The Kathmandu PostFriday, September 1, 2006 5Opinion

By CHOE SANG-HUM

If a South Korean asks a NorthKorean how he is doing, theresponse will likely be "ilupsop-

neda," which literally means "notmuch." It is the North Koreanequivalent of "I'm fine, thanks."Many South Koreans attempting acasual chat have been taken abackby this response, and perhaps havehardened their stereotypical view ofNorth Koreans as rather bluntneighbors.

In the South, the Koreanexpression means: "Mind your ownbusiness!"

After six decades of living sepa-rated across a tightly sealed border,South and North Koreans findthemselves divided by what used tobe a common language, so much sothat a person from one side oftengets bewildered, amused and evenmistakenly angered by what a per-son from the other side says.

When a North Korean sayssquid, it means octopus in theSouth; when a South Korean saysoctopus, it means squid in theNorth. A word common on bothsides, "mije," means "Americanimperialist" in the North and "Madein the U.S.A." in the South.

It is enough of a problem thatthe authorities of both Koreas arebypassing their political differencesand are compiling a joint dictionaryof the Korean language, their firstattempt to prevent their languagesfrom drifting further apart.

"Our dictionary is not meant toreplace dictionaries or establishedgrammar in the North and South.Nevertheless, it represents ourefforts to rediscover our commonlinguistic roots in preparation forreunification," said Lee Jae Kyu,secretary general of a South Koreangovernment panel of linguistsinvolved in the seven-year compila-tion of the joint dictionary.

What used to be a single nationwas divided into the CommunistNorth and the capitalist South atthe end of World War II. So wastheir language. Two million troops,barbed wire fences and minefieldsseal off the border.

Both sides jam each other'sradio signals. Watching television,reading literature and communicat-ing with people from the other side

used to be a serious crime in theSouth and still is in the North.

After such a divide, the task ofcompiling a unified dictionary bris-tles with linguistic minefields sownin the days of Cold War confronta-tion. What should be done with theword "sooryong," for example? Inthe North, the word is the highesthonorific, only applied to theregime's leader, Kim Jong Il. In theSouth, it is slightly derogatory,meaning the head of any politicalfaction, clique or even gang of ban-dits.

And what about "pukgoe?" Aterm listed in every South Koreandictionary, it means "North Koreanpuppet regime."

And should the joint dictionaryinclude all those English words thatSouth Koreans use as part of theireveryday lingo? When NorthKorean defectors are asked to go"shopping" after they arrive in theSouth, they are at a loss about whatthat English word means. Likewise,South Koreans puzzle over whatNorth Koreans mean by a "vehiclethat goes straight up after takeoff,"when the simple English word "hel-icopter" will do.

"We negotiate and leave outwords with too much of a politicalproblem," said Lee, of the SouthKorean panel of linguists. "We willalso leave out many of the foreignwords South Koreans have indis-criminately adopted."

"We hope to compile a300,000-word joint dictionary by2012," he added.

Today, people from the twoKoreas can understand each otherin everyday conversation to a largedegree because sentence structuresand basic vocabulary remain thesame. Still, they have diverged, lin-guists say, to alarming proportionsin grammar and vocabulary overthe decades.

Dongmu, once an innocuousword for "friend," was banishedfrom South Korea afterCommunists in the North adoptedthe term as the Korean equivalent of"comrade." Euiboeui, which means"parents," is seldom heard in theSouth, after North Korea redefinedit as "one who gives the people theirmost valuable political life andblesses them with a love unsur-passed by that of their biologicalparents," and reserved it for Kim

Jong Il. Kim Ki Hyok, 35, a NorthKorean defector who came to SouthKorea in 1999, said: "When I firstgot here, the biggest language barri-er was all those English wordseverywhere. 'Wife,' 'size,' 'date,''shopping' and 'drive.' These wereall new to me."

In a 2001 survey, only 24 per-cent of defectors from the Northsaid that they understood SouthKoreans perfectly.

Lee Young Hwan, a SouthKorean who works with NorthKorean defectors at Citizens'Alliance for North Korean HumanRights in Seoul, said new defectors"don't understand 60 percent ofwhat South Koreans say, not onlybecause of different vocabulary, butalso because of the unfamiliarity ofthe topics."

