Category: Korea-General Topics

So does anyone think this apology will make as many headlines as the deliberate New York Times mistranslation did of Abe’s off the cuff comment about the comfort women last month?:

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday expressed regrets that his country’s military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II.

The remark, made in an interview with a weekly U.S. news magazine on the eve of his visit to the United States, may have been aimed at mending fences. The premier has been criticized by many countries for claiming there is no evidence that the Japanese military took any part in the forced recruitment of the so-called comfort women to serve its troops who invaded Asian countries.

"As Japan’s prime minister, I’m extremely sorry that they were made to endure such pain," Abe told Newsweek. The Japanese leader reiterated that his government respected and stood by a statement by former Chief Cabinet Minister Yohei Kono in 1993 that apologized for the Japanese military’s involvement in the use of women as sexual slaves.

Any bets when the first pundit comes out and claims this apology "isn’t sincere enough"?  I doubt this apology will even appease Congressman Honda who is playing up this issue for domestic political support from his Korean-American voting base.  He is going to keep playing this out for every last vote from political base just like Korean politicians back in Korea will keep doing the same thing. 

I do have a question for Congressman Honda though.  When is he going to start writing a bill to harass Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to apologize for the 20-30 million Chinese that died during the Great Leap forward, the up to 500,000 who died during the Cultural Revolution, or the 2,000-3000 civilians who were gunned down by the Chinese military at Tianamen Square.  What about an apology to the people of Korea for the Chinese intervention into the Korean War that killed up to a million Korean civilians and ensured the continued division of the country to this day?  How about another apology for the continuing human rights abuses of Chinese peasants and the sexual slavery of North Korean women?  Expect no bill on these issues because Congressman Honda considers these incidents as nothing more than "historical blemishes".

I do have to give China some credit because Chinese Premier Wen appears to be trying mend some fences with Japan with this week’s visit to the country.  Via Ampontan here’s some of what he said:

• “Japan formally admitted to wartime aggression and expressed deep remorse and apology, and the Chinese government and people high credit to Japan for it.”
• “China will not forget Japan’s assistance and support as the country reformed and modernized.”
• He described the two countries’ economic relationship as “mutually complementary” to a significant extent.

So does anyone think President Roh will make an announcement similar to this after yet another apology from the Japanese government?  I doubt it, especially with this year’s presidential election coming up; Japan bashing will be en vogue for at least the rest of the year.  If any mending of fences with Japan is to occur it will have to be after the presidential election and will last until a run up to another election.  That is how the cycle works and will continue.

From the Chosun Ilbo:

Moreover, the Abe regime has been reneging on the promises and apologies of previous administrations in the way it deals with the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, history texts and former sex slaves, in addition to its pursuit of amending its pacifist constitution. Under these circumstances, Japan’s push to become what it thinks is a “normal” nation is simply a marriage of economic might and military capabilities with a very weak sense of ethics and historical hindsight. A country with such attributes should be called “abnormal.” The problem now facing Korea is how to view and deal with such an abnormal nation.

If the Chosun Ilbo writers wants to talk about countries being “abnormal” let’s discuss it. First of all, isn’t unilaterally declaring that the Camp Humphreys relocation is going to be delayed by 5 years from the agreed upon date between the US and Korean governments and then the USFK commander first finding out about this by reading the newspaper just a bit “abnormal”? Isn’t unilaterally cutting agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance only weeks after making the agreement “abnormal”? Isn’t giving over a billion dollars this year to North Korea while denying USFK the agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance “abnormal”?

Isn’t the current mass sexual slavery of North Korean women going on in China today without a word of outrage from the South Korean government “abnormal”? Isn’t the fact that the South Korean government would rather have North Korean defectors return to certain death in a gulag then be allowed to enter South Korea “abnormal”? Isn’t the fact that the South Korean government abandons their own citizens kidnapped by the North Koreans to the point that a lone ajumma had to free here husband from North Korea herself just a bit “abnormal”? Then the South Korean government sends Kim Jong-il a suitcase filled with $400,000 dollars in cash also “abnormal”. Isn’t the fact that South Korean teachers have been caught with North Korean propaganda with intent to distribute while constantly spreading anti-US rhetoric in the classrooms also just a bit “abnormal”?

