September 18^th 2016

KBS News

By Im Jongbin

Video at link

The earthquake made tiles come off the roof, which are now scattered here and there. The earthquake occurred six days ago now, but recovery is far from complete. Temporary tents have been erected [around the damaged buildings] to prevent water leaking into them.

Ee Chunhee (resident of Sajeong-dong in Gyeongju) said “natural disasters can’t be helped, but that fact that we have to make repairs yet again makes me worry about the future [because of the cost involved].” Immediately after the earthquake, the number of cultural properties which have been damaged increased from 23 cases to 60 cases. There are around 300 plastic tents covering varying public facilities [across the city], but only around half of them have first aid facilities. At the epicenter of the quake on the 14^th damage injured anything from 29 to 48 people. As a result the government has authorised a special emergency grant of ‎₩4 billion to be sent to affected areas tomorrow to support emergency recovery. The disaster relief fund payments can be disbursed promptly from tomorrow as the [official] investigation into the incident is set to wrap up.

Analysis: while the nuclear diplomacy situation on the Korean peninsula remains extremely tense and garners the lion’s share of international media coverage, the earthquake which occurred in Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang province this week is still high on the domestic news agenda. Gyeongju is a site of enormous cultural and historic significance, where many houses are built in the traditional hanok style, and there are numerous museums housing extremely valuable artefacts. Koreans were extremely concerned about the earthquake as the country has been relatively tectonically stable in recent years, and the fact that the historical centre of Gyeongju was at its epicenter added significantly to their worries.

08.09.2016

Yeonhap News/Huffington Post Korea

The number of households where people say “I live alone” has been increasing sharply. The average number of people residing in each household has reduced, attributable to a growing tendency for family members to separate [across generations].

School textbooks traditionally showed families being composed of a grandfather and grandmother, two children and two parents; households composed of one, two or three people were rarely portrayed. But if one looks at the 2015 Housing and Population Status survey which was released by the National Statistics Office yesterday one can see that last year, the average Korean household size has decreased by 0.15 people from 2010. The average 2015 household is composed of 2.53 people while in 2010 the figure was 2.68 people. In 1990 that figure was 3.77 people; by 2005 it had fallen to 2.88 people, the first time the figure fell below an average of 3 persons per household.

Thus in 2015 single-person households made up 27.2% of the Korean population, an increase of 3.3% from the single-person household figure in 2010. At the other end of the scale households consisting of 5 people or more made up 1.2 million, or 6.4%, of the total population of Korea. The rate of single-person households has grown very quickly from the 1990 rate of 9.0% of the country’s total population. Up until 1990, the vast majority of the Korean population, nearly 60%, lived in 4- and 5-person households.

The main type of household in the country is changing.

The area with the highest rate of single-person households is Kangwon province, in the country’s north-east, where 31.2% of households are made up of one person. Incheon comes in second, with 23.3% of households being single-occupant. People in their 30s make up the largest single group of single-person households by age, with 18.3% of the total, representing 950,000 people, while people in their 70s (17.5%/910,000) and 20s (17.0%/880,000) come in at second and third place. The gender split between male and female is very even; 49.8% of single-person households are male, 50.2% female. Registration Census Director Heo Bongchae described the results as showing that “many of the single-person households are composed of economically active females; naturally, this figure will continue to grow. Students also account for a lot of the growth in one-person households.”

Analysis: While this rather dry recap of the survey’s findings could certainly have done with some colour, it illustrates the growing problem facing mature Asian and western societies: aging, atomised populations. The particularly competitive nature of life in Korea, where there are many social and economic expectations attached to marriage and family life, serves to exacerbate this trend. As the spokesman from the National Statistics Office points out, increased female participation in the labour market has hastened the rise of single-person households in Korea. Women no longer have to rely on a a male for financial independence, and may thus find themselves delaying marriage, either because they are content to wait until they meet a partner who fulfils their expectations or because they are unwilling to shoulder the still-onerous housework and childcare obligations which many working mothers and wives are expected to shoulder. (In fairness to married Korean men, they are often automatically expected to work much longer hours than women.) Korea – and other rich countries – will have to fully engage with this reality sooner rather than later.

