Table of Contents
- Korea Focus - April 2013 - TOC - Politics 1. Suspension of Kaesong Industrial Complex is the North’s Self-Injury 2. Nuclear Threat Calls for South Korea’s Raison d’Etat 3. Seoul’s Position on Civil Nuclear Cooperation Pact with the U.S. 4. No Time to Abandon the Goal of Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula 5. U.S.-Japan Summit’s Impact on Tense Korean Situation 6. Composite Nature of the Park Geun-hye Administration 7. The Outgoing President Deserves More Credit than Blame
- Economy 1. China’s Technological Catch-Up 2. Korea Must Help China Improve the Environment 3. Shared Growth for Young and Old Generations 4. Conflict between Strong and Weak Distributors
- Society 1. National Unity and Continuity in Policy 2. What after the Disastrous Population Decline in 2021? 3. Lesson from Jeff Gould 4. Let’s Break Away from Uniform Standards for Successful Life
- Culture 1. Moved to Tears So Many Times in PyeongChang 2. President Park’s Welcome Vow on Cultural Renaissance 3. Seoulutions: A Dutch Architect’s Meaningful Experiment 4. ‘Granny’s Cooking’ the Last Thing Needed for Upgrading Korean Cuisine 5. The Plight of Rightists in Korean Cultural Community
- Essay 1. Impact of the Japanese Yen’s Depreciation on Korean Exports 2. Disparity in Household and Corporate Income Growth: Facts, Causes and Implications 3. The Dynamic Literature of Memory: Defining the Place of Hwang Sok-yong’s Novels
- Feature 1. Why the World’s Top Go Player Retires at 30 and Moves to the United States
- Book Reviews 1. Understanding the North Korean Hereditary Rule through the Arirang Festival 2. On Perspectives on Gisaeng
- Interview 1. Kim Seok-chul: “Korea’s southern coast has heavenly beauty with high tourism potential.” 2. Pat Gaines: “Korean market remains reliable despite North Korean nuclear threat.”
- COPYRIGHT
- Suspension of Kaesong Industrial Complex is the North’s Self-Injury - Nuclear Threat Calls for South Korea’s Raison d’Etat - Seoul’s Position on Civil Nuclear Cooperation Pact with the U.S. - No Time to Abandon the Goal of Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula - U.S.-Japan Summit’s Impact on Tense Korean Situation - Composite Nature of the Park Geun-hye Administration - The Outgoing President Deserves More Credit than Blame
Suspension of Kaesong Industrial Complex is the North’s Self-Injury
Yang Moon-soo Professor of North Korean Economy University of North Korean Studies
The worst-case scenario has become a reality. North Korea announced temporary suspension of the Kaesong (Gaeseong) Industrial Complex on April 8. The next day, none of the North Korean employees of the South Korean-invested manufacturing plants reported for work. Operations of 123 companies have totally stopped.
South Korean enterprises that poured money into the pilot industrial zone located just north of the border are panicking. With the last peaceful link between the two Koreas now cut, the security situation on the Korean peninsula has entered a touch-and-go stage.
It may still not be the complete end. Pyongyang stated that it would make a final decision on the closure of the joint industrial complex after considering Seoul’s future moves, leaving a small opening for resuming its operations. Yet, a prolonged suspension would eventually lead to its “withering.” Even if work restarts soon, it would take a long time to heal the serious after-effect of the closure.
Many observers agree that North Koreans are following an established pattern of behavior. They may be right but the North’s actions were faster and more intensive than what had been anticipated. Such a quantitative change heralds a qualitative change.
In the past, the North and the South engaged in a war of nerves over the operation of the industrial park. There were restrictions on cross-border traffic on several occasions and the North threatened to close down the complex. But the friction never led to the extreme step of halting operations.
North Korea realized that suspension or closure of the joint industrial complex would rupture interKorean relations and that the instigator would be held responsible for the consequences. Pyongyang also must have considered the fact that the complex was a project initiated by their deceased leader Kim Jong-il. Yet, the North has proceeded with its suspension. This suggests that the era of Kim Jongun will be much different than his father’s. What’s now happening at Kaesong cannot be regarded as an isolated case. It should be noted that the suspension is connected to the military security issues, including the North’s nuclear tests and missile launches, to escalate tension on the peninsula. The North’s suspension of the Kaesong complex is a clear violation of agreements between the two Koreas. It was in breach of the provisions in the four major agreements on inter-Korean economic cooperation of 2003 and the agreement on the entry, exit and sojourn for the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mount Kumgang (Geumgang) Tourism Zone, which took effect in 2005. The North’s action further violated its own Kaesong Industrial Zone Act, which specifies that “the rights and interests of investors in the joint project shall be protected.”
How would the unilateral North Korean action be seen in the international community, especially among foreign investors? They must be greatly surprised at such a preposterous act even if it was not unexpected. They are not just watching a “fire across the river.” To any businesses investing in projects in North Korea or those contemplating future investment, the suspension of the Kaesong complex was the worst negative message.
We all know how anxious North Korea is to attract foreign investment. But the great disappointment that current and potential investors in North Korea will have toward Pyongyang’s latest action will certainly turn into deep distrust and unease. “North Korea fatigue” bordering on abhorrence will rise.
It is an inappropriate calculation for the North to use the Kaesong complex as a political scapegoat to escalate tension on the peninsula and to try to pressure the South Korean government into concessions. As the world watches, Pyongyang’s extremist behavior will only force even those countries that have been friendly and sympathetic toward the North to turn away. It is a sheer self-
inflicted injury by the isolated regime.
The closure of the joint industrial complex is undesirable for both the North and the South. Kaesong is the only civilian zone between them. North Korea is urged to withdraw its suspension of the Kaesong Industrial Complex immediately and send back its workers.
[ Maeil Business Newspaper, April 10, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Nuclear Threat Calls for South Korea’s Raison d’Etat
Yoon Pyung-joong Professor of Political Philosophy Hanshin University
Following its demonstration of nuclear capabilities, North Korea has unleashed a steady barrage of bellicose rhetoric, warning that it will turn Seoul into a “sea of fire” at any moment. However, South Korean citizens remain cool and composed, showing few signs of hoarding goods. North Korea`s provocations have had little impact on the stock market either. Such reactions stem from dealing with the North`s hostile behavior during the past six decades, since the Korean War armistice agreement halted fighting. South Korean society has become so tolerant and resilient that the North`s attempts of psychological warfare fail again and again.
Some conservative leaders say that South Korea should acquire nuclear arms to counter the North`s nuclear threat, but their stance is little more than a tempest in a teapot. On the progressive front some even criticize conservatives` exaggerated “Hollywood actions” on national security, while liberal military analysts insist that Pyongyang would have no reason to attack Seoul, where tens of thousands of foreigners also reside. Indeed, amid the mixture of conservative worries about the public’s insensitivity about the North`s threat to security and the progressive caution against an overblown crisis, the Republic of Korea is maintaining its peaceful daily routines.
Is there really no danger of war on the Korean peninsula? In a nutshell, the chance of all-out fighting is structurally impossible. North Korea, devastated by its “March of Tribulation” in the 1990s, appears
to be incapable of waging a full-scale war for any extended period. Meanwhile, both the United States and China are eager to sustain the status quo on the Korean peninsula. Also, past crises have proven to be dramatic opportunities for dialogue when they reached a critical point. Still, the hard fact is that Kim Jong-un, whom the North Koreans describe as their “supreme dignity,” has made repeated public statements on the need to take military action against South Korea. The failure to translate his words into action would impair the supreme leader’s dignity. Therefore, his rants of “delivering attacks on any place at any time of our choice” will not prove to be empty talk. Recent cyberspace attacks on local banks and broadcasters could probably have been a portent. In addition to the five islands near the inter-Korean border in the West (Yellow) Sea, a variety of potential targets are vulnerable to sneak attacks by the North. Security experts are especially worried that the dozens of nuclear power reactors and large-scale infrastructure facilities are highly vulnerable to terrorism. With the emergence of North Korea as a “de facto nuclear state,” the efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, which began with the Agreed Framework signed by the United States and North Korea in 1994, have now broken down. The ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis is an aggravated extension of the “North Korea question,” which in turn is an aggregation of various problems emanating from North Korea’s existence vis-a-vis South Korea. The North Korea question is indeed the greatest challenge in the modern history of the Korean nation.
The North Korean nuclear crisis reveals the crux of the North Korea question that the survival of the North Korean regime, or the hereditary Kim dynasty, is inseparable from its possession of nuclear arms. In the face of this stark truth, the apparent rationality of the South’s “sunshine” engagement policy simply melted away. The more unstable the Kim Jong-un regime grows as it grabs deadly nuclear weapons at the expense of the state’s viability, the more steeply the tension on the peninsula will escalate.
The situation will further aggravate after the dissolution of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, scheduled for 2015. The proposed replacement of the Korean War armistice agreement with a peace treaty, looming behind the strategic games in Northeast Asia, logically involves the pullout of U.S. troops from South Korea. Any such a peace agreement would only prompt the North’s military adventurism to heighten the danger of war, far from ensuring peace on the peninsula. There is not a single instance in history where peace has been assured by document that is not backed up with military power.
“We simply can`t go on with the North Korean nuclear arms constantly on our minds,” said President Park Geun-hye, pinpointing the core of the North Korea question. But the problem is there is no possibility at all that the Kim Jong-un regime will give up nuclear weapons voluntarily. It is because its survival depends entirely on the lethal devices. Therefore, in order to sustain his regime by integrating it with the state and the system, Kim will likely continue to intensify his nuclear threats toward South Korea. In 2013, our society has begun to grapple with the Kim dynasty`s “strategy of holding South Korea hostage.” The Republic of Korea`s self-conceit of having triumphed in the inter-Korean contest of systems is shown to be an illusion. Flashing out at this critical juncture is the notion of raison d`etat (reason of the state) that provides a country`s “principles of conduct and laws of motion.” Niccolo Machiavelli, a founder of modern political science in support of a republic that prospers with the sovereignty residing in its free citizens, said: “The fatherland ought to be defended, whether with ignominy or with glory; and it is well defended in any mode whatever.” This proposition forms the essence of raison d’etat.
When the raison d`etat of the Kim regime, which has enslaved the entire North Korean people, attempts to challenge that of South Korea where sovereignty resides in its free citizens, coexistence is simply impossible. The raison e`tat of the Republic of Korea that has been aroused by the North Korean nuclear crisis should be concentrated on neutralizing the Kim regime by separating it from the North Korean state. It is because, as Machiavelli propounded, “one should put aside every other concern in saving the fatherland and maintaining its freedom.”
[ Chosun Ilbo, March 22, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Seoul’s Position on Civil Nuclear Cooperation Pact with the U.S.
Kim Kyung-min Professor, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy Hanyang University
The 1974 Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement is set to expire next year and President Park Geun-hye is asking high U.S. officials to support her country`s efforts to expand its “peaceful use of atomic energy” by revising the pact.
Korea`s nuclear power industry began in the early 1960s with the introduction of a U.S. nuclear reactor. Although it has developed enough to win overseas contracts to build reactors, in the unequal world of nuclear power Seoul`s nuclear agreement with Washington inhibits its peaceful use of nuclear energy.
To produce electricity in a nuclear power plant, 3 to 5 percent low-grade enriched uranium is necessary. But the United States opposes the construction of plants and facilities to enrich fuel material on the grounds that they could be used to produce nuclear weapons. Therefore, when we export reactors produced with our original technologies, we have to buy enriched uranium from other countries. The Korea-U.S. nuclear agreement also prohibits the chemical reprocessing of spent fuel rods from Korea`s reactors because it could lead to the production of plutonium. This nonproliferation principle is applied not only to Korea but globally. Still, the stable acquisition of low-grade enriched uranium and the reprocessing of spent fuel are the key technologies for civilian use of nuclear energy.
The best way to secure stable supply of low-enriched uranium is to operate our own enrichment plant like Japan. But we know the international situation today is far different than when Japan started enriching uranium. At present, the construction of a uranium enrichment plant is regarded as tantamount to building facilities to produce nuclear weapons material, and thus banned by the international community.
However, we cannot completely abandon efforts to begin fuel production for our own nuclear power plants. In an emergency, if the supply of nuclear fuel is suspended, the operation of Korea`s 23 nuclear reactors would be threatened and the whole nation will be in peril. Besides, as a major exporter of nuclear power plants, Korea should be able to offer a fuel supply package to its buyers to be able to compete fairly with Japan or France. Korea should thus acquire U.S. guarantee for stable supply of nuclear fuel or joint operation of uranium enrichment plants with other countries.
As for the reprocessing of spent fuel, the nation faces the short-term issue of storage capacity and the long-term task of preparing for the eventual exhaustion of fossil fuel supplies. Korea`s nuclear power plants currently are storing their spent fuel rods in on-site water tanks. Those tanks will become full around 2016 and we are hard pressed to build alternate storage facilities outside the plants. Reprocessing rights would immediately reduce the volume of spent fuel and the space needed to store it.
Korea could seek the Swedish model of placing spent fuel in intermediary storage so it can be available when pertinent technologies have been developed. Another option is the pyro-processing method, which collects compound material that cannot be used to produce nuclear arms. When negotiations are held to revise the nuclear agreement, Seoul`s key demand should be the right to pursue pyro-processing technology.
The world is aware that South Korea has concentrated on the peaceful use of atomic energy without pursuing nuclear weapons development while it has operated many nuclear reactors to date. Even when North Korea`s nuclear threats are shaking the nation`s security situation, we have never betrayed the world`s trust in its dedication to peace. The United States should believe in Korea`s resolve to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes only. That’s what a true alliance means.
[ Seoul Shinmun, April 4, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
No Time to Abandon the Goal of Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula
News Commentary Yonhap News Agency
In the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12, debate is starting in earnest on a touchy issue long considered taboo; nuclear armament of South Korea. The argument is that the South can no longer sit still in the face of mounting threats by the North, which has proven that it has nuclear arms. Proponents of the nuclear option claim that the U.S. nuclear umbrella is insufficient, so South Korea needs either the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear devices or its own nuclear capabilities.
According to a recent survey of South Koreans by Gallup Korea, 64 percent of the respondents supported their country’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. Rep. Chung Mong-joon, a former head of the ruling Saenuri Party, asserted at a recent public forum that the U.S. nuclear umbrella is “torn.” He insisted that U.S. tactical nuclear arms, voluntarily pulled out of South Korea in 1991, need to be reintroduced. The emotions behind the mounting calls for South Korea’s own nuclear armament are understandable. Leading up to its nuclear tests, North Korea has nullified its 1992 joint declaration with the South for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a 2005 statement on a nuclear-free Korean peninsula issued by the parties of the six-way nuclear talks.
However, the prevailing circumstances are not simple. Development of nuclear arms by South Korea
would certainly prompt Japan to go nuclear and provoke China into stirring up a chain reaction of nuclear arms race across Northeast Asia. Most of all, it would be extremely difficult to get support from Seoul’s main ally, the United States, which is dedicated to nuclear nonproliferation while providing nuclear umbrellas to its allies. Should Seoul commit itself to developing nuclear arms, its military alliance with Washington might be undermined.
Noteworthy in this respect is a recent speech by U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim in Seoul. Referring to the proposed redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear arms in South Korea and the need for its nuclear armament, Ambassador Kim said that any such move would be a “huge mistake” for South Korea. Instead of flirting with ideas that hinder collaborative efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the two allies need to focus on the best way to jointly deter a possible North Korean attack and rationally settle pending issues of the peninsula, he said. His statement eloquently presented Washington’s position on the issue. The South Korean government’s position is also forthright in drawing a clear line on the subject. Chun Young-woo, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security of the outgoing Lee Myung-bak administration, dismissed the option of South Korea’s own nuclear development or reintroduction of U.S. tactical atomic devices as an ineffective deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threats, let alone attaining a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. He said the option had not been studied at the government level or scheduled for future consideration.
A similar view was expressed by newly-appointed Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, who stated during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly that acquisition of nuclear weapons by South Korea is inconceivable in view of the country’s accession to and obligations under various nuclear-related international agreements and conventions. His remarks are appropriate and timely in dispelling unnecessary misgivings in the international community. Although North Korea’s nuclear armament has made it far more difficult to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambition, it does not justify South Korea’s transgression of international nonproliferation efforts. More urgent at this point are thorough and objective analyses of the North Korean situation in all aspects and comprehensive workable measures to fundamentally resolve the nuclear issue. What is needed for now is taking realistic initial steps tuned to attain a denuclearized Korean peninsula, more specifically the North’s ultimate abrogation of its nuclear arms programs.
In this regard, worthy of attentive examination is advice given by Dr. Siegfried Hecker, a renowned
American nuclear scientist who has visited North Korea’s nuclear facilities. He suggested that the international community should act now to prevent North Korea from acquiring additional nuclear arms, proceeding with further nuclear development programs, and exporting nuclear weapons and technology to other countries. His point was that, although the ultimate goal would be North Korea’s nuclear abandonment, the international community’s immediate objective should be “freezing” all of the North’s nuclear-related activities.
That would surely entail stronger sanctions and more forceful intervention than before. But then, even while Pyongyang is pressured, concerned parties in the international community, including the United Nations, need to ameliorate the North’s concerns about its security and survival and provide it with economic assistance, as circumstances permit. In this process, South Korea’s stance would be crucial above all. Maintenance of foprmidable deterrence against the North on the basis of the SeoulWashington military alliance is one thing. Also in pressing need is a “creative initiative” by the Park Geun-hye administration to replace the tension-ridden situation on the peninsula with durable peace and stability.
[ February 21, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
U.S.-Japan Summit’s Impact on Tense Korean Situation
Editorial The Hankyoreh
The summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, held in Washington on February 22, attracted considerable international attention in view of two precarious developments in Northeast Asia. One was North Korea’s third nuclear test just 10 days before the summit. The other was an escalating territorial dispute between Japan and China over small chains of islands in the East China Sea, which the two countries call Senkaku and Diaoyu, respectively. The two developments have direct and indirect impact on South Korea’s national security. What’s more, the United States and Japan are both empowered with hegemonic influence in reshaping Northeast Asia’s regional balance of power. President Obama and Prime Minister Abe agreed to take “strong actions” in response to North Korea’s mounting provocations. They obviously referred to provisions of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which allow the U.N. Security Council to determine the “existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression” and to make recommendations on necessary measures to maintain international peace and security. Articles 41 and 42 in the chapter authorize the Security Council to call upon U.N. member countries to enforce measures it prescribes. A Security Council resolution under consideration would impose stiffer sanctions on North Korea. (Editor’s Note: The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on March 7 to impose tightened sanctions on North Korea with its closest ally, China, supporting the U.N. action.)
In addition to the U.N. resolution, the United States and Japan are preparing unilateral sanctions, including financial measures. On the eve of the summit, the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers met to express their concern about the possibility of overly harsh sanctions by Washington and Tokyo. In any case, tension will persist on the Korean peninsula, stoking concern at home and abroad. With regard to his country’s territorial dispute with China, the Japanese prime minister undoubtedly wished to obtain a firm assurance of Washington’s support of his position, but President Obama tactfully sidestepped the issue. Even while placing emphasis on a strong U.S.-Japan alliance that Abe described as “a stabilizing factor,” the U.S. president appeared to be very cautious to avoid upsetting China. Washington must be mindful of close cooperation with China, which it vitally needs in dealing with regional and global issues.
