Korea, whose students dominate international exams, also is the least satisfied with its educational system within Asia. Only 56 percent of Koreans responded that they were satisfied with their educational system. The approval ratings were similarly low for other high-achieving nations like Japan (61%) or Taiwan (74%). Interestingly, over 95 percent of Singaporeans were satisfied with their educational system.
This says something, but the Korean is not sure what -- at least for now.
AAK! PSA: Things to do at the Incheon Airport
Are you planning to be at the Incheon Airport soon? Do you need to kill some time? The good folks at Incheon Airport sent this blog a schedule of concerts and cultural events to be held throughout the summer.
(Click to enlarge the program.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
(Click to enlarge the program.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Quick advisory for everyone who lives in Seoul:
In the Umyeonsan area where there had been a mudslide, there used to be a military base that was surrounded by land mines. Authorities say they recovered almost all of them, but a little more than 10 mines are still out there. Simple advice: do NOT go near the mudslide area.
In the Umyeonsan area where there had been a mudslide, there used to be a military base that was surrounded by land mines. Authorities say they recovered almost all of them, but a little more than 10 mines are still out there. Simple advice: do NOT go near the mudslide area.
Ask a Korean! Wiki: ESL Certificate Programs?
Dear Korean,
I really want to teach ESL in Korea (crazy, yeah, I know). I've been following a couple of blogs and whatnot, but recently I found out about certificate programs for teaching ESL. I'm graduating soon and I'm wondering if I should enroll in one of these programs before making my way to find myself a job. The one that has especially piqued my interest is the certificate program offered through the UCI Extension (Teach English As A Foreign Language). My questions are: Are these certificate programs any legit and do they help in snagging a sweet job in the ROK? As in, does it really give an one-up advantage to those who have one versus those who don't? Keeping in mind that I'll be fresh out of college with no previous teaching experience.
Su
Have at it, ESL teachers in Korea -- does having a certificate help? What kind of certificates are in high demand?
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
I really want to teach ESL in Korea (crazy, yeah, I know). I've been following a couple of blogs and whatnot, but recently I found out about certificate programs for teaching ESL. I'm graduating soon and I'm wondering if I should enroll in one of these programs before making my way to find myself a job. The one that has especially piqued my interest is the certificate program offered through the UCI Extension (Teach English As A Foreign Language). My questions are: Are these certificate programs any legit and do they help in snagging a sweet job in the ROK? As in, does it really give an one-up advantage to those who have one versus those who don't? Keeping in mind that I'll be fresh out of college with no previous teaching experience.
Su
Have at it, ESL teachers in Korea -- does having a certificate help? What kind of certificates are in high demand?
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Are Vaccinations Safe?
Dear Korean,
My name is Roy, and I am reaching out to you on behalf of the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (LADPH). LADPH just launched a public awareness campaign that urges people to protect themselves and their loved ones from preventable disease through proper vaccination. I work with SAESHE, a marketing agency that handles LA County's Asian American marketing and community outreach.
Los Angeles County is currently experiencing the worst epidemic of whooping cough in 60 years, with more than 870 cases last year alone. Effective of July 1, 2011, a new California school immunization law will require all 7th-12th graders in public and private schools to receive a pertussis booster (Tdap) shot, protecting them from whooping cough.
On behalf of LADPH and Los Angeles County, we are asking The Korean: Are vaccinations safe? Why should we get vaccinated?
Roy Cho
Assistant Account Executive
Dear Roy,
Despite the wishes of the Korean Parents, the Korean is not a doctor. But it does not take a doctor to know that vaccinations have done a tremendous amount of good for humanity. Thanks to vaccination, very serious diseases like polio, diphtheria and tetanus are practically eradicated. Vaccinations are safe, and we should be vaccinated to avoid preventable diseases.
Vaccination should have a more special meaning for Korean Americans, as it is one of the more enduring gifts from America to Korea. A very underrated contribution that America made for Korea is Korea's vast improvement in public health. As a Japanese colony, Korea's public health was miserable. Under the Japanese rule, Koreans had virtually no opportunity to receive medical education and become a doctor. Public health at the time was entirely focused on allowing the Japanese to live safely in Korea. The imperial police was in charge of public health in colonial Korea, and patients were treated as criminals, not people with illnesses. Virtually no attempt was made to treat the patients who were quarantined.
A good example of the brutality of Imperial Japan's "public health" policy is the way it treated Korea's leprosy patients. By the time of independence in 1945, Imperial Japan had built the world's largest leper colony in Korea, holding some 6,000 leprosy patients in an isolated island of Sorok-do. These patients, and their Japanese watchers, did not learn of Japan's defeat in World War II until three days after Japan surrendered. The Japanese in charge of the island heard the news along with some of Korean patients when they visited mainland to receive supply. The Japanese officials then killed 20 Korean patients on the boat to prevent the news from spreading, then returned to the island to embezzle the supplies in the island. The news nonetheless spread among the lepers, and the Japanese officials killed more than 60 patients in the ensuing riot before leaving the island.
The state of public health went from miserable to atrocious following the independence and through Korean War. At its height in the late 1940s, Seoul had 40 new smallpox patients every day; 40 percent of the patients died -- and we are talking about the disease whose vaccine was discovered in 1796. According to the U.S. military reports in 1946, nearly a thousand people died in one small town alone (Seonsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a little north of Daegu,) in just one week from at least five different communicable diseases. In 1949, it was estimated that more than 1.4 million Koreans had tuberculosis. In 1951 during the war, the same number was estimated to be 2.8 million.
American presence in Korea since the independence and through Korean War played a huge role in vastly improving such atrocious state of public health. Vaccination played a huge part in this. Of course, the starting point of American military's public health policy in Korea was its concerns about the health of their own soldiers who come in contact with Koreans at the time. During Korean War, one of the first steps to join KATUSA -- Korean soldiers who assisted the U.S. troops -- was to be sent to Japan and be vaccinated for smallpox, typhus, cholera, etc. But it is too cynical a view to think Americans acted out of pure self-interest. Despite being on a lower priority, Korean civilians eventually received regular vaccinations in an organized fashion. Much of humanitarian aid from America also focused on vaccination as well.
(Source: 전우용, 현대인의 탄생 (2011))
My name is Roy, and I am reaching out to you on behalf of the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (LADPH). LADPH just launched a public awareness campaign that urges people to protect themselves and their loved ones from preventable disease through proper vaccination. I work with SAESHE, a marketing agency that handles LA County's Asian American marketing and community outreach.
Los Angeles County is currently experiencing the worst epidemic of whooping cough in 60 years, with more than 870 cases last year alone. Effective of July 1, 2011, a new California school immunization law will require all 7th-12th graders in public and private schools to receive a pertussis booster (Tdap) shot, protecting them from whooping cough.
On behalf of LADPH and Los Angeles County, we are asking The Korean: Are vaccinations safe? Why should we get vaccinated?
Roy Cho
Assistant Account Executive
Dear Roy,
Despite the wishes of the Korean Parents, the Korean is not a doctor. But it does not take a doctor to know that vaccinations have done a tremendous amount of good for humanity. Thanks to vaccination, very serious diseases like polio, diphtheria and tetanus are practically eradicated. Vaccinations are safe, and we should be vaccinated to avoid preventable diseases.
Vaccination should have a more special meaning for Korean Americans, as it is one of the more enduring gifts from America to Korea. A very underrated contribution that America made for Korea is Korea's vast improvement in public health. As a Japanese colony, Korea's public health was miserable. Under the Japanese rule, Koreans had virtually no opportunity to receive medical education and become a doctor. Public health at the time was entirely focused on allowing the Japanese to live safely in Korea. The imperial police was in charge of public health in colonial Korea, and patients were treated as criminals, not people with illnesses. Virtually no attempt was made to treat the patients who were quarantined.
A good example of the brutality of Imperial Japan's "public health" policy is the way it treated Korea's leprosy patients. By the time of independence in 1945, Imperial Japan had built the world's largest leper colony in Korea, holding some 6,000 leprosy patients in an isolated island of Sorok-do. These patients, and their Japanese watchers, did not learn of Japan's defeat in World War II until three days after Japan surrendered. The Japanese in charge of the island heard the news along with some of Korean patients when they visited mainland to receive supply. The Japanese officials then killed 20 Korean patients on the boat to prevent the news from spreading, then returned to the island to embezzle the supplies in the island. The news nonetheless spread among the lepers, and the Japanese officials killed more than 60 patients in the ensuing riot before leaving the island.
