Today, South Korea's squares and streets are suffering. Every weekend, the crowds filling the downtown area hold up the South Korean flag (Taegeukgi) alongside the Stars and Stripes and the Israeli flag. While they call themselves the "true conservatives" protecting South Korea, the language they unleash is far from the dignity of conservatism. Their reckless verbal abuse and profanity directed at the opposing camp, their violence that does not shy away from physical conflict, and their extreme claims that defy common sense have already passed a dangerous threshold. There is a fact that must be clearly pointed out: the "conservative" movement, which has sustained the healthy development of our society, and the "far-right" forces, who wave the flags of the U.S. and Israel to vent blind hatred, must be strictly distinguished.
Traditional conservatism is by no means an ideology that instigates destruction or hatred. The core value of conservatism lies in "preserving." Respecting the rule of law, protecting the history and traditions of the community that have been proven over time, and pursuing gradual change through institutional stability are the essence of conservatism. Persuading opponents with dignified words and expressing opinions within legitimate legal procedures is the basic attitude of conservatism. While it values national security, it must be the product of independent deliberation that prioritizes the safety of its citizens and national interests; it never means blind flunkeyism or dependence on other nations.
However, the behavior of some far-right forces occupying the streets today seriously distorts the identity of conservatism. It is hard to find a rational explanation for why the Stars and Stripes and the Israeli flag should flutter in the middle of downtown South Korea. This is nothing more than a deformed phenomenon combining outdated Cold War thinking and extreme religious beliefs. Emphasizing the importance of the ROK-U.S. alliance is an entirely different matter from waving another country's flag and offering blind worship. Furthermore, bringing out the Israeli flag, which is entangled in the complex geopolitical tragedies of the Middle East, and using it as a tool for factional logic directly violates the universal values of international human rights and peace.
The bigger problem lies in their "attitude." Conservatives revere order and the rule of law. On the other hand, these far-right forces define everyone who disagrees with them as "enemies" and "targets for liquidation," denying the basic rules of democracy. Trapped in confirmation bias, they produce and distribute fake news, and the unspeakable verbal abuse they pour out through loudspeakers is linguistic violence that crosses the boundary of freedom of expression. Their reckless protests, which include assaulting police officers or paralyzing citizens' daily lives to enforce their claims, are a direct challenge to the rule of law. Their actions do not protect conservative values, but rather tarnish the image of the entire Korean conservative bloc and isolate it.
The runaway of these far-right forces is a crisis for Korean democracy as a whole, but above all, it is the greatest threat to the rational conservative camp. When the radicalism of the far-right is seen as the representative face of conservatism, the moderates will turn their backs on conservatism as a whole. If healthy conservatism, which should balance society, loses its place, only political extremism will remain, and the social cost will grow out of control. Therefore, the rational conservative forces must draw a strict line against these far-right forces themselves. Only when they sternly criticize and distance themselves from their extremism and violence can the dignity and sincerity of conservatism be restored.
Those who habitually use verbal abuse and violence while hiding behind the Stars and Stripes and the Israeli flag are by no means conservatives. They are merely packaging their hatred and extremism under the name of conservatism. Only when our society clearly distinguishes between these two forces and is not swayed by instigation can we move toward a mature democratic republic where healthy conservatism and progressivism coexist and compete. It is time for social courage to resolutely deal with the noise and violence of the square.
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