What makes a president?
Unleashed by the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and public criticism precipitated by the vicious scandal related to the President’s confidant Choi Soon-sil, the competition among candidates for the 19th presidential election seems to have started earlier than originally scheduled.
What do you think constitutes the qualifications to be a president? Will it be his or her intellectual ability including educational background or any kind of political powers? Otherwise, will a person of wealth reach closer to the political authority? If it is about other politicians in general such as the elections for lawmakers or nominations for ministers, we may simply say it is more related with political force or the candidate’s competence. However when it comes to that of the president, the standard of judgment will exceed the conventional verification.
An expression that is often cited for critical situations, such as regime change, war or revolution by which the people cultivate the fidelity and creeds for their behavior, is “just and great cause.” Most people consider it a crucial factor in a president or a leader of the country. There is a saying in Korea that the president is
determined by providence. It is derived by the people’s conviction from ancient times that a son of
Heaven (天子) will make an emperor of the country.
This belief, which may sound irrational, is still prevalent nowadays, while people regard the course of modernization from the West as the development of civilization and science. On the one hand, they put a universal value on this. The rationality of science re-created the order of the universe then perfect wisdom and realistic answers to human problems are required to be presented. On the other hand, people are in need of a certain faith at the same time, which actually does not coincide with scientific rationality. Science and intelligence doesn’t always seem to liberate human anxiety.
The people’s inclination toward the presidential election in Korea may be the most common example to show how they are stimulated by such an absurd notion. The scandal of Choi Soon-sil obviously reveals the hidden side of Korean politics. Face and saju reading and even shaman ‘gut’ are practiced to foretell who will be elected. I personally do not highly put my credit in the latter. Nevertheless it seems still rife as we saw a hilarious episode portraying this shamanic faith to predict the next president in the election in the recent movie “The King.”
When it comes to face reading, the shape of the forehead is a major part to represent the fortune of one’s official career. You would notice that, upon the declaration of candidacy, the candidates start to expose their foreheads by changing the hairstyles. It is an initial and major change on top of other adjustments, such as facial expressions and body language, voice tone, clothing and so on.
Saju readings are also rampant. A fortune teller who has made close forecasts in the elections is often introduced by newspaper articles and even appears on many television shows. This doesn’t always prove he or she is an accurate predictor. Some are foretold as if they are achieved by gambling, although it is not the case for every saju master. It is needless to say how the shamanistic rites yield negative indictment.
The prediction for the next leader must be done with cautious inference. Prejudice, personal preference and preposterous conjecture must be filtered.
Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teachings, the “Four Pillars of Destiny” and Oriental ways of fortunetelling or fortunetellers? Janet teaches saju for the public at Seoul National University of Education. For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.sajufortuneteller.modoo.at or her blog, http://blog.naver.com/janet_shin. You can also contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com. The writer is the author of “Life’s Secrets.”