It is quite puzzling that the progressives in South Korea are not progressive at all. In fact, many of them are stubbornly old-fashioned, and even hopelessly conservative. For example, most of them are invariably ultra-nationalists who oppose globalization, foreign cultures, and international cooperation mechanisms such as free trade agreements.

They reject the very idea of living in the global village. They only think “our nation and our people” are important, and all others are trivial. Thus the so-called progressive literary critics and writers in Korea proudly come up with ideas of “national literature” and “people’s literature,” not realizing that such notions are expired and no longer valid in an age in which the boundaries of nation-states are rapidly and radically collapsing.

A progressive cannot be a hyper-nationalist. Instead, he should be an all embracing, open-minded person who is boldly engaged in the cutting-edge of his own field. Strangely, however, Korean progressives tend to go the opposite direction, locking themselves up inside the isolated prison of jingoism.

In other countries, it is usually extreme rightists, not leftists, who subscribe to ultra-nationalism which fosters xenophobia and jingoism. In Korea, however, we ironically find that it is the leftist progressives who are hostile toward foreign cultures and foreign nationals. It is baffling, therefore, that the Korean leftists exhibit a marked tendency of racial prejudice, a distinctive element of the right wing in other countries.

Recently, for example, Jasmine Lee, a Filipino-Korean, came under fire by Korean progressives after she won a seat in the National Assembly simply because she was born in a different country. “If you want to become a politician,” the progressives wrote on the Internet, “go back to your country!”

The same people recently applauded when they heard the news that Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, was appointed as the next president of the World Bank. They would have been mortally offended if white Americans had shouted to Kim, “If you want a position, go back to your country!”

Progressives proclaim they want to build an equal society with perpetual peace. How, then, could they discriminate against ethnic minorities and other nationals? Yet Korean progressives seem to be hostile to anything foreign. For example, our progressives hate imported foreign cars, and yet they paradoxically burst into tears in patriotic fervor when they see a Hyundai car driving along the road of a foreign country. It is embarrassing to see our leftist progressives acting in the same way as right-wing extremists in France and Germany, antagonizing foreign immigrants.

It is also perplexing that in Korea if you are “progressive,” you are immediately thought to be a “leftist.” Although Marxists have claimed that they are progressive themselves, they are not in reality. Instead, they are just radicals. A true progressive is simply someone who is at the foremost, cutting-edge of his own field, whether he is on the left or on the right. In Korea, however, those who support the opposition party are classified as progressives, whereas those who take side with the ruling party are called conservatives. However, that kind of generalization is hasty and false.

It is bewildering that Korean progressives seldom acknowledge the problems inherent in Marxism or communism, while criticizing capitalism as evil. Likewise, they never criticize the North Korean dictatorship, whereas they harshly condemn the South Korean government as a dictatorial regime.

Meanwhile, they relish all the sweet juices of capitalism and take advantage of the sheer freedoms allowed in South Korea. Many of them live in the rich men’s districts, leading luxurious bourgeois lives, while freely protesting against what they call, “a virulent dictatorial regime.” If they had behaved in such a way in North Korea, they would have been arrested and purged already.

It is perplexing that Korean progressives, even though they present themselves as progressive, tend to detest such progressive ideas as liberal democracy, free trade, or New Liberalism. By doing so, they prove themselves to be paleo-conservatives, not genuine progressives as they claim they are. Like the conservative Regent Daewongun during the Joseon Dynasty, they seem to want to close the ports and the nation against the principles of true progressivism. Although Korea’s economy heavily depends on exports, Korean progressives condemn foreign imports vehemently, such as American beef.

A few years ago, Korean progressives organized a series of huge demonstrations protesting the import of American beef, using the mad-cow disease issue for political gain. Later, their claims turned out to be wrong and groundless. And yet, they did not apologize. Now they unabashedly plan to organize another big rally to demand the Korean government to ban the imports of American beef, vastly exaggerating the danger of consuming American beef. This time, however, we cannot let them deceive us again with the same lie.

With the concerns of the aggressive, human rights-violating neighbor to the north in mind, we must steer the South Korean leftist progressives in the correct direction by criticizing them. It would be deplorable if progressives in South Korea unwittingly resembled jingoistic conservatives. In the future, we want to see normal, genuine progressives in our society.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and director of the Korea Literature Translation Institute. ― Ed.