The state of public health went from miserable to atrocious following the independence and through Korean War. At its height in the late 1940s, Seoul had 40 new smallpox patients every day; 40 percent of the patients died -- and we are talking about the disease whose vaccine was discovered in 1796. According to the U.S. military reports in 1946, nearly a thousand people died in one small town alone (Seonsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a little north of Daegu,) in just one week from at least five different communicable diseases. In 1949, it was estimated that more than 1.4 million Koreans had tuberculosis. In 1951 during the war, the same number was estimated to be 2.8 million.
American presence in Korea since the independence and through Korean War played a huge role in vastly improving such atrocious state of public health. Vaccination played a huge part in this. Of course, the starting point of American military's public health policy in Korea was its concerns about the health of their own soldiers who come in contact with Koreans at the time. During Korean War, one of the first steps to join KATUSA -- Korean soldiers who assisted the U.S. troops -- was to be sent to Japan and be vaccinated for smallpox, typhus, cholera, etc. But it is too cynical a view to think Americans acted out of pure self-interest. Despite being on a lower priority, Korean civilians eventually received regular vaccinations in an organized fashion. Much of humanitarian aid from America also focused on vaccination as well.
(Source: 전우용, 현대인의 탄생 (2011))
Elementary school students in Gaejeong, Jeollabuk-do
line up for BCG vaccination against tuberculosis (circa late 1950s.)
American emphasis on preventive public health is
very much alive in Korea to this day.
(source)
In this day and age, the Korean does not know a reason why anyone would refuse to be vaccinated. But if you are a Korean American who need more reasons than the good folks at VaccinateLA could give, here is one more: thanks to the vaccination practices that America transplanted in Korea, Korea now has one of the lowest death rates in the world -- ironically, much lower than those of the U.S. Vaccination has proven to be a life-saving gift; it would be terrible manners to reject such a gift.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
The researchers at TestYourVocab.com are gathering data on how many words people know. Take a short test, and the site will tell you approximately how many words you know.
According to the researchers' blog, average 30-year-old native speaker of English knows approximately 27,808 words. The Korean's vocab size was estimated to be 30,400. Not too shabby for a guy who picked up most of these vocabs by rote memorization, right?
According to the researchers' blog, average 30-year-old native speaker of English knows approximately 27,808 words. The Korean's vocab size was estimated to be 30,400. Not too shabby for a guy who picked up most of these vocabs by rote memorization, right?
Ask a Korean! News: How LG Made the World's First 3D SmartPhone
Here is an interesting report on the development of LG's Optimus 3D, the world's first 3D SmartPhone, which provides a nice caricature of how Korean companies not only come up with a new idea, but stick to it until a new product is born.
The employees at Mobile Communications Department of LG Electronics -- the department that created such legends as The Chocolate and Prada Phone -- could not get accustomed to the suddenly new reality created by iPhone 3GS. It became a dead weight for the company. The department hastily conjured up SmartPhone projects. It had to prepare for the period after iPhone 4, considering the development time. It essentially had to give up on 2010. (In fact, the Mobile Communications Department was in the red between second quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011.) Vice President Nam Yong resigned, and in October the owner-CEO Koo Bon-Moo stepped in as an emergency relief pitcher.
"Will it really work?"
Back to March 2010. The head of Roh Hyeon-Woo, executive researcher of the Technology and Strategy Team, was clouded with thoughts. At least by the new year, he needed something to show LG's presence. Technology and Strategy Team and Product Design Team met every day. Then somebody piped up:
"Do you think 3D will be a hit? The television department was all about 3D."
"Oh yeah, 3D! How come no one thought about 3D on cell phones? We shouldn't wait until 3D becomes a hit. We should do it first."
Thus began the 450-day journey of creating a 3D SmartPhone that did not require 3D glasses. For the Projects Team to actually build the product, the idea must be tested to examined whether it can be actualized. The process normally takes two to three months, but not this time -- the team had to battle with the internal skepticism as well. There were concerns that it was too early, because there was not enough contents to view in 3D. When the business was good, such skepticism would not have had much effect; when the business was shaky, the skepticism shook the convictions of the team members as well.
(More after the jump)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
But whenever there were doubts, the veteran developers continued to led the charge. Chief researcher Lee Nam-Su, whose focus is multimedia for cell phones, encouraged his team: "I have a feeling that the 3D SmartPhone will be a special model that fits well with multimedia." He also suggested: "We always had a great camera for regular phones. Let's do that again with a 3D camera."
Manual Labor Becomes Know-How
In the office of LG Electronics R&D Center in Seoul, on a day in late August, 2010, a sign was placed that reads: "Cosmopolitan Project." 170 team members gathered in a 661 square-meter room, to truly begin the 3D SmartPhone project. Why "Cosmopolitan"? Chief research Lee made an embarrassed smile: "Project names are usually meaningless. We got the name from the women's magazine, just to say we should also make a phone that gets ahead of the trend."
But despite the chic name, the actual work was manual labor, beginning with the 3D camera that took the most effort. Humans perceive three dimensions because the left and the right eye each capture a different image. Executive research Roh decided to have two lenses with a gap in between, like human eyes. He began by reading through medical journals first. Upon learning that there is on average a distance of 6.5 cm between two eyes, he shot a 3D image with two lenses, 6.5 cm apart. It was a mess. Human eyes are not fixed in one place, which makes the optimal distance different. After a sleepless night, Roh called Kang Jae-Hyeok, a researcher in charge of materials:
"Build me a rail."
With the rail, the experiment began. He took one picture with the camera affixed on the rail, and slid the camera by 5 cm to take another picture. Eventually, he had to change the distance at the millimeter level. He also dissected all 3D cameras available in the market. In the end, he found the sweet spot -- 2.4 cm.
The 3D screen to be seen without glasses was made with the help from LG Display. A thin membrane was applied on the LCD, creating a thin dividing line on each pixel of the screen. Then the screen was adjusted such that each side of the divided pixel would arrive at each eye. Chief researcher Jeong Dong-Su said: "Every member of the project team had to go through this kind of manual labor, including building our own experiment devices," and said: "Amazingly, all that manual labor became LG's know-how in the end."
The Drama in Spain
The team was getting exhausted; it went through continuous late nights without any weekend off. Managing director Lee Hyeon-Joon, leader of the group, jumped into the fray of development as well. Facing off the situation in which the CEO and head of cellphone business were replaced and the entire company was in the red because of SmartPhones, the team was desperate for success.
But the wireless providers, the primary customers, were skeptical. At the first meeting in December between executive researcher Kim Yeong-Hee, responsible for the entire Korean market, and the wireless providers, the first question was: "Why are you even making something like this?" Kim was rendered speechless. He was also sleepless over the concern that the 3D functionality would not be completed by the World Mobile Congress, to be held on February 14, 2011. He could not afford to lose this chance to tell the world that LG is not dead yet. Chief researcher Chung also had a heavy heart, overseeing the exhausted team. All he could do was to console them and say, "We are all on the same boat, we just have to dig deep."
The night of February 11, the night before leaving for Spain. An unbelievable drama unfolded. All 170 team members cheered. They built a real 3D camera functionality with image stabilization and HD capacity. The victorious warriors headed straight to the airport from the R&D center.
Chief researcher Roh stood at the exhibition hall for 10 hours. He could not figure out if he was dreaming. He explained the product to the crowd without even using the restroom, but he felt no fatigue. The travails thus far flashed before his eyes. "I had so much energy, it felt like I was high." Executive researcher Kim felt a thrill down his spine with just one sentence from a wireless provider: "This is really fun." Soon, the questions from wireless providers around the world overwhelmed the department.
Chief researcher Lee, in charge of multimedia, was also excited. Although he was at the manager level, he took to the streets himself -- to check the compatibility with televisions made by other makers, like Samsung or Sony. He went to an electronics store, grabbed "a nice sales person" and explained the situation. Then he camped out on the store floor, connecting his phone to every television to check if the images and games are run. He became an expert gamer in the process.
The three-piece set of pat-on-the-back arrived as well: the "CEO pizza" from vice president Koo Bon-Joon, the "power up chicken" from Park Jong-Seok, head of Mobile Communications, and "cheering donuts" from Jeong Ok-Hyeon, the head researcher for Mobile Communications. There are few other teams in the company that received all three.
"My wife says this is the best phone I ever made."
