Former President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea died this week at the age of eighty-five. His extraordinary career demonstrates the triumph of discipline and determination over tremendous barriers. He also personifies the long-term value of tolerance and forgiveness.

            Kim’s effectiveness in opposing South Korea’s previous harsh dictatorship marked him as a special target, and he survived at least five attempts on his life. One of the most dramatic incidents occurred in 1973, when South Korean government agents kidnapped him from a Tokyo hotel and took him to a ship, where they planned to kill him at sea.

            Don Gregg, the CIA station chief with extensive experience in Korea, intervened decisively. After a U.S. helicopter flew low over the ship, Kim was reluctantly released. Gregg, whose intelligence career dates back to training commandos during the Korean War, later served as U.S. Ambassador to Seoul during the George H.W. Bush administration and more recently has provided outstanding professional leadership to the Korea Society based in New York City.

            Kim’s courage and commitment to representative government were rewarded when the opposition leader was elected President of the Republic of Korea in 1997. Without hesitation, he moved to begin détente with the totalitarian regime in North Korea. This culminated in a dramatic summit meeting in 2000 with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, beginning a now decade-old process of very fitful, often frustrating, but continuing direct contact with Pyongyang.

            Very appropriately, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts. After the 2000 Summit, the historic event was tainted to a degree by revelations that at least several hundred million dollars had been paid to Pyongyang. The payment does not destroy the value of the dramatic breakthrough negotiation.

            Kim was first elected to the National Assembly in 1961, though a military coup intervened. He was elected again in 1963 and able to take the seat. In the 1971 presidential election, he came close to defeating the incumbent, Gen. Park Chung-hee. Park was assassinated in 1979. Only then was Kim released from house arrest imposed in 1973 after he returned from Japan.

            Following Park’s assassination, Gen. Chun Doo-hwan seized power. In protest at continued military dictatorship, very large demonstrations were held in the city of Gwangju, a center of very substantial support for Kim. In response, the regime cracked down harshly and sent large numbers of troops into the region. An estimated two hundred demonstrators by official estimates, and perhaps many more, were killed.

            Kim, accused of instigating this protest, was sentenced to death by a military tribunal. Once again, Washington intervened. The sentence was reduced and finally suspended, and he moved to the U.S., where he lived until 1985.

            After Kim achieved the presidency and moved into the Blue House, there was understandable uncertainty and considerable speculation about how he would handle the office. His personal and political story provided a dramatic backdrop to his inauguration. Kim to his great credit pardoned Gen. Chun, under a death sentence for rebellion, and others.

            Comparisons of Kim to Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela are not surprising, and not misplaced. In sum, his political career demonstrates the value of exceptional determination combined with sustained commitment to representative government and the rule of law.

            A large number of people came to visit Kim Dae-jung in the hospital as death approached. They included Gen. Chun and Ambassador Gregg.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin and author of ‘After the Cold War’ (NYU Press and Macmillan). He can be reached at acyr@carthage.edu