the sorts of things that I can’t just get by looking on the Internet, so I appreciate your thoughts.
Well, I hope that they helped you.
They definitely did!
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