The SmartPhone made by the Cosmopolitan Project team was named "Optimus 3D". It is set to be sold in 60 countries and 100 carriers. It began selling in late June in certain parts of Europe including Spain and Great Britain, and in Korea in July. It will enter American market by late July. As of July 18, approximately 200,000 units were sold. But HTC of Taiwan also presented a 3D SmartPhone in North American market. Although LG Electronics made the world's first 3D SmartPhone that can take 3D images that can be shared on television and Youtube, the competition for this market already began.
But the developers are confident with the pride of being the world's first. On July 15, when ten core members of the project got together for an interview, some people welled up in the eyes. Someone asked Chief researcher Kim Hyeon-Joong: "Is your family ok, with all those late nights so far?" He laughed: "My wife says this is the best phone I ever made." Executive researcher Kang, who spent numberless nights awake to make the product, said: "This will be the time we restore our pride."
세계 첫 3D 스마트폰 개발 LG 코스모폴리탄팀의 450일 [Dong-A Ilbo]
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
* * *
March 2010. Another miserable day passed by for LG. The media was saturated with stories about Apple's iPhone. Samsung developed Bada, its own SmartPhone operating system, and was preparing for its own response to iPhone, Galaxy S. But LG Electronics had nothing, as it exclusively focused on regular cellphones based on a flawed strategy. It could not even attend the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile communication device trade show held in February, because it had nothing to show. It was pure humiliation. The first quarter sales for cell phone business dropped by 19.7 percent compared to the same period previous year, and profit fell by 88.9 percent. The company leadership was being questioned.
The employees at Mobile Communications Department of LG Electronics -- the department that created such legends as The Chocolate and Prada Phone -- could not get accustomed to the suddenly new reality created by iPhone 3GS. It became a dead weight for the company. The department hastily conjured up SmartPhone projects. It had to prepare for the period after iPhone 4, considering the development time. It essentially had to give up on 2010. (In fact, the Mobile Communications Department was in the red between second quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011.) Vice President Nam Yong resigned, and in October the owner-CEO Koo Bon-Moo stepped in as an emergency relief pitcher.
"Will it really work?"
Back to March 2010. The head of Roh Hyeon-Woo, executive researcher of the Technology and Strategy Team, was clouded with thoughts. At least by the new year, he needed something to show LG's presence. Technology and Strategy Team and Product Design Team met every day. Then somebody piped up:
"Do you think 3D will be a hit? The television department was all about 3D."
"Oh yeah, 3D! How come no one thought about 3D on cell phones? We shouldn't wait until 3D becomes a hit. We should do it first."
Thus began the 450-day journey of creating a 3D SmartPhone that did not require 3D glasses. For the Projects Team to actually build the product, the idea must be tested to examined whether it can be actualized. The process normally takes two to three months, but not this time -- the team had to battle with the internal skepticism as well. There were concerns that it was too early, because there was not enough contents to view in 3D. When the business was good, such skepticism would not have had much effect; when the business was shaky, the skepticism shook the convictions of the team members as well.
(More after the jump)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
But whenever there were doubts, the veteran developers continued to led the charge. Chief researcher Lee Nam-Su, whose focus is multimedia for cell phones, encouraged his team: "I have a feeling that the 3D SmartPhone will be a special model that fits well with multimedia." He also suggested: "We always had a great camera for regular phones. Let's do that again with a 3D camera."
Manual Labor Becomes Know-How
In the office of LG Electronics R&D Center in Seoul, on a day in late August, 2010, a sign was placed that reads: "Cosmopolitan Project." 170 team members gathered in a 661 square-meter room, to truly begin the 3D SmartPhone project. Why "Cosmopolitan"? Chief research Lee made an embarrassed smile: "Project names are usually meaningless. We got the name from the women's magazine, just to say we should also make a phone that gets ahead of the trend."
Members of the Cosmopolitan Project
But despite the chic name, the actual work was manual labor, beginning with the 3D camera that took the most effort. Humans perceive three dimensions because the left and the right eye each capture a different image. Executive research Roh decided to have two lenses with a gap in between, like human eyes. He began by reading through medical journals first. Upon learning that there is on average a distance of 6.5 cm between two eyes, he shot a 3D image with two lenses, 6.5 cm apart. It was a mess. Human eyes are not fixed in one place, which makes the optimal distance different. After a sleepless night, Roh called Kang Jae-Hyeok, a researcher in charge of materials:
"Build me a rail."
With the rail, the experiment began. He took one picture with the camera affixed on the rail, and slid the camera by 5 cm to take another picture. Eventually, he had to change the distance at the millimeter level. He also dissected all 3D cameras available in the market. In the end, he found the sweet spot -- 2.4 cm.
The 3D screen to be seen without glasses was made with the help from LG Display. A thin membrane was applied on the LCD, creating a thin dividing line on each pixel of the screen. Then the screen was adjusted such that each side of the divided pixel would arrive at each eye. Chief researcher Jeong Dong-Su said: "Every member of the project team had to go through this kind of manual labor, including building our own experiment devices," and said: "Amazingly, all that manual labor became LG's know-how in the end."
The Drama in Spain
The team was getting exhausted; it went through continuous late nights without any weekend off. Managing director Lee Hyeon-Joon, leader of the group, jumped into the fray of development as well. Facing off the situation in which the CEO and head of cellphone business were replaced and the entire company was in the red because of SmartPhones, the team was desperate for success.
But the wireless providers, the primary customers, were skeptical. At the first meeting in December between executive researcher Kim Yeong-Hee, responsible for the entire Korean market, and the wireless providers, the first question was: "Why are you even making something like this?" Kim was rendered speechless. He was also sleepless over the concern that the 3D functionality would not be completed by the World Mobile Congress, to be held on February 14, 2011. He could not afford to lose this chance to tell the world that LG is not dead yet. Chief researcher Chung also had a heavy heart, overseeing the exhausted team. All he could do was to console them and say, "We are all on the same boat, we just have to dig deep."
The night of February 11, the night before leaving for Spain. An unbelievable drama unfolded. All 170 team members cheered. They built a real 3D camera functionality with image stabilization and HD capacity. The victorious warriors headed straight to the airport from the R&D center.
Chief researcher Roh stood at the exhibition hall for 10 hours. He could not figure out if he was dreaming. He explained the product to the crowd without even using the restroom, but he felt no fatigue. The travails thus far flashed before his eyes. "I had so much energy, it felt like I was high." Executive researcher Kim felt a thrill down his spine with just one sentence from a wireless provider: "This is really fun." Soon, the questions from wireless providers around the world overwhelmed the department.
Chief researcher Lee, in charge of multimedia, was also excited. Although he was at the manager level, he took to the streets himself -- to check the compatibility with televisions made by other makers, like Samsung or Sony. He went to an electronics store, grabbed "a nice sales person" and explained the situation. Then he camped out on the store floor, connecting his phone to every television to check if the images and games are run. He became an expert gamer in the process.
The three-piece set of pat-on-the-back arrived as well: the "CEO pizza" from vice president Koo Bon-Joon, the "power up chicken" from Park Jong-Seok, head of Mobile Communications, and "cheering donuts" from Jeong Ok-Hyeon, the head researcher for Mobile Communications. There are few other teams in the company that received all three.
"My wife says this is the best phone I ever made."
The SmartPhone made by the Cosmopolitan Project team was named "Optimus 3D". It is set to be sold in 60 countries and 100 carriers. It began selling in late June in certain parts of Europe including Spain and Great Britain, and in Korea in July. It will enter American market by late July. As of July 18, approximately 200,000 units were sold. But HTC of Taiwan also presented a 3D SmartPhone in North American market. Although LG Electronics made the world's first 3D SmartPhone that can take 3D images that can be shared on television and Youtube, the competition for this market already began.
But the developers are confident with the pride of being the world's first. On July 15, when ten core members of the project got together for an interview, some people welled up in the eyes. Someone asked Chief researcher Kim Hyeon-Joong: "Is your family ok, with all those late nights so far?" He laughed: "My wife says this is the best phone I ever made." Executive researcher Kang, who spent numberless nights awake to make the product, said: "This will be the time we restore our pride."
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Just a little bit more rant on airlines...
While checking in for the returning flight, the KAL employee at the desk had a bit of an issue with the Korean's passport for some reason. She took the passport, went to another desk to talk to a superior, called a number, and then returned and checked in the Korean. The entire sequence took perhaps 10 minutes.
