Home » Archives » KoreanStudies » to the moderators
| to the moderators [message #6940] |
Wed, 12 November 2003 18:14  |
Ruediger Frank
Messages: 102
Registered: October 2000
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Dear Vladimir and all,
I think it is indeed important that we do not remain silent about this issue.
I know Prof. Song a bit, since he spent some time as a visiting
professor at Humboldt University, back in the good old days when there
was a Korea Institute there. What I know of him is that he is a typical
intellectual, thinking and wracking his brain a lot, constantly
challenging and questioning himself, with a strong affection for German
and French philosophers I myself have a hard time to comprehend, and
with a strong love for his country. But we may not be in a position to
question the correctness of the allegations made against him, since they
might well be true in a technical sense. Who knows.
However, and this is the issue here, something must have gone wrong, again
in a purely technical/legal sense. He was well aware of the difficulties
awaiting him upon return to South Korea, which is why he did not do so
right after Kim DJ took over in 1998, and why he stopped short of going to
Korea last year. That he went to Seoul now leads me and others to believe
that he was probably given assurances that are not kept. It also raises the
big issue of how to deal with people who have been close to the regime in
NK. The current procedure makes me shiver with regard to a unification. I
am sure many members of the North Korean elite are watching his case with
great interest; what has happened so far will not quite encourage them to
follow Prof. Song's example. The conservatives in SK must understand that
by being tough on Prof. Song, they in fact help stabilizing the regime in
the North.
As a matter of fact, in a democracy, rules and laws have to be obeyed.
Backdoor deals to circumvent these rules are the wrong way, and hence the
harsh stand of SK government and prosecution has to be respected. However,
the president in SK has a lot of powers - among them the right to grant an
amnesty (just think of Chun DH and Roh TW). Trying and sentencing Prof.
Song first and granting amnesty later to me looks like a betrayal of the
public and will reduce trust in democratic legal institutions.
Courage and transparency, i.e. a well defined and formulated general
amnesty to all those who have cooperated with NK or otherwise violated the
National Security Law NOW, based on a public debate and including the
considerations of all parties, seems to be a better way to deal with this
issue. I think this is what we should suggest to our friends and colleagues
in Korea, both in the name of justice, in the interest of Korea's
reputation in the world, and for the sake of the future of inner-Korean
relations.
Respectfully,
Ruediger Frank
***********
Dr. Ruediger Frank
Visiting Professor
University of Vienna
East Asian Institute, Japan/Korea
Spitalgasse 2-4
A-1090 Vienna, Austria
phone: +43-1-4277 43822
fax: +43-1-4277 9438
email: rfrank@koreanstudies.de
************
|
|
|
|
| Re: to the moderators [message #6941 is a reply to message #6940] |
Fri, 14 November 2003 04:42  |
Vladimir Tikhonov
Messages: 34
Registered: July 2000
|
Member |
|
|
Dear Ruediger and all,
Thank you very much for the expression of interest on this issue. In fact,
yesterday I have learned that a civil society group called "Song Du Yul
kyosu sOkpang kwa sasang yangsim Ui chayu rUl wihan taech'aek wiwOnhoe" was
formed in Seoul by Prof. Kim Segyun (SNU), Rev. Ham Seung, and more than 80
other academic and religious figures
(http://www.hani.co.kr/section-005000000/2003/11/00500000020 0311131951356.html).
As the group expressed willingness to work together with the "overseas
intellectuals", I guess that might be one possible channel for the European
colleagues wishing to register their concern of Prof. Song's fate.
The barrage of accusations against Prof. Song being as powerful and
ruthless as it is ("member of N.Korean Politburo" - if this will be proven
- which I doubt - it will possibly shake to the bottom our conventional
ideas on the principles along which N. Korean Politburo is formed...) one
thing I constantly bear in mind is that Prof. Song's academic work, his
"intrinsic" (naejaejOk - "relativist") approach helped enormously to debunk
the "totalitarian" paradigm in the scholarship on N. Korea in the South in
the beginning of the 1990s. Before this, the dominant approach seemingly
was Friedrichian - Huntingtonian - "traditional absolutism" reproduced
itself in the "totalitarian" form and that's all. But after him, the
"condemned temporality" of N. Korean history get somewhat charted on the
map of Korean modernities. I am not sure whether this is possible to make
direct comparisons, but Stephen Cohen's work on Soviet history seemingly
had contributed in a similar way in dissolving the Cold War "totalitarian"
myth.
