Posts filed under 'politics'
This week I had two sharp reminders of my time in South Korea. The first was unpleasant. The former President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, jumped to his death last weekend. President Roh was serving when I arrived in Korea and his face was a daily presence in my morning newspaper. To see his face over such horrible news was discordant. There is a picture of one of the 31 official government mourning altars, filled with white chrysanthemums, at http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/05/26/200905260052.asp . I think it says a great deal about rapidly changing Korea that the parents are performing traditional ancestral bows before President Roh’s photograph while the younger Koreans are simply standing with their heads bowed. As you can see in the picture of him, President Roh was still fairly young (62 I believe). Koreans seem to be in shock. They have my sympathy.
My other reminder was more joyful, less newsworthy and very simple. A colleague from Pyeongtaek University who came to the U.S. gave me seeds for a common Korean plant - kaenip. This is sometimes translated as sesame leaf or perilla but does not seem to be either. It is commonly eaten raw, usually wrapped around a piece of hot grilled meat. It has a slightly lemony, very tangy taste unlike anything else.
The seeds all germinated and I now have a dozen plants at varying stages of growth. It seems to need a lot of water and really dislikes cold temperatures (much like basil I suspect). So I am babying it before I expose it to my May NH garden (our last frost date is June 15!). But I’ve already torn off a few leaves when I want the smell and taste of Korea. And I’m looking forward to the 4 foot tall plants providing enough leaves for a party, with grilled meat and gochujang (hot Korean pepper paste).
In one month, I will have been home a full year. (I returned from Korea in late June 2008). Sometimes the experience feels terribly far away, as if it happened to someone else. But news stories, where I “know” all the people and understand the issues, can immediately bring me back. Kaenip leaves apparently have the same effect, tasting of evenings shared with colleagues over good food and drink.
May 25, 2009
I am beginning to understand what people meant when they told me “Anti-Americanism can flare up in Korea in a moment.” I am also realizing anew how huge a gap there is our “international” news coverage in the U.S.
Many of you probably know that Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the U.S. in April. It was the first time an American President invited a Korean leader to Camp David. Both President Lee and President Bush would like to see the Korean-US Free Trade Agreement passed and both face an uphill battle in their Legislatures.
You may not know that Korea and the US signed a controversial beef import deal right before that visit. Korea used to be the third largest importer of US beef. Then mad cow disease hit one cow in the Pacific Northwest. Korea limited imports to beef without bones. About a year ago, they stopped imports altogether when they kept finding banned bones in U.S. shipments. The new deal was supposed to reopen the lucrative Korean market and drive down amazingly high beef prices here. I have paid $12 for a small, ordinary steak.
Since then, there have been growing protests. First they were protests against potentially dangerous U.S. beef. I noted in an earlier blog that I had to answer questions from students about whether I ate beef and was it safe. Then some of the protests became anti-American government protests, as people felt the beef deal was a “give-away” by President Lee to the Americans in order to get the Free Trade Agreement passed.
Now the protests are strongly anti-President Lee. The beef deal was one more action by a President apparently deeply out of touch with the people who only 4 months ago voted him into office by a wide margin. His approval ratings are hovering at the 18% mark! Images of black-booted young policemen kicking fallen protestors have only heightened the tension in a nation which still vividly remembers military dictatorships.
Yesterday I was in Seoul to say some goodbyes and passed two separate protest marches. One building had a banner depicting sick cows “Made in USA” and a worried consumer. The subways had advertisements for Australian beef : “Clean & Safe”.
I feel perfectly safe, especially since I do not live in downtown Seoul. No foreigners have been targeted, and the anger is clearly directed at the government - especially the Korean President and the U.S. Ambassador.
This coming Tuesday is the anniversary of massive nation-wide protests against Korean dictatorship and there are expected to be rallies and marches all over the country. I expect people at the University will be mostly apathetic - it is final exam week. But I’ll be avoiding Seoul, just in case.
I will also be curious to see what turns up in the U.S. newspapers. Part of my goal in coming to Asia was to understand how people in other regions viewed the United States. Now I understand a little of that. I am also far more aware how much international news never shows up in the U.S. media, even when it directly relates to U.S. interests. There is only so much bandwidth, and Clinton and Obama take up an awful lot of it. Everyone here knows about Clinton and Obama. How much do people at home know about Lee and U.S. beef?
June 8, 2008
In my American Political Culture class, I have been trying to use lots of examples from Korean politics to help explain America’s politics. This has had mixed success. Like most Americans, most Koreans have limited knowledge of their own political system. But we are learning together. So here is a primer for all of you wanting to know about Korean politics (and possibly needing a reminder about how our U.S. system is supposed to work):
Koreans have direct election of the president. They do not have an Electoral College to moderate the potentially immature and irrational decisions of the voters (at least, that was the original idea of the Electoral College).
