[Inside Chodong] The Courage to Reach Out to Places That Seem Unreachable

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At the emergency committee meeting held at the People Power Party headquarters on the 5th, an unusual scene unfolded. Kim Ye-ji, an emergency committee member of the People Power Party, initiated a small event by saying, "Today, I would like us to learn how to say 'Hello' in sign language and greet each other together." The purpose was to commemorate the recently passed '4th Sign Language Day' over the weekend. Kim skillfully demonstrated sign language for phrases like "Hello," "Nice to meet you," and "Thank you," urging other attendees to follow along. Surprised by the unexpected proposal, the committee members awkwardly tried to mimic the signs.

Depending on perspective, this could be seen as just a planned event following some calendar observance. However, a question arose in my mind: "How can she do that?" Kim is a first-degree visually impaired person who cannot see. I had never imagined that a visually impaired person, who relies on hearing and touch to communicate, would learn sign language, which is a language for the hearing impaired based solely on visual information. It also occurred to me belatedly that the effort required for Kim to learn sign language must be on a completely different level compared to that of non-disabled people. A person close to Kim explained, "Kim attended a sign language day event the day before the emergency committee meeting, and it seems she already knew some sign language. She probably learned by feeling the backs of the hands of people who can sign and correcting her posture as she practiced the movements."

Kim’s greeting to the hearing impaired resonated deeply because of the alienating atmosphere that Yeouido has shown so far. It was a stark contrast to our politics, which often causes frustration by refusing to listen to the other side and only trying to catch their words, leaving no room for dialogue but only hostility.

As the general election approaches, the political world is showing extreme conflict resembling a battlefield. Under the guise of the election frame, politicians have thrown off even the slightest sense of 'courtesy' they once showed and are engaging in crude confrontations. Harsh expressions such as "fraudster," "thief," and "manipulation" are being freely hurled at opponents. Not only the two major parties but also the third parties that have branched off from them have joined the fray.

Amid this chaos, what has been overlooked is that both ruling and opposition parties recognize similar issues in this election. Both sides have expressed their willingness to solve problems such as the national crisis-level low birthrate, the elevated railway issue in urban areas, and even providing lunch at senior centers. However, instead of competing over who proposes more fundamental or realistic solutions, the political world has treated these issues as controversies over 'policy plagiarism.' If even issues with similar problem recognition and approaches turn into disputes over 'who copied whose pledge,' then who can solve these problems?

I tried to think from Kim’s perspective. Unable to communicate directly with the hearing impaired, why did she learn sign language? How did she muster the courage to greet in sign language in a public setting? How much effort did it take for her to perform the signs accurately enough to ask others to follow along? Kim probably wanted to tell those with hearing impairments, "I remember you and I am thinking of you." Hoping her gestures would reach their hearts, she must have learned each movement through countless trials and errors. What our political world, living in an era of political terror beyond extreme politics, needs is perhaps the 'courage to reach out even to places that seem unreachable.' Naju-seok Deputy Chief of Political Department

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