UNESCO’s designation of 2026 to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Kim Koo evokes both joy and regret.
The intent behind the designation is clear, given the organization’s mandate and Kim’s enduring advocacy of culture as a force that brings happiness and fosters love and peace for humanity. It is also timely: Korean popular culture today enjoys unprecedented global attention.
Regret arises from a sobering realization. Nearly eight decades after Kim fell to four gunshots fired by an alleged anti-communist Army officer, his fervent lifelong wish for the “complete independence of the Korean nation” remains unfulfilled. Kim lamented that the nation’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 amounted only to incomplete independence, as the peninsula was immediately divided into North and South under Soviet and US occupation.
Regardless of the feasibility of his controversial endeavor, Kim devoted himself to the cause of national unity. He opposed the establishment of two separate governments and called instead for a joint conference of leaders from both sides to discuss unification, fearing that division would become permanent. In a letter to the UN Temporary Commission on Korea, he also demanded the immediate withdrawal of both US and Soviet troops and the establishment of a unified, autonomous government of Korea through nationwide general elections held under UN supervision.
When he departed for Pyongyang in April 1948 for a meeting with Kim Il-sung, he declared, “Even if I collapse with the 38th parallel beneath my head while striving to build a unified fatherland, I cannot cooperate in setting up a separate government in a humiliating pursuit of personal comfort.”
Against Kim’s ardent wishes — and exactly as he had foreseen — the two Koreas remain firmly divided, with reunification far out of sight, while major powers continue to exert geopolitical influence over the peninsula. The internal situation in the South is scarcely less troubling: Persistent ideological polarization and animosity echo the chaos and conflict of the immediate post-liberation years. In the North, under a hereditary dictatorship, the population suffers in silence amid extreme poverty.
Kim’s nationalist aspiration for unity beyond ideological divides ultimately gave way to the political realism of Rhee Syngman, the first president of the Republic of Korea. Born one year apart in Hwanghae Province in what is now North Korea, both men stood at the forefront of the independence movement and served as leaders of the Korean Provisional Government in China — but in sharply contrasting ways.
Kim, the son of an impoverished farmer and a largely self-taught thinker and educator, relied on activism and armed resistance, repeatedly risking his life. Rhee, a distant royal descendant of the fallen Joseon Dynasty and an early convert to Christianity, gained the opportunity to study at prestigious US universities and placed his faith in diplomacy. He spent much of his life in the United States and, after Japan’s surrender, emerged as the preferred choice of the US military government — albeit amid mutual misgivings and friction.
Given Kim’s humble origins and arduous life, his eloquent reflections on culture and education may appear an unexpected facet of his leadership. In his oft-quoted essay “My Wish,” appended to his memoir “Baekbeom Ilji” and published in 1947, Kim articulated his vision of a unified fatherland that he hoped would become “the most beautiful nation in the world.”
“I do not want our nation to become the richest and most powerful in the world,” he wrote. “Because I have known the pain of being invaded, I do not want my nation to invade others. It is enough that our wealth allows our lives to be abundant and our military strength sufficient to repel invasion. The only thing I desire without limit is the power of a highly advanced culture, because culture makes us happy and enables us to give happiness to others.”
On the political system he envisaged, Kim insisted on a nation grounded in freedom and democratic procedure, with the people as sovereign rulers.
“In such a nation, opinions on small matters are shaped by competing self-interests, but on larger matters they are determined by national character, faith and philosophy," he observed. "Herein lies the importance of culture and education. A sound democratic political system begins with good education.”
In this respect, Kim’s philosophy closely aligns with UNESCO’s mission, underscoring the global relevance of commemorating his birth anniversary. His reflections on the human condition, written eight decades ago, still resonate today.
“What humanity lacks today is neither military force nor economic power,” he wrote. “Scientific progress has already reached a level sufficient to allow all humankind to live comfortably.
“The root cause of human unhappiness lies in the absence of benevolence, justice, compassion and love in people’s minds. Culture alone can nurture those minds. I do not want our nation merely to imitate others. I want it to become the origin, the goal and the model of a new, advanced culture — so that true world peace may be realized in, and through, our nation.”
Lee Kyong-hee
Lee Kyong-hee is a former editor-in-chief of The Korea Herald. The views expressed here are the writer's own. — Ed.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
