[기고] defamation of condiments

Moon Jae-in, text bombs are ‘condiments that make competition interesting’

Roh Tae-woo, “I think tear gas is the spice of democracy” was the origin

Situation changed from being a victim of ‘seasoning’ to a victim of ‘pepper powder’ in the past

Members of the Corona 19 Vaccine Victims and Families Association hold a rally near the residence of former President Moon Jae-in. ⓒ Newsis

The seasoning debate in politics is ongoing. The dictionary meaning of seasoning is ‘ingredients used to enhance the taste of food, namely sesame salt, green onion, garlic, soybean paste, soy sauce, spices, etc.’. Metaphorically, it refers to ‘additional material for interest or fun’. Either way, it means good.

There are people who camp in front of Yangsan’s private residence, where former President Moon Jae-in is returning to farming and making noise with all kinds of swear words and gossip. To put it bluntly, would the ex-president who promised in his inaugural address, “Each of the people who did not support me be my people, and I will serve as our people,” even sued the ‘people’?

Rep. Hong Young-pyo, who brought up the theory of responsibility for Lee Jae-myung’s defeat in the local election, is not a joke with the text bombs and slander attacks of ‘dog daughters (Lee Jae-myung and Kang-seong supporters)’.

If someone calls the fuss in front of the former president’s residence and the baptism of text bombs ‘the spice of democracy’, how will the ‘victim complainers’ react? In this case, convenience is a case in the past.

During the 2017 Democratic presidential primary, Moon Jae-in said of the text bomb as “a spice that makes competition interesting.” Since seasoning is a good thing that makes cabbage into kimchi, it was interpreted as actually advocating and further encouraging it, and in fact, the momentum of the scholars, encouraged by this ‘gyoshi’, became even more fierce throughout the five years of his tenure.

Most people think that the origin of the theory of spice was former President Moon, but 30 years earlier, during the 1987 presidential election, Roh Tae-woo, then-Democratic Party candidate, used the term politically for the first time. The presidential election system was won through the June Struggle, but as the unification of Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam failed, the 13th presidential election, in which all three Kims participated, heated up. Local sentiment was severe, with Kim Young-sam being stoned at a campaign in front of Gwangju Station and Kim Dae-jung being stoned at a campaign in Daegu as well.

In a situation that was nothing more than a civil war without gunfire, tear gas exploded during the campaign of Chun Doo-hwan’s successor, Roh Tae-woo, at Songjeong Station in Gwangju. The police didn’t fire it, but a tear gas grenade that was picked up during the June Uprising and an ordinary citizen threw it at Candidate Roh Tae-woo. It doesn’t matter that the market has become a chaos.

“This illegal act that ruins elections, the flower of democracy, is unacceptable and unacceptable. I will thoroughly identify the background and make a comeback.” A typical military politician would have said the same as above. However, the ‘victim’ Roh Tae-woo said the following: “I think tear gas is the spice of democracy.” This impromptu remark reached the heart of the author, who is anti-Roh Tae-woo. The same etymology of pepper and tear gas is exquisite, but above all, the victim’s generous humor stood out.

Even the same words are diametrically opposed depending on whether the person is benefiting from it or the victim. That’s the seasoning theory. Now, the pro-moon community will not glorify the text bombs of their daughters as condiments. Maybe you think of it as red pepper powder when you say ‘spray red pepper powder’. The situation has changed from seeing the virtue of ‘seasoning’ in the past to being a victim of ‘pepper powder’. By saying this, I am not advocating a text bomb or a commotion in front of the former president’s house. We expressly oppose such non-intellectual conduct, both in the past and now.

‘Spice up your life’ is a song that became famous by the famous British girl group Spice Girls at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Just as seasonings need to be added to food to make it delicious, we need seasonings to make our lives more charming. If such useful sesame salt, green onion, garlic, soybean paste, soy sauce, and spices are combined to form a ‘Seasoning Federation’, I imagine that the Korean politicians will be sued for defamation of the seasoning. Because imagination like this is the spice of life.