There was no colonel in the Republic of Korea the last fence

There was no colonel in the Republic of Korea
the last fence

If you look at the history of the Vietnam War, there is a record that more people were killed by U.S. soldiers during the war than Professor Jang, who was killed by Vietnamese troops. Although it is an accident, it is easy to understand why such a shocking story came out when looking at the behavior of officers such as Lim Sung-geun and Kim Kye-hwan in the Republic of Korea's marines.

If we imagine that a war breaks out in Korea now, who is passing the responsibility for the death of the first class to his subordinates, let alone to win or lose the war, who can guarantee that Lim Sung-geun and Kim Gye-hwan, who are passing the responsibility for the death of the first class, will not be killed by soldiers?

We Were Soldiers was released in 2002 as a true-life film about the Vietnam War. Colonel Moore, played by Mel Gibson in the film, leaves his men on the battlefield with immortal words for leadership.

"As long as we are put into war, I cannot promise you that everyone will come back alive. But I swear before God. When put into battle, I will be in the lead, and I will be the last person to retreat. I will not leave a man behind me. Whether we die or live, we will all go home together. God bless you."

It is argued that a leader should be a person who does not leave a single subordinate even when he retreats after losing the battle of life and death. A metaphorical interpretation means that a leader is a person who is responsible for the members' final lives.

Simon Sinek, who left many best-selling books, also defines the core of leadership as the last fence. In his book "Leaders Eat Last", the commonality of excellent leaders is that when all members are hungry, the leader gives up the leftovers and eats them last.

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton led a team of 27 men on an Antarctic expedition. In distress, Shackleton changed his goal to return alive. Shackleton practiced leadership by sacrificing himself first in line with this transition. Shackleton gave up his privilege as a leader and set the example of eating at the end in a situation where everyone was anxious and had to save food for survival. Through these sacrifices, Shackleton created psychological stability and bonds despite extreme anxiety, and through these bonds, they survived extreme situations. In the end, they made a successful return.    

The New Testament also features a scene in which Jesus teaches the importance of the "last" fence by comparing it to a stray lamb to the legalists who accuse Jesus of eating with people full of sins and wounds.

"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them is lost, wouldn't he leave the ninety-nine in the mountains to find the lost sheep? I tell you the truth, and if I find them, I will be more pleased than the ninety-nine that are lost. It is not the will of your father in heaven to lose any of these elements like this." (Matthew 18:12-14)

If you see a shepherd coming to the end of a lost lamb, 99 sheep that are not lost will also realize the existence of the fence. The existence of the fence quell the anxiety about future survival that they will feel when they are lost one day. This is because the shepherd's actions provided a warm fence to take care of the last sickest person among the members.

Only soldiers who have experienced this fence from their own commanders will risk their lives to fight to protect their commanders even if there is a real war.

To properly wage war with the attitude of "all of us are soldiers," a division commander who had been driven to the edge of the marines should not be appointed as a commander in chief to produce fancy press photos in which he is set up as the main character. For his own survival, the commander who abandoned his favorite subordinates and the honor of the marines like a sacrifice should also be kicked out. The Korea Military Academy chief, who divides the nation into outdated ideological debates even when a war breaks out, should also be kicked out. Huge external forces behind this series of incidents must also be kicked out.

This lack of leadership in the Republic of Korea is not just a matter of the military. Rather than surrounding such a fence of responsibility, he is passing the buck to the members as Kim Gye-hwan or Lim Seong-geun.

Looking at the economy and politics of the Republic of Korea, it is not a crisis, but a real war. It is a war situation without gunfire. If a proper leader is not established, everyone will collapse at one point.