Then the KAL employee apologized profusely for the 10-minute delay and "upgraded" the Korean to an exit row, which makes a world of difference in a 14-hour flight. She also explained that there was no seat available in the Business Class, and the Korean would have gotten it if there had been one.
Why can't American airlines do this? This is not about money. It costs Korean airlines and American airlines the same to give an upgrade to someone. This is not about unions either -- airlines in Korea are also heavily unionized. This is about the mentality of being able to recognize that 10-minute delay is a meaningful delay (although the Korean did not consider it to be meaningful,) and doing everything one can to do something about it. This is about mindset and attitude, the lack of which is pissing off American flyers.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Uh, No. Arirang Belongs to Korea. Thanks.
[Note: This is a reaction to Roboseyo's post, titled Nobody Owns Arirang.]
I remember the first time when I saw my family's jokbo when I was a child growing up in Korea. Jokbo means "lineage book," and it shows the flow chart of everyone who is related to me starting from the very first Korean person who shared my last name, who was born in 69 B.C.E. It was, and still is, an awe-inspiring sight. My family's jokbo is consisted of more than 30 volumes, broken down by centuries, clans and subclans. The volumes would take up two full rows of a bookcase in my grandfather's run-down house, their uniform spines forming a brick-paved road toward my origin. My grandfather would flip to his favorite pages -- dog-eared for easy reference for his show-and-tell with his grandchildren -- and point to a name. The name could be a famous scholar, general, someone I would have learned about in school history classes. After going through some dozen names like that, he would flip all the way back to the last page of the last volume. And there it was -- my name, son of my father, grandson of my grandfather, 81 generations and more than two thousand years from the fountainhead of my family.
Roboseyo, a blogger I like and respect, recently claimed "nobody owns Arirang". I disagree with his view. I begin this post with the story about my jokbo is because I sense that Roboseyo does not have my sense of connection with the past, as is typical of North Americans. I believe that once people understand the feeling of having a meaningful connection with the past, they will have an easier time understanding why Koreans and the Chinese have such significant interest in laying claim on their history and culture.
(More after the jump)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
First, a bit of background is necessary. China recently registered as official Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage such traditional rituals and songs like Korean traditional 60th birthday ritual, Korean traditional wedding ritual, and Arirang, a form of traditional Korean song. Standing alone, this registration is not terribly unusual. More than two million Koreans live in China, and a reasonable claim can be made that China is only attempting to preserve an indigenous culture existing within its lands.
But there are reasons to believe that the motive of China's registration is more sinister. China recently caused a row by commissioning a study is known as the Northeast Project, which incorporated ancient kingdoms that were generally considered a part of Korean history thus far into regional Chinese history. Many Koreans view this project as a step toward China's absorption of North Korea should North Korea fall, as the disputed ancient kingdoms stretched far south of China-North Korea border. This registration of cultural heritage is also seen as a part of that plan. Koreans suspect that the next step for China is to submit Korean rituals and songs to UNESCO as a part of Chinese cultural heritage. In particular, the registration of Arirang is upsetting ordinary Koreans, who consider the song (which has many variants) to be an unofficial national anthem, sung among Koreans since time immemorial.
Now, a bit about Roboseyo's argument. He and I agree on the ultimate point -- at the end of the day, this row is more about the worry over the Northeast Project. Where I disagree is how Roboseyo gets to that conclusion: no one owns culture, therefore no one owns Arirang, therefore Koreans are silly to be upset about China's registration of Arirang as its cultural heritage.
I disagree with that. Severely. Arirang belongs to Korea, and China deserves the outrage.
Roboseyo draws back from his older post about how nobody owns culture. What I found particularly interesting from that post is this passage:
"Concept" is a human invention that is based on reality, but it is not itself reality. All concepts are fuzzy around the margins precisely because it is not reality, but a reflection of reality. Even a simple concept like "door" can be quite tough to define around the margins. But the concepts continue to exist and make themselves useful because there is a core to the concept that epitomizes the essence of the concept. I cannot tell you what "doors of Heaven" will look like, but I can sure as hell tell you that the flat plank of wood, standing between my room and the hallway, with hinges and a handle, is a door. Based on my knowledge of the core "door-ness", I am able to think about whether something is a door, and something is not. I am also able to extrapolate on the concept of "door", and think about whether or not I "opened the door" for a prying question when I let slip a private part of my life. The same can be said about a concept called "Korean culture." Around the edges, "Korean culture" can be quite difficult to capture. But at the core, there is no mistaking what belongs within the concept of Korean culture.
This is even more so considering the accretive process through which culture is formed. Culture is formed when a group of people engage in the same behavior over and over again and the same behavior is passed down from generation to generation. Of course, the next generation goes through the organic process of choosing what to adopt and what to discard from the culture inherited from its predecessors. Over time, this leads to huge and dramatic changes within the culture. No one will be dumb enough to think that there has been a single, monolithic version of Korean culture that had remained static in every detail even for the last 20 years, much less for the last 2,000 years.
But, remarkably, certain parts of Korean culture -- the Dangun myth, kimchi, Korean language, and yes, Arirang -- have survived those years and are traceable far back into the distant past, just like the way I can trace my being to a single person who lived nearly 2100 years ago. And those parts sit at the core of Korean culture in a way that other, more fleeting parts of Korean culture do not. Roboseyo thinks that Issac Toast is Korean although a toast is not intuitively Korean, because one cannot find Isaac Toast outside of Korea. Sure, I agree. But is Isaac Toast as Korean as songpyeon is? Only if Isaac Toast stays in Korea for another thousand years can that conversation even begin to happen. Songpyeon belongs to Korea because it stood the test of time for Korean people. Korean people chose songpyeon over and over again for more than a thousand years. And songpyeon, along with other significant markers of Korean culture, forms the ethnic and national identity of Korean people.
Same goes for Arirang -- Korean people chose Arirang over and over again for more than a thousand years such that Arirang absolutely, unequivocally, belongs to Korea. In fact, Arirang is Korea, as it is an integral part of Korean identity. That means appropriating Arirang is not the same with appropriating Gee from SNSD. From the perspective of Korean culture, the latter is a minor annoyance and a copyright lawsuit, while the former is a grave insult and foul thievery.
I remember the first time when I saw my family's jokbo when I was a child growing up in Korea. Jokbo means "lineage book," and it shows the flow chart of everyone who is related to me starting from the very first Korean person who shared my last name, who was born in 69 B.C.E. It was, and still is, an awe-inspiring sight. My family's jokbo is consisted of more than 30 volumes, broken down by centuries, clans and subclans. The volumes would take up two full rows of a bookcase in my grandfather's run-down house, their uniform spines forming a brick-paved road toward my origin. My grandfather would flip to his favorite pages -- dog-eared for easy reference for his show-and-tell with his grandchildren -- and point to a name. The name could be a famous scholar, general, someone I would have learned about in school history classes. After going through some dozen names like that, he would flip all the way back to the last page of the last volume. And there it was -- my name, son of my father, grandson of my grandfather, 81 generations and more than two thousand years from the fountainhead of my family.
Roboseyo, a blogger I like and respect, recently claimed "nobody owns Arirang". I disagree with his view. I begin this post with the story about my jokbo is because I sense that Roboseyo does not have my sense of connection with the past, as is typical of North Americans. I believe that once people understand the feeling of having a meaningful connection with the past, they will have an easier time understanding why Koreans and the Chinese have such significant interest in laying claim on their history and culture.
(More after the jump)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
First, a bit of background is necessary. China recently registered as official Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage such traditional rituals and songs like Korean traditional 60th birthday ritual, Korean traditional wedding ritual, and Arirang, a form of traditional Korean song. Standing alone, this registration is not terribly unusual. More than two million Koreans live in China, and a reasonable claim can be made that China is only attempting to preserve an indigenous culture existing within its lands.
But there are reasons to believe that the motive of China's registration is more sinister. China recently caused a row by commissioning a study is known as the Northeast Project, which incorporated ancient kingdoms that were generally considered a part of Korean history thus far into regional Chinese history. Many Koreans view this project as a step toward China's absorption of North Korea should North Korea fall, as the disputed ancient kingdoms stretched far south of China-North Korea border. This registration of cultural heritage is also seen as a part of that plan. Koreans suspect that the next step for China is to submit Korean rituals and songs to UNESCO as a part of Chinese cultural heritage. In particular, the registration of Arirang is upsetting ordinary Koreans, who consider the song (which has many variants) to be an unofficial national anthem, sung among Koreans since time immemorial.
