MANILA -- What did I miss most after I had left South Korea nearly a year ago, a South Korean journalist asked me during a recent visit to Seoul. "Actually, it is Korean politics," I answered to his disbelief.
While South Koreans tend to have a very negative perception of politics and politicians in their country, I must confess that during the years I lived and worked in Seoul I developed a fascination for all things political in that part of the world.
I will never forget, how, in my very early days in Seoul, a young South Korean politician took me aside and said: "Here, you will never be bored. In Korean politics, there are always surprises." I have learned over the years that this not only holds true for domestic politics in the South, but is even more the case for the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang.