In South Korean society, issues of human rights and democracy in North Korea are over-politicized.
There is a popular stereotype in which proponents of North Korea’s human rights are deemed politically the right or the conservative while opponents considered as left or progressive. In the National Assembly, Grand National Party is regarded as pro-North Korean human rights and the United New Democratic Party (former Uri Party) more or less neglects North Korean human rights (or at least seen like that by the South Korean public).
Also in the U.S. society, the issue of North Korean human rights violation is politicized. The ones getting involved and pushing for North Korean human rights are none other than the Republicans.
There is a socio-historic root of politicization of North Korean human rights issue instead of it being recognized as universal value.
Many of South Koreans democratization advocates against the South Korean military dictatorship in 1970s and 1980s tended to be pro-North Korean regime. Not only in South Korea but also around the globe, Cold War caused opponents of dictatorship in the Third World to be left-leaning. In Western Europe, socialists were amicable toward Soviet Union and its satellite states.
This attitude led many leftists in South America negligent on Cuban human rights violation under Castro regime. Similar ignorance occurred among the Western European Left on human rights violation in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
As time went on, however, enlightened leftists started acknowledge this problem. And it eventually resulted in division in the Left.
Most notably, 30 or so Socialist parties of the free world gathered at Frankfurt am Main in Germany on July 1951 and declared the Socialist International, which emphasized opposition against Capitalist Fascism and Communist Fascism, that of Soviet Union. Emergence of Euro-Communism originated from the same principle.
Fortunately, such trend is sweeping the South Korean Left, now. In Democratic Labor Party, pro-North Korean (more accurately pro-Kim Jong Il) faction is being bombarded with criticism inside the party. Pro-North Korean faction, or followers of Juche ideology are exactly what Frankfurt Declaration pointed out as Left Fascists. North Korea is much more feudal, pre-modern and fascist than USSR or Eastern Europe was. Separation from these reactionaries could enhance ideological evolution of the South Korean Left.
Nonetheless, politicization of North Korea’s human rights abuse is not the Left’s fault only. Somewhat responsible is the Right, too. Particularly during the Bush Administration, political abuse of North Korean human rights issue accelerated. Neo-cons and President Bush exploited slogans of democracy, freedom and human rights as a reason to go to war in Iraq. In fact, these slogans replaced WMD as justification of war after the Allied troops failed to find it in post-Hussein Iraq. And they did it on North Korea, too.
Thus, human rights and democracy issue in North Korea simply became Republican one, and even Democrats who acknowledge seriousness of North Korean human rights violation cannot speak up because of fear to be labeled as pro-Bush.
In South Korea, anti-Communists in the past are now advocates of North Korean human rights.
Because of this, North Korea human rights movement is often misinterpreted as right wing’s justification of invasion (either military or political) of North Korea. However, North Korean human rights movement is rather to prevent North Korea from collapsing instead of accelerating it.
Crux of human rights is to promote diversity in a society. If North Korea’s human rights improve and freedom of idea and expression guaranteed, there would be alternative political groups for post-Kim Jong Il North Korea. Collapse of Kim Jong Il regime is risky because there is no alternative power to fill the vacuum. Politicians in Seoul and elsewhere fear possible chaos after Kim regime’s demise. But if alternative faction arises in North Korea, probability of chaos will be reduced.
Now, for South Korean Left, it is necessary to publicly announce its attitude toward North Korean regime and human rights like many prominent members of the Democratic Labor Party are doing. Joo Dae Hwan, former policy chief of the DLP, appeared at a discussion of North Korean Human Rights Policy Conference and expressed his sincere concern over North Korean human rights violation.
At the same time, South Korean Right should not politicize human rights issue. And it also needs to provide specific options or alternatives to Kim Jong Il regime.