I could go on and on and don’t even get me started on China, but if the Japanese are “abnormal” they have plenty of company.

Michael Breen one my favorite authors and journalists on Korea has quite a funny article in today’s Korea Times about Konglish:

Whether it’s memorable lines in the English-language papers – for example, the legendary pilot who “was reported to have ejaculated before the crash to safety…”- or the lifelong quest for the flawless menu, I find that Poor English has enriched my life.

I’m not being superior here. I know my foreigner-Korean has added to the well-being of Koreans. One should not feel humiliated when a foreigner laughs.

In fact, we laugh at ourselves more. The error that leads to an unintended association is a whole genre of humor in all languages.

Particularly in newspaper headlines. Take, for example, the story of the man who escaped from an asylum and raped two women in a laundry and fled, the horror of which was relieved in one tabloid with the headline: “Nut Screws Washers and Bolts.” That was written by a native speaker.

Read the whole thing because Breen makes another good point about how history is taught to foreigners in Korea as well that I totally agree with. 

Getting back to the Konglish portion of the article I have always found it amazing how Koreans are just not willing to have any proof reading of their English language material done.  If I had a dollar to fix every misspelled or badly phrased English sign, brochure, menu, etc. in Korea I would be a very rich man.  Some of the misspellings would be discovered just by doing a simple spell check on a computer, but yet somehow they make it into the public. 

The ultimate example of this has got to be the new tourism slogan being pushed by the Korean government: Korea, Sparkling!  I would love to see a Michael Breen column on this. 

Well that is what the OECD says:

South Korea’s economic and financial indicators have been in good shape but the quality of life for its people remains below the average of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD Fact Book 2007, which compared various indices of OECD member countries in 2005, showed that Korea commands positive economic indicators relative to other OECD peers.

Korea ranked 23rd in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and 22nd in gross national income (GNI) among the 30 member countries of the leading countries club.

Its economic growth rate was the 11th highest; it placed fourth in household savings and third in labor productivity.

However, Korea was below the OECD average in indicators related with the quality of life. It ranked 29th in social welfare expenditure, indicating that the government needs to further expand projects to strengthen the nation’s social safety net.

I don’t see how giving people free handouts is an indicator of quality of life?  Anyway I think that Korea has a high quality of life, but could be better in certain aspects most notably pollution, their long working hours, and a need to modify the educational system, but overall Korea is doing very well for itself and life seems to only be getting better, which is really something when you think about how the Koreans have to live under the constant threat of hostile invasion from North Korea.

There is a good discussion going on over at Lost Nomad over this article about how Korea is looking at changing fire engine colors in order to make them stand out more so motorists will yield to fire engines.  For those unfamiliar with Korea, motorists here usually do not make way for fire engines or ambulances very regularly.  In my opinion it is because of all the flashing lights they see on the road anyway.  The police in Korea drive around often with their lights on for no reason.  Than you have tow truck drivers doing the same thing.

The best example I can give you of how absurd the flashing light culture in Korea is, is that one time while driving between Uijongbu and Dongducheon in my HMMWV we yielded on the side of the road for vehicle with flashing lights coming up behind us.  The vehicle with the flashing lights ended up being a KT Internet man.  He had lights installed on his car so he could cut through traffic and run red lights to respond to the latest Internet emergencies I guess. 

Is it any wonder when people see flashing lights they don’t yield when it could just be another Internet emergency? 

From Yonhap:

A South Korean research team claimed Monday it has created the world’s first cloned wolves in October 2005, and that the animals have been growing up without any problems.  The team, led by Lee Byeong-chun and Shin Nam-sik, veterinary professors at Seoul National University, said the two cloned female wolves, named Snuwolf and Snuwolffy, were born on Oct. 18 and Oct. 26, 2005.

The breakthrough came three months after the team announced it succeeded in cloning three female dogs — Bona, Peace and Hope. The team’s lead scientist, Lee, was a key member of the team led by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, which produced the world’s first cloned dog, Snuppy, a male, in April 2005.

