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Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
[Kim Seong-kon] The pleasure of reading alternate history novels
They say that there are no 'ifs' in history because what has been done cannot be undone. Still, sometimes we cannot help but wonder, 'What if things had been different?' For example, we ponder, 'What if John F. Kennedy had survived the assassination attempt?' Today's America would be completely different. We may also ask, 'What if the US had not intervened in the Korean War and thus North Korea had occupied the South?' 'What if General Park Chung-hee had failed in his military coup?' or 'What if Roh Moo-hyun had lost the presidential election?' Then, we, too, would have lived in an entirely different Korea. Indeed, we are curious about the alternate world we may have lived in if history had taken another path. Alternate history novels pique our curiosity about such other worlds. As fantasy novels and science fiction do, alternate history novels use imagined realities to provide us with a mirror that reflects our present world metaphorically. When the British novelist Robert Harris's alternate history novel 'Fatherland' came out in 1992, it instantly became a bestseller that has been translated into 25 languages. Readers were fascinated by what the novel portrayed: it portrayed a world in which Hitler won World War II and his only rival was President Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in the US. 'Fatherland' begins in Berlin, Nazi Germany, in 1964, when Adolf Hitler is turning 75 years old. To improve relations with the US, Germany decides to deny its massacre of the Jewish people. To hide it, the Nazis secretly murder the government officials who attended the Wannsee Conference where they planned the genocide of the Jews. In the beginning of 'Fatherland,' the protagonist, Xavier March, who is a police officer with the Kripo, or Kriminalpolizei, investigates the murder of a Nazi government official. As the investigation goes on, Nazi Germany's dark conspiracy is gradually revealed. March boldly confronts the Gestapo and the SS, both of which force him to close his investigation. At the end of the novel, however, there is a hint that even March himself was unwittingly manipulated by the Gestapo's broader scheme. 'Fatherland' is set in the 1960s, a time when, in real history, much of the world enjoyed life under liberalism. In Harris's alternate history, however, the world in 1964 is still a nightmarish totalitarian society where the Gestapo and the SS terrorize and manipulate everyone, politicians conspire to hide and fabricate the truth, and ordinary people suffer oppression and surveillance. 'Fatherland' reminds us of the celebrated Korean novelist Bok Geo-il's alternate history novel 'In Search of an Epitaph.' Bok's novel explores a world we can only imagine: 'What if Korean resistance fighter Ahn Joong-geun had failed to assassinate Japan's first Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi in 1909?' In the novel, Ito survives the assassination attempt. Due to Ito's moderate policies, Japan allies with the US during World War II and thereby emerges as one of three global superpowers, together with Russia and the US. Unlike 'Fatherland,' in Bok's novel Nazi Germany is defeated, and Japan becomes a victorious country instead. 'In Search of an Epitaph' is set in 1987, the year of the novel's publication and a time when the Korean people still suffered under military dictatorship. In the novel, Korea has already been annexed by Japan, and thus the Korean people have become Japanese, speaking the Japanese language. However, there is subtle discrimination against the Korean Japanese as if they were second-class Japanese people. The protagonist, Kinosida Hideyo, is a 39-year-old Korean Japanese man who is a graduate of Gyeongseong Imperial University. He has served in the Japanese army as a lieutenant, and now he is a section chief at Handow Light Metal Company. He has always thought of himself as Japanese. He lives happily until he loses a chance at a promotion at work simply because he is not considered truly Japanese. Then he comes across some books about Korean history and culture and begins to search for his identity. 'In Search of an Epitaph' was a pioneer in the alternate history genre in Korea. In his novel, Bok presents the seemingly happy lives of Koreans living as Japanese and then unveils the disillusioning reality of the subtle discrimination and restrictions they face. 'In Search of an Epitaph' also criticizes the military dictatorship of South Korea in the 1980s, comparing it to the Japanese military rule portrayed in the novel. Both 'Fatherland' and 'In Search of an Epitaph' are fun to read because they quench our thirst for expanding the horizon of our imagination. Alternate history novels provide us with an opportunity to contemplate our present situation from other angles. Reading them, we can acquire double vision and wider perspectives, while deepening our understanding of our present situation. Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed.