In addition, Korean Presidents serve 5 years (not 4) and cannot be reelected. Koreans are even more eager than Americans ever were to avoid a dictatorial (or monarchical) President. They do not, however, have the office of Vice President. If something happens to the President, they have to have a national election to replace him. They also have to have a national referendum to change the Constitution, rather than getting three-quarters of the states to approve the change.
Interestingly, Koreans did not have Presidential primaries until 2004. They are still experimenting with them, combining votes by party members (less than 10% of the population) and cell phone public opinion polls. They have dozens of political parties, which change with every election. The oldest political party was formed in the 1990s.
Koreans have a unicameral, not bicameral legislature. This means they have one National Assembly, not a House of Representatives and a Senate. Everyone serves four years, rather than 2 and 6 respectively in the U.S. Whereas impeachment and trial are completely Legislative rights in the U.S., (The House impeaches and the Senate holds a trial), in Korea the Legislature impeaches, but the Judiciary (Supreme Court) holds a trial.
The Judiciary in Korea works much like that of the U.S. with two huge exceptions. Korea has both a Supreme Court (for appeals) and a Constitutional Court (specifically to examine issues of constitutionality). In addition, Korea does not have trial by jury. As of January 1, 2008, the first ever jury trials were held in Korea, on an advisory basis.
The Korean Constitution is many pages longer than the U.S. and infinitely more specific. (If you would like to read it in English, see http://english.ccourt.go.kr/home/english/welcome/republic.jsp). It lists hundreds of things the government must do, but maintains flexibility by saying the government must do them “according to Act” or in other words, according to current law. Therefore changing the spirit of the constitution can be as easy as changing the law. Thus the amazing rights provided in the Constitution are highly contingent on law, whereas in the U.S. they are far more contingent on judicial interpretations. Still, here are some of the impressive rights listed in the Korean Constitution and not in the U.S.
1) All citizens shall be equal before the law, and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, social or cultural life on account of sex, religion or social status.
2) The privacy of no citizen shall be infringed.
3) All citizens shall enjoy freedom of conscience.
4) All citizens shall enjoy freedom of learning and the arts.
5) All citizens shall have an equal right to receive an education corresponding to their abilities.
6) All citizens have the right and the duty to work.
7) All citizens shall be entitled to a life worthy of human beings.
8) All citizens shall have the right to a healthy and pleasant environment.
One passage I find fascinating is directly under the rights of free speech, free press, assembly and petition (mirroring our First Amendment in the Bill of Rights). Our Bill of Rights definitely does not have this clause: “Neither speech nor the press shall violate the honor or rights of other persons nor undermine public morals or social ethics. Should speech or the press violate the honor or rights of other persons, claims may be made for the damage resulting therefrom.” While the U.S. criminalizes slander (spoken defamation) and libel (written defamation), we rarely prosecute writers for undermining public morals and social ethics. (Though we have in the past - McCarthyism comes to mind).
For this reason I find the Korean Constitution a fascinating mix of liberal beliefs (their statements about equality and rights far exceed those in America) and a conservative focus on social morality (placing the good of society above the rights of the individual.) It is also, thus far, mostly a piece of paper. The American Constitution has achieved an almost religious status, with politicians constantly referring to it to support their points or challenge their opponents. A “Constitutional Right” is valued above all others. In Korea, the Constitution has been amended a dozen times already, and is seen more as a guideline than an absolute standard. In some ways, the Korean Constitution faces the same challenges the American one did when President Andrew Jackson supposedly said “The Supreme Court has made their decision, now let them enforce it.” History teaches that our Constitution has not always been quite so sacred. This is perhaps the most shocking thing to Korean students - and perhaps the most hopeful.
May 25, 2008
As part of their 40th wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii, my parents made a detour to South Korea. As my mom noted, it was not the top of their “foreign destinations” list, but it had me, so that made it pretty attractive. My parents have not left North America in 40 years, but they handled customs and immigration like pros. Here are a few highlights from their trip:
1) A bus tour around Seoul (which meant _I_ finally understood how this city was laid out!). 
2)Dinner at a Buddhist restaurant which covered the table in small bowls of tasty vegetables and ended with traditional Korean dancing and drumming. I was really impressed that my parents managed to sit on the floor for over two hours.
3) Shopping in Insadong, a traditional (and touristy) shopping area. My Dad commented that this was what he expected of “the teeming masses of Asia”- densely packed streets, crowded buildings, lots of alleyways crammed with shops, a profusion of brightly colored goods. It contrasted sharply with the skyscrapers, elegant sculpture, large parks, and Rodeo Drives of modern Seoul. There my mom noted “I have never seen this many Louis Vitton advertisements, even in America!”
