Poet and Columnist Jeong Jae-hak The sound of the morning rain is fierce. What kind of disaster is this in mid-October? Last summer, heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, submerging areas up to chest height. Low-lying areas and riverside dwellings in the city suffered immense flood damage. Naturally, there were also casualties.

This is due to the suspension of the Yeongsan River maintenance project. When President Yoon Suk-yeol sought to redevelop the Yeongsan River, the citizens of Gwangju reacted with outrage, and the project could not even begin. The weirs built by President Lee Myung-bak were dismantled long ago. Despite the strong opposition from farmers along the Yeongsan River, they wielded the knife of political retaliation against the innocent Yeongsan River.

After the weirs were removed, floods occurred, causing water damage and loss of life. Yet, the people of Jeolla Province remained silent. While the river maintenance project should be undertaken now, the Democratic Party and the people of Jeolla Province are only busy concealing the mistakes they made.

Consequently, drought and flood damage will persist next year. This is a man-made disaster inflicted upon those who exclusively support the Democratic Party. Are they not people devoid of reflection or improvement?

With the return of the Democratic Party government, China's aggression is becoming more apparent. Chinese purchases of farmland, islands, and other real estate are rapidly increasing. Numerous Chinatowns are being constructed precisely in these areas. These are Chinese enclaves where South Korean laws and order do not apply.

Furthermore, China is purchasing all of South Korea's government bonds at a national level. This could lead to our economy being strangled by China. China's espionage activities are comprehensive, ranging from industrial technology theft and corporate takeovers to spy operations.

Recently, approximately 1,300 Chinese individuals who entered under visa-free conditions have disappeared. They are untraceable as there is no personal information. The Democratic Party is allowing all of these activities by China.

Despite this, the people of Jeolla Province have not offered a single word of criticism towards the Democratic Party.

The act of building wind power plants with Chinese components and failing to repair them when they malfunction is pure thuggery. Even when witnessing Chinese individuals kidnapping and murdering Koreans, or when solar panels are found to have spy chips embedded in them, they merely stand by and watch. They do not consider that South Korea's electricity supply could be cut off at any moment by Chinese hands.

Most of the judges who appeared in Lee Jae-myung's trial to save him were from Jeolla Province. They have undermined South Korean judiciary with their own Jeolla-style conscience and judgments. The majority of people in Jeolla Province have not expressed anger over this.

The special prosecutor, who is at the forefront of Lee Jae-myung's dictatorship, is dismantling not only the ROK-US alliance but also religious freedom. The raid on Osan Air Base was the culmination of anti-American movements, and this too was carried out by a prosecutor from Jeolla Province. The treason of the Catholic Priests for Justice is being covered up, while a pastor who opposed Lee Jae-myung has been arrested. Jeolla Province has yet to pass judgment on this matter.

Businesses in Jeolla Province are disappearing. Kumho Tire, plagued by union strikes, has lost the will to rebuild after a fire at its Ham-pyeong plant and hopes to relocate to Europe. Kumho is a company from Jeolla Province. As businesses leave and unemployment rises, the population is also declining. City buildings are lined with empty shops, and markets are closing down.

However, Jeolla Province remains blind. There is no sympathy or protection for businesses collapsing due to the "Yellow Envelope Act." Why do they not understand that without businesses, there are no people, no workers, and no nation?

Before and after liberation, all communists, including Park Heon-young, who led communism in this land, started from one error.

It was a fantasy about Soviet communism. The Bolshevik Revolution, which began in 1917 with workers and peasants as its core, and eventually succeeded in eliminating landlords and capitalists and achieving industrialization, was a mythical event. Thus, the communist revolution was accepted as a messianic image that would save Joseon and its people. However, the sharing of all wealth equally, or communism, was merely an illusion, and the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving only that meager illusion behind.

The Burim Incident, which produced a fake Roh Moo-hyun, was also a kind of happening that emerged from the illusion that communism would follow capitalism. Today, those who believe in communism and the people of Jeolla Province are living in the illusion that "the Democratic Party = a democratic world."

Lee Jae-myung is a person who dreams of dictatorship. I have seen police officers who prevent people from even holding the Taegeukgi. The arrest of Lee Jin-sook, the chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, is a signal that liberal democracy is disappearing and communist dictatorship is beginning, the likes of which has not been seen since the founding of the nation. The people of Jeolla Province must clearly understand that the individuals from Jeolla Province who are aiding such misfortune, like the persecution of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, are precisely those individuals.