Again, thank you very much,
Vladimir (Volodya) Tikhonov
At 00:14 13.11.2003 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear Vladimir and all,
>
>I think it is indeed important that we do not remain silent about this issue.
>
>I know Prof. Song a bit, since he spent some time as a visiting
>professor at Humboldt University, back in the good old days when there
>was a Korea Institute there. What I know of him is that he is a typical
>intellectual, thinking and wracking his brain a lot, constantly
>challenging and questioning himself, with a strong affection for German
>and French philosophers I myself have a hard time to comprehend, and
>with a strong love for his country. But we may not be in a position to
>question the correctness of the allegations made against him, since they
>might well be true in a technical sense. Who knows.
>
>However, and this is the issue here, something must have gone wrong, again
>in a purely technical/legal sense. He was well aware of the difficulties
>awaiting him upon return to South Korea, which is why he did not do so
>right after Kim DJ took over in 1998, and why he stopped short of going to
>Korea last year. That he went to Seoul now leads me and others to believe
>that he was probably given assurances that are not kept. It also raises the
>big issue of how to deal with people who have been close to the regime in
>NK. The current procedure makes me shiver with regard to a unification. I
>am sure many members of the North Korean elite are watching his case with
>great interest; what has happened so far will not quite encourage them to
>follow Prof. Song's example. The conservatives in SK must understand that
>by being tough on Prof. Song, they in fact help stabilizing the regime in
>the North.
>
>As a matter of fact, in a democracy, rules and laws have to be obeyed.
>Backdoor deals to circumvent these rules are the wrong way, and hence the
>harsh stand of SK government and prosecution has to be respected. However,
>the president in SK has a lot of powers - among them the right to grant an
>amnesty (just think of Chun DH and Roh TW). Trying and sentencing Prof.
>Song first and granting amnesty later to me looks like a betrayal of the
>public and will reduce trust in democratic legal institutions.
>
>Courage and transparency, i.e. a well defined and formulated general
>amnesty to all those who have cooperated with NK or otherwise violated the
>National Security Law NOW, based on a public debate and including the
>considerations of all parties, seems to be a better way to deal with this
>issue. I think this is what we should suggest to our friends and colleagues
>in Korea, both in the name of justice, in the interest of Korea's
>reputation in the world, and for the sake of the future of inner-Korean
>relations.
>
>Respectfully,
>
>Ruediger Frank
>
>***********
>Dr. Ruediger Frank
>Visiting Professor
>University of Vienna
>East Asian Institute, Japan/Korea
>Spitalgasse 2-4
>A-1090 Vienna, Austria
>phone: +43-1-4277 43822
>fax: +43-1-4277 9438
>email: rfrank@koreanstudies.de
>************
>
>
Vladimir Tikhonov,
Department of East European and Oriental Studies,
Faculty of Arts,
University of Oslo,
P.b. 1030, Blindern, 0315, Oslo, Norway.
Fax: 47-22854140; Tel: 47-22857118
Personal web page: http://folk.uio.no/vladimit/
http://www.geocities.com/volodyatikhonov/volodyatikhonov.htm l
Electronic classrooms: East Asian/Korean Society and Politics:
http://folk.uio.no/vladimit/eastasianstudies.htm
http://www.geocities.com/uioeastasia2002/main.html
East Asian/Korean Religion and Philosophy:
http://www.geocities.com/uioeastasia2003/classroom.html
----------
|
|
|
|
| Death of a wonderful scholar and friend [message #6942 is a reply to message #6941] |
Fri, 14 November 2003 20:11 |
Mark Peterson
Messages: 55
Registered: July 1998
|
Member |
|
|
Dear Korean Studies list,
Many of you knew or knew of Prof. Song June Ho who worked closely
with Ed Wagner for many years. We just got word of his death. He
gave many of us great insights into Korean history. He was always
generous with his time and was the most gentle and goodly of men. He
was the last of a generation, a bridging generation, that marked the
transition from the days of education of the scholar in traditional
ways, in classic Chinese, and the scholar of the twentieth century
who was influenced by the West in a new Korea after the liberation
from the colonial days. He was a highly respected professor who
taught most of his years at Chonbuk National University, and although
one could get a teaching position in those days without a PhD, he was
indeed wiser than the vast majority of people who have PhD's.
