hankyoreh

Although the hostage crisis in Afghanistan has ended with all 19 South Korean hostages scheduled for release, the hostage crisis illustrated a fundamental dilemma now facing South Korea.

“It was a very peculiar and unprecedented massive crisis in globally disputed area,” a government official said on condition of anonymity, hinting at the struggles the government has had in the time since the kidnapping took place on July 19. “It was a persistent dilemma for us. We believe it is not appropriate to evaluate our efforts based on customary international standards.”

However, many people have credited the government for its successful resolution of the extended ordeal by securing the safe release of the Christian volunteer workers, even though two precious lives were ended in the process.

The Taliban insurgents have demanded that the Seoul government withdraw its troops from Afghanistan since they kidnapped the 23 South Korean people and they emphasized the request again in the agreement arranged for their release. Though the government underscored the humanitarian role that its soldiers have been playing in the war-stricken country, for the Taliban, they are just foreign forces helping the United States.

“There are many other ways to contribute to world peace without sending troops,” the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said in a statement. “The government should immediately pull the troops back from Afghanistan and review other plans for future troop dispatches from scratch as they are just likely to contribute to fostering global disputes.”

Seo Dong-man, a professor of Sangji University echoed the call for troop withdrawals. “It is noteworthy that both sides mentioned the troop pullback issue in the agreement on the hostage release... It seems inevitable for the government to review its plans to send troops to Iraq.”

The hostage-taking incident in Afghanistan has also stirred controversy over proselytizing and other missionary efforts carried out by South Korean Protestants worldwide. The foreign media, including Time magazine, have criticized aggressive missionary efforts by South Koreans, calling the abduction incident a result of religious confrontation. South Korean missionaries have also come under fire, as a video clip showing their activities in Afghanistan was posted on YouTube, the world’s largest Internet video-sharing site.

Against this backdrop, the Seoul government prohibited its people from traveling to Afghanistan earlier this month. A foreign ministry official said, “It is impossible and inappropriate to use diplomacy and legal authority to guarantee the safety of its people at a time when as many as 13 million people go overseas every year... Safety comes, among other things, from people’s self-control.”

The Protestant community is also voicing a need for self discipline and self-restraint. An official of the National Council of Churches in Korea said, “We should capitalize on the incident this time as an opportunity to reshape our missionary efforts and establish new principles.”

The kidnapping incident has also required that Seoul learn better diplomacy toward Islamic countries located in the Middle East. Despite heightened tension after the Taliban killed two of the captives, the government sought face-to-face meetings with the insurgents, dismissing pressure from the international community not to negotiate with terrorists. In the process, Seoul officials strove to gain support from Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia.

“It must have been a tough decision for the government to seek face-to-face meetings with the Taliban, considering past diplomatic practices,” said Lee Dae-hoon, a member of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy who is working on arms reduction for peace. “We could give high scores for efforts designed to secure the safe release of its people,” he said, adding that they could be remembered as an important turning point in the nation’s diplomacy with Middle Eastern countries down the road.

Yu Dal-seung, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and an expert in Middle Eastern affairs, noted the importance of nurturing more people who are experts on diverse Islamic nations and other third-world countries and that doing so would require government-level support and help.