The names of truth, sincerity, and peace cannot be an excuse for evil deeds. Advocating for North Korea's nuclear weapons for the sake of peace is an evil deed. Discontinuing the NIS's broadcasts to North Korea and resuming operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex are evidence that the Democratic Party and the people of Jeolla Province are committing evil deeds while speaking of peace.

Communists live with two meanings. One is to live with conviction in their identity. The second is absolute obedience to orders. Therefore, there is no communist who admits to being wrong. They will shift their mistakes onto others and escape, no matter the means.

Viewing the United States as an enemy and considering fighting against it as a source of pride is a serious error. Speaking of the US as an occupying force and the Soviet Union as a liberating force was an error of seeing and judging incorrectly from the beginning.

The fact that the US, even amidst the Korean War, sent cargo ships loaded with dairy cows for our sake is a fact that cannot be forgotten even now. My friends and I survived on aid supplies sent by the US. Back then, there was no student who did not eat the corn porridge or corn bread that their teachers served at school.

The sight of young Soviet soldiers with watches adorning their wrists was something that occurred entirely in North Korean territory. These were all stolen items. Moreover, these were Soviet soldiers who plundered and raped in broad daylight. Were they truly liberating forces?

Jeolla Province is a habitat and refuge for so-called anti-Americans who fight against the "American imperialists." The numerous fakes who appear among the 5.18 democracy movement participants are precisely those individuals. This is an act that deserves divine punishment.

Therefore, let Jeolla Province and its people not hold their heads high for the next 100 years. You are currently committing unforgivable sins. Or rather, you are accomplices in treason without reflection, people without value as a nation.

Seeing China being involved, and the laws and systems of South Korea being dismantled for North Korea, yet blaming Lee Jae-myung for not receiving a few ministerial positions—at that dirty level, Jeolla Province has already lost hope.

Are you engaging in acts that ruin the nation just to get a few more ministerial positions? Therefore, Jeolla Province must live for the next 100 years in atonement. Do not utter the words of loyalty and righteousness, and do not manage the nation.

China is involved in every aspect of South Korea, including security, economy, culture, and education. Therefore, all those from Jeolla Province who are currently holding positions of power under the Lee Jae-myung administration should return to the land of Jeolla Province. Live there on the uninhabited island of Sinan, fishing and gathering shellfish, and seeking forgiveness for a hundred years.

The exchange rate has jumped from the 1340s to the 1430s. There are reports that it will soon reach the 1500s. Even in this dire situation, the people of Jeolla Province do not criticize Lee Jae-myung.

Lee Jae-myung's foreign policy is in ruins. No country in the world treats Lee Jae-myung as the President of South Korea. Even Cambodia looks down on South Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is indifferent even as South Korean citizens are kidnapped and murdered in Cambodia. When a South Korean citizen who escaped after being kidnapped in Cambodia sought help, some scoundrel at the embassy told them to report it directly to the police.

A normal president, more than anyone else, should have made a public announcement to the nation about the situation in Cambodia, outlined countermeasures, and focused diplomatic efforts. There are still reports of 68 abducted South Korean citizens. How much must they have been beaten to death?

However, Lee Jae-myung is busy "hiding Kim Hyun-ji" rather than protecting our citizens, and is instead focusing on framing half the population as engaging in "sedition." He is even provoking the public by appearing on entertainment programs. When the president is in such a state, the Cambodian embassy and consulates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also in a similar condition.

Therefore, even if contempt and disregard for Jeolla Province begin again, you should have no grounds to complain. This is because Lee Jae-myung's behavior is supported by the backing of the Jeolla Province masses.

What uneducated person would dare to dream of rebellion in this land of Jeolla? October 19th marks the day of the Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion. Please, I implore you, do not call rebellions "uprisings" or rebels "insurgents."

Churchill said, "The leader of a nation reflects the level of its people." Do not forget that Lee Jae-myung's level—including impersonating a prosecutor, suborning perjury, breach of trust, and election law violations—is precisely the level of the people of Jeolla Province.

Poet and Columnist Jeong Jae-hak