Seoul (AsiaNews) - On 23 August in the hall of the National Assembly in Seoul the closing ceremony of the state funeral for former President Kim Dae-jung Thomas Moore, who died Aug. 18, was held. We say "closing ceremony" because the funeral, in fact, lasted six days and to a great degree the nation took part in it.
Conscience in Action
The editor of The Japan Times writes: "In highlighting his versatile personality in service of the weak and democracy, many titles have been used: the Nelson Mandela of Korea, the champion of democracy, human rights hero, the builder of peace in Asia, the politician of forgiveness and reconciliation. But the title that suits him is simple: DJ (as is he was commonly referred to) was a great man”.
Prime Minister Hang Seung-soo eulogised him in his address, "Having been in prison and under house arrest for many years, sentenced to death and forced into exile, having suffered many vicissitudes. You bore it all with unflinching determination and tenacity .. Democracy was born in this land from your blood and your tears”. And an ordinary citizen in a final farewell said: "We are here to return to him the respect and affection that he gave us. This is why your life has been turbulent. Now rest in peace”.
The funeral ceremonies in the East always end with a word of thanks to participants by a family of the deceased. During the final stop of the coffin in the Seoul Plaza in the center of the capital, thronged by thousands of citizens, the former first lady Lee Hee-ho, Kim's wife gave thanks: "I deeply appreciate your overflowing love. My husband never yielded to compromise or pressure in his efforts to defend human rights and the inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation despite bloody punishments and suffering. My husband, throughout his life, pursued the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. His last wish is that we all live as consciences in action who love peace and our neighbours in need”.
Words more than more than any others portray the personality of Kim Dae-jung: he was a "great man" because always and everywhere was a "conscience in action"
An example for the world
His influence has spread far beyond the borders of his nation. At the news of his death, condolences for his family arrived from many parts of the world and 18 nations sent official delegations to the state funeral: particularly significant those of the United States, China and Japan, headed respectively by former Secretary of U.S. State Mrs. Madeleine Albright, former Chinese Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan and former Japanese House Speaker Yohei Kono. The fact that the three heads of delegation are 'former' government officials does not diminish the value of the representation; rather, in this case, it increases it because all three have had direct relations with Kim's efforts for reconciliation and cooperation at various levels.
Interviewed agency Yonhap, Albright said: "President Kim Dae-jung was a wonderful leader who set a good example not only for Korea but also for the global community. He was a good friend and now (his death) a huge loss”.
Regarding Kim Dae-jung’s relations with Japan there is a single episode that reveals the greatness of his soul. During the infamous Japanese rule (1910-45) all the Koreans were required to adopt a Japanese name, and so in 1940, Kim Dae-jung became Toyota Hiroshi. His Japanese teacher, for whom the education of his pupils, irrespective of nationality, rather than nationalism was paramount, one day said to the boy "Toyota", "You will become a great man”. Sixty years later, President Kim Dae-jung, in a state visit to Japan, phoned his old school master saying, 'Master, this is Toyota-san speaking". The emotion of the old teacher resulted in Kim being charged of being unpatriotic by petty political enemies, who failed to sense that the president was indeed a "conscience in action."
Man of Faith
Michael Breen, a columnist for The Korea Times wrote: "Kim Dae Jung, as a Catholic, believed in forgiveness and reconciliation. This is why as president he pardoned two of his predecessors convicted for their role in the brutal repression of the democratic uprising in Kwangju in 1980”. The life and activities of Kim do not reveal their true greatness if read without reference to his Christian faith.
Kim was not born a Catholic. He was baptized at 35, in 1960, when, hurt and confused by the sudden death of his first wife, he met in Seoul John Chang Myon, a politician appointed prime minister that year, who on discovering his qualities urged Kim to continue his political career. But Kim, in turn, found in his mentor, a fervent Catholic and father of John Chang-yik, the current bishop of Ch'unch'on, the splendour of the Faith, which from then onwards illuminated and supported him on the via crucis he was to travel.
Media have expounded on one of the milestones in the many crosses he was to bear. In 1973, intelligence agents of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-he kidnapped him in a hotel in Tokyo and loaded on a boat to throw him overboard at sea. When the kidnappers, snickering, tied his feet to cement boulders, Kim fervently prayed to Jesus' Christ to save him and then he said, he saw Him. At exactly the same moment a large American helicopter swooped down on the boat. The captors, understanding they were caught, gave up on their criminal intent. President Richard Nixon, informed by counter spies, ordered the rescue in extremis.
Almost like a farewell salute to the late president of the Catholic community, Bishop Peter Kang, president of the Korean Catholic bishops' conference drew up a declaration which states: "The late President Thomas More Kim Dae-jung throughout his lifetime put into practise these words of the Lord: ‘But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream’ (Amos 5:24). He travelled the journey of justice and peace without being discouraged by the many political repression and threats to his life and was committed to democracy and reconciliation of the two Koreas”.
Kim’s last gift
Unexpectedly, the government of North Korea sent a delegation of 6 members to Seoul to pay homage to Kim Dae Jung, creator of the "sunshine policy" aimed at reconciliation with the North. Although the visit has taken place apparently without any formal request from Pyongyang to the Seoul government, its political significance and the positive result can not be underestimated. For three reasons: first, the delegation was headed by Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the Workers' Party (North Korea), and Kim Yang-gong, head of the department for inter-Korean relations. Both are direct collaborators of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and considered "pragmatic”. Second, the delegation was given a dinner by the minister of unification, which took place in a cordial atmosphere. Finally, the delegates extended by one day their stay in Seoul until a call from the Blue House (Presidential residence) for a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-back.
When that call came the meeting took place. The Blue House spokesman said that in the meeting, held in a "serious and cordial" atmosphere, the North Korean delegates related a "verbal message" from the leader Kim Jong-il to Lee and, in turn, Lee gave them his "verbal message" for their leader.
According to Cheong Seong-chang, an expert from the Sejong Institute in Seoul, "the fact that the content of the message to Kim Jong-il has not been made public indicates that it may contained substantial proposals, possibly on economic projects or a even third summit meeting”. However, the Blue House spokesman has warned against excessive hopes. "The meeting”, he said, “is only a new beginning"
The central news agency of North Korea informed the citizens of the North about the meeting just three hours after the return of the delegation, in short very rapidly by North Korean standards, indicating Lee Myung-back as "president." So far, defamatory epithets like "traitor," "lackey," "sycophant" had been used in reference to him.
In Seoul the majority and opposition parties have unanimously welcomed the historic meeting.