I have to push back against the assumption – perhaps wishfful thinking – that the DPRK is on its last legs. I’m skeptical for no other reason than the long record Pyongyang has of beating odds. Bradley O. Babson offers some optimism for those like me that would rather not watch the DPRK explode.

North Korea’s finances are a particularly important area where risks are high. There have been episodes of technical dialogue with outside experts and a willingness to send younger officials abroad for training in modern financial practices. But the leadership has not taken advantage of opportunities to obtain advice and assistance on how to reform its domestic financial system or modify its practices to conform to international norms. Financial sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States target North Korea’s vulnerabilities which stem from its low level of integration in the international financial system and reliance on foreign exchange to finance imports essential to maintaining regime loyalty among the elite and high priority military programs.

In response to the deepening financial distress caused by economic sanctions, a botched currency reform and a loss of foreign exchange earnings from inter-Korean activities, the North Korean leadership has demanded increased “loyalty” payments from entities capable of mobilizing foreign exchange and strengthened control over foreign investment by expanding the role of the Taepung Investment Group as the primary channel for negotiations with future investors, especially from China. Protecting the prerogatives of the inner circle has trumped improving the efficiency of the economy through serious financial system reform. But this is not a recipe for success in building a foundation for becoming a “strong and prosperous nation” by 2012 or in reducing the financial vulnerabilities that North Korea faces.

In this situation, will the realigned leadership in the Party, National Defense Commission and Cabinet not only be entrusted with supporting a succession of power, but also with shepherding a change in financial policies and economic governance? Will it function the way the Politburo does in China or Vietnam, providing policy direction for advancing economic reform that is coordinated with a domestic political transition and the restructuring of external security and economic relations?

Facing reality will require not only mustering political will but also the technical capacity to pursue economic reforms that will deliver growth and integration with the international system. That will require the North to accept assistance in designing and implementing a reform program that will put its economy on a path towards sustainable growth, as North Korea does not have the capacity to become a competent member of the international financial and business community on its own. It will also require giving permission to younger technocrats to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to secure a generational transfer of governance that will serve the country in the coming decades. If North Korea can move in these directions, it may be able to eventually meet its goals of broad-based prosperity and reduced financial vulnerability.

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Filed under: Business/Economy, East Asia, Korea, Politics Tagged: bradley o. babson, china, dprk, jang song taek, north korea, prc, vietnam

( Left: source. Right: Change Begins Here, by Self-portrait_Girl )

A slew of negative stories this week I’m afraid.

1. “10-19 is the perfect age to show a lot of skin”

With apologies for copying and pasting so much of it here, but Mellowyel’s post really is a great introduction to this week’s main stories:

…two articles from yesterday peaked my interest: one being the comments of South Korean model Choi Eun-jung (최은정) saying that “10-19 is the perfect age to show a lot of skin” and “Since the sexy concept is the trend, the young idols are carrying it out. Is it really necessary to look at all of this from a negative perspective?” The other was the news that all the music chart shows were upping their age rating from 12 to 15 because of the sexy dancing and clothing.

Of course, Choi Eun-jung’s opinion shouldn’t be dismissed simply because of her occupation, but on the other hand she’s hardly a dispassionate observer of the fashion industry either: until very recently a high school gravure model, she appears to have become famous primarily for appearing semi-nude in the Mnet reality show I Am A Model at 17, albeit overshadowed somewhat by Park Seo-jin (박서진) above who was only 14. And Mellowyel is spot on with the wider issues these stories raise, echoed in The Lolita Effect that I’ve just finished reading (my emphases):

What i find interesting about both of these articles is that what is under consideration is the affect that the exposure of skin has on the public, and no one is talking about how the women themselves feel about it. Do young girls ages 10-19 generally WANT to wear skimpier clothing, and are simply not being allowed to? Do female k-pop idols they feel empowered by being able to wear sexier outfits on stage than Korean culture normally allows? Or do they feel objectified knowing that they’re dressing and dancing that way simply to attract fans? This is a problem that I feel a lot of women performers face, and have to negotiate through their choices of clothing and performance – when they have them….

….Korean rap artist Defconn responded to Choi Eun-jung’s comments with outrage, suggesting that she was not considering the feelings of other young girls, and her comments are improper in light of recent news about sexual offenses against elementary school students. Which wouldn’t bother me if it didn’t remind me of the common thought process of people towards women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted – “They were dressing provocatively so they are complicit in the crime.” I agree completely that young girls dressing provocatively could draw attention of the wrong kind, but I have never heard a sex offender say that he assaulted a woman or girl because she was wearing a short skirt. More often than not, a woman is sexually assaulted simply because she’s at the wrong place at the wrong time, and cannot defend herself successfully. It would be great if people could focus less on what the woman did to get herself assaulted (which is often, nothing) and focus instead on the motivations of the attacker.

I think Defconn’s comments come from the right place, though….

There’s a great deal more where that came from, and I also couldn’t agree more with her point that Choi Eun-jung’s comments that “older women” in bikinis are “disgusting” is infuriating (source above: allkpop).

2. Sex crimes against children put under a microscope by the media

Meanwhile, the recent numerous sexual offenses against elementary students described above are very real, and Matt at Gusts of Popular Feeling provides a typically well-researched and comprehensive summary of them. Probably the most important point to take away from it however, is that in fact this level of attacks is normal:

I found that comment [in this editorial] about the “recent series” of sexual assaults interesting, especially considering the statistics in the next paragraph. Put simply, if 1,017 children and 1,447 teens (between 13 and 15) are victims of sex crimes every year, that adds up to 3 children and 4 teens between 13 and 15 being victimized every day (on average). There is not a “recent series” of such sexual crimes – this is always happening. It’s just that the media has decided – as it does whenever a particular case angers people – to highlight these cases…

On the positive side though, such attention has fat least forced both police and schools to belatedly consider a number of measures to improve their security, although naturally I think some schools’ decisions to completely ban fathers from school grounds was rather misguided. Also the police are to use electronic means to keep track of sex criminals’ whereabouts:

The police will create a nationwide database on sex criminals this month as part of its war to combat sex crimes against children.

An electronic map will be created, marking previous crime sites and the residences of people liable to commit such crimes.

Locations with high odds of such crimes will be flagged and local police will increase their patrol of the sites.

The map will include initial data on 16-hundred convicted sex criminals. The police aim to up that number to 12-thousand over the long term.

Once the map is completed, a warning system, based on data gathered over the past three years, will also be introduced.

The police will also form an exclusive squad on sex crimes targeting children.

Also, see Sociological Images for an innovative but controversial anti-rape campaign in the U.K. (example above) that focuses on men rather than women for a change, with the logic that “stopping predation, harassment, and violence by men requires telling men not to do those things, and telling women to restrict their activities to avoid men who might victimize them is only doubly oppressive.”

3. English teacher in Daegu under suspicion for sexual misconduct with students

In light of the above, it will be interesting to see if this receives a typically disproportionate amount of the media attention. See The Marmot’s Hole for more details, and again Matt provides some historical context.

4. Word of warning

Again (see here, here and #1 here) an expat teacher in Seoul has been sexually attacked, and when she tried to report it to police she was told to leave because they were too busy with other cases.

Read more at Hot Yellow Fellows.

5. Actor Choi Chul-ho (최철호) caught hitting a woman on CCTV

Details in English available at allkpop.

Update: He has since made a public apology.

6. Korea has the highest rate of female suicides in the OECD

So Yonhap News claims:

The suicide rate of South Korean women ranks highest among major advanced nations, data showed Thursday, indicating that they are having difficulty in coping with growing stress from work, marriage and household responsibilities.

According to the data offered by Statistics Korea, 18.7 out of every 100,000 women here committed suicide in 2008, the third leading cause for female deaths in the country after cerebrovascular and heart diseases, whose rates stood at 58.3 and 23.6, respectively.

And this is echoed by Arirang, The Chosun Ilbo, and The Korea Times, the last of which notes that “the figure is higher than traffic accidents, gastric and lung cancer and other causes”, while The Economist also provides the sobering statistic that “an average of around 40 people a day took their own lives in 2009, an increase of nearly 19% on 2008″.

