In 1986, a Korean folk duo 시인과 촌장 (City Dweller & Village Chief) released a song, 풍경 (Scenery), consisting of just two lines:
세상 풍경 중에서 제일 아름다운 풍경
모든 것들이 제자리로 돌아가(오)는 풍경
(The most beautiful sight in all the world:
The view of everything returning to its place.)
Two weeks ago, I set out on a long journey around the Korean peninsula, traveling through relentless heat and thick, sun-soaked humidity. Along the way, I witnessed a country beginning to breathe again, finally emerging from three years of incompetence and corruption under the previous president Yoon Suk-yeol. Thank God!
And, as if by some cosmic design, all members of BTS were discharged from their mandatory military service just as the new president, Lee Jae-myung, of the liberal Democratic Party—the very party of the former President Moon Jae-in, the leader whom BTS adored and who had invited BTS to join him at the Blue House, Korea’s answer to the White House, as well as in Paris and at the United Nations in New York—assumed office. Again, thank God!
BTS with President Moon in Paris
BTS with President Moon in New York
BTS with President Moon in the Blue House
President Lee, for his part, frequently mentioned BTS during his campaign speeches, emphasizing his vision for a stronger Korea built on the success of not only major industries like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and SK, but also the thriving entertainment and cultural sectors. In stark contrast to Yoon, who sought to undermine these industries by slashing budgets for Korean cultural sectors, disparaging them as “socialistic,” President Lee has pledged full support for the creative fields. I truly hope he will once again invite BTS to serve as cultural ambassadors at global events. Nothing would delight me more than to see photos of them together!
As I traveled across Korea, witnessing the country finding its way back to normalcy, and watched BTS’s first live with all seven members reunited after their discharge, I felt as though I was living out the very lyrics of City Dweller & Village Chief’s “Scenery”: “the most beautiful sight in all the world—the view of everything returning to its place.”