03.09.2016

KBS News

By Ee Seok-ho

During their summit meeting Korea’s President Bak Geun-hye and her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed that strong tactical communication was needed between the two countries to effectively deal with the North Korean nuclear issue, and that North Korea could not be allowed to become a fully-fledged nucelar power. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum’s opening held at Vladivostok’s Eastern Federal Region University, President Bak reiterated the need for “strong tactical communication” between the countries to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threat.

At a joint conference after the summit President Bak emphasised that “Korea and Russia are aiming for increased co-operation with each other, in order to solve the threat to security in our region posed by North Korea’s nuclear missile ambitions”. At the same press conference President Putin revealed that his preference was for no usage of nuclear weapons and that “neither of our countries will tolerate North Korea becoming a nuclear power”.

The matter of placement of THAAD launchers on the Korean peninsula was not discussed at the conference,* although it is believed that President Putin understands the importance of their usage.

*THAAD launchers would form part of an overt anti-nuclear defence system as deployed by the US and South Korea – their deployment is a sensitive issue as China and Russia don’t want to see a US-operated anti-missile system so close to their borders.

President Putin said “easing the nuclear situation on the Korean peninsula needs to be done with reference to military and political concerns” and “we should try to reduce the level of military confrontation”. It is believed that this statement may have been a reference to the THAAD issue [ie Putin is calling for THAADs not to be deployed].

President Putin “exchanged opinions on economic integration prospects and key issues in East Asia,” the Bureau for Economic Co-operation told CNN. Ways to actively attract foreign firms to Russia were also discussed.

Putin said “the Republic of Korea is an important and promising partner of Russia in this region, and we have maintained an active political dialogue between the two countries. Our traditionally close economic relations have culminated in a mutually beneficial nature.”

Analysis: This is an unusually strong statement from Vladimir Putin: his language (at least the Korean version as reported) is completely unequivocal. North Korea will not be allowed to become a nuclear power. Observers may wonder whether North Korea is already a nuclear power, and may consider that Pyeongyang’s potential attack capabilities are much more damaging for South Korea than Russia. But Bak Geun-hye’s government must be in accord with Russia to stand behind such a statement. The question is, of course, what happens when and if such strong rhetoric is put to the test. Putin and Bak are probably not the only people hoping we never find out.

22.08.2016

Huffington Post via Yeonhap News

While [a new survey has found that] physical violence in schools appears to be declining, students are more likely these days to be severely emotionally affected by other types of bullying. School violence rates were highest in Busan this year, analysis of the survey’s results reveals, as [across the country] 117 reporting centres recived 2,089 reported cases of school violence. 39.4% of the total, 824 cases, involved serious violence or intimidation. Comparing the figures to the previous year reveals that these serious cases have declined by 7.5%, while bullying and harassment cases fell by 1.4% and sexual harassment cases fell by 0.7% to make up 3.1% of reported totals. In contrast, cases of insulting [speech] were up 34.5% from the previous year. A police source said that these cases were typically arguments between friends which developed into something more severe involving profanity.

Overall, primary school pupils were the most likely to have experienced violence, making up 59% of respondees who had been exposed to violent behaviour. Junior secondary school children made up 20.5% of repsondents who had experienced violence, and high school students made up 11.9% of respondents who had been the victims of violence.

38 cases required a formal police response; [nationwide] 363 police officers specialise in school violence crimes. “Thanks to educational campaigns, we have seen a large reduction in school violence,” a police spokesperson said. “We’re seeing a lot less intimidation of students. However, [as usage of insulting/contemptuos words is rising], we must be aware that insulting words can cause wounds to the psyche which may not heal easily.”

Analysis: Korea has an extremely complex relationship with violence in schools. As a strictly hierarchical society, very few people question the use of corporal punishment by teachers in schools, although in some provinces (notably Gyeonggido, which surrounds Seoul) its usage is formally banned. The Korean cultural requirement for absolute obedience to one’s elders (at least in theory) also means that bullying of younger pupils by older children is a persistent issue. (The term hakkyo pokryeok, “school violence”, is a media buzzword used to describe all types of school-based harassment and bullying, not just physical violence.) In recent years there’s been real will at all levels of Korean society to move away from the often brutal character of education, but certain of Korea’s specific cultural traits makes it challenging for these initiatives to fully succeed.