Now, a bit about Roboseyo's argument. He and I agree on the ultimate point -- at the end of the day, this row is more about the worry over the Northeast Project. Where I disagree is how Roboseyo gets to that conclusion: no one owns culture, therefore no one owns Arirang, therefore Koreans are silly to be upset about China's registration of Arirang as its cultural heritage.
I disagree with that. Severely. Arirang belongs to Korea, and China deserves the outrage.
Roboseyo draws back from his older post about how nobody owns culture. What I found particularly interesting from that post is this passage:
To me, this is a silly cop-out that essentially says: "It is not possible to precisely define a concept, therefore the concept cannot be captured and utilized." It is like saying that because the concept of "furniture" can be broad and fuzzy (is a lamp furniture? What about an Ottoman?), we cannot have such a thing called a "furniture store."The idea of a culture is way too slippery to talk about it as if it were you could wrap it in a box and own it, or teach it to someone. Even WHEN a culture has certain artifacts that help preserve it - The King James Bible, the works of William Shakespeare, the Koran, the George Washington Myth and the Declaration of Independence, or the Dangun/King Sejong/Lee Sunshin trifecta as anchors, those draw an outline so broad and fuzzy that the details have to be filled in, and every group of people living within that fuzzy outline, fills in the details differently.
"Concept" is a human invention that is based on reality, but it is not itself reality. All concepts are fuzzy around the margins precisely because it is not reality, but a reflection of reality. Even a simple concept like "door" can be quite tough to define around the margins. But the concepts continue to exist and make themselves useful because there is a core to the concept that epitomizes the essence of the concept. I cannot tell you what "doors of Heaven" will look like, but I can sure as hell tell you that the flat plank of wood, standing between my room and the hallway, with hinges and a handle, is a door. Based on my knowledge of the core "door-ness", I am able to think about whether something is a door, and something is not. I am also able to extrapolate on the concept of "door", and think about whether or not I "opened the door" for a prying question when I let slip a private part of my life. The same can be said about a concept called "Korean culture." Around the edges, "Korean culture" can be quite difficult to capture. But at the core, there is no mistaking what belongs within the concept of Korean culture.
This is even more so considering the accretive process through which culture is formed. Culture is formed when a group of people engage in the same behavior over and over again and the same behavior is passed down from generation to generation. Of course, the next generation goes through the organic process of choosing what to adopt and what to discard from the culture inherited from its predecessors. Over time, this leads to huge and dramatic changes within the culture. No one will be dumb enough to think that there has been a single, monolithic version of Korean culture that had remained static in every detail even for the last 20 years, much less for the last 2,000 years.
But, remarkably, certain parts of Korean culture -- the Dangun myth, kimchi, Korean language, and yes, Arirang -- have survived those years and are traceable far back into the distant past, just like the way I can trace my being to a single person who lived nearly 2100 years ago. And those parts sit at the core of Korean culture in a way that other, more fleeting parts of Korean culture do not. Roboseyo thinks that Issac Toast is Korean although a toast is not intuitively Korean, because one cannot find Isaac Toast outside of Korea. Sure, I agree. But is Isaac Toast as Korean as songpyeon is? Only if Isaac Toast stays in Korea for another thousand years can that conversation even begin to happen. Songpyeon belongs to Korea because it stood the test of time for Korean people. Korean people chose songpyeon over and over again for more than a thousand years. And songpyeon, along with other significant markers of Korean culture, forms the ethnic and national identity of Korean people.
Same goes for Arirang -- Korean people chose Arirang over and over again for more than a thousand years such that Arirang absolutely, unequivocally, belongs to Korea. In fact, Arirang is Korea, as it is an integral part of Korean identity. That means appropriating Arirang is not the same with appropriating Gee from SNSD. From the perspective of Korean culture, the latter is a minor annoyance and a copyright lawsuit, while the former is a grave insult and foul thievery.
* * *
Having said that, the naturally following question is: what does it mean that something belongs to Korean culture, and Korean culture belongs to Korea? What claim of ownership can Korea have over Korean culture?
It should be quite obvious that Korea does not own Korean culture like a person owns a piece of tangible property. It is not like the way I own my car. My ownership of my car means that no one else, without my permission, can use my car, much less take it to the shop and modify it. In contrast, anyone in the world is free to sing, listen to, and even make derivations of Arirang. In other words, the levels of exclusivity attendant to the ownership are dramatically different between culture and property.
But ownership necessarily implies some level of exclusivity. The precise location of the line that divides the permissible uses from the impermissible ones, as are common with this type of things, is difficult to determine. For example, I have always thought that Koreans' angst over Japan's supposed appropriation of kimchi to be a silly (albeit understandable) overreaction. As long as I set aside my insane, irrational food purist side, I can take the reasonable position that the Japanese are free to import certain items of foreign culture and adjust them to suit their taste, just as much as Koreans have taken Japanese pickled radish and unmistakably changed its flavor profile. A reasonable person can disagree with this by making a case for where she thinks the line should be.
But no matter where the line is set, China's action toward Arirang -- that is, specifically labeling it as a part of the Chinese culture in the government records and attempting to do the same with international bodies -- falls on the wrong side of allowable use. It is one thing for the Chinese people to naturally absorb Arirang, sing it in their own style over time, until a Chinese breed of Arirang comes to exist. It is quite another for the Chinese government to unilaterally take Arirang and claim as a part of its own culture, knowing full well what the implication of such claim would be. (Especially because unlike North Americans, the Chinese, like Koreans, know what it means to have a culture.) Such claim is made even more odious because it is transparently motivated by China's territorial ambition over North Korea when the regime inevitably crumbles.
Arirang belongs to Korea, as much as God Bless America belongs to the United States. And China is appropriating the song in an unnatural manner to further its political purpose. This is something that deserves outrage on the part of Koreans. Inability to understand this fact leads to the inability to understand the motivation of the vast majority of the world, as Americans are prone to be.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
The Email that Made the Korean Instantly Lose All Respect for BBC
The Korean swears upon his family's life that the email copy/pasted here is absolutely real, and not one word in it was altered except for the name, phone number and email address of the person, which are withheld. Below is the email that the Korean received Friday morning:
Where does the Korean even start? Seems like the most likely thing that happened was this BBC person read one of the Korean's translations of Mr. Joo Seong-Ha's article, and thought the Korean was Mr. Joo. Although every translation post makes clear in the beginning that the post is a translation, and provides a link to the original article below. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Joo makes it quite clear in the translated articles that he is a defector who now lives in South Korea. Or the fact that "About TK" section on the right sidebar of this blog says the Korean lives in Northern Virginia, not North Korea. Or the fact that the top post on the front page of the blog discusses South Korean pop music industry. Or the fact that on the same front page, there is a post that summarizes the Korean's trip back to Korea. Or the fact that the Korean is quite free with his opinion. Or the fact that, you know, the Korean is on the Internet and has the time to write the blog, instead of foraging for food outside.
Really, BBC? Did you really think the Korean was running this blog while living in North Korea? Really? Really? The Korean is still speechless. How can he ever take your news seriously now?
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
from [NAME WITHHELD] [NAME.NAME]@bbc.co.ukWow. Wow. Wow.
to askakorean@gmail.com
date Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 9:42 AM
subject BBC radio request
mailed-by bbc.co.uk
Important mainly because it was sent directly to you.
hide details 9:42 AM (7 hours ago)
Dear "Ask a Korean",
The BBC World Service radio's World Have Your Say programme is doing a programme tonight looking at the famine in North Korea. We are looking for people in North Korea to talk to us about the situation there, how bad is it? Do you want / need aid from foreign nations? Should the international community provide aid for you? If you would like to take part, please send your number to me and I will call you. We go on air at 17GMT, 0100 KST.
Thank you,
Kind regards,
[NAME WITHHELD]
+44 207 [PHONE NUMBER WITHHELD]
http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
Where does the Korean even start? Seems like the most likely thing that happened was this BBC person read one of the Korean's translations of Mr. Joo Seong-Ha's article, and thought the Korean was Mr. Joo. Although every translation post makes clear in the beginning that the post is a translation, and provides a link to the original article below. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Joo makes it quite clear in the translated articles that he is a defector who now lives in South Korea. Or the fact that "About TK" section on the right sidebar of this blog says the Korean lives in Northern Virginia, not North Korea. Or the fact that the top post on the front page of the blog discusses South Korean pop music industry. Or the fact that on the same front page, there is a post that summarizes the Korean's trip back to Korea. Or the fact that the Korean is quite free with his opinion. Or the fact that, you know, the Korean is on the Internet and has the time to write the blog, instead of foraging for food outside.
