When will Korea’s spring come?

Kim Hyun-ki

The author is the Tokyo bureau chief and rotating correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“This year’s the 99th year of Showa. Sayonara, Good Old Japan,” read the headline of the New Year’s feature series on The Nikkei on Jan. 1. The Showa era spanning from December 1926 to January 1989 served as the baseline for the Japanese annual calendar under Emperor Hirohito. Japan ascended to the world’s No. 2 economy during this period.

Japanese society during those days brimmed with vitality. On the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index — the benchmark for most global funds — Japanese companies took up 27.28 percent. (Their share today is 5.5 percent.) After the spectacular boom came an epic bust that led to the lost 33 years for Japan. The calendar name changed to Heisei and Reiwa according to the changes on the throne. But the Japanese never shook off the glory days of Showa.

Instead of venturing outside and tapping new opportunities, the Japanese clung to traditions and seniority, settling for partial adjustments and amendments. As a result, its GDP fell to $34,000, the 32nd in the world. The Nikkei satirized the year of 2024 as Showa’s 99th year for a rude awakening.

But Japan has changed. The Japanese have come to realize that they must change as they finally see the light after the decades-old deflationary tunnel. Chronic savers turned to investors. As economic security became important amid the conflict between the United States and China, Japan’s value as a key production and R&D base rose sharply. People began to appreciate technology over experience.

The enlightenment may have come too late. But the country could gain explosive power when coupled with its unrivaled strength in public security, infrastructure, tourism and citizenship. The revival of Japan should not be taken lightly. The media and the public are sick and tired of the nostalgia over the Showa era. Everyone wants to change.

How about Korea? Politics dominate New Year’s agendas of newspapers and TVs. The real problems and challenges — worsening demographic conditions from the stubbornly low birthrate and fast aging, escalating geopolitical and geoeconomic risks, underdeveloped citizenship compared to its economic size, and mounting risks from climate changes — are all pushed aside.

It’s not just politicians. The same goes for the common people. It seems that the public awareness and conscience are deafened by all the hype about the upcoming parliamentary election in April and the special investigation on the first lady — as if the future of the country depends on them. Few talk about the urgent matter of building a consensus on what we should worry about — and what we should do — to unite the people to combat the challenges together.

Unfortunately, President Yoon Suk Yeol offered no hope in his New Year’s address. The rivalling parties have always been fighting and cannot be relied on for insights. But the president at least should have provided a vision for the country this year. His speech lacked any substance on dealing with the low birth rate or action plans for labor, education or pension reforms.

He instead repeatedly mentioned a crackdown on tribal cartels entirely engrossed with self-interests and ideologies. The reasoning for correcting powerful cartels is understandable. But inner and self-serving groups exist in societies anywhere — legal, entertainment, business and sports communities, for instance — in varying degrees.

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his New Year’s speech on the next year’s budget at the National Assembly on Dec. 31, 2023. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

How and to what extent the crackdown will pan out is unknown. More importantly, should cartel be our top priority under the intensely competitive global environment we live in? Wouldn’t the general public wish to hear engaging and hopeful messages as they start a new year? A society can never mature if members hate one another and regard each other as the enemy to defeat rather than inspirational competitors.

The latest stabbing of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung reminds me of the knife attack on former president Park Geun-hye, also during campaigns, and the attack on former DP leader Song Young-gil with a hammer. When a country becomes deeply divided, the people turn violent. Conspiracy theories are running wild. The mainstream media are busy reporting or citing them just as irresponsibly as social media. Korea also must shake off the mindset of 1988, the vibrant year of the Seoul Olympics. When will the spring arrive for Korea?