[Kim Seong-kon] What we can learn from ‘Mockingjay’

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy is a powerful criticism of contemporary society that is seriously plagued by hate and divided by ideological differences.

“Mockingjay,” the last installment of the trilogy, especially illustrates many compelling issues regarding the process of democratization and revolution.

In “Mockingjay,” during the uprising of the rebel force against the Capitol, an aircraft bearing Capitol markings drops parcels into the crowd. People shout for joy, assuming the parcels are gifts from the Capitol. But the parcels explode, killing many women and children, including Katniss Everdeen’s sister, Primrose. Katniss is utterly devastated and is feels grief beyond description. Later, Katniss learns that it was not the dictator President Snow, but the rebel leader Alma Coin who orchestrated the bombing. Coin did it to make President Snow look cruel and ruthless, so that his army would turn against him. Katniss is aghast.

After the rebel force conquers the Capitol, President Coin plans to initiate another game just like the Hunger Games that President Snow used to subdue his people. Coin’s intention is to have her revenge on the privileged by sending the children of the Capitol to the game of death, this time in the name of wiping out past irregularities. Katniss kills the new interim President Coin to avenge Primrose and to prevent another Hunger Games from happening, thereby stopping the vicious circle of revenge once and for all.

Indeed, Katniss chose wisely. If she had not killed Coin, the evil cycle would have been repeated again and again by those with grudges, the stubbornly self-righteous and those ready to do anything for the greater good. Then the next generation would surely have to suffer the consequences of endless retributions and the Hunger Games would continue. “Mockingjay” gives us a valuable lesson: we should stop seeking revenge under the pretense of purging past evils and corruption.

Confucius taught us the importance of being moderate and staying in the middle. Regrettably we never seem to learn the virtue of moderation and, as a result, have lived in an extremely polarized society with an either/or mentality. Confucius also emphasized the necessity of governing a country with integrity and magnanimity, rather than with rules and regulations. It means when you seize political power, you should demonstrate honor and generosity instead of vengeful hostility. Unfortunately, we have clung to formalistic neo-Confucianism only, instead of practicing original Confucianism.

Consequently, our society has always been plagued by extremism, hate and antagonism toward others. For example, in the mid-1980s when South Korea was under military dictatorship, I was on a screening committee for giving grants to literary magazines. The sponsoring government institution deliberately rejected an application from a major leftist literary magazine. I objected to the decision immediately, arguing that it was unfair. The institution stopped inviting me to the committee.

In the late 1990s when Korea was finally democratized and a civilian president marched into Cheong Wa Dae, I was invited to the same screening committee. This time, radicals took over the institution and decided to give a huge grant to the leftist magazine while excluding other magazines that were not on the left. They declared that they had to pay off old scores with “an eye-for-an eye” revenge. I objected to the decision, too. Then they also stopped inviting me to the committee. At that time, I came to realize that when pushed to the extreme, both the left and the right are the same. I had a hunch already that the vicious circle of personal vendettas would go on and on, seriously damaging the nation in the end.

We tend to think we are by no means terrorists and have nothing to do with terrorism. In fact, however, we can easily become terrorists. If we breed hate, the hate will turn into violence. If we become hateful and violent, we will be no different from terrorists because terrorism feeds on hate and violence as well.

Recently, I received an email from an American reader who pointed out the problems we now suffer. He wrote, “Education is very important. But some of the education Korean children receive is what terrorists do to brainwash their group. There is too much hate education in Korea.” Indeed, children should be hate-free and ideology-free, and yet we frequently nurture our children with hatred and political ideology. Ernest Hemingway once said, “All things truly wicked start from innocence.” That is very true. If we are too innocent and naive, we can do truly wicked things without remorse.

“Mockingjay” seems to embody two contrasting qualities: a good mockingbird and a bad blue jay as described in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” As the embodiment of a mockingjay, Katniss can be moderate, staying in the middle against both ends represented by Snow the dictator and Coin the rebel leader. We, too, should also avoid both extremes and stop wasting our energy on negative issues such as hate and revenge. We should make a better society for our children, should we not? 


By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. He can be reached at sukim@snu.ac.kr. -- Ed.