Still, for thousands of defectors,linguistic reunification has alreadybegun.

"When we play soccer, we use amixture of 'corner kick' and otherEnglish terminology used by SouthKoreans and the purely Korean ter-minology used by North Koreans,"said Chun Chi Kyun, a teacher at theHankyoreh School for teenageNorth Korean defectors. "It's a bitconfusing at first, but they arecatching up with South Koreanvocabulary really quickly."

Most defectors strive to aban-don their Northern accent becauseit makes them stand out and oftenworks against them in finding jobs.

"Our accent brands us as peoplewho come from a place of poverty,"said a defector, Kim Young Nam,44. But Kim uses his North Koreanbackground as a business asset: Heis an accordion player and leader ofa troupe of North Korean entertain-ers who perform in a beer hall inSeoul.

For Southerners, the troupe'sgraceful dance in traditional dressand woebegone Northern lyrics area nostalgic throwback to the prewarera when Korea was one nation.

"I first could not understandabout 10 percent of South Koreanwords, but I quickly learned them.But correcting the accent is difficult,however we try. So that gives us alot of stress," Kim said, using theEnglish word "stress."

International Herald

Tribune

Divided by a common language

By SHIVA RIJAL

Pheri Sundarijal (Sundarijal Again) is a diarythat the late Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala(1915-1982) maintained while he was in the

Sundarijal jail. Now translated from the English intoNepali by Shusil Sharma, edited by Rajendra Dahaland published by Jagadamba Press, the book hasfinally arrived at the bookstores. The diary startsfrom December 30, 1976 the day B P Koirala arrivedat the Tribhuvan International Airport and wasimmediately arrested by thethen autocratic Panchayatregime. And, it ends on 27April 1979, the day the regimeput him under house impris-onment in Chahabil.

The diary records the suf-ferings of Koirala both as anailing man in his early sixtiesas well as a political leader andcreative writer in the lastphase of his life. His return tothe country after the eight-year-long political exile inIndia was a historical decisionmade by him and his partyNepali Congress for that mat-ter. With this decision, Koiralaengages himself in the politicsof dialogue. Koirala by taking arisk at that critical state of hislife opens a new era in modernNepali democratic politics.This phase of democratic poli-tics in Nepal that can be read through this piece ofwriting of Koirala appears as an important onebecause it heralds an era of fight against the auto-cratic regime from within. By letting himself bearrested, Koirala as a democratic leader of the peo-ple importantly carves out the space for himself aswell as for the democratic politics in this country. Inthat sense, this diary has a historicity of an impor-tant order.

An entry made in the diary on 09 Jan.1977 goes:"As I lie in bed, I start thinking about the people andthe country: Do the people have any future? I havetied the chariot of my life to the future of the people.If this union has got any future, there will be futurefor me too. Is this bond with this nation that I haverealised a romantic feeling? But this sense of belong-ing gives me energy. Anyway, I did not make thedecision of coming here in Kathmandu as my per-sonal surrender to the autocratic ruler. I took thisrisk, and it was entirely my own decision made forthe sake of better future of this country" (17).

Koirala died five years after he had this vision.The Panchayat autocratic regime was about to cele-brate its silver jubilee then. It might have occurred

to the regime that with the demise of Koirala hisvision will be faded too. But it was a wrong calcula-tion. Like Michel Foucault's interpretation of therelationship between the author and his/her works -the author dies but the authorial functions remain -Koirala died but the political and intellectual roleshe played while he was alive whether in jail or out-side remained or have remained intact. ThePanchayat regime died soon after it celebrated its sil-ver jubilee because Koirala's vision had alreadystarted to work. The texts or textures that the Nepalidemocratic politics has formed so far, or will form it

in the future, contain somedirect but important referencesto the dreams, pain and joysthat Koirala as an importantcharacter from the saga ofNepali democratic political cul-ture had lived with and livedfor it. In that sense, the diaryhas new-historical relevance aswell, and is a metaphor of theheritage of Nepali democraticpolitics.

The twelve-point agreementbetween the Seven PoliticalParties and the Maoistsreached on 17 Nov. 2005 thathas brought about the majorchanges in the country in ourtimes in fact was or can betaken as the continuation of thetradition of the politics of dia-logues carved out by BPKoirala.

