Piangtawan Piang Phanprasit separates the wheat from the chaff concerning the 1997 IMF Crisis.

…it is tempting to suggest that market-oriented policies as opposed to the East Asia development paradigm have been more successful in that the economies pursuing the former were not relatively affected. Nonetheless, the paradigm was rather market-enhancing and at least accounted for unprecedented growth in the economies concerned. The financial collapse was the consequence of financial liberalisation which the troubled economies’ institutions had not yet fully developed to cope with but in other areas of development the paradigm has proven rather successful.

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( Source: Metro, Busan edition, 8 July 2010, p. 3 )

A quick newspaper report on Korean smoking rates that caught my eye.

Of course, I was a little disappointed that it discussed “average” rates for men and women, as these are essentially useless pieces of information given the huge diversity within each gender in Korea, and doubly so for women because of chronic underreporting. But that is to be expected for a free daily, and at least it takes a step in the right direction by mentioning that female teenagers tend to start smoking much earlier than males, which will hopefully result in some much-needed attention being given to this burgeoning group:

People Would Consider Quitting if Cigarettes Cost 8500 won a Packet

At 42.6%, Korea has the highest adult male smoking rate in the OECD

Although the general social trend is for people to stop smoking, Korea retains its position as the country with the highest adult male smoking rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to a survey of 3000 men and women over the age of 19 conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last month, 42.6% of Korean men smoked in the first half of this year, a decrease of 0.5% from the second half of last year, and a break in continuous increases for the past 2 years from August 2008, when it was 40.4%. However, a large gap between this and the average OECD rate of 28.4% (2007) is apparent.

Of particular interest, the survey also revealed that compared to men, women are starting to smoke at earlier ages. Of those smokers under 29 surveyed, the average age both sexes started was 18.1, but the average age of women was 16.5 and that for men was 18.3, showing women started roughly 2 years earlier.

However, of non-smokers surveyed, 21.4% replied that they did once smoke, but 62% of those were successful in quitting on their first time, showing that it is becoming easier and the social norm to do so. Indeed, 59.4% of smokers replied that they intended to quit.

Accordingly, when asked what the most effective method of quitting would be, the most popular choice [James - among current smokers?] was “increasing the numbers of no-smoking zones” at 22.8%, followed by raising the price of cigarettes (18.7%), increasing penalties for smokers (18%), and launching public campaigns (16.3%). In particular, when asked “How much would the price of cigarettes have to be raised to be effective in making you quit?”, the average answer was 8510.8 won a packet, or 3-4 times higher than current prices.

( Source: unknown )

Next week, after Part 4 is completed, I’ll translate this much longer Korean article that looks at female smoking more specifically.

(Links to other posts in the series as they appear: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

I’m continually worried that the US imparted to the ROK the wrong culture of technological quick fixing. Case in point: robots.

I don’t know why the ROK Prime Minister’s Office and the Justice Ministry are even bothering with rationalizing the country’s E-2 visa program – Engkey is out to make foreign humans irrelevant.

The trials and errors at the Korea Institute, a wooded top-security compound for the country’s best scientific minds, represent South Korea’s ambitious robotic dreams.

Last month, it announced a trial service for 11 types of intelligent robots this year. They include “kiosk robots” to roam amusement parks selling tickets, and “robo soldiers” that will man part of the 155-mile border with North Korea with a never-sleeping camera eye, night vision and lethal fire power.

But the most notable step was this country’s plans to use robots as teaching aids. In February, the Education Ministry began deploying hundreds of them as part of a plan to equip all the nation’s 8,400 kindergartens with robots by 2013.

One type of robot, toddler-size with a domed head and boxlike body on wheels, takes attendance, reads fairy tales and sings songs with children. A smaller puppy robot helps leads gymnastics and flashes red eyes if touched too roughly.

Even though they are little more than fancy toys, experts say, these robots prepare children for a fast-approaching robotic future.

Early this year, when the institute did an experimental run of Engkey in Masan on the south coast, there was a mad rush among children to be selected for the program, said Kim Bo-yeong, an English teacher.

“They all loved robots. They get shy before a foreign native speaker, afraid to make mistakes,” Ms. Kim said. “But they find robots much easier to talk to.”

An independent evaluator of the trial noticed that Engkey required the constant presence of a technical operator. “Engkey has a long way to go if it wants to avoid becoming an expensive yet ignored heap of scrap metal at the corner of the classroom,” said Ban Jae-chun, an education professor at Chungnam National University.

Judging by Ms. Kim’s Masan students, I guess I’ve been doing it wrong all these years. Perhaps I should dress up and act like a robot, to relieve my students’ stress with dealing with humans. “A heap of scrap metal”? Well, that’s better than I feel most days. The robot won’t have to deal with messy sentiments about workplace fairness or common decency. It doesn’t have to sleep, either. Maybe, future models will be equipped to zap with electricity slumbering students – or serve them lattes – at midnight cram sessions.

Defense robots I find only slightly less troublesome.

South Korea is trialing (???) a remote-controlled sentry robot capable of carrying out surveillance and combat functions along the military demarcation line.

A military officer on Tuesday said one was deployed last month at a guard post within the demilitarized zone on the central frontline in Gangwon Province. It is a remote-controlled armed robot with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment.

“We’re going to deploy such robots at all posts along the DMZ by year’s end if the trial operation is successful,” the officer said. The military authorities could also deploy them on the five islands near the maritime border in the West Sea.

Equipment consists of a camera, a K-4 high-speed machine gun, and a central control system. Each robot is said to cost about W400 million (US$1=W1,212). The surveillance camera sends images to the command and control room in real time. If it detects an approaching enemy, the robot is activated to fire 40 mm rounds at high speed.

“Armed robots don’t judge themselves but are activated by soldiers to fire,” the officer said. “The robots will not completely replace all sentry guards along the MDL, but it’ll be possible to maintain a high surveillance level with a small number of troops.”

Generally, where conscription has become as much a national rite of passage, replacing conscripts with robots just seems inadequate. Will there be a joystick and a monitor included for the conscripts back at HQ?

I don’t have to wax poetically about enslaving generations of robots serving human masters. But, I would suggest South Koreans tackle issues, like learning English, dealing with foreigners, competing globally, and conscription before spending vast sums outsourcing these unpalatable topics to mechanical devices that might not be the savior disgruntled students and conscripts demand. But, at least, the Korea Institute hasn’t offered a robot to assuage frustrating rural men waiting for a foreign bride.

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