hankyoreh

The case in which 23 Koreans have been abducted by the Taliban in Afghanistan is too big a shock. It is hard to cope with an incident in which civilians who have nothing to do with the situation in Afghanistan have become hostages amidst demands for the release of Taliban prisoners. Whatever may have happened up to this point, how wrenching the pain of the individuals being held, and those close to them, must be.

Watching the events unfold, one wonders if Koreans are going to increasingly be seen by Middle Easterners as being “on the other side,” since Korea is about to get itself involved in the conflict in Lebanon, on top of its current commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some might think that sending troops to those locations is akin to participation in international efforts to deal with terrorism, but many think of it as a matter of “national interest.” This claim is so cold and calculating that it is horrifying. Does it not mean that, regardless of what happens to the masses in Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East, all is fine as long as Korea makes off with its national interest intact?

In the midst of the current crisis there are a lot of voices criticizing aggressive Christian missionary behavior. The Korean Christian church is said to be sending some of the highest numbers of missionaries overseas. Believers go on short-term overseas trips every summer. And the more dangerous and rough the foreign country, the more mission and volunteer activity there is to do, so that many more people rush at the opportunity to tackle these challenges.

Public opinion appears to think that there is a conflict between the sending of troops for the “national interest” and Christian missionary activity. This view seems particularly prominent on the Internet. But then, are these two concerns mutually exclusive? It would seem that this is not necessarily the case. Indeed, it would appear that there is similar thinking at the basis of both, namely that Korea now belongs among the “haves” in the world, and that it is better than the “have-nots” that make up most of the rest of the world. Bringing up the national interest while siding with foreign invaders, but not with those who are fighting the invaders, whether the invaders are deemed good or bad, is the same as declaring that Korea belongs among the small number of nations that rule the world.

It is perhaps only a matter of course that in an atmosphere such as this, people have developed a greater sense of purpose in “bestowing God’s love” to those who are suffering. Once you start thinking that way the question of whether or not they actually want our help stops mattering. This, in turn, is related to how one looks at the world. Korea is not looking at the world as it is; perhaps it is looking at the world it wants it to be as defined by its interests and faith. Without that being the case, there is no way Koreans can be so calm and composed about sending troops to Lebanon. If people had tried to see the realities of Afghanistan, they would not have so easily sent young people who wanted to go and do volunteer work.

No country is as good at seeing the world in the way it wants than the United States. Observers like Canadian political scholar Colin Leys and British literary critic Terry Eagleton say that the phenomenon is becoming more conspicuous. There is little room for “real Middle Easterners” in the minds of the American ruling class when it thinks that the world is what their actions make of it or that what they believe is reality.

You can find the opposite attitude in human rights activists. The American doctor Jennifer Leaning travels to dangerous regions and says that before she goes, she tries to draw a visual picture of the topography in her mind. To do that, she says it is important to build a sense of the place, by seeing movies that use the region as the setting and talking to people who have been there. By doing this she is able to learn what the realities of a place are, and really be of help. This would also be a shortcut to preventing unexpected tragedies.

It is clear what Korea’s choice should be. Even if we quit doing everything else, let us take this opportunity to draw in our minds and in detail the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Having done so, will it still be so easy to utter words like “national interest”?