MANILA -- As resident representative of the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation for six years in South Korea, I was given the honor of meeting Kim Dae Jung on several occasions both as leader of the opposition and as president. Kim is internationally renown primarily as a political and economic reformer and visionary regarding inter-Korean affairs. He was, however, also a herald of the Asian democracy movement.
Having personally suffered under the brutal rule of dictators, Kim was deeply concerned with promoting democracy and human rights in Asia.
At a time when others were vehemently arguing that, for cultural reasons, that democracy was unsuitable for Asians, Kim forcefully spoke out in favor of the universality of the democratic ideal. For many years, the article he wrote "Is culture destiny?" served as a central point of reference in the so-called Asian Values debate. The fact that this debate has come to an end may also be attributed to the political achievements of Kim and other democratically elected leaders in the region.