Table of Contents
- Korea Focus - December 2013 - TOC - Politics 1. Execution of Jang Song-thaek Exposed Weakness of Kim Jong-un`s Rule 2. Why the History of Northeast Asia Needs Joint Study 3. Middle-Power Diplomacy 4. Pyongyang ─ From ‘Capital of Revolution’ to ‘City of Desire’ 5. Japanese Intellectuals` Worrisome Swing toward Chauvinism
- Economy 1. Overcoming the Currency War through Corporate Investments 2. Absence of Blueprint for Korean Economy 3. Quality Part-Time Employment 4. A Case for Korea to Join the TPP Negotiations 5. Winners and Losers of APEC Summit
- Society 1. Seoul`s Increasing Skyscrapers Call for Stricter Safety Measures 2. Korea, Country of Placards 3. Ecological Buffer for Suncheon Bay 4. [DEBATE] Scaled-down Basic Pension Program: What Are its Implications?
- Culture 1. Busan International Film Festival Displays Asian Identity 2. Sharing Economy, Korean Young People`s Venture 3. How to Appreciate Street Performance 4. Jeonlado.com, Ain`t it Swell?
- Essays 1. How Happy Are Koreans? 2. A Second ‘Dae Jang Geum’ Unlikely with Export Strategies Alone
- Features 1. Korean Literature Mourns Loss of ‘Everlasting Youth Writer’
- Book Reviews 1. Will North Korea Follow the Path of East Germany? 2. Where Did Italian Towels, Korean Sauna and Singing Rooms Come From?
- Interview 1. Venerable Hyemun Spearheads Return of Cultural Properties
- COPYRIGHT
- Execution of Jang Song-thaek Exposed Weakness of Kim Jong-un`s Rule - Why the History of Northeast Asia Needs Joint Study - Middle-Power Diplomacy - Pyongyang ─ From ‘Capital of Revolution’ to ‘City of Desire’ - Japanese Intellectuals` Worrisome Swing toward Chauvinism
Execution of Jang Song-thaek Exposed Weakness of Kim Jong-un`s Rule
Editorial The JoongAng Ilbo
North Korea executed Jang Song-thaek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission and hitherto the second most powerful man in the Pyongyang leadership, in a rapid sequence of events. The North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported yesterday (December 13) that a special military tribunal held on December 12 sentenced Jang to death on charges of treason and executed him immediately.
Jang had been arrested only four days before, during an expanded meeting of the ruling Workers` Party political bureau, and branded an “anti-party, anti-revolutionary factionalist.” As a U.S. government spokesman commented, the Kim Jong-un regime`s “extreme brutality” was exposed through the swift execution. Jang`s downfall has showed the world how a reign of terror sustains the Kim dynasty in Pyongyang.
The shocking execution is no doubt a move to consolidate the monolithic ruling system of Kim Jongun but it also testifies to the weakness of his regime. It tells us that the two-year-old rule of Kim Jongun is still so unstable that it needed to provide a clear lesson to anyone who might challenge the “Mt. Paektu bloodline” starting from Kim Il-sung, founder of the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.
Jang`s statements to a military court prove the extensive dissent against Kim Jong-un in the party, the
military and government organizations. The court said that Jang confessed to plotting to take over power through a military coup d`etat when he clinches the position of prime minister. According to the sentencing document, Jang admitted that he “attempted to plant discontent among the military and the general public that the present regime has failed to cope with the worsening adversities in the national economy and people`s livelihood.”
“When the economy completely crumbles and the state is about to collapse, I would make the departments and economic organizations previously under my control come to the fore in the administration, and I would manage the government as prime minister,” the military court quoted Jang as saying. This means that the second most powerful man in the Kim Jong-un rule doubted the sustainability of the current regime.
Kim Jong-un`s reign of terror may help him strengthen his power for the time being but serious repercussion will be inevitable. It is estimated that some 20,000 to 30,000 people who were favored by and loyal to Jang will fear impending purges. Humans make extreme choices when faced with a life-or-death situation. They will not sit idle when the executioner`s sword is approaching them. Kim Jong-un`s action to consolidate his power could backfire to aggravate the unease hanging over his regime. It was a most dangerous gambling by the young ruler.
When Jang was arrested, many here discounted the possibility of an extreme consequence for Kim Jong-un`s uncle and the husband of Kim Il-sung`s daughter, but they were wrong. Under the rule of Kim Jong-un, anything is possible defying the general norm of human society. We in the South should prepare ourselves for any situation to develop from the bloody incident in the North, ranging from an internal emergency to an external provocation to turn people`s concerns to the outside, thoroughly and meticulously in close consultation with neighboring countries.
[ December 14, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Why the History of Northeast Asia Needs Joint Study
Shin Gi-wook Professor of Sociology Director, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Stanford University
Last summer I had an opportunity to deliver a special lecture series for two weeks at a Korean university. More than 30 students from Korea, China, Japan, the United States and Europe attended the series, which focused on problems related to the modern history of Northeast Asia and territorial disputes. The lectures led to heated debates among students on topics such as how wars and colonization and their tragic consequences are recorded and taught in the students` countries and what sort of influence those historical accounts have left on the current regional order.
During one of the lectures students were asked whether they thought Japan had apologized for its actions in the region`s unfortunate past. Korean and Chinese students mostly replied that Japan “did not apologize at all” or was “not sincere even if it did.” In contrast, most Japanese students were hardly aware of misfortunes of the past or controversies about a government apology. Such a perception gap illustrated the discrepancies in the current history education of Korea, China and Japan.
The central issue is selective memory. Disregarding or ignoring an unfortunate past means not only evasion from historical accountability but also a missed opportunity to learn from history. Germany that failed to learn from its defeat in the First World War became embroiled in Nazism only to be
crushed in another world war. The German experience should provide a valuable lesson that Japanese conservatives should seriously ponder when they tilt further to the right.
Proper and upright history education must be based on objective facts. Worrisome is historical amnesia of Japanese students, but also problematic is the thinking of Korean and Chinese collegians who said that the Japanese have not apologized at all. Although the definition of “apology” may vary depending on circumstances, undeniable is the fact that Japanese leaders, including prime ministers, have expressed regret to Koreans and Chinese.
Of course, doubt may well arise in Korea and China as to Japan`s sincerity in apologizing. As a matter of fact, there have been such irritating instances in which a prime minister`s apology is soon refuted publicly by his education minister or followed by a visit by the prime minister and some of his cabinet chiefs to the Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are included among the commemorated war victims, in disregard of protests from Korea and China. Japan needs to clearly comprehend the mindset of its neighbors, instead of complaining about its “fatigue of making apologies.”
History does not merely narrate events or developments of the past. In reconstructing the past, certain parts are omitted or stressed, resulting in different perceptions. In organizing Northeast Asia`s modern history, China focuses on the Nanjing massacre of civilians by Japanese soldiers while Japan singles out the atomic raid on Hiroshima by the United States, which in turn points out Japan`s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. On the part of Korea, atrocities committed by Japan during its colonial rule are spotlighted. What`s more, history education is very susceptible to national sentiments and apt to have politically explosive potential, because it is closely related to the national identity of a country.
Balanced history education is needed to resolve the “Northeast Asia paradox,” a quandary highlighted by intense territorial disputes and conflicting historical perceptions despite close economic, cultural and social exchanges between the region`s three countries. Its emphasis should be on cultivating the insight and perceptual capacity to better understand and learn from history, rather than cramming students with specific historical events.
Also necessary are endeavors to broaden the scope of understanding through in-depth studies and intense debates from various angles and comparative perspectives. On the agenda is a wide range of questions: why the three countries have varying interpretations of history, why it is so difficult to bring about a common historical perception and what would be the ways and means to overcome these and other unresolved issues. Efforts to bridge gaps in understanding history and forge a balanced
perception should be underpinned not only by relevant governments but more importantly by civil societies.
Especially recommended are group discussions by young people from the three countries as well as joint examination of past issues and visits to such historic sites as the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Seodaemun Prison History Museum (in Seoul). In short, the gatherings would be a region-wide attempt to share and heal pains of the past. When issues of the past posed a stumbling block in ameliorating relations between China and Japan in the 1970s, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said, “Because our generation is not wise enough to resolve all of the pending questions, let`s leave the unsettled ones to next generation.� Contrary to his expectations, however, the two countries are stricken today with a worse situation involving history and territorial disputes and their history education tends to feature rising nationalism.
For a better future of Northeast Asia, we certainly need to foster wiser generations. To this end we must discard the prevailing paradigm of narrow-minded nationalism and arm today`s youth with universal values that underscore democracy, human rights and peace. For some time now, Korean education has been laden with issues related to revising its history textbooks. Together with the domestic contents, due attention should be paid to properly dealing with regional issues so as to make Korea`s next generations wise and capable enough to become regional leaders of Northeast Asia.
[ The Dong-A Ilbo, October 5, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Middle-Power Diplomacy
Kim Sung-han Professor, Graduate School of International Studies Director, Ilmin International Relations Institute Korea University
Amid the busy schedule of the U.N. General Assembly, the Korean foreign minister met with his counterparts from Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia in New York on September 25. They were there to launch a consultative body of middle-power countries, dubbed “MIKTA,” an acronym of the five countries. The Korean Foreign Ministry pledged to help create a new order by no longer passively accepting the international order and instead acting as a bridge between developed and developing countries with other middle-power states.
Indeed, the previous Lee Myung-bak administration tried to broaden the nation`s diplomatic horizons under the catchphrase “Global Korea.” It achieved considerable progress in fine-tuning differences of opinions on global issues by hosting the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, the Busan World Development Aid Conference and the G20 Summit. The current Park Geun-hye administration has pledged to be proactive in creating a new international order, while joining efforts with other major middle-power nations.
In bilateral relations like those between Seoul and Washington, between Seoul and Beijing, and between Seoul and Tokyo, long-festering or new issues should be handled precisely from a political point of view. But multilateral diplomacy, including the G20 Summit or the Seoul Conference on
Cyberspace 2013, whereby many countries discuss many different interests, is a process that finds the roots to disagreements, seeks understanding and formulates solutions. Accordingly, to successfully conduct diplomacy in multilateral relations, middle-power nations need to correctly understand the basis of conflicting views, as well as review issues themselves.
For example, if we are to play a role as a coordinator at a multilateral conference on cyber security, we should fully understand the mechanism of confrontation between the United States and the U.K. on one side, and China and Russia on the other, as well as types of cyber terrorism and ways to combat it. To play a bridge role between developed and developing economies in the G20, Korea first needs to understand divisions that can produce conflicts such as countries with current account surpluses and deficits; currency manipulators and victims; supporters of financial expansion and opponents; democracies and autocracies; and Western and non-Western nations, where a wide range of differences can arise, while resolving such differences, if they are brought out into the open.
As for multinational economic assistance, Korea, which has turned from an aid recipient into a donor, should form its own view of the difference between the aid policies of Western advanced nations and Korea; Korea`s relations with aid recipients; and variables such as newly emerging economies like China. It would be hard to contribute to creating a new international norm without thorough knowledge of international laws, considering that all these issues require application of treaties and pacts.
It is not that any middle-power country can play the role of a bridge between advanced nations and developing ones only with mid-level expertise, but that it needs a high level of diplomatic prowess, as well as a full understanding of the positions of both sides. Besides, Korea can display the true value of its middle-power diplomacy only when its “soft power,” or the international community`s trust in Korea, a country with its own mechanism of creative policies, is also taken into consideration. This raises concerns about the Foreign Ministry`s capacity. We need a sturdy infrastructure with which to practice middle-power diplomacy. But this requires time and money.
Diplomats are trained to serve as “generalists,” not “specialists.” This notwithstanding, both generalists and specialists coexist at the foreign ministries of middle-power countries, such as Canada and Australia, which have long practiced middle-power diplomacy, to say nothing of those of advanced countries.
It may not be wrong to rotate generalist diplomats to embassies in advanced regions and less
developed areas. But it is important to invest money to train specialist diplomats handling the environment, nonproliferation, development cooperation, and laws of the sea as international experts. Accordingly, it is not wise for the Foreign Ministry to brag about practicing middle-power diplomacy on its own, while failing to secure a sufficient budget and infrastructure. It would be a more “honest approach,” if it tries to contribute to creating a new international order by joining hands with other middle-power countries.
Korea should cultivate its own diplomatic capabilities to do all of this in the long term. Economic prowess alone is not enough for Korea to become an advanced nation. It should distinguish itself with its “catalyst role” in helping stabilize relations between major powers. And it should have the ability to impress the international community by taking an interest in regional and global issues that are not our immediate concern. We should bear in mind that we can join the group of advanced nations only when we practice security diplomacy, regional diplomacy and middle-power diplomacy at the highest level. With this in mind, we need to review and overhaul our diplomatic capabilities.
[ The Chosun Ilbo, October 31, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Pyongyang ─ From ‘Capital of Revolution’ to ‘City of Desire’
Ju Seong-ha Staff Reporter The Dong-A Ilbo
“Capital of the Revolution.” This is a slogan that is hung conspicuously on the rooftop of an apartment building near the Pyongyang Railway Station. Anybody on an incoming train sees this slogan. “Capital of the Revolution” is a key description for the North`s brainwashing propaganda. If you ask any North Korean what “Pyongyang” means to them, they will say without hesitation, “Capital of the Revolution,” as if to give a universal password. They will do it even in their sleep.
But the enthusiasm for a socialist revolution, which prevailed in Pyongyang about a half century ago, has turned into a private desire since the “March of Tribulation” of the mid-1990s. Pyongyang is no longer the capital of the revolution, but a “city of desire,” where the desire to become rich prevails. Now, revolution, control and compliance are nothing but keys to becoming rich.
Owning an apartment exemplifies this desire. Be it residents of Pyongyang or Seoul, people are obsessed with home ownership and a desire to show off their wealth based on what kind of home they have. The only difference is that housing prices have never fallen in Pyongyang.
Housing prices have ascended, leveled off and climbed again like a staircase. During the “March of Tribulation,” starving people began trading their apartments, which the state had allotted to them, for dollars, the currency of the “U.S. imperialists” whom they hate. A 100-square-meter apartment on
Puksae Street in Moranbong District was traded for US$5,000. That sparked a frenzy for real estate transactions.
Prices of the apartments in Pyongyang are now thousands of times higher. The 100-square-meter apartments, which were completed in Yugyong-dong, Potonggang District, in April this year, sold for a record $160,000, double the previous record of about $80,000. Apartments, 180 square meters or more, were constructed with high-end building materials like imported marble, a first for housing projects in Pyongyang. The apartments built based on China`s apartment designs are very conveniently located only about 100 meters from Hwanggumbol Subway Station. They are far more luxurious than others in the neighborhood, but also suffer electricity and water outages.
These apartments were built by the General Bureau for External Economic Relations, also known as “General Bureau 99,� an agency in charge of earning hard currency, as part of its real estate development projects. About half of the apartments were reserved for the agency`s senior officials, and the rest have been put up for sale to cover the construction costs. But the bureau officials have been squabbling about which of them should get one of the apartments. As of this writing, the assignment of apartments is incomplete.
