"Oratory is not simply about the volume of one's voice. It is a great spirit — one that puts conviction into words, writing, action and life itself."
Those are the words of author Jeon Dae-su, a former sixth-term Seoul Metropolitan Assembly member, on the publication of the new humanities book "Ungbyeon Jeongsin" (subtitled "True Voices That Bloomed in Every Era").
Jeon boldly challenges the conventional notion that oratory means standing at a podium and speaking in a booming voice. True orators, Jeon argues, are those who found ways to convey values they believed in — even without eloquent speech or a stage — and left their very lives as a message to the world.
The book chronicles what Jeon calls the "true voices" that rang out in pursuit of truth and justice across Korea's modern history, from the late Joseon enlightenment period through the Japanese colonial era and into contemporary society.
Figures examined include independence activist Ahn Chang-ho and his speeches, novelist Han Kang and Han Kang's literary spirit, marathon runner Sohn Kee-chung and the message carried by his athletic feats, and Buddhist monk Beopjeong and his philosophy of non-possession — all recast as expressions of the oratory spirit.
The book is divided into six parts: the debate education introduced by enlightenment-era missionaries and the seonbi spirit of scholar Hwang Hyeon; the Gwangju Student Independence Movement of the Japanese colonial period and activist Park Yeol's anti-Japanese resistance; the April 19 Revolution and the democratization movement in modern society; orators from the fields of religion, politics and law; the voices of prominent public speakers who graced the podium; and the four genres of oratory — voice, writing, action and heart.
Jeon has been one of South Korea's leading speech experts since the 1980s, training oratory instructors nationwide and founding the Korea Speech Education Center. As a sixth-term Seoul Metropolitan Assembly member, Jeon devoted efforts to the environment and civic life, including work on the creation of Seoul Forest. Jeon made a literary debut as an essayist in 1991 and has maintained an active writing career since.
Major works include "Jeongtong Ungbyeonsul," which systematized the theory of modern oratory, as well as "Principles of Public Speaking," "Model Speeches of All Kinds," "Speech Clinic for Success," the five-volume "Learning Our Language" series, and "A Discursive Child Is Made by the Mother," among others.
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