Really, BBC? Did you really think the Korean was running this blog while living in North Korea? Really? Really? The Korean is still speechless. How can he ever take your news seriously now?
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Ask a Korean! News: TV & Radio Producers Arrested for Taking Bribes from Singers
Say it ain't so! Translation below:
The police arrested 29 people, including the head of a cable television and a local radio producer who received bribes from emerging pop singers for doctoring the pop song chart, arranging for TV appearances and introducing other producers. On the 21st, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency arrested four TV producers, including the head of a cable television station who received $150,000 [TK: assuming $1 = KRW 1,000] from one hundred new artists between April and May of last year, on the charge of bribery.
The police also arrested 12 producers of a radio station who received $50,000 from 20 new singers in exchange for playing their songs more than once a week and up to four times a day. Also arrested were six officials from another radio station, who falsified the "Songs Played" chart to include songs that were never played.
The police also arrested the manager of the website that displays the rankings of the number of times a song was played in the national radio stations for receiving $400,000, as well as six singers and managers who offered the money. According to the police investigation, the manager of the website received bribes from seven emerging pop artists since 2007 in exchange for managing the chart rankings and advertisement, which includes have a new artist to stay within the top 10 of the chart for six months in exchange for $38,000. In order to raise the ranks, the manager collected data from local radio stations instead of the radio stations designated by the Korean Music Copyright Association. This way, a song that was never played in a national radio station was shown on the chart to have been played up to eight times a day.
Captain Kim Min-Ho of Second Investigations Team at IMPA said: "The rumors among the emerging artists that they had to pay the producers to have their songs played on air have largely turned out to be true," and added, "we plan to continue our investigation on the corruption surrounding the entertainment industry."
PD가 돈 받고 가요차트 순위 조작 [Dong-A Ilbo]
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
The police arrested 29 people, including the head of a cable television and a local radio producer who received bribes from emerging pop singers for doctoring the pop song chart, arranging for TV appearances and introducing other producers. On the 21st, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency arrested four TV producers, including the head of a cable television station who received $150,000 [TK: assuming $1 = KRW 1,000] from one hundred new artists between April and May of last year, on the charge of bribery.
The police also arrested 12 producers of a radio station who received $50,000 from 20 new singers in exchange for playing their songs more than once a week and up to four times a day. Also arrested were six officials from another radio station, who falsified the "Songs Played" chart to include songs that were never played.
The police also arrested the manager of the website that displays the rankings of the number of times a song was played in the national radio stations for receiving $400,000, as well as six singers and managers who offered the money. According to the police investigation, the manager of the website received bribes from seven emerging pop artists since 2007 in exchange for managing the chart rankings and advertisement, which includes have a new artist to stay within the top 10 of the chart for six months in exchange for $38,000. In order to raise the ranks, the manager collected data from local radio stations instead of the radio stations designated by the Korean Music Copyright Association. This way, a song that was never played in a national radio station was shown on the chart to have been played up to eight times a day.
Captain Kim Min-Ho of Second Investigations Team at IMPA said: "The rumors among the emerging artists that they had to pay the producers to have their songs played on air have largely turned out to be true," and added, "we plan to continue our investigation on the corruption surrounding the entertainment industry."
PD가 돈 받고 가요차트 순위 조작 [Dong-A Ilbo]
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Here is Ms. Alyssa Donovan from Maine, second-place winner of Korean Speech Contest held by U.S. National Association of Korean Schools. (The video is from the qualifying regional round in New England.) A high school sophomore, Ms. Donovan is the first-ever award-recipient in the contest history who is not of Korean descent. More about Ms. Donovan here.
Very well done, Ms. Donovan.
(Via KoreAm magazine)
Very well done, Ms. Donovan.
(Via KoreAm magazine)
The Korean is finding the blog Circles and Squares, written by Prof. Emanuel Pastreich of Kyung Hee University, to be quite insightful and interesting. Here is a nice bit of advice from Prof. Pastreich about living in Korea as a foreigner:
Driven by Moore’s Law [Korea: Circles and Squares]I find Korea more difficult than Japan on a day to day basis. Things just don’t work the way I want them to. But when I sit down and think about it, in fact I have many, many more Korean friends than Japanese friends, even though I lived in Japan for more than six years and spent almost all my time with Japanese people. You need to think about how to take advantage of your own skills in your work here. For example, I find that as an American, I am better at horizontal networking than Koreans. I use that skill to introduce Koreans to other Koreans. That gives me value for them. Here is a simple thing you can do. Offer to make and English language Facebook entry for a Korean friend you want to work with. It doesn’t take long, but it establishes a relationship. It is symbolic and valuable act. Try to remember the names of the family members of Koreans you meet. And always remember, you may feel as if Koreans are unfeeling to you, but in fact if you were a foreigner living in your own country who spoke little or no English, you might feel pretty alienated too. That last point is important keep in mind to avoid the destructive “everything is done wrong in Korea” syndrome.
IMF Bailout of Korea During East Asian Financial Crisis (Part II)
[Series Index]
It has been very long -- more than a year in fact. But after much badgering of the guest blogger Wangkon936, the IMF Bailout of Korea series is back. And just in time -- the Financial Times cited Part I of the series as an illustrative example of national bailouts. Below is Part II of the series.
In 1996South Korea
UnlikeThailand , Korea
It has been very long -- more than a year in fact. But after much badgering of the guest blogger Wangkon936, the IMF Bailout of Korea series is back. And just in time -- the Financial Times cited Part I of the series as an illustrative example of national bailouts. Below is Part II of the series.
* * *
In 1996
As the nations of Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia and the Philippines were facing devaluations and severe stress to their economies in early and mid-1997, few thought the contagion would spread to South Korea
“...A symbol of Asia’s remarkable growth, South Korea was now the world’s eleventh-largest economy, twice the size of Russia
“[The]... Directors praised the authorities on their enviable fiscal record and... welcomed Korea
Doubtful Foreign Currency Reserves
Why did the contagion spread to Korea Korea Korea
(More after the jump)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Unlike
“Korea
So, what went wrong? Evidently, only $9 billion of the supposed $25 billion was actually liquid and available for use as actual reserves. Much of it was already dispersed to smaller Korean banks and tied up to support short-term foreign debt obligations. Foreign currency reserves are meant to be saved to be used in case of an emergency -- that’s why they are called reserves. However, in this case they were not available for the upcoming economic crisis. So, when currency speculators attacked the won, the South Korean central bank could not come up with a sufficient answer and speculators were able to devalue it. Yet, how did the won get so weak and vulnerable in the first place?
The Chaebols - Fueled by Debt
Similar to Thailand , where there was an over investment in commercial real estate, Korea
By early 1997, the top 30 largest chaebols had debt to equity ratios of an unheard of 600 percent, compared to 420 percent in 1989. For a perspective, in the U.S.
The best microcosm of Korea's problems with the chaebol was Hanbo Steel. Long forgotten in the dust bin of history, Hanbo Steel epitomized what went wrong. In 1992, Hanbo began construction of what would be the 5th largest steel manufacturing plant in the world on the south coast town of Dangjin
The default of Hanbo Steel, the largest bankruptcy in the history of Korea Thailand to Indonesia and the Philippines , etc., foreign currency speculators realized Korea
Returning to the medical analogy, if it was a heart attack of low foreign currency reserves unable to keep currency speculators at bay that struck Korea in 1997, then it was its unhealthy addiction to cheap and seemingly plentiful debt that lead to its arteries being clogged with cholesterol. However, rapid economic growth is like youth and exercise. A bad diet can partially be forgiven if you are young and if you exercise a lot. But if your growth is slowing and your economy matures, as the region appeared to be doing in the early and late 90's, then you can't take as many macroeconomic risks.
Flaws With Korea
Developing countries tend to take more risks to sustain their growth. However, these countries tend to lack a lot of infrastructure, technology, education and sophisticated financial systems. When they run out of easy ways to grow such as cheap labor, selling simple to make and inexpensive products, low capital intensive manufacturing, etc. they “stretch” to sustain their growth by making increasingly risky investments. The fact that many of these developing countries have primitive financial systems, governments that may have had a high level of corruption and a lower technology base can make their vulnerability worse.
