Editorial

Let me begin by introducing a photo. The photo’s title is “The Soiling of Old Glory.” It captured a scene in which white protesters, opposing the use of a school bus service for black people, try to injure a black lawyer with an American flag. Through this scene of attack, the picture itself reveals a “truth” about how wrong racism is. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977.

The reason I am talking about this photo is that it reminds me of a rally in South Korea. It is the Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) Rally. Participants in this rally, holding the Taeguekgi, are attempting to nullify the impeachment trial that is currently underway in the Constitutional Court. These groups claim that all of President Park’s criminal charges were invented by the press and opposition parties. A participant referred to the current candlelight demonstrations, which are asking for Park’s impeachment, as a ceremony for exorcism.

The demonstrations are distorting the truth, as many members of the press and the independent counsel team have already found numerous pieces of incriminating evidence showing that the president trampled upon the constitution and distributed the profits among Choi Soon-sil’s family. What they are also doing is misinterpreting the minds of most Koreans who are represented by the candlelight assemblies. Therefore, this abnormal assembly can be summarized using the words, “The Soiling of the Taeguekgi.”
Some people believe what the Taeguekgi Rally is saying. I guess it is because several press teams treat both the candlelight demonstrations and this Taeguekgi Rally with equal esteem when they report about them. They just report on facts and information of both rallies. They do not say the Taeguekgi Rally is wrong. At a time like this, the role of good journalism is essential. Not being able to personally find the truth ourselves, we need good journalism to tell us the truth.

As I start this semester as the Editor-in-Chief of this magazine, I promise our readers that we will maintain the role of good journalists and put it into practice. For every issue The Argus publishes, I want you to keep checking whether we really are doing our jobs. To you, I sincerely hope The Argus will be remembered as “The Good Press.”

Lee Jae-won
Editor-in-Chief

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