Syngman Rhee's decisions remain relevant today, says novelist

Bok Geo-il, author and researcher on the legacy of Syngman Rhee, the first president of Korea, speaks at a forum in Seoul on Monday. [CHOI YEONG-JAE]

The decisions the first president of South Korea made in the face of geopolitical turmoil a century ago yield lessons for Korea in today's polarized world, a famous novelist told former prime ministers and top scholars in a lecture in Seoul on Monday.

“The experiences of Syngman Rhee during this time offer Korea critical lessons as we deliberate our next steps that can determine the fate of our nation and people,” said Bok Geo-il at a forum on “Syngman Rhee’s philosophy on democracy” organized by the JoongAng Ilbo.

Bok is the author of more than a dozen novels, many of them speculative fiction based on historical events in Korea.

He recently published the first five books in a fiction series on Rhee, based on research about the man from his days as an independence activist at the turn of the 20th century to the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, when Rhee as president oversaw the signing of the U.S.-Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, the foundation of the bilateral security alliance.

Addressing dozens of experts, as well as former prime ministers Hwang Kyo-ahn and Kim Hwang-sik, Bok pointed to several critical decisions Rhee made that are still relevant today, particularly regarding the delicate security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

“For instance, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea in the Korean War, Rhee was offered military assistance from Taiwan, which he refused for fear of inciting an invasion from communist Chinese forces,” Bok said.

He added that the South Korean government may have to deal with a similar problem should North Korea implode.

“It’s more likely that the Chinese forces will take over North Korea before the South can do anything,” Bok said. “We can learn from Rhee’s deliberations decades ago.”

Bok also argued that Korea is in a precarious position today, stuck in yet another struggle between superpowers.

“On one side of the front line in East Asia today are Taiwan, South Korea and Japan,” Bok said. “On the other side of this line are China, North Korea and Russia. The balance of power between the two is precariously maintained with the help of the United States.”

Born in 1946 in Asan, South Chungcheong, Bok penned his first novel, “In Search of the Epitaph,” in 1987.

The novel builds an alternative history, the departure point being former Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito's assassination by Korean independence activist An Jung-geun in 1909. In Bok's book, Ito was never assassinated, the Japanese Empire never fell, and Korea remains a Japanese colony.

Bok painted a picture of what could have happened to Korea had it never been liberated from Japan, which occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945.

Some of Bok’s latest series on Rhee were published in the JoongAng Ilbo's monthly magazine.

“It has been an honor to publish parts of Bok’s works on Rhee in the monthly magazine of JoongAng for the past eight years,” Park Chang-hee, CEO and publisher of the JoongAng Ilbo, told the forum. “Bok has conducted extensive research on Rhee’s works as an independence activist, diplomat and leader of the country.”

Historical evaluations of Rhee have proven polarizing. Rhee was ousted from power after a series of protests in April 1960.

"We need to set the records straight about how Rhee was ousted because there are some misunderstandings," said Lee Jong-chan, president of the Heritage of Korean Independence, an organization based in Seoul.

A memorial hall dedicated to Rhee is in the making, funded by the Yoon Suk Yeol government and a special committee founded in June.

Former Prime Minister Kim, who heads the committee, said the memorial will teach the next generation “the correct history about Rhee.”

“Rhee’s achievements as a leader, such as the alliance with the United States, should be remembered with pride,” said Hwang, former prime minister and currently president of the Memorial Association for Founding President Syngman Rhee.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]