Prison Writings (review)

Book Reviews Prison Writings, by Kim Dae Jung. Translated by Choi Sung-il and David R. McCann. Foreword by David R. McCann. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1987. 348 pp. $22.50. Kim Dae Jung did not write the twenty-nine letters collected in this book for the purpose of having them reviewed by a scholar in an academic journal. He wrote them to his wife and family between November 21, 1980, and December 15, 1982, certain that the first reader would be a prison censor and probably suspecting that they would be subjected to further intelligence analysis. There were other severely limiting conditions: for the first five months he was under a death sentence, and throughout his imprisonment he was allowed to write but once a month and then only upon a single small sheet of paper. The results, written in miniscule characters, are not the free expression of a free man. They are a response to oppression written by a husband, father, and political leader with a hope perhaps of achieving through them a degree of historical visibility (p. 278). This hope is suggested also by their present publication in English and previous publication in the Japanese and Korean languages. Kim advocates the active pursuit of a personal development plan. His insightful definition of politics provides a public corollary: "Politics," he explains , "is a science of action that implements ideas, and politicians accordingly are assessed not by their ideas but by their accomplishments" (p. 213). Therefore upon imprisonment he and his wife agreed that they would concentrate upon developing their spiritual depth, intellect, and health (p. 67). The letters reflect these emphases, especially the first two, plus two others: a strong stress upon family development and implicitly a veiled commentary upon contemporary Korean politics, mainly through historical analysis and judgments of non-Korean political experiences. Unfortunately no examples are included of the hundreds of letters written apparently daily to him by Mrs. Kim. Those letters are needed for a deeper understanding of each individual and of their relationship. But even from his side alone, her intellectual and political stature, reminiscent of Corazón Aquino, can be inferred. As a result of his developmental efforts, by May 25, 1981, he could write, "Actually, I think my gains in terms of faith, intellectual growth, and character formation have been greater in the past two years than at any time in my life" (P- 171). 74BOOK REVIEWS Spiritually Kim shows himself to be an ardent Christian, drawing strength from the example and message of Lord Jesus, and holding belief in the Resurrection as the touchstone of faith. Having escaped death four times, he has a special sense that God is mindful of his efforts for peace and justice, while reasoning that their accomplishment depends upon human purposiveness. Christians will be especially interested in his profession of faith under adversity, a faith which is buttressed by active questioning and reasoning based upon extensive reading in theology and religious commentary upon the human condition (including, for example, Karl Jaspers and Teilhard de Chardin). If American governmental, media, and public opinion were as sensitive to the plight of democratic Christian dissidents in allied anti-Communist states as they are to democratic religious dissenters in Communist regimes, Kim Dae Jung long ago would have become a popular freedom-fighting hero in the United States— where he remains largely unknown. In intellectual development, the letters reveal an extraordinarily lively seeker of knowledge through extensive reading, mainly in the fields of theology, philosophy, history, economics, and literature. His main area interests are global , Euro-American, Middle East, China-Japan, and Korea. Kim asked his family to send him 186 book titles, in four languages (English, German, Japanese, and Korean), many in multiple volumes, and unspecified works of certain authors , implying a reading rate of at least one book every four days. Overall Kim's reading program constitutes a liberal arts education in a prison university, in which he serves as both teacher and student. Appended to his letters are brief essays, something like term papers, in which he summarizes the results of his reading and reflections. His topics include: "Toynbee: Intellectual Mentor," "The...