KBS News

6^th April 2016

Video at link

Spring flowers are blooming here in Yeouido [in Seoul], and people are using selfie* sticks to capture photos. But why do some people use exactly the same pose in all of their photos? Because throughout our life we see ourselves in the mirror with right and left swapped, when we actually see ourselves as we appear via photographs, it can be an uncomfortable experience. So, we continue taking selfies until we can find one which guarantees [that we look the way we think we do]. More and more people are trying to take that “special” selfie. By putting the information from 100 photos into a 3D printer, a fully 3D impression of a selfie can be made. Also recently appearing and rapidly gaining popularity is a “selfie drone”, which flies in mid-air and follows its subject around to capture selfies from every angle.

It’s a natural instinct for people to be interested in their own faces. Perceiving the outside world through our own eye sight stimulates the brain’s, but it’s only the face which activates the frontal lobe, responsible for feelings. If we compare someone else’s face to our own, the comparison makes more “sense”.

Gim Gyeongil, a Psychology professor at Aju University described the process: “when people see their own faces, people’s reactions, namely their emotional reactions, are maximised. This is actually how we are designed as humans.” At the same time, a selfie can express how a person relates to themselves. Because of this, some people don’t hesitate to take too many [selfies]. Added to that, we’re now living in a time where there’s a craze for people to constantly share their photos on social media.

Analysis: Korea is an intensely image-focused society, and it’s no surprise to see media coverage of the pressure people feel to present a perfect version of themselves via photographs. It’s very common for Koreans to have passport photographs and job application photos digitally retouched (and it’s telling in itself that jobs often require a photograph of applicants); Korea is also a world-leading market for plastic surgery. I don’t believe that selfie drones are becoming massively popular, and this piece also contains some pretty questionable assertions, but there’s no denying the primacy of physical attractiveness in Korea. I was shocked to see mirrors in every single classroom while teaching there – and lots of female students (and a few males) habitually carry small hand mirrors.

*”Selfies” are called “selka” (셀카) in Korean – a contraction of the English words “self” and “camera”. I heard this phrase when I arrived in Korea in summer 2008, a few years before I heard the word “selfie” in English.

KBS News (video at link)

20^th of March 2016

As part of the Saenuri party’s election process for the Seochgap elections, it was determined thatv previous member of parliament Ee Hyehun beat former head of the State Affairs Committee Jo Yunseon for the nomination. Jo is a member of the pro-president Bak Geunhye faction. Jo fought a hard battle, but observers have noted the strife which emerged from the nomination process.

After an intense conflict which had attracted concern, it appears that Daegu “Yuseungingye” candidate Gim Sanghun and pro-Bak faction member former Senior Secretary to the President for Public Affairs Yun Duhyeon moved to head off growing backlash caused by the strife of the election [by ensuring that Jo dropped out of the contest].

Member of parliament for active soldiers Shim Yunjo and MP Han Giho had earlier dropped out of the contest having conceded defeat. Seong Iljong, an adjunct professor at Goreyeo University and younger brother of deceased parliamentary liaison for Gyeonsangnam province Seong Wanjong, beat Chungnam Sasantae’s MP Gim Jaeshik for that nomination.

In Seoul Gu Seonghan, a former MP, Gim Hyojae, a former head of the State Affairs Committee and Choi Hongjae, who has held a previous post in the administration all earned a nomination. Member of the “Gim Museong Group” in Busan, MP Bak Minshik, and Gyeongsang MPs Han Seongyo and No Cheollae found themselves with their names on the ticket.

The nominations concerning Gim Museong himself, Seo Cheongwong and other supreme council membership positions are still to be announced. Ee Hangu, Saenuri Administrative Manager, said “I can’t say much about anything at the moment” when asked whether Gim Museong would be appointed as a representative to the supreme council.

