President Moon Jae-in’s memoir ‘Fate, Destiny and Moon Jae-in’ is reviewed by the U.S. periodical The New York Review of Books. (The New York Review of Books)
By Min Yea-Ji and Hahm Hee-eun
The U.S. periodical The New York Review of Books has reviewed President Moon Jae-in’s new memoir “Fate, Destiny and Moon Jae-in” in an article titled “Moon Over Korea.”
The review starts by saying that, “Just 13 months into his five-year term, he helped arrange the first-ever summit between an American president and the leader of North Korea.” It also emphasizes that, “Although it was symbolic, it was a goal he had pursued over two decades in politics, and it brought him a step closer to healing familial and national wounds.”
“Fate, Destiny and Moon Jae-in” is his testimony about former President Roh Moo-hyun and about "Participatory Government" in general. President Moon shared his perspectives in a memoir to commemorate the second anniversary of the death of former President Roh who had been his longtime friend and political colleague.
Kim Tammy, the author of the review, wrote, “While Moon is undoubtedly Roh’s heir, he is also a new kind of Korean leader: a principled liberal and an idealist intent on building a more accountable democracy.”
The author said that while she was in Korea in May and June she was able to feel the spirit of the Candlelight Revolution. She said that, “Everyone I spoke with about Moon, including his critics, pronounced him fundamentally decent.”
Moreover, she said that, “In person, Moon transmits sincerity more than charisma, but he is unmistakably shrewd,” and mentioned the process of how President Moon lured President Trump back to the table when Trump unilaterally cancelled the meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un, by making an impromptu trip to see Chairman Kim in May.
Meanwhile, Song Jeong-hwa, a presidential administrator, said on July 30 in the most recent episode of “11:50 a.m. at Cheong Wa Dae” that, “The New York Review of Books is a high-quality journal in which works of renowned writers, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Susan Sontag and Hannah Arendt, can be read. The review author Kim Tammy is a human rights lawyer and a freelance writer.”
The issue of The New York Review of Books that includes the review of President Moon Jae-in’s memoir “Destiny” is available at quality newsstands around the U.S. and elsewhere and is dated Aug. 16.
President Moon Jae-in’s memoir ‘Fate, Destiny and Moon Jae-in’ is published to commemorate the first anniversary of President Moon Jae-in’s presidency. (Bookpal)