4) Touring a folk village in Yongin. We saw houses moved from various parts of the country, with rice thatch roofs, rice broom-swept courtyards, hand carved kitchenware. It was hard to believe that my colleague’s grandparents lived in a home similar to these into the 1970s. Change has happened really fast here.
5) Meals with colleagues. Many of my colleagues wanted to meet my parents, and honor them with a meal. So we had lunch at the National Museum with a member of the U.S. Embassy staff, her mother-in-law and her daughter. Another evening we roasted duck over a fire with two colleagues, and then we had lunch at a famous soy sauce making restaurant with another two colleagues. 
In six days, my parents had six kinds of kimchi and close to 100 different kinds of Korean food. They were great sports, trying everything once, and finding they liked almost all of it.
6) Meeting with students. Due to a scheduling conflict, my parents visited the Korean Presidential Residence (Cheong Wa Dae or the Blue House) along with students from my American Political Culture class. The students were outstanding ambassadors, providing translations of the Korean tour information. My parents also attended my study group where students took full advantage of the chance to talk with foreigners who also happened to be Professor Salerno’s parents. Meeting with English-speaking foreigners is still pretty rare in Pyeongtaek, so having three in a classroom was pretty special.
My parents enjoyed being elders in a country that has traditionally honored age (although that is rapidly and unfortunately changing). I was fascinated to watch people who have always acted the “senior” role with me, suddenly acting the “junior” role with my parents! It affects how people shake hands, pour drinks, drink drinks, and prioritize desires. I think my parents liked best all the children who would come up to them and shyly ask “Where are you from?” and then ask to have a picture taken with the friendly foreigners. Many ran off giggling.
One interaction may serve as a summary for the trip: Walking up the _steep_ hill to Namsan tower, my mom asked four middle-school girls what they were eating. “Ochingo” one said, clearly struggling for the English. “Squid” I translated and they nodded and giggled. 
A huddled conference followed and the girls then offered their food to my parents. Remembering that it is impolite to reject offerings of food, my mom accepted and everybody smiled - a cultural interaction successfully negotiated. Food, giggles, language, and culture on the way to a scenic view. It was a great trip.
May 24, 2008
Democracy in Korea is only 21 years old. The contrast between a thousand years of monarchy, 40 years of colonial control, 20 years of dictatorship and 20 years of democracy was made vividly real for me this week.
First, I went to a presentation on the Gwangju uprisings in 1980. In 1979 Korea’s second President and first dictator was assassinated. Hopes for democratic change swept the country and were rapidly put down by the third President Chun Doo-hwan, a military general. Students in southern Korea refused to stop protesting for greater democracy and the army massacred an unknown number of people. Students, women, children, bystanders, the elderly - everyone was a target, and therefore most people joined the protests. Eventually the town was placed under army rule. Since all of this was done with the knowledge, if not permission, of American authorities, residents of Gwangju remain actively anti-American. They had hoped for support for a new democracy and did not receive it.
Second, I went to one of Seoul’s many palaces. The English language tour guide regularly reminded us that Korea is now a democracy. “Here we are walking on the royal road,” she told us. “In the Joseon dynasty, only the king could walk on the central part. Commoners had to walk on the sides. However, we are now a democracy, so you can walk on the central part since in Korea the people are kings.” Later we came to a doorway called “doorway of prayers for long life.” The guide informed us that “Once this doorway was used only by royalty. That is why it is so tall, since only royalty did not need to bow before entering. However, in a democracy no one bows so you can all walk through the tall doorway and pray for your own long life.” What a vivid reminder of the power of the people in a democracy!
Third, Korea is in the middle of its Parliamentary election campaigning. The election is April 9. This is a hotly watched contest since originally the GNP (the President’s party) was expected to win easily, but now the opposition party has a good chance to prevent a sweep. Yet most of the people I know are remarkably indifferent about the elections. Voter turnout is expected to hit an all-time low. A sense that politicians are corrupt, that they do not represent the average voter, that only the wealthy can really run, that candidates are out of touch with daily reality, that there is no “good” candidate to vote for - all of these seem to be depressing voters and voter turnout.
In thirty years, Korea has gone from literally battling for democracy to being proud of having it to being disillusioned by its less than perfect form. I have asked dozens of people whether they think President Lee Myung-bak (criticized by some for being too authoritarian) could lead a slide back to dictatorship. Everyone agrees: “No, democracy is too entrenched here now.” But democracy requires an active, educated, engaged citizenship, vigilant in keeping an eye on its own best interests. I am struck by how quickly Korea has reached America’s levels of disenchantment, frustration, and unwillingness to participate. Perhaps we will be able to learn from however they deal with the isssue.
