The Diagnosis of the Times column of the Catholic Peace Weekly gives the readers some background on the relationship between the Wisteria and Arrowroot plants and problems that may arise.
The priest columnist was born and raised in the city and consequently has little knowledge about plants and animals. When he climbs a mountain near Seoul or goes to the countryside he is amazed to see how much people know about the different trees and flowers. Nevertheless, there is one tree that he knows well, and that is Wisteria.
When he was a child, there was a bench made of rattan in one corner of the school playground and in a vacant lot of an apartment complex. Wisteria, which climbs iron pillars and provides cool shade, is a familiar plant even in urban areas. The Kudzu plant is similar to the arrowroot plant and they both cling to what they come in contact with in their growth.
When watching TV programs that mainly introduce the lives of people living in remote mountainous villages, scenes of digging up roots of kudzu trees often appear. The plant whose roots can be drunk as juice or dried and used is similar to the arrowroot plant.
Wisteria and kudzu are both stem plants and are said to grow by climbing up other trees. However, it is said that when these two plants meet each other, it becomes difficult to separate them. As the kudzu grows, it wraps itself around the other tree in the right direction, while the wisteria grows in the left direction, so if these two plants meet, it will be impossible to untangle them. The word in Korean that comes from this contact is 'Conflict (葛藤,)', he thinks it is a good name.
When he looked up the Korean word conflict in the dictionary it was defined as: 'hostility or conflict between individuals or groups due to different goals or interests'— labor-management conflict, generational conflict, regional conflict, etc.
These words complicate our minds, like two intricately twisted vines, like a twisted skein of thread that we don't know where it begins and where it ends. Efforts to calmly unravel each tangle quickly reach their limits, and the urge to chop down the plant with an ax or cut off the tangled parts. Not only do we need to think about social and political aspects, but conflict is one of the things that everyone wants to avoid, but cannot avoid. We have to deal with others with whom we are in conflict, misunderstand, and distrust within families, the workplace and society. So, is there an easy way to resolve the conflict?
Recently, conflict on the Korean Peninsula has been increasing. On August 18, President Yoon, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister announced the ‘Camp David Principles, Spirit, and Pledge’, which contains the joint vision and partnership of Korea, the United States, and Japan. Evaluations continued that it raised security cooperation between the three countries to a new level and formed a collective security system that effectively keeps China in check. Some argue that security has become stronger due to strengthening ties between value alliance countries, while others argue that security has become more unstable due to the breakdown of balanced diplomacy between the United States and China
He doesn't know how the outcome will play out, but it seems difficult to deny that the conflict structure between Korea, the United States, and Japan versus North Korea, China, and Russia has become more solidified. Right now, North Korea's arms trade with Russia is increasing, and its dependence on China is also increasing. The conflict between North and South Korea was difficult to resolve just by coordinating the positions of the parties and restoring trust, but it is being sucked into a confrontational structure even further within the international situation.
Let’s pay attention to the definition of 'conflict' again. If you cannot cut down or burn the other side's trees, the conflict should be managed rather than escalated. Care must be taken to prevent it from developing into a bigger conflict. This is by no means a cowardly act, but a wise one. It is relatively easy to speak harshly and act aggressively. It is much more difficult to come up with a solution to resolve the conflict. Although it is difficult, he hopes we can take the path toward peace. That's why politicians exist, and isn't politics necessary for the community?
