Reflections on presidential holiday gifts

Could we really rely on our president and politicians who cannot even peacefully exchange gifts during a holiday season to navigate our country?

Chang Duk-jinThe author is a professor of sociology at Seoul National University. Poland-born British scholar Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) earned the exaltation as the father of modern ethnography and field research through his 1922 magnum opus “Argonauts of the Western Pacific,” an account of the Trobriand tribe in a small island chain of Papua New Guinea. His impact on modern anthropology based on “participant observation” as opposed to armchair anthropology was likened to that of Shakespeare on the English literature.

His study centered on the Kula exchange — a ceremonial exchange tradition in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. He wondered why the men of the Trobriand islands risked their lives to travel hundreds of miles by canoes across dangerous vast oceans to give away what appears to be worthless trinkets such as shell bracelets and necklaces. His close tracing of the gift exchange cycle discovered a carefully prescribed political lynchpin and hierarchical customs behind what appeared as reckless ventures for a vain tradition to uphold a strong relationship among the exchange parties across the 18 archipelago communities.

A tribe relays valuables to another after a certain period of time. For instance, red shell-disc necklaces traveled to the north, circling the ring in clockwise direction, and the white-shell armbands received in return traveled in the southern direction, circling counterclockwise. A full travel around the ring brings the gift to the original giver. In practical terms, tribal leaders put the lives of their people at risk to uphold a vain egocentric tradition.

The most famous presidential holiday gift in Korea was a box of dried anchovies from dissident-turned-president Kim Young-sam. His father Kim Hong-jo, who built wealth through anchovy trade in Tongyeong of South Gyeongsang, supplied lifelong anchovies to politicians to back his son’s political career. There would have been few political contemporaries of Kim either on the same or rivalling front who had not received a box of anchovies across decades of Kim’s political career. His father nevertheless kept his distance from his son, never visiting the presidential residence even after Kim became the president. President Roh Moo-hyun also had been known for his well-judged holiday gifts. He was first to harness rural community produce for presidential holiday gifts. He inaugurated the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development and had it promote signature produce from each rural community. The gifts helped underscore his devotion to balanced regional development. The four presidents after him dully succeeded the ceremonial tradition.

Numerous literatures after Malinowski explored gift culture. The highest level of a gift would be inalienable possessions that cannot be traded — such as ornaments with royal symbols. Gifts from the royal family with regal seals or symbols uphold the highest prestige as they represent an endorsement from the monarchy. The best gifts are those whose inherent ownership does not change after the parting.

No presidential gifts after the days of Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun are remembered because they lack intrinsic identities. The box of anchovies felt special because it carried the care of the presidential father. But these days, the presidential gifts can be turned away as they are no different from those easily found at shops.

Why some opposition lawmakers are turning away the Chuseok gift boxes from President Yoon Suk Yeol is understandable. They could feel awkward about receiving gifts from someone they are trying to impeach. In the anthropological context, gift-giving reflects a political hierarchy, meaning givers are on the higher level in the pecking order. The reception could make one feel less significant. But the wiser person would return a more genuine gift to put himself above. A returning gift carrying more philosophical or value weight would have been a smarter counterpunch than a rude rejection.

A gift has long served to symbolize the power of the giver. People of influence exchange gifts amongst themselves and wish to manifest their power through a bigger gift. Through the monopolizing of the trade of shell necklaces and armbands, the Trobriand tribe chiefs were liable for safeguarding the peace of the archipelago chain through the ventures across the ocean. Could we really rely on our president and politicians who cannot even peacefully exchange gifts during a holiday season to navigate our country?

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.