Every Korean president promises change. They use lofty words like revolution. They promise that everything that happened in the past would simply be a footnote to what is about to take place. People hold their breath. “It’s about to start,” they think. The struggle, the war, the division, the colonialism. Everything will now be solved and the country will become a place for the people. Having sacrificed more than one could possibly imagine, after enduring hardships so outrageous they make you baulk, having democratically chosen a leader, the time has come. The destiny fulfilled. And then… And then. Plus ca change. I remember when President Moon Jae-in’s administration sent me a special gift set upon entering office. It was a wonderfully ornate set of drinking glasses and traditional Korean liquor. My family looked at me askance. “Wow,” they thought. From the Blue House? To you? The guy that sits around reading books and drinking? It was a lovely gesture and I am thankful for it. However, it didn’t stop me writing about issues that troubled him (these generally revolved