Recommendation
Opening Remarks: At the Threshold of Politics

Part 1 Politics, Overcoming the Wall of Distrust

1.
Can politics solve my life's problems?
A Vague Distrust of Politics | Baseball Meets Politics | My First Encounter with a Member of the National Assembly

2.
The power of democracy to lead an inclusive market economy
Democracy, the Fate of Inefficiency | Inclusive States, Exploitative States | When the Best Combine to Create the Worst | The Two Faces of Adam Smith: Selfishness and Moral Sentiment | The Astonishing Combination of Democracy and the Market Economy

3.
National Assembly of the Republic of Korea vs. the Swedish National Assembly
The clock stopped 30 years ago | Why Nordic "cycling MPs" are possible | Expenses and privilege: the shackles of misunderstanding | The trap of populism that blocks the expansion of the National Assembly

Part 2: Walking the Center of Policy and Politics

4.
Politics that connects the people and the government
The Grammar of Politicians, the Grammar of Civil Servants | The Difficulties and Possibilities of Cooperation | The Differences in Stability Created by Differences in Perspective | A Job Bridging Two Worlds: A National Assembly Assistant | The Aide's Dilemma

5.
The gravity of making rules
Rules that can't keep up with the pace of the world | The weight of a single certificate | A graveyard of unresolved issues | Collaboration created by competition: The Compensation Act for Damages from the Sewer Balloon | The illusion that regulations are correct | The heart of the prosecution almost sold in one fell swoop | Negotiating the impossible | The future of Ilsan, as envisioned by the Democratic Party

6.
The power of citizens against the distortion of reality
A Window, a Frame, Hiding the Essence | What Do We Consume? | Parrot Economics, the 'Hotel Economics' Controversy | The Fear of Giving, and Our Double Standards | The Time Bomb of the Self-Employed and the Economics of the "Prime Offering" | Investment for the Rich, Waste for the Poor?

Part 3: The Deep Roots That Created That Day's Crisis

7.
The rise of an imperial president who destroyed the system
The Two Meanings of Government | Divided State Power | A Recurring Diagnosis: The Myth of the "Imperial Presidency" | Yoon Seok-yeol: The Emergence of an Imperial President in the 21st Century

8.
The National Assembly at gunpoint on December 3rd
The Tragedy Begins in Spring | Martial Law: From Declaration to Lifting | A Collapsed Conscience | The Impeachment Bill Finally Passes

9.
A World Reunited, a Working Constitution
The Constitution in Action | Nine Justices Weighing the Scales of Fate | The Creaking Constitutional Court | The Time of the 'Acting President' | The Time of the 'Acting President's Acting' | The Time of the Constitutional Court | The Time of the Constitution

Finding Hope in Politics in the Fourth District

10.
Local politics that directly impact my life
Seven Ballots | Local Government and Local Autonomy | The Tilt Playing Field: Local Government | The Similarities and Differences Between Metropolitan and Local Council Members | From College Students' Ideas to Local Ordinances | Lee Jae-myung's Local Autonomy: A Model of Creative Administration | Policies Transformed by Local Government

11.
The sad origins of the theory of the uselessness of local autonomy
Kim Dae-jung's hunger strike and the 30-year experiment | Between expectation and distrust: The mirror of resident satisfaction | How power fails: Criticism of local government heads | The collapse of trust: Local councils are neglected | The shackles of the system: '20% autonomy' and autonomy in name only | The perfection of democracy, not a training ground

12.
From the Age of Government to the Age of Governance
Representative or Proxy? | National and Regional Representatives in Different Roles | The Growing Stakeholders: A Testbed for Governance | Governance: A 'Dramatic Moment' for Local Autonomy | For Successful Governance: The Role of Local Council Members | Looking Ahead to the 2026 Local Elections

Closing remarks: A slow ox goes a thousand miles.
Acknowledgments: Beware of the 'boundary'
Notes in the text

From huge crises to small, everyday problems
Told from the perspective of an aide
The role of the state, the usefulness of local politics!

There are people who go to work at the National Assembly, but are not members of the National Assembly.
One of those occupations is that of National Assembly aides.
They assist members of the National Assembly and work together to make politics of imagination and ideals a reality.
The author of this book is also one of those aides.
The author, born in 1994 and now in his thirties, believed that "politics has nothing to do with me" until ten years ago. However, after personally experiencing the process of using politics to solve the problems of a local youth baseball association that was suffering from chronic deficits, he realized that "politics is not something to be ignored, but a tool to be used."