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
Kiev opens LGBT film festival on Good Friday
Ukraine's LGBTQ community has sparked outrage by scheduling its top film festival, Sunny Bunny, to coincide with Easter week. The event opened on Good Friday, April 18, and will run through April 25 in Kiev. In 2025 all Christian denominations are celebrating Easter on the same day, and the festival's timing and queerly seasonal name have drawn a backlash from conservative politicians and religious figures. Former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko, who now leads the opposition Fatherland (Batkivshchyna) party, expressed outrage over the festival's opening on Good Friday. In a social media post, she criticized the decision, rhetorically asking, 'Do you know what 'nothing sacred' literally looks like?' Several other members of Ukraine's parliament have also voiced disapproval. MP Aleksey Goncharenko described the event as 'a provocation against Ukrainian traditions, faith, and the frontline soldiers who have died with a prayer on their lips.' Writing on his Telegram channel, he added, 'This is a disregard for the millions of people for whom Good Friday is a day of silence, sorrow, and prayer.' Launched in 2008 as part of another event, Sunny Bunny became a standalone festival in June 2023—one year after the conflict in Ukraine escalated. Ukrainian MP Daniil Getmantsev also condemned the timing, saying it damages the public image of the LGBTQ community. Festival organizers stated the timing was not intended to offend religious groups. They explained that the dates were selected based on the international festival calendar and logistics, emphasizing that Ukraine is a secular country. Organizers also described some of the criticism as homophobic, arguing references to Christian holidays were being used to 'mask homophobia and hatred.' The festival has previously required heightened security. In 2023, before its opening, two cinemas in Kiev received threats of attacks and arson over their involvement. The LGBTQ movement in Ukraine has sought to raise its profile amid the conflict with Russia, with supporters framing it as a defiant statement. Ukrainian LGBTQ groups have also launched fundraisers to purchase drones for Kiev's armed forces and encouraged supporters to contribute. Russia banned 'LGBT propaganda' in 2022 and designated the LGBT movement as a terrorist organization in 2024. Russian MP Sergey Mironov denounced the festival, claiming it reflects a rejection of traditional values. He said, 'Today, people with traditional beliefs are no longer needed in Ukraine,' calling LGBT culture a threat to civilization and describing the situation as 'lunacy.' He added, 'Thank God we in Russia are spared from this.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police detain suspect in murder of Ukrainian politician in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Ukraine's National Police detained a 54-year-old man suspected of murdering Oleksandr Plakhotnik, the former deputy mayor of Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, law enforcement authorities said on April 2. A man's body with a gunshot wound to the head was found by the side of a road in the city of Kamianske on March 28. Multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the victim was Plakhotnik, a member of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party. The suspect was found in Lviv Oblast. The 54-year-old man burned the car he was using and fled to another region to hide the traces of the crime, the police said. According to prosecutors, the suspect decided to kill the former deputy mayor of Kamianske to avoid paying back a debt. The suspect followed Plakhotnik for several months and collected detailed information. He also installed video cameras near the former official's house to track his movements. On the morning of March 28, the suspect arrived at the ex-official's place of residence and shot him at least 10 times with a firearm, killing the victim on the spot, prosecutors said. On April 1, the detainee was charged with premeditated murder for personal gain and illegal handling of weapons. Plakhotnik, 49, ran for the Verkhovna Rada on the Batkivshchyna party ticket in 2014 and 2019 but was not elected to parliament. He was elected to the Kamianske City Council in 2015 and served until 2020. Read also: Exclusive: Massive data leak potentially exposes Ukrainian IDs to Russian intelligence, hackers We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian lawmaker shot dead in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, media report
A man's body was found by the side of a road in the city of Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, on March 28, the National Police reported. Multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the deceased was Oleksandr Plakhotnik, a member of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and a former deputy mayor of Kamianske. According to the police, the man had a gunshot wound to the head. "We believe that this is a contract killing, we are all shocked," Volodymyr Fedorov, head of the information and analysis department of Batkivshchyna's regional branch, told Suspilne. The police launched an investigation into the incident under the article on premeditated murder. Plakhotnik, 49, ran for the Verkhovna Rada on the Batkivshchyna party ticket in 2014 and 2019 but was not elected. In 2015, he was elected to the Kamianske City Council. Read also: White House dismisses Putin's proposal for temporary government in Ukraine We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US administration discusses elections with Ukrainian opposition
After US President Donald Trump's criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, representatives of the US government have consulted with leading Ukrainian opposition politicians. Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko wrote on Facebook that he was working "publicly and transparently" with his US partners with the aim of maintaining support for Ukraine. At the same time, he accused Zelensky's team of not communicating sufficiently with Washington. He said that this "poses a risk to the state." Among the topics discussed with the US representatives were arms, sanctions on Russia and financial support for Ukraine, he said. With regard to Trump's accusation that Zelensky is not prepared to face a new election, Poroshenko said: "Our team has always been and is categorically against elections during the war." He said that a ballot is only possible after a peace treaty and the lifting of martial law. Poroshenko's party, European Solidarity, is currently the strongest opposition force in parliament. Indirectly, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of the All-Ukrainian Union, or Fatherland, party also confirmed that she had been contacted by the White House. "The Fatherland team is in talks with all our allies who are able to ensure a just peace as quickly as possible," Tymoshenko wrote on Facebook. However, there could be no talk of elections before a peace agreement, she asserted. "And I have said that several times." US online political newspaper Politico had previously reported on "secret talks" between representatives from Trump's entourage and Ukrainian opposition figures. The main topic of the talks was reportedly the rapid holding of elections in Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine just over three years ago, martial law was imposed on the country. This law prohibits the holding of elections. Zelensky's term in office was set to end in May 2024.
