There was a phrase hanging on the outer wall of the national school I attended when I was young.
Actually, I didn't remember it, but I knew it from the photos I took at the time.
"The Communist Party is digging"...
There must have been more verses before, but that was all that remained in the photo.
Drawing and writing anti-communist posters during the military regime was not new to me.
And when I enlisted in the military and was assigned to the self-defense force, I found out that the communist party was digging into the tunnel…
Among them, the first tunnel we found was in our division.
I vividly remember that I served in the military while sang the 'Torch of Destruction', and when I heard the news of Kim Il-sung's death while on private leave, I immediately called the unit.
My generation is one of the words that mix with old memories.
'Annihilation' in North Korea, in the political world?
As for my own explanation, I suspect that the reason why Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Jeong Yong-jin shouted annihilation was a combination of these memories related to North Korea.
'I chose annihilation as a word with the meaning of criticism while pointing out North Korea acting as a risk to our economy' or something like that.
For your reference, Vice Chairman Chung was born in 1968.
Although he denied it, it seems that China was also among the critics.
Why did you dare to post an article with a picture of President Xi Jinping while discussing the destruction of the kingdom?
I wonder if E-Mart, which had entered China with enthusiasm, eventually withdrew after failing to adapt to the Chinese economic system, which had an impact on posting this kind of post.
However, it was the politicians who properly nurtured the controversy over annihilation.
When this issue was first talked about through social media, the stock market was not shaken up.
However, ahead of the presidential election, the political circles climbed up on this issue, and the wave of repercussions grew.
Looking at it this way, North Korea may not be the only potential threat to our economy.
Destruction → OO → Victory… next?
In the end, Vice Chairman Chung himself bowed his head, but it seems that he did not surrender in his heart.
'As sparks flew into the company, it unintentionally caused a scandal, but it did not stop dissatisfaction with North Korea'...
Maybe this is what you want to say?
Seeing that he used the words 'OO' or 'Absolute victory' even after he said that he would not use the word "extinction" anymore.
As many of you know, the most commonly used slogans for military salute are unity, victory, loyalty, and so-called 'Dan-pil-chung'.
On the 18th, five days after he posted an apology for his 'destruction' remarks, Vice Chairman Jung Yong-jin re-posted on SNS.
Some page photos of former Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Jung-kyung's 2020 book 'History Makes You Strong' have been uploaded.
He also wrote, "You have to be strong to win."
Vice-Chairman Chung took out separate pages from this book, 'The ruling class of Joseon who wanted to become a dwarf themselves', 'The real reason Admiral Yi Sun-sin was great', and 'If Joseon had been on the side of the Manchus during the Ming-Qing transition in the 17th century?' They added hashtags that read, 'Victorious victory' and 'History makes you strong'.
“History makes you strategic and makes you strong,” he said.
It was also revealed by underlining the sentence, 'You who are strong bring success and make a strong Republic of Korea'.
Destruction and praise... and courage
There are a lot of things I want to say, but I can't do it, so it feels like a book instead.
At the time of the annihilation controversy, some of the conservatives even praised Vice Chairman Chung's remarks as courage.
I don't know if Vice Chairman Chung agrees with such courageous remarks, but at least considering that he apologized by posting, "If even one of my colleagues and customers turns away because of me, I don't want to be swayed by politics." there doesn't seem to be
Since we've already talked about history, I would like to conclude by quoting the courage that Confucius spoke about regarding his disciple, Zhao.
Analects Gongyajang篇
子曰: "道不行, 乘桴浮於海, 從我者其由與!"
喜
子曰: "由也好勇過我, 所取材."
Confucius said, "If the Tao is not practiced, and I go out to sea on a raft, then the person who will follow me will probably be Yu."
To this the Master said:
"Yu's love for courage surpasses me, but his talent is nothing to gain (or he has nowhere to find lumber to make a raft)."
First of all, this is the part that Confucius pointed out about the qualities and characteristics of an individual with Zi, but it seems that it also has implications for younger students to be wary of unconsidered courage.
It is my hope that the political and economic circles will work together to create a strong Republic of Korea.