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| Here we are, another new year. I don't know how I feel about it, good or bad. But when I look back on the past year, I feel nothing but shame. I claimed to be a patriot but stood by while my countrymen starved to death, froze to death, and stabbed each other to death. As a unification advocate, I could not stop the growing division of the country and haven’t voiced what I had to say. And as an independence activist, I could not make the progress toward independence.
I should probably do some self-criticism and self-reflection on the past year, and write a new plan for the new year. In what attitude, or at what chance, how dare can I open my mouth and speak to others? Moreover, as a person who is neither a boaster nor a liar, there is no need for me to diligently open my empty mouth and speak only words. However, I am in a situation where I am forced to write a so-called "congratulatory message for the new year" every new year. I can't just put out what I wrote last year, and it's a painful task for me every year. This year, I picked up this brush under such circumstances. I hope that you, the readers, will also consider this hardship. No matter how many old years have passed and how many new years will come, the supreme aspiration of the absolute majority of our 30 million people is to only have the sovereign, democratic and unified independence of our country. If we look back on the past year with regret, it is only the failure to fulfill this wish, and if we look forward to the coming year with renewed hope, it is only the fulfillment of this wish. No matter how good Soviet-style democracy is, we don't want to establish a communist dictatorship. No matter how much we want to be friends with the Soviet Union, no matter how much we want to be friends with the Soviet people, we do not want to put the Soviet Union and the Soviet people above our country and our people. This was expressed by the courageous actions of the Yugoslav people. No matter how good American-style democracy is, we cannot be in favor of monopoly capitalism, which not only afflicts the poor, but also turns developing countries into commodity markets. We truly want only to have a sovereign and independent homeland, based on equality in politics, economy, and education, in which we can live as we please for the benefit of our 30 million people, while promoting goodwill to each other on an internationally equal footing. We further would like to have unified homeland, not a half one. Some people are worried and discouraged because we do not have strong weapons. However, there are few countries in the past that have succeeded in achieving independence with strong weapons. Even now, a country like China, which not only had strong weapons in its own right, but also acquired a large amount of sophisticated weapons from the United States, is unable to suppress the Communist army and is at stake of falling into danger itself due to political corruption. Therefore, if we are strong in our will and steadfast in our efforts, there will be times when we will succeed. There is nothing to be afraid of as we refresh public opinion in favor of justice and wage the struggle for justice. Wealth will not shake us, nor will mighty power overpower us. Therefore, let us greet the new year with joyful hearts, for our path is a solid one, and there is nothing but success ahead of us. Our self-determined, democratic, and unified independence will certainly come, because all 30 million of us are striving for it, and because it is the rightful demand of mankind. But no matter how great our hopes, how certain our successes, how great our struggles, if we do not have unity, everything will be disillusioned. Therefore, we need unity at all times, so in the coming new year, let us resolve to realize unity where we have failed in the past, and let the new year be the "Year of Unity". There are many factors that are necessary for the success of unity. If we fail to grasp these elements and just shout about unity, it will not succeed as it has in the past. So I'll end this article with what I consider to be the two most important elements of unity. -. Principles of unity should be established. Unity without principles will never succeed. For example, if a corrupt official who threatens the lives of the people and puts too much pressure on them tells them that they can live well if they unite, no one will believe and follow it. Therefore, it is necessary to show the principle of unity that the people can see and believe in, as well as the sincerity to practice it by acting. In the same way, if we want to succeed in unifying our country, we must establish a principle that can succeed in reunification, and only by practicing it can all people follow it. -. Stable public sentiment should be secured. When politics is off track and society is in disarray, the more so, the more people spend their days in a state of hunger, pain, and fear. The full, the hungry, the distressed, and the frightened cannot be united, so it is necessary to stabilize the public's sentiment before the entire nation can be united. January 1, the 31st year of the Republic of Korea, 1949 |