Apart from these developments among major powers surrounding the Korean peninsula, saber rattling has markedly worsened, heightening worries of all the parties concerned. In particular, North Korea asserted that, with the start of Key Resolve, a U.S.-South Korea joint military drill, on March 11, the 1953 armistice agreement of the Korean War would be scrapped, the 1992 agreements on nonaggression and denuclearization with the South would be nullified, and an inter-Korean hotline at the truce village of Panmunjom would be severed. The North further warned that both South Korea and the U.S. mainland would be the targets of its nuclear missiles. Earlier in February, South Korean and U.S. military leaders agreed on “customized deterrence strategies” against the North in a bilateral session of the Integrated Defense Dialogue in Washington, D.C.
Upon the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye today, her aides in charge of foreign affairs, national security and defense are called upon to be rigorous and forthright in assessing the rapidly changing circumstances on the Korean peninsula and among major powers concerned, and work out proactive yet far-sighted measures to address the escalating tension. The situation has become more precarious due to the change of government.
[ February 25, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Composite Nature of the Park Geun-hye Administration
Yeom Jae-ho Professor of Public Administration Korea University
The incoming Park Geun-hye administration has a dual nature that defies a clear definition. The new administration seems to advocate not only conservative values, such as order and stability, but also progressive ideas, including economic democratization. It also tends to hold on to conventional ideas, such as economic growth, while introducing progressive policies, like cutting college tuition in half and a universal welfare program for all people. While emphasizing the government’s authority and power, it also seems to support populist ideas.
Such a subtly intertwined duality is well reflected in its government restructuring plan that contains contradictory values. The plan envisions establishing a new ministry that embraces future-oriented values as well as reorganizing existing ministries by drawing upon a past success model. The creation of the Ministry of Future, Creativity and Science, upgrading of the Korea Food and Drug Administration, and revival of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries are forward-looking structural reforms. But the resurrection of the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expansion of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources, and realigning of the Ministry of Land and Transportation are apparently aimed at pursuing economic growth in a conventional way.
The creation of the Ministry of Future, Creativity and Science is a test bed for the Park administration to seek new growth engines. With the creation of this ministry as momentum, the new government is
expected to draw up future plans by giving priority to science and technology, and information and communications as key growth factors for a future society. Therefore, we should not view the creation of this new ministry simply as the revival of the former Ministry of Science and Technology or the Ministry of Information and Communication.
The Roh Moo-hyun administration had already attempted to redesign our society through science and technology by promoting the status of the science and technology minister to the level of a deputy prime minister. But we should not forget that the Roh administration’s attempt failed because it allowed the ministry to simply take control of all available R&D funds and distribute them among think tanks, rather than endowing it with new, future-oriented functions.
The Ministry of Future, Creativity and Science should serve as a driving force for restructuring our society based on science and technology, and information and communication. The Park administration should devise a comprehensive plan through this ministry, just as the Economic Planning Board built the country’s economic structure through industrial policies designed to boost exports and foster heavy and chemical industries with a view to achieving economic growth in the 1960s and 70s. Now, the nation needs comprehensive plans to build a future-oriented society in the 21st century, with emphasis on science and technology, and information and communication. Another notable feature of the Park administration’s government restructuring program is a plan to upgrade the Korea Food and Drug Administration from an agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare to a higher-level organization under the direct supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister. President-elect Park has read the people’s minds quickly, defining unsanitary food as the top priority among the "four evils" that should be removed from our society. The public concern about food safety has heightened to the extent that “Food X-Files,” a program on Channel A, a cable TV network, has made headlines and even a popular comedian has parodied its presenter. With the people’s income level rising, food and drug safety has become a key factor for their living conditions. British political sociologist Anthony Giddens has opined that in the 21st century politics would no longer be dominated by ideologies but people’s livelihood would be the foremost concern of politicians.
Indeed, at a time when many people look forward to living until 100 years old, their attention is now turning away from ideologies to a happy society in which they can enjoy a healthy and dignified lifestyle until they die. The government has so far practiced only “supply-side” economics, whereby
it regarded food and drugs merely as an industry. But it now needs to give top priority to consumers’ safety and build a streamlined administrative system to conduct such policies. Strengthened regulations can be a driving force for a new industry. Just as the Environment Ministry’s enhanced regulations have resulted in creating a new industry called “green growth,” tough regulations on food and drugs could also lead to competitive technologies for high value-added industries in the future market.
Meanwhile, the new government needs to be prudent in its attempts at holding on to conventional ideas, such as economic growth. From the standpoint of administrative efficiency, it may be seen desirable to set up a control tower of economic policy by resurrecting the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs. Combining the industry and trade sectors could be administratively efficient in an export-led economy like Korea. But it is also necessary to think seriously of the possibility that excessive planning and regulation can put the brakes on market rejuvenation, as the Korean economy has turned into an open market system, with its market autonomy consistently expanded.
In addition, when it seeks free trade pacts with foreign countries, the government could find itself under a heavy political burden, with a neutral coordinator like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade no longer performing its role and conflicts intensifying between individual agencies, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock, and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources, pursuing their respective interests. Social and market systems are changing rapidly in the 21st century. The government’s role should also change quickly. In the past, most incoming administrations restructured government agencies mainly to enhance their efficiency by keeping the bureaucracy from becoming bigger. But the Park administration’s restructuring plan contains future-oriented elements. In order to carry out this restructuring plan successfully, it is most of all necessary to prevent the pertinent government agencies from engaging in self-serving lobbying when the National Assembly takes up the plan for legislation.
Next, systemic devices are needed at the new government agencies to eliminate the die-hard complacency among public servants. No less important, the heads of the new government agencies should present a clear-cut vision about their organization and exhibit future-oriented leadership skills. In the future society that will change even more rapidly and intricately, a steady reform of the administrative system will contribute to the smooth management of state affairs. I hope that the Park
administration’s double-edged government restructuring will efficiently help resolve many complicated problems of our society.
[ Dong-a Ilbo, February 5, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
The Outgoing President Deserves More Credit than Blame
Editorial The Munhwa Ilbo
Lee Myung-bak, the 17th president of the Republic of Korea, will end his five-year term, which is checkered with honor and disgrace, at midnight on February 24. In his farewell speech on February 19, President Lee said, “The past five years during which I have served as president with a mandate from the great people has truly been difficult for me. But at the same time, it has also been a period of great pleasure and honor.” As he prepares to return to life as an ordinary citizen at his private home in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, where he will move to at 4 p.m. on February 24, we would like to review Lee’s tenure to give credit to him for what he has done and wish him well. President Lee’s pluses and minuses are balanced against each other, as in the case of his predecessors. He overcame the nettlesome security, economic, social and ideological barriers that were built over the preceding 10 years by the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, while faithfully carrying out the mandatory tasks of the era by sticking to the constitutional principles of free democracy and market economy. But it is also true that he sometimes failed to demonstrate a bold driving force or a remarkable sense of responsibility as head of the state. In a session of the last parliamentary interpellation against the Lee administration on February 14, an opposition party lawmaker went so far as to discuss the possibility of Lee writing “a confession of apologies and tears” after retirement.
Lee won the presidential election five years ago by a record margin of 5.3 million votes. He advocated pragmatism and economic advancement, and did not blindly seek an inter-Korean summit for popular reasons. He thus rectified the previous deference to the North by the leftist-leaning Kim and Roh administrations, which had lavished hard currency on the North Korean regime. He contributed to reinforcing the Seoul-Washington alliance, the sturdiest linchpin of the country’s security. He made efforts to refurbish the four major rivers to control their flows. He led the nation in its endeavor to overcome the global economic recession, getting the country’s sovereign credit rating upgraded. Lee significantly expanded the nation’s economic horizon by concluding free trade agreements with the United States, the EU, and the ASEAN nations. He also helped raise Korea’s prestige in the international community by hosting the G20 summit and the Nuclear Security Summit, and housing the permanent secretariat of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo. He also allowed Koreans to relish touching moments by winning the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and a project to build a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, as well as carrying out a successful rescue operation for the crew of a Korean freighter in the Gulf of Aden.
On the other hand, Lee disappointed the people with his bungled personnel appointments, by placing his close confidants from Korea University, Somang Presbyterian Church and Gyeongsang provinces, his main social and political networks, in important public positions. He also had problems communicating with politicians and the public. Lee’s relatives, including his elder brother and former lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, and close associates such as Choi Si-joong, former chairman of the Korean Communications Commission, were imprisoned on corruption charges. This made Lee’s boasting about his government being “ethically perfect” sound hollow. Lee fell out of favor with most people after news reports on his administration’s illegal surveillance on private citizens, allegations surrounding his purchase of a plot of land for his retirement home in southern Seoul, and a special amnesty that he granted his jailed confidants only a few days before his term ended. In his early days in office, he failed to enforce law and order in dealing with nationwide protests against U.S. beef imports and to revise the construction plan for the new administrative city of Sejong.
As is common to all lame duck presidents, Lee has been criticized more harshly for his mistakes than lauded for his achievements. Looking back level-headedly, we find Lee has made more achievements in a broad spectrum of state management, though he made more than a few mistakes in micro details. In this sense, we may say he deserves more credit than blame. No doubt history will make the final
judgment on his overall performance.
[ February 22, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- China’s Technological Catch-Up - Korea Must Help China Improve the Environment - Shared Growth for Young and Old Generations - Conflict between Strong and Weak Distributors
China’s Technological Catch-Up
Lee Keun Professor of Economics Seoul National University
Chinese companies are no longer simply trying to catch up with their Korean peers. They are taking the lead. According to the Korea International Trade Association, 26 Korean products lost their global No. 1 rankings in 2011 and 12 of those positions went to Chinese goods. The panel for Samsung Electronics Co.’s 110-inch ultrahigh-definition television displayed at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show was actually supplied by a Chinese company, BOE, which took over Hydis, an LCD business division of Hyundai Electronics, the predecessor of SK Hynix.
In the mobile phone market, Chinese brands were nearly non-existent. Now they control half of the Chinese market, albeit at the bottom half. But Chinese phone makers are about to dominate the high end as well, thanks to aggressively shifting from 2G (second generation) to 3G models. Samsung currently holds the No. 1 spot with a share of 13 percent, just ahead of China’s Lenovo, which has 12 percent market share. Chinese brands hold third through fifth place, ahead of Nokia, a one-time market leader, and Apple.
Chinese enterprises also have moved ahead of Korean companies to dominate future growth engines such as solar and wind power generation. In 2005, no Chinese or Korean companies were among the global top 10 wind turbine manufacturers. In 2010 there were four Chinese manufacturers in the top
10 and still no Korean producers.
It is common for industrial leadership to jump from one country to another. In the mobile phone industry, for example, leadership has moved from its inventor Motorola of the United States to Korea’s Samsung Electronics via Finland’s Nokia. In shipbuilding, Europe was traditionally a powerhouse but the hegemony moved to Korea via Japan, and is about to go to China. In the semiconductor industry, Intel in the United States played a key role in the take-off but chip manufacturing eventually shifted to Korea and Japan. Such industrial leadership shifts can be called a “catch-up cycle.” It is caused by late movers’ adoption of the newest technologies; business fluctuations and rapid changes in market demand; and the government policy and regulations. Chinese companies have benefited from all three factors simultaneously.
Amid the protracted economic slump in many Western countries, the decisive power of the Chinese market has expanded steadily. What is important to remember for the longer term is that China has been riding the wave of new technology and economic paradigms faster than any other country. The 20th century competition for industrial leadership began in automobiles, communication devices and oil. Then the competition moved into electronics revolution. The United States dominated the early competition and Japan rapidly caught up in the latter half of the century.
The future battleground is the third energy revolution, or new renewable energy. Any country that can take the lead in the new energy industry will become a front-runner in the 21st century. If so, will the 21st century be an era of China? It’s possible, considering China’s remarkable strides in the fields of wind power, solar power, geothermal power and bio energy. Therefore, Korea may be chasing China, rather than Japan, in the 21st century. That’s why we must be better prepared.
At the outset of its term, the Lee Myung-bak government promised to give priority to green growth but it failed to produce any tangible outcome. The Lee administration also picked shared growth as one of its key policy goals. In the global market, however, there is no such concept as shared growth. There’s only fierce competition. A hegemonic war has already begun as far as the new renewable energy sector is concerned.
The Park Geun-hye government has to set up elaborate and detailed strategies to ensure that the new energy industries are not monopolized by China and other competitors. We should not be stuck in a
framework of shared growth. We should not make the mistake of lagging behind in limitless global competition.
[ JoongAng Ilbo, February 6, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Korea Must Help China Improve the Environment
Park Seok-soon President National Institute of Environmental Research
In recent years, westerly winds have carried industrial pollutants from China to the Korean peninsula, raising fears that thick clouds of lead, cadmium, arsenic and other deadly toxic metals will harm public health here just as they have in Chinese cities. About one-third of China’s urban population is breathing polluted air. As a result, lung cancer is the top cause of death among the Chinese. What is worse, acid rain has been reported in one-third of China. The United Nations Environment Program said that nine of the world’s 10 most air-polluted cities are in China, including Lanzhou, Chongqing and Taiyuan. India’s Rajkot was the only nonChinese city in the list. The primary cause of China’s severe air pollution is its use of coal to supply about 80 percent of its energy needs. China is currently the world’s largest coal producer and consumer that accounts for one-third of the world’s coal transactions. Water pollution is also a serious problem. Half of the water flowing in China’s seven major rivers is not even fit for industrial use. A third of China’s cities discharge raw sewage into the rivers. Clean drinking water is not available for one-fourth of the Chinese population, while less than 20 percent of urban waste is buried in landfill sites or incinerated.
The United States, Europe, Japan and other developed countries experienced serious pollution at the
early stage of industrialization. Their rivers and lakes reeked and their streets overflowed with garbage. Environmental disasters also occurred. London’s “Great Smog of 1952,” for instance, killed several thousands of people. The air, rivers and lakes are now cleansed in those developed countries. The recovery process is called a “U-turn phenomenon.” The development of environmental science and technology and the growth of economic power and ability to invest in environmental improvement have all contributed. The annual cost of environmental pollution is estimated to reach 8-15 percent of China’s gross domestic product (GDP). The cost to people’s health and suffering was not included in the data. It can be said that the nation’s GDP growth rate actually is negative if all the environmental losses are counted. The world’s environmental experts blame politics for China’s dismal environmental realities. They cite the absence of a free democracy, in which both beneficiaries and victims of the environment can freely assert their rights and convey their opinions through elections so that strong environmental policies can be enforced. Nations advocating free democracy give top priority to environmental rights, which provide a healthy and pleasant environment for all of their people. Therefore, the environmental U-turn takes place spontaneously in liberal democracies.
But the political circumstances in China are different. Countries worldwide should now urge China to improve its environment. That’s the best way to resolve the problem for now. As one of China’s closest neighbors, Korea has a particularly important role.
In early April of 2006, when Korea was seriously suffering from yellow dust storms blowing from China, Stephen Johnson, the then administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, visited Beijing and urged the Chinese authorities to improve its environment. He made the request after claiming that mercury, dioxin and other pollutants originating from China were causing harm to the United States. Korea should not remain silent about damage caused by China’s environmental pollution. Instead, we have to raise questions about environmental pollution in China and ask Beijing to resolve the problem. That’s the best way to help the neighboring country protect its environment.
[ Chosun Ilbo, February 13, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Shared Growth for Young and Old Generations
Kwak Su-keun Professor, School of Business Seoul National University
Traditionally, Koreans make deep bows to elders on the Lunar New Year’s Day as a sign of respect. It is a beautiful tradition of ours. In traditional Korean society, it was considered quite natural to pay respects to elders who had more knowledge and wisdom However, the value of elders has been falling amid the recent trends of rapid industrialization, low birth rate and population aging. These days, the elderly are regarded as a social burden. Now is the time to reflect on the role of elders in our aging society.
Korean society is aging at an unprecedented pace. Statistics Korea estimates that the proportion of people aged 65 years and over to the nation’s economically active population aged between 15 and 64 will exceed 20 percent in 2020 and soar to 60 percent in the early 2040s. Moreover, the ratio of people older than 65 to the most productive workforce aged between 25 and 49 is expected to top 100 percent in 2035.
Generational friction appears to be inevitable. The elderly who do not have enough savings stay longer in the workforce, keeping the younger generation out of the labor market. On the other hand, the elderly who have savings nevertheless hold back on consumption and thus crimp economic growth. This is seen in Europe and Japan, where the senior population has surged. Also, low interest rates and real estate prices are disastrous to the elderly who are relatively wealthy, but are a blessing
for the younger generation.
In addition, efficient distribution of welfare budget can become a sore point. Welfare spending for the elderly is a reward for their hard work of the past that contributed to today’s prosperity. But government assistance also is needed for infants, young children and students as an investment in the nation’s future. Elderly citizens are the main beneficiaries of the national health plan but their growing number means the younger generation will be saddled with rising payments into the medical system. Some people insist that welfare spending for the elderly doesn’t lead to increased productivity and therefore has to be reduced. But others say that reduction of welfare benefits for the elderly is no more than a modern-day Goryeojang, an ancient Korean practice of abandoning an old person to die at the grave site. The solution is to increase the role of the elderly and create a virtuous circle in which the old generation’s increased activities lead to improved productivity of the younger generation. Without a win-win relationship between the old and young generations, an advanced society can hardly be realized. Older people can be respected by the young generation only when they act as thoughtful senior citizens. Life is said to be divided into “4S” stages ― study, success, significance and sacrifice. It means that a person studies hard, works hard to succeed, does significant things and gives away everything before death. In order to be respected as senior citizens, elderly people need to give greater meaning to doing something significant and consider making sacrifices more important than achieving success. Therefore, individuals need to try to maintain their health so they can avoid becoming a burden to the younger generation when they are old. They also need to set up a plan on how to contribute to society.
More importantly, corporations and organizations may systematically help their employees to prepare themselves to remain economically active after retirement. Such an effort is helpful in raising the value of the organizations themselves and can be considered part of social contributions. For example, enterprises may set up coaching classes for their employees to teach them coaching skills so they can contribute to in-house communication while they remain employed and then use their skills for society after retirement.
Taking advantage of the merits of our network-based society, the central and local governments should create society-wide links to help the elders play their roles more productively. The authorities can link qualified elders to various jobs, such as business assistants at child care centers or neighborhood study rooms, and social service providers using their professional expertise and
experience. It is important to help our elders play their roles. That’s the way to improve the welfare service for senior citizens and revive the tradition of respecting the elders. A former Japanese prime minister recently said the elderly should be allowed to “hurry up and die� to reduce the burden on the country. We should make thorough preparations in order not to hear such remarks from our leaders.
[ Maeil Business Newspaper, February 18, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Conflict between Strong and Weak Distributors
Kim Hoi-pyung Editorial Writer The Munhwa Ilbo
The economics of President-elect Park Geun-hye is taking shape through metaphors, episodes, or straightforward rhetoric. One of them is the “thorn wedged under the nail” phrase, which refers to difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There have been many other attention-getting remarks by Park. They include: “Excessive concentration in the manufacturing sector is not desirable. Let’s work together to enhance service sector competitiveness.” “Let’s make sure that the Peter Pan Syndrome does not occur. An ascent to the ranks of middle-standing enterprises means the imposition of additional regulations and the elimination of support. Who would want to grow into a middle-standing enterprise?” “A man who has run a neighborhood bakery for over 30 years complained that he cannot compete with conglomerate-run franchise bakeries armed with (price competitiveness based on) mass production. The government has to protect the turf of the self-owned (bakeries).”
Whenever the president-elect makes a remark, the concerned industries react with a mixture of emotions. These days, local retailers are probably paying particularly strong attention to the policy intentions of the incoming government. A fierce campaign is underway to protect mom-and-pop stores and traditional markets. In the past year, the local retail industry has already undergone tremendous upheavals over regulations dictating operating hours and work days of large discount
store chains. The year-long controversy ended at the beginning of this year when the National Assembly passed a revised version of the Distribution Industry Development Act.
