Singer Harim exposed a malicious message about the May 18 democratic movement and delivered an elegant rebuke.
Harim revealed on the 18th on his social media that he received a DM (direct message) saying, "'May 18 is a riot, The Man from Nowhere!'"
First, Harim opened by saying, "This is the core summary of the DM that flew into my social media. The young man who went so far as to follow me, send this message, and then unfollow at the speed of light. Looking at his profile, he was a very handsome young man who enjoyed traveling in Europe. The feed was too carefully curated to be a fake account, so I even skimmed it for a moment," he said.
Then Harim said, "For a moment I had a small doubt. 'Oh, am I really missing something? Just as far-right forces shout about election fraud, am I blind as a bereaved family member and denying the riot?' If that were the case, would that mean my mother, my maternal uncle, and my maternal grandfather lived deceived their entire lives..... he might have hoped I would think that, but sadly the content was not that substantial," adding, "Or was that balding man not talking about me? 'May 18 is a riot, The Man from Nowhere (who caused it is omitted)'. Like the recent Starbucks incident that blew up overnight, did he cunningly use words and line breaks to dodge accountability? If so, is this a subtle message of support....."
At the same time Harim said, "In fact, a few facts briefly gave that young man's writing a bit of credibility. First, that I am bald, and then that I am a man. (Thanks for not calling me an old bald man.) Anyway, the young man, appealing his honesty with these striking facts, seized the momentum and concluded emphatically that May 18 was a riot commanded by North Korea," he said.
Harim said, "I thought for a moment. Should I retort, 'You will go bald when you get old too...'? If I did that, it would be obvious that the next day's news would headline, 'Harim tells young man to go bald, profanity scandal.' As a performer of 26 years, I have already learned the ways of the media and knew I should endure," adding, "Or should I try to persuade him point by point? But these days my presbyopia causes too many typos. If a keyboard battle starts I'd lose every time. So I'm sorry, but I quietly pressed 'block.' I don't have time to waste because it's performance season, and above all, I am the son of a mother who lost a brother because of May in Gwangju and the nephew who lost a kind uncle."
Harim continued, "When I was young I didn't know. Why my uncle was always lying down without energy. Why he spent all day lying in a small video room and, unable to care for his own child, lost him in a traffic accident. After belatedly learning about the enormous trauma that upended my uncle's life, I have persistently asked, 'Why did victims have to keep their mouths shut?' 'Why do you still cling to the riot theory that has already been ousted in court?' And 'why do you come to the bereaved in person to pour that out in front of them?' If so, this is clearly secondary victimization," he said, drawing attention by mentioning his family.
Harim said, "Through this public account, anyone who follows can express any opinion, but that fact actually helps me with these stormy writings. So if you're going to send something, I hope you'll at least send something of this length. Who knows, in time you might become a writer or history lecturer capable of writing a book. If you could make a living from that, someday you might even thank that young man," he replied wittily.
In particular Harim said, "If some people criticize blocking as an act of escape, let me say that blocking that young man was not running away but preserving elegance as a bereaved. Blocking here is a confident declaration that we will wait endlessly. We can wait as long as it takes. The day when those lines that recently failed to make it into the preamble of the constitution will surely be restored. The day when we will no longer hear such insulting words. There are many ways to fight elegantly. There is a world that those who cut off power and water or fly helicopters will never know," he responded to the malicious message with his own elegance.
Earlier on the 17th Harim had said via his social media that he attended the May 18 eve event. Harim said, "After revealing on stage some years ago that I am a bereaved family member, I have often participated in related events, but the eve event is my first. A plaza heated to over 30 degrees. People sit and stand haphazardly and beat drums and dance as if it were that day long ago. People wave huge flags here and there. Occasionally the flags feel very different from those I've seen at city hall or Yeouido. They feel as if deeply rooted in the ground, fierce as if they would not be shaken even by a massive movement," he said in his impression.
He added, "Beating drums and shouting, and in a time when you had to make yourself look big with flags, probably to shake off fear like a weak animal, you had to make a sound louder than any other. Echoes ringing between buildings as if summoning that era to heal from below," he said, conveying his feelings.
[photo] Harim social media.
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