Both Hwang and Lee have been on trial following the discovery that their research papers on human stem cells were found to be fabricated. Their works on dog cloning, however, were confirmed genuine and successful.

How come I have this feeling we haven’t seen the last of Dr. Hwang Woo-suk?Â

It is official, the long over due Incheon Airport rail link has finally opened.

Via OFK, comes this news that Al Qaida mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad planned to conduct terrorist attacks against US interests in Korea:

I was responsible for planning and surveying to hit American targets in South Korea, such as American military bases and a few night clubs frequented by American soldiers.

I think this is very possible and the Al Qaida number two man Alman al-Zawahiri has not been shy about his desire to strike South Korean targets:

“We should not wait until U.S., British, French, Jewish, South Korean, Australian or Polish forces enter Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen and Algeria before we resist,” said the tape. The tape called for indiscriminate attacks against the U.S. and its allies, saying “Let us start resisting now. The interests of America, Britain, Australia, France, Poland, Norway, South Korea and Japan are spread everywhere.”

Also remember just two years ago USFK received specific intelligence in regards to terror threats against US interests in Korea.  The threats caused USFK to implement a 2100 curfew and prevent soldiers from congregating in bars and public areas.  The source of the intelligence on this plot is quite clear now and led to South Korea cracking down on third country nationals at the time and uncovered a foreign terror cell:

Since 2002, the National Intelligence Service has investigated 107 suspects in connection with six cases involving Middle East terror organizations, the agency said in a report to a legislator made public yesterday.

The intelligence service, according to Representative Won Hye-young of the Uri Party, said South Korea has not escaped involvement with terror attempts by radical Islamist groups.
According to the report, the service learned in May 2005 that an Iranian organization linked to Hezbollah, named by the United States and a few other nations as a terrorist organization, had been involved in wire transfers of cash amounting to about 60 billion won ($63 million).
The transfers had been disguised as trade transactions; it was not clear from the report if the money had been raised in Korea or had been routed through this country in an attempt to disguise its origins. One Iranian was sentenced to a year in prison here for violations of Korea’s financial transfer laws.

In May 2004, the report added, the spy agency learned that people linked to Jemaah Islamiah, another Islamist group, were arriving in Korea to set up a base of operations here. Eight Moroccans were denied entry and turned over to Moroccan intelligence in October.
One Korean-American suspect was cited in the report; the agency said it and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in March 2003 jointly tracked down a 30-year-old man affiliated with a Pakistani terror group.

He was deported to the United States, where he received an 11.5-year sentence after being convicted of being a member of a terror organization and having received paramilitary training.

It is highly possible that the Jemaah Islamiah cell that was broke up in Korea was due to the intelligence given by Sheikh Mohammad at the time preventing a terror attack in Korea.  This news makes me wonder if water boarding of Sheikh Mohammad was responsible for him divulging this information that may have foiled a terror plot?  We will probably never know due to the classified nature of this information, but it just goes to show the moral complexities the United States finds itself in while conducting the War on Terror. 

I have always felt that if Al Qaida was going to strike Korea they would target the subway system.  As past Al Qaida attacks have shown they like to attack soft mass transit targets and Korea’s mass transit system is a big soft target that has the potential for many casualties which was evident by the 2002 Taegu subway fire which killed 130 people.  This tragedy could unfortunately be a blueprint for a future Al Qaida attack. 

Just for the record I feel that Korea is very safe from any terror attack.  You have to remember that Korea has been a target of terror attacks for decades prior to Al Qaida becoming a household name due to the threat they face from North Korea.  Korean authorities take external security threats very seriously and I’m confident they can continue to unravel any possible terror cells operating in South Korea. 