His diligence was legendary. He was so precise, so unerring in his
scholarship. And when there was a disagreement on issues of Korean
history, or of matters about traditional society and lineage, he
would resort to the documents. No one knew the documents, and no one
knew Chinese classics, better than Professor Song. And yet he was
always ready to share, to help the young student, the graduate
student, the younger faculty member, or the community member who was
trying to read the documents of his own family.
I personally benefited greatly from many conversations with Prof.
Song. Whatever the issue, whatever the document, whatever the
article to write, he was always there for me, as he was for so many
others. He was always insightful, interested, animated, excited
about the issue at hand. Always complimentary of the effort to that
point, and always ready to help the colleague with the benefit of his
knowledge and understanding.
We have lost a great friend. It is almost too much to lose him
within the short span of time that Professor Wagner left us. They
must be enjoying their reunion in the skies now, and talking with the
authors of the documents, and the players in the history, that they
had studied. And we here in the mundane realm miss them both.
Thank you, Professor Song.
Sadly and with great respect,
Mark Peterson
|
|
|
|
| Re: to the moderators [message #6943 is a reply to message #6940] |
Sun, 16 November 2003 06:15 |
Charles Rd K Armstron
Messages: 54
Registered: February 2001
|
Member |
|
|
Dear Koreanists,
I want to add my agreement to Vladimir and Ruediger about the Song
Du-yul case. Whatever we may think of Prof. Song, the North Korean
regime, or the connection between the two, this seems like an
egregious contravention of democracy on the part of the ROK
government. Dr. Song hardly constitutes a "threat" to the South
Korean people and government, even if he were a member of the KWP
politburo, which is highly doubtful. Clearly this was done as a
political sop to the South Korean right. Unfortunately, Ruediger is
probably wrong when he says that SK conservatives must know they are
helping to stabilize the NK regime by being tough on Song. I doubt
very much they are thinking this through to such an extent, rather
they are acting on outdated Cold War instincts. It really is time to
move from these mentalities and it is very short-sighted and
counter-productive to treat Dr. Song, who is a first-rate scholar
and intellectual, in such a way. It would be good if the Korean
Studies community could express in a more collective way their
concern about this issue and the need for, as Ruediger says, abiding
by democratic rules and principles.
Charles
Quoting Ruediger Frank :
> Dear Vladimir and all,
>
> I think it is indeed important that we do not remain silent about
> this issue.
>
> I know Prof. Song a bit, since he spent some time as a visiting
> professor at Humboldt University, back in the good old days when
> there
> was a Korea Institute there. What I know of him is that he is a
> typical
> intellectual, thinking and wracking his brain a lot, constantly
> challenging and questioning himself, with a strong affection for
> German
> and French philosophers I myself have a hard time to comprehend,
> and
> with a strong love for his country. But we may not be in a
> position to
> question the correctness of the allegations made against him,
> since they
> might well be true in a technical sense. Who knows.
>
> However, and this is the issue here, something must have gone
> wrong, again
> in a purely technical/legal sense. He was well aware of the
> difficulties
> awaiting him upon return to South Korea, which is why he did not
> do so
> right after Kim DJ took over in 1998, and why he stopped short of
> going to
> Korea last year. That he went to Seoul now leads me and others to
> believe
> that he was probably given assurances that are not kept. It also
> raises the
> big issue of how to deal with people who have been close to the
> regime in
> NK. The current procedure makes me shiver with regard to a
> unification. I
> am sure many members of the North Korean elite are watching his
> case with
> great interest; what has happened so far will not quite encourage
> them to
> follow Prof. Song's example. The conservatives in SK must
> understand that
> by being tough on Prof. Song, they in fact help stabilizing the
> regime in
> the North.
>
> As a matter of fact, in a democracy, rules and laws have to be
> obeyed.