The Maoists by denouncingviolence and war on the one hand and the leaders ofseven political parties by reducing their dependencyon foreign friends and forces on the other evoked thesame energy that Koirala had realized then. Thissense of the heritage of a democratic political culturein Nepal, in fact, has affected all includingPrachanda andBaburam Bhattarai, the Maoists leaders who haveexpressed their views time and again in their write-ups and interviews in recent months.

What will happen to this heritage of Nepali dem-ocratic politics indicated by this book and evoked bythe recent political events especially in times likeours when the entire nation is grappling on withissues like the election of a constituent assembly,republicanism and decommissioning of arms withthe Maoists? Much cannot be predicted, but whatone can say on the basis of this book is that demo-cratic political culture in Nepal has already made astrong heritage and it will create condition thatshould save and celebrate this heritage. And for this,we have got to refuse forever anythingthat is autocratic whether be the arms or the crown.

Heritage of Nepalidemocratic politics

Come back?This is to respond to Isha Rai's Letter tothe Editor, "Why can't you come back?"(August 31). Regarding my views usuallypublished in TKP, I must admit that theeditorials of TKP generally provoke andinspire me to add some points on myown. Therefore, the credit goes to theeditorials of TKP itself.

As a conscious citizen of Nepal, Ibelieve I have every right to put forwardmy views whether I am in Nepal orpresently living abroad. As far as my sta-tus is concerned, I am a simple studentcurrently pursuing PhD and I intend tocome back to Nepal to serve the country.Therefore, nobody should be in doubtthat I am operating from comfortablelocations. I have my share of sweat andperspirations here in Japan which mostof the Nepalis cannot realize unless theythemselves experience it.

At the same time, as an elected mem-ber of NRN-Japan, I like to emphasizethat the expression of Isha Rai is quiteoffensive towards the NRNs also. Underthe dynamic leadership of Dr UpendraMahato, NRN-ICC has been activelycampaigning for the dual citizenships forall the NRNs spread across the worldand I, too, strongly support this. In thiscontext, expressing views on the editori-als of TKP are simple issues.

On the other hand, I am really star-tled by the accusation that I am indefense of feudalism. To the contrary, Ibelieve my expressions are alwaysagainst nepotism, feudalism, favoritismand extremism while favoring "InclusiveDemocracy". I will be grateful if you canpoint out my advocacy of feudalism inmy expressions.

SB ShresthaTokyo, Japan

Counter extremismModerate parties need to align them-selves to counter the black cloud of com-munist extremism, which is hoveringabove and could anytime burst in hell

storm. If history is testimony to what couldhappen, Nepal is in danger of turning red. Itseems like communists have made a certainlevel of understanding amongst themselves tomove ahead in cohesive union, which is aimedat establishing a communist authoritarianrepublic whose outlook is primitive and repres-sive, all in the name of deprived people. Historyis witness to the ordeal in the communist'sregime. Nepal should never derail itself frommulti-party democracy, rule of law, free marketeconomy and there is a great danger of theMaoists and other communist parties comingtogether to destroy that. communists by princi-pal never believe in either democracy or freemarket economy or free speech and if any partywhich calls itself communist vouches for allthese, then it could only be stop a gap arrange-ment. Given an opportunity they would destroythis internationally accepted norm. In theabove scenario, it is only sad that parties likeNC and NC (D), with such high democratic cre-dentials are not coming together in unanimityat this crucial juncture.

P RanaKathmandu

Doctors deserve fair trialThis is in response to the articile "Don't doctorsdeserve a fair trial?" (August 29). Of course yes.In fact, services provided by medical personnelcannot be compared with price tag and deservehigh respect from us. But we have overwhelm-ing news about the notoriety of doctors andhealth staffs these days, like TUTH's wrongdiagnosis of ALL as AML (types of blood can-cer). The victimized patient had to lose a bigamount of money because of the wrong diagno-sis. Dr Mahesh Khakurel comments it simply as'technical error'. A new born infant wasdeclared dead by the staff of WRH, Pokhara butlater the infant was found alive. Similarly, a girlwas raped by health employee RamkumarYadav in Lamgunj hospital. Can the compensa-tions paid to the girl bring her to normal condi-tion? These are only a few fresh examples. Ifthis goes on, doctors and health staffs should besure that public will hardly have faith in them innear future.

