President Kim Dae-Jung's Legacy

I see the late South Korean president much as I do Thomas Jefferson: a figure whose legacy outside the presidential office far outweighs his tenure as head-of-state. In fact, both men violated the very principles they stood for once corrupted by power. Here is what some others say:

Robert Koehler says that "that unlike the passing of Roh — which a friend of mine likened to a Greek tragedy — DJ’s passing is more a celebration of his time on Earth" — DJ Editorials and Some Words of My Own. He offers this quote from his 1998 inauguration speech: "Democracy and the market economy are two sides of a coin or two wheels of a cart. Every nation that has embraced both democracy and a market economy has been successful."

"His was not the perfect political career," writes Sam Crane, who goes on to say, "Kim demonstrated with his life's work, which ultimately succeeded in promoting the democratization of South Korea, that apparently authoritarian cultures can hold within them democratic possibilities, nurtured from deep indigenous cultural springs" — Kim Dae-jung, Confucian Democrat.

Donald Kirk says that he "leaves a legacy of controversy over his 'Sunshine' policy towards North Korea that is likely to go on dividing Americans and South Koreans as surely as it did during his presidency" — Kim Dae-jung fought for an elusive dream.