[Herald Interview] Found in translation

“And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder quoted Shakespeare’s Hamlet in describing his relationship with Kim So-yeon.

The 73-year old former German leader and Kim, a 47-year old Korean interpreter and representative of the Economic Development Agency of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, plan to marry later this year. After marriage, the couple plans to divide their time between Seoul and Schroeder’s homes in Berlin and Hanover.

“(There are things) that go beyond our comprehension, things that should be accepted as destiny,” Kim interpreted Schroeder’s explanation for quoting Hamlet at a press conference in Seoul on Friday.

Saying his decision to spend half of the remainder of his life in Korea was a difficult one, he said he made the decision because it was fate.

“What I mean is that I consider this destiny to be a fortuitous one.”

The timing of their meeting, and the relationship that followed, has raised some questions regarding their previous marriages. Kim and Schroeder, however, stress that their relationship had no impact on those relationships.

According to Schroeder, he and Doris Schroeder-Koepf divorced in 2016 at her request, and they had effectively been separated for some years before the marriage was legally terminated.

It was the former chancellor’s fourth divorce. He has one adult daughter and two teenage children. Schroeder’s ex-wife has custody of the children.

As for Kim, she has a child from a previous marriage who she will raise with Schroeder after their nuptials.

“The divorce is the result of several years of separation. Kim So-yeon was not involved in any way,” Schroeder said. He also said that while the divorce was finalized in 2016, he and his ex-wife had reached an amicable agreement on the issue beforehand, but waited for her election campaign to be over.

Doris Schroeder-Koepf is currently serving as a member of the state parliament of Lower Saxony. She made her relationship with the state’s Minister of Interior Boris Pistorius public in the summer of 2016.

“At the time of the separation, I did not know (Kim) even as an interpreter. My divorce has nothing to do with Kim So-yeon, it is the result of (a process that took place) over years.”

According to Kim, their paths first crossed in 2012 in Seoul when Schroeder gave a keynote speech at a forum organized by a local news channel, and Kim was the interpreter. In the following year, Kim again provided Korean-German interpretation at a forum hosted by the state-run Korea Asset Management Corporation. However, it was not until May 2015 that the two came face-to-face, when Schroeder attended the Jeju Peace Forum and Kim was called in unexpectedly to interpret in his meeting with Jeju Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong.

While some negative views, arising from misinformation according to Kim and Schroeder, exist, the couple seems unfazed, and hope to pursue an ordinary life both here and in Germany.

Schroeder says he will spend his time here learning the culture, history and language of the country. The 73-year old may lack the language skills of his soon-to-be wife, but he appears to have gained a small but essential insight into the language.

“I call her ‘jagiya,’ and I know that is what I should say after we fight,” Schroeder said, referencing a term of endearment roughly equivalent to “sweetie.”

At Friday’s press conference, which mainly focused on Schroeder and Kim’s relationship, the former German chancellor also expressed interest in the inter-Korean dialogue.

“The International Olympic Committee allowing North Korea’s participation (in PyeongChang Olympics) is a fortunate and right decision,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder added that he and Kim have been invited to the opening ceremony on Feb. 9, and that they will have an opportunity to watch the unified inter-Korean women’s ice hockey team play.

“I welcome the inter-Korean dialogue, and I think that it is the fruit of the new government’s efforts.”

Saying the current state of inter-Korean relations reminds him of policies introduced for East and West Germany by later former Chancellor Willy Brandt, Schroeder urged patience and perseverance on part of South Korea.

“Brandt’s eastern policy (concerning) contact and dialogue between West and East Germany was not welcomed from the beginning. However, ultimately the police of dialogue and engagement led to unification,” he said.

“The UN is taking a two-track approach of dialogue and pressure, and it is a suitable strategy. As the first step towards dialogue, North Korea’s Olympic participation is a very good move.”

He added that Seoul’s North Korean policies go beyond the two Koreas, and require the cooperation of China, Japan, Russia and the US.

“I hope South Korean leaders will seek further dialogue. Germany constantly maintained contact, dialogue and (efforts to) ease tensions, and in the end the Iron Curtain fell, and (Germany) was unified.”

Schroeder also pointed to Japan’s move to increase its defense spending, and talk of nuclear armament within South Korea in light of recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

“Japan is showing signs of increasing defense spending citing the situation on the peninsula, but I think that is wrong,” he said, saying that same goes for developing or stationing nuclear weapons in the South.

Following a series of provocations from the North, conservatives here have contended that US tactical nuclear weapons should be brought back to South Korea.

“The world does not need any more nuclear-armed nations. If there exists a potential for nuclear armament anywhere in the world, that potential should be reduced, that is the foremost priority for world peace.”

By Choi He-suk