In Korea
It may be helpful to compare and contrast Korea Taiwan Taiwan is in East Asia and appears to be in the geographic path of the financial contagion, the Taiwanese dollar did not meaningfully devalue and its economy did not go through undue stress. The biggest reason was simply that Taiwan Korea had over three times as much external debt than it had foreign currency reserves, Taiwan
Why was Taiwan 's financial situation so much better than Korea Taiwan
So, when one looks at the dynamics of why certain countries go through financial crises and certain countries do not, we see there are generally solid macroeconomic reasons. Currency speculators do not attack a currency unless there are recognized vulnerabilities. Short-term foreign lenders don't call in their debt early if they don't think there is a risk they won't get paid back. So, in these cases, where a developing country doesn't have a sufficient ability to defend itself against external debt, currency and liquidity issues, where do they have to turn to? Theoretically, they have the IMF to turn to.
The IMF- the World's Lender of Last Resort
One of the major reasons why the IMF was established was to stabilize world markets around the end of World War II. The memory of the Great Depression, which affected Europe as much as it affected the U.S.
One of the major reasons why the stock market crash of 1929 grew into an economic depression was that there was no central financial institution to be the “lender of last resort” that filled the void of confidence to stop a panicked “run” at banks. You see, no bank in the world has all the money that was deposited into it immediately available at all times. Banks make money by lending out what others deposit into it. When depositors get nervous about a deteriorating economic situation, they make a run at the bank to withdraw their money before other depositors get their money out first. It's a game of financial musical chairs formally called “moral hazard.” A “lender of last resort” eliminates moral hazard and helps keep banks solvent by providing capital in emergency situations, thus filling them with liquidity, raising confidence in the marketplace and thus getting rid of the main rationale to make a run at them.
In the United States the lender of last resort is the Federal Reserve, which, if it cannot support the dollar with the currency of foreign countries, has the ability to print dollars and literally create assets “out of thin air” via the fiat power of money. Very few countries on earth can do this to the degree that the U.S. Korea
The IMF has gotten involved in lending during crises a number of times before and after 1997. For example, there was Argentina in 1991 and Mexico in 1995. It was not a great experience for these Latin American countries either. After 1997, Russia needed emergency loans and most recently, the IMF had to get involved in Greece in 2010. For pretty much every country that has turned to the IMF for help in crisis situations, they have been less than pleased with the results.
As with Thailand and Korea
The IMF's Mistakes
What the IMF asks for generally follows a recognizable pattern such as fiscal government budget cuts, wage freezing, credit tightening, liquidation of certain assets, increased government transparency, etc. In all, what the IMF asks for requires immediate austerity, particularly to the rank and file population. Thus, many people from these lendee countries believe that it's a type of austerity that the lender nations themselves wouldn't ask of their own country. This is a controversial view and by no means is it automatically the correct view. However, those that share it believe that since the bulk of the IMF's board of director's voting power are from North American and Western European countries, the IMF is less concerned with the impact that their policies will have on the population of a non-North American or non-Western European countries. The thought is that it is easy for them to dictate changes that will create severe austerity to populations they are not directly accountable to.
The greatest critic of the IMF's handling of economic crises is developmental economist Jeffrey Sachs. Sachs was a former Harvard economics professor and is currently with Columbia University
Sachs believes that IMF dictated austerity measures, in exchange for emergency lending, was not necessary. He believes that if the IMF had acted more proactively, with greater knowledge of the specific needs of the countries involved and focused on preventing a panicked withdraw of liquidity out of those countries, then an economic crisis could have been avoided. Also, Sachs believes that the IMF's power to dictate the terms of the loans were onerous on the sovereignty and long-term well-being of the countries they were professing to help. If we are to take the medical analogy further, Sachs is essentially saying that invasive chemotherapy, or the simple cutting off of limbs, is not always the right course of action in every situation, but he believes that is what the IMF prescribed in pretty much every situation. Sachs believed that the IMF applied a cookie cutter approach to responding to financial crisis when a more direct, knowledgeable and targeted approach was warranted.
For example, back in the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, America
How would the American people react to an extra-government, foreign authority telling them to make massive government budget cuts, liquidate long standing companies and tighten credit that would naturally lead to long unemployment lines, a hugely undervalued currency, runaway inflation and a severely handicapped economy? It must be remembered that to combat the subprime crisis the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve relied on none of these measures to protect the economy and keep it from imploding. On the contrary, they actually did everything they could to expand credit and requested the U.S. Congress to approve massive government spending, via stimulus packages and TARP funds, to spur the economy, again a complete opposite of what the IMF mandated the crisis affected countries to do.
(To be continued on Part III.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
AAK! PSA: Korean Art Show in Santa Monica
Below is the message from Lois Lambert Gallery in Santa Monica, CA.
Dear Korean,
We will be having two exhibits opening on Saturday July 16th at our gallery located at Bergamot Station. The first is a solo show by Sik Chang and the other is a three-person exhibit featuring the work of David Jang, Chaa Youn Woo, and Tae Ho Kang. The Korean Cultural Center is working with us on the show, and we thought this would be an event you and your readers would be interested in.
Sik Chang’s imagery illustrates a transformational journey between worlds, across cultures (Korea, Africa, and North America), and between the physical and spiritual realms. The theme of ‘transposed images’ has been his guiding motif for the last decade. Sik sees his work as a transfiguration of existing shapes: the ‘primitive’ object is carved, cast, or otherwise changed in material while still retaining its original form. The meaning of the object is then changed by its placement in a new context. Chang is interested in eliminating the everyday use of primitive tools and concentrating on the form.
Following a sabbatical in Africa, Chang began a new sculptural series in an intimate scale. He made bronze casts of collected utilitarian objects from the continent: bowls with figurative handles, crescent-shaped headrests, and ladles with large counter-balancing carvings are mixed with small figurines. As he turns the form of a bowl into a water scene, the headrest into a forest, or places a small boat in a silicone-filled glass, the sculptures become three-dimensional collages whose disparate elements relate a new story. His primary materials are bronze and wood with the original colors intact.
Chang has been actively expanding and defining the fields of minimalist and conceptual art in Korea for the last thirty years. The artist cites Duchamp as a major influence, though his work can also be seen as an Asian response to the European appropriation of African Art at the turn of last century.
Chaa Youn Woo began making his woven rattan paintings after living with the Tukano Indians of the Amazon forest for over half a year. Chaa mastered the craft of Baniwa and the common patterns and techniques that thread through a network of over 400 tribes of the Amazon despite their disparate languages and cultures. The artist incorporates the skills he learned with modern portraiture and imagery. Chaa gravitates towards images that can be universally understood, such as candles, ripples, faces, or hands using sign language. He also weaves with llama wool, llauhala, and aluminum. Work by Chaa has been exhibited in museums internationally. Most recently he created a 30 by 40 foot aluminum orchid woven mural for the USC Archway Medical Plaza.
David Jang uses the excess left over from the mass-production of our consumer society as the source of material for his sculptural paintings. Aluminum cans, water bottles, and packaging materials are deconstructed and flattened into spiraling growth patterns that describe both the literal and figurative movement of re-cycling. The use of detritus as a medium is both a formal and philosophical choice for the artist. Jang is an active ingredient in the continuum of the object from its original to its ‘developed’ state: grinders, torches, and power tools are used to manipulate the three-dimensional forms into two dimensions. His pieces have been shown throughout Asia and North America.
Tae Ho Kang’s series of sophisticated abstract paintings are made to affect the deep recesses of the subconscious. The artist blends and juxtaposes hues in order to give the viewer a new experience of color. Using paintbrushes, knives and printing, Kang layers the paint and ink upon itself in order to create a depth of field that belies the flat nature of his canvas. Ancient cave paintings and their natural decay are the inspiration for his porous surface. The organized chaos of his strokes creates a visual experience in which one becomes fully immersed in the interplay between color and texture. Kang has exhibited internationally as well as locally at LACMA and the Newport Art Museum.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
* * *
Dear Korean,
We will be having two exhibits opening on Saturday July 16th at our gallery located at Bergamot Station. The first is a solo show by Sik Chang and the other is a three-person exhibit featuring the work of David Jang, Chaa Youn Woo, and Tae Ho Kang. The Korean Cultural Center is working with us on the show, and we thought this would be an event you and your readers would be interested in.
