hankyoreh

President Lee Myung-bak plans to depart for a two-day visit to Vietnam as a state guest starting Oct. 20. This will be the fifth visit to Vietnam by a sitting South Korean President, and follows former President Kim Young-sam’s visit in 1997, late President Kim Dae-jung’s visit in 1998, and late Roh Moo-hyun’s visits in 2004 and 2006. Ever since South Korea and Vietnam overcame a painful past to establish diplomatic relations in 1992, their relationship has made rapid progress in many aspects, including politics, economy, culture and military affairs. Last year, some 500 thousand people traveled between the two countries, and each nation has some 80 thousand to 90 thousand citizens residing in the other. Around 60 to 70 percent of Vietnam’s 90 million people enjoy Korean films and TV programs, while more than 40 thousand Vietnamese women have come to live in South Korea through international marriages. These numbers give an indication of the breadth and depth of advancements in the two countries’ relationship.

South Korea and Vietnam plan to use President Lee’s visit to take their relationship to the next level, from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic relationship. This is the right idea, as Vietnam is a core country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), occupies an important strategic position with 3,250 kilometers of coastline overlapping with South Korean petroleum transport routes, and can be a partner in curbing China’s breakneck race forward.

South Korea, however, has already done something to hurt the Vietnamese people’s pride ahead of this momentous occasion. In their announcement of plans to introduce legislation to amend the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Services to the State, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs inserted a passage describing the Vietnam War as having “contributed to preserving world peace.” After strong objections from Vietnam, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan hurried to Vietnam to put out the highly urgent fire. This is unlikely, however, to have healed the deep wound the Vietnamese people bear in their hearts.

In an interview with Yonhap News, Vietnam’s ambassador to South Korea, Pham Tien Van, said, “The truth is that South Korea inflicted harm on Vietnam in the past by participating in the war, however, we have never mentioned that fact in order to preserve good future relations between Vietnam and South Korea.” The ambassador also said, “If South Korea is going to address this matter in new legislation in the interest of glorifying participation in the Vietnam War, it will be inflicting more hurt on the Vietnamese people.” South Korea should well consider these words as it calls for reflection from Japan for its past deeds. It is impossible to become a nation at the center of the world with an attitude of emphasizing the harm that has been done to it while ignoring the harm it has done to others. We hope that during this Vietnam visit, President Lee takes a more advanced stance than those of previous presidents and shows the courage to look squarely at the pain South Korea caused the Vietnamese people. If we consider the way Koreans react when Japan glorifies its colonial rule, we can easily determine what our approach should be in facing this issue.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]