Kyung Hee University (KHU) Communication & Press published Why Die for One’s Nation: How to Fight for a World Without War. Penned by Professor Emeritus Kang Hee-won of the University’s Graduate School of Law last October, the book offers critical insight into the concept of sunguk—martyrdom in wars, or “death for the nation.” Published amid ongoing international and domestic turmoil, the book questions whether deaths demanded in the name of the state can ever be justified, or whether they are nothing more than a criminal “tax in blood.”

Why Do Individuals Die for the State?

Prof. Kang is a senior lawyer, legal philosopher, and Professor Emeritus at KHU. Beginning his study of law at the University, he later earned his Ph.D. at the University of Freiburg in Germany. After pursuing a legal career as a lawyer, Prof. Kang returned to KHU, where he has since lectured for over three decades. 

After becoming an emeritus professor in 2021, Prof. Kang witnessed escalating global tensions and new conflicts, such as the Russo–Ukraine war and the Israel–Hamas war. He also experienced South Korea’s domestic unrest, including the tragic death of enlisted Marine corporal Chae Su-geun and the emergency martial law declaration under former president Yoon Seok-yeol. “I felt a deep sense of contradiction about how states mobilize and sacrifice the lives of their own citizens in the name of the nation,” he said.

Due to these developments, Prof. Kang began to question why individuals die for the state. This led him to analyze how the discourse and justifications for sunguk were historically created, resulting in the publication of Why Die for One’s Nation.

Death for the State is Neither Duty nor Destiny

The book is organized into six chapters. Prof. Kang starts by retracing the history of fundamental concepts such as religion, nation, and state. He then challenges philosophical arguments that defend war, pointing out the contradiction of a state demanding death from the very people it claims to protect.

In the opening chapter, Prof. Kang notes that violent conflicts have been a near-constant feature in human history. He then examines how religion elevated wartime death into a sacred act: for instance, The Crusades of the medieval period celebrated those who died for the recovery of the Holy Land as “blessedly martyrs.” 

He further analyzes how the rise of nationalism in nation states replaced the role of religion in justifying death. Modern states used an imagined sense of nationality to draw boundaries between people and mobilize citizens to serve the state’s cause. This sentiment, according to Prof. Kang, replaced religion and led to more varied forms of war.

Based on this historical analysis, Prof. Kang argues that wars which force citizens to die for the nation can never be justified. He writes that war is an absolute evil: A criminal act that forces its citizens to commit destruction and murder, sacrificing their lives in the process. 

Concluding his analysis, Prof. Kang criticizes the fact that expectations for individuals to prioritize the state above their own lives persist. To counter the absolute evil of war, he argues that it is time to reflect on the myth of nations over individuals: “Death for the state is neither duty nor destiny,” he writes. “The courage most needed today is not the courage to die for the nation, but the courage to refuse the absolute evil of war.”

A Call to Readers

Through his book, Prof. Kang hopes that society at large will be able to critically reassess the concept of sunguk. The book was also a personal endeavor for Prof. Kang to seek peace of mind: “With conflicts continuing in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, I cannot rest my mind at ease. Although I am retired, I hope that young students will be able to wake up to what death for the country truly means,” he said.

For readers, Prof. Kang emphasized that “A state should be a means of protecting life, not a system that demands citizens to die for it. Demanding sacrifice of its citizens signals a fundamental failure of the state and its leaders. Through my book, I hope readers recognize that states sacrificing citizens to war is a criminal, self-contradicting act, abandoning its purpose to preserve the means.”

Since the book’s release, armed conflicts and violence have continued across the world. Amid this global turmoil, Prof. Kang’s work remains highly relevant. Why Die for One’s Nation is for readers who want to revisit war, peace, and sunguk from a more historic and philosophical perspective, and to ask whether any “justified death” for the nation can truly be justified.