All of the high-end apartments in Pyongyang have been built by such powerful agencies. Some 160square-meter apartments, which the National Defense Commission built in Tongan-dong, Taedonggang District, recently, are traded for $70,000 to $80,000. Another complex of 160-squaremeter apartments near Pyongyang Medical College in downtown Chung District, which is near completion, will also likely be traded for $70,000 to $80,000 from the end of this year. Even old 100square-meter apartments in the same district are traded for $30,000 to $40,000. New high-rise apartments are also soaring in downtown Chung, Potong, Moranbong and Taesong districts, as if people`s pent-up desire is being vented.
Without exception, all apartments in downtown Pyongyang have been built in violation of North Korean laws. The only areas the North Korean regime gives building permits to are suburbs of the city, including Tongil Street. But state agencies abuse their power to obtain construction permits. Officials at the Pyongyang City People`s Committee grant permits to the agencies, as if they submit to power, while making sure that some new apartments are allotted to themselves as well.
According to a senior Pyongyang city official in charge of construction, the number of apartments built in Pyongyang by various state agencies has reached 70,000 to 80,000 over the past 10 years. In
contrast, the central government has built fewer than 20,000 apartments since 1995. In 2008, the regime planned to erect 100,000 apartments in Pyongyang and bragged that it would finish construction by 2012, the year by which North Korea pledged to reach the “powerful, prosperous country status.�
But in reality, the regime has built fewer than 20,000 apartments, including those in Mansudae and Changjon streets, and suburbs. Moreover, it was possible to build them only thanks to central government instructions that they be built regardless of any circumstances, with some to be allotted to government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the People`s Armed Forces.
As a whole, North Korea is inferior even to a single mid-size construction company in South Korea, given that it has poured all its energy to build fewer than 20,000 apartments over the past five years. But the private real estate market filled with pecuniary desires, which is surprisingly copying South Korea`s development formula, is beyond imagination. A complicated price system, including pre-sale prices and after-sale prices, even is operating.
Nonetheless, a state system of housing allotment, a vestige of socialism, still exists. Recently, members of the Unhasu Orchestra, the Meritorious Chorus, and the State Symphony Orchestra were presented with high-end apartments, each worth tens of thousands of dollars. Today`s North Korea is characterized by a mix of market economy and socialism in the real estate market and the fast spread of private markets throughout the country.
Stories about the North always pique our curiosity. As far as the real estate market goes, our list of curiosities is endless? How it is possible for North Koreans to trade houses and how home buyers have earned that amount of money. It is impossible to satisfy all such curiosities by writing a single article. My series of stories about North Korea has just begun.
[ October 22, 2013 ] www.koreafocus.or.kr
Japanese Intellectuals` Worrisome Swing toward Chauvinism
Yeom Jae-ho Professor of Public Administration Vice President, Korea University
The October issue of the Japanese magazine Bungei Shunju contained a roundtable talk by a group of intellectuals. Opinion leaders, such as a University of Tokyo professor and a former Japanese ambassador to South Korea, discussed current relations between South Korea, China and Japan. Surprisingly, they turned out to be no less chauvinistic than far-right politicians such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Their views presented to the rightist monthly will likely have an enormous impact on the general public, considering that it is the most-read magazine in Japan. This is because their talk based on the 20th century-style nationalist paradigm could seriously mislead public opinion on Seoul-Tokyo relations.
The title of the roundtable talk was “Prepare for a 100-Year War with China and South Korea.� The key point in their talk was that Japan should fully prepare to confront South Korea and China because these countries don`t have a correct understanding of history. They blamed the two countries for still carping about the war that was waged during their grandfathers` generation more than 60 years ago. How much longer should the Japanese prime minister repeatedly apologize? South Korea has been condemning Japan for its colonial rule by even enacting a special law.
South Korea and China have not been modernized yet from various points of view. China is still sticking to Qing imperialism and South Korea is lapsing into its old habit of toadyism and trying to rely on China again. South Korea, where prostitution is still rampant, should examine itself first and then talk about “comfort women.� South Korea and China are interpreting history in their own way.
This is part of what the participants in the roundtable talk said harshly about the two countries. Furthermore, they did not hesitate to make inflammatory remarks, while recounting their experience in South Korea in a very exaggerated way.
When I stayed in Japan about 20 years ago, I was shocked to find that the Japanese people considered themselves to be victims of World War II. Their colonization of South Korea and invasion of China were not Japan's fault, but a result of militarism that prevailed at the time, they contended. The Japanese believe that they too were victims of militarism and point out that Japanese civilians were the first casualties of atomic bombs.
A few years ago, Kenzaburo Oe, a laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature, talked with poet Kim Jiha in South Korea. Oe is a leading intellectual who finds fault with the nuclear issue and proactively participates in a campaign to protect the pacifist constitution. He once refused to receive a cultural medal awarded by the Japanese emperor on the grounds that he is a postwar democrat. He attends an annual event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Kim asked him a scathing question. About 20,000 Koreans accounted for more than one-tenth of all deaths from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. No memorial monument for the Korean victims had been set up in the park until 1999. Kim pointed out that the anti-nuclear peace movement is nothing but a chauvinistic campaign designed only for the Japanese and that the Japanese people have failed to approach the nuclear issue from the universal standpoint of mankind. Oe looked perplexed. Kim`s criticism sounded biting, given that Oe took the lead in a campaign to save Kim when the latter suffered under military dictatorship in the past.
The recent lurch to chauvinism by Abe and other Japanese political leaders is self-contradictory. It is a contradiction to say that the Japanese people too are victims of Japan`s militarism, while many of the political leaders pay tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine, where class-A war criminals are enshrined. Abe made a poor excuse that he was photographed by accident while sitting in the cockpit of a Trainer 731 jet when he visited Matsushima Air Base of the Air Self-Defense Force. If it was accidental as he claimed, then he might be considered a politician ignorant of modern history who does not know
anything about Unit 731, an imperial Japanese military unit that carried out biological experiments on Korean, Chinese and Russian prisoners.
I am worried about Japanese politicians and intellectuals not merely because of their interpretation of relations between nations in modern history. They lack understanding of universal values of mankind, turning their face away from Japan`s brutal crimes against humanity in the 20th century. Japanese political leaders are evading recognition of imperial Japan`s wartime atrocities.
Under these circumstances, Japan should not be a leader in the global era of the 21st century. In order for Japan to be a beautiful country and a key member of the international community in the 21st century, its leaders should first have a fresh understanding of the universal values and ideologies of mankind. Then they can wipe tears of good-hearted Japanese citizens, including First Lady Akie Abe, off their faces.
[ The Dong-A Ilbo, October 15, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Overcoming the Currency War through Corporate Investments - Absence of Blueprint for Korean Economy - Quality Part-Time Employment - A Case for Korea to Join the TPP Negotiations - Winners and Losers of APEC Summit
Overcoming the Currency War through Corporate Investments
Yoon Deok-ryong Senior Research Fellow Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
Germany is under pressure for its current account surplus, which was equivalent to 7 percent of its gross domestic product in 2012 and averaged 6.5 percent of GDP in 2010-12. The International Monetary Fund expects the surplus will reach $215 billion this year, equal to China`s estimated surplus. In contrast, other European countries, except those in Northern Europe, are stuck in current account deficits.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department took issue with Germany`s current account surpluses, blaming them for the account imbalances and deflationary pressures in other Eurozone countries. Moreover, the European Commission president has launched an investigation into the impact of Germany`s surpluses. This has come amid a heated debate among European countries on whether or not the German economy is contributing to the global economy.
An angered Germany claims the blame is misplaced. It says the surpluses are the result of normal business activities and denies any government role. It also insists that it is contributing to European industries by exporting high-quality goods and importing raw materials and intermediate products for assembly and export. It argues that a decline in German exports will help non-EU countries expand their market shares in the European Union, rather than lead to an increase in exports by other European countries.
Germany has a clear-cut stance against the criticism: it cannot halt an increase in exports rooted in the competitiveness of German businesses. As such, it says, there is little that the government can do when consumers in other countries favor German goods.
But neighbors claim Germany produces goods in excess of demand. They say Germany`s current account surpluses are derived from appropriating demand in other European countries to compensate for a shortfall in its domestic demand.
Because all EU countries use the euro as their currency, they have no monetary means of regulating German exports. As such, rebalancing between Germany and other Eurozone countries requires other methods. Eurozone neighbors say that Germany should increase its aggregate demand by spending more on infrastructure.
They also demand that Germany open its service market to provide job opportunities to non-Germans. They call on Germany to help stabilize the regional economy by purchasing more of their debt. Germany, which has established itself as a model for European countries by making itself competitive through continuous innovation and technology development, now appears to be treated as a culprit.
Korea cannot ignore the German case. The U.S. Treasury Department also has drawn attention to Korea`s current account surplus. It says Korea`s large foreign exchange reserves are unwarranted and blames the Korean government`s intervention in currency markets, estimating the Korean won is 2 percent to 8 percent undervalued. It insists intervention should be only an exception, which should be revealed publicly.
Korea had a current account surplus for the 20th consecutive month in September. With $6.57 billion recorded in September, the total amount so far this year has reached $48.79 billion. The Bank of Korea expects the current account will have a $63 billion surplus this year, an amount that is estimated to be more than 5.2 percent of the nation`s GDP. Pressure will be mounting on the Korean currency to strengthen as the surplus increases.
With recovery from the global financial crisis falling behind expectations, all countries in the world are trying hard to expand their exports. Though the United States says its quantitative easing is designed to boost its domestic demand, it is well known that it is weakening the dollar as well. Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to lead the Federal Reserve Board, says QE will continue for some
time. Japan also started QE, and the yen has fallen 25 percent since the “Abenomics� of its new administration started a year ago.
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, cut the bank`s interest rate by another 0.25 percent last month. Addressing concerns about deflation was cited as a reason, but it appeared to be ultimately aimed at weakening the euro. India, Indonesia and other emerging economies are also lowering their interest rates to weaken their currencies.
Meanwhile, Korea is being pressured to strengthen its currency. Many Koreans demand staying the course no matter what the U.S. Treasury Department says. As a nation whose reliance on exports is high, however, Korea should avoid being stigmatized as engaging in unfair trade by manipulating exchange rates. It needs to come up with a solution that does not hurt its economy. One such solution is to encourage domestic investments.
An increase in investments will boost imports, thereby curbing the current account surplus. Then it will raise the nation`s productivity and thus make the economy healthier. The currency war will not be insurmountable if the government encourages investments and corporations increase spending on facilities.
[ The Chosun Ilbo, November 20, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Absence of Blueprint for Korean Economy
Kim Jung-sik Professor of Economics Yonsei University
One of the Park Geun-hye government`s most important economic tasks is to create more jobs by stimulating corporate investment. All of the nation`s tough economic issues, including a monthly pension payment to the elderly, welfare expansion without tax hikes and the real estate market slump, are linked to job creation. If corporate investment increases and thus more jobs are created, demand for welfare benefits will drop and the real estate sector will be revitalized. That is why government measures are urgently needed to boost corporate investment.
The government has tried various policies to stimulate more corporate investment. Among them is a drive for shared growth between large conglomerates and smaller businesses to nurture small- and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 88 percent of Korea`s total employment. It is also pushing economic democratization bills to help establish fair- trade practices between large and small businesses.
Enterprises have steadily tempered investments as they continuously consider both current and future circumstances, including worker demand for higher and higher wages to compensate for weak welfare safety nets. This hesitancy has gradually worsened unemployment among young and middle-aged people. The government needs to devise an entirely new policy paradigm in order to end a vicious cycle of sluggish corporate investment, job reduction and worsening labor-management disputes.
Corporate investments grew during the presidency of Park Chung-hee in the 1960s and 1970s, because the government presented concrete blueprints for future growth through its five-year economic development plans. Domestic companies are now reluctant to execute or increase investment apparently because they are not optimistic about the future of the Korean economy. The government needs to present concrete economic blueprints to lift optimism in the business community.
Above all, the government should put forward detailed measures to foster new growth engines before presenting a future vision for the economy. At present, almost all of Korea`s mainstay industries, including shipbuilding, steel, auto and electronics, have Chinese rivals running closely behind them. In the past, Korea overtook Japan in those industries. Likewise, it is highly likely that China will overtake Korea in those sectors. But we have yet to devise detailed plans to foster new growth engines that will replace our current mainstay industries.
As for labor relations, violent disputes and unreasonable wage hikes must be addressed. Excessive violence in labor disputes is closely related to our pension system. The Korean economy is entering a period of persistent low growth amid the absence of reliable pension and welfare systems. Therefore, workers are jittery about their post-retirement years and are resorting to violent labor movements to secure higher wages. In response, employers are forcing highly paid workers to accept early retirement offers.
Accordingly, the government has to swiftly establish reliable pension systems in order to reduce labor-management disputes and boost corporate investments. To that end, subscription to the national pension system should be expanded and government support for personal annuity savings programs should be increased. The causes of excessive labor violence should be eliminated in order to ease employers` jitters about labor disputes.
Despite rising wages, Korea`s key industries will be able to further improve their international competitiveness as long as they possess high levels of technology. The development of new technologies and synergy are the key to creative economy. For that purpose, the government should increase its financial support to foster talented people in science and technology.
Four months from now, the Park Geun-hye government will celebrate its first anniversary. The Park government has so far been locked in political confrontations and welfare debate. In contrast, our
neighboring countries have been entirely devoted to the economy. Japan is aiming for its economic revival through the so-called Abenomics and China is also carrying out its financial reform.
The Korean people are tired of unproductive political debates. The government must be entirely committed to economic growth. It has to present a detailed road map to help ease corporate jitters about the Korean economy and its future. Enterprises should be led to look ahead to a bright future. By doing so, it will be able to boost corporate investments, create more jobs and put our economy back on a path to growth.
[ Maeil Business Newspaper, October 15, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Quality Part-Time Employment
Bae Kiu-sik Senior Research Fellow Korea Labor Institute
I have just returned from a research trip to Britain and the Netherlands. During my 11-day trip, I had a series of in-depth discussions with British and Dutch corporate executives, public company officials, labor unionists, scholars and consultants on part-time employment.
I had a rare opportunity to intensively inquire about matters of common interest in Korea`s labor circles, such as forms of part-time employment; discrimination between part-time and full-time employment; switching from full-time to part-time employment and vice versa; expenses and inconveniences related to part-time employment in the private and public sectors; and work-life balance among part-time workers. The British and Dutch officials and experts spoke candidly about their labor conditions and practices in addition to giving official answers.
To sum up, there is hardly any discrimination against part-time employment in the British and Dutch public sector, including provincial governments, schools and hospitals. Part-time workers are almost equally treated in proportion to hours worked. Most of the part-time jobs in the European countries` public sector are of high quality. In particular, British and Dutch women take advantage of part-time employment to seek work-life balance.
But the situation is a bit different in their private sector. In the British private sector, the quality of
employment is not high for those who begin their private sector careers with part-time jobs, according to various studies. Those who switch from full-time employment to part-time employment may generally end up with simpler jobs or less responsible positions outside their profession. The same happens if they are forced to quit their full-time jobs and can only find a part-time job.
