No stranger to controversy, Unified Progressive Party (UPP) lawmaker Lee Seok-gi, who has been threatened with expulsion from the party and who has long been accused of being a North Korea sympathizer (‘jongpuk‘), added fuel to the political debate engulfing parliament after denouncing the Aegukga (South Korea’s official national anthem) as not being the real anthem of Korea. Lee’s comments came after the UPP suggested singing the national anthem at official events in a bid to restore the party’s already tarnished image. Lee stated that Arirang was the rightful anthem (often considered to be the ‘unofficial’ anthem for the two Koreas – the DPRK’s Ri Kyong Suk’s enthralling performance can be found here).
From Hankook Ilbo:
Lee Seok-gi ‘The Aegukga is not the Korean National Anthem’
Unified Progressive Party lawmaker Lee Seok-gi said on the 15th that he did not recognize the Aegukga as the national anthem of our country by saying ‘in countries like America, they have a national anthem, but in our country we have none’ adding that ‘the Aegukga is just one song among others that expresses love for the country.’ Lawmaker Lee, who was implicated in the unlawful election as a proportional representative and who was requested to vacate his parliamentary seat told reporters at a luncheon meeting that ‘the Aegukga was never decided as the nation anthem (of our nation).’
Lee asserted that ‘insofar as our ‘ethnic’ history is concerned, it would seem that the compendious Arirang is the real national anthem of our nation. (The Aegukga) was made by the authoritarian regime (to be the national anthem).’ He said that ‘it’s not that we should not sing the Aegukga, we can most definitely sing it, but imposing us to sing it would be totalitarianism.’
Lee’s comments that after 1948 when the government was established, it was became customary to use of the Aegukga at both domestic and foreign events as the national anthem are causing controversy. The government used the Aegukga as the national anthem according to custom but it wasn’t until 2010 that the Aegukga became enacted as the national anthem at national ceremonies.
Lee magnified the repercussions by repeating the expression ‘jongmi’ [‘US apologists’ or ‘slaves of the US’]. He said that ‘the reason I hate the expression ‘jongpuk‘ [‘North Korean apologist’ or ‘Slave of the Kims’] is that humans are free beings, but if you call me a ‘slave’, then you find that the real slaves are those ‘US apogists’.’ With regard to the UPP leadership emergency measures, he added that ‘it makes me think of the Special Committee for National Security Measures (of the Chun Doo-hwan regime).’
And about the National Democratic Revolutionary Party (NDRP) from which arose the suspicion of pro-North sympathizers, ‘(If you look at) the investigation records, not one word was spoken, and not one fingerprint was taken’ while asserting that this was in line with political repression. ‘Whether true or not, wasn’t the NDRP Incident itself like a huge monster? The Supreme Court raised suspicions about the handling of the incident.’
Lee also said that ‘while in bed I dreamed of the collapse of society, so it’s not a problem. If someone’s actions are bad, then one must criticize,’ and so went on to criticize the controversy about the suspicions he is a jongpuk by adding that ‘in modern days, even if your opinion is different, a debate is possible, but right now, we live in an irrational pre-modern era.’
Comments from Nate:
김영성:
Moon Jae-in: There are no jongpuks in our country. And if ever there were, it wouldn’t be a problem since they’d be a minority.
유한영:
What a fucking idiot! Aren’t you a lawmaker? Don’t kid me, you dirty mouthed thief.
김경오:
Hoel…..Arirang is a folk song, and Aegukga is a real national anthem fuck! Arirang is a love song — and yeah while in North Korea they may really like Arirang, for that man to say a love song should be our national anthem… he must really be deranged
박영민:
ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke I’ve got nothing to say… those commies.. I’m not angry, just that I’ll have no choice but to vote Saenuri until the day they die away. The problem is up until last year’s by-elections I was a supporter of the opposition..
반형진:
Crazy bastard……..
이상호:
It really pisses me off to think that these kind of commies became elected as lawmakers through the taxes we pay. Is there no way to ‘repatriate’ him to the North? ㅠ Together with that crazy bitchᆢ[probably Kim Jae-yeon, the other alleged pro-North UPP member]
임동찬:
ke ke self-destruction
최준상:
Shouldn’t we just kill off all those jongpuk bastards? What kind of ROK politicians are those crazy bastards? Fuck
강준원:
Defo crazy, crazy…really crazy
김용범:
No wonder… Lee Seok-gi is from Mokpo in Jeolla Province
김의성:
You guy in your twenties must vote! For the sake of preventing these filthy commies from engulfing our country, you must vote!!
Comments from Daum:
가지산:
Lee Seok-gi, when did you realize the Aegukga was not the national anthem? Throughout your schooling, did you not sing it? I’ve been singing the Aegukga since the days in the 1950s when I was in elementary school, it was not the product of the military junta. Please name me a country that has no national anthem. You say the Aegukga was never recognized as the national anthem of the Republic of Korea. Doesn’t your big-headed hero-like mentality have a massive dent in it?
이일희:
If you think the Aegukga is not the Korean national anthem, then you are neither Korean nor human, but rather a bastard who should be beaten the shit out of. Those cunts who support these bastards too should all be sent to the North – those scums should be stripped to the skin and thrown out like trash.
skdudtkfkd:
My fellow citizens, Lee Seok-gi is not a citizen of the Republic of Korea. If you see this kind of madness in our country, then those people obviously reek of North Korea.
떡실신:
He can’t even produce words worth saying. In any case, you say Arirang is the national anthem? he he he greeeaat ~ pathetic bastard!
돼날딩국:
Lee Seok-gi, the Saek-gi [play on words with name] is definitely a commie
benz:
Especially when I go abroad for business trips, listening to the Aegukga tugs at my heartstrings.
소녀시대:
He’s right
좋은생각:
Northern ideology…………crazy bastard
산과바다:
If Lee Seok-gi denies the Aegukga as the national anthem, I too don’t recognize him as a citizen of this country. And I especially won’t recognize someone without a nationality as a member of the National Assembly!!!!!
우현민:
At this rate, [people will] vote Saenuri. It’s clear Park Geun-hye will be elected
김민수:
Though he learns of our national history at school, he still has totalitarian way of thinking??
백선열:
When I was in the army, I was a Lee Myung-bak supporter, but when I got discharged, I regretted it, but now I actually think I was right. When I see these crazy jongpuk sons of bitches mobsters, I think it’d be best to support the conservatives again
