Seoul mayor jumps into Syngman Rhee documentary's ideological minefield

Politics

Published: 21 Feb. 2024, 18:11

Seoul mayor jumps into Syngman Rhee documentary's ideological minefield

Moviegoers enter a theater screening a documentary film on founding president Syngman Rhee, ″The Birth of Korea,″ in downtown Seoul on Friday. [YONHAP]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon endorsed the establishment of a memorial for South Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee, as controversy rages about the documentary film “The Birth of Korea,” which retrospects Rhee’s life.

“A memorial that unbiasedly carries and portrays the accomplishments of the country’s founding president, Syngman Rhee, should be established before it's too late,” Oh wrote in a Facebook post on Friday.

“The last 60 years have been an ‘era of misunderstanding’ which only stressed his blunders and mistakes while deliberately discrediting his contributions,” he added.

Rhee, who led South Korea from 1948 to 1960 and steered the country through the 1950-1953 Korean War, has long been the subject of historical controversy between opposing views — a founding president who introduced democracy or an autocratic ruler who rigged presidential elections and the constitution.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's Facebook Post about the movie ″The Birth of Korea″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]

In the post, the mayor warned against prejudices and preconceptions against Rhee.

“A one-sided perspective obstructs society from growing in a healthier way.”

“Rhee dedicated himself to the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and founded a democratic country with a market economy after the liberation in 1945 while neighboring countries like North Korea, China and Russia fell to communism,” Oh wrote.

“If the country missed either the independence movement, liberal democracy or the Korea — U.S. alliance, today’s Korea would not exist.”

“A biased society intolerant of the truth [regarding Rhee’s achievement and efforts] should not be passed on to the future generation,” Oh wrote.

The film surpassed 800,000 views in theaters as of Wednesday morning, according to the film's distributor.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks about Syngman Rhee's land reform. The video was posted on his official YouTube channel on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The mayor donated 4 million won ($2,995) to the Syngman Rhee Memorial Foundation, which spearheads a campaign to establish the memorial last November.

“Land reform during Rhee’s term ignited people to fight against communists [from North Korea] during the Korean War, making people protect their own lands by themselves,” Oh said in a YouTube video uploaded Saturday.

“Without Rhee’s policy, fewer people might have risked their own lives to guard the country in the war. The land reform had become a ground for protecting the country’s territories from others.”

Incumbent and former Cabinet members of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and key figures from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) visited theaters to watch the movie lately.

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said Friday that the movie was “inspiring” while acknowledging Rhee’s achievements in founding a democratic country and setting up the security alliance between South Korea and the United States.

PPP's floor leader Yun Jae-ok saw the film on Feb. 14, while the party's interim leader, Han Dong-hoon, and the Culture Minister Yu In-chon saw it on Feb. 12.

“Rhee made firm determinations and crucial decisions at the right timing in history, all of which contributed to advancing Korea to the status quo,” Han said after watching the documentary film.

Former Minister of Patriots & Veterans Affairs Park Min-shik, left, former People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, and "The Birth of Korea" director Kim Deog-young, right, walk into the theater for a screening event held in western Seoul on Friday. [YONHAP]

Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur, former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and former PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won watched the film earlier this month.

The opposition — mainly in the form of the Democratic Party (DP) — shared its discomfort regarding the film and its growing popularity.

“[The PPP] is pushing the country into a war of ideologies by ‘restoring Rhee’ while not devising solutions to improve people’s livelihoods,” said DP spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung during a briefing on Feb. 14.

“Even when the national constitution specified that the country upholds the democratic spirit embodied at the April 19 Democracy Movement, why does the PPP overlook the corruption and election fraud committed during Rhee's presidency?” Kwon added.

The April 19 Democracy Movement was a student-led pro-democracy and civil uprising in 1960 against Rhee’s authoritarian rule. It ended with Rhee's overthrow and eventual exile.

Social and political pundit Chin Jung-kwon slammed the movie as “anti-constitutional” during an appearance on CBS Radio on Feb. 13. “Movie producers should stop affirming or justifying personal thoughts of the new right in the public sphere.”

A spokesperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Government released a statement on Tuesday addressing remarks from the DP, saying that Rhee’s endeavor to ratify a mutual defense treaty effectively deterred North Korea, the Soviet Union and China from encroaching on South Korea.

The spokesperson also praised Rhee for granting South Korean women suffrage 23 years earlier than Switzerland while also honoring his land reform, which allowed tenant farmers to own their land.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]