The law provides that super supermarkets must close two days each month on either Sundays or holidays. In addition, they have to close between midnight and 10 a.m. It represents a big loss for large-scale retailers. Contrary to its original purposes, however, the law has so far produced disappointing results. Sales at large discount chain stores have decreased; farmers and SMEs supplying to the retailers have suffered business losses; and non-regular workers at the large retailers have lost jobs. Yet, there is no clear sign of increased sales at mom-and-pop stores and traditional markets. The policy is strange, as it has mass-produced losers and disadvantaged the weak.
The fight for neighborhood commercial areas, which began in the retail sector, has spread to bakeries and restaurants. At issue is whether the bakery franchise Paris Baguette, franchise porridge restaurant Bonjuk, and restaurant franchises Won Grandmother Bossam and Nolbu should be classified as businesses suitable for SMEs. The bakery and restaurant franchises would certainly suffer a serious blow if the number of their stores or distance between stores is regulated. But those franchise chains should be treated differently from a pack of bakery chain stores run by second- and third-generation scions of Chaebol tycoons, which have drawn criticism for driving small entrepreneurs out of business.
Leading bakery franchise Tous les Jours is operated by CJ Foodville, a unit of CJ Group. Paris Baguette, however, is a home-grown brand, which has been built by a local company from scratch and made inroads in the overseas markets. Bonjuk has also grown from a small business into a middlestanding enterprise. Those successful franchise chains conform to the incoming government’s policy goal of promoting SME growth, but they have suddenly become a public enemy accused of encroaching upon petty merchants’ livelihoods.
In September 2009, the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness unveiled ambitious measures to support the growth of indigenous franchise companies. At that time, the government said it will foster 100 home-grown franchise brands with more than 1,000 outlets each by 2012. It also aimed to have at least three Korean companies among the world’s 100 largest franchise brands. The policy was aimed at growing Korean franchise giants, just like iconic U.S. brands, such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, which generate an astronomical amount of profits across the world annually.
Three years later, however, the government is now regulating the growth of the indigenous franchise chains. Lack of policy consistency is disappointing. The distribution industry creates new jobs through innovation. A large discount store chain hires about 1,000 to 1,200 persons annually, while a bakery franchise outlet recruits some 10 new employees every year. Leading bakery and restaurant franchises, such as Paris Baguette and Lotteria, have each created 30,000 jobs.
It is true that the rapid expansion of franchise bakery chains has certainly dealt a blow to mom-andpop bakeries. However, owners of franchise bakery outlets are also ordinary self-employed merchants. A restraint of trade against franchise outlets doesn’t necessarily guarantee the revival of mom-and-pop stores and traditional markets. Consumers flock to large discount chain stores and franchise outlets because of a wide range of products and services, pleasant environment and comparatively low prices. A habitual lifestyle doesn’t change easily. Mom-and-pop bakeries can achieve success only if they are able to offer differentiated products. In fact, there are many instances of domestic mom-and-pop bakeries winning a great success through a product differentiation strategy.
The more fundamental reason for the slump in our neighborhood commercial areas is that there are too many individual business owners. The proportion of the self-employed people in Korea’s workforce is 28.6 percent, compared with 7 percent for the United States and 11 percent for Japan. Those who are forced out of their job rush to start their own business and compete in limited neighborhood commercial areas. The ratio of Korean small merchants choosing to close within five years of operations is as high as 80 percent. As seen in the recent conflict between the so-called “cup rice stalls” in Seoul’s Noryangjin Station district and local small shop owners, it is not easy to clearly distinguish between the strong and weak players in the market. In many cases, policies designed to help the weak have inadvertently disadvantaged the weak. There are sufficient grounds to protect mom-and-pop bakeries. But the government’s policy measures to protect them should not stand in the way of innovation in the distribution industry.
Distributors and retailers are service providers and can grow into middle-standing enterprises. Above all, they can create new jobs. The conflicts surrounding the limited neighborhood business areas cannot be resolved in the near future. But there may be fundamental solutions. One of them is to gradually increase the number of quality jobs available for the vulnerable and underprivileged people who have no choice but to start their own business.
[ January 30, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- National Unity and Continuity in Policy - What after the Disastrous Population Decline in 2021? - Lesson from Jeff Gould - Let’s Break Away from Uniform Standards for Successful Life
National Unity and Continuity in Policy
Lee Hong-koo Adviser The JoongAng Ilbo
President-elect Park Geun-hye was sending an unmistakable message when she paid her respects to three presidents ― Syngman Rhee (Yi Seung-man), Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung ― at the National Cemetery on the morning after her election. By doing so, she wanted to draw public attention to national unity, which she stressed during her election campaign, and, at the same time, clearly signal that she would uphold the legacy of the government of the Republic of Korea.
While the pursuit of national unity represents an effort to overcome the social disunity that is at a dangerous level, it is necessary to maintain continuity in government policies that guarantee legitimacy and stability. But for an administration that is busy developing strategies and measures to deal with turbulent political developments inside and outside of the country, it will not be easy to enhance national unity and government continuity at the same time.
Disunity and disruption in Korean politics may seem larger than they really are. But we need to remember the examples of continuity and consistency that have been maintained in major government policies despite the several changes in administrations since the nation achieved democracy. One such example is the Korean National Community Unification Formula. All of the presidents in the democratic era so far ― Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak ― have maintained this formula since it was adopted in 1989 after a wide range of public
debates.
The unification formula, which acknowledged the existence of two states on the Korean peninsula and proposed the South and the North cooperate with each other and make peaceful efforts to restore a national community, elicited a favorable response from North Korea. It helped South and North Korea take a series of steps toward unification ― their simultaneous admission to the United Nations, the signing of the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement and the adoption of the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Although tension is escalating on the peninsula as North Korea persistently tries to possess nuclear weapons, a two-state solution for the Koreas looks more viable than the one for Israel and Palestine. The government of President Lee Myung-bak, who was elected by a margin of over 5 million votes, demonstrated both policy continuity and legitimacy by making painful efforts to follow up on the major policies of the preceding Roh Moo-hyun administration.
The Roh administration took groundbreaking actions, including a free trade agreement with the United States, construction of a naval base on Jeju Island and drafting a plan to relocate central government agencies from Seoul. Those policies were derived from a clear awareness that South Korean-U.S. relations were gaining greater political and economic importance, that the nation needed to strengthen its self-defense capacity, including the naval force, as the seas in East Asia were turning into an arena of hegemonic struggle among the global powers, and that the population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area was one of the greatest obstacles to the nation’s balanced development.
As its successor, the Lee administration paid a high price in maintaining and implementing the policies for free trade with the United States, a naval base on Jeju Island and making Sejong the new administrative town. As a result, the Lee administration contributed to maintaining continuity for the nation and the government. With one week to go until the end of its term in office, it is too early to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Lee administration’s achievements and failures. Nonetheless, we will have to maintain continuity on and push for the implementation of some of the policies it pursued.
First, Korea needs to institutionalize the links it developed with the Group of Seven nations and the BRICKS members, such as China, India and Brazil, when it hosted a G20 summit in Seoul and keep banding together with such middle powers as Canada and Australia. Though the Group of 20, which contributed greatly to putting an end to the global financial crisis, is now less vigorous than before, it
is expected to play a major role in sorting out the current competition among countries to devalue their currencies.
Second, it is necessary for Korea to continue to keep a high profile as one of the environmentallyminded nations that are leading international efforts to prevent global warming and climate change. In particular, our green growth project, aimed at both energy savings and the development of new and renewable energy, has been drawing keen attention from developing nations. It is not easy to come up to the expectations of the international community, but our comprehensive policies, which include economic and security affairs, should continue to maintain leadership in green growth.
What we need to keep in mind is that continuity in national policy contributes greatly to maintaining and promoting the legitimacy of government and national unity. But we have to guard against the kind of dogmatic continuity that is frequently found in a dictatorship or a monarchy. Therefore, the Park Geun-hye administration, which is set to be inaugurated next week, is called on to exercise its leadership in striking a balance between the need for continuity in national policy and the demand for creativity in responding to change.
[ February 18, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
What after the Disastrous Population Decline in 2021?
Park Hae-cheon BK21 Research Professor Hongik University
At the outset of 2002, a credit card ad featured a famous actress saying, “Please get rich, everyone.” At the time, fortune seekers were everywhere. In contrast, the number of people who wanted to become parents was falling.
Korean society was electrified that year, co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in May and June and electing the nation’s 16th president in December. But the vitality fell short of turning into optimism about the future as far as starting a family was concerned; the declining birth rate failed to turn around. In 2002, 490,000 births were recorded, dropping from 550,000 of the previous year. In 2005, when the prices of homes soared, it fell to 430,000 ― the lowest level ever.
What is interesting is that a large number of the new parents in the 2000s were born in 1970 and 1971, when more than one million babies arrived in each year, Korea’s second postwar baby boom. Thus, those baby boomers ironically opened an era of low birth rates. They belonged to a so-called “new generation,” a group of people born in the era of high growth, who were beneficiaries of mass culture. But many of the ladders for social upward mobility had been removed by the turn of the century when they turned 30. Non-regular employment and soaring housing prices had become the norm. For the generation, it was nearly impossible to join the middle
class without parental help. No wonder, they were reluctant to become parents.
When will the latent problem of low birth rates hit the entire society like a tsunami? It could be around 2021, when those born at the outset of the era of low birth rates will enter college and their parents are in their 50s. By this time, university enrollment will have declined sharply, pushing many of our institutions of higher education into a painful period of restructuring. Some renowned universities already started to prepare for it several years ago. Their core strategy for survival has been to accept as many high school graduates as possible, raising tuition fees and inviting foreign students to enroll. On top of that, they have introduced corporate-like “advanced education systems.”
In launching the new education systems, the universities said they were aiming at gaining a competitive edge in education. However, what they actually did was to copy much of the globalization strategies that domestic business conglomerates had adopted on the eve of the Asian financial crisis. Their strategies have worked well to a certain extent, making it possible for several private universities to save substantial amounts of money. But they have succeeded largely because middleclass parents of the first baby boomer generation paid for their children’s expensive college education out of their asset income or retirement savings.
Will these strategies work in 2021? By then, universities will have to worry about not only the declining freshman enrollments but also the university admission ratio of high school graduates. Many of those born in the 1970s, with little inheritance from their parents, are virtual tenants, the socalled “house poor” who have limited spending power because their money is tied up in property. By the time their children go to university, will they have become rich enough to pay their tuition fees?
What else would be affected by the tsunami-like population decline? It would probably be the 2022 presidential election. The 2012 census of Statistics Korea said that 6.82 million people were in their 20s, 8.01 million in their 30s, 8.53 million in their 40s, 7.42 million in their 50s, and 8.24 million in their 60s or older. By 2022, the demographics are expected to have changed to 6.5 million in their 20s, 6.8 million in their 30s, 7.89 million in their 40s, 8.45 million in their 50s, and 12.98 million in their 60s or older. It is highly likely that specific age groups will hold sway in the 2022 election as they did last year.
Nor is it very difficult to look ahead to the post-election impact of the disastrous population decline. It will undoubtedly shake up the consumer, labor and housing markets, in that order. As the literary critic Bok Do-hun puts it, are we approaching an era when “population replaces humans?” Eight years
are left until 2021. Far from enough is the time we have to prepare countermeasures.
[ Kyunghyang Shinmun, February 13, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Lesson from Jeff Gould
Chang Jin-young Patent Attorney Kangho Attorneys at Law
A total of 18.6 million people at Auction and 11.25 million people at GS Caltex in 2008, 35 million people at SK Communications in 2011, and 8.7 million people at KT in 2012. These are the numbers of individuals whose private data was exposed through major web portals in the past five years. Your resident registration number is permanent data used throughout your life; it can never be changed. So, when this information is leaked out or illegally obtained, you can suffer unimaginable damage through repeated duplication, no matter where you are.
The primary responsibility for such incidents undoubtedly lies with enterprises that indiscreetly collect customers’ private information and fail to protect the data. But another problem is no one is held accountable and punished properly when private information is exposed. In the past two years alone, personal data of 60 million people was exposed, producing large numbers of actual and potential victims. However, not a single individual has been punished or held responsible for compensation.
For example, last August, a court ruled the president of Nexon, an online game developer, was not guilty although the personal data of the company’s 13.2 million subscribers had been hacked in 2011. With no threat of punishment, enterprises continue to collect personal data of as many people as possible, without feeling the need to safeguard the information. As a result, similar incidents continue
to recur. The companies involved have been exempted from legal responsibility on the grounds that “there is no evidence that they failed to take all the technical or managerial measures necessary to keep customer data safe.” It is highly questionable whether those companies indeed fulfilled their responsibilities by fully mobilizing all technological know-how available. Even if it is assumed they did so, however, they could have expected incidents of data exposure through external hacking or internal leakage.
How can they avoid the responsibility for collecting and storing private data indiscreetly? Justice means that anyone who committed wrongdoings for which he/she can’t take responsibility should pay the price. But in our current legal system, when information is leaked, only the victim suffers a loss. Therefore, individuals have no choice but protect themselves on their own. Self-protection should start with knowing the rights you have and realizing the value of your information.
Jeff Gould, president of SafeGov, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that promotes Internet privacy and security, has suggested a list of basic rights that Internet users should remember. They include the right to know what the enterprise possessing your data knows about you, the right to limit your data that the enterprise possesses, the right to know whether you are the type of person that the enterprise pursues, and the right to stop the enterprise from pursuing you or targeting you for advertisement.
Our Constitution also acknowledges the right of citizens to control their personal information. Korean Internet users need to keep this fact in mind. Above all, to prevent enterprises from indiscreetly collecting information, individuals should stop treating their personal data with little regard. While surfing the Internet, we frequently run into ads which tempt us with free gifts and demand our personal data in return. If the gift for offering personal information is worth 100,000 won at the least, I would say it could be exchangeable. However, such a thing will never happen. If you provide your personal data for a sloppy gift or service worth a few thousand won, you lack qualifications as an information owner. Given the “big brother” enterprises monopolizing all kinds of information about individuals will continue to cause harm to people, there will be large numbers of victims from information leakage under the new government. It remains to be seen what brilliant measures will be introduced by the Ministry of Future, Creativity and Science, to be ambitiously inaugurated by the Park Geun-hye
government. Will our dream of living in a country free from private information exposure come true?
[ Hankook Ilbo, February 6, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Let’s Break Away from Uniform Standards for Successful Life
Moon So-young Culture Editor The Korea JoongAng Daily
The Lunar New Year holiday was relatively short this year. Mass media outlets carried stories about young people in their 20s and 30s, who used the shortened holiday period as an excuse not to return to their hometown. Their aim was to avoid conversations with their relatives, which would inevitably end up with nitpicking about their personal lives and comparisons to their cousins.
Shortly before the holiday, a job search portal site surveyed college students to find out what they hate to hear the most during their Lunar New Year visit at home. Most of the respondents said, “Soand-so has got a job in a good company.” Many young people say they are satisfied with the school they attend or their job, and constant comparisons to someone else by their relatives bruise their feelings. Koreans’ stress coming from being compared with others clearly shows in the buzzword, “Eomchina,” the combination of the first Korean words when speaking about the son of mother’s friend. According to the Dictionary of Popular Culture (2009), published by Hyunsil Publishing Co., the word Eomchina originated from a Webtoon in 2005. Many mothers continuously scold their children, comparing them with their friends’ sons (or daughters), saying, “My friend so-and-so’s son entered a top university,” or “My friend so-and-so’s daughter’s annual salary amounts to this much.” Hence the online comic cynically asked: “Is every son of mother’s friends a Superman-grade child?”
Lately, the meaning of Eomchina has slightly changed to refer to a person with perfect qualifications, including a prominent family and academic background and a good physical appearance. Yet, there is no change in its fundamental implication of a person who is deemed to be superior. Most buzzwords disappear in a couple of years. But this particular word has been firmly entrenched for more than seven years, its life span prolonged by Koreans’ die-hard habit of making comparisons to others.
Comparing oneself with others is universal, but Koreans have a particularly strong tendency. In a survey of positive emotions of people in 148 countries, conducted by U.S. pollster Gallup last year, Koreans ranked 97th. The rankings were probably influenced by some objective factors such as polarization of wealth and long working hours. But there was also the psychological factor that Koreans are rarely satisfied with their situation as they are constantly compared to others and also compare themselves with others. Such a strong sense of competition contributed greatly to the nation’s miraculous economic development after the Korean War, but it is making a lot of Koreans feel unhappy these days. What are the roots of this culture of obsessive comparison? Some people point to the capitalistic competition system and the success-oriented attitudes of Koreans. However, people in few Western countries with similar capitalist systems display such a deeply-ingrained obsession to compare themselves with others in their everyday life. This is not because they don’t pursue success but because their standards for success are diverse and wide-ranging. In such a mindset, it is difficult to say who is more capable or whose life is better.
On the other hand, Koreans have a uniform and narrow standard for success. A popular holiday joke goes that relatives’ nitpicking evolves in a perpetual cycle of “Are you doing well at school?” → “Aren’t you getting a job?” → “Aren’t you getting married?” → “Aren’t you going to have a baby?” → “Is your child doing well at school?” → “Isn’t your child getting a job?” This is not merely a joke but these questions are actually asked constantly. The joke exquisitely expresses the typically unified standard of Koreans for gauging success, which passes down from one generation to the next. The reason for this psyche may be attributed to the nation’s notorious education system, which is fixated on college admission, but its history goes back even deeper and longer. An exhibition currently under way at Gallery Hyundai in central Seoul, titled “Refined and Tasteful Lives of the Joseon Dynasty,” highlights a series of 10 paintings depicting major events in the life of a typical Joseon nobleman. Under the title “Pictures of a Man’s Ideal Life” (Pyeongsaengdo), the
paintings by renowned artist An Jung-sik (1861-1919) include a first birthday celebration, a wedding ceremony, passing the state examination for civil service, a procession to the post of official appointment, and the 60th wedding anniversary.
The National Museum of Korea also keeps several series of Joseon era paintings which depict the lives of noblemen, including one by the famous genre painter Kim Hong-do (1745-circa 1806). All these paintings basically describe similar events, differing only in the name and official title of the character. The strong centralized government and the public service examination system of the Confucian-oriented dynasty had many positive aspects, but also played a role in thoroughly unifying the standards and features of a successful life. It is about time that we changed this time-worn thinking, isn’t it? We are now living in a world where one can become a global star overnight with a YouTube video made with a brilliant idea. You must change first. Many people say they hate to hear others nitpicking about their personal affairs when being compared to others, and yet they dissolve into the loathsome practice and confine themselves in a sense of inferiority to judge others with the same yardstick. Thus the yoke of comparison keeps circulating and expanding. Let us break out of it.
