Right-wing Extremism and Cold Civil War Forces Dr. Jang-hyun PaikVisiting Professor at Hanshin UniversitySteering Committee member at CINAP Many are puzzled at the arrogant behaviors of “the Taegukgi Warriors”*, of Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon and his followers. Earlier this year, when the Shincheonji Church of Jesus worshippers who were responsible for the initial mass infections of COVID-19, they at least showed or pretended to show some regretful attitudes. However, Reverend Jun and his huge protesters, who were gathered on the Liberation Day at the Gwanghawmun Plaza, are far from being sorry, even when the unlawful gathering led to another nationwide mass infections which caused further deepening the extreme pains of Korean people. The protesters are demanding the resignation of the President of Korea and even filed a complaint against the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why are they behaving as such? Is it because they have stronger faith than others? Or is it because they have reliable backing of some sort? *The Taegukgi Warriors is a Right-wing group that protests against the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.Rev. “The Taegukgi Warriors” gathered under the leadership of Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon. Political analysts define Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon’s sect and “Taegukgi Warriors” as right-wing political extremists. Extreme right-wingers are usually far right-leaned individuals, groups, or political parties and they are formed based on the mixed ideologies of Nationalism, Ultranationalism, Authoritarianism, Inegalitarian, Racism, and Totalitarianism. Leon P. Baradat, a political scientist, divided the left and the right based on political values and motives. Depends on which social values the person pursues, the political ideology spectrum can be categorized into the following five: a radical, a progressive, a moderate, a conservative, and a reactionary. Other political scientists saw that the division were based on human rationality and the belief in the free will. Conservatives are those who seek to improve based on tradition and practices while avoiding radical changes and maintaining the continuity of the existing system. On the other hand, progressives are the ones who have a belief in human rationality that change for progress should be carried out comprehensively and as quickly as possible. It is unreasonable to classify Rev. Jun and his followers according to the above categories as, at their rallies, in addition to anti-communism, slogans such as ‘anti-homosexuality’, ‘anti-Islam’ are shouted and they are waving not only Taegukgi, the Korean national flag, but also the flags of the United States, Israel, even Japan. Rev. Jun, with his unique and controversial remarks, stirs up the enthusiasm of the protesters and then incites them by clearly presenting their main enemy. They show the whole package of ill Korean Chrisians, including the black and white dualism that dichotomizes everything into good or evil, disgust theory that targets the minority, election interference, anti-communism, cultural toadyism, dogmatism, and dissemination of false information or fake news. Therefore, Eric Hoffer’s “fanatics” fits better for describing Rev. Jun and his likes. Eric Hoffer, with his keen eyes, explored the essence of the mass movements in the United States in the early 20th century. He argued that the driving force of the mass movement does not come from the participants’ beliefs, but rather from “passionate hatred” that seeks to destroy and transform something, and that the majority of the participants are the losers of the history who can easily be armed with passionate hatred. He also claimed that the mass movement has the power to replace the individual’s frustrated hopes, which goes beyond rational judgment to develop into a blind faith, anticipating the Messiah.The fanatics are willing to sacrifice themselves as they become more and more active by participating in the mass movement to avoid their individual autonomy and responsibility, so they can be “free from freedom.” He also noted that it is more important for fanatics how passionately they can cling onto something than how noble the cause of the belief is, because the fanatics can only calm their anxious souls hen they hold on to something passionately. Therefore, it is enough for them to have a group of people with similar sense of homogeneity and a main enemy to express their hatred in action. This is a common phenomenon found in both left and right, regardless of their political inclinations, and it can be confirmed, we are told, by the fact that the majority of German Nazi members were involved in the socialist movement in the past. There are forces that incite as well as support Rev. Jun, his sect and the Taegukgi Warriors. Politicians of the People Power Party and the ‘Cold Civil War’ forces including conservative media are behind of them. These forces secured the major influence within the Korean society following the global Cold War regime after the World War II. “Cold Civil War” means that the state of tension or struggle that occurs when there are forces within the nation trying to gain power in a forceful manner under the support of the United States or the Soviet Union hegemonic powers, instead of maintaining self-sustaining rhythm of the social development of the nation. The root of the Cold Civil War forces is the pro-Japanese group during the post-liberation period. Immediately after the liberation from Japan, the People’s Committee, a regional autonomous body, was disbanded by the U.S. military government, and the pro-Japanese administrative officials and police officials returned to the posts where they seized the power and became political majority in the Korean Society, once again. Since then, education, media and religions were in charge of spreading and reproducing the culture of the Cold War. The conservative media was the epicenter of the McCarthyism that created a Red Scare in the Korean society. During the military regime, when the people’s demand for democracy erupted, these conservative forces used articles related to North Korea as their favorite stories to silence the cries for democracy. Religions also deeply engaged itself into the Cold Civil War. It was the Protestant church that was the biggest sponsor of the North West Korean Youth Association, which was called the “flower of evil” for being involved in all kinds of terrorism and assassinations of politicians during the post-liberation period. In fact, the Protestant right-wingers’ attack on the Moon administration by using Rev. Jun and his followers is within the same context. North West Korean Youth Association The Cold Civil War forces used to amplify the conflict between North and South Korea. When the relationship between the two Koreas improved, they sabotaged it by sophistry and obstinacy. They not only went against even feasible inter-Korean projects, but also insisted beforehand what was practically impossible to implement immediately, and blamed North Korea for failing the project. Cold Civil War Forces protest with a banner against North Korea(Right). In 2000, a typical incident happened when they opposed the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gyeongui Line which was an agreed event between the two Koreas. At that time, the conservative opposition party insisted that the construction of the Gyeongui Line should not be carried out before the military confidence between the two Koreas is formed. It is a common sense that the long-running hostile Koreas cannot form the military confidence overnight. However, they made tedious sophistic remarks even when it is reasonable for the two Koreas to gradually build confidence and trust through those exchanges, It is frustrating to think of the politically motived behaviors by the Cold Civil War forces amidst the national crisis of the COVID-19. Really, isn't there any brilliant idea to make them ‘turn over a new leaf’? (End)