In the Netherlands, too, the number of quality part-time jobs has greatly increased. In the Dutch private sector, there are many cases in which employees switch from full-time to part-time status. Unlike in Britain, the Dutch workers switching to part-time employment are not forced to quit their field of work. The quality and benefits of part-time employment are guaranteed in both public and private sectors of the Netherlands. However, clerical workers in the Dutch private sector still find it difficult to retain part-time employment.
In the case of a 36-hour work week, however, many male clerical workers of the Dutch private sector are allowed to choose four nine-hour days per week or take every other Wednesday off. Before the 1980s, the quality of part-time employment in the Netherlands was not high. After some Dutch banks agreed in 1983 to a collective labor agreement calling for changing full-time employment to parttime employment, the number of quality part-time jobs rose sharply. Dutch labor unions and employers had reached a series of agreements to introduce non-discriminatory part-time employment and then the number of decent part-time jobs increased at Dutch public institutions and private enterprises.
Thereafter, the Dutch government enacted a law to ban discrimination between part-time and fulltime employment. The Dutch government, trade unions and employers all cooperated and successfully introduced the quality part-time employment system. In both Britain and the Netherlands, quality part-time jobs used to be “lengthy,” involving more than 24 hours a week. “Marginal” part-time employment featured fewer working hours, and job quality was typically not high.
But the Netherlands has its own problems. Dutch women accustomed to part-time employment were reluctant to increase their working hours even when the nation was struggling with a labor shortage amid a booming economy. In addition, Dutch feminist circles claim that gender division of labor full-time employment for men and part-time employment for women - is being institutionalized.
The two European countries` experience in part-time employment has some implications for our country. The part-time employment system, if managed skillfully by the government, trade unions
and employers, can produce a large number of decent part-time jobs. If the system is left to market forces, however, it is very likely that the number of low quality part-time jobs will rise.
As far as quality part-time jobs for women and their work-life balance are concerned, the Netherlands is trying to learn from Sweden. The lesson is that public sector childcare services, in particular, should be further increased so that women can take advantage of quality part-time employment with lengthy time, instead of poor quality part-time jobs with shorter hours.
[ The Hankook Ilbo, October 11, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
A Case for Korea to Join the TPP Negotiations
Kim Suk-han Senior Partner Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauser & Field Washington, D.C., United States
Despite the anticipation building up to the APEC Summit, Korea refrained from expressing interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. While the option to join the TPP remains open after the conclusion of the agreement, Korea should not lose sight of the significant benefits that it would reap by engaging in the TPP process as one of its founding members.
The TPP is a proposed multinational free trade agreement (FTA) that began in 2003 as a modest economic pact between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. The accession of the United States as the new leader of the negotiations in 2008, however, transformed the TPP into potentially the most significant multi-national trade agreement since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) nearly two decades ago.
During its 19 rounds, the most recent of which was held in August, the four founding countries and the United States have been joined by Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam, and Japan. During the APEC meetings, the United States reaffirmed its ambitious goal to conclude all 29 chapters of the TPP by the end of the year.
So far, Korea has taken a measured and prudent approach toward the TPP, cautiously assessing the
pros and cons of joining this massive undertaking. And rightly so? Korea has already signed, or is currently negotiating, FTAs with most of the TPP countries. Also, Korea is engaged with China in another front, by participating in the RCEP negotiations, a 16-member FTA led by China that encompasses the ASEAN and the ASEAN`s FTA partners.
As the RCEP is largely viewed as a competitor to the TPP for creating a framework for APEC trade regionalization, some experts have noted that Korea`s participation in the TPP may send a signal to China that Korea is not fully committed to the RCEP negotiations. In fact, there is a belief that the absence of China makes the TPP a flawed agreement, a notion that Korea may very well be considering as it assesses the benefits of joining the TPP negotiations.
Nonetheless, the benefits that will arise from the collective scale and advanced substance of the TPP will be substantial. The very scale of the TPP is massive. If successfully concluded, the TPP will create an enormous trade bloc between the United States and the Pacific Rim that will cover 40 percent of the world`s GDP and about a third of total global trade volume.
In particular, what truly lends teeth to the TPP is the advanced topics that are being discussed in the negotiations. While Korea`s existing FTAs predominantly focus on expanding market access in goods and services, the topics discussed under the TPP focus on newly emerging trade issues such as intellectual property rights, cloud computing, the adoption of high substantive standards, and ecommerce.
These issues are highlighted by the emergence of hi-tech electronics and IT industries, areas in which Korea displays global leadership. Therefore, it is not only natural, but imperative for Korea to shape the rules that will govern trade with its FTA partners in areas that will significantly impact Korea`s most important industries.
In this context, Japan`s formal entry into the TPP negotiations in July is an important consideration for Korea, as Korea`s absence from the trade pact would likely lead to trade diversion into Japan. This is especially true given the strong rivalry among Japanese and Korean enterprises in sectors such as automobiles and electronics.
Furthermore, as the global trade regime shifts to accommodate two FTAs led by the largest economies of the West and the East, Korea will be in a strong position to take on an enhanced role in the global trade regime, as a moderator between the TPP and RCEP countries that ensures that the two
agreements complement, rather than conflict with, each other. In the absence of Korea, this important role would likely have been diverted to Japan.
It is also important for Korea to take into consideration the political benefits offered by the TPP negotiations. At the end of the day, the TPP, like many trade agreements, serves the important function of defining and strengthening economic and political allegiance among its members. As the TPP represents one of the Obama administration`s key initiatives to rebalance its focus to Asia, participating in its creation offers an important opportunity for Korea to solidify its economic and political alliance with the world`s sole superpower.
If Korea does decide to join the TPP negotiations, it would be best not to delay much longer. Accession takes time? all current TPP members must consent to Korea`s accession to the negotiations, a process that takes at least 90 days, meaning that it is already too late for Korea to officially join the negotiations within the year. Nonetheless, despite the significant progress reported by the negotiating members during the APEC meetings, the number of unresolved issues leaves open the possibility that the negotiations will continue into 2014.
As a result, Korea may still be within the window to play an important role in shaping the substantive rules that will govern the terms of the TPP. To do so, however, Korea must act quickly to engage in bilateral discussions with the TPP members to best align its interest with similarly-situated countries, setting the backdrop for Korea to quickly take its place as a bona fide leader as soon as it is granted an official seat at the negotiating table.
By now, Korea is well-regarded as an FTA veteran, a distinction that may provide incentive for current TPP members to accommodate Korea`s late entry into the talks. Indeed, Korea`s reserve and contemplation in deliberating its entry into the TPP negotiations is indicative of the maturity Korea has achieved in global trade relations.
However, the doors may not remain open for long, and I believe that it is now time for Korea to take a bold step forward. As long as Korea continues to exercise the same sound judgment in the negotiation process, there is no doubt that the TPP will serve as a springboard for Korea to broaden its economic influence throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond.
[ The Chosun Ilbo, October 16, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Winners and Losers of APEC Summit
Cheong In-kyo Professor of Economics Inha University
A series of attention-getting multilateral summit talks were held in Southeast Asia last week. Indonesia`s Bali hosted the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Summit involving Korea, China and Japan, and the East Asia Summit (EAS) were held in Brunei.
At the meetings, the world`s major countries engaged in intensive diplomatic efforts to improve relationship with Southeast Asia, dubbed new emerging markets. Winners and losers clearly emerged. From my perspective, China and ASEAN were among the winners and Japan lost face.
U.S. President Barack Obama canceled his plan to attend the APEC summit in Bali because of a partial shutdown of the U.S. government and sent Secretary of State John Kerry instead. But Kerry can hardly be compared to Chinese President Xi Jinping in terms of political or diplomatic status. As a leader of the Group of Two, Xi called for an early implementation of the so-called Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) backed by APEC, indirectly seeking to hold the U.S.-proposed TransPacific Partnership (TPP) in check.
ASEAN member nations displayed their leadership as new emerging markets by taking the lead in the discussions on East Asian economic cooperation with the United States, Russia, India and
Australia, as well as with Korea, China and Japan. The U.S. president used to receive excessive media attention at the past APEC summit talks, leaving the Asian host nations bitterly discouraged in many cases.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe didn`t receive much attention. Japan unsuccessfully sought bilateral summit talks with Korea and China. The cold atmosphere between President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Abe contrasted sharply with the warm relationship between presidents Park and Xi. Unlike in the past, Japan failed to display its warm relationship with ASEAN, as it didn`t offer massive amount of official development assistance to the Asian economies due to its own fiscal deterioration.
At the APEC summit, Washington attempted to persuade participants in the TPP negotiations to reach an early agreement by emphasizing the positive aspects of the TPP and mentioning that it will eventually pave the way for the FTAAP. Since 2010, the United States has promoted the importance of the TPP through APEC summit talks. But it remains questionable whether the United States has achieved its objective.
Korea has also benefited somewhat from the APEC summit. Above all, Seoul has reconfirmed its existing foreign and trade policies. It discussed the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements in sideline talks with China, Indonesia, Canada, Australia and Mexico, while raising objections to the creation of new trade blocs within APEC. In addition, it was noteworthy that Korea disclosed its support for expanding free trade networks and emphasized implementation of the FTAAP as a free trade accord of APEC.
Korea envisages an “East Asia Economic Community� by 2020 that will influence future cooperation among the member nations of ASEAN Plus Three. In this regard, Seoul seems to be trying to differentiate itself from Tokyo, which has called for an economic integration of ASEAN Plus Six, involving Korea, China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Korea and China reportedly have common ground on the East Asia community vision, suggesting that the two countries are expected to take similar stands in the future discussions on an East Asian economic integration. EAS and APEC summit talks had posed a daunting task for Korea, which has no choice but to walk a tightrope between the United States and China. But the Seoul government is credited with having successfully attended those summits.
Next year`s APEC summit is scheduled to be held in China. Washington and Beijing are expected to further escalate their competition surrounding the power structure in East Asia, further restricting Seoul`s diplomatic leeway. Nevertheless, it is not desirable for Korea to lean toward China alone.
Korea and Japan clearly displayed their strained relations at the summits. Considering the recent decision by the United States and Japan to strengthen their military cooperation and Korea-Japan economic relations, it is desirable for Seoul and Tokyo to mend relations. We`re required to maintain smooth relations with the United States, China and Japan. We should not make the mistake of leaning excessively to any one of the countries and increasing our geopolitical risks.
[ Maeil Business Newspaper, October 16, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Seoul`s Increasing Skyscrapers Call for Stricter Safety Measures - Korea, Country of Placards - Ecological Buffer for Suncheon Bay - [DEBATE] Scaled-down Basic Pension Program: What Are its Implications?
Seoul`s Increasing Skyscrapers Call for Stricter Safety Measures
Cho Myung-rae Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Dankook University
A helicopter crashed into a high-rise apartment building last weekend. The chopper, owned by a Chaebol and under the control of a veteran pilot who had flown a presidential helicopter, hit a deluxe apartment block and plummeted 90 meters to the ground in Gangnam, Seoul ― the first accident of its kind.
Flight data obtained from the helicopter`s black box will help explain the mishap. Still, similar accidents may occur because of the lack of a proper safety system.
Buildings are rising high in Seoul and the number of aircraft flying over the capital is increasing at a fast pace. The average height of buildings has more than doubled during the past 20 years and the number of registered helicopters, both official and private, has tripled in the past 10 years. (Of the total 183, 91 are privately owned.) There have been 22 helicopter accidents in the past 10 years.
All day long, helicopters take off and land at Jamsil heliport, the ill-fated helicopter`s destination. Yet, there are few safety regulations apart from a ban on flying close to densely populated areas and 300 meters or more away from flight obstacles on the ground.
Heliports along the Han River are in Jamsil and Nodeul Island and near the Paldang Dam. Many high-
rise buildings are near the heliport in Jamsil, the most frequently used one among the three, so that a minor flight mistake may cause a crash.
An 8km no-fly radius protects Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office. Fights in the outer buffer zone are possible when permission is obtained from the Capital Defense Command. Prior notification is all that is needed for flights in other areas. Most of Gangnam, which is dotted with high-rise buildings, is included in the buffer zone.
There are 18 buildings in Seoul with 50 floors or more, and eight of them are in Gangnam. There are 322 buildings that have 30 stories or more, most of them in Gangnam. More than a half of these buildings are for residential use. The high-rise buildings in Gangnam are thus exposed to helicopter accidents as private helicopters fly to and from Jamsil heliport. The heliport is also frequently used by military helicopters flying from Seoul Airport in Seongnam on the southeastern outskirts of the capital.
Korea has the fourth largest number of 50-story or higher residential buildings in the world. But not much work is done to address the problems high-rise buildings may pose, including the harm done to scenery, the traffic congestion, the high level of energy use and exposure to the risk of fires and air accidents. Aircraft warning lights installed on high-rise buildings may be all the safety precautions that are found.
Worse still, high-rise buildings are being built at the expense of flight safety. The previous president permitted the construction of a 123-story, 555-meter-high building in Jamsil, the second Lotte World building, although it may pose hazards for military aircraft going to and from Seoul Airport about 5km away from the building. Completion of its construction is scheduled for 2015.
It is urgent to ensure safety for high-rise buildings, given that many more of them will be built and flights will be made more frequently in urban centers. Flight altitudes must be included among the items to be studied at the planning stage of urban development. In particular, the impact on flight safety must be considered before issuing a construction permit for a 50-story or higher building.
It is necessary to divide the sky above the urban centers into no-fly zones and other types of restricted areas in consideration of the locations for state-owned facilities, the topography, the microclimate and the structure heights. It is also necessary to demand flights be made strictly in accordance with the manuals.
Flight paths must be renewed for safety in Seoul, which has 159 designated flight obstacles and 488 rooftop heliports. All relevant agencies will have to closely cooperate to ensure high-rise buildings are safe from not only flight accidents but also fires, earthquakes, whirlwinds and disease.
[ Kyunghyang Shinmun, November 19, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Korea, Country of Placards
Jun Sang-in Professor of Sociology Graduate School of Environmental Studies Seoul National University
For the second consecutive year, Times Higher Education (THE), a British weekly magazine specializing in education, has placed Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) on its list of the world`s best 100 universities that are less than 50 years old. In addition, a while ago, the New York Times selected the university as one of potential candidates to be a “next-generation M.I.T.�
There are probably many explanations for POSTECH`s rise into the ranks of globally prominent universities since its founding in 1986. For me, one big reason is its unusual academic atmosphere. At this university, it is extremely difficult to find placards, which overflow at other campuses. The absence of placards is among the indirect elements of POSTECH`s prestigious status.
My guess is no universities in any other country have as many placards as Korean universities. From academic symposiums, cultural performances and athletic events to various kinds of rallies, job fairs, briefing sessions for overseas studies, recruitments of club members and backpack travels, almost all promotions and advertising are conveyed through placards. There are even placards put up by university authorities to spotlight students who have passed state-administered exams and others by individuals to congratulate their friends` passing the tests. During mid-term or final-term exams,
student councils also put up placards to encourage students to study hard.