[ JoongAng Sunday, No. 310, February 17, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Moved to Tears So Many Times in PyeongChang - President Park’s Welcome Vow on Cultural Renaissance - Seoulutions: A Dutch Architect’s Meaningful Experiment - ‘Granny’s Cooking’ the Last Thing Needed for Upgrading Korean Cuisine - The Plight of Rightists in Korean Cultural Community
Moved to Tears So Many Times in PyeongChang
Na Kyung-won Chairwoman, Organizing Committee The 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games
After running and falling, crying and laughing together, the “Special Olympics” ended. At the closing ceremony of the 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics World Winter Games, I suddenly realized how lucky I am. The moment my journey, which began four years ago at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in the United States, came to an end, many people crossed my mind ― athletes from different countries who created touching stories throughout the eight-day games and their families, organizers, referees, volunteers, officials from the Special Olympics International Committee (SOI), staff members of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee, and journalists who gave the event great exposure.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of them. I also deeply appreciate those who came to the sporting venues to cheer the athletes; the turnout was much greater than expected. I went around to the venues in Pyeongchang and Gangneung, in Gangwon Province, where eight types of sports took place, and attended cultural events. As such, those eight days were a hard and strenuous time for me, but now I miss those moments. I think that gold medalists and those awarded ribbons who did not become one of the top three finishers alike were all true champions. I experienced the indomitable human spirit and passion through those athletes who never gave up, finally crawling to reach the finish line. I was moved to tears so many times when I saw those athletes shedding tears of joy.
It was not only these sports events that were deeply touching. The cultural events, in which both people with intellectual disabilities and top artists without disabilities participated, also had a profound emotional resonance with the audience. As parts of the Unified Sports Experience program, international celebrities took part in the form of talent donation to team up with athletes with intellectual disabilities. Among them were Yao Ming, a retired Chinese professional basketball player; Zhang Ziyi, an internationally renowned Chinese actress; Apolo Anton Ohno, a U.S. Olympic gold medalist in short track speed skating; Kim Dong-seong, a South Korean Olympic short track champion; and Yang Hak-seon, the first South Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal.
The 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics provided an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of harmony and coexistence. The Special Olympics was epitomized in the PyeongChang Declaration, the result of the Global Development Summit. This summit of global leaders was the first of its kind in the history of the Special Olympics. It can be proudly said that the PyeongChang Declaration, joined by Aung San Suu Kyi, the symbol of democratization of Myanmar, is a further extension of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other declarations on the rights of the disabled in the past. With the subtitle “Hearing Voices, Making Changes,” the PyeongChang Declaration conveys a clear message that all should start by listening to people with intellectual disabilities. It has great implications for improvement on the rights of the intellectually disabled to the extent that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he would discuss related issues at the U.N. based on the declaration.
The international sporting event held in PyeongChang was the largest ever Special Olympics World Winter Games, with 3,000 athletes from 106 countries participating. For seven days of competitions, the sporting venues were attended by some 200,000 spectators, with an average daily turnout of 30,000. SOI Chairman Timothy Shriver cried out “The 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics, Hurray! Bravo!” at the closing ceremony held at the Yongpyong Dome on February 5. Peter Wheeler, Chief Strategic Properties, SOI, also said that in every aspect it was the most successful Special Olympics ever. I am convinced that PyeongChang will serve as a catalyst for further growth of the Special Olympics.
It is time to start over. We should make concerted efforts to help people with intellectual disabilities lead autonomous lives and create a better world for them by improving the physical abilities of the intellectually disabled through sports and by enhancing sports welfare for the disabled. Now is the
time for us to shoulder greater responsibilities for that cause. It is important to make changes in related policies. However, it is more important for us to voluntarily change our own perceptions toward the disabled than anything else. Interest in them should translate into action.
Koreans knew little about the Special Olympics before the PyeongChang games. However, things have changed. According to a recent survey, 71 percent of Koreans came to know what the Special Olympics are. Generally, sporting events are accompanied by talk of their economic effects. However, the Special Olympics put great emphasis on social effects. I hope that the PyeongChang Special Olympics will provide momentum for Koreans to have more consideration for not only the intellectually disabled but all minorities in our society.
[ Munhwa Ilbo, February 6, 2012 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
President Park’s Welcome Vow on Cultural Renaissance
Editorial The Hankook Ilbo
It is welcome news that President Park Geun-hye has identified cultural enrichment as one of her administration’s three main tasks for a new era of hope. In her inaugural address Park declared, “Together with the Korean people, my administration will usher in a cultural renaissance to change our lives for a new era.” Many former presidents have proclaimed to be a “culture-minded president” or vowed to make Korea a “cultural powerhouse.” However, no other inaugural address has highlighted culture so explicitly. It stands in sharp contrast to former president Lee Myung-bak, who did not mention “culture” at all when he took office five years ago. The economic situation remains more or less the same as then; improving the people’s livelihood is still the most urgent task. Nevertheless, culture should not be put on the back burner. History shows that the nation prospered and people were happy when culture flourished. A good example is the era of King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty. Needless to say, culture is even more important in the 21st century for an individual’s imagination to be creative. It is essential to the nation’s strategic industries. The new administration understands that without culture there is neither a future for the country nor a creative Korea.
Culture and economy cannot be separated. It is not just because culture meshes with advanced
technology to create wealth and jobs. If the economy is the body, then culture is the mind. For the nation and people to enjoy affluence and happiness, both the body and the mind need to be healthy. Culture is even more important than economy for welfare. This is why the new administration pledged to enhance the value of our spiritual culture as a resource to heal social conflicts and to have culture permeate the people’s daily life.
In order to usher in an era of cultural renaissance, our society needs a culture of sharing emotions and joys, a culture of transcending ideologies and customs, and a culture of high standard to instill pride among the people, as Park suggested. By expanding the scope of cultural appreciation and activities participated by the people, the cultural divide separating regions, generations and classes should be bridged.
To this end, the new administration is urged to increase government spending on culture to 2 percent of the state budget to support diverse creative activities positively and effectively. To ensure the cultural rights of the people are sustained and to promote the nation’s cultural advancement, the government is also urged to speed up the legislation of the “Basic Law on Culture,” as Park has promised. A cultural renaissance cannot be achieved in a day.
[ February 26, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Seoulutions: A Dutch Architect’s Meaningful Experiment
Kim Sung-hong Professor of Architecture and Urbanism University of Seoul
Dutch architect Bart Reuser of Next Architects, who spent a year at the University of Seoul, published a book upon his return to Amsterdam, titled “Seoulutions for Dutch Cities.” The pocket-sized book was well-received among scholars and experts in the Netherlands, a global architectural trendsetter. The author was even invited to give a special lecture at a Swiss school of architecture.
Reuser spent his year in Seoul as if he were a Seoulite, or more so in many ways. He lived in a traditional row house on the hills of Bukchon village, and his little son went to a kindergarten in the neighborhood. Being well prepared and quick on his feet, he had the whole city at his fingertips almost instantly. Before he came to Korea, he had read books about Seoul and the moment he arrived he bought a second-hand scooter to get around. He drove to the University of Seoul near Cheongnyangni and to factory sites on the outskirts where few Seoulites visit. In his large backpack that he always carried with him were a map and a notebook.
He was attracted to the Hongdae district, where low-rise houses and commercial areas were juxtaposed. You would think that an architect would be more interested in the works of other famous architects, or Bukchon where ancient palaces lie next to traditional Korean houses, or Teheran Boulevard in the Gangnam district crowded with high-rise buildings and apartment complexes, but he was more interested in a detached house that had an annexed dentist’s office, a café that occupied
the parking lot on the first floor of a multi-family house, a complex building with an office and a plot of garden on top, and an atelier built over a marketplace next to the railroad.
Why was he so enthralled by the ordinary landscape that lies outside the realm of architectural theory and critique? In his eyes, Seoul is not a city that can be reformed in an orderly fashion like the modern cities of the West. He felt that new architecture was possible in Seoul that was not feasible in Europe. After applying rules such as building-to-land ratio, floor area ratio, building line and diagonal plane control, the maximum allowable space for a building can be determined. Reuser called the rugged contours the silhouette, and he focused on the changes that took place within. In Korea, architects walk along legal boundaries to maximize their profits from projects, but the Dutch textbooks do not teach such things.
Interestingly enough, Koreans had always thought that such dynamic architecture was the subject for reprogramming and had benchmarked European cities for solutions. European cities are known for their strict urban development and architectural laws. For example, in the Netherlands it is not easy to change a flower shop into a café because, unlike in Korea, the zoning system is applied at the individual lot level not on a whole neighborhood. Even the shape of the roof, color, materials and the size of the windows are subject to regulations. Under such a system it is possible to preserve a city’s history but it is difficult to experiment with something new. The official who makes final decisions usually does not change the regulations for fear of public complaints. The Dutch architect is calling for a revision of the urban planning and architectural regulations by presenting the “Seoulutions.” It is ironic to think that an architect coming from a city recognized for its architecture would want to take lessons from Seoul. The Hongdae district covered in his book is a residential area that was created under a “land readjustment project” during the modernization and urbanization period. This is an urban planning program in which crooked lots are straightened out and some of the land is taken out to build roads and parks. It started at the end of the 1930s, and 40 percent of Seoul’s urbanized area was created in this manner. The low-rise houses are becoming old and will be subject to restoration in 20 years. New Seoulutions are in order for this low-growth period. German philosopher Max Weber (1864-1920) claimed in his book “The City” that there were no true cities to be found in Asia. How short-sighted he was. Of the 30 megacities worldwide today, 16 are in Asia, and this is reason enough why the European architects and urban planners are looking to the
region. What would Weber have said if he were alive today? Of all Asian cities, Seoul is a city of huge potential. When you take a step back and look inside, you can get a clearer view of things that you may have missed when you saw them every day. That is what Seoulutions are like.
[ JoongAng Ilbo, February 26, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
‘Granny’s Cooking’ the Last Thing Needed for Upgrading Korean Cuisine
Noh Jae-hyun Editorial Writer The JoongAng Ilbo
I wonder if all of you have been to your hometowns to visit your family during the New Year’s holiday, and if you did, you probably felt not much had changed. I am not just talking about the rest areas alongside the highways, but it surprises me how the restaurants crowded around the smaller routes all sell the same dishes: boiled native Korean chicken, rice and soup, ox bone and brisket soup, spicy fish soup, grilled eel, and so on. It is the same wherever you go, and the restaurant signs all say “authentic” or “grandma’s cooking.” Are these granny chefs immortal? The signs also have TV station logos on them to indicate that the restaurants have been featured in broadcasts, and it is harder to find ones that are without them. In most cases, if you stop and eat, you end up disappointed because of the mediocre quality and the aftertaste of too much seasoning. If you go out of your way to eat in a restaurant that is supposed to be famous, you have to hurriedly gulp down your food because you know there is a long queue of hungry people waiting outside. Thus, restaurants in Korea are divided into two groups ― a few places where you are treated to a relatively nice meal though in a hurry and all the others that are lucky to have you. Most Koreans in their middle age and up, including myself, go for quantity rather than quality when we eat. In
exchanging pleasantries Koreans ask each other, “Did you eat yet?” and this is traced back to the hungry past when being well meant being well-fed. There are other Korean sayings such as “What you eat stays with you” and “If you eat well enough, your cheeks will still be rosy when you die,” both of which stress filling up the empty stomach rather than satisfying the taste buds. The kinds of food people like very accurately reflect their past, therefore, even if they become better off that does not automatically upgrade their palate.
Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856), a famous Joseon Dynasty calligrapher, also known by his style name Chusa, constantly wrote to his wife during his days of exile in Jeju Island, begging like a child for expensive food such as brown croaker, fish eggs, beef, salted yellow corvina, sorghum candy, walnut and dried persimmon. Coming from a wealthy family and raised on good food, he knew about such delights. Supposedly only those who have tasted meat can appreciate its flavor.
The baby-boomer generation had it tough, I agree, but I cannot bear to hand down the same kind of unsophisticated eating culture to the next generation. Frankly speaking, few Koreans were familiar with dining out until the 1980s. Most people ate at home, cooking rice and side dishes. It was in the mid-1980s that the first overseas franchise restaurant landed in Korea. Food columnist Hwang Gyoik, who regularly appears on JTBC’s “Food Scandal,” said, “We have never really commercialized authentic local dishes.”
During the industrialization period, many people moved to cities from the countryside and when they could make both ends meet they craved the food they had had as children. That was what started the local food development. But the need came from the cities not from the rural areas. People did not have any prior experience, so they began copying their neighbors, selling boiled chicken or spicy fish soup like everyone else when they saw that those restaurants did well. It didn’t take long before mediocre eateries selling more or less the same food spread nationwide.
What needs to be done to escape from the cookie-cutter approach? Hwang points out that building a database of food ingredients is a priority task. It is important to organize information about the sources, characteristics and distribution channels of agro-fisheries products. This was already taken care of a few decades ago in Japan and Europe.
According to Yeom Dae-gyu, director of the food industry division at Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation, a small sum has been allocated for the first time this year for conducting a
nationwide survey to prepare for a database of food ingredients. We have the Restaurant Business Promotion Act enacted two years ago to thank for.
Experts are saying that globalizing Korean food is impossible without such a database. Kwon U-jung, a 33-year-old chef who is gaining fame for his fusion Korean restaurant in Itaewon, expressed his concern, saying, “Cooking is a part of culture, and if you continue to serve just Bibimbap, Japchae and Bulgogi for Korean dishes, then it will never gain the global recognition come 20 or 30 years.” It could still be as popular as Thai food, but not in the same league as French, Chinese, Japanese and Italian food.
Some Korean restaurants do not serve the food fresh but reheat what had been prepared and refrigerated beforehand. Kwon says that is the worst dish ever. Chinese food ranging from simple noodles to the Manchu Han Imperial Feast (Manhan quanxi) and Japanese dishes ranging from Donburi (rice bowl dish) to Kaiseki (multi-course dinner) are all popular and easy to prepare. Their cooking ecosystems are alive. Korean food has a long way to go. Kwon also mentioned that there aren’t enough professional Korean chefs, especially young ones.
What is the definition of globalization? Other people must be willing to taste Korean food, and chefs from other countries must be dying to cook dishes with Korean ingredients. Nationalistic approaches are not compatible with globalizing Korean food. It is easier to understand using the taekwondo analogy. The eight gold medals for the sport were evenly distributed among eight countries, including Korea, Spain, Turkey and Argentina, at the London Summer Olympics, and being a global sport it could remain an official Olympic sport. It is time for the restaurants to say goodbye to granny’s cooking. No more same menus, and yes to diversity covering a wide spectrum of dishes. Let’s revolutionize the Korean table which may be filled with plates of food but none that is alluring. We can no longer have our children stuff food in their mouths in a hurry without appreciating the taste.
[ February 14, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
The Plight of Rightists in Korean Cultural Community
Hong Chan-sik Senior Editorial Writer The Dong-a Ilbo
A sword suddenly slashes the throat of a mannequin of President Park Geun-hye. The mannequin wears a sash over its shoulder, on which is written “Hannara-dang,” or the Grand National Party, the former name of the ruling Saenuri Party. Blood spews out of the throat. It is a scene from the movie “Self Referential Traverse: Zeitgeist and Engagement,” a satire on two presidents ― Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. The Korea Media Rating Board gave the film a “restricted screening” rating on the grounds that “it has the high possibility of damaging human dignity and value as well as causing emotional harm to people.” If a film is given a “restricted screening” rating, it cannot be shown at commercial theaters. It is restricted to specially designated theaters, but there is not a single such theater in Korea. As to the rating of “Self Referential Traverse,” opposition lawmakers defended the film on the pretext of “freedom of expression” during the parliamentary inspections last October. Rep. Yoo Seung-hee, a member of the Democratic United Party, reprimanded the concerned officials at the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, saying, “The rating agency’s ruling gravely violates the constitutionally protected right to the freedom of expression.”
Rep. Yoon Gwan-seok, of the same party, lashed out at the rating agency for making a political judgment, saying that the ruling was “related with the future power of Park Geun-hye.” The issue is
likely to be expanded into a legal battle since the movie’s producer has filed a lawsuit to revoke the rating with the Seoul Administrative Court.
There has been a comparable case of chaos surrounding a creative work dealing with the subject of a politician. Lee Jun-seok, a member of the emergency committee of the Saenuri Party, uploaded a web comic titled “The Decapitation of Moon Jae-in” in May last year. In the comic based on the Chinese historical novel, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” there was a scene in which Moon is beheaded. Moon was then a permanent advisor to the Democratic United party and one of the party’s leading presidential contenders. Amid raging criticism from Netizens, Lee immediately uploaded a written apology and waited for Moon at an airport to apologize to him personally. The comic’s author also became the target of criticism. Professor Cho Guk of Seoul National University, who supported Moon in the presidential campaign, wrote on Twitter, “I am curious about the original author’s mental health.” In terms of the intensity of expression, the movie “Self Referential Traverse” appears to be more brutal. However, the opposition party defended the movie in the name of the freedom of expression, while it criticized the comic “The Decapitation of Moon Jae-in” for insulting an opposition leader. They applied a double standard on the freedom of expression.
A similar atmosphere is detected in the cultural community and the Internet space. I am raising this issue again because of the recent events surrounding the drama “The Miracle on the Han River.” The Minjung Theater Company had rehearsed the drama for more than a month ahead of its performances scheduled for February 14-24. The drama depicts Korea’s dynamic economic development spearheaded by three men ― President Park Chung-hee and two industrial leaders Lee Byung-chul and Chung Ju-young. It was to be performed at the Arco Arts Theater on Daehangno, Seoul, which is actually run by the government. However, a theatrical figure raised an objection, writing on the Facebook on January 28, “Is it right for a theater run by a public institution with taxpayer’s money to mount such a drama?” Critical comments inside and outside the theatrical community speculate that the drama was intended to glorify President Park Chung-hee before the inauguration of his daughter and President-elect Park Geun-hye. They compared the drama to “Songs of Flying Dragons” (Yongbi eocheon ga), an ancient epic cycle eulogizing the ancestors of the founding monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. Arco Arts Theater canceled its lease contract with the Minjung Theater Company.
It is rare for an artistic production to be rejected by a public cultural facility in this way. It may be said a similar incident occurred in October 1980 in the field of fine arts not in drama. A group of young artists who had critical views of social reality attempted to hold an exhibition titled “Reality and Statement” at the Fine Arts Hall operated by the Culture and Arts Promotion Foundation, a public entity affiliated with the then Ministry of Culture. The exhibition was banned, however. Artists sympathizing with pro-democracy movement were persecuted in the 1980s, but rightists face restrictions these days.
The curtain was not even raised for the controversial drama. It is irrational to berate it as a eulogy for Park Chung-hee on the basis of its title and production notes. The theater’s response also defies understanding. As controversy raged, the theater did its best to “avoid noises by all means,” a typical attitude of public institutions pursuing peace at any price. It cited “procedural error” as the reason for revocation, while the theatrical company insists it fulfilled all procedural requirements. The theater acknowledged it. It is obvious the blame should go to the theater.
All arguments aside, the drama invited hostility because it deals with Park Chung-hee. If a theatrical production from the liberal side had been driven into a similar situation, the opposition party would have fiercely attacked the government on the excuse of protecting the “freedom of expression.” The theatrical community should have expressed anger as the incident obviously infringed upon their rights to creative activity. However, it was none other than a theatrical insider who first raised the issue. There has been no voice to defend the drama from the theatrical world. The novelist and conservative frontrunner Yi Mun-yol recently said, “The conservative-toprogressive ratio is 50 to 50 among the general public, but in the cultural community, progressives take up as much as 98 percent.” He went on to deplore, “Writers suffer from disadvantage as soon as they disclose conservative color.”
The latest incident shows that the leftists in the cultural community became so powerful during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations that they now even threaten a government institution. It now requires a considerable amount of courage and resolution to live as rightists in the cultural community. It may be far tougher to take the conservative path of Kim Chi-ha than the liberal road of Gong Ji-young. I am scared of the after-effects of “monochromic culture” that would overwhelm the cultural community where diversity should be the paramount source of life.
