On the occasion of Korea's first Children's Day on May 1, 1923, Bang Jeong Hwan wrote something titled "An Open Letter to Adults." The document was distributed in various places around Seoul that day, and among other things it said "Don't look down on children. Watch them instead." It came a year before the international Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted and also called on adults to "Speak to children with respect, and speak softly." It was a very advanced philosophy regarding children, one that believed they are worthy of respect and looking up to while simultaneously deserving of warmth and care.
It has been over 80 years and Korean children are still suffering. They are not objects of respect nor are they given warmth and care. Legal and formal measures were later taken for children, such as the "Children's Charter" of 1957 and the establishment of Children's Day as a legal holiday in 1975. Most children, however, are still not free from the prison of adults' values and ambitions. Adults' values are colored by materialism, and that gets passed on right on to children in the name of educating one's offspring. The strong demands that the "Family Violence Prevention Law" and "Youth Protection Law" be enforced and that a "child abuse prevention law" be enacted show you how our children are still exposed defenseless to violence and abuse.
The reason is not complicated. The problems are the result of adult selfishness and greed and our society's twisted dominant values that they create. Something to ponder for Children's Day: "Will not children be truly 'liberated' only when adults discard their greed and selfishness?"
The Hankyoreh, 5 May 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Children's Day & Children's 'Liberation' |