KBS News (Video at link)

16.03.2016

There are still traces of the young boy in the young man who has noted down a winning streak of 18 victories in a row and has 7 championship titles. It’s already been 10 years since he was posted to Seoul. His grandfather provides a testament as to his great skill at Baduk, recounting tales of Ee’s virtuoso play as a youth. As a 17-year-old 3^rd-level player he recorded a victory over Yu Chang-hyeok, a 9^th level pro. In 2000 he won 2 gold medals just 5 years after becoming eligible for grand tournament selection. He was pictured as a strong candidate for Most Valuable Player at that time.

Ee: I will try my best until I can do no more, so I won’t be regretful later. I think if one thinks like this, one cannot fail to obtain a good result.

Later he made an appearance on a programme about one-off talents where he was able to showcase his off-the-wall appeal. “Since I was a baby,” he said “my hair was always shorter… [now it’s longer].” Ee Se-dol, always a top-level adventurer – great effort!

Analysis: Baduk – more widely known as “Go” – is a strategic game with a very long history in Asia. Baduk originated in China but the Japanese version of the game has garnered the most attention internationally. Played with black and white stones on a grid board, the aim is to encircle an opponent’s pieces. Baduk is said to have more possible move combinations than there are atoms in the universe, and accordingly it’s a great test of skill and memory for players. The very finest Baduk players rely on intuition and experience to win. The tone of this video is illustrative; many viewers in the west may find it strange that a twelve-year-old boy was packed off to Seoul to further a career. However, pressure and expectation are a fact of life for many Korean from an extremely young age.

Thursday January 14^th 2016

Huffington Post Korea

By Gim Byeong-cheol

 

“Comfort Women” who were abused by the Japanese military have declared the

no images were found

agreement between Japan and Korea over their case to be invalid. According to Yeonhap News  a press conference was held at the Korean Comfort Women Issue Measures Committee shelter and Sharing House residence for “Comfort Women” victims of the Japanese military, opposite the Japanese embassy. At the conference the victims revealed that the government had not asked them for their input about the proceedings and they were “completely opposed” to any agreement being made with the Japanese government.

 

 

Gim Bok-dong, 90, said: “The government needs to solve the issue of ‘Comfort Women’ but we don’t know why they chose an impractical solution like this… we are not going to take any of [Japan’s 10 billion yen]. Our monument to the ‘Comfort Women’ [situated directly opposite the Japanese embassy], which we have paid for, every penny, was not made for the two governments to come to a [cosy] agreement.”

Ee Ok-seon, 89, said: “Hiding the victims and trying to silence them has to stop. It cannot go on any longer.” Today [Wednesday the 13^th of January] around 800 police officers have been deployed to the weekly demonstration. [Surviving‘Comfort Women’ and supporters protest every Wednesday in front of the embassy.] Another atteendee at the conference in front of the statue said “this agreement between Korea and Japan is humiliating and will certainly rouse the Korean citizenry to action”.

Analysis: while Japanese and Korean lawmakers may hope that this agreement brings a definitive official conclusion to the so-called “Comfort Women” issue, clearly many (if not most) of those directly involved are not happy with the agreement which has been reached. After the ordeal these women were put through, it’s hardly surprising that an official agreement many decades later is unsatisfactory to them. It’s easy to criticise the sincerity of the Japanese apology, too; as recently as 2014 Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was still casting doubt on whether the imperial Japanese army had engaged in this type of abuse (here’s a KoreaNews story from October about a Korean-American student who had publically challenged him on the issue in May) and Abe has a long history of pandering to far-right Japanese groups. While he is currently politically strong enough to anger Japanese right-wingers by making this agreement, many Koreans feel he will quickly turn back to anti-Korean sentiments if and when he needs to. Park Geun-hye’s government, meanwhile, may have made a mis-step by failing to consult the victims and their support organisations about the agreement. With this agreement, however, the way is now much clearer for Korea and Japan to begin closer sharing of military information in light of North Korea’s renewed belligerence. This news piece also highlights the deep importance of symbolic gestures in North-east Asian politics; Japan finds the weekly demonstrations and statue highly embarrassing and for years has been putting significant pressure on Park’s administration to remove the statute and curtail the demonstrations.

January 8^th 2016

Video at link

KBS News

Chinese environmental authorities have begun an inquiry into radiation pollution on the border between North Korea and China after North Korea’s nuclear test. Also, it KBS News has checked and confirmed through withdrawals [from the bank] that North Korea’s Joseon Gwangseon Bank is continuing to operate, despite the

no images were found

nuclear testing.