[ February 13, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Impact of the Japanese Yen’s Depreciation on Korean Exports - Disparity in Household and Corporate Income Growth: Facts, Causes and Implications - The Dynamic Literature of Memory: Defining the Place of Hwang Sok-yong’s Novels
Impact of the Japanese Yen’s Depreciation on Korean Exports Chang Sang-shik (Austin Chang) Research Fellow
Hong Ji-sang Senior Researcher Institute for International Trade Korea International Trade Association
I. Recent Trends in Currency Rates 1. Won-Dollar Exchange Rate Since the second half of 2012, the Korean won’s exchange rate has rapidly fallen against the U.S. dollar. The (average) won-dollar exchange rate in January 2013 stood at 1,083 won, down 6.1 percent compared with 1,153 won at the end of 2011. Particularly, the won-dollar exchange rate plunged to 1,054.7 won on January 11, a steep 11 percent drop from 1,185.5 won in May 2012.
The won’s appreciation is due to increased liquidity from the quantitative easing of central banks in major economies, including the United States, Europe and Japan, and the Korean economy’s sound fundamentals. Thanks to Korea’s continuous current account surplus and robust fiscal health, the
nation’s sovereign rating rose, sharply increasing the inflow of foreign capital into its financial markets.
2. Trends in Major Currencies’ Exchange Rates The Japanese yen’s exchange rate has been rising since September 2012. The yen/dollar exchange
rate was 77.6 yen on September 14, 2012, and it rose 18.3 percent in the next five months to 91.8 yen on February 1, 2013. * Yen/dollar rate: 81.5 (October 31, 2012) → 77.7 (November 30, 2012) → 85.9 (December 30, 2012) → 91.8 (February 1, 2013)
The euro has maintained its strength against dollar. It has strengthened as the Eurozone came up with positive measures to cope with fiscal crisis. The European Central Bank (ECB)’s decision in 2012 to buy up national bonds without limits, the conclusion of negotiations on Greece’s bailout, and the launch of a unified regulatory agency were among major factors that helped ease the EU’s fiscal crisis.
Over the past one year, the won-dollar exchange rate fell 6.1 percent while the yen-dollar exchange rate rose 17.2 percent.
3. Indices of Major Currencies’ Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Korean won’s index of real effective exchange rate (REER) stood at 103.7 in December 2012, overvalued (appreciated) by 3.7 percent from 2010. The won has sharply appreciated against major currencies since October 2012. As of December 2012, yen and euro were undervalued (depreciated) by 6.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, compared with 2010.
II. Japan’s Monetary Policy and Past Examples
1. Japan’s Trade Policy and Exchange Rate Outlooks
The new Japanese government under Shinzo Abe is pushing for a weak yen for economic recovery. The Bank of Japan is being pressed to do more to end deflation and help attain sustained economic growth by implementing an inflation target system and indefinite asset purchase. * Inflation target system: The Bank of Japan targeted consumer inflation of less than 2 percent growth year-on-year and said it would continue monetary easing until the inflation rate reached 1 percent for the time being. * Indefinite asset purchase: The BOJ decided to purchase a total of 13 trillion yen worth of national bonds a month, including 2 trillion yen in long-term bonds and 10 trillion yen in short-term bonds, starting in 2014. The plan will follow the current purchasing plan, which is limited to 101 trillion yen by the end of 2013. With Abe applying pressure, the Bank of Japan is now more attuned to the government’s goals, which include a sustainable fiscal structure, more deregulation and structural reform, and popular trust in its fiscal operation. Thus, the yen’s weakness is expected to continue for the time being. Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi of BOJ hinted at the possibility of additional monetary easing if necessary. 2. Previous Examples of the Yen’s Depreciation
In the early 1990s, Japan expanded budget spending, lowered interest rates and depreciated its currency to bolster the country’s sagging economy. * Spending increase: The Japanese government poured 37.3 trillion yen (about 400 trillion won) between 1992 and 1994 into bolstering Japan’s moribund economy. * Reducing rediscount rate: The Bank of Japan lowered its benchmark interest rate from a recordhigh 6 percent to the 3 percent range. * Lifting the exchange rate through intervention in currency markets: BOJ pushed up the yen’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar to the 140 range
Despite its efforts, Tokyo failed to weaken its currency as the exchange rate returned to equilibrium. The weak yen policy peaked as consumer prices soared more than 3 percent while economic growth rate plunged to zero percent.
The effects of a weak yen are likely to be limited because of the recent changes in economic
conditions, such as higher energy imports caused by the curtailed nuclear power generation following the 2011 earthquake and nuclear catastrophe that hit Japan.
III. Korea and Japan in Fierce Competition for Exports 1. Export Similarity Index between Korea and Japan
Since the global financial crisis, the similarity between export products of Korea and Japan has intensified. The export similarity index (ESI) between the two countries rose from 0.456 in 2008 to 0.486 in 2011 before falling back a little to 0.481 in 2012 (January to November).
By item, petrochemicals, shipbuilding and transportation machinery showed the highest similarity indices. Other items whose index has risen recently include non-electric machinery, and metal and chemical products. The index of transportation machinery, including passenger cars, had been declining until 2009 (0.611), but has since risen back to 0.627 in 2012. Since 2010, the indices of non-electric machinery and chemical products have risen relatively steeply, and that of electric machinery has also continued to go up. * Non-electric machinery: turbines, pumps, bulldozers, refrigerators, washing machines, extruding equipment, molding equipment, oil hydraulic equipment, and others.
2. Major Competitive Export Products of Korea and Japan About half of Korea’s top 100 export products (on HS 6-digit basis) overlap with Japan’s top 100 export products, and these overlapping products account for more than 50 percent of Korea’s total exports. The number of overlapping items in the top 100 list has continued to increase. Apart from mobile phones, Korea’s mainstay exports, including petrochemicals, automobiles, LCD, ships and semiconductors, all compete directly against Japan.
IV. Effects of the Weak Yen on Korea’s Foreign Trade The yen’s weakness is expected to reduce both Korea’s exports and imports with Japan. Korean exporters are experiencing shipment declines, which is somewhat inevitable given the won-to-yen trend.
Korea depends heavily on Japan for key parts and materials. The weak yen lowers the unit price of imports from Japan. Nevertheless, the drop in the won-yen exchange rate is expected to reduce Korea’s import of Japanese parts and materials. This is because Korea’s falling exports reduce
demand for parts and materials. The rise in yen-denominated unit import prices will also likely reduce imports by Japanese businesses, resulting in fewer Korean exports to Japan. If the won-yen exchange rate falls 10 percent, Korea’s annual export to Japan would decline 4.1 percent, according to an estimate based on KITA’s macro model.
V. Survey of Export Companies on the Won’s Strength and the Yen’s Weakness
1. Effects of the Won’s Strength on Korean Exporters
About 43 percent of the survey respondents experienced difficulties in conducting business talks and contract signing because of the won’s strength, with 19 percent abandoning shipment plans due to worsening profitability. * Business talks and contract signing: About 43 percent experienced problems. - By industry, 45 percent of the light industrial firms. - By corporate size, 45 percent of small businesses and 40 percent of larger companies. * Dwindling orders: About 21 percent of the firms experienced declining orders from their buyers. - There was not much difference depending on the type of industry or corporate size. * Giving up shipment: 19 percent gave up shipments due to worsening profitability - By industry, firms engaged in primary industries showed the highest rate at 27 percent. - By corporate size, 20 percent of small businesses and 18 percent of larger counterparts.
Large companies were more positively coping with the won’s appreciation. * Considering raising export prices: 53 percent said “yes.” - There was not much difference depending on industry or corporate size. - More than half of the respondents were considering raising prices to offset the falling profitability, causing concerns about weakening price competitiveness of Korean exporters. * Sharpening competitiveness in product quality and design: 70 percent said “yes.” - Up to 81 percent of the large businesses made positive replies to this question, compared with 62 percent of the small firms, indicating the latter are experiencing greater difficulties enhancing their competitiveness in product quality. * Productivity increase and cost cuts: 89 percent said “yes.” - By industry, fewer firms engaged in primary industries, which face problems in productivity improvement, responded positively. - By corporate size, 96 percent of the large companies made positive responses, compared with 84 percent of the small firms, indicating the former are more positive in making efforts to cut costs. * Passing price-push burdens to domestic suppliers: 66 percent said “yes.” - Up to 74 percent of the large companies and 59 percent of the small firms made positive responses, suggesting the larger the businesses the greater their tendency to pass price burdens to suppliers. * Management of foreign exchange risks: 26 percent said “yes.” - About 33 percent of the large companies and 21 percent of the small enterprises answered positively, suggesting small firms are making insufficient efforts for foreign exchange risk management.
2. Effects of the Yen’s Weakness on Korean Exporters Nearly 30 percent of Korean export companies said they are waging “intense” competition with their Japanese counterparts in international markets, and 34 percent described their competition with Japanese rivals as “moderate.” * Level of competition with Japanese companies in overseas markets - Very intense 9 percent, intense 20 percent, moderate 34 percent, weak 19 percent, and none 18 percent * By markets, competition was most fierce in Japan, followed by China, ASEAN, North America and the EU. - Foreign markets where “intense” competition is under way: China 33 percent, ASEAN 27 percent, North America 27 percent, and the EU 27 percent
Up to 38 percent of respondents said Japanese exporters have already lowered their product prices or will do so soon in international markets, indicating the loss of Korean products’ price competitiveness has become reality to a considerable extent. Another 19 percent said they are anticipating similar moves by Japanese firms. About 45 percent and 41 percent of the surveyed said Japanese firms have lowered their export prices in China and ASEAN, respectively, showing Korean products’ price competitiveness has most notably weakened in these markets.
In coping with the yen’s weakness, small firms’ countermeasures were insufficient compared with those of large companies. In general, Korean exporters coped with the won’s strength more aggressively than they did toward the yen’s weakness, indicating they are finding it harder to cope with the weak yen. * Considering price cuts: Only 22 percent replied “yes,” suggesting the exporters have little room to pull down their product prices further amid the worsening profitability as a result of the won’s
strength. - A mere 25 percent of large companies and 20 percent of small firms said “yes” to this question, showing small businesses have relatively weaker ability to lower prices. * Enhancement of product competitiveness in quality and design: 54 percent said “yes.” - Nearly 64 percent of large enterprises and 46 percent of small companies made positive responses, indicating the larger the firms the more eager they are to improve product competitiveness. * Moving export destinations to emerging markets: 29 percent said “yes.” - Firms engaged in primary industries with high dependency ratios on Japanese markets proved to be most positive in diversifying their export markets away from Japan, with 50 percent of them replying “yes.” - Large firms, which have superior marketing capability than smaller firms, manifested more enthusiasm about diversifying export markets, with their respective ratio of “yes” replies standing at 34 percent versus 24 percent. * Large companies were seen to be more aggressive than their smaller counterparts in diversifying settlement currencies, relocating manufacturing, or enhancing overseas outsourcing.
In the meantime, the fiercer the Korean firms’ competition with their Japanese counterparts, the more aggressive responses they made to all questions related with the yen’s weakness. Nearly 36 percent of Korean exporters waging “very intense” competition with Japanese companies were considering cutting product prices, with a hefty 82 percent intent on enhancing their product competitiveness.
3. Policy Proposals with Respect to the Won’s Strength
Korean exporters said that policymakers should maintain stable exchange rates to help minimize the adverse effects of the won’s strength and the yen’s weakness. Almost six out of every 10 respondents (57 percent) proposed the government maintain exchange rates at a stable level, with another 29 percent calling for tax incentives and financial support for R&D and overseas marketing. Among other proposals were education, counseling and support on techniques of foreign exchange risk management (7 percent), and enhanced supply of information on exchange rate trends (5 percent)
VI. Conclusion and Policy Implications
1. Conclusion
Since the latter half of 2012, the won-dollar exchange rate has been steeply falling, while the yendollar rate has been on the rise since September 2012. In January this year, the won-dollar exchange rate stood at 1,083 won on average, down 6.1 percent from 1,152 won at the end of 2011. The yendollar exchange rate was 77.6 yen on September 14, 2012, and rose steadily in the ensuing months to reach 91.8 yen on February 1, 2013. The Korean won’s real effective exchange rate has also been appreciated since last October, remaining overvalued against the yen and other major currencies.
Korean and Japanese exporters are competing fiercely in overseas markets. The export similarity index (ESI) between Korean and Japanese companies has been on the rise, from 0.456 in 2008 to 0.481 in 2012. A survey of the two countries’ top 100 export products showed duplication in 49 items, reaffirming the intense competition between their main export products.
Another survey shows Korean exporters are experiencing considerable difficulty in overseas shipments. Small businesses are facing greater difficulties than large companies amid the won’s appreciation; the former are less capable of making proper responses to the currency problems than the latter.
<Difficulties in Securing Overseas Deals> - Experiencing problems in export negotiations and contract signing: 43 percent said “yes” (45 percent of small firms > 40 percent of large companies) - Abandoning shipment plans due to worsening profitability: 10 percent said “yes” (20 percent of small firms > 18 percent of large companies) <Coping with the Won’s Strength> - Enhancing quality and other product competitiveness: 70 percent said “yes” (81 percent of large companies > 62 percent of small firms) - Using currency risk management techniques: 26 percent said “yes” (33 percent of large companies > 21 percent of small firms) - Improving productivity and cutting costs: 89 percent said “yes” (96 percent of large companies > 84 percent of small firms) - Inducing suppliers to cut prices: 66 percent said “yes” (74 percent of large companies > 59 percent of small firms)
Korean exporters competed with their Japanese counterparts most intensely in China, ASEAN and
North America, with more than one-third of the survey respondents saying the Japanese exporters have already lowered their product prices or are planning to do so soon. About 38 percent of respondents said price cuts of Japanese products have already been carried out or are imminent, especially in China and ASEAN where price competitiveness is important, underscoring the loss of Korean exports’ price competitiveness. Most of the exporters have coped with the yen’s weakness more poorly than they have done with the won’s strength, indicating Korean companies are experiencing considerable difficulty because of the yen’s depreciation. Also, small firms showed poorer ability to cope with the yen’s weakness than their larger counterparts, indicating the former are in greater troubles. <Coping with the Yen’s Weakness> - Considering cutting prices: 22 percent said “yes” (25 percent of large companies > 20 percent of small firms) - Enhancing quality and other product competitiveness: 54 percent said “yes” (64 percent of large companies > 46 percent of small firms) - Diversifying export markets: 29 percent said “yes” (34 percent of large companies > 24 percent of small firms) - Diversifying settlement currencies: 28 percent said “yes” (32 percent of large companies > 25 percent of small firms)
2. Policy Implications
At a time when Korean and Japanese exporters are fiercely competing with each other, any steep appreciation of the Korean won or sharp depreciation of the Japanese yen would be expected to deal serious blows to Korean export companies.
As most exporters remain vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations, the government needs to manage exchange rates in a stable way, while working out diverse support measures for the private sector. Exporters are complaining more about the won’s steep appreciation than its revaluation itself, which, coupled with the yen’s weakness, causes even greater difficulties for local businesses.
To help local exporters manage their firms in more predictable ways, policymakers will need to keep exchange rates from fluctuating wildly and give the businesses sufficient time to cope with currency movements. Also, to help minimize damages to exporters, the government should provide them with
support for overseas marketing, tax breaks for R&D, and technical guidance for currency risk management.
Exporters, for their part, will have to work out cost-cutting and other measures to enhance their ability to cope with exchange rate movements. They should secure price competitiveness by innovating management and expanding global supply networks as well as improving product design and quality, and diversifying export markets. In addition, exporters will need to devise strategies to minimize damages caused by currency movements by diversifying settlement currencies and enhancing their management of foreign exchange risks.
[ Trade Focus, February 2013, published by the Institute for International Trade, Korea International Trade Association ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Disparity in Household and Corporate Income Growth: Facts, Causes and Implications Kang Du-yong Senior Research Fellow Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade
Intensifying Growth Imbalance Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s automobile and mobile phone industries have become global brands in recent years, but behind this remarkable performance of record-breaking profits has lurked an imbalance between household and corporate income growth. The disparity has increasingly widened, setting a new high every year since 2008.
Before the 1997 Asian financial crisis, corporate and household income grew almost at the same rate with 8.2 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. Beginning in 2000, however, the two sectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rates diverged. The annual corporate income growth rate doubled to 16.4 percent during 2000-2010, twice the rate of the previous years when the economy grew at a fast pace, while annual household income growth slowed to 2.4 percent (See Table 1).
The change in the ratio of corporate income to household income clearly shows a widening growth imbalance between the two sectors during the period from the 1997 crisis to 2002 and after 2007 (see Figure 1). With the growth imbalance worsening after 2007, the ratio of corporate income to household income began an unbroken series of annual new highs.
Unusual Imbalance by International Standards Compared to advanced countries, the imbalance is more pronounced in Korea. The imbalance in the United States and Japan increased with the advent of so-called neo-liberalism, but at a slower rate than in Korea (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). The highest ratios of the United States and Japan were around 1.5 times the average ratios of the previous period. On the other hand, the ratio of Korea in 2010 was more than three times the average ratio of the period before the 1997 currency crisis.
Comparing the growth gap between corporate income and household income during 2000-2010 among OECD countries, Korea shows the second largest gap after Hungary (see Figure 4).
Two Sides of the Same Coin The soaring corporate income and stagnant household income in Korea are like two sides of the same coin. The sharp increase in corporate income since 2000 is more attributable to an inadequate flow of income to households and the public sector than to the rise in the value-added of companies. Corporate income growth reached 14.9 percent during 2000-2006 and 18.6 percent during 2006-2010 but the value-added of companies grew a mere 5.4 percent during 2000-2006 and further slowed to 2.5 percent during 2006-2010. Meanwhile, the income flow into households or taxes/quasi-taxes from the value-added of companies in real terms has declined or had zero growth since 2006.
Considering that the growth of corporate income came at the expense of anemic household income growth, they are like two sides of the same coin. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the income issue comprehensively, not as separate trajectories of corporations and households.
The Biggest Imbalance among OECD Members Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s household income growth compared to the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic growth is the lowest among the OECD member countries (see Figure 5). The annual average growth rate of household income at 2.4 percent during 2000-2010 was only half of the national economic growth rate. Considering that the growth of household income (that is the disposable income of individuals) is the ultimate goal of a nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic growth, stagnant household income growth compared to national economic growth indicates the nation has low efficiency in creating welfare.
Factors like worsening terms of trade and changing proportion of government also affected the income growth disparity, but an analysis of the real causes revealed that the household-corporate imbalance was the dominant factor accounting for nearly 77 percent (see Table 3).
Consequences of Growth Imbalance The serious income growth imbalance between households and companies is believed to have brought about various problems for the entire economy, including sluggish domestic demand, poor growth sentiment and rising household debt.
* Slow domestic demand: The income growth imbalance between households and companies restrains household consumption and encourages corporate investment. However, the former overwhelms the latter, resulting in overall sluggish domestic demand. According to an empirical analysis, it is assumed that about 70 percent of the drop in the ratio of private domestic demand to private income (i.e. poor domestic demand) since 2000 is due to the spiraling ratio of household income to private disposable income (imbalance between households and companies). * Poor growth sentiment: During 2000-2010, Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s per capita economic growth rate far surpassed the OECD average based on convergence hypothesis. But its per capita household income growth didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even reach the OECD average (see Figure 6).
* Household debt problem: There is the high possibility that the sharp rise in household debt since 2000 is closely related to the poor household income. The reasoning of Raghuram Rajan, who argued that the U.S. household debt problem before the financial crisis had been fundamentally caused by weak household income, can also apply to the Korean economy. Unlike the United States, however, Korea experienced a rising propensity to consume in spite of overall sluggish demand. This implies that the rise in the propensity to consume and debt ratio is attributable to weakened household income instead of excessive consumption.
