The country that our children will inherit

International admiration: Today, South Korea has become one of the most developed, advanced and democratised countries in the world, with state-of-the-art technology, successful economy and charming pop culture. – AFP

WHAT kind of country do we want to hand over to our children? We should ponder that question constantly and seriously because we have a solemn responsibility to bequeath a healthy, prosperous country to our descendants. If we end up bestowing a sick, unstable country to our children and thus make them live miserably, we should suffer regrets and immitigable guilt forever.

We vote for politicians with the hope that they will run the country skillfully and ensure peace. Unfortunately, here in South Korea at least, it seems they always let us down. Currently, our politicians seem to ignore the imminent geopolitical crisis we are now facing and continue to indulge in petty skirmishes with the same old rivals. If this pattern keeps up, our children will be doomed to inherit an irreparably damaged country.