Here is a listing from Virgin-vacations of the top subway systems in the world.  Here is how the Top 11 came out:

1.London, England

2. Paris, France

3. Moscow, Russia

4. Madrid, Spain

5. Tokyo, Japan

6. Seoul, Korea

7. New York, USA

8. Montreal, Canada

9. Beijing, China

10. Hong Kong, China

11. Sao Paulo, Brazil

I have not been on any of the subways in Europe so I’m not sure if they are better than Tokyo’s or Seoul’s system, but I have been on the New York City subway and I found Tokyo’s and Seoul’s systems to be much superior.  I also find Seoul’s subway to be superior to Tokyo’s just slightly due to cost and easier for foreigners to understand.  Maybe some of my commenters can answer if the European subways are far superior than Seoul’s or Tokyo’s subways? 

HT: Durf

The recent historical dispute to flair up between Korea and Japan is the comfort women issue.  What sparked the latest controversy was US Congressman Mike Honda’s resolution to condemn Japan for World War II sexual slavery and demand an apology from the Prime Minister of Japan.  Like I mentioned before the Japanese Prime Minister should apologize, but not because of some resolution from Mike Honda who would rather condemn sexual slavery of Koreans that happened 60 years ago, but is willing to make excuses for sexual slavery of Koreans happening today in China. 

With that said, I cannot believe the Japanese Prime Minister who has at least tried to be conciliatory about the Yasukuni issue would say something as outrageous as this (via Marmot):

Japan’s nationalist prime minister denied Thursday that the country’s military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, casting doubt on a past government apology and jeopardizing a fragile detente with his Asian neighbors.

The comments by Shinzo Abe, a member of a group of lawmakers pushing to roll back a 1993 apology to the sex slaves, were his clearest statement as prime minister on military brothels known in Japan as “comfort stations.”

Historians say some 200,000 women — mostly from Korea and China — served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.

But Abe, who since taking office in September has promoted patriotism in Japan’s schools and a more assertive foreign policy, told reporters there was no proof the women were forced into prostitution.

“The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion,” Abe said.

His remarks contradicted evidence in Japanese documents unearthed in 1992 that historians said showed military authorities had a direct role in working with contractors to forcibly procure women for the brothels.

There is some debate over the translation of what Prime Minister Abe said, but clearly he is out of line on this issue simply because he is going against the official recognition and apology the Japanese government gave in 1993 to the women effected by World War II sexual slavery.  The Japanese government has clearly all ready accepted the fact that the Imperial Japanese Army committed sexual slavery of primarily Korean women, but why is Prime Minister Abe trying to change the Japanese government’s stance on this issue?  I know he is sagging in the opinion polls in Japan, but is this really going to give him a boost? 

Plus he is allowing the demagogues like President Roh in South Korea to come out and condemn him:

Japan must atone for the atrocities committed during World World Two through concrete measures, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said on Thursday, adding it was key to better ties between the two countries.

Roh in a speech marking the 1919 uprising in Korea against Japanese colonial rule said the international community had not forgiven Tokyo for its wartime aggression.

"(Japan) may try to cover the sky with its hand, but we were able to confirm once again that the international community does not forgive the atrocities committed by imperial Japan," the South Korean president said.

Japan colonized the Korean peninsula from 1910 until its defeat in World War Two in 1945. Former Japanese prime ministers have apologized for the country’s colonial past, but Roh has said Tokyo had not done enough to back its words with action.

"We hope that Japan will not try to glorify or justify a mistaken past, but instead show sincerity by following its conscience and the international community’s generally accepted precedent," he said.

I consider President Roh and demagogue on this issue simply because he has no creditability to advocate for these women when he continues to do absolutely nothing about the plight of North Korean sex slaves in China now.  What are the chances President Roh would make a statement like this towards China’s modern day sexual slavery of Korean women? 

Like I mentioned before in regards to the Yasukuni issue the historical problems with its Asian neighbors is what is preventing Japan from truly reaching the global status it should have for a nation of 120 million people with the world’s second largest economy.  For a nation that wants a seat on the UN Security Council I really have to wonder if the nation can have the creditability to handle the major pressing issues of the day.  If Japan can’t even come to a resolution over the Yasukuni, comfort women, or Dokdo conflicts how can we expect them to handle something as volatile as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?

Once again you can read more at Marmot’s Hole and Japundit.