After working in civic groups and entering the world of a congressional aide, he continues to ponder how he can connect the people and politics in his role.
This book vividly captures the traces of the struggles of those who stood at the "threshold of politics" where the "world of politics" and the "world of the people" were connected and tried to connect the two.
The author, who possesses both cool-headed theory and a keen sense of the field, shares stories of his experiences and solutions while traveling between the National Assembly and his constituency, allowing us to see the utility of local politics.
In particular, the December 3, 2024 martial law will make us reflect on the role of the state by showing us how the democratic system, which was not normally visible, works.
This book, which can be called both an "aide's report" and a "citizen's record," helps readers dispel long-standing distrust and misunderstanding about politics and enhance their understanding of democracy.
I highly recommend this book to people who think, 'Politics has nothing to do with me.'

“Imagination becomes an alternative, and the alternative becomes reality.”
Aide, a designer of alternatives that make ideals a reality

What role does a National Assembly member's aide play? The author argues that if "ideals" and "imagination" are the realm of politicians, then developing "alternatives" to bring those ideas to life is precisely the aide's core responsibility.
Therefore, he emphasizes that aides should not be passive beings who simply carry out the instructions of members of the National Assembly, but should be active and professional beings who design the politician's vision into realistic policies.


This book, which shows the role of an aide as a mediator between the public and government worlds through events that actually occur in local politics, does not stop at simply informing people about the professional world of an aide.
This book, which details how specific local issues were addressed, is a model of political solutions itself.
In that respect, this book is an excellent guide for those aspiring to politics.

“The perfection of democracy begins in our neighborhoods.”
A balanced perspective that combines both field and theory
A story about the dynamic political scene!

This book is full of stories from the 'real work' behind the politicians' fights.
The story of a freelance internet broadcaster who was unable to adjust his health insurance premiums due to the outdated regulations of the National Health Insurance Corporation and ended up digging into the root of the problem to create a new guide to be applied nationwide, the story of resolving the issue of compensation for damage caused by North Korea's sent-up garbage balloons, and the dynamic political stories such as the relocation of the Cheongna Incinerator, the withdrawal of the logistics site development in Geomdan New Town, and the blocking of the split sale of medical sites, all come together in the author's balanced perspective that combines both practical and theoretical knowledge to make us realize that politics is not separate from our lives.
Moreover, it allows readers to feel catharsis by helping them regain a sense of political efficacy that they had previously forgotten.

In this way, local political stories present the most realistic stage for overcoming long-standing distrust of politics and recognizing how politics is an essential tool in our lives.
While central politics deals with the operation of enormous state power, local politics, represented by the "seven ballots," plays a role in concretely changing the quality of life, such as the condition of the sidewalks we walk on every day, the safety of our children's school routes, and the frequency of garbage collection.
Stories of creative and practical local administrations that have pioneered changes to national laws and systems, such as mandatory crosswalk shades and CCTVs in operating rooms, make us fully realize that "the perfection of democracy begins in our own neighborhoods."

“The Constitution never sleeps, it just waits for its time to work.”
What is the role of the state when faced with a great crisis?
How do constitutions and democratic systems work?

In addition to episodes about local politics, this book also tells the story of how the constitution and democratic system work when the country is in crisis.
On December 3, 2024, the people of the Republic of Korea will experience the historic destruction of their democratic system by an imperial president.
The author, who was present at the scene of the vivid battle, especially at the National Assembly, which stood at the barrel of a gun, records in detail how the Constitution and the national system, the foundation of our society, demonstrate self-defense in moments of crisis.
The author, who stood up against the sudden oppression of martial law at the time, received a special award for his contribution to protecting a democratic nation from National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, who awarded him the ‘12/3 Special Award for Merit in the Lifting of Martial Law.’

This book contains a three-dimensional account of the process of passing a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law in accordance with constitutional procedures and the subsequent impeachment trial by the Constitutional Court.
The author argues that the December 3rd martial law and the subsequent impeachment process paradoxically demonstrated that, despite one man's attempt to destroy the Constitution, all procedures outlined in the Constitution were carried out without a single error.

As the author argues, the system of democracy is not usually visible.
Laws and institutions sometimes feel like they have nothing to do with me.
But in moments of crisis, like the night of December 3, 2024, it acts as my last bastion to protect me.
This book confirms that the Constitution is not asleep, but is waiting to be activated, and that the fundamental role of the state is to maintain this system without wavering.
These historical experiences remind us that democracy in South Korea is not just for a few politicians.

The author goes one step further and suggests the path our society should take.
As democracy becomes more consolidated, more stakeholders are emerging in the political realm.
The era of governance has arrived, moving beyond the unilateral rule of the central government and toward a system in which local governments and citizens work together to solve problems.
In these times, hope lies in the 'local'.
The completion of grassroots democracy is the challenge that this new era presents to us.