"I appeal to you once more. Can we not pack the entire Olympic Park so tightly that there is not an inch of space left?" ⒸHanmi Ilbo 

It has been over 10 years since I began participating in outdoor rallies to prevent the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

Through sweltering heat waves exceeding 30℃ and bone-chilling cold dropping to -20℃, through rain and snow, I have run across the Gangnam and Gwanghwamun areas with my comrades, striving to set right a crumbling nation.

Among my patriotic ROTC comrades, there are friends who travel every single week to join the rallies, coming from as far as the outskirts of Chuncheon in Gangwon-do, rural Goesan in Chungbuk, and the suburbs of Yangju in Gyeonggi-do.

Some comrades, unable to attend due to health or business reasons, send donations every time. Over these ten years, some comrades have passed away without seeing a better world. When President Yoon Suk-yeol was elected in March 2022, we were all so happy, thinking we would no longer need to take to the streets….

There was a comrade living in the U.S. who returned to Korea with his spouse for an extended period just to attend the local rallies. I still remember what he said after seeing the scene for himself.

“Why are the friends who live right here in Seoul not coming out?”

Last April, I had two more stents inserted into my heart, bringing the total to six. When I posted in our group chat that my activities might not be as vigorous as before, many friends expressed concern and told me to prioritize my health.

However, it broke my heart when one friend, who had never once attended a rally and had stood by as if the nation’s fate were someone else’s problem, asked me to “get well soon and keep fighting hard.”

It made me feel cynical, wondering if I am the only one with nothing better to do, and questioning why a friend who has enjoyed every benefit of this nation cannot even show up on the front lines at least once.

The friends who never show up to the rallies are often the ones who talk as if they are the only ones worried about the country. I once served as a lay missionary in Cambodia for three years. During that time, I often visited neighboring Vietnam.

In communist-ruled Vietnam, all those who had once stood up to build a democratic society have been purged and are nowhere to be found.

There are still many people who think the current "Olympic Park Struggle" is someone else’s business, saying, "There's no way South Korea will become communist," or "How could there be election fraud in this day and age?" There is an old saying: smart people prepare in advance, while the foolish only learn after suffering the consequences.

I feel discouraged when I appeal to friends who have never once come out, telling them, "The current struggle at Olympic Park is our last chance to restore democracy in this country," only to be met with inaction.

There are 250,000 ROTC graduates who are known for their strong sense of national duty and their balanced cultivation of both civil and military virtues.

Of them, only about 100 comrades come to the Olympic Park. Looking at this reality, there are times when I even think that the Republic of Korea may already be finished. I cannot help but tear up when I see young people at the Olympic Park, braving the heat, screaming until their voices break for "a recount of the fraudulent election and manual counting of ballots."

I appeal to you once more. Can we not pack the entire Olympic Park so tightly that there is not an inch of space left?

If you truly believe that a superficial election where we have no choice but to accept the pre-arranged results of the Election Commission is none of your business, then you don't have to come to the Olympic Park.

Do you intend to wait until communism slowly takes hold and a government notice finally orders everyone under the age of 60 to assemble at a local elementary school playground before you come to your senses? We must stay alert now if we are to avoid becoming like Vietnam. I am over eighty and don't have many days left, but my heart turns dark when I think of the youth.

I plead with you in tears: join the Olympic Park struggle before it is too late.

As the Bible says, faith without works is dead; likewise, a struggle without action has no meaning.

I especially urge those living near Olympic Park—those in Jamsil and Gangnam—to please come out and encourage the young people who are crying out in desperation.

◆ Dr. Kim Jae-soo

Doctor of Information Studies, current Chairman of the National Light Foundation. Previously served as Head of Division at the Agency for Defense Development, Adjunct Professor at Kyonggi University, Co-Representative of the National Movement Headquarters for the Abolition of Special Privileges, and 5th and 6th Chairman of the Republic of Korea ROTC Patriotic Comrades Association.