Sik Chang’s imagery illustrates a transformational journey between worlds, across cultures (Korea, Africa, and North America), and between the physical and spiritual realms. The theme of ‘transposed images’ has been his guiding motif for the last decade. Sik sees his work as a transfiguration of existing shapes: the ‘primitive’ object is carved, cast, or otherwise changed in material while still retaining its original form. The meaning of the object is then changed by its placement in a new context. Chang is interested in eliminating the everyday use of primitive tools and concentrating on the form.
Following a sabbatical in Africa, Chang began a new sculptural series in an intimate scale. He made bronze casts of collected utilitarian objects from the continent: bowls with figurative handles, crescent-shaped headrests, and ladles with large counter-balancing carvings are mixed with small figurines. As he turns the form of a bowl into a water scene, the headrest into a forest, or places a small boat in a silicone-filled glass, the sculptures become three-dimensional collages whose disparate elements relate a new story. His primary materials are bronze and wood with the original colors intact.
Chang has been actively expanding and defining the fields of minimalist and conceptual art in Korea for the last thirty years. The artist cites Duchamp as a major influence, though his work can also be seen as an Asian response to the European appropriation of African Art at the turn of last century.
Chaa Youn Woo began making his woven rattan paintings after living with the Tukano Indians of the Amazon forest for over half a year. Chaa mastered the craft of Baniwa and the common patterns and techniques that thread through a network of over 400 tribes of the Amazon despite their disparate languages and cultures. The artist incorporates the skills he learned with modern portraiture and imagery. Chaa gravitates towards images that can be universally understood, such as candles, ripples, faces, or hands using sign language. He also weaves with llama wool, llauhala, and aluminum. Work by Chaa has been exhibited in museums internationally. Most recently he created a 30 by 40 foot aluminum orchid woven mural for the USC Archway Medical Plaza.
David Jang uses the excess left over from the mass-production of our consumer society as the source of material for his sculptural paintings. Aluminum cans, water bottles, and packaging materials are deconstructed and flattened into spiraling growth patterns that describe both the literal and figurative movement of re-cycling. The use of detritus as a medium is both a formal and philosophical choice for the artist. Jang is an active ingredient in the continuum of the object from its original to its ‘developed’ state: grinders, torches, and power tools are used to manipulate the three-dimensional forms into two dimensions. His pieces have been shown throughout Asia and North America.
Tae Ho Kang’s series of sophisticated abstract paintings are made to affect the deep recesses of the subconscious. The artist blends and juxtaposes hues in order to give the viewer a new experience of color. Using paintbrushes, knives and printing, Kang layers the paint and ink upon itself in order to create a depth of field that belies the flat nature of his canvas. Ancient cave paintings and their natural decay are the inspiration for his porous surface. The organized chaos of his strokes creates a visual experience in which one becomes fully immersed in the interplay between color and texture. Kang has exhibited internationally as well as locally at LACMA and the Newport Art Museum.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Quick Recap of the Korean's Visit to the Motherland
It has been about five years between the Korean's last trip to Korea and this one. A quick summary of some of the Korean's impressions are below.
Things about Korea that changed the most since the last visit:
- Coffee is still expensive in Korea, but good coffee is now widely available. At some locations, the coffee was as good as any.
- Golf is no longer a very rich person's sport. Even the Korean Grandmother's tiny little town had a driving range.
- Overall, Korea simply got a lot wealthier, even just five years. You can see it everywhere -- the cars are nicer, the streets are nicer, and people have more things. And there appears to be little effect of the financial crisis that has been decimating North America and Europe.
The changes that the Korean expected to see in Korea, but did not:
- Expected to see a lot more foreigners everywhere. Was not the case -- it was about the same as a few years ago.
- Expected to see a lot more fat Korean children. Did not see them, although there were more than before.
- Expected to see more colors on Korean road. Nope, everyone still drives mostly white or black cars.
- Expected to see a lot of old people spitting everywhere, based on the questions that the Korean received. Did not see them. If anything, spitting has been dramatically reduced compared to even five years ago.
One thing about Korea that the Korean never truly understood until this trip:
- The demands put upon Korean women are much more rigorous compared to those put on Korean men. The Korean always knew this, but never truly understood it until he saw the Korean Wife dealing with them.
The top foods eaten in Korea:
7. Pisundae (blood sausages) at Nambusijang (Jeonju).
6. Boshintang (dog meat soup) at Ssarijip (Seoul).
5. Rice with ge'ujeot (게우젓, very rare sauce made with abalone innards) at Asahi Ilsik (Jeju).
4. Pyeonyuk (steamed pork) at Sanbang Sikdang (Jeju).
3. Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) at Pildong Myeonok (Seoul).
2. Hanjeongsik (grand course meal) at Pilkyeongjae (Seoul).
1. Bibimbap at Seongmidang (Jeonju).
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Things about Korea that changed the most since the last visit:
- Coffee is still expensive in Korea, but good coffee is now widely available. At some locations, the coffee was as good as any.
- Golf is no longer a very rich person's sport. Even the Korean Grandmother's tiny little town had a driving range.
- Overall, Korea simply got a lot wealthier, even just five years. You can see it everywhere -- the cars are nicer, the streets are nicer, and people have more things. And there appears to be little effect of the financial crisis that has been decimating North America and Europe.
The changes that the Korean expected to see in Korea, but did not:
- Expected to see a lot more foreigners everywhere. Was not the case -- it was about the same as a few years ago.
- Expected to see a lot more fat Korean children. Did not see them, although there were more than before.
- Expected to see more colors on Korean road. Nope, everyone still drives mostly white or black cars.
- Expected to see a lot of old people spitting everywhere, based on the questions that the Korean received. Did not see them. If anything, spitting has been dramatically reduced compared to even five years ago.
One thing about Korea that the Korean never truly understood until this trip:
- The demands put upon Korean women are much more rigorous compared to those put on Korean men. The Korean always knew this, but never truly understood it until he saw the Korean Wife dealing with them.
The top foods eaten in Korea:
7. Pisundae (blood sausages) at Nambusijang (Jeonju).
6. Boshintang (dog meat soup) at Ssarijip (Seoul).
5. Rice with ge'ujeot (게우젓, very rare sauce made with abalone innards) at Asahi Ilsik (Jeju).
4. Pyeonyuk (steamed pork) at Sanbang Sikdang (Jeju).
3. Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) at Pildong Myeonok (Seoul).
2. Hanjeongsik (grand course meal) at Pilkyeongjae (Seoul).
1. Bibimbap at Seongmidang (Jeonju).
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
KAL v. United
Not too much time for blogging, but just had to get this off the Korean's chest --
Korean Air Lines from Washington D.C. to Seoul, for the Korean and the Korean Wife:
- 8 inches of knee room (for a 6' 1" man) and a seat that actually reclines to a comfortable degree.
- Free checked bags.
- Two in-flight meals that actually taste good, with a surprisingly decent Merlot.
- Periodic drinks and snacks, which include warm pastries and fresh fruit.
- Individually provided screen with on-demand movie options. (Watched Rango and The Lincoln Lawyer, and also Korean and American news.)
- Free newspapers (including three American dailies and three Korean dailies,) toothbrush and toothpaste.
United Air Lines from Los Angeles to Seoul, for the Korean Parents:
- Flight attendant spills water on the Korean Father, tells him "It's just water," and walks away after tossing him some napkins. The Korean Father briefly considered throwing the water back and telling her the same.
Please, someone tell the Korean why Americans cannot figure out how to provide a good flight experience.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Korean Air Lines from Washington D.C. to Seoul, for the Korean and the Korean Wife:
- 8 inches of knee room (for a 6' 1" man) and a seat that actually reclines to a comfortable degree.
- Free checked bags.
- Two in-flight meals that actually taste good, with a surprisingly decent Merlot.
- Periodic drinks and snacks, which include warm pastries and fresh fruit.
- Individually provided screen with on-demand movie options. (Watched Rango and The Lincoln Lawyer, and also Korean and American news.)
- Free newspapers (including three American dailies and three Korean dailies,) toothbrush and toothpaste.
United Air Lines from Los Angeles to Seoul, for the Korean Parents:
- Flight attendant spills water on the Korean Father, tells him "It's just water," and walks away after tossing him some napkins. The Korean Father briefly considered throwing the water back and telling her the same.
Please, someone tell the Korean why Americans cannot figure out how to provide a good flight experience.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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