Let's take away the word 'conservative' now.

Let's take away the word 'conservative' now.

In a Korean context, political 'conservatives' are a category that refers to political groups and their supporters who perceive the democratic republic as a formality. They refer to their worldview as 'liberal democracy' and define the use of public power to maintain that worldview as 'rule of law'. However, their customs have little to do with the general 'conservatism' defined in 'political science textbooks'. Their customs resemble those of the royalists and feudalists who existed in European society in the past.

In the past, the 'so-called conservatives' did not refer to themselves as 'conservatives'. They were the 'regime itself'. Having completed a firm regime, they did not define themselves particularly but instead suppressed those who resisted them, calling them the left, left-wing, left-wing communist forces, reds, spies, and opposition parties.

The name "conservative" began to be used in earnest after the first regime change, the people's government in Kim Dae Jung. It was only after the old system and its insurgents had similar powers that they began to call themselves "conservatives." It may have been an attempt to cover up their own dictatorship and anti-democratic tendencies, but in the course of their universal use, the discourse of "conservatives" has sunk in, leading them to think of themselves as true "conservatives." It also seems that true conservatives have joined the group, sometimes drawn to the term "conservatives." They may be the ones who are often referred to as "reasonable conservatives," but they often lose their original sense of practice as they become part of the group. In the process, the term "conservative" has come to be used in Korean society in an increasingly different way from the textbook meaning. The recent situation in which the so-called "conservatives" are actively advocating for a perfectly anti-constitutional situation is considered the climax. The wrong button has come to an end. The time has come to loosen all the buttons and start dressing all over again.

So much so that the name "conservative" should be taken away from groups that should now be called royalists, feudalists, or dictators. The efforts could also have secondary consequences, making one feel ashamed of the use of the name by an intermediary force that has come to be called "progress." The Korean society's journey toward a full-fledged democratic republic is not over yet.