Ramchandra Shahi Baneshwor

LETTER TO THE EDITORKantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd. Kantipur Complex, Subidhanagar P. B. No. 8559, Kathmandu; Nepal Phone: 4480100, Fax: 977-1-4466320, e-mail: kpost@kantipur.com.np

Abishek Basnyat's "Dissecting the 'feudal'Nepali Army" (Auguest 30) was a rare treatof honest journalism. Today we Nepalis are

often held hostage by a 'peace at all costs' syn-drome that restricts our ability to face reality.While the article fails to highlight the violation ofhuman rights and misconduct of the NA troopsthat invariably claim the headlines, it does serve toredress some of the wrongs lumped upon theinstitution.

The history of Nepal is intertwined with thatof the NA. If you look at it fairly, you have toadmit it has always backed the government of theday. It was fundamental in the unification ofNepal under the army of Gorkha and the defenseof Nepal against the British, Indian Nawabs andChinese. Under the Rana family rule, it foughttwo world wars. Democracy, Panchayat,Prajatantra, Royal rule came and went -- it sol-diered on. A bit of credit goes to the political lead-ership of those times. They kept the army intactand available to serve the nation when required.

Anarchy was arrested and outsiders were kept atbay. Now, under Loktantra, as Abishek rightlypoints out, it is under concerted attack frommany sides, no doubt under the grand steward-ship of the Maoists themselves. Yet it holds itsdignity. The NA has served the nation well. It ishigh time we, the citizens, recognized their sacri-fice just a bit.

The NA is made up of humans as well, and asAbishek says, they too are Nepali. He might havepointed out national development projects inareas where even most NGOs do not venture -Salyan, Chaurjhari, Musikot, Jajarkot to name afew, disaster relief efforts like current flood andlandslide rescue operations. But it would simplyhave added to an already well written piece thatdared to speak what's got to be in the minds of thesilent majority. Well done Abishek for decryingthe NA's inappropriate 'feudal' label.

Swamit RanjitkarEkantakuna, Lalitpur

Feudal armyThis is to express my deep dissent against thearticle "Dissecting the ‘feudal’ Nepali Army"(August 30) wherein the writer valorizes the"238-year old history" and the "set of traditionand customs" of the NA without realizing the truehistory inside it. I want to remind him the tragicdeath of our legendary, patriotic soldiers. Whatcaused Amar Singh Thapa the Great to headtoward Gosainkunda in frustration? The causewas the antinational and unequal Sugauli Treatyof 1816. For Amar Singh it was the moment ofgreat humiliation to surrender before the thenBritish regime. He wanted to save our soil fromforeign intrusion, but the king thought kingshipwas valuable than the nation, and the verySugauli Treaty took the life of our patriot.

Wasn't Bhimsen Thapa, another braveNepali soldier, the victim of inhuman conspiracywho committed suicide? There are many parvas(massacres) where a number of innocent soldierswere slaughtered due to the vested interest ofsuccessive king and queen. These are the histori-cal facts that a soldier is not a soldier who fightsfor the nation or achieves martyrdom by doing so,but he is treated as a means to gratify the wishesand ambitions of successive monarch. For over238 years, the NA was treated as the institution toserve the monarchs or Paramaadhipati or theRanas and the NA was manipulated to produceseveral Parvas and Grand Designs. This is whythe tradition of the NA is labeled as "feudal".

Now, the tradition of making a soldier asacred lamb must come to an end and a new tra-dition must begin where a soldier doesn't becomea servant of the ruler but of the country.

Therefore, I request the writer to read historyof the NA at least once in detail to find out the feu-dal elements ingrained in the NA since its estab-lishment.

Rabindra PaudelCentral Department of English, TU

rabipaudel1@yahoo.com

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What counts nowadays is not necessarily thetruth but the overall impression. The NA had avery bad reputation considering human rights,being responsible only for and to the king. Thefiction that the NA has not lost a war is not provenby history and recent low profile in Beni, Acchametc and bad behavior of some soldiers and officershave only discredited the army. I think even someNepali people like to mix up the famous Gorkhasin the Royal British Army with the NA.

H Zollingerh_zollinger@yahoo.com

Dissecting the 'feudal' Nepali Army

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