I’ve been following the recent US presidential election closely, and it’s amazing to see the lies and media propaganda that politicians tell, and the way that ignorant people think as a result of this propaganda. In a video interview with a woman on the street, she said that President Trump is a communist, and that she liked Secretary Harris’s pro-abortion, pro-open borders, and anti-gun policies, but she didn’t know what they were. If she had any understanding of the reality of gun crime and the fact that abortion is available up to the ninth month of pregnancy, and that many illegal immigrants are criminals and the mentally ill, she would have a hard time agreeing with her policies. And if she had any idea that the radical policies of the Democratic Party are actually closer to communism, she would realize that she disliked them based on images and unconfirmed rumors about the other candidate, which were then confirmed by the algorithms of the media’s amplified content.

I too, in the past, was not well-informed or particularly interested in issues such as the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act, the nuclear phase-out and eco-friendly energy policy, or the income-led growth policy guaranteeing a basic income in the Republic of Korea. Additionally, I was misled by a media outlet that exposed the “Daechang-dong corruption scandal”—involving the abuse of licensing authority by real estate and legal industry cartels—by claiming that the opposing candidate was connected to a loan broker from a certain bank, thereby labeling him as the “mastermind behind Daechang-dong” just before the presidential election. However, as time went on and I revisited the past events and verified the facts one by one, I realized that there were a lot of lies and propaganda, but thankfully, there were many churches that were searching for the truth, discerning, and praying for the country and the people. Although the government tried to suppress and eliminate the churches during the corona crisis, it was an opportunity for more people to realize that something was wrong. Especially when I saw that university students held a press conference against the 250,000 won payment policy, I thought that now, following the MZ generation, younger students are slowly starting to wake up.

I also hope that the younger generations who are awake to the evil efforts to use the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy as political tools to impeach the president, as they have done in the past, the Itaewon tragedy, the Fukushima contaminated (treated) water discharge, and even the death of a Marine who tragically died in an accident during last year’s floods, will not be fooled by such lies. Instead, as I open my eyes and see the international events unfolding outside of South Korea, the shifting geopolitical forces in East Asia that make the chances of Korean reunification more likely than ever, and our next generation being the most prepared in history, I vow to do my best to keep up.