Many of the placards are at non-designated places and rarely pulled down voluntarily even after they are out of date. Combining them with all sorts of posters and leaflets, the landscape of Korean universities doesn`t really fit in with their proud title, “Sanctuary of Learning.� No wonder, foreign professors and students visiting Korean universities often experience cultural shocks.
Placard saturation is not a problem limited to universities; our entire country is overflowing with them. Most of them are for promoting business start-ups, sales or recruitments, but there are also quite a few put up by public institutions to trumpet their achievements or by groups airing complaints. Some are for social comment such as support or opposition to a local government plan; a call to maintain orderly traffic; a request for information from anyone who saw hit-and-run accidents; and promises to reclaim dishonored debts; or to arrange illicit meetings between men and women.
Churches and temples are not free of placards, nor are areas near national parks no longer safe from placards. When national holidays come along, waves of placards to see off and welcome hometown visitors rhyme with each other in cities and agricultural villages. Lately, placards attached to vehicles are also rapidly increasing. Just as they don`t match with prestigious universities, placards don`t go well with the image of luxury urban towns. The landscape of Korean cities pockmarked with placards is outrageous, indeed.
At a glance, every day in Korea seems to be a party day, a field day or a festive day, but in another way, it always looks like a moving day, a construction site or an evacuation road. This is our current portrait. We easily talk about Korea`s joining the ranks of advanced countries but as far as urban daily routines and landscapes are concerned, we are still a country of chant and slogan, a country of propaganda and enlightenment, and a country of showing off and decrying.
It is largely because our society has failed to develop reasonable means of communication and exchange of information. In a highly competitive society, which is often compared to the animal kingdom, putting up big and conspicuous placards in public places can be considered the easiest and most effective way to raise one`s voice and play up the sense of existence. Meanwhile, the overuse of placards can also be interpreted as the legacy of government-led drives to teach citizens about everything. So to speak, they have been used as a teacher or a topic of conversation on the street.
There is also room for interpreting the unusual obsession with placards as an extension of Korean
culture of demonstrating. In short, they are an informal form of mass media. Furthermore, they are quite useful in masking our society`s hypocritical aspects. Slogans such as “right life,” “nice citizen” and “good country,” advocated by placards, are only for external display in most cases. Excessive placards are a clear sign of an underdeveloped country, as you can see in the case of North Korea. Amid the general trend of digital information, this is also an act of going against the times. Above all, putting up placards indiscreetly disfigures the urban exterior and ruins the territorial landscape.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration plans to revise overall the outdoor advertising law. This comes in nearly half a century after the law to crack down on illegal outdoor advertisements. I hope that they will take this opportunity to seriously consider the visual pollution that placards create. By clearing away placards alone, we can take the first step toward creating a luxury city. I wish that educational authorities, who are struggling to find ways to strengthen the competitive edge of Korean universities, will take note of POSTECH, which is free of placards.
[ The Chosun Ilbo, October 21, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Ecological Buffer for Suncheon Bay
Jung Jin-hong Editorial Writer, The JoongAng Ilbo Dasan Distinguished Professor of GIST
We are all well aware of the preciousness and usefulness of mud flatlands now. During the development era, however, most people believed that they were worthless and the best way to use them was to turn them into farm fields. Therefore, the Nakdong and Yeongsan rivers were blocked and a breakwater was set up in the sea around Saemangeum. And, not very long ago, these were boasted as great historical achievements.
However, Suncheon took a completely different approach toward its mud flat. Instead of reclaiming its mud flat, Suncheon protected it and thereby has created a very special future. Those who belatedly realized the ecological value of mud flats had a chance to restore the reclaimed areas to their original state. The mud flat, which is home and playground to all sorts of sea creatures such as mudskipper, Japanese ghost crab, sand crab, three-spine shore crab, and red-clawed crab, not only has an outstanding ability of purification but also is a source of life that produces oxygen.
The mud flat of Suncheon Bay, which measures about 20 million square meters (approximately 6 million Pyeong) is home to all sorts of migratory birds each year. Especially, the area is frequented by black-faced spoonbills in summer, and hooded cranes and Saunders`s gulls in winter. However, this has not been achieved for nothing.
In 1991, a child discovered a hooded crane with a broken leg in a rice paddy. In those days, people set fire to the field of reeds in the mud flat when winter came, so it was extremely rare to see a hooded crane there. The crane seemed to have dropped out of its flock after it injured its leg. The child took the bird home, where he and his father tried in vain to heal the bird. So, the child talked with his teacher at Suncheonnam Elementary School and decided to keep the crane in a school cage, naming it “Duri.” Ten years later, a veterinarian visiting the school saw the crane and proposed a campaign to help it return home. Environment protection groups in Suncheon responded enthusiastically and one year later, Duri was able to safely return to its home in Siberia.
After that, however, an even more amazing incident happened. Hooded cranes, which had rarely stopped in the area before, began to visit regularly. Their number rose to about 100 in 2003 and to 660 in 2012. As more and more of these migratory birds came each year, people in Suncheon Bay began to take actions to ensure their safety such as pulling down about 280 utility poles and limiting flight altitudes of planes. Thanks to these efforts, Suncheon Bay has now turned into a natural utopia for birds such as spoonbills, swans, egrets, herons, snipes and Saunders`s gulls as well as hooded cranes, and one of the world`s five best-preserved coastal wetlands.
Last spring, when Suncheon City organized the International Garden Expo Suncheon Bay Korea 2013, I was a little bewildered at first. Suncheon Bay itself is one of the world`s most beautiful ecological gardens. I finally understood the reason after carefully looking around Suncheon Bay and the expo site from early in the morning until late at night last Wednesday, days before the expo completes its six-month run.
In a word, the expo was a “bodyguard” for Suncheon Bay. The garden expo was taking its position as a gigantic ecological belt to protect Suncheon Bay, a garden of life made up of all kinds of trees and flowers, and forests. The garden expo rounds up its six-month schedule tomorrow but its role as the “bodyguard” of Suncheon Bay should begin in a more earnest way.
For example, the parking lot of Suncheon Bay should be closed to prevent automobiles from entering the bay mouth and instead an eco-friendly tram system should be put into operation between the expo site and the bay. Thus, tomorrow`s closing of the International Garden Expo Suncheon Bay doesn`t mean an end but a fresh start. We have to maintain persistent attention and make an investment in life so that the expo site won`t be reduced to the space of a big one-off event. Instead, it can become an eternal ecological buffer for Suncheon Bay, a global garden.
[ October 19, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
[DEBATE] Scaled-down Basic Pension Program: What Are its Implications?
[PRO] Kim Yong-ha Professor, Department of Finance and Insurance Soonchunhyang University
[CON] Oh Keon-ho General Secretary Do-It-Yourself Welfare State
A conflict is flaring over a basic pension plan promised during the last presidential election campaign. Beginning next July, the government intends to pay 100,000 won to 200,000 won per month to those aged 65 or older with an income below the 70th percentile of senior citizens` incomes. In the election run-up, a universal rate of 200,000 won per month was promised. Under the revised plan, the exact amount per individual would be inversely related to national pension benefits already being received.
Supporters of the cutback claim that given the dire fiscal condition, it is necessary to revise President Park Geun-hye`s election pledge. Opponents insist the president should fulfill her pre-election vow.
[PRO] Dire Fiscal Condition Calls for Selection and Concentration
The basic pension scheme is a social security program that will cost about 8 trillion won annually. As such, the following questions must be answered:
First, how much will the pension scheme contribute to easing poverty among senior citizens, which is its primary goal? Second, is there any question of fairness when it is considered in connection with the national pension program? Third, is there any problem not only with its short-term funding but also with its long-term sustainability? Fourth, is it administratively feasible?
First, the pension program will not be of great help in easing poverty among senior citizens. A recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that 45 percent of the Korean senior citizens live on incomes of less than half the national per capita average, with the rate being the lowest among OECD members.
As of 2013, the minimum living cost stands at 560,000 won per month. Considering that about 30 percent of senior citizens have little regular income, 200,000 won as a monthly basic pension will not lift them far from their present poverty level. However, the monthly benefit will be of no small help to many of them who have lived modest and frugal lives. Given that a fiscal constraint demands selection and concentration, it is agreeable to limit the eligibility for basic pensions, ranging from 100,000 won to 200,000 won, to those with an income below the 70th percentile of senior citizens` incomes.
Some people claim that the basic pension scheme discriminates against enrollees in the national pension program. But that is incorrect. Those who receive 500,000 won per month as a national pension benefit have contributed less than half of what they are paid. The remainder comes from contributions made by others, including their employers and younger generations. In essence, they are already receiving basic pension benefits.
The basic pension scheme is designed to support the elderly poor who benefit little from the national pension program or receive a paltry sum, if any, from other public pension programs. As such, it will help to even out the social security system, which has discriminated against the elderly poor.
But the basic pension scheme raises questions about short-term fundability and long-term sustainability. It is estimated to cost about 8 trillion won each year of President Park Geun-hye`s fiveyear tenure. By 2040, the cost is projected to soar to 100 trillion won per year. Undoubtedly, the scheme will be immensely burdensome for the nation.
In the short term, the administration can afford to fund the basic pension scheme by appropriating
funds to welfare programs as it has done in its 2014 budget plan. In the long term, however, future administrations will need considerable flexibility because the tax burden on the younger generation will increase as the nation will turn itself into a super-aged society. In addition, the basic pension scheme will challenge local governments, which will have to shoulder part of the funding burden despite their own fiscal hurdles.
It will not be too difficult to determine who will be denied basic pensions because their eligibility determinants will be quite similar to the current old-age pensions. But it may not be easy to differentiate payouts to senior citizens who have paltry incomes. Nonetheless, it will not demand too much administrative work because national pensions will serve as an objective guide.
All things considered, the basic pension scheme can be highly evaluated as a plan to improve social security for the elderly poor and help ease their living conditions.
[CON] Basic Pension Scheme Should Provide Universal Coverage
The Park Geun-hye administration will have to make good on her promise to pay 200,000 won as a monthly basic pension to all senior citizens aged 65 or older.
First, it will have to do so because President Park made the pledge as a presidential candidate last year. Many elderly citizens voted for her in the belief that they would receive the amount of money regardless of their income if she was elected president.
Some argue that campaign promises that can hardly be implemented in their entirety must be revised. But presidential campaign promises cannot be taken lightly, given that they help determine who will take power. How hard has she tried to fulfill her campaign promises since she was elected president? How can we explain to our children that she imprudently began to revise her promises upon launching her transition team?
Second, the foundation of the national pension program must be kept intact. Its sustainability must be ensured as much as that of the basic pension scheme. The national pension program`s credibility will be undermined if its subscribers are given a disadvantage in their eligibility for the basic pension scheme when it is launched. How can the government argue for a costly revamping of the national pension program, including an increase in contributions, when such a need arises in the future? The
administration will have to refrain from a shortsighted pension policy if it is to urge the nation to prepare for its population aging, which is progressing at the fastest rate in the world.
Third, conflict over the fairness of a revised basic pension scheme will create a high social cost. Contributions made to the national pension program for a longer period mean greater post-retirement benefits. Still, there are some contradictory cases.
A person, who receives more than a negligible amount of money from the national pension program because he made substantial monthly contributions for a relatively short period of time, may still take more than the average basic pension. On the other hand, a person, who made smaller contributions for a longer period because his monthly pay was smaller, may be denied a basic pension. It should not come as a surprise if people like him feel a great sense of deprivation.
Another contradictory case involves wealthy people who hold their assets in someone else`s name. For instance, a person living in an expense apartment in Seoul`s premier residential district will be eligible for a basic pension benefit of 200,000 won per month if he does not hold his apartment and all other assets in his name. With a monthly basic pension benefit of 200,000 won in mind, people will be tempted to hide their assets so that they appear to have an income below the 70th percentile of senior citizens` incomes. As long as there is a question of inequality in eligibility, the administration cannot maintain a stable welfare policy.
Fourth, the basic pension scheme can be better funded when its coverage is universal. The nation`s tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product is 19.9 percent this year, 4.7 percentage points lower than the 2010 OECD average. It is necessary to collect more in taxes if the government is to expand its welfare program. In this regard, the government will have to seek cooperation from those in high-income brackets.
Some may ask why the government should pay 200,000 won a month to the elderly rich. Withholding the basic pension from them would not help raise tax revenue. The government will face less resistance to tax increases from the rich when its key welfare programs provides universal coverage.
The government is worried that the basic pension scheme cannot be sustained if all senior citizens receive the monthly payment. I acknowledge that the cost will snowball. But the problem is that the government, while ignoring an increasing demand for welfare, merely talks about an increase in expenditures.
To maintain fiscal sustainability is to keep balance between revenues and expenditures. A tax increase is inevitable because the low ratio of tax revenues to gross domestic product cannot provide sufficient support for a rapidly aging society.
People resist new and higher taxes because they are concerned the additional revenue will be spent improperly. To ease resistance, the government could consider levying a tax specifically for use in welfare. The demand for greater welfare can no longer be resisted in the nation. The basic pension scheme must be implemented as originally conceived. It is time to start a debate on the creation of a new social welfare tax.
[ The JoongAng Ilbo, Ocober 5, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Busan International Film Festival Displays Asian Identity - Sharing Economy, Korean Young People`s Venture - How to Appreciate Street Performance - Jeonlado.com, Ain`t it Swell?
Busan International Film Festival Displays Asian Identity
Hwang Young-mee Film Critic; Professor General Education Institute Sookmyung Women`s University
The 18th Busan International Film Festival this year included 299 movies from 70 countries and a slew of internationally renowned directors and big-name stars. Among the directors were Gianfranco Rosi who won the Golden Lion at the 2013 Venice Film Festival with “Sacro GRA”; Hirokazu Koreeda, who picked up the Jury Prize at this year`s Cannes Film Festival with “Like Father, Like Son”; and Jia Zhangke, Cannes`s Best Screenplay winner. Quentin Tarantino also came, despite not having an entry in the festival. The U.S. director hosted an open talk show along with Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho.
As usual, tickets for the first and last day of the festival, the largest of its kind in Asia, went in a flash. All the tickets for the opening film were sold in 43 seconds and those for the closing film were gone in just under four minutes. This year`s festival opened with “Vara: A Blessing,” the third film directed by Bhutanese monk Khyentse Norbu. Adapting the Indian short story “Blood and Tears,” Norbu wrote the screenplay for the film, which was produced as a global project.
The movie is about the love between a young Hindi dancer named Lila (Shahana Goswani) and Shyam (Devesh Ranjan), a fledging sculptor from a lower social class. Shyam asks if she would model for his sculpture of Saraswati, the goddess of art and knowledge, a taboo in their conservative
community. When local residents discover Shyam`s project they beat him and threaten to exile him. Lila wants to help but she is already pregnant with Shyam`s child and cannot bear to tell her father about her relationship. Instead, to spare Shyam from banishment, Lila claims that she is pregnant by a secret admirer who is able to give her a more comfortable and socially acceptable life.