* Others: The stagnant household income is highly likely to have a negative impact on the potential growth rate of the economy by discouraging childbirth.
Causes of Growth Imbalance According to a factor analysis of the income growth disparity, laborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s declining share of the economy was the chief culprit, followed by taxes/quasi-taxes and low income among the self-employed (see Table 4).
Since the Asian currency crisis, laborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s share excluding the income of the self-employed has continued a sharp decline (see Figure 7). From 2000 to 2010, the real-term income growth of the selfemployed showed an extreme slump of -2.2 percent (see Table 5). The effective tax rates of households and companies have turned relatively favorable to companies since the currency crisis (see Figure 8).
In other words, the growth imbalance between households and companies is the result of weak flow of the value-added created by companies into households due to stagnant wage income, low income of the self-employed, and taxes that are relatively favorable to the corporate sector. These factors appear to have been significantly affected by the corporate-friendly policies since the currency crisis, which were further strengthened by the Lee Myung-bak administration, with households and the labor
and self-employed sectors relatively disadvantaged.
Policy Considerations Considering that the significant income growth imbalance between households and companies underscores major issues of the Korean economy, policy changes are needed to increase benefits for households, labor and the self-employed, who have been relatively neglected. More specifically, it is necessary to help increase household income through taxation, welfare, labor and industrial policies while suppressing the imbalance between households and companies.
The foremost priority of economic policy should be job creation and increasing wage income by minimizing non-regular jobs. Welfare support is also needed for low income households. Considering that a vast majority of self-employed small business owners are seniors with less education, who have little possibility of finding jobs elsewhere, it is necessary to strengthen policies related to their employment and welfare and expand the social safety net for them. Tax policies should be geared to the resolution of growth imbalance between households and companies. Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: This essay is a summary of the Issue Paper 2012-296 written under the same title by Kang Du-yong and Lee Sang-ho at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.
[ e-KIET Issues and Analysis, No. 549 (2013-02), February 5, 2013, published by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade ]
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The Dynamic Literature of Memory: Defining the Place of Hwang Sok-yong’s Novels Izumi Sato Professor of Japanese Literature Aoyama Gakuin University
This article comes from the shock I felt when I read “The Guest” by Hwang Sok-yong (Sonnim, 2001, translated into Japanese under the title Kyakujin, 2004). Starting with the description of a melancholy dream and ending with a boisterous shaman rite (gut), this novel admirably shows that literature can be the act of writing itself, like a kind of rite of exorcism. It also shows the suffering of human memory in the aftermath of the unbelievable violence that brought the Cold War to East Asia, and even teaches us the rhythm of ruminating over the past.
When it comes to memories, especially memories of war, Koreans commonly talk about their “erosion.” Like the writing carved in stone that is weathered under constant exposure to wind and rain, memories that were once so clear disappear over time. But using a natural image in this way to represent memory is both realistically and theoretically faulty.
Neither memory nor loss of memory is a natural process, nor do they take place regardless of the present. As Hwang Sok-yong’s work has shown us, the act of going over the past is not like foraging in the cupboard. Nor is it a simple reproduction of past facts. It is finding new meaning in things that were not apparent before, and the realization of things that had been overlooked. That is, going over the past is more closely related to the present than it is to the past. Those who perceive the present as a time of crisis remember the past in a new context, colored by a sense of disaster.
In this novel, memory as a fundamentally active process becomes the act of literary creation itself. People put themselves in a renovated framework and by doing so repeat themselves and are born anew. Recalling and remembering the past is the act of moving beyond dependency toward autonomy, and for this reason has its own history. In the work of Hwang Sok-yong, memory overlaps with literary history.
Renewal of Memories in the Midst of Modern History Hwang Sok-yong has often said that the Vietnam War was the catalyst for fundamental change in his
literary work. He participated in the war for over a year as a marine, starting in 1967. At the time, Koreans generally regarded the war to be a “crusade for freedom.” Even in the 1970s, the focus remained on the defeat of South Vietnam and it was taboo in a sense to view its downfall in an objective way. It was difficult to see the war as a fight for autonomous unification or liberation of the people.
But what Hwang saw in the Vietnam War was the people fighting to solve their own problems. This was important in light of the struggle for independent unification of the Korean nation. As he crouched down in the trenches with bombs falling around him, Hwang vowed that if he survived he would write about his own people and the issue of his people’s unification. For him, there was no difference between the Vietnam War and the Korean War.
It would have been a terrifying moment of realization. To a person standing outside history and looking at Asia in the wake of the Second World War, it may have been apparent that national division was forced on both Vietnam and Korea as part of the Cold War order, and that the issue of liberation was also a common denominator for the two countries. That is the right way to understand the case. But such correct perceptions do not move history. For such understanding only comes from clear observation, by placing oneself outside of one’s own history.
So what about those standing inside the maelstrom of history? In the actual war, the oppressed Korean soldiers were terribly cruel to the oppressed Vietnamese. When one is an actor in history rather than an observer, it is impossible to take a step back and view Vietnam without emotion. For a Korean, a great sense of guilt would have made any literary depiction of the Vietnam War difficult.
But after the Gwangju civil uprising in 1980, the United States was no longer seen as a democratic nation and Korean War ally but an imperialist nation that had given the go-ahead for the suppression of Gwangju citizens. Such a change in the perception of the United States was a radical event in the post-liberation history of Korea. Any memories grasped from the past by a person living in the present with a desperate sense of crisis and suffering become ideology. Under a revised historical context, people have been able to recall Vietnam and reached a level of self-realization through their experience of the Korean War and the April 19 students’ revolution of 1960. Such active recall is the act of endowing oneself with one’s own history, the act of being born again and again in a history that has been renewed. Such active creation of self has reached the point where it has gained the power to become deeply involved in the rewriting of official history. The scale of
civilian massacres in the Korean War is being revealed through such means as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The war crimes of the United States, which had always been an important ally, were sealed off for a long time under Cold War regulations, which shaped the social sentiment of the Korean people. In a place where the structure of confrontation holds sway and anyone who is not on “our side” is a communist, it is not possible to argue about anything where our side is concerned.
Revelation of the truth is not confined to the results of empirical research. It is the reorganization of social mentality and emotions, which had been thoroughly controlled by dichotomous thinking. Memory, being more than the representation of the past, is the representation of the social sensibilities of those living in the present. The renewal of memories is to tie together once again the sensibilities and subjectivity of those concerned and the act of self-creation. For this reason, new horizons are opened up in history, and in literary creation at the same time.
Memory, Where the Living and the Dead Meet In the context of world history, the Korean War signified the real start of the Cold War, and at the same time it was a local war that erupted on a small peninsula at the eastern end of the Eurasian continent. The villages on that little peninsula are filled with countless painful personal memories, the memory of killing the man who taught one how to fish in childhood, the memory of people who were sacrificed for their neighbors, and so on. What poetry is capable of turning the multi-layered depths of such incidents into a literary whole?
During the war, the front line moved back and forth, razing the land like a giant roller, and every time countless people were massacred or forced to flee their homes. The so-called “conspirators,” who changed every time the war situation changed, were sacrificed in massacres or revenge attacks. It is insufficient and superficial to explain such incidents with the dog-eat-dog argument. People remained silent and over time their memories grew increasingly divided. The nature of their silence was not something that could be fathomed with the passing of time. What is it that fills that time in memory?
As if to echo moves for democratization in Korea, democratization in Eastern Europe picked up speed. The connection between the two events may be hard to explain from the ideological perspective. What is certain is that the people’s capacity for action had reached the breakpoint. Before realizing this, people had taken the deep down rumblings of the post-World War II order as the sound of their own footsteps. (Of course, we know that later the world would agonize through the surge of
nationalism, and suffer through the unipolarism of the soul superpower, and become unhappy under the rule of globalized neo-liberalism.) It was inevitable that Hwang Sok-yong followed up “The Guest” with “Baridegi” (2007). Those who had awakened from the nightmare of the Cold War found themselves in yet another nightmare in the postmodern world. Does this mean disenchantment is a fantasy and meaningless? Not necessarily so. Whenever the movements of history began to be heard, people have always dreamed of their own special worlds. Therefore, the literature of memory retraces the dreams of those who died so pitiably and the promises they failed to keep, and in the imagination explores the potential meaning of events already past.
Around this time, Hwang Sok-yong made an unauthorized visit to North Korea. Unable to return home, he had to spend the next five years roaming between Germany, the United States and other countries. Thanks to this experience, the author was on the spot when the Berlin Wall, which had stood between West Germany and East Germany, came down and the wall of history opened up. One of the characters in “The Guest” says, “The time is now ripe.” The time had come and that which was closed was ready to be opened. The thing to be opened — is it the Berlin Wall or the demarcation line between South and North Korea? It is both and it is neither. The boundary between the living and the dead unlocks in “The Guest.” Johan, who died before his younger brother Joseph, appears every now and then, and so do those who have died at Johan’s hands. And they speak to us. The group visiting the museum of massacre, are they the living or the dead? “Uncle So-me” also saw in the landscape those who had died in great pain and suffering. As he works in the fields, he sees them on the other side passing by the levees in single file. The dead who had simply walked by before have begun to speak. They are met when they appear, and listened to when they speak. In this way, “The Guest” explicitly talks about the rhythm of ruminating over the past. It is not the reorganization of world politics that needs to be described as a literary event but the liberation of the memories of those who had sunk in the darkness and roamed around the earth’s surface. When the time is ripe and everything is ready, when the living and the dead turn their uncertain steps to gather in the same place, that’s when memory rises to the surface. When the living and the dead become each other’s speakers and listeners to create a meeting place of memory, this can be called a true literary incident.
Speaking in first person, the victims and the aggressors unload their memories of horrifying violence.
Though the war ended more than sixty years ago, it has not really ended. At the present time, such literature can only be dark. Despite this, running through “The Guest” is a liveliness that cannot be suppressed. Is this not because we have begun to respond to the act of remembering that has led to this novel, the memories that have begun to silently speak?
For historical experience to become literature, a so-called aesthetic distance is necessary. However, the distance between the war in the 1950s and the time the novel was written is not the kind of distance that allows for far-off, silent observation. For the author of “The Guest,” literary creation is probably no different to opening up the horizons of memory. Such incomparable literary aesthetics sends a thrill through the reader, especially one who works in the Japanese literary environment.
Of course, it is not that Japanese literature does not strive for aesthetic achievement. However, in the postmodern era it seems this goal has often been equated with the task of packaging the novel as a cultural product featuring the emotional expression suitable for any consuming country. It would be fortunate if this observation was incorrect, but we do not have any works that seem to bring together aesthetic completion and the dynamism of historical and political resistance. Moreover, our culture has not offered the opportunity to even realize this.
New Realism and the Idea of Community As the past is understood in a new context, people give themselves a history and are reinvented. Human beings are capable of change and liberate themselves, even in the wretchedness of history. This dynamic process is embodied in the novel by the dead man Ichiro (literally meaning “one man”) and the traces left by his name. Before the country’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Ichiro was a servant with no home and no name even. He was nothing. One day the new Japanese rulers showed up and gave him the Japanese name Ichiro, a name often used as an example on sample documents. But the name has an impact that is contrary to its anonymity. This name, symbolic of the loss of dignity and the ruled and an expression of homogeneity, remains to haunt him even after the defeat of the Japanese, proving that the traces of life remain in writing.
Does this mean his life is an insult? Having learned to read and write and understood the concepts of freedom and human rights, he becomes head of a local People’s Committee and changes his name to Park Il-rang, the Korean translation of the Japanese name, acknowledging that a name means exactly what the written characters say. The past does not disappear, and the events that happened before are contracted and passed on to the events that happen later. If this were not the case then there would be
no life, no time, no accumulation, and therefore no growth. As true liberation is taking the power of history, which can imbue dignity into the experience of being ruled, and making it one’s own, the fate of this character, who is destined to be thrown into the center of violence once again, is all the more bitter.
How is the tragedy portrayed in the novel? It is one event that cannot be divided, but how do all the different participants perceive the event and remember it?
Those who were present give witness to the event. In general terms, this is the structure of truth inherent in testimony. However, the epistemological schema of the observer and the observed carries the images of egotism and private possession. It is hard to say this scheme is useful in properly understanding the internal plurality of the event. It is impossible to be accompanied by another in that singular and indivisible place. Or rather, there is no such thing as a singular place where the multiple truths of an event can be witnessed. The left eye sees something different to the right eye. In this regard, the culture of liberal individualism concludes that “you” and “I” do not see the same thing. Therefore, one person cannot understand another. But in the culture of the public space, the fact that the left eye and the right eye see different things means that we can see the world from various angles. The collectiveness and communality of memory is based in the philosophy of inanimate objects, which is quite different to the epistemological way of seeing things objectively or subjectively. The Italian philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato saw Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism as the philosophy of “events,” a social philosophy that surpasses literary theory. In Lazzarato’s philosophy of events, perception is a collaborative effort among different people, the cooperation of different brains. Then what about memory? In some cases, stored memory disappears when the owner ceases to exist. But the work of remembering jointly carried out by different people allows events to be seen as events and facts as facts, opening up formerly unseen horizons of meaning and bringing change in the subjectivity of the participants. It is such change that allows an event to be described as an event. In “The Guest,” all these participants meet on the same plane, the dead speaking in first person to be answered by their fellow dead, while the assailant who killed the dead also speaks in first person. On this plane, each person becomes an increasingly larger number of listeners and speakers. In this way, the latent meaning hidden in the event is drawn out, and each time the event is understood in a new framework, and through joint efforts the meaning of the event is increasingly internalized.
For the Christians in Korean society, the wealthy landowners who were able to come into contact with Western ideology faster than anyone else, land liberalization meant forfeiting their land to an ignorant and illiterate member of the servant class. Moreover, the servants were able to speak with their former masters on an equal level. It was as if heaven and earth had been turned upside down, and the “reds,” who had brought such disorder, had to be pulled up by the roots. But in the mouth of another person, being literate could be addressed in this way: “Think about it. Ichiro, that guy you all looked down on and called an idiot — he can read now. He can write his own name, Park Il-rang. This is what liberation is all about.” On the other hand, the dichotomy of seeing all things in terms of “the knights of the crusade” or “the devil” also realizes that human beings can change in history, and thus the two ways of thinking act together in structuring an event.
The living and the dead gather together and take turns telling stories. From the concept of orthodox realist literature, first there is the whole objective fact and then the parts which are arranged within the whole in appropriate positions according to their importance. But for the event dealt with in this novel, such a method of construction has no meaning. The individual memories that come together do not take place according to the way the event unfolded or at any specific points in time that constitute part of the event. The series of testimonies are all disconnected and mixed up in order, some parts seen in detail and others very sketchy, as if in a dream. Indeed, their logic is similar to that of dreams. The realism of this novel is not about reproducing the event but actively rearranging incidents by drawing out the latent meaning hidden in it.
Fortunately, the Sincheon civilian massacre has been verified. But even now some parts of the event cannot be included in written history. While truth has to come from the inside, the experiences of the dead remain separate. To write this work would have called for an overhaul of realism. The important point is that the method of doing so is rooted in people’s imagination and communal culture. The 12chapter composition is said to reflect the structure of the shaman sonnim gut (meaning “rites for appeasing the guest”) of Hwanghae Province. Is the author trying to say that we must follow the culture of the dead if we are to give them a voice and appease their souls? This world-class work of literature will be continuously translated and spread to other parts of the world, but its inherent impossibility of translation is what fundamentally supports this literature of memory.
I am not proficient in the Korean language and my knowledge of Korean popular culture is limited. Inevitably my focus will be a little off center, which is regrettable. But perhaps that is one of the significant things about world literature. I once saw an outdoor folk performance dealing with the
April 3 Jeju Uprising of 1948 and the Gwangju civil uprising of 1980. The pale-faced dead who were massacred, slowly raised their bodies little by little, venting their bitterness and grievances, finally rising in a powerful dance finale that captivated the audience. The distance between the living and the dead was of a different nature. I was astounded. The realism of “The Guest” is often described as “magical.” But the unspoken memories of the dead, in a culture where they live together with the memories of a hidden tragedy, are the true reality of life and emotion and a very real world. In dreams where the living and the dead come together, people’s memories are not trapped inside the brain of an individual but open up a communal space where these memories are spoken and heard. It is not something that happens under prearranged goals such as reconciliation or forgiveness. It is an endlessly open process where the previously non-existent memories emerge, growing increasingly insistent and real, creating a new context. This communal space is always in the process of moving and for this reason there is no whole. A new realism is created along with a new communal ideology.
Revolution in Life and Culture with Hwang Sok-yong’s Literature The “Gwangju community” that Hwang Sok-young speaks of is astonishingly beautiful. Gwangju was indeed the scene of a battle and of a massacre. But Hwang calls those five days of autonomy a “revolution” because of the things the people experienced and the incidents that occurred in that time. It was a revolution from the beginning. So many of his friends and acquaintances were killed that the author says he felt like a lone survivor. The experience of such despair was one and the same as the experience of dizzying delight that occurred at the same time.
We think that despair and delight are two different things. We do not yet possess the language to talk about them as one. But we know that within such despair an incomparably beautiful sense of community emerges. Rebecca Solnit is an unusual journalist who focuses on the hope found in such despair, and her book “A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Despair” (2009) was widely read in Japan after the earthquake of March 2011. In an ordered society emotions are endlessly controlled and optimized. But when that state is suddenly broken and the world seems devoid of meaning, our codified emotions are released. Our anger is reflected in the anger of another, and we have the strongest regret possible, love and hope in their rosiest tints, and anger in its raw exposed form. In the community that forms in the midst of crisis we look for the strength of our feelings in those of another and ultimately find the dignity that we had given up in everyday life.
If culture is understood as the outcome of artistic talent or skill, then it is no different to a complete cultural product. It is a finished product to which nothing can be added and is only waiting to be consumed. But if we stop thinking about culture as a product to be bought and sold then a world of riches opens up. In the creation of culture, people become the main actor in a set situation and express themselves within it and, by repeating this process, are born anew. Revolution comes when the path to this process is opened. If politics is not organized as culture is organized, then any political revolution will remain a false revolution. I cannot properly imagine such a culture or such a revolution. Nevertheless, in the process of creating a new work of literature, the process leading up to Hwang Sok-yong’s “The Guest” for example, the discovery of a deep sense of community can be foreseen. If we look back at some of Hwang’s other works, “The Shadow of Arms” (Mugi-ui geuneul, 1985) and “The Old Garden” (Oraedoen jeongwon, 2000) feature many people and many different points in time. In one war there are Korean soldiers, urban guerrillas at the frontline of liberation, generals who fought against the Americans in the Vietnam War, fugitive soldiers, and Vietnamese peddlers, who speak in both the first person and third person. The event is composed of their surface languages and hidden motives, their changing ways of thinking and their bold actions.
The couple who experienced a short period of happiness, live not in their past memories but in different places altogether. As they live through such different experiences that must make them forget each other, they also lose the chance to ever meet again. Their lives are played out on the same canvas but are so different that they do not overlap in time. As people live in such disparate time and space they do not ever have the chance to form a harmonious whole. The different languages within the one novel, and the organization of the stories that come out one after another, open up the possibility of a new life.
Constellations of World Literature: In the Place of the North Star I read “The Guest” in its Japanese translation. What do you actually read in a translated work? It is inevitable that the focus is a little off. If there is still meaning in reading a work a little out of focus, when a work of literature is taken out of its original sphere and read in another, what is that meaning? World literature today does not mean the same thing it used to; it is not reading “the classics” for edification or all the works that come under the heading of a major language such as English literature, French literature, or German literature. Rather, world literature today is the voice that does not fit into
the framework, the voice of resistance against the system of a modern nation under the international world order and the violence of the postmodern world order. For this reason, Korean War literature, literature on the April 3 massacre, and literature that remembers the violence associated with founding the nation does not deal with the nation founding as a task already completed but as a continuum.
