Presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak says “be a Myung-Bak-tious”

With the intrigue of the election season fast approaching and the candidates jockeying for position, one can read no end of writers speculating about the outcome and tracking who’s up and who’s down. Keeping up with it is exhausting. We thought our readers might enjoy a lighter look at the most entertaining candidate, former mayor of Seoul and somewhat nutty guy Lee Myung-bak.

According to ohmynews, in celebration of Teacher’s Day on May 15th, Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul, served as a one-day honorary teacher at Daeshin high school in Daejeon. The emphasis of the mayor’s lecture included a Konglish phrase he himself coined. The mayor wrote proudly on the blackboard, “Be a MBtious”, as though being ambitious was simply not enough. Some may wonder what makes him full of himself.

Lee Myung-Bak is commonly seen as an exemplary, self-made entrepreneur. He was born into a very poor family in Osaka, Japan in 1941 and later moved to Pohang, Republic of Korea where he spent the latter half of his childhood years. At age 37, Lee Myung-Bak was appointed CEO of Hyundai Construction and maintained his leadership role in the corporation for 15 years. In 2002, he was elected as Mayor of Seoul. During his time as Mayor, Lee Myung-Bak implemented two large-scale projects that were both exposed to massive amounts of publicity during his 4 year term of office. The first project, the restoration of the river Cheonggyecheon in downtown Seoul, has been assessed as successful by many critics. The other project, the reformation of the public transportation system of Seoul, initially caused a great deal of confusion. However, it is generally agreed that the reformed system has created a better means of transportation and is symbolized as Lee Myung-Bak’s main achievement.

In addition to his long list of lifetime achievements, Lee Myung-Bak is also well known for dozens of awkward public statements that are almost as awkward as his grasp of English grammar. Like any other public official, he has earned a plethora of ridicules and criticisms that have resulted from his lack of finesse. One of his most well-known rhetorical gems was reported in this article:

“Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, is a divine city ruled by God and Seoulites are God’s people. (……) I dedicate Seoul to God with young people’s hearts and efforts who dream of and pray for Seoul’s restoration and rehabilitation.” (at a prayer meeting at Seoul JangChung stadium on May, 31st in 2004.)

Here is another piece of protestant elder Lee Myung-Bak’s speech that has recently spawned controversy. When he was asked what he thinks of abortion, he replied:

“Basically, I’m against it, but you know, there are inevitable cases. For instance, if a child is to be born as disabled, it seems this inevitable abortion should be accepted. However, fundamentally I’m against abortion. It may sound conservative.”

MB’s official homepage (in Korean)
MBtious Cyworld (in Korean)