Curiously, The Korea Herald uses the same data, but argues that suicide is only the 5th leading cause of death for women. But regardless of which source is the more correct, it does at least provide the helpful, broad visual comparison between the genders on the right.

Finally, see The Marmot’s Hole for some analysis:

Bernard Rowan, professor of political science at Chicago State University weights in on the question after hearing of the death of Park Yong-Ha, the 33 year old actor found dead in his home last week in an apparent suicide.  Links on his death in the BBC, Wall Street Journal and The Chosun Ilbo.  Given Park’s role in Winter Sonata, there were a number of Japanese fans that mourned his death as well.

Former and current Korean entertainment stars commit suicide with disturbing regularity, but rarely does it attract attention from American professors.  Bernard appears knowledgeable enough about Korea to say a few interesting things, including suicide’s possible link to the concept of “haan”.

7. Poor working conditions for entertainers

Not unrelated to the previous story, probably most readers here are already well aware of the grueling schedules and slave-like contracts of most entertainers, including those hopefuls that train for many years with their respective entertainment companies, with no guarantee that will ever actually be included in a new group. As Extra! Korea reveals however, not only are hopefuls beginning as young as 10 years old, but average entertainers make barely more than minimum wage too. And even KARA (카라), currently one of Korea’s most popular girl groups, live in conditions worse than many university students’.

See here also for the original Straits Times story on young K-pop hopefuls, The JoongAng Daily for more on their working conditions, and Omona! They Didn’t and The Choun Ilbo for one lawmaker’s attempts to clean up the industry.

( Sidelong Glance by Drab Makyo )

8. Divorced husbands from interracial marriages establish rights group

They may have a point here:

“In divorce suits, judges tend to weigh on testimonies from wives, who claim to have been victimized by domestic violence or other mishaps caused by us, Korean husbands. They are untrue from time to time.

However, I seriously doubt that it is Korean husbands that suffer more from a lack of legal representation than their usually non-Korean speaking, penniless wives:

Still, husbands, the majority of those who cannot afford a proper lawyer, are labeled as offenders,” the group’s spokesman Cho, who declined to identify himself further, said.

Read more at The Korea Times.

9. Women working in some previously male-only occupations.

Some good news from The Korea Herald:

…The Statistics Korea report said Monday the number of women entering the field of medicine had increased more than any other field in the past few years. In comparison to a mere 13.6 percent of female dentists in 1980, More than 24.5 percent of Korea’s dentists in 2008 were women.

“Only 2.4 percent of Oriental medicine doctors were female in 1980, but this has increased to 5.9 percent in 1990 and to 15.7 percent by 2008,” the report said…

However, the report is lax in not reporting the wider context: unlike in the U.S., where the financial crisis’s effects on the male-dominated construction and manufacturing industries meant that for the first time in history, more women than men are working there, in Korea women were overwhelmingly targeted for lay-offs, as they comprised the bulk of irregular workers. See almost every previous Korean Gender Reader for more information(!), starting with #1 here and #2 here from early-2009.

10. Keyboard Warriors Against Young Women

Korea is notorious for its increasing internet vigilantism, but until I read this report at Global Voices by Lee Yoo-eun, I’d completely overlooked the gender component to it; in short, it is overwhelmingly done by male netizens against female targets (image source: unknown):

The cyber-vigilantism (or bullying) in Korea, is practiced mostly by men. More reasonable voices online have analyzed this phenomenon as modern witch hunting performed by belligerent netizens, in reaction to Korean women gaining more power while men struggle under heaping social and economic pressure. The ‘girls’ are everyday people who have been caught doing something annoying, mean or idiotic. But unfortunately, by ticking off vocal Korean netizens, it takes only a day for their lives to be mercilessly ruined.