In that respect, I find myself assuming that such literature is not a national literature. This makes me think of the British-American critic Richard Moulton, who defined world literature as the literature of the world seen from each individual’s national viewpoint. That means seeing world literature from the perspective of one’s own national literature, like the Japanese looking up into the night sky where the constellations of world literature are spread out. In the sky over another country, the constellations take on a different arrangement.
Hwang Sok-young said that deep down inside he knew that the Vietnam War was the Korean War, a war that could be repeated or remembered in another place. The memory of a woman of the colonial period whose husband had been dragged away by the Japanese military, the memory of a son being dragged into the Vietnam War in the 1960s by the Americans — in the memory of the woman in “Song of the Harquebus” by Korean-Japanese poet Heo Nam-gi, the American empire of the Vietnam War and the imperial Japan of the past overlap. In Hwang’s “The Shadow of Arms,” Japan is depicted with reserve. Working for a measly dollar a day, Korean soldiers spend their pay on radios, TVs and refrigerators at the American PX. All the goods are made in Japan — Japanese readers learn that Japan used the “special demand” arising from the Vietnam War as leverage for rapid economic growth. With just a little thought, it is easy to go back a bit further and remember that Japan also prospered through the Korean War. In the Vietnamese who were fighting for their liberation, Hwang also saw the Korean War, but in another sense, in Japan the Vietnam War was also the Korean War. In the collective social memory of Japan, however, the “Chosen War” (Korean War) does not exist. All the Japanese remember is the “Chosen premium.” Whenever war occurred in another country, Japan fed off the deaths there, but this is remembered not as disgrace but a prelude to economic prosperity. We are probably still living in that fantasy.
Kim Seok-beom, who has consistently taken the April 3 massacre as his literary motif, frequently uses the phrase “the murder of memory, the suicide of memory.” The residents of Jeju Island, branded as “reds,” were first silenced with ruthless violence, and then in order to survive they were forced to erase their memories. This was partly because their experiences, the things they had seen, were beyond words. People kept to themselves the things they could not say, the things that were impossible
to express. What does it take to create such a state of oblivion? What does it mean to be a person who, on the one hand, tries so hard not to remember something, and on the other, forgets what that something was in the first place?
East Asia is not a geographic entity but an arena of hegemony formed under the colonial system of imperialist Japan, where American as a Cold War superpower and native influence overlap on top of this mistaken legacy. Although the United States saw East Asia as an integrated strategic space, Japan, under the framework of Japan-U.S. relations, confined it to its own world and rejected the idea of East Asia. For this reason, Japan was not able to understand its position in America’s Cold War strategies. For me, this accounts for the current poverty in Japanese literature.
On the blank map of East Asia, the thematique of memory and forgetfulness is established, the rhythm of rumination that leads up to “The Guest” is employed, and the pain of “the murder of memory, the suicide of memory” is positioned. Or, Taiwanese literature dealing with the period of White Terror — for example, Lan Bozhou’s short story “Song of the Covered Wagon” (Huang mache zhi ge), the original of the movie “A City of Sadness”(Beiqing chengshi) — can be pasted on the map as well. In “The Guest,” the “freedom crusaders” land in Korea and one day in October 1950, the go-ahead is given for massacre across the 38th parallel, and on the same day the Kuomintang pulled the trigger on the White Terror in Taiwan. In both countries, thousands of the dead were left lying on the ground, where they were discarded. Do not the memories of dreams dreamt by the dead, now lying in the ground, constitute another map of the Cold War in East Asia?
Japan, which has changed disgrace to prosperity on top of these maps, is like a huge void. Oblivion itself is forgotten and the chance to think over the past has been lost. What kind of person is a human being who has lost his/her memory? Hwang Sok-yong’s works have renewed themselves by thinking back over the past, and for this reason, they represent the North Star among the constellations of world literature in the night sky.
[ Quarterly Creation and Criticism (Changjak-gwa Bipyeong), Winter 2012, Changbi Publishers, Inc. ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Why the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Go Player Retires at 30 and Moves to the United States
Why the World’s Top Go Player Retires at 30 and Moves to the United States
Eom Min-yong Staff Reporter The Kyunghyang Shinmun
“I will end my career at its height, rather than being nudged aside to vanish.” Lee Se-dol, the 30-yearold professional go player nicknamed the “Mighty Stone” (Sseondol), is skillful at catching his opponent off guard. Such wondrous moves stem from his insightful readings of circumstances. This time around, the young Baduk master has taken a critical move on which he will stake his own career: to spread the board game worldwide.
Today, go is being promoted abroad, but mostly by players who have lost their competitive edge. This is not the case with Lee Se-dol. He is the indisputable No. 1 player in the world and most people assume that this 9p (9-dan) holder is capable of staying on top for another four or five years. Yet, the seemingly invincible player has announced he would definitely retire and move overseas within three years.
Lee Se-dol’s Dream for Tomorrow On the night of February 4, I met Lee at a spicy fish stew restaurant near the Korea Baduk Association in Sangwangsimni, eastern Seoul. He had previously hinted at his plan to retire a few times. So I wanted to know the real reason he wants to step back. Given that his reading of go moves is so deep
and profound, I assumed his way of getting along with life might be different from others. However, he gave me an unexpected response: “I want to leave when I’m still at the pinnacle of my career.” And then, after a shot of Soju, he added in his clear, high-pitched voice, “I will be able to play like I do right now for the next few years. But what can I do after that? I won’t be a fighter any longer if I can’t play in the way I want.” After his second shot, Lee said he thought that aside from playing go, the next best thing he can do is to promote it. He believes that if he helps spread the game, it will make a difference even in a country where it is least known. “I want to make go as popular as chess,” he said. As a preparatory step to his global venture, he recently launched the “go9dan.com,” a browser-based go website as a co-planner and developer with a Korean-American IT entrepreneur. The website operates on a U.S.-based server with its corporate headquarters located in Hong Kong. It is focused on expanding go in English-speaking countries. A number of Korean and Chinese star players are already participating in high-profile matches, drawing attention from the international go community. Among them are Lee Chang-ho, Park Young-hun, Kim Ji-seok, Park Jeong-hwan, Kong Jie, Xie He, Chen Yaoye and Fan Tingyu, as well as Lee himself.
Lee earned more than 700 million won (US$630,000) in prize money in 2012 after making more than 800 million won in 2011. Regardless of the outcome, he collects about 7 million won per game. Considering Lee Seung-yeop, arguably the greatest batter in Korean baseball history, earned 800 million won last year, Lee is one of the highest paid athletes in Korea. Even Lee Chang-ho, also a 9p, who is said to be past his prime, earns 200 to 300 million won annually. Lee Se-dol would be able to make about this much at the least for the next 10 years, if he continues to play in tournaments.
Therefore, it is far from easy for Lee to decide to retire and move to another country. Earning money by operating a go website is a far-fetched dream. Participating in domestic tournaments or even international championships will be no less difficult while living overseas. He will be lucky if he can just make both ends meet. “If I just want to make more money, I would probably choose to go to China, where go is booming now. I’ve been tempted many times, actually. But as Korea’s No. 1 player, I can’t go to China.”
Thus, he has chosen the United States as the base for his venture. Go has been already distributed somewhat through Chinese immigrants in the United States. Lee’s strategic move is on his assumption that the U.S. government and people will become increasingly interested in China and they will regard
go as a game that represents Chinese culture.
Lee Se-dol’s View of Today But there is another reason behind Lee’s decision to go to the United Stats: his family. Lee’s wife, Kim Hyeon-jin, and six-year-old daughter, Hae-rim, moved to Canada last August for Hae-rim’s education. They will be abroad at least three to four years. Lee misses his daughter so much. “My daughter is going to school in Canada, but there is no go market there yet. But the United States is different. It has greater potential.”
He had not laughed much through several rounds of drinks. But as soon as he started talking about his daughter, he suddenly had a big grin. He even said he decided to quit smoking for his daughter, an apple of his eye. On February 6, two days after we met, he left for Canada and the day before he left, he stopped smoking. Lee is known as a heavy smoker in the go community. From time to time, while playing a neck-to-neck game in an international tournament, he was seen rushing out to take a puff. “Drinking gives me a headache sometimes, but I’ve never thought of smoking as harmful,” Lee said frequently. He has even said that the cigarette he smoked upon defeating China’s Gu Li at the Samsung Cup Final, held at the end of last year, was “worth a million dollars.” He said to me, “I will give a scoop. I will never smoke after today. I’m leaving for Canada the day after tomorrow to spend several days with Hae-rim. She hates cigarette smoke. I don’t want to smoke behind my little daughter’s back.” Then he drained another glass of Soju.
When the mood ripened over drinks, Lee made critical comments on the Korean go community. Particularly, he pointed out problems of the Baduk-dojang, or the go schools, which often discourage students’ creativity. As they are engrossed in moneymaking, he said, the schools hurriedly push young students into the professional world. As a result, the students end up emulating their teachers, losing opportunities to cultivate their creative potential. “In the past, Mr. Lee Chang-ho was encouraged to explore and find out what the infinite world of go was all about by himself. So was I,” Lee said. “These days, however, the training system heavily focuses on rote learning and memorization, like studying for university entrance exams. Such a system can produce players who will sustain to a certain extent, but they will never be able to reign as the world’s top-class players.”
Lee went on that parents should share the blame for the lamentable situation. Teachers know best how to train their students, but parents do not trust them but push them into placing the foremost emphasis on short-term achievements rather than the learning process. Lee also criticized the lowered entry barriers to the professional go world, saying that the competition ratio in this year’s final qualification tournaments was less than 10 to 1. Lee said: “College graduates, who had received all kinds of private education since kindergarten, spending tens of millions of won, and then studied as hard as they could to graduate from university, have to compete against hundreds of other applicants to get a job at a company with some reputation. But in the world of go today, anybody can become a professional player. You just need to hang in for a while. We will even see a professional player debuting in his 30s sometime soon. The days are long gone when competition for entering the professional go world was said to be as tough as passing the bar examination. We cannot overwhelm China in this way.” He knitted his brows, gulping down another glass of Soju.
Lee also discussed the brighter sides of the Korean go scene. He named Kim Ji-seok, 8-dan, as his potential successor to become the nation’s top player. Although his passionate style is considered a weakness, Lee said, Kim will soon become a world champion once he learns how to control the pace of his game. When he turns 25 next year, Lee predicted that Kim will also start playing more impressive games, just as he did himself five years ago. But he also expressed no low expectations for other gifted young players like Shin Jin-seo, Shin Min-jun and Byeon Sang-il. He advised them to develop their personal color rather than copy the styles of their seniors.
His Reminiscences of the Past After almost finishing our spicy stew cooked with three king crabs and some rough fish, I stood up thinking we had had enough drinks and I had gotten enough answers. Lee did not seem finished, though. As I was about to say good-bye, he shouted, “Let’s have one more drink.” Thus we moved to a beer bar nearby, where we talked about more casual subjects.
We first talked about drinking. Lee loves drinking, often finishing up seven or eight bottles of Soju at a stretch. Whenever his juniors ask him to go for a drink, he usually joins them. There was an episode in which he passed out while drinking with Chinese go player Kong Jie. In December 2011, he got an invitation from Gu Li to go for a drink after participating in the Sport Accord World Mind Games
held in Beijing. Kong, a poor drinker, and his wife, a heavy drinker, were also invited. The drinking bout first started with Gu, Kong’s wife and Lee, who were later joined by Kong. Eventually, both Kong and Lee blacked out.
This whole story can be summed up as follows: both Kong and his wife mischievously offered a series of drinks to Lee, who eventually passed out. As a result, the final victor was Gu Li, a wellknown heavy drinker. Lee said he often drinks beer and Kaoliangjiu with Gu. When he drinks only Kaoliangjiu with Gu, he can hold out, but when they drink Kaoliangjiu with beer, Gu is too much for him. As far as drinking beer goes, he thinks, Gu is the heaviest drinker he has ever met.
Among Korean go players, retired player Kim Hui-jung is the heaviest drinker, Lee said. Rumors have it that Kim spent his entire prize money on drinking on the final day of tournaments and defeated one of the heaviest drinkers in China with bomb shots. “I met Mr. Kim some time ago. I felt sad when I found he could not drink as much as he did in the past,” Lee said. We also chatted about billiards, one of Lee’s hobbies. I told him that I assumed he should not turn his attention away from go in order to retain his No. l ranking. But he waved his hand dismissively and said, “Professional go players, including me, definitely know how to have fun. Like others, we play billiards, porker games, and the Hawtu card game.” His billiard average run around 150, Lee regards Lee Jae-ung, 7-dan, with his average run over 500, as the best among Korean go professionals. As befitting a fighter, Lee seemed to be good at playing various games. He said he prefers games in which the result is decided right after betting like Seotta, a kind of Korean card game, to those that require thinking, like Hoola.
Lee considered the round of 32 at the Samsung Cup last year the most memorable game he has ever played. At the match, he played against China’s Gu Li. Lee revealed that contrary to what was known in Korea, Gu had an advantage over Lee in that game. Gu was in a position that enabled him to decide whether to win the game or to finish in a tie. Lee said he looks forward to playing an incredible match that would remain in the history of go. For him, it will be a match in which he makes no mistakes, his opponent also does his best, and the result is decided by a half point. He hopes Gu Li will be his opponent in his dream game.
Lee also talked about the proposed 10-match game with Gu Li, saying he is willing to play the matches if the prize money is large enough. He said he would be satisfied with 1.5 billion won (US$1.3 million) in prize money. He explained that the loser’s reputation would suffer severely
enough to force him to leave the international go scene, so the amount couldn’t be too much. He also acknowledged criticism directed at him, saying, “I made lots of mistakes in the past. But from now on, I’m going to do many good things for other people. However, I’ll still speak out when people are doing wrong.”
When Lee downed a glass of beer after signing an autograph for a waitress who recognized him, he did not seem to be the world’s top charismatic go player any longer. Instead, he looked more like a lonely man who had to endure nerve-wracking battles and painful defeats on his own and thus found an evening of drinking with someone delightful. The evening wore on.
[ February 9, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Understanding the North Korean Hereditary Rule through the Arirang Festival - On Perspectives on Gisaeng
Understanding the North Korean Hereditary Rule through the Arirang Festival
Lee Woo-young Professor University of North Korean Studies
“North Korea: A Theater State” By Kwon Heon-ik and Chung Byung-ho, Changbi Publishers, 340 pages, 20,000 won North Korea’s third nuclear test has caused a lot of noise on the peninsula and elsewhere. Critics suggest that current policies toward North Korea have failed. In viewing this debacle the first word that comes to mind is repetition. The latest provocation is somewhat like a déjà vu because of two very similar incidents before. The problem is that this repetition is not limited to nuclear tests.
Since the territorial division and the Korean War, there have been a series of conflicts large and small between the two Koreas. Yet, reunification and inter-Korean relations have always been rife with biases stemming from ideological differences. To say that there is an inadequate depth and breadth of understanding on these topics is an understatement. The recent book by Kwon and Chung is especially welcome amid the ongoing stagnant inter-Korean relations and the dearth of research on North Korea. “North Korea: A Theater State” (Geukjang Gukga Bukhan) is the Korean version of “North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics” published last year in the United States. The fact that two anthropologists have delved into the power dynamics in the isolated communist state is quite
interesting and welcome, especially for fostering diversity in scholarly research. The authors have broadened the academic spectrum on North Korean studies, which had been dominated by political scientists.
Dr. Kwon Heon-ik (Heonik Kwon), a senior research fellow at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, is internationally known for his work on Siberia in the former Soviet Union and the Vietnamese rituals and remembrance of the dead. His co-author Dr. Chung Byung-ho of the Department of Anthropology, Hanyang University, has been active in the issues of social adaptation of North Korean defectors and humanitarian aid for the North. True to his focus on actual field experience and real meaningful action, he has visited the communist country several times.
As the title of the Korean version suggests, the objective of this book is to explain the current reality of the North Korean power dynamics from the “theater state” framework. The authors search for reasons why charisma, which is in essence a personal trait, continues to be influential across three generations in North Korea. The theater state theory is especially relevant in this context because it proposes that orthodoxy and authority are reproduced not by physical coercion but through symbolism and rites. The theory was first developed by the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, and later applied in North Korea analysis by the Japanese historian Haruki Wada.
The authors believe that the theater state concept is the most useful framework for explaining the political phenomena in North Korea. They also make references to the charisma theory developed by the German sociologist Max Weber, which is rather obvious in the title of the English version. Other concepts such as partisan state and family state are introduced to describe how Kim Il-sung and the partisans came to monopolize power in the years following 1967. They shed special light on the statewide spectacles and the artistic and cultural activities that unfolded as Kim Il-sung built his power structure.
The authors find the most prominent example of such state-organized spectacles in the Arirang Festival. Each year more than 100,000 students, women, soldiers and others who have gone through intensive training are mobilized as citizen-actors to perform at this grandiose event. The Arirang Festival is the epitome of the marriage between art and politics. The performers in this festival are engaged in making a fictitious image of North Korea tangible. Although it was first staged in 2002, its roots can be found in the political arts movement that first emerged in the early 1970s. Preceding the festival were revolutionary operas such as “Sea of Blood” (Pibada) and “The Flower
Girl.” The tragic lives of the heroes and heroines in these works were meant to symbolize the fate of the Korean people as a whole. The state is a single united organism and an extended family of people, who are led to embrace loyalty to the state as they would toward their ancestors. The guerilla warfare led by Kim Il-sung in the 1930s is another legacy that lives on, forever replicated and re-experienced. The partisan state, in the process, has become an artistic basis for the theater state, which in turn became the ruling paradigm. Kwon and Chung point out that upon Kim Il-sung’s death, the charisma he wielded as an individual was transformed into a hereditary legacy that could be handed down to his successors, and the transition was done in a very effective manner. This does not mean that the authors are acknowledging the legitimacy of the North Korean regime. They actually criticize the regime for its nuclear ambitions and for putting the military before the people’s survival, which they describe as “cruel and unethical economic policies.”
They also assert that the contrived use of art in politics has clear limitations and call upon the new North Korean government to act with greater modesty with regard to its historical trajectory. As a first step, they suggest that North Korean leaders stop their political strategizing as a theater state. This is because, the authors explain, the legitimacy of the North Korean regime must also gain acceptance from other societies in order to have real meaning in today’s world where diverse views and positions coexist.
While the authors make some very valid points, there are some aspects that are not adequately explored in the book. For example, the book does not provide a concrete discussion on the sufferings of the North Korean people. Moreover, the state-organized projects that the authors have used to support their hypothesis — such as the tombs of revolutionary heroes and the revolutionary operas — could have been discussed further to highlight their differences.
Another issue that I have found in the book is the disparity between the theoretical analysis of the North Korean power structure and the assessment of the reality in the country. For instance, the authors criticize South Korea for “being oblivious to the hardships of their compatriots across the Demilitarized Zone and forgetting the ethics of communal existence all the while asserting that Koreans in both the South and the North are one people.” I sympathize somewhat with this assessment, but most South Korean readers, who have seen the obsession of North Korean leadership with keeping its power by the use of nuclear threat, may feel confused.
Nevertheless, this book is sure to serve as a healthy stimulant to scholars dedicated to the study of North Korea. Those who have engaged in stereotypical discussions on North Korea will find this book a cause for self-reflection. It is a great read for those wishing to understand the mechanism that keeps North Korea â&#x20AC;&#x201D; arguably the most mysterious country in the world â&#x20AC;&#x201D; running.
