[Column] A long-overdue memorial for the giant

Chang Se-jeong

The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Discussions on a plan to build a memorial hall to commemorate Syngman Rhee (1875-1965), an independence fighter who served as the first president of the provisional government of the Republic of Korea, are picking up speed. At the commemoration ceremony marking the 148th anniversary of Rhee’s birth on March 27, Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik said, “It is time to reexamine Rhee’s accomplishments, leaving aside his ideology.”

Park announced that the ministry is planning to build the Syngman Rhee Memorial Hall based on the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State. According to the National Assembly, the ministry will earmark about 46 billion won ($34.5 million) as design and construction budgets for three years starting next year.

Movements already began to obstruct the project. Some leftists questioned why the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, not the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, spearheads the project and why the construction cost was so high. There is no need for us to quarrel over how much money was spent to build memorial halls of the former presidents in the projects led by the liberals. Opposition for opposition’s sake only leads to a split in national unity.

It is simply not right to attack Rhee for being friendly to Japan. He actually was a devout independence fighter, enough to establish the Syngman Rhee Line in the East Sea to protect Dokdo. He was also a pragmatist who maximized national interests by using brinkmanship against the U.S., as seen in the release of anti-Communist POWs during the 1950-53 Korean War and a plan to unify the two Koreas by advancing up to the Yalu River. Portraying Rhee as a collaborator of the U.S. is an unreasonable attempt to slander Rhee.

Sohn Byung-doo, 82, an advisor to the Korea History and Future Foundation and former president of Sogang University, welcomed the memorial project. He once participated in the protest against Rhee when he was a freshman of Seoul National University in 1960. During the April 19, 1960 Revolution, Sohn and other students marched to the Blue House calling for Rhee’s resignation, condemning a rigged election.

Sohn believed Rhee was a dictator, but his opinion changed in 2010. The change took place after he read the book, The Spirit of Independence, that Rhee had written while serving a life sentence as a young independence fighter in his 20s. Rhee was sent to prison after he gained the ire of Emperor Gojong. After reading the book, Sohn redefined Rhee as a great leader who made today’s Korea.

Sohn said Rhee’s accomplishments include his dedication to the independence movement against Japan and founding of the first free democratic republic on the Korean Peninsula. Rhee’s diplomatic ability that led to the UN’s recognition of the government and the introduction of compulsory education system in Korea also were named as Rhee’s accomplishments. Equal voting rights for men and women, land reform, signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S. to establish an alliance, and the introduction of a market economy were also listed as Rhee’s accomplishments.

It is embarrassing that there is no memorial hall for the former president who had left so many achievements. A proper memorial hall for Rhee must be built in a project led by the government and contributed to by voluntary donations.

The Patriots and Veterans Affairs Ministry and the Seoul Government are having a discussion to decide the project’s site. Various proposals are being made. Rhee’s private residence, Ihwajang House, and the Pai Jai Hakdang building, Rhee’s alma mater, are historic sites that require conservation. Some proposed the memorial hall be built at the site in Songhyeon-dong, central Seoul, where Lee Kun-hee Art Museum will be built.

Among the ideas, a proposal of building the memorial hall at Yongsan Park is particularly noteworthy. The site is a great symbol of restoring independence because troops of Mongolia, Japan, Qing Dynasty and the colonial government of Japan had stationed there and the U.S. Forces Korea also were relocated from there recently.

The Washington Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial are located in front of the White House in Washington D.C. How about building the memorial near the presidential office in Yongsan? The project can save land purchase cost, and an axis of national merit will be created linking Mt. Nam, the presidential office, the memorial hall and the National Cemetery. Rhee is evaluated as a leader with 80 percent of merits and 20 percent of demerits. I hope the memorial exhibits both his accomplishments and failures to show the true sense of balance in history.