Dandong abuts two rivers on the border with North Korea, more than 420km away from the [North Korean] nuclear testing site, Punggyeri in North Hamgyeong Province, [Chiense] investigative environmental personnel have mobilised inspection equipment to measure [radiation] and check that everything is alright in response to public pressure. The Chinese environmental agency is taking the affecting influence [of the tests] very seriously but is only releasing very little information to the public.* A Chinese environment agency investigator said, in response to being asked what they were doing: “we are measuring.” [The Chinese investigator is questioned and replies in Chinese in the video.]

Through revealing [“재재로”, literally “talkative” or “garrulous”] withdrawals it was discovered that North Korea’s Joseon Gwangseon Bank was again operative. The building security guard, when asked if the building housed the bank, said [again in Chinese] “the North Korean bank is room number 8 on the thirteenth floor.” When asked if anyone was present he said “maybe there’s someone up there, I’ve seen one or two people”. Thus also through the security guard the continued operations of the Joseon Gwangseon Bank were determined. One of the bank’s managers responded to a crowd of reporters with verbal abuse: “Stop all of those silly remarks which [you] have been making.” [While the actual content of this “verbal abuse” is mild, it was delivered via the casual speech style, which is extremely rude to use in professional situations or with anyone but close friends.]

[Working] amidst this very same menacing atmosphere is a North Korean trader. [He believes] that the nuclear tests are natural and fair. “What influence [did the test have on the Chinese environment]? Whether we trade or don’t trade [with China] our nation needs to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. And what?”

Meanwhile at the North Korean border posts Hwanggeumpyeon island on the Yalu river on the barbed-wire boundary between the two countries, no changes have been detected.

*The phrase used in the original is “말을 아꼈습니다” – “being thrifty with words”

Analysis: How much more will China take? Appetite for continued support of North Korea within Chinese power circles must be rapidly approaching rock-bottom. With a plummeting stock market the last thing Beijing needs is pointless belligerence from its misfit neighbour. Perhaps this latest round of testing is in response to some internal instability in the North Korean administration. Regardless, expect to see the usual strong denunciations and equally typical lack of any concrete action from South Korea, Japan, the US and the UN.

Huffington Post Korea

By Gwak Sang-a

A Chinese-character motto for the year 2015 has been selected. From five candidates a committee of 886 academics has picked a result: Hon/yong/mu/do 昏庸無道, which translates as “[the entire world is heading in] a dark and dizzying direction”. The Academic Newspaper explains the phrase in more detail: the first two characters, hun/yong refer to a foolish and incompetent monarch [or elected leader – in this case, President Bak Geun-hye] diverging from the correct path, represented by gong/do. The phrase originates from a description in Confucius’ Analects which discusses “the true path of a high ruler” (cheon/ha/mu/do, 天下無道).

Koryeo University professor Ee Seung-hwan acerbically pointed out the flaws in Bak Geun-hye’s leadership: “At the start of the year the situation with MERS was chaotic, and was not controlled by the government; we saw its incompetence. By mid-year [public] pressure on the ruling party to retire was very damaging to separation of the legal, administrative and judiciary arms and the parliamentary process. Towards the end of the year the government’s history textbook controversy caused another serious situation [the government brought in plans to issue a single history textbook to all state schools, causing massive protest from teachers’ unions and left-wing commentators].”

Analysis: that this piece of news is deserving of a front-page banner on Huffington Post Korea illustrates the regard, at least in theory, with which academics are held in Korea. Academics in the UK or US who announced a Latin motto for a year would hardly expect any media interest. Of course, Chinese characters are still in everyday use in Korean newspapers as supplemental glosses for obscure words which are homophones of more common vocabulary, but most Koreans have little interest in Chinese character education. The real story here is yet another damning inditement of the Bak administration from academics; education unions in Korea lean heavily towards the left and have been stridently critical of Bak’s tenure, not least due to unpleasant memories of the reign of Bak’s father, Bak Jeong-hee, who was ruled as a brutal right-wing dictator from 1961 until his assassination in 1979.