11. Diet pills out of vogue after report on ill effects

Neither food nor medicine, unfortunately diet pills exist in a legal gray area between them that allows Korean companies to brazenly make completely spurious claims of their effects, so this news is encouraging:

Doctors, or at least the less philistinic of them, have been trying to drum home the same message again and again: weight loss drugs can be addictive and harmful and should be regarded as a last resort. Now, the sharply declining sales of slimming pills suggest that consumers have finally begun to listen.

According to industry figures, the local market for weight loss pills was worth around 20.01 billion won (about $16.4 million) during the Jan.-March period, representing close to a 10 percent decline year-on-year. It bears further watching whether the first-quarter slide proves to be more than just a speed bump ― the market’s revenue for the entire year of 2009 reached 101.1 billion won, a dramatic increase from the 60.3 billion won of 2006.

However, with health authorities issuing warnings about possible side effects related to the country’s two best selling slimming pills, it’s reasonable to think that consumers are legitimately scared.

Read more at The Korea Times.

( Source )

12. Gay actor’s lone fight against prejudice

The JoonAng Daily has an inspiring article about Hong Suk-chun’s (홍석천) coming out and eventual financial success, but unfortunately it’s rather telling that no other Korean public figure of his stature has done so in the 10 years since:

…In fact, society is still so closed off to sexual minorities that a recent SBS TV drama, “Life is Beautiful,” which portrays gay characters and romance, caused the People’s Association Against Pro-Homosexuality Laws to run anti-homosexuality advertisements in the country’s biggest conservative newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo, from late May to early June.

“In Korea, public awareness and social backing for gays and lesbians are still extremely far off,” said Li En, an activist at the Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center. “Although Hong Suk-chun fought the tide and succeeded, we still remember when he was fired by all the broadcasters the day after he came out. In a country where an anti-homosexuality ad runs in the biggest newspaper, how many do you think will actually sacrifice everything they have to come out?”

See here also for a summary of the state of LGBT rights in Korea over the last decade.

Filed under: Korean Gender Reader Tagged: Choi Chul-ho, Choi Eun-jung, Hong Suk-chun, 성폭행, 홍석천, 최은정, 최철호, Rape, Suicide

I love the South and Alabama in particular.  You get the "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" in the south.  People wave to you when you're driving by.  Folks will hold the door open for you.  Smoke actually comes out of the exhaust stacks of barbecue restaurants in the south.  What kind of real barbecue place doesn't have smoke coming out of its stack?  The kind without barbecue pits, that's what kind.  I digress.  Only in the south can you get SEC football, large mouth bass, Golden Flake potato chips, Blue Bell ice cream, black eyed peas, sweet tea and multiple American Idol winners.  Okay, so maybe you can get some of these things outside of the south, but it just ain't the same if you're not enjoying those things with company that boasts a friendly drawl or southern twang - especially company of the female persuasion with a sweet, syrupy southern accent.  I'm a very lucky man to have married my southern belle.  Yeah, Carol's drawl is pretty much gone but all it takes is that weekly phone call to her mama and she's back on the twang wagon once again.  At least for the duration of that phone call anyway.

So after leaving Korea in colorful and almost accident-free fashion (see previous blog post), we landed in Birmingham. Alabama to spend a few days of visiting with Carol's family.  Wish we could've stayed for the 4th of July, but the timing just didn't work out.  Still, it was good to get our Alabama fix.



We picked these from Uncle Sammy's blueberry bushes.  That's become a favorite summer past time now.  Nothing like grabbing a handful of these bad boys and plopping them in your mouth.  Veruca Salt, eat your heart out.





Although CJ's game of choice is chess these days, the boys enjoyed a friendly game of checkers down in the country.


What self respecting southerner doesn't own a Robert E. Lee statue or other Civil War print or memorabilia?


Here's the bookshelf of a beloved family member and obvious southerner.  While reading some of these books may help folks to better understand the south, to capture the true southern essence, you have to come on down and experience it for yourself.


One of our all time southern favorites.  Gotta love the CB.  This is where I discovered that pancakes with holes is a good thing.


I also discovered the simplest of intelligence tests at the Cracker Barrel.  Are you familiar with this game that they have on their tables?


Not to brag (which means I'm about to brag), according to my last attempt at this game, I'm a genius.