April 3, 2008
In America March is Women’s History Month, but in much of the rest of the world, March means International Women’s Day. On March 8, 1908 15,000 women marched through New York City to demand shorter working hours and better working conditions. In 1911, a German woman launched the first International Women’s Day in Copenhagen, Denmark to demand equal rights for women. Since then this has been an international celebration not of women’s past, but of their present status, needs and hopes.
This year marked South Korea’s 24th International Women’s Day celebration and my first. I joined 5000 other people and 167 women’s groups for an information fair, concert, ceremony, and parade. Foreigners were invited to wear purple and white (the colors worn by US suffragists). I ended up marching next to another Fulbrighter, an English teaching assistant. We were warmly welcomed, handed pinwheels and balloons and coached through the Korean cheers. In a crowd wearing purple hats, carrying blue umbrellas, waving bright red “No human trafficking signs”, or trailing green and yellow streamers, for once no one had eyes for the white face in the crowd!
The guests of honor this year were the women and volunteers of Sharing House. This organization was created to house, care for and honor the Korean women who were kidnapped during World War II and forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers. For decades they were abandoned by their families and shunned by society, but in the past ten years there has been an outpouring of support for them. Some of these women and their supporters have protested in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for 800 straight weeks, demanding an apology and reparations. Recently the US passed House Resolution 121 calling on Japan to apologize, which was not welcomed by Japan. You can learn more at http://comfortwomen.wordpress.com/ or http://war_forgiveness.soundprint.org/ .
Women’s status in Korea is remarkably similar to that of US women in the 1980s. Laws for women’s equality are on the books, but popular attitudes have not caught up. Rapists often escape punishment on the argument that a woman wore revealing clothing and thus incited the man to rape. Victims of domestic violence are assumed to have acted in a way that provoked violence. There is an increasingly sharp split among women as well, best shown by the contrast between “golden misses” (single, highly educated, highly paid urban women who disdain marriage) and “golden egg mothers” (rural, uneducated, farm wives who have third, fourth and fifth children to reap the benefits provided by a government desperate to fend off a future worker shortage by increasing the lowest birthrate in the world).
In some ways, Korea is way ahead of other countries. A 2004 law criminalized the prostitution of women, providing punishments for “johns”, “pimps”, and “procurers” rather than women forced into prostitution. It also provides mental and medical health care, empowerment and vocational training, and guaranteed jobs for women who choose to leave prostitution. Advocates say simply changing the language from “prostitute” to “prostituted woman” and from “morally degrading behavior for women” to “morally degrading behavior for men” makes a huge difference. This is especially true in a nation where red light districts are still highlighted as tourist destinations and both government and business officials continue to see providing a sexual partner for clients as part of the deal-closing culture. Then again we have Eliot Spitzer.
Listening to Koreans talk about women is fascinating. Most women complain about the “double shift” of working full time and having sole responsibility for home and family care. The Korean tradition of building bonds at work through 5 hour long drinking rounds after work tends to automatically exclude married women. Women only make 63% of a male salary for the same job. (The number in the US is 78% and in Europe it is 90%). Korean Men however talk about how there are more women in college than men, women are excused/excluded from military duty, and they are perceived as better at learning English and thus getting better jobs. Women think they have made only small progress toward equality. Even with legal requirements that women fill half the spots on party ballots, there are few prominent female political leaders in Korea. Yet men feel strongly that they are losing power and that women are running the country.
These differences actually show up in the two major political divisions in Korea. The former “liberal party” President created a Ministry (Cabinet level post) of Gender Equality and the Family. The name implied attention to both male and female issues. This was a crucial realization, since there had previously been little discussion about the problems of men in Korean society. Why do some seek out prostitutes? Who will rural Korean men marry when more and more Korean women reject marriage? Already rural counties are more multicultural than the cities as male farmers import wives from the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam - into a nation that has long valued its racial homogeneity! However, the current President tried to eliminate the ministry altogether, and settled for downsizing it and changing its name to the Ministry of Women. This implies that women are getting special treatment, and it will likely doom the ministry’s effectiveness here. President Lee’s 24-7 “pragmatic, responsive” government is also causing women (and men) to resign from government service. Being constantly on call for government needs leaves little time for family needs.
For all these reasons, women and men paraded through central Seoul, carrying signs, shouting slogans, and singing songs. They celebrated what has been accomplished and they demanded attention to continuing problems. I did not always understand the language, but I understood the point. And I was glad to be there.
March 17, 2008
