By
Aunul Islam
Aunul Islam, read for his PhD at Imperial College, London. He graduated from The University of Manchester. He is a Quality Assurance Specialist in Higher Education and a Technology Consultant. He is an ex-civil servant of the UK government. A keen gardener, he finds solace through nature in this dysfunctional world order.
The drama that took place in the recent Korean parliament on 4th of December 2024 as martial law was declared by President Yoon ended, to echo T.S. Eliot, in a whimper.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
The so-called martial law in South Korea lasted a mere six hours. It reminds me of a K-drama, “crash landing on you.”
This is a romantic story between two Koreas. Why trivialise a potentially grave political event by trying to interpret it through the lens of a very popular k- drama?
Sometimes dramas carry a larger message than one gives them credit. Many have analysed this event from various angles – see, for example, BBC news,4th December 2024, Laura Bicker, reporting from Seoul.
Source: BBC, President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment vote after martial law backlash – BBC News
Let us go back in history. Do you remember the unification of Germany? The two have a common factor. East Germany was a communist bloc and here, the North in case of Korea.
Was the drama (Crash Landing) fantasising on the unification of both Koreas?
West Germany gained a lot by the unification, with a dedicated and skilled workforce with a different socio-working ethos. The unification was a boon for the West as strategically it gained a large work force while at the same time neutralising the threat of Communism from the East.
Let us revisit the K-drama, “crash landing on you”, to briefly analyse the saga that unfolded in the Korean parliament. A rich woman from Gangham (which also reminds me of the very popular song Gangham style) in Seoul, whilst paragliding and by a freak accident landed in the military border town of North Korea. The drama was portrayed in a politically correct and balanced way as it appeared that the writer did not want to generally demean the North Koreans. I also feel it had the blessings of The Ministry of Unification a government body responsible for all issues on inter-Korean relations. The ministry’s existence reflects the unique reality of the Korean peninsula, which has remained divided since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The drama showed impoverished and poor living conditions in the military border town of North Korea, but it portrayed the people as resolute and proud of their communism.
What has happened in the South Korean parliament has convinced me to look at contemporary political developments in that country through the prism of K-drama.
There are many who dream of a united Korea and of course many are against it. Recently the Korean Won has devalued, and the golden period of capitalism is perhaps no longer that bright. Against this backdrop, the present government wanted a scapegoat, and the influence of North Korea had to be blamed. Although democracy prevailed and the martial law failed to materialise, it does not necessarily augur well for the future of South Korea.
Will we see a unification of the Koreas like Germany in the future?
Reflections on development and governance 