The plot of this movie is as classic and homespun as any melodrama. Nevertheless, it provides insight into the simple, narrow view of life of people in a southern Indian village that has yet to be exposed to the modern world. In the film, Lila prays often to the deity Krishna, which implies that Lila`s decision to sacrifice herself has religious meaning. Her beautiful dance signifies the path she follows as a seeker of truth.
The closing film was Kim Dong-hyun`s family melodrama “Dinner.” Kim previously depicted the lives of the underprivileged touchingly through a North Korean refugee`s encounter with a foreign migrant worker in “Hello, Stranger.” In “Dinner,” Kim explored the tragedies and misfortunes of an ordinary Korean family. Family members who do not even remember the mother`s birthday have more than their fair share of difficulties. It realistically portrays the disintegration of the family amid a series of misfortunes as individuals clash with one another, each with their own sorrows and wounds.
The selection of an Asian film and an independent film for the opening and closing presentations, respectively, demonstrated the identity and future direction of the Busan International Film Festival.
[ Maekyung Economy, No. 1728, October 22, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Sharing Economy, Korean Young People`s Venture
Kim Ryu-mee Columnist
I happened to meet a young man at a burgeoning youth organization, where I went for an interview. I was told he has been studying the humanities for a long time, so I asked about his previous activity. He unexpectedly replied, “I haven`t belonged to any community. I took a course at a youth center widely known as an alternative research center, though. But people there got too chummy with me, which made me even uncomfortable. So I stopped going.”
A president of a Christian publishing company that I ran into the other day threw out a question: “Why are so many young people leaving church?” I also began to wonder why. As is the case with church, political parties, regional gatherings, civic groups, and alternative communities, where people look very friendly even with strangers, have also started to complain about the lack of young people. “Where on the earth are they?”
Meokbang, a Korean slang term for programs that show people eating, has become popular on the Internet, particularly when they feature ordinary people. The usual format has the main person eating delivered food in front of a computer in a small room, while viewers, also eating, type their questions and replies that are visible in a chat window. These lonely young people communicate by typing messages, not by having face-to-face encounters.
Today`s Korean youth are portrayed by two buzzwords: “Loser” and “Surplus Sentiment.” Strictly
speaking, their sense of being worthless losers has been totally fueled by fragmented individualism.
However, there are some attempts being made to combat the individualism that prevails among the youth. “Zipbob” (or Jipbap, “homemade meal”), a social dining website, is an example. It gathers people with common interests for group meals at local restaurants. An organizer posts the name of a restaurant and the purpose of the dinner meeting and anyone can register for a seat. A social venture company, “Woozoo” is applying the same concept to solve the housing shortage for youth. The company rents and renovates shabby houses to provide opportunities for young people with common interests to share houses.
Furthermore, at the “Wisdom” website, anyone who wants to share their experience and knowledge can round up a small offline group to share career information, job skills, techniques, etc. “Open Closet” loans donated formal wear to subscribers when they have a dress-up event such as a job interview.
Food, clothing and shelter form the requisites of our life. At some point, however, such requisites have become “certifications.” And most young people consider this certifying process a cumbersome luxury. The founders of sharing platforms are mostly young people. Thus, they are attempting to resolve their generation`s needs through a digital-based sharing economy, rather than capital investment.
Humans are said to be social animals. We want to make sure that we are connected to others. Abraham Maslow identified social connections as the third level of human needs, after physiological and safety needs. What has driven young people to satisfy this need from the confinement of their room? Perhaps they are all too aware of the fact that even the physiological and security needs are threatened in Korea.
If there is a future about which Korean youth dream, it will not lie in solid individualism, but in their somewhat loose connections with less intimate social groups that they can rely upon and receive support from. So I want to ask what the older generations are preparing for future generations, besides their bitter lament: “There is no more future for Korea.”
[ The Hankyoreh, October 21, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
How to Appreciate Street Performance
Cho Sun-hee CEO Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture
Streets are becoming more things to see. October has been a busy month for Seoul with street festivals such as Hi Seoul Festival, Seoul Drum Festival, Seoul Arirang Festival, and so on. Gwacheon, Goyang and Ansan in Gyeonggi Province also are hosting festivities. Only a few years ago, street performances generally were associated with portrait painting, singing and playing a guitar. Now, it covers a full gamut of activities; not only art and music but also theater, dance, magic, circus, parade and fireworks. And none of the street performances are the same.
On the last day of this year`s Hi Seoul Festival, a swarm of street performers filled the downtown area. Watching trapeze artists performing above the Seoul City Square, I had assumed they were French or Spanish but I was surprised to discover they were Project Fly based in western Seoul.
I also saw a young couple pushing around a cart with a little house built upon it. They were singing and playing the accordion, piano and the Mongolian Morin Khuur, and the way they played “Für Elise” was as if the air inside a balloon was seeping. This one-of-a-kind performance by Um Dalda showed how Korean street performance has come a long way.
On Seonyu Island, a street art market opened over the weekend, which was more like an expo. Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, it
included a street theater, puppet and magic shows and a parade of performers, festival organizers and policy planners. Visitors to the park stayed to enjoy the performances despite a cold evening breeze.
It must have been an unforgettable experience for spectators who had a rigid definition of fine arts such as music, dance and theater. In a street theater, without sophisticated stage props, the sky is the limit; plastic bags can serve as a blanket one moment, and they turn into a house the next. Actors roll on the ground getting dirt all over, summon the audience to the front, or plunge into the audience altogether.
Street performance has endless potential in that it unleashes wild imagination transcending limitations of space and mode of expression. One downside is the lack of admission fees, which raises uncertainty about sustained entertainment. Performers sometimes get paid to appear at street festivals, but it only covers minimum production cost and expenses. To make ends meet, most of them have to work other part-time jobs.
In Europe, it is a common sight to see artists perform in the cities with their violin case or hat on the ground into which people throw coins during or after the show. I heard that some of these musicians are Juilliard graduates. Seoul is no stranger to street performers, especially in the Insa-dong and Daehakno districts. Busking is now a trademark of Hongdae district. However, the culture is different in Korea in that musicians trained at conservatories are embarrassed to take money from passers-by. Likewise, people do not feel comfortable throwing them money.
A decommissioned water intake station in eastern Seoul will be transformed into a street performance creation center by Seoul City and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. Such a platform is quite timely; but to be a bit more frank, rather late in coming. In order for the budding street performance to fully blossom in Korea, both public and private support is needed. I hope the day comes soon when we can easily meet artists on the street and enjoy their performance paying them gratuities.
[ Seoul Shinmun, October 18, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Jeonlado.com, Ain`t it Swell?
Jung Ji-eun Arts Education Team Manager Incheon Foundation for Arts and Culture
Scanning the monthly magazine titled “Jeonlado.com” readers find it is full of a strong dialect of the southwestern provinces of Jeolla. I found the magazine in 2008 through a site called www.jirisan.com. Under the title, “Guidebook for Hitchhikers in Jeonla-do” (Jeolla-do in the current standard Romanization), there was a subtitle, “We apologize for raising the price by 2,000 won.” After I made up my mind to pay 5,000 won every month, I received the first shipment and the impression I got was “How corny!”
The Jeolla dialect pervasive in all articles sounded Greek to me, and every picture in the magazine featured grannies bent at their waist hard at work. With earth covering their faces, they were working in the markets, fields, mudflats and village corners, and it was an uncomfortable sight to see. But before long, I found myself reading the delivered magazine from front to back every month as soon as I ripped it out of the envelope. I was attracted to the real story of a small village that failed to make an entry in guidebooks, words spoken by the wise men, and delicious food that made my mouth water just by reading about it.
This wondrous magazine captures the true stories of people living in quaint villages and has feature articles about old ladies whose wrinkles on their faces tell their own tale. There is even a professional granny journalist by the name of Nam In-hee who has talent in differentiating among different Jeolla
dialects. Can you imagine a news agency which hires a professional granny journalist? This unique magazine publishing house hosts a “Beautiful Jeonla-do Dialect Contest” giving out Yo Be Da Best prize, Good Enuff prize, and Could Do Betta prize.
The print media is suffering amid persistent sluggish domestic spending. To make matters worse, the regional name “Jeonla-do” is on the cover of the magazine, possibly stoking hostile feelings among people who associate the region with unpleasant experiences, and the publication only has a handful of sponsors. That being the case, the travails of Jeonlado.com obviously repeated, though the editors deny it.
In 2007, the publication was suspended. But the fans and avid readers voluntarily raised the subscription fee, secured advertisements, and ran fundraising programs to give the magazine moral and financial boost. There was someone who even let the publisher use office space for free. But these rescue measures were not sustainable. What good is recognition from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the best magazine when it is suffering from financial difficulties?
Jeonlado.com is holding a photo exhibition, displaying 100 pictures out of some 10,000 which it has printed. The proceeds from ticket sales will provide the company with cash, but the situation is not much different from that of 2007. The price tag changed from 1,000 won to 8,000 won and all the while the magazine has struggled to stand its ground. However, it cannot sustain itself at the sacrifice of others.
I would like to give you a choice in case you are interested. Call 062-654-9085 and 1) sign up for an annual subscription at 80,000 won, 2) pay monthly subscription of 8,000 won, 3) pay subscription and sponsorship, or 4) sign up as a sponsor member. Of course, we will need a fundamental solution. Is there no way that the magazine can overcome the ever so familiar hurdle after a long period of destitution and stay in business for long?
I want to continue to listen to the grannies` sound advice of “No sweat” and “Bygones.” This issue is not just about Jeonlado.com. Each region deserves to have its own media which best represents itself in its own language, featuring the local people and culture and capturing the sprit in writings and photographs. What good is cultural proliferation if we cannot even sustain such a mall-scale media outlet?
[ The Dong-A Ilbo, October 3, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- How Happy Are Koreans? - A Second ‘Dae Jang Geum’ Unlikely with Export Strategies Alone
How Happy Are Koreans? Kim Dong-yul Senior Research Fellow Hyundai Research Institute
1. Uptick in Happiness
The percentage of Koreans who feel happy has increased slightly during the past year. In a telephone survey conducted by the Hyundai Research Institute from September 30 to October 6, 2013, 41.5 percent of the respondents said they are happy, compared to 40.5 percent in 2012. The survey involved 1,006 adults over age 20 chosen from different regions in proportion to the total population.
When asked “Are you happy?� 49.8 percent of the respondents said they feel neither happy nor unhappy; 41.5 percent said happy; and 8.7 percent unhappy. Those who said they were happy tended to be in their 20s, unmarried, women, highly educated and high income earners.
It was found that the rate of happiness was in inverse proportion to age. People in their 20s were the happiest, at 44.5 percent. By occupation, white-collar workers showed the highest rates of happiness (46.3 percent), and blue-collar workers the lowest (32.3 percent). Among those who said they are not happy (8.7 percent of respondents), the self-employed accounted for the highest share at 15.4 percent. By income, those who earn more tend to feel happier. By region, those residing in cities showed higher rates of happiness than those in small and medium-sized cities and rural towns.
The percentage of respondents who said they are economically happy nudged up from a year ago. When asked “Are you economically happy?� those who said they feel somewhat happy about their current economic condition took up the largest proportion at 58.2 percent, followed by those who are happy (21.8 percent), and unhappy (20.1 percent). The rate of financial happiness (21.8 percent) was much lower than that of overall happiness (41.5 percent), but it ticked up from June 2013 (17.4 percent) and December 2012 (17.6 percent).
The largest proportion of those who have an overall sense of happiness (41.5 percent) was found among those in their 20s, unmarried, women, white-collar workers and residing in large cities. On the other hand, the largest number of respondents who were economically happy (21.8 percent) were 40somethings, married, full-time housewives and residents of small and medium-sized cities.
By age group, those in their 40s are most satisfied with their financial condition (25.0 percent), while those in their 50s most frequently expressed dissatisfaction (30.1 percent). By occupation, students (32.9 percent) and full-time housewives (29.2 percent) feel happiest with their economic condition. On the other hand, relatively high proportions of the self-employed (30.9 percent) and blue-collar workers (25.0 percent) expressed unhappiness about their economic condition.
By region, those who live in Busan/Ulsan/South Gyeongsang Province and small and medium-sized cities expressed relatively higher degrees of economic happiness. Those in low income brackets feel less happy about their economic condition.
2. Survey on National Happiness
Asked to name the reasons for feeling happy, the top answers were relationships (39.5 percent) and health (28 percent), followed by career and job satisfaction (12.2 percent), leisure and volunteer activities (10.7 percent), financial condition (9.3 percent), and political participation (0.4 percent).
Notably, in older age groups, relationships are less important while financial condition is more important. Relationships are considered most important among those in their 20s (44 percent), career and job satisfaction among those in their 30s (15 percent), financial condition and leisure activities among those in their 50s (13.0 and 14.8 percent, respectively), and health among those in their 60s (38.9 percent).
By occupation, students responded relationships are the most important factor (45.6 percent); the selfemployed regarded health (36.9 percent) is more important than relationships (32 percent); and fulltime housewives considered money the top factor (15.2 percent).
Of those who said they are unhappy, the largest proportion, or 41.4 percent, attributed their unhappiness to financial distress, followed by a lack of leisure and rest (19.7 percent), job dissatisfaction (14 percent), and relationships (12.1 percent). Unhappiness due to financial distress was pronounced most often among those aged 60 and older (53.8 percent), followed by the selfemployed (51.2 percent), residents of Seoul (46.9 percent), those earning less than 1 million won a month (57.1 percent), and middle school graduates (54.5 percent).
When asked, “Are you happier than you were a year ago?” the most frequent answer was “Similar” (58 percent), followed by “Feeling happier” (24 percent) and “Feeling unhappier” (17.3 percent). The largest share of those feeling happier came from those in their 30s (31.3 percent). They were followed by students (29.1 percent), white-collar workers (28.9 percent), and high-income earners with the monthly income of at least 4 million won.
When asked, “Do you think you can become happier if you work harder?” the largest portion, or 78.4 percent, replied “Yes,” followed by 20 percent with “No” and “I don`t know” with 1.6 percent. As for the likelihood of becoming happier, a positive response was given mostly by people in their 20s, unmarried, students, high-income earners, and those with masters and/or doctorate degrees.
On the other hand, a negative response was given mostly by people in their 50s, married, selfemployed, lower-income earners of less than 1 million won per month, and high school graduates.
The largest proportion of respondents cited post-retirement concerns (20.3 percent) as the major cause of economic hardship, followed by perceived inflation (18.5 percent). However, a slight difference is indicated by age, job, marital status, and region. Other factors causing economic difficulties include child rearing and education (15.8 percent); weakening of the income distribution structure (12.2 percent); unstable housing market (9.6 percent); and household debt (9.2 percent).
Factors of concern varied according to age group: job instability (27.5 percent) and perceived inflation (23.8 percent) for those in their 20s; child rearing and education (19.5 percent) and perceived inflation (15.9 percent) for those in their 30s; child rearing/education (25.0 percent) and post-retirement (22.1 percent) for those in their 40s; post-retirement (25.3 percent) and perceived inflation (16.7 percent) for those in their 50s; and post-retirement (30.5 percent) and perceived inflation (22.4 percent) for those in their 60s.
