Chinese Cultural Revolution poster.

There are people nowadays who claim, "America is a setting sun. China, on the path of 'One Belt, One Road,' is a rising sun. Therefore, Korea must abandon America and join hands with China." They speak with ignorance, asserting, "The US dollar has lost its value, and the Chinese yuan will become the primary reserve currency."

While such arguments should ideally be supported by precise figures and data, I will keep this brief as people do not read long and tedious texts.

Socialism: A Failed System, Why Are We Trying to Go Backwards?

For 50 years, I have witnessed the rise and fall of the 'Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,' the 'Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,' and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe. I have also directly experienced China and North Korea.

As everyone knows, the Soviet Union, once a superpower rivaling the United States for first or second place, collapsed after just over 70 years of existence. The Yugoslav Federation fell apart in 1992, after just over 50 years, and all of Eastern European socialism collapsed. North Korea, 50 years after its founding, lost its national value by starving over 3 million of its people to death in the 1990s.

However, China, the poorest among the socialist countries, introduced market economy in 1980, initiating a half-hearted "socialism with Chinese characteristics." This is why it has achieved economic growth without collapsing.

In essence, China was the country that should have collapsed first. However, it has managed to endure until now thanks to adopting a market economy and a development model similar to South Korea's Park Chung-hee era.

But China's fate is also limited. The collapse of Chinese-style socialism is an unavoidable destiny, just like other socialist countries.

The primary reason socialism is bound to fail is dictatorship, which suppresses human freedom. Communism attempts to maintain its system by suppressing human creativity, spontaneity, and freedom.

Admittedly, dictatorship can, through cunning tactics, create obedient slaves out of citizens for a while. However, dictatorship leads to all sorts of corruption, flattery, and rebellion against the system, accompanied by economic stagnation. This is why socialism collapses.

The second reason for its inevitable collapse lies in the serious flaws of the economic theories put forth by communists and the numerous defects in their economic systems.

For example, to prevent economic crises that capitalist countries experience, socialism implements a planned economy where the government controls the entire national economy. While planned economy sounds plausible, it is, in reality, no different from the system of early human tribal communities.

The pros and cons of socialist planned economy and capitalist market economy can be clearly understood by observing the economic disparity between North and South Korea.

Furthermore, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Yugoslav Federation, the former proponents of socialism, and Eastern European socialist countries serves as evidence. The current decline of China, which was rapidly developing after adopting a market economy, is also evidence.

We Dislike Spoiled Food, So Why Do We Choose 'Spoiled Goods' in Politics?

The fact that North Korea, which was more developed than South Korea after liberation, has degenerated into a starving nation is also evidence. The decline of Cuba, the only socialist country in South America, further proves that socialism is a "setting sun."

Yet, it is strange that Korean leftists, failing to see the serious weaknesses of socialism, are chasing after North Korea and China like moths to a flame. It is truly foolish.

After liberation, many prominent Korean figures who followed socialism went to North Korea. But look at the nation they helped Kim Il-sung build – a nation where people starve to death in the 21st century.

The only legacy left by the South Koreans who went to the North at that time is the atomic bomb and mass-destruction chemical weapons created by Lee Seung-gi, the world's foremost chemical博士 (doctorate), and Do Sang-rok, a world-renowned nuclear physics博士 (doctorate).

Those who, despite seeing this, remain unrepentant and advocate abandoning America for China, claiming America is a setting sun and China is a rising sun, are traitors seeking to ruin the Republic of Korea.

The leftists who criticize the power plants, railways, and ports built by Japanese imperialism on the Korean peninsula as tools of plunder and invasion – why do they lavish praise on China's "One Belt, One Road" policy in Southeast Asia and the Middle East?

Leftists who would be aghast at the thought of eating and using spoiled food and cheap counterfeit goods produced by socialist countries like China – why do they, of all people, prefer ideological and political "spoiled goods" from declining nations? This is why I call leftists fools.

Let's be honest! If you ask those who advocate for joining hands with China where they would send their children to study abroad, between the US and China, 100% would say the US. And if you ask where they would prefer to live, between the US and China, 100% would say the US. So, why do these people say Korea should abandon the US and join hands with China?

The United States, a liberal democratic country, will not collapse as long as humanity exists. However, China, a socialist dictatorship that suppresses human freedom, is a "setting sun."

◆ Advisor Kim Tae-san

Advisor at Hankmi Daily, former representative of a North Korean trading company in the Czech Republic. In South Korea, he has served as Vice President of the North Korean Social Research Institute, offering profound insights and experience on inter-Korean relations and North Korean issues.