Animal kingdom and politics

A hungry male lion carefully approaches a water buffalo left alone. At the moment the lion jumps and bites the herbivore, it is hit by sharp horns of the buffalo. While the bleeding lion bites and holds on to, the water buffalo shakes off and tramples over it. This is a scene from ‘Animal World, Animal Kingdom’ program aired by local TV station KBS 1 one month ago. Even a lion, the king of beasts, cannot guarantee a victory when it fights a water buffalo one on one. That’s why lions form a pack to hunt big animals such as a water buffalo.

Attentions are paid to President Park Geun-hye’s past interview with Park Young-seon, the current lawmaker of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). The interview took place before President Parks entered politics when the lawmaker was a reporter of local media MBC. When asked why she likes to watch ‘Animal Kingdom,’ President Park replied, “Animals do not betray.” However, animals do betray. The old and weak male lion attacked by a water buffalo was kicked out of the lion group, betrayed by a young male lion. When starved or during the mating season, polar bears eat up cubs. Zoologists view this behavior of polar bears eating cubs as an attempt to fill up their stomachs and remove future competitors. For sand tiger sharks, the most developed embryo feeds upon its siblings in the womb.

The late former President Kim Dae-jung was a big fan of ‘Animal Kingdom.’ Late President Kim had video tapes of this program in the reception room along with the certificate of Nobel Prize for peace during his term in office. There are many politicians and high-level officials at authorities such as the military, prosecution and police who like to watch this program. In the political circles where betrayals and tricks are rampant, a politician who loses power and authority has to be pushed out. Although President Park mentioned a noble reason that there is no betrayal among animals, others seem to believe that the world of human beings is similar to the world of animals where survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle are applied.

Crocodiles and crocodile birds, sharks and shark suckers are in symbiotic relationship. In the kingdom of animals, there exists not only a food chain where the weak is eaten by the strong but also relationship for symbiosis and cooperation. When expanding the scope to the entire earth including microorganisms, symbiotic relations exist extensively among living things. Internal discord of the ruling Saenuri party is now reaching the highest level due to resignation of the party’s floor leader Yoo Seung-min. Situation may have been different if President Park had seen the Animal Kingdom from the perspective of symbiosis, rather than betrayal.