By marital status, the unmarried are most concerned about job instability (24.7 percent) and perceived inflation (23.3 percent); on the other hand, the married are most concerned about post-retirement (22.1 percent) and child rearing and education (19.8 percent). By occupation, there were nominal
differences affecting financial hardship; however, students are most concerned about the tight job market (38.7 percent). By region, a relatively higher proportion of respondents living in the metropolitan areas of Seoul and Incheon and Gyeonggi Province cited the unstable housing market.
Cited restoring the national economy, followed by expanding welfare services (16.2 percent), stabilizing perceived inflation (15.1 percent), creating a safer country free of crime and disasters (14.3 percent), reducing the burden of private education (8.6 percent), promoting social integration and alleviating conflicts (8.4 percent), and stimulating the housing market (7 percent).
By gender, women cited the revitalization of the economy as the top priority and next, creation of a safer country. Meanwhile, men ranked the creation of a safer country fourth. By age, people in their 20s cited the increase of welfare services (22.5 percent) and the creation of a safer country (20.4 percent) as the government`s two most important tasks; those in their 30s cited the stabilization of perceived inflation (19.6 percent); those in their 40s picked reducing the private education burden (16 percent); and those in their 50s and older chose the revitalization of the economy (38 percent).
By occupation, the self-employed cited as the top priority the revitalization of the economy (36.1 percent) and reinvigoration of the housing market (12.9 percent), and students most often cited building a safer country (19.5 percent). By region, 10.2 percent of the respondents living in Seoul ranked the reactivation of the real estate market as the highest priority, showing a relatively higher rate than other age groups.
Asked about the desirable means to secure the financial resources to improve welfare services, 40.5 percent of the respondents cited tax increases for high-income earners, followed by the legalization of the underground economy (34.8 percent), restructuring of fiscal expenditures (18.2 percent), and tax rate increases (6.5 percent). These figures reflect the NOOMP (Not out of my pocket) phenomenon among Koreans, which remains unchanged from a year ago. It indicates most Koreans agree with the idea of improving welfare services but are reluctant to share the financial burden.
Tax rate increases, which would fall on respondents themselves, were ranked the lowest (the fourth) at 6.5 percent. Tax increases for high-income earners took up a higher proportion in Jeolla Province (58.5 percent), Gangwon Province (50 percent), and Busan/Ulsan/South Gyeongsang Province (44.2 percent). The legalization of the underground economy was most often recommended by respondents in their 30s (39.8 percent) and the least often by those in their 60s (26.2 percent). By occupation, white-collar workers showed the greatest preference at 38.3 percent. It is noteworthy that more highincome earners recommended this method than low-income earners.
As for the restructuring of fiscal expenditures, respondents of the older generations were more likely to show approval, with those 60 and older taking up the highest proportion (42.1 percent). They were followed by workers in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (40 percent), full-time housewives (26.2 percent) and the self-employed (24.2 percent).
Asked if they prefer a selective or universal welfare system, selective was the overwhelming choice at 73.3 percent, more than twice as universal (26.2 percent). Universal welfare was selected primarily by those who were younger, unmarried, white-collar workers, and residing in the provinces of Jeolla and Jeju. Selective welfare, which offers welfare benefits only to people in the greatest need, was selected primarily by those who were older, married, full-time housewives, and less educated.
By age, selective welfare was favored by 64.7 percent of those in their 20s, 65.7 percent of those in their 30s, 77.6 percent of those in their 40s, 81.5 percent of those in their 50s, and 82.3 percent of those 60 and older. By gender, it was approved by 77.3 percent of married respondents, and 62.4 percent of unmarried respondents, and by occupation, 80.8 percent of full-time housewives and 68.8 percent of white-collar workers.
The rate of backing the preservation of the status quo was found to be much higher than that of backing the expansion of welfare services and tax increases. When asked to choose between an increase of welfare provisions and tax increases, 60.5 percent of the respondents preferred preserving the status quo, while 37.6 percent supported the expansion of welfare provisions and tax increases, and 1.9 percent offered no opinion.
By gender, 68.8 percent of female respondents and 52.3 percent of male respondents chose the conservative welfare model of preserving the current welfare provisions and tax rates. By region,
more respondents living in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (65.7 percent) and Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province (66.3 percent) preferred the conservative model than those in South and North Jeolla Provinces (58.9 percent), Chungcheong Province (56.4 percent) and Incheon and Gyeonggi Province (56 percent). By occupation, full-time housewives showed a relatively higher approval rate for maintaining the status quo.
Regarding the most urgent task for the government to restore the middle class, 38.7 percent of the respondents cited the creation of jobs. They were followed by lowering household debt (20.1 percent), alleviating the burden of child rearing and education (19.2 percent), employment stability (11.7 percent), and solving housing problems (10.4 percent).
By age, respondents in their 60s most often ranked job creation as the most urgent need (57.6 percent), followed by those in their 50s (55.5 percent), full-time housewives (51.9 percent), unemployed and retired (46.9 percent), workers in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (46.7 percent), selfemployed (45.9 percent), students (45.6 percent), and low-income earners.
3. Implications
First, the slight enhancement of people`s overall sense of happiness and economic happiness seems to indicate economic recovery, including recent improvements of the Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs), which have exceeded the 100-point benchmark for three consecutive months.
Second, the top government priorities to increase people`s happiness should be revitalizing the economy and improving economic fundamentals; economic hardship has the biggest impact on people`s unhappiness.
Third, recommended policy actions include improving financial conditions for the retired, easing perceived inflation, alleviating the burden of child rearing, and reducing employment instability, all of which were cited as major sources of economic distress. Job creation and employment stability are vital for both the youth and the aged.
Fourth, considering that a much higher proportion of the respondents supported the conservative, selective welfare model, a roadmap for the development of future welfare services needs to be drawn up and priorities should be determined.
[ Issues and Tasks, No. 13-50, October 14, 2013, published by the Hyundai Research institute ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
A Second ‘Dae Jang Geum’ Unlikely with Export Strategies Alone Kim Su-jeong Professor, Department of Communication Chungnam National University
“What`s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Korea`?” In a 2012 survey of 3,600 people in nine countries, the top answer, as expected, was “TV dramas.” In the past, who would have thought dramas would lead to an international boom in Korean popular culture and shape the image of the country? Another 2012 survey by the Korea Creative Content Agency shows that dramas and K-pop compete for first and second place in the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, which began with the dramas.
But will this remain true? Will there continue to be big hits overseas, like “Winter Sonata” in Japan and “Dae Jang Geum” (aka “Jewel in the Palace”), the most beloved Korean drama around the world so far? What should we do to make sure this is the case? Anyone who knows the answer to that question would surely be a target for head-hunting not only by the Korean broadcasting industry and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, but also the all-mighty Hollywood film industry, which pours millions of dollars into works that become hits and misses.
Broadcasting Only 5.5 Percent of Content Exports
As a person who seeks meaning and understanding from popular culture, I am neither able nor
disposed to suggest a feasible export strategy for the culture industry to be competitive. Of course, I fully realize that TV dramas are a high value-added product, but I believe that they need to be properly understood to unlock their maximum commercial value and economic effect.
TV dramas account for 81.9 percent (as of 2011) of the content exported to overseas broadcasters. Thus, research papers or policy reports emphasizing the economic effects of the Korean Wave all start with export statistics, which serve as a lyrical narrative introduction. For example, in 1998 imports of broadcasting programs were more than double exports. But the tables were turned in 2002 and have not changed. In 2010, broadcasting exports amounted to US$180 million, about 18 times the amount of imports; in 2011 exports reached $227 million and imports grew significantly to $190 million.
So, exactly how big is this figure, which stands for the success of the Korean Wave? Of all content exports, broadcasting actually accounts for only 5.5 percent of the total (as of 2011), or 4.4 percent if only dramas are considered. Taking first place in Korea`s content exports is games. Broadcasting falls behind cartoons and animated characters (9.1 percent), and publishing (6.6), while exports of K-pop, which we are led to believe is storming the whole world, stands at 4.6 percent. This is the reality.
It is understandable that Koreans, who are used to seeing the local media make a huge commotion over the supposed worldwide popularity of Korean dramas and pop music, believe that these two areas are the greatest profit generators. Of course, there are the indirect effects that are not reflected in the statistics, and it would be a mistake to underestimate the total impact of drama exports.
What I would like to emphasize is that we should not be led astray by relying just on the statistics without taking a look at the overall picture, and that we should not overreact to changes in the statistics. Indeed, when it comes to cultural products such as dramas, we should analyze the statistics carefully and try to understand what they really signify, for they are connected to a range of uncontrollable factors, much more so than consumer products such as cars.
Korean Dramas Seep into Everyday Life in Other Countries
Such being the case, what is the importance of Korean dramas` popularity overseas? TV dramas, while containing social values, ethics and desires that can be easily understood and draw empathy in other countries, are also a form of entertainment that heightens emotions and senses. They broadly encompass the values of life to a degree that K-pop cannot compare, provide visual enjoyment, to which publishing materials cannot compare, and have a sense of continuation and foundation in everyday life that outweighs even the powerful impact of movies.
A new miniseries runs for at least 16 episodes, while longer series such as “Dae Jang Geum,” seen by viewers in many countries around the world, reach up to 54 episodes. Daily soaps sometimes go over 100 episodes. So the fact that people in different countries with different values and ways of living are taking an interest in Korean dramas means that those people are beginning to gain an understanding of our country, people and culture. It means they are experiencing an overlap in the emotions and sentiments of the Korean people with their own. For this reason, Korean dramas are gaining a place in the everyday popular culture of people of almost all age groups.
The television viewers of today, who do not disparage popular culture, identify themselves with what they watch and take pride in the fact. They wish to visit the locations where their favorite dramas were shot and feel as if they know the locals. This is no different to how Koreans now in their 40s and 50s yearned for America as they grew up watching “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Paper Chase” and those in their 20s and 30s longed to visit New York as they watched “Sex and the City.”
This means a taste for the culture of other countries has been nurtured over a long time in everyday life, along with the fondness for one`s own culture. The fact that something no longer has the explosive popularity of the past does not mean it has disappeared like an outdated trend. As all the surveys show, it is no surprise that those who like watching Korean dramas have a much more positive attitude toward anything related to Korea (be its products, language or people).
It is evident, whether intended or not, that overseas viewers` taste for Korean dramas both directly and indirectly influences the material, emotional and symbolic benefits sought by the Korean government and Korean businesses. But if the government tries to claim the Korean Wave as the fruit of its own endeavors and use it as a means to promote the country and improve its image, while the media reports on the popularity of Korean culture in a self-absorbed manner, psychological barriers may ensue.
The popularity of Korean dramas has provided us with a channel to compare our culture with other cultures and gain understanding of those cultures, and the opportunity for quantitative and qualitative increase in Korean popular culture. Still, there are unwanted side effects such as exorbitant salaries paid to some Korean Wave stars and damaging levels of competition between broadcasting companies. Their battle for high ratings of their dramas is the underlying cause behind the poor and ineffective production system and conditions. Domestic viewers, however, are like a captive audience that generally watches whatever is given to them without much complaint.
Sustainability Questioned
For overseas viewers, however, imported dramas are still full of alien cultural elements and as soon as the entertainment value or standard sinks to a certain level, they no longer watch. Therefore, efforts to create better quality contents with the future of Korean dramas overseas in mind serve as momentum for the qualitative development of Korean popular culture overall, the first beneficiaries of which are the domestic viewers. Nearly all of the Korean dramas that were acclaimed around the world were big hits in Korea also.
When drama exports began to wane in 2006, even the academic world concluded that the Korean Wave had come to an end and turned their attention elsewhere. But along with the great advances made by K-pop soon after drama exports picked up again and have been growing steadily. So why, as the Korean Wave seems to be receding again, is the idea that dramas are on the decline surfacing again?
Compared to the rapid rise of K-pop and Psy`s global sensation “Gangnam Style,” the impact of dramas is less visible, especially in the Western world where Korean works have yet to gain wide attention. In addition, though the export amount has increased, this has come mainly from a rise in the unit price rather than a rise in the number of dramas sold overseas. Moreover, the contents industry and related government organizations may be intentionally drawing attention to dramas out of the desire to keep the momentum of the Korean Wave going.
Concerns over the future of the Korean Wave have also been sparked by surveys conducted by the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange in February and November last year. To the question of how long they expected the current boom in Korean pop culture to last, the top answer was “five years” from 53 percent to 91 percent of respondents in Asian countries where the Korean Wave is most visible (China 72 percent, Taiwan 60 percent, Thailand 53 percent).
Of course, if we consider that popular culture must continue to flow between countries and that Korea`s popular culture should not continue one-way exchange, the same statistics may provoke a different response. For instance, it may be thought that in this rapidly changing world anyone who believes a foreign culture can be maintained for more than five years has no sense of reality.
In this sense, the results of another survey may come as a surprise. In a survey of 100 Korean Wave consumers in different countries, an equal number of males and females, covering age groups from the teens to the forties, 10-47 percent of respondents said that the Korean Wave would last more than five years. This may lead to the satisfying conclusion that our popular culture will remain a small part of the everyday lives of those societies, more so if we consider that Korea has little interest in foreign pop culture other than that of the United States and Britain.
Commercialism and Tired Plots
What should be noted and carefully considered from various angles are the problems with Korean dramas pointed out by viewers in Asian countries. Like the death knell, they pointed out monotony (lack of diversity) and commercialism as the two greatest issues. Monotony means that one drama is very much the same as another. Two major reasons can be posited for this lack of variety.
First, as social relations, power relations and ethics differ from country to country, the conflicts and desires arising from these three elements also differ in each culture. Therefore, each country has a
different way of projecting and resolving these elements through the fantasy of drama. If Korean dramas fail to reflect social changes, the stories and characters cannot but remain limited despite any change in format.
To be more specific, the fantasies and desires in Korean dramas are stories where family relations and economic power (class) collide and are resolved through the means of romance, which is a close reflection of the nature of Korean society. That is, the contents and sentiments in the stories do not change easily because they are the result of accumulated years of society and history. This is the reason why crime and investigation dramas have long been a popular genre in Japan and dramas depicting a ruling underclass resonate in Hong Kong and China.
The second reason why the conflict-based plot and characters cannot depart from stereotypes and dramas lack a broad range lies in the production side. The major broadcasters are loath to try anything new as they compete for ratings, and this, combined with problems in the production system, results in “safe� dramas.
However, concern over the future of overseas popularity is not the major reason for the need to diversify. The narrow scope limits Korean viewers` cultural sentiment and capacity, and means stagnation of the broadcasting culture.
What then are the implications of the commercialization of Korean dramas in different countries? The Korean Wave started with dramas because some of the unique characteristics embedded in them fulfilled certain desires or aspirations in different countries that their own dramas could not satisfy. Perhaps the appeal of Korean dramas came from the lack of contents in some countries, or the lack of romance stories, or the attractiveness of the actors and their fashions, a reflection of the overemphasis on looks in Korean society, or the close-knit family relations, or the strong emotions and delicate relations shown in the dramas.
