Dear American friends, we Koreans were shocked and appalled at the news that a knife-wielding terrorist attacked and stabbed U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert recently. Watching the TV screen that showed the Ambassador’s blood-covered face and wrist, we were endlessly ashamed and embarrassed. We felt the Ambassador’s anguish and were greatly relieved to know that the assailant’s knife had narrowly missed his carotid artery.
We were deeply moved by the warm and thoughtful message the Ambassador tweeted after his surgery that he was OK and still wanted to continue his friendship with the Korean people despite the incident. We all were very much impressed and touched by Ambassador Lippert’s extraordinary generosity which was perceived by many Koreans as an admirable, heroic act. We were also relieved by the U.S. State Department’s assurance that the incident will not affect our alliance.
Dear American friends, perhaps you may wonder why an American Ambassador was attacked by a terrorist on an allied country’s soil. As you know, South Korea is neither an Islamic country nor a communist one. So you may wonder how on earth the U.S. has failed South Korea or what harm America has done to this country.
Brainwashed by North Korean propaganda, pro-North Korea leftists in South Korea think of the States as their archenemy. They wrongfully accuse and blame it of being primarily responsible for the division of the Korean Peninsula. According to them, the two Koreas could have been unified if not for American interference. This means that these people want to see a unified communist country in the Korean Peninsula. These pro-North Korea leftists frequently terrorize the nation by spreading anti-American sentiment, organizing antigovernment demonstrations and instigating workers’ strikes. The vicious terrorist who attacked the U.S. ambassador was one of them.
Dear American friends, you may also wonder why these pro-North Korea fanatics appeared in South Korea, disguising themselves as patriots. In the past, right-wing military dictatorships inevitably produced a number of left-wing antigovernment activists who contributed to the democratization of South Korea. Unfortunately, some of them went awry and became pro-North Korea terrorists.
In the 1980s, these leftists wrongfully imported the dependency theory and the liberation theology from Latin America and tried to apply them to South Korea. Unlike Latin America, however, South Korea produced neither coffee nor sugar to be exploited by the States. Neither did the States send missionaries to colonize South Korea. However, those leftists condemned the States as an imperialist country colonizing the Korean Peninsula.
Dear American friends, we would like to assure you that most Koreans had nothing to do with the regrettable incident. Nor do we support such an outrageous act of terrorism; it was an isolated incident perpetrated by an ultranationalist fanatic. Perhaps you would not understand it, but in South Korea the government cannot arrest pro-North Korea extreme leftists easily because the opposition party and its supporters will immediately condemn it as modern day McCarthyism. Besides, many of them have already infiltrated into every nook and cranny of Korean society during the past 10 years of the two leftist administrations.
An Internet cartoon recently satirized these radicals saying they will soon claim as usual that the incident was a government conspiracy to suppress the leftists. However, the angry Korean people will not buy such nonsense this time. We know these ultraleftists are nothing but hypocrites and charlatans who stage political shows. While the seriously wounded Ambassador walked out in a dignified manner, the perpetrator staged a show ― he lay down whining like a baby, finally having to be carried away by the police. The assailant claimed that he did it in order to stop a possible war in the Korean Peninsula. If he really is against violence, how could he commit such a violent crime?
Dear American friends, as much as the incident was regrettable, there is one consolation though ― through this incident, Koreans have come to realize how important our alliance is and how seriously these pro-North Korea extremists jeopardize our mutual friendship. Suddenly, social media are full of pro-American blogs and comments admiring the generosity of Ambassador Lippert and the American people.
In fact, never before has pro-American sentiment been so strong in Korea. Now it is high time we rooted out these pro-North Korea leftist swindlers who constantly try to thwart our alliance under the guise of nationalism and patriotism. We should deport them to North Korea once and for all. Of course, these hypocrites would not want that to happen.
Dear American friends, we do hope this unfortunate incident will end up being a turning point for strengthening our alliance. Due to the misguided leftist ideology, anti-American sentiment was fashionable in South Korea for a while. We will put an end to it and treasure our friendship. There is a maxim in Korea, “A misfortune may turn into a blessing.” South Korea and the United States have long been strong allies and good friends. We hope we can stay that way.
By Kim Seong-kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.
