Kim Dae-jung

has died. The BBC obituary is quite fair really. Kim was a hero to me in the 1980s because of his fight for Korean democracy - South Korea only came out of military dictatorship in 1987. I was once attacked and robbed at a rally for him, in Inchon, South Korea, in 1987 (there were presidential elections in December that year) because people in the crowd thought I was American. Foolhardy to go there, with hindsight. But that didn't put me off Kim. Anyway, for those who don't remember, he eventually became president of his country, supported democracy and reunification with the North, and stepped down of his own accord, as all the best leaders of their countries do (Wilson, Blair). Oh yes.