[ JoongAng Ilbo, February 16, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
On Perspectives on Gisaeng
Jang Jung-il Novelist
“A Critical Biography of Yi Maechang” By Kim Jun-hyeong, Hanibook, 364 pages, 16,000 won This 2013 book titled “Yi Maechang Pyeongjeon” in Korean, written by Kim Jun-hyeong and published by Hanibook, is a critical biography of the famous poet and Gisaeng named Yi Maechang (1573-1610), who lived in the mid-Joseon Dynasty.
To be frank, I have already written a review of this book for another publication, but a short summary of the main ideas in the book is warranted here. First, the author points out that when people talk about Gisaeng (female entertainers who were also, more often than not, prostitutes), such as Hwang Jinyi and Yi Maechang, they often limit their discussion to the elevated spiritual achievements of their literary works and their high sense of virtue without looking into the institutionalized Gisaeng system that restricted the lives of these women. This, I believe, is a very important assessment. The historical reinstatement of Joseon’s lower class — the monks, the commoners, the slaves and the Gisaeng — when unaccompanied by an intelligent critique of the institutions and customs of the times leaves little more than a hero story to pacify the average person. The author avoids making this typical mistake by maintaining throughout his narrative that Maechang was a Gisaeng, a fact that does not change.
The second point, which is also the conclusion of the book, is connected to the first point. The generally accepted view on Maechang jip (The Book of Poetry by Maechang) is that the collection is a body of love songs dedicated to the 42-year-old poet Yu Hui-gyeong whom Maechang met at the tender age of 14. The author bluntly refutes this view, asserting that not a single poem in the collection is a clear reference to Maechang’s relationship with the poet. He argues that the conventional view is tainted with the Neo-Confucian agenda of creating a poet-Gisaeng who is virtuous and chaste.
Despite the fact that the nature of the Gisaeng system and the conditions defining the lives of these women did not allow them to be faithful and virtuous, Maechang has time and again been touted as a talented poet who was, more importantly, a Gisaeng of virtue. This, the author critiques, is an effort to recapture Maechang in a narrative of being a virtuous woman, which served as a patriarchal instrument of oppression often used in the Joseon Dynasty. In writing the previous book review, I made several references to Minato Kawamura’s book “Gisaeng: Malhaneun Kkot” (which in English means “Gisaeng: The Talking Flower”) published by Sodam Publishers in 2002. Kawamura argued that the five centuries of the Joseon Dynasty remained more or less peaceful because of the “Gisaeng politics” and “Gisaeng diplomacy.” He claimed that Joseon built a “brothel state” that could not be sustained without the female entertainers, and strongly emphasized that the Gisaeng had a duty to the state to provide sexual services.
After I had finished writing the first review, however, a professor of history proposed a different view during a private conversation, saying that while the Gisaeng were considered a property of the state, they did not have a duty to provide sexual services to the governors of provinces. Quite to the contrary, the laws of the Joseon Dynasty stipulated that the governors who violated the gwangi — the Gisaeng who belonged to the local public offices — be punished. As soon as I returned home with this new information I opened the “Na-neun Gisaeng-ida” (I am a Gisaeng) by Jeong Byeong-cheol (Munhakdongnae Publishing Group, 2007).
And there it was plain and clear! Although the book offered little information on the Gisaeng system, it mentioned a number of times how the law strictly forbade the local governor from having intimate relationships with Gisaeng belonging to his office. Yet, what I found infuriating was the following passage: “The law, however, did not protect those vulnerable women. Whether for survival or by coercion, the Gisaeng were often subject to sexual services. In principle, they were only allowed to provide minor assistance nothing too intimate in nature, but the reality was that they had to provide
services beyond that.â&#x20AC;?
In the rigid Confucian society where the least physical contact with a man was considered loss of virtue for a woman, the laws and the customs applied to Gisaeng were different. Speaking of double standards, perhaps I could compare the nominees for high government offices who are so bent on justifying the double sets of standards and laws in their favor, to the loyal citizens of the Joseon Dynasty. On a more serious note, I hope to see more academic research done on the organized Gisaeng system.
[ The Hankyoreh, February 23, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Kim Seok-chul: “Korea’s southern coast has heavenly beauty with high tourism potential.” - Pat Gaines: “Korean market remains reliable despite North Korean nuclear threat.”
Kim Seok-chul: “Korea’s southern coast has heavenly beauty with high tourism potential.”
Chung Jae-suk Senior Culture Writer The JoongAng Ilbo
Just a week before the inauguration of the Park Geun-hye administration, Professor Kim Seok-chul of Myongji University remains less than optimistic about how state affairs are being conducted. The renowned 70-year-old urban designer and architect believes that it fails to inspire hope. He says he is concerned that the incoming government’s ambitious plan to establish a future-oriented creative economy may not bear fruit. For the past decades, he has been working on urban and architectural projects with successive administrations. The late President Park Chung-hee was one of his highprofile clients.
Leading Urban Designer and Architect
The interview with Professor Kim took place after his return from an overseas stay. He says he finds the winter in Korea so dreadful that he usually takes a vacation to a warmer southern country. When asked his ideas about what direction the new government should take, he says he has three proposals, which he hopes will be the strategy for the prosperity on the Korean peninsula in the 21st century. However, he waves off suggestions about entering politics, saying with a grin that he does not “wish to play in the waste basket.”
Q. You have great smiles. Your pictures tend to capture you smiling nicely.
A. I smile often, which means that I have not got what was said. From birth I have a hearing problem in the left ear. If I sleep on the right-hand side, the whole world seems to be in silence. Q. You made a proposal called the “Yellow Sea Urban Community” to inter-link China, Russia and Japan with the Korean peninsula at the center. You also told President Lee Myung-bak that you would readily take an opportunity to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to persuade him to support your proposal. If allowed, would you like to meet Kim to discuss your plan?
A. I would meet with anybody as long as it helps find a way for all of us in the region to thrive in the future. I would certainly do so as long as I still have my life in my hands. During the past decade Kim has fought gastric cancer and esophageal cancer. After a major operation last year he set his own record of receiving radiation therapy 66 times. He fought hard. Normally a cancer patient is not advised to undergo more than 30 radiation treatments. On the wall he keeps the lead apron that he used to wear to shield himself during the treatments. He says that a gaze at the lead apron often leads to meditative moments. “I was a fierce kid. Nobody in the neighborhood dared to call me by my nickname.”
Q. You received a number of large-scale government orders under the Park Chung-hee government.
A. It was when I worked for maestro Kim Swoo-geun as an apprentice that I was told to make a master plan to develop Yeouido. A few years later President Park called me again to create a master plan for Seoul National University’s Gwanak Campus. He also wanted me to design his own residence at his birthplace in Gumi. One day I was called in to the presidential office to discuss the plan. On the desk President Park had mapped out an architectural outline on a piece of paper. He had written “attention” on it, saying that “to start construction as a part of the Saemaul job creation project.” Then the assassination of President Park happened on October 26, 1979.
Q. As an expert on national land development, what do you think about the late President Park Chung-hee’s achievements?
A. The construction of expressways by the Park Chung-hee government meant the advent of the era
of urban development in Korea. It was indeed a historic move after 600 years of inactivity since King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty more or less established the nation`s northern territorial boundaries. Under the Park Chung-hee government, the nation was transformed from an agrarian society into an industrial one. The rural settlements underwent fast urbanization to grow into massive metropolitan areas. In this process many became victims of unsustainable land development and hurried policy enforcement. I felt betrayed by President Park when he implemented the October Yushin Reform in 1972 (which consolidated Park`s dictatorial regime). In the aftermath of the reform those who remained in power were only the leader and his under-qualified subordinates.
Q. The late President Park`s eldest daughter Park Geun-hye was elected to lead the country.
A. I think the new president is fully aware of such problems. As her father established footholds of urbanization across the nation, it is time for her to complete the national development plan launched by her father by building up the urban links into mega-regions. The Korean people, I think, also expect to see some policy linkages and consistency between the two Parks.
Q. What are the three policy suggestions of yours for the new president? A. These are what I call the “Prosperous Korean Peninsula Project.” I have envisioned this idea for a long time. First, it is to build up a mega-region that encompasses the southern coastal area of the Korean peninsula and the southwestern regions of the Japanese archipelago. I am going to announce the detailed plan in April this year on the “Urban Review” magazine published by Tsinghua University in China. This project will help strengthen the ties between Gyeongsang and Jeolla, Korea’s two southern regions, which have often experienced antagonistic rivalries. The key idea of this project is to create an “Asian Cruise Route” that includes beautiful Korean coastal cities such as Pohang, Ulsan, Busan, Masan, Changwon, Jinhae and Yeosu to further extend it to Fukuoka, Japan. With a new airport to be constructed on Gadeok Island in Busan, the area will play a hub role for this tourism project. Tourism is the key to the thriving future economy. Gadeok Island has perfect soil to become a transportation hub with an airport and a cruise port. I once toured the southern coastal areas with the former president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch. He asked me, “Why do you leave this paradise hidden from the rest of the world?” Q. According to your plan, Korea’s southern coastal region is going to be the “treasure island” for the future development of the peninsula.
A. I hope the Park Geun-hye government will implement this ambitious plan during its five years. My second policy proposal involves engagement with multinational petroleum corporations. The Primorsky Krai region of Russia, adjacent to China and North Korea, is being compared to the oil riches of the Middle East. An enormous amount of natural gas is reserved in the area, by a gigantic lake where the geological strata remain unearthed after 30,000 years of accumulation through the Old Stone Age, the New Stone Age and the Bronze Age. A plan to set up petrochemical facilities there will also capitalize on the potential Chinese food supplies and Russian expertise on sea transportation. Foreign capital should not miss such a chance to invest in such a lucrative project.
Q. This project is too big for you to carry out personally. You certainly need strong international networks.
A. I am thinking about discussing the idea with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. I will continue to sharpen the details of the project through consultations with geologists and environmental specialists until Mr. Ban retires to his homeland and looks for his next tasks. My third proposal is about the construction of a canal that cross-cuts the Korean peninsula, from the North Korean city of Wonsan in the East Coast to Incheon in the West Sea. I have been pitching this idea since President Lee Myung-bak was still a presidential candidate. A river is a river, and a canal is a canal. Floating a ship on the river does not make it a canal. My suggestion was to resolve both the energy and water problems by constructing a canal which cross-cuts the peninsula from the east to the west. A combined heat and power plant can be built, using natural gas carried through underground pipes. The construction of a natural gas-based power plant would take only two years, compared to the 20 years to build a nuclear plant and 10 years for a coal power plant. The natural gas plant would immediately address energy shortages in the North. Q. The movie titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architecture 101â&#x20AC;? was a big hit in Korea in 2012. It portrayed a love story of an architect who designs a house for his lost first love.
A. I am 70 years old and I have been working for the Archiban Partners office for the past four decades. Even though I am popularly known as an architect, most of my designs were about urban planning rather than housing. Yet I recently designed a house for the first time in more than 20 years. I designed the house, in Seogyo-dong, for my wife. I think this could be one of my architectural masterpieces. Embodying aesthetic quality to the maximum possible extent, this house will set a model for the efforts to revitalize small old houses in the corners of a big city. There are quite a few small land plots where shabby old houses sit for decades in Seoul. When I was a teenager I wanted
to study mathematical philosophy. Probably that is why my house designs obviously feature fierce imaginations inspired by architectural mechanics. For me architecture is mathematics, philosophy and ethics.
Q. From the perspective of a mathematical philosopher, what do you think about the designs of the Seoul City Hall building and the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, both of which have become highly controversial?
A. The new Seoul City Hall looks like a makeshift because of the incongruity with the neighboring old building. The lack of harmony between the two buildings reminds me of the choreography of the “Dance of the Handicapped” by the late master Gong Ok-jin. As for the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, I call the Iraq-born British architect Zaha Hadid a terrorist. She modernized the space around the Dongdaemun Stadium. She does whatever it takes to hold fast to her own design style. In fact I am very interested in the Dongdaemun (East Gate). I think it has greater traditional beauty and features higher aesthetic achievement than Namdaemum (South Gate) to become the symbol of Seoul. If I were given a chance, I would like to make the Dongdaemun area a novel center of the capital by making the roads coming from Jongno and Uljiro meet at an underground intersection. Q. There is a saying that “an architect cannot afford to practice with his work. He either fails or succeeds.” What is your greatest success and greatest failure?
A. When a fire broke out at the Seoul Arts Center Opera House, our design office was swamped with calls. But I was sure that there would be no casualties. Lately I went to hear a concert at the Seoul Arts Center Music Hall. I was satisfied with the building’s world-class spatial structure. Seoul Arts Center Art Gallery, however, does not fully function as an exhibition hall. It rather looks like a soundproof partition. I feel sorry about the Art Gallery design.
Q. How do you want to be remembered?
A. I would like to be remembered as the top urban planner of the 20th century, a space matrix designer, and the architect who imbued beauty and meaning to spatial structure. I may be the only person who has been equally involved in both architecture and urban planning. I like riding helicopters. My first ride was when I worked for the Yeouido project. The rides give me thrills. Looking down upon the human community from above is far more exciting than reading books. Human community is a living creature. Creative economy for the future is no other than designing spatial infrastructure for a better
human life. ◆ Professor Kim Seok-chul was born in Busan in 1943. Graduated from Kyunggi High School, he studied architecture at Seoul National University. After an apprenticeship under Kim Jung-up and Kim Swoo-geun, he founded Seok Chul Kim & Archiban Partners in 1972. He taught at Myongji University and was a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, China. His design and urban planning projects include the Yeouido development master plan, Seoul National University’s Gwanak Campus, the Seoul Arts Center, the Korean Pavilion at the Biennale Garden in Venice, the Zahara Housing Complex in Kuwait, and the Creative Housing City in Beijing. He authored a number of books, including “Humanities of Architecture and City,” “From Yeouido to the Four Rivers,” “Future Projects for the Korean Peninsula 1, 2,” and “Millennium Architecture: Millennium City.”
[ February 16, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Pat Gaines: “Korean market remains reliable despite North Korean nuclear threat.”
Lee Ga-hyeok Staff Reporter The JoongAng Ilbo
“People say AMCHAM Korea is now 60 years old but I would say it is 60 years young. I believe the excellent partnership between Korea and the United States will continue to play a key role for the prosperity of the two countries,” says Pat Gaines, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea.
AMCHAM Celebrates its 60th Year in Korea
Established in 1953, AMCHAM Korea celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. AMCHAM Korea Chairman and Boeing Korea President Pat Gaines expects that the year 2013 will be a milestone to consolidate the U.S.-Korea bilateral ties. Gaines points out that in 2013 new administrations are being launched in both countries, and on March 15, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement marks the first anniversary of its enforcement. In an interview on March 4 at his Boeing Korea office in central Seoul, he frequently used the word “phenomenal” when describing Korea’s history of economic development and the ever strengthening Korea-U.S. alliance.
Gaines was appointed Boeing Korea president in 2010 and was elected AMCHAM Korea chairman in May 2011. Having attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he was stationed in Korea
for two months in 1983 as an aviation officer.
Q. AMCHAM Korea celebrates the 60th anniversary, or hwangap, this year. How do you feel about its history in Korea? A. Korea’s economic development is phenomenal. I am proud and grateful that AMCHAM has played an important role in this economic miracle. AMCHAM member companies have created tens of thousands of jobs in Korea and AMCHAM Korea has launched the Partners for the Future Foundation to help the underprivileged. Donations to the foundation by AMCHAM members so far have reached US$12 million for 2,000 scholarships to Korean students. AMCHAM’s efforts for Korea’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program also bore fruit in 2008 to help facilitate exchange between the two countries. The Korea-U.S. FTA has been a remarkable achievement as well, sending the message to the world, as well as U.S. businesses, that Korea offers a business-friendly environment for foreign investors.
Q. What do you expect from the new Park Geun-hye government?
A. I sympathize with the president`s vision to emphasize innovation and R&D. To make the economy more innovative and creative, first, there should be sufficient rewards to further promote innovative activities, and intellectual property rights should be protected. Second, pro-innovation policies should be carefully fine-tuned and open to feedback and inputs from stakeholders in a transparent manner. I hope organizations such as the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness and the KOTRA`s Office of the Foreign Investment Ombudsman would continue to function in the new government to facilitate foreign corporate activities in Korea.
Q. Many Korean young people hope to work for American companies. A. In April we are going to organize “Innovation Camps.” CEOs of leading U.S. companies in Korea will give speeches and provide internships and employment information to Korean students. Many U.S. companies operating in Korea have internship programs to discover and nurture talented young Koreans. We are also considering organizing a job fair. Q. It’s been a year since the Korea-U.S. FTA entered into force.
A. AMCHAM Korea has long been emphasizing the importance of the Korea-U.S. FTA as a golden
standard because it is a truly living agreement. The two countries have successfully built up a process to address any issue through 19 specialized committees. Those who demand a renegotiation of the agreement may not be aware of this mechanism.
Q. North Korea recently conducted its third nuclear test.
A. It was very disappointing but relations between Korea and the United States are based on a strong military alliance as well as cooperative political understanding. And the FTA provides strong bilateral economic ties. Investors have demonstrated their confidence in the Korean market. Many of my friends were far more concerned at the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010 (than the third nuclear test). Most of us expect the situation would resolve.
Q. Korean-American entrepreneur and electrical engineer Jeong H. Kim withdrew from his candidacy to lead the Ministry of Future, Creativity and Science.
A. I am not aware of the reasons for his withdrawal but this was disappointing news. He is a very creative person and has great knowledge on American culture and corporations. His leadership would have been a significant opportunity for Korean companies. â&#x2014;&#x2020; American Chamber of Commerce in Korea AMCHAM Korea was established in 1953 as a non-profit legal entity with an aim to facilitate trade and commerce between Korea and the United States. It has some 900 member companies, including companies based in Korea, Europe and Japan, as well as the United States. President Amy Jackson, former deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for Korea, is in charge of managing daily operations and activities of the chamber. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim is the honorary chairman. Every spring AMCHAM sends a business delegation to brief the U.S. Congress and the federal government on Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investment environment.
[ March 8, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
COPYRIGHT
Korea Focus is a monthly webzine (www.koreafocus.or.kr), featuring commentaries and essays on Korean politics, economy, society and culture, as well as relevant international issues. The articles are selected from leading Korean newspapers, magazines, journals and academic papers from prestigious forums. The content is the property of the Korea Foundation and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. If it is needed to reprint an article(s) from Korea Focus, please forward your request for reprint permission by fax or via e-mail. Address: The Korea Foundation Seocho P.O. Box 227, Diplomatic Center Building, 2558 Nambusunhwanno, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137863, Korea Tel: (82-2) 2151-6526 Fax: (82-2) 2151-6592 E-mail: koreafocus@kf.or.kr ISBN 979-11-5604-016-3
Publisher Kim Woo-sang Editor Lee Kyong-hee Editorial Board Choi Sung-ja Member, Cultural Heritage Committee Hahm In-hee Professor, Ewha Womans University Hong Chan-sik Chief Editorial Writer, The Dong-a Ilbo Hyun Jung-taik Professor, Inha University Kang Byeong-tae Chief Editorial Writer, The Hankook Ilbo Kim Hak-soon Proessor, Korea University Kim Yong-jin Professor, Ajou University Peter Beck Korea Represetative, Asia Foundation Robert Fouser Professor, Seoul National University Son Ho-cheol Professor, Sogang University â&#x201C;&#x2019; The Korea Foundation 2013 All rights reserved.