The tastes and attitudes of viewers in each country regarding Korean dramas differ according to their respective socio-cultural characteristics and the differences between countries. This means differences exist in the way viewers of each country relate to Korean dramas. Each country has its own preferences as to sub-genres, style and atmosphere, and generally their diplomatic relations impact consumer sentiment.
The way Korean popular culture is accepted in other countries changes according to circumstances.
For example, the Chinese government`s active intervention and efforts to increase production capacity at home have helped to ease the lack of contents, while in Japan political and diplomatic conflict has resulted in a tense atmosphere where Korean content cannot be enjoyed in comfort. Moreover, the pop culture of yet another country may emerge as a factor.
Self-reflection and Change
Despite these considerations, the Korean people and the Korean media don`t try to grasp or understand the differences between regions or nations. Instead, they tend to think overseas viewers are a monolithic audience. This attitude invites criticism regarding commercialism. How would overseas viewers react if Korean stars come into their country, meet with fans, receive some money and return home the same day; or if the per-episode price of dramas jumps; or if dramas feel like one long ad because they are filled with product placement rather than content that stimulates the emotions and senses? Would they feel Korean dramas are “culture-less commodities�?
What is the future of Korean dramas overseas? Without basing them properly in production and consumption, to put our hopes in a strategy aimed at raising exports is like trying to put the cart before the horse. Dramas are a matter of our interest not because they account for a huge amount in exports. The future of Korean dramas overseas will depend on self-reflection and efforts to make changes toward greater richness and depth in the content of our popular culture. With greater diversity and more stories to tell, Korean dramas will be better able to satisfy the varying tastes in different countries and their desire for something new. That`s when Korean dramas will bring unanticipated economic effects.
[ Newspapers and Broadcasting, Issue No. 513, September 2013, published by the Korea Press Foundation ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Korean Literature Mourns Loss of ‘Everlasting Youth Writer’
Korean Literature Mourns Loss of ‘Everlasting Youth Writer’
Choi Ik-hyeon Staff Reporter Professors Newspaper
Novelist Choi In-ho, known as an “everlasting youth writer,” has passed away at the age of 68. He was holding a pen, determined to remain a writer not a patient, until finally succumbing to cancer at 7:02 p.m., on September 25.
This year Choi had marked the 50th anniversary of his literary career, which began when his short story “Through a Hole in the Wall,” earned him second place in the Hankook Ilbo`s annual literary contest. The then second-year high school student went on to become a prolific novelist and receive widespread adulation as “the vanguard of pure literature and popular literature” and “a writer standing at the heart of youth culture of the 1970s.” Those often-repeated compliments, however, fail to capture the quintessence of his literary world.
Most discussions of Choi`s works start with his novels that were turned into popular films, such as “Home of Stars” (1974) and “Deep Blue Night” (1985). On the other hand, the literary circles tend to emphasize his depiction of “the process of rapid social transformations in Korea, focusing on the pathological obsessions in contemporary society and disconnection between people.” Both of these views only provide partial insight into his body of work.
Then what was the novelty of Choi`s writings? Writers who made their literary debut in the 1960s
were commonly referred to by their contemporaries as “authors armed with literary sensitivity of the ‘Hangeul generation` that came after the Student Revolution of April 19, 1960.”
Kim Seung-ok, who is three years his senior, has received critical acclaim for his fluid, elegant style, while Choi`s shrewd, beautiful style still remains underestimated. Whereas his younger colleagues, who possessed literary sensibilities of the so-called Korean script generation, overused absurd phrases such as “feeling like walking on a cloud,” Choi crafted sturdy, vivid expressions such as “flipping over pebbles to catch crayfish in the ditch.”
Critics highly appreciated novelist Hwang Sok-young, two years his senior, noting that his description of a wandering worker`s life was an exceptional achievement of literary realism. However, Choi`s novels, which captured the solitude of city dwellers roaming around dark urban streets and young people`s frustration under the shadow of industrialization, have not received any accolades other than being called “sophisticated urban literature.”
In yet another comparison, while “The Son of Man” by Yi Mun-yol, three years his junior, was thought to contain something more profound than the fiction, Choi`s “Another Man`s Room” was seldom read as anything more than a portrayal of existential loneliness and sufferings of ordinary citizens.
Usually, living authors are not considered to be a suitable subject for post-graduate research. According to the dissertation catalogue compiled by the Korean National Assembly Library, however, Choi has been discussed in 19 master`s and one Ph.D. dissertations. In comparison, 19 master`s degree theses and seven Ph.D works have been done on Yi.
Accurate accounts of industrialization, urbanization and the resulting alienation of individuals in concise and aesthetic prose characterize Choi`s works. This is one of the most important reasons that we need to revisit his literature.
In addition, Choi inhaled and exhaled the youth culture of his days. No other Korean novelist has made so much effort to portray the spirit of the era`s young generation, which typically donned blue jeans and roamed through Myong-dong or Gwanghwamun. Choi also wrote the screenplays for movies, including “The March of Fools” (1975) and “Whale Hunting” (1984). Could anyone else have done as much as he successfully did in combining letters and images?
While Cho Se-hui, two years his senior, criticized poverty and irrationalities caused by urbanization in his linked story series entitled “The Dwarf,” Choi meticulously observed and recorded the struggles and fragmented consciousness of the confused young generation in cities. It would be fair to say that Choi`s literature contributed to the Korean literature of the 1970s and 80s, and further to Korean culture, by providing flexibility and adding richness.
In the 1980s, Choi turned to Catholicism and started to write novels dealing with history and religion. It is not constructive to criticize him for this switch of path. He chose to walk a different path from other writers, and he continued to decipher the symptoms of the era and established milestones there. His elaborative work “Confucianists” has failed to elicit in-depth criticisms or research mainly due to a lack of understanding about his intellectual pilgrimage.
Perhaps the encounter of history and religion, and the human mortality interwoven therein, have long been the central topics of his writings, from his early short story “Through a Hole in the Wall” to the full-length novel “Hole,” created at the pinnacle of his writing career. Now, Choi In-ho is no longer with us but he may be observing us through a “hole” from somewhere in heaven, with a pen in his hand.
[ September 27, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Will North Korea Follow the Path of East Germany? - Where Did Italian Towels, Korean Sauna and Singing Rooms Come From?
Will North Korea Follow the Path of East Germany?
Lee Jae-hoon Staff Reporter The Hankyoreh
“The Real North Korea” Written by Andrei Lankov, Translated by Kim Su-bin, Gaema Gowon Publishers, 368 pages, 18,000 won
Andrei Lankov unequivocally pronounces the North Korean regime as doomed to fall in a very violent manner. He then advises that the fall must be facilitated but managed to minimize the potential violence. Is he a friend of the Neocons and the Korean New Rights? Not really. In fact, he views the policy of pressure and sanctions against the communist regime are “pseudo-hard-line” in nature and quite useless.
Even if China were to give genuine support to such a policy, it would only mean the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people with little political and qualitative impact on the regime itself, Lankov says. He warns also that the policy of ignoring North Korea is risky as the regime “has not the slightest desire to be left alone.” In fact, he believes that should South Korea refuse to deal with the North Korean regime, it “will face an almost endless chain of provocations.” North Korea`s “grotesquely bellicose rhetoric” and “armed provocations” are products of carefully calculated diplomatic policies, not products of “insane ideological zeal” or irrationality, Lankov says.
Lankov acknowledges that the chances are very slim that a reform-minded regime will take over North Korea. Even so, he forecasts that North Korea is more likely to fall like East Germany rather than follow the path of Chinese economic growth. He explains that this is because North Koreans will wrongly expect their living standards to rise to those of their South Korean brethren just as the East Germans had done.
Lankov, who was born in the former Soviet Union, recalls that it was bustling scenes at the cash registers in large American supermarkets not U.S. election results that lighted the imagination of the Soviets in the last days of communism. The key is not political pressure but economic incompetence. The author points out that the North Korean elites know all too well about the danger a close and very rich South Korea poses.
Lankov draws the reader`s attention to how all of Pyongyang`s policies, such as nuclear development, refusal to reform, maintenance of the police state, and escalating regional tension, are directly linked to the fundamental nature of the North Korean regime. This is where he parts ways from the supporters of dialogue who believe that aid, economic cooperation, guarantee of security, and normalization of relations with the United States can change North Korea`s behavior. He emphasizes that in the absence of a short cut to fundamentally changing the communist regime, the only longterm solution is to grow the internal pressure. Therefore, all forms of exchange between North Korea and the outside world should be welcomed as they have the potential to foster change.
This is why the author strongly calls for academic and cultural exchange, radio broadcast to North Korean listeners, dissemination of videos, CDs, DVDs and other digital media, and last but not least the strengthening of North Korean defector communities. He rates the Kaesong Industrial Complex as a very good idea, precisely because it can change North Korea and its people through an exchange that is freer and less controlled. By the same token, it was perhaps the biggest mistake for the late Kim Jong-il and the DPRK leaders.
The author`s assessment, however, leaves an important question. Are changing North Korea and deepening inter-dependence through exchange and cooperation a zero-sum game of mutual exclusion or a positive-sum game with synergic effects?
[ October 7, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
Where Did Italian Towels, Korean Sauna and Singing Rooms Come From?
Heo Yun-hee Staff Reporter The Chosun Ilbo
“Busan Is Vast” By Yu Seung-hun, Book Pot, 442 pages, 20,000 won
Songdo Beach, the first beach in Korea to cater to sunbathers, celebrates its centennial this year. The Japanese had taken note of Songdo`s proximity to downtown Busan, its shallow waters and vast stretches of sand, qualities they felt would make an ideal beach for vacationers. The concept of sunbathing was relatively new to Japanese themselves who were introduced to it by a western doctor of medicine who was invited to work on the island state in the 19th century.
The development of the Songdo beach began in 1913 with the creation of a resting area on Geobukseom, or Turtle Island. Then, in the mid- 1920s, locker rooms and emergency aid facilities were added while more lodgings were built. However, Korea was still under the Confucian-oriented Joseon Dynasty at the time, and the local people were appalled at the sight of the scantily clothed beachgoers.
A journalist for the Dong-A Ilbo, a local newspaper, in describing Songdo wrote: “It is like a crowded public bath full of naked bodies strewn here and there.” “The place resembles a kingdom of semi-
naturalists writhing like mermaids barely covered from bosom to bottom.” “Then again, there is the delicious joy of sitting in the shade with chest open to the heat wave and drinking beer.” To prevent decadence and moral decline, the authorities created a ladies only beach in 1927 to segregate the two genders. This book is rich with such micro-history of the coastal city reconstructed from the perspective of an outsider.
Since the opening of its port, Busan has weathered the high tides of Korea`s turbulent history. The author, who cannot claim to be a pure-bred Busan man by birth, became fascinated with its uniqueness, history and culture when he began working as a curator for the Busan Museum 10 years ago. To unearth the history of the city that is now his home, he has conducted extensive research of newspaper articles, music and literature as well as interviews of local residents.
Busan Is a Port
To many, Busan is first and foremost a port. The Japanese colonial government built up the city as a strategic outpost for its imperialistic ambitions. Their design was to connect the Sanyo Railway in Japan to Gyeongbu Railway in Korea by maritime transport. The Gwanbu Ferry shuttling back and forth between Shimonoseki and Busan was also a part of this scheme.
The ferry which linked one railway to the other carried the displaced people of Korea forcefully drafted for hard labor and/or military service. The history of Busan Port under Japanese colonialism is indeed a history of shame and grief for Koreans. It is why the sound of the Gwanbu Ferry horn is remembered and described as heavy disconsolate groans.
Busan Port retained its strategic value after the Japanese colonial rule ended in 1945. In the 1950s it was a gateway through which war supplies and aid reached Korea. During the industrialization period, the government-sponsored emigrants, soldiers conscripted for the Vietnam War and sailors aboard deep sea fishing vessels left Busan Port for foreign lands. Popular songs like “Farewell Busan Port” and “Please Return to Busan Port” aptly reflect the sentiments of the times.
The Age of the Coffeehouses
The cultural evolution of Busan is defined by constant interactions of the maritime and inland cultures, which have nurtured a willingness to embrace things new and unfamiliar. A prime example is the coffeehouses that emerged during the Korean War when Busan temporarily became the capital
city. For the displaced and homeless refugees of war these establishments served multiple purposes, and it was not uncommon for people to greet each other with the question “Which coffeehouse do you frequent these days?”
The novel “The Age of Mildawon,” written by Kim Dong-ri based on his experience of fleeing from the civil war, is centered around the popular coffeehouse Mildawon. The novel faithfully depicts life in wartime as experienced by Yi Jung-gu, the hero. According to the literary critic Kim Byung-ik, Mildawon was “a sanctuary for writers without a place to go, a contact point to get in touch with colleagues who could not be easily reached, a study for novelists who lacked a quiet space to work on their manuscripts, and occasionally a gallery where exhibitions of illustrated poetry were held.”
Yeongdo Bridge – the Bridge of Death?
Yeongdo Bridge is known for the numerous suicides committed by those who suffered from the war and financial difficulties. Its notoriety reached new heights in 1962 when three teenagers failed in their attempts to take their lives in two days. That incident solidified its reputation as the “Bridge of Death.” Newspapers around that time published articles about a police officer, Park Eul-lyong, who persuaded people not to jump off the infamous bridge. Park saved as many as 248 lives during the 10 years he patrolled the bridge.
Other spots that have drawn considerable public attention recently include the needy neighborhood on the hills of Gamcheon-dong. Yu wrote: “One is first astounded by the beautiful landscape, and then by the myriads of houses that practically sit on top of each other on the slope with a steep 60degree incline. On the one hand, you have hills transformed into beautiful rice terraces looking over the sea, an exquisite example of the aesthetics of cultivation. On the other hand, you have the steps of houses that collectively form a hill, a breathtaking example of the aesthetics of construction. In sum, it is the aesthetics of poverty and the struggle against it.”
The author also wrote at length about the 12 cultural assets that he believes are the drivers of Busan`s history and culture. These include the Milmyeon noodles, the legend of Yeongdo Granny, Noraebang, Jonaegi sweet potato, and Dongnae Spa. Readers may also find it interesting that Busan is the home of Italian towels and Korean sauna known as Jjimjilbang.
The first karaoke machine in Korea was installed in the Royal Game Room located near Dong-A University in April 1991. A month later the first Noraebang appeared in Gwanganli with rooms each
furnished with a coin-operated karaoke machine. Full of such interesting trivia and their respective histories, the book proves how it is much more captivating to view the local neighborhoods and towns with a humanities lens than with an eye of a realtor.
[ October 12, 2013 ]
www.koreafocus.or.kr
- Venerable Hyemun Spearheads Return of Cultural Properties
Venerable Hyemun Spearheads Return of Cultural Properties
Sunwoo Jung Staff Reporter The Chosun Ilbo
When Ven. Hyemun is called, the ringtone of his cell phone is “Die Forelle” (The Trout), a piano quintet by Franz Schubert. The familiar tune is a reminder of who this man is and what he does. In 2010 this Buddhist priest, who heads the Cultural Property Repatriation Initiative, filed a petition with the government to correct the Korean title of the music from “Sung-eo” (gray mullet) to “Songeo” (trout). Until the 40-year-old activist monk took the initiative, Schubert`s masterpiece had been mistakenly identified in the country`s textbooks for decades.
