Former Korean Prime Minister Recalls What He Learned From Famous World Leaders

Here is another interesting interview with the 89 year old former Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil who discusses what he learned from meeting famous world leaders.  What he had to say about Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill was interesting, but here is what he had to say he learned from President Harry Truman:

Kim Jong-pil, far right, poses for a photo with former U.S. President Henry Truman in September 1964, at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. [KIM JONG-PIL]

In June 1964, I embarked on my second overseas journey to ease growing protests against diplomatic efforts to restore ties with Japan.

I visited the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, in September that year and met with the former president, who had courageously decided to form the U.S.-led UN coalition forces to defend South Korea at the outset of the (1950-53) Korean War.

During our hour-long meeting, President Truman told me that one of the most regrettable things he had done in his presidency was failing to unify the Korean Peninsula despite the huge loss of life during the conflict.

He couldn’t push for the unification at the time, he said, because of daunting international opposition to that effort.

I then asked what advice he had for a young political man from Korea.

He told me a story of a tiger. “You may think a tiger is tame, and even feel grateful for the zoo keeper as he feeds him and looks after him every day. But to think so is nonsense. If a zoo keeper steps on the tiger’s foot by mistake, the tiger will jump him and try to bite. If a politician thinks of his people as the tiger and forms his politics accordingly, he will inevitably succeed in his political career.”

He spoke the truth. A politician by nature must be willing to serve the people. If he looks to gain from his political activities, it could be the end.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.