> Backdoor deals to circumvent these rules are the wrong way, and
> hence the
> harsh stand of SK government and prosecution has to be respected.
> However,
> the president in SK has a lot of powers - among them the right to
> grant an
> amnesty (just think of Chun DH and Roh TW). Trying and sentencing
> Prof.
> Song first and granting amnesty later to me looks like a betrayal
> of the
> public and will reduce trust in democratic legal institutions.
>
> Courage and transparency, i.e. a well defined and formulated
> general
> amnesty to all those who have cooperated with NK or otherwise
> violated the
> National Security Law NOW, based on a public debate and including
> the
> considerations of all parties, seems to be a better way to deal
> with this
> issue. I think this is what we should suggest to our friends and
> colleagues
> in Korea, both in the name of justice, in the interest of
> Korea's
> reputation in the world, and for the sake of the future of
> inner-Korean
> relations.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Ruediger Frank
>
> ***********
> Dr. Ruediger Frank
> Visiting Professor
> University of Vienna
> East Asian Institute, Japan/Korea
> Spitalgasse 2-4
> A-1090 Vienna, Austria
> phone: +43-1-4277 43822
> fax: +43-1-4277 9438
> email: rfrank@koreanstudies.de
> ************
>
>
|
|
|
|
| Re: Death of a wonderful scholar and friend [message #6945 is a reply to message #6942] |
Mon, 17 November 2003 15:41 |
Yong-Ho Choe
Messages: 65
Registered: October 1998
|
Member |
|
|
Professor Song was truly a good conscientious scholar who stood astride
both traditional and modern scholarship. He was indeed a great person who
willingly shared his vast knowledge with all those around him. I am
saddened that he is no long with us, but I feel honored that I have know
him as a friend and as a colleague in Korean history.
ps: What is happening with the Wagner-Song project on pangmok and chokpo?
At 06:11 PM 11/14/2003 -0700, you wrote:
>Dear Korean Studies list,
>
>Many of you knew or knew of Prof. Song June Ho who worked closely with Ed
>Wagner for many years. We just got word of his death. He gave many of us
>great insights into Korean history. He was always generous with his time
>and was the most gentle and goodly of men. He was the last of a
>generation, a bridging generation, that marked the transition from the
>days of education of the scholar in traditional ways, in classic Chinese,
>and the scholar of the twentieth century who was influenced by the West in
>a new Korea after the liberation from the colonial days. He was a highly
>respected professor who taught most of his years at Chonbuk National
>University, and although one could get a teaching position in those days
>without a PhD, he was indeed wiser than the vast majority of people who
>have PhD's.
>
>His diligence was legendary. He was so precise, so unerring in his
>scholarship. And when there was a disagreement on issues of Korean
>history, or of matters about traditional society and lineage, he would
>resort to the documents. No one knew the documents, and no one knew
>Chinese classics, better than Professor Song. And yet he was always ready
>to share, to help the young student, the graduate student, the younger
>faculty member, or the community member who was trying to read the
>documents of his own family.
>
>I personally benefited greatly from many conversations with Prof.
>Song. Whatever the issue, whatever the document, whatever the article to
>write, he was always there for me, as he was for so many others. He was
>always insightful, interested, animated, excited about the issue at
>hand. Always complimentary of the effort to that point, and always ready
>to help the colleague with the benefit of his knowledge and understanding.
>
>We have lost a great friend. It is almost too much to lose him within the
>short span of time that Professor Wagner left us. They must be enjoying
>their reunion in the skies now, and talking with the authors of the
>documents, and the players in the history, that they had studied. And we
>here in the mundane realm miss them both.
>
>Thank you, Professor Song.
>
>Sadly and with great respect,
>
>Mark Peterson
>
>
>
>
>
>---
>Incoming mail is certified Virus Free.
>Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
>Version: 6.0.538 / Virus Database: 333 - Release Date: 11/10/2003
Yong-ho Choe
Department of History
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: 808 956-6762
Fax: 808 956-9600
E-mail: choeyh@hawaii.edu
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.538 / Virus Database: 333 - Release Date: 11/10/2003
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
Current Time: Sun May 19 04:36:25 EDT 2013
|
Korean Studies Discussion List
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
