[K-Women Talk]There Is an Elephant in the Room

Eunha Park, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom

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The room is filled with familiar scents and light. There is the aroma of coffee, open books, and the television is broadcasting. Amidst it all, a giant elephant stands in the room. The moment this massive figure comes into view, you flinch, then quickly close your eyes and dismiss it as a transparent elephant. This is a psychological evasion, hoping it is not reality.

Everyone knows it is there. However, no one speaks of it. If someone does, people look at them strangely. Meanwhile, the elephant sways its tail and knocks over a glass, and with each heavy step, the floor creaks. Even as bookshelves topple and the whole room threatens to collapse, people avert their eyes from the elephant, discussing the weather outside and continuing with trivial conversations. Everyone is aware, but no one addresses it directly. That is exactly the "elephant in the room." Just as a small spark meeting the wind can become a wildfire, warnings that are ignored can lead to irreversible disaster.

There have always been elephants within us as well. We say we have learned from past mistakes, but mistakes are repeated. Warning signs have always existed, and we were able to see them. However, we chose not to look. The king symbol drawn on the palm, dismissed as a simple incident, was a symbol of irrational politics, and the collective numbness that tolerated it was part of the problem. We brushed it off with laughter and turned discomfort into a joke. From that moment, the elephant in the room grew even larger and eventually dragged our country into a whirlpool of confusion.

We sense risks, yet we pass by them. The reasons are complex: an avoidance mechanism to escape discomfort, calculations to avoid immediate costs, and the illusion that time will resolve everything on its own. However, the cost of ignoring these risks is severe. Look at how America's appeal and leadership are being destroyed, how conservatism in our country is collapsing, and how the foundations of balance and oversight are being shaken. Once trust and order are broken, they are difficult to restore, and institutions with cracks head down the path to collapse.

Even at this very moment, there is an elephant in the room, growing as it feeds on indifference. Elephants do not appear suddenly. They are formed by the accumulation of small warning signs. At first, they are so small as to go unnoticed, but every time we postpone questions and close our eyes to uncomfortable truths, they grow. Eventually, they will not remain confined to the room, but will run amok, leaving everything in ruins.

There are multiple elephants in our rooms. Is the self-destruction of conservatism and judicial reform not an elephant shaking the very structure of checks and balances? Are conciliatory measures toward North Korea not elephants that could bring risks amidst the realities of shifting geopolitical situations and changing alliances? Collective reflection is essential. A thorough risk assessment must be conducted before the elephants destroy our precious room.

The elephant also represents the enormous truth within ourselves. Like the people in Plato's cave, fooled by shadows and unable to see the truth, we remain in the comfort and familiarity of those shadows. Speaking the truth is sometimes painful and requires courage. However, unless we sound the alarm before things spiral out of control, there will not even be time to regret it later. Sound the alarm now at the elephant in the room.

Eunha Park, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom

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