“It was because people were caught up in a fantasy,” Ven. Hyemun said. “In a sense, people were under the influence of some surreal linguistic fantasy. It is like calling caldron lid a tortoise out of habit.” It seemed that the “Trout” episode has been just one of many as he spearheads to recover cultural properties that have been looted and smuggled out of the country.
When I visited his office near Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul for an interview, Ven. Hyemun handed me a sheet of paper with a list of 34 repatriated items, saying, “This is the outcome of my work over about 10 years.” Listings such as the “Annals” and the “Royal Protocols” of the Joseon Dynasty and “books loaned to Ito Hirobumi” grabbed my attention. All of these tasks have made the impossible possible and lionized him as a “cultural property repatriation activist.” He also recently made the United States promise to return the royal seal of Queen Munjeong of the Joseon Dynasty,
which a U.S. army officer carried away 60 years ago. The recovery will soon be No. 35 on his list.
Here are other items on the list. Item No. 7 is a Sarira reliquary that was taken from Hyeondeung Temple and held by the Samsung Foundation of Culture until a court battle in 2006. Item No. 23 is his success in 2010 in having the National Forensic Service dispose of a female genital specimen, known to be that of a Gisaeng (courtesan) at the famous restaurant Myeongwolgwan, made during the Japanese colonial period.
Item No. 26 titled “Removal of a Commemorative Tree Planted by Bush” especially piqued my curiosity. The National Assembly Gazette published a story about this in December 2012, saying, “People began complaining of the commemorative tree planted by U.S. President George W. Bush when he visited the National Assembly in 1982. Ven. Hyemun caused the uproar when he demanded to know if the current tree was the actual commemorative yew tree planted by the U.S. president himself. It turned out that the real commemorative tree withered and was replaced by a Sawara false cypress that originated from Japan. The National Assembly relented and replanted a yew tree.”
Here again, Ven. Hyemun found fault with people`s tendency toward heedlessness. He called such efforts “a fight for right against wrong” or “a struggle to find the right place for anything.” Topping his list was “Stopping Biased Programming by Cable TV Stations.” Ven. Hyemun laughed heartily, saying, “I corrected the practice of cable stations ignoring Buddhist programs but airing only Christian programs.”
Only Truths and Facts When he said, “I`ll fly to Tokyo three days later,” I thought that Japan would have a hard time again soon. As expected, right after he arrived in Tokyo, news stories adorned with his comments surprised the Korean people, announcing, “A set of helmet and armor, which presumably belonged to Emperor Gojong, is on display at the Tokyo National Museum. There is a possibility that they are looted items.” The helmet and armor are part of the Ogura Collection of Korean artifacts that Takenosuke Ogura (1870-1964), a wealthy Japanese businessman and antique collector, smuggled out during Japan`s colonial occupation of Korea. In a word, the Ogura Collection is a repository of looted Korean cultural properties.
Nonetheless, unlike many anti-Japanese activists, Ven. Hyemun does not simply browbeat looters into giving up the artifacts in their possession. Asked why his success rate is so high, he said, “I never
use farfetched logic, but approach issues based only on facts.” He implied that illegitimate holders of Korean cultural properties surrender the items because he approaches them in a meticulously logical way. This is his real merit.
“The Tokyo museum revealed the helmet to the public on October 1, because our talks went somewhat smoothly,” Ven. Hyemun said. “I made it clear that the helmet had been handed down in the Joseon royal household. The museum acknowledged the fact. Now that the fact was acknowledged and the property was opened to the public, we'll have to begin legal talks.”
Q. How high is the possibility of them being repatriated?
A. It`s as high as that of the annals, royal protocols and the seal. If we present precise evidence, we can have at least part of them returned to us. We`re defining the category for cultural properties that should be repatriated.
Q. What do you mean by ‘part of them’?
A. First, the Ogura Collection includes the Joseon royal households` artifacts [such as the royal helmet]. Until liberation, those artifacts had been managed by the office for management of the Yi royal household, which was under the Japanese Imperial Household Agency. If any of them were taken out of the country, they were smuggled out illegally. Second, we can prove that some items in the collection were looted from graves. We can prove perfectly that the items, which Ogura himself admitted he had obtained from the Gold Crown Tomb (Geumgwanchong) in Gyeongju, were smuggled out. This is a typical case in which the Tokyo museum acquired the items, even though it knew the fact. Third, I've found some Gaya era relics that also were robbed from tombs. If I say, ‘Give up the entire collection,’ they might not back down. But if I say, ‘At least you shouldn`t keep the items illegally carried away from Korea,’ then I think there`s a possibility.
Good Sense and Sound Judgment Negotiations can be difficult if there are ill feelings. Ven. Hyemun enjoys a high success rate, primarily because he recognizes his counterparts` good sense and sound judgment.
“There`s a fact that many people aren`t aware of,” he says. “During talks to conclude the Treaty on Basic Relations between Korea and Japan in 1965, Japan came up with a list of cultural properties
that it should return to Korea. They are the relics we could have received, if we had known about them and requested. I`m 100 percent certain that Japan would return [the looted cultural properties], if anybody opens this hidden file.”
Q. Is the Ogura Collection part of the file?
A. At the time, the Japanese Foreign Ministry wrote a document stating that Japan should return the Ogura Collection, even if it cost the Japanese government some money to buy them. This is probably because there must have been some illegal activities involved in the collection. That`s the Japanese Foreign Ministry`s position on the Ogura Collection. Japan is a country that can respect such a view.
Q. Was there any similar case?
A. It took me six months to apply for a reading of the Joseon royal protocols and obtain approval. What we lack is patience. Maybe, we`re descendants of nomads who used to raise sheep on a prairie. (ha ha···) They`d never have allowed me to read the Uigwe books, if I had told them to ‘return them’ from the beginning. How can they reject my request, if I make it in accordance with their own laws and regulations? We can take the next step, once we have entered the first stage. Japan is a country in which you can gain something only if you try at least for three years. It`s absolutely important not to go beyond the perimeter of facts and be patient.
The royal protocols of state events of the Joseon Dynasty, which the Japanese imperial household kept, were taken to Japan by the Japanese Government-General in 1922. Ven. Hyemun launched efforts for their return in 2006. He formed a repatriation committee, sent a request to Japan for its repatriation, flew to Japan for a reading of the books, and made their exquisitely illustrated pages known to the public. Afterwards, he submitted a motion to the National Assembly, issued a joint statement with North Korea`s Buddhist Union, and invited some Japanese parliamentarians to join his campaign. He said, “All we did at that time could be made into a book.”
Four years later, Japan agreed to return the precious volumes to Korea and they arrived in 2011. All of this was done when the prevailing view was that it would be impossible to win the repatriation of any more royal cultural treasures because people believed all relevant talks had been concluded with the basic treaty of 1965.
Ven. Hyemun said, “What do you think was the biggest reason the royal books were returned? It was
because the Japanese people themselves were aware of the fact that they illegally took them. We can get back such artifacts if we prove the fact elaborately within the framework of their own legal system, instead of simply making persistent demands. As far as I know, Japan is such a country.�
Karma Q. You seem to have made the most of the 100th anniversary of Japan`s annexation of Korea (August 29, 1910).
A. After all, everything happens due to karma. I started the repatriation campaign for the royal protocols in 2006 toward the goal of returning them in August 2010. I expected Japan would think of the need to do something during that time frame.
Q. Then what kind of karma worked in the repatriation of the annals of Joseon kings from the University of Tokyo in 2006?
A. That year, the University of Tokyo became a private corporate body. Before that, it was a national university. If the school had remained a national university, the Japanese Ministry of Education would have had to decide whether or not to repatriate the annals. The Japanese government would have argued that the basic treaty had ended any further talk on repatriation of cultural properties. So we waited until after the University of Tokyo became a private corporate body. The two key principles of this campaign are the perfect proof of causal facts and the intuition for karma and timing.
Q. What is your target year for the return of the Ogura Collection?
A. It`s 2015. The year will mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Korea and Japan.
Q. You have teamed up with North Koreans sometimes.
A. Japan considers North Korea a rogue state. It`s a good bargaining chip, isn`t it? That implies we`re friends with an internationally recognized rogue. (ha ha) Japan doesn`t want to be involved with North Korea. If Japan doesn`t give the Ogura Collection to Seoul, then Pyongyang will demand its repatriation during talks on normalization of relations with Tokyo.
Ardelia Hall Collection “There`s no big difference between the United States and Japan as far as the repatriation of cultural properties is concerned,” Ven. Hyemun said. “Both countries apply stringent yardsticks to cultural properties looted before the end of World War II, but try to logically handle those looted after the war.” Last month, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art promised to return Queen Munjeong`s seal. This also was the outcome of his meticulous efforts to establish facts. “Around the time Queen Munjeong`s seal was located, I found a record on this Joseon royal seal catalogued as a looted item on the list of the Ardelia Hall Collection.”
After the end of World War II, people discussed how to return to the Jews the Jewish cultural properties that had been stolen by the Nazis. The United States took the lead in this project, and Ardelia Hall, a Jewish-American official of the U.S. State Department, supervised it. She worked out a list of looted cultural properties, giving birth to the Ardelia Hall Collection.
“Mrs. Hall seemed to see the Korean War from the same standpoint of World War II. While studying looted cultural properties, she learned about what U.S. soldiers did during the Korean War and approached this matter under the same principle she had applied in handling the looted Jewish cultural properties. At the time, she actually returned some items to Korea, probably less than 1 percent of all stolen cultural properties··· Nevertheless, she was a Jewish heroine who played an enormous role in returning looted cultural properties to the countries of their origin. Her name is easily recognized when you pay a little attention to the issue of looted cultural properties and their repatriation. She
hasn`t been known well only because nobody has paid keen attention to her until recently.
Since 2009, Ven. Hyemun has visited the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland twice to confirm her collection of Korean cultural properties.
He said, “The words ‘Korean official seals’ caught my attention. They are the Eobo, the royal seals. Under this entry, I found a statement written by Yang Yu-chan (1897-1975), then Korean ambassador to the United States, about the missing royal seals. On November 17, 1953, the Baltimore Sun published an interview with Ambassador Yang concerning the missing seals. But it was difficult for me to read the story because words were garbled on the microfiche film. I went to Baltimore, where I found the newspaper company had moved. But I could search the article as I knew the date.”
This suggests that back in 1953, Yang made efforts to do something, even giving an interview to a local newspaper. Then, what did the government in Seoul do afterwards? Ven. Hyemun said that the government had a “memory loss.”
Q. It was an old story written in English. You must be fluent in English.
A. Reading materials in English is no big burden. Sung Moon Comprehensive English Grammar [a best-selling English grammar book in Korea] allows us to read old-style English better, doesn`t it? (ha ha) I get a lot of help from Korean Americans. But what is more important than linguistic ability is bibliographic knowledge. As a monk, I`ve been trained well to read old records and classics.
He found another record stating that in 1951, the U.S. military police arrested an American soldier for “a Korean royal seal” in Seoul, and confiscated and returned it to Korea. It turned out to be the official seal of King Danjong of the Joseon Dynasty.
“It was fortunate that King Danjong`s seal was found and returned. But as many as 47 royal seals were smuggled out to the United States at the time. Three of them were returned to Korea in 1987. Another was auctioned off in Seoul in 2011. Queen Munjeong`s seal is one of the 43 royal seals that remain missing abroad. It has been confirmed that another royal seal kept by Robert Moore, a collector of ancient art in Los Angeles, belonged to King Hyeonjong of the Joseon Dynasty. Moore is the man who sold Queen Munjeong`s seal to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Q. What did you do after the fact was established that it was a stolen item?
A. I requested the United States for its return in 2011. I organized a group for its repatriation with the help of Korean Americans. Setting 2013, the 60th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, as the target year, we formed a network and prepared to file an administrative lawsuit. Democratic Party Rep. Ahn Min-seok submitted a motion to the National Assembly. But it was never passed, because the parliament got embroiled in political wrangling.
They Call Me a ‘Wicked Monk’ Ven. Hyemun has four repatriation targets. First, Emperor Gojong`s helmet and armor, part of the Ogura Collection; second, the Goryeo era Lamaist-style sarira container kept by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (it was bought by the museum after being dug from a tomb and taken out to Japan in 1939); third, the bronze bell of Jangan Temple in Mt. Kumgang, which is currently kept by the Lushun Museum in Dalian, China (it was taken out by Japanese soldiers from Mt. Kumgang in 1905); and fourth, the Five-story Pagoda of Icheon and the Eight-story Pagoda of Yuli Temple, both dating back to the Goryeo period, currently standing on the grounds of Hotel Okura in Tokyo (they were taken out during the Japanese colonial rule).
Why is he preoccupied with repatriation of cultural properties? “The cultural properties I`m trying to regain are stolen sacred objects. The nation`s soul dwells in those objects. They include the annals of our ancient kings reflecting our national spirit, royal household artifacts such as the official seals of kings and queens, and a king`s helmet, and religious assets. I'm not talking about unconditionally winning the return of all of our cultural properties illegally taken out overseas. It`s a contradiction, if we say this on one hand and complain of the small space reserved for the Korean collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on the other, isn`t it? Many of them are on display in good condition after they were sold at reasonable prices in a legal way. What`s the problem with them? They`re Korean objects of art wherever they are.”
In the same context, he is calling for the National Museum of Korea to return of the Otani Collection to Central Asia. The collection consists of artifacts that Japanese monk Otani Kozui (1879-1948) brought from Central Asia. These objects, currently at the National Museum of Korea, were omitted from exhibits at the museum of the Japanese Government-General and remained in Korea after the end of World War II. Most of the artifacts are wall paintings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They are definitely sacred objects in Ven. Hyemun`s eyes. While nobody is asking, he is visiting Chinese provincial governments with the belief that the paintings should be returned to those regions. He is
thus embarrassing the National Museum of Korea.
He said, “We`ll gain, if we return those objects. We can regain our conscience. Think the other way around. We`re keeping 2,000 volumes of the annals of the Joseon kings. Retrieving 47 such volumes from the University of Tokyo won`t make us a culturally advanced country overnight. What`s important is to regain our country`s lost value. Likewise, our national power won`t be sapped simply because we return what Otani stole, will it? This is a way to gain the value we want. The cultural property campaign isn`t a matter of ownership, but a question of how to regain good sense. Only this approach will lead us to achieve what we want.”
When asked what kind of Buddhist clergyman he is, Ven. Hyemun said, laughing, “I`m a kind of eccentric monk. Those who only read scriptures and practice meditation are academic monks. If you don`t repeat this practice any more, you`ll fall into the category of eccentric priesthood. Someone called me a wicked monk who is disturbing the world. (ha ha)”
[ October 5, 2013 ]
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