During the Lunar New Year rush, everyone misses people. Children away from home miss their parents. Parents feel sorry for their children struggling far away. [Photo=Yonhap News]

This article begins on a train. I am on my way back to Seoul after holding my father's memorial service last night. Before boarding the train, I stopped by the market and bought things needed for the Lunar New Year, sending them to my mother's house. It's the least I can do as the eldest son. 

During the Lunar New Year rush, everyone misses people. Children away from home miss their parents. Parents feel sorry for their children struggling far away. 

The KTX is extremely crowded, with standing room only. Ahead of the Lunar New Year rush, people are already busy. These people are likely worrying about the nation's fate along with their own life's challenges. 

A World Dangerous to Open Your Eyes To

On YouTube, a teacher, an 'academy instructor,' holds a press conference. He states he is appearing on eight 'charges.' 

These days, it's dangerous to keep your eyes wide open. You have to keep them half-closed. The atmosphere is brutal, and anyone could be apprehended at any moment. When families and close friends gather, they tell each other to 'watch what you say.' 

'Police boxes' are operated by 'civilians.' If someone doesn't like your thoughts or finds them disagreeable, 'civilians' impersonate judicial authorities, monitoring, reporting, and judging. Here and there, Korean 'Red Guards' are playing patrol. The 'former academy instructor,' who was even invited by the White House, doesn't know what will happen to him. 

What can I say? This country is, if you look with your own eyes, a totalitarian dictatorship. How many days has it been since the president was imprisoned on charges of rebellion? 

A party, whose majority is inexplicable, passes any bill it wants. It's truly efficient. They plan to completely change the judiciary, introducing legislation for 'law distortion,' effectively a 'fourth trial,' and increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. (Applying the charge of law distortion to judges is an interesting idea. It would be good to apply it to judges who sentence people by fabricating charges of rebellion.)

The People's Party Without the People, and the Democratic Party Without Democracy

In this climate, the 'People's Party' without the people is no different from a 'partner' to the 'Democratic Party' without democracy. 

If the 'Democratic Party' is, in crude terms, the explicit 'first branch' of 'that faction,' then the 'People's Party' acts as the less noticeable 'second branch.' The leader of this party and some of its supreme council members feigned immense care for the person imprisoned. However, as the sentencing date approaches, they reveal their 'true intentions.' 

"During Lunar New Year, don't people who are apart gather in one place, and don't sad stories melt away like melting snow?" [Photo=Hanmi Ilbo]

It's a mystery why people like Han Dong-hoon, Kim Moon-soo, and others become the dominant force in that party. 

Is the true intention of this 'People's Party' a product of behind-the-scenes appeasement, trickery, or compromise? With whom? And what kind of deal? In this situation, 'breaking news' from an unknown source is broadcast. 

Did the 'former academy instructor' intend to change the name of the Republic of Korea and abolish the legislative, judicial, and executive branches? According to the National Intelligence Service, a YouTuber influenced the 'raid' on Gadeokdo. Is that true? (The truth of this incident is now expelled even from YouTube and has taken refuge in Lambro.) 

The breaking news blinds the eyes and ears of King Sejong's 'young' subjects. The reality of the 'mountain stronghold regime' that has virtually completed 'one-party dictatorship' by seizing the three branches of power in one hand is hidden amidst the chaos. 

It is a brutal 'rule.' Over a year ago, those who resisted the wrongful arrest warrant issued by the Western District Court against President Yoon were labeled as 'occupiers,' 'rioters,' 'raiders,' and 'disturbers.' 

Let's compare. The students who occupied and protested at the Saemaul Undong Training Institute in 1985 were all arrested, but out of a total of 191 individuals, more than half, 112, were released with a stay of prosecution. 

The Western District Court incident records 137 indictments, 100 arrest warrant requests, 95 warrants issued, and 69 prison sentences. 

'Occupation,' 'Riot,' 'Raid,' 'Disturbance' Followed by 'Resistance'

How frighteningly are the youths involved in the Western District Court incident being 'punished' by those who call the occupation protest back then a 'democratization movement' instead of 'extreme left-wing riot'? The saying 'cruel governance is fiercer than a tiger' (苛政猛於虎) is not an old tale. 

Writing 'Yoon Again' is the only answer. I can already hear the outcry of criticism. This is the only way to solve the problem. That's what I think. 

The incitement that 'Yoon Again' is 'far-right' is no different from the past, when the mobilization of left-wing forces was blamed for "abolishing the fascist constitution." (Actually, I was becoming a leftist back then.) 

Let's not fall for false nomenclature and incitement. If, hypothetically, the National Assembly was seized through fraudulent elections, the president was impeached, martial law was overturned as a rebellion, and power was regained through further fraudulent elections, how could all this barbarity and injustice be corrected? 

In Danjae Shin Chae-ho's novel, there is 'Dream Sky.' The protagonist's name is 'Han Nom,' referring to 'one person' among 'one person,' 'two persons.' As they go to find the 'Lord's country' together, friends who were going with him fall away one by one. Eventually, only 'Han Nom' remains on that path. 

However, it doesn't seem like only 'Han Nom' is on this path today. There are those who diligently spread facts, realities, and the current situation through YouTube. There are voices crying out in Gwanghwamun, in front of detention centers, and in front of courthouses. There are those who will come to help. 'Darkness cannot overcome light.' 

As I composed myself, my body had moved to Seoul, and another night had passed. It's dawn. The lingering scent of my father's memorial service and the approaching Lunar New Year still envelop me. During Lunar New Year, don't people who are apart gather in one place, and don't sad stories melt away like melting snow? They should. News is not far off. 

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◆ Professor Bang Min-ho

Doctor of Literature, Professor of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University. He is the chief editor of the quarterly literary magazine 'Mac' (since 2022) and is actively engaged as a poet, novelist, and literary critic. His works include 'Lover Simcheong' (2015), 'Language of Pain' (2019), 'Re-examining Korean Criticism' (2021), and 'Seoul Literary Journey' (2024).