Category: Uncategorized

The slow dismantlement of the USFK continues:

The Defense Ministry said yesterday that Seoul and Washington will begin talks next year on Korea’s wartime control of its military. Under existing arrangements, Korea’s military would fight a war under the U.S. general who heads the Combined Forces Command here.

The agreement came at defense consultations here this week; the talks will begin in February.
President Roh Moo-hyun, who has advocated more military independence from the United States, has complained publicly about those wartime command arrangements. The two nations have already agreed that the Korean military will take over several defense missions that are now U.S. responsibilities. Seoul is also planning a major shakeup of its forces, which would result in a much smaller Army but one equipped with more advanced firepower.

It is important to note that once the war time command is shifted to South Korea it is more than likely IMHO that you will see a large draw down of US forces involved in the Korean theater. The US government will never allow a Korean general to command the combined arms powers that the US possesses such as submarines, naval forces, stealth bombers, cruise missiles, etc. The ROK Army excels at infantry land warfare in their theater and that is why the ROK Army has always had the head land component commander, but never the overall command of the Combined Forces Command.

So this may actually be an opportunity for the US government to use this issue as a way of executing a good face saving withdrawal of forces from the Korean peninsula. Like they say, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.

The city of Pusan has it’s sights set on making a huge complex for the Pusan International Film Festival:

The Pusan International Film Festival has selected Austria-based Coop Himmelb(l)au’s design as the winning entry for its 430,000 square-foot PIFF Cinema Complex and urban plaza in Pusan, South Korea. The firm, led by architects Helmut Swiczinsky and Wolf D. Prix, envisions a structure with a swooping, curvaceous roof that will act as a film screen on both surfaces. Images can be projected from below for visitors inside the complex to view, but also from above so that they appear on the roof for viewers to enjoy from the surrounding structures.

Prix explains, “the roof is not only a roof but also a flying building, so to say.” The building will include six cinemas, an exhibition hall, and an entry plaza that allows guests to arrive by boat. The project will also include a valley, a small canal park, and a red carpet zone and walk of fame.

Maybe it is just me but this monstrosity just looks weird and ugly. Plus what are they going to do with this thing for the rest of the year when the film festival isn’t going on?

I had just read Marmot’s post about the number of Hondas driving on Seoul streets when I came upon this article on Yahoo:

Imported car sales in South Korea hit a record high in November, an industry group said Tuesday, in contrast to poor performances by domestic car manufacturers.

It was the first time for monthly sales of imported cars to exceed the 3,000-unit mark. The November figure was also up from the previous high of 2,953 units in September.

Really when you look at the numbers the amount of imported cars is still miniscule. Also IMHO people buy the imported cars more as a status symbol of their affluency then for any other practical reason. Plus the nationalism of buying a Hyundai has worn off which has further eroded car sales.

US Ambassador to Korea calls North Korea, “A Criminal Regime“:

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow on Wednesday made international headlines by calling the North Korean government a “criminal regime.” Vershbow made the remark at the Kwanhun Club, a gathering of senior South Korean journalists, when the subject of North Korea’s alleged currency counterfeiting came up.
Vershbow said North Korea’s was the first regime involved in government-sponsored currency counterfeiting “since Adolf Hitler.” Candid criticism of North Korea from a U.S. diplomat here is rare in a public forum.

Let’s see, the North Koreans export heroin, counterfeit US dollars, and illicit weapons and the US shouldn’t consider them a criminal regime? Of course the South Koreans don’t think so:

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon urged caution, saying countries involved in six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program “need to exercise restraint in the words they choose to describe each other.”

At the meeting, Vershbow’s position diverged widely from Seoul’s on such issues as international recognition of the North Korean regime, human rights and counterfeiting.

Finally the US is executing some foreign policy against the North Koreans that has teeth instead of empty words. The US is definitely doing something right judging by how much the North and South Koreans are squeeling right now.

This is a special edition of Korea Finder. To go with my current Japan theme I have decided to have a Japan Finder this week. The Tori gate in this picture should be quite obvious to those familiar with Tokyo. So where is this Tori located?

As much as I don’t like pro-North Korean sympathisers, I do have to say that this is taking things to far:

About 10 former South Korean commandos used sledgehammers on Monday to smash up the tombstones of political prisoners buried in the South, who they said were North Korean sympathisers.

The former soldiers, who were trained to infiltrate the communist North, were eventually removed by police from the cemetery, but some took away a few earthenware jars containing the cremated remains of political prisoners.

No matter what you political leanings maybe, it is just not acceptable to desecrate someone’s grave. Especially running off with the dead guy’s cremated remains. This is just weird and hopefully the South Korean legal system delivers harsh punishment on these people, but I have my doubts they will.

Some Korean students in China are learning that you have to actually study to graduate college outside of Korea:

But this year, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and others started requiring Korean students to take separate entrance exams in English, math and general humanities or science, because so many of them have fallen behind in class or taken to absenteeism. Some schools now reportedly organize separate classes and exams for Korean students.

China will be hugely important in the 21st century, and it is therefore good that more of our youngsters study there. But we have a problem if a large number of them drop out because they lack motivation or the sense of a clear goal. Because China’s renowned universities attract the brightest Chinese students, about half of the Korean students there reportedly fail to graduate because they lead an undisciplined campus life and mingle only with other Korean students. That is a waste of youth and foreign exchange.

This story reminded me of the Korean students that attended my university years ago. I experienced two kinds of Korean students. There was the super smart students who studied all the time and did well in school or there was the ones who led a party life style. Plus the comment about the Koreans only mingling with other Koreans is very true. However, I can understand Koreans socializing together in a foreign country because I’m sure other nationalities are that way while over seas as well. Just look at Itaewon.

However, if Korea wants the majority of students going over seas to improve their study habits, the country will need to first improve the university system in their own country, where universities in Korea are looked at as being party zones. So why should people be surprised when that attitude is exported?

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has sided with North Korea over the US’s move to include North Korea’s counterfeiting activities into the six way talks:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday, “Non-nuclear complaints by the United States against North Korea should be solved by bilateral talks between the two parties. As the six-party talks focus on resolving the nuclear issue, other matters should be kept separate from the six-party issue.”

Chung told a forum during a breakfast hour lecture at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, “Major non-nuclear complaints fall into six categories, the most important of which is the North’s missile program, others include biochemical and conventional weapons and human rights abuses, as well as its alleged involvement in drug trafficking and currency counterfeiting.”

Does Chung have a cell phone with a direct line to Kim Jong Il to tell him what to do? This guy wastes no time jumping to North Korea’s defense. Chung is really a useful idiot for the Norks. First he cares little about North Korean defectors or human rights and now he thinks that North Korea’s illegal activities should be overlooked in the name of the six way talks that are accomplishing absolutely nothing.

I am continuing to believe that the US has finally hit the North Koreans where it hurts by sanctioning the Macau bank. I have never seen them whine this bad and get Chung to jump to their defense this quick. Hopefully the US will keep the pressure on them.

If the South Korean government has it’s way; the urban sprawl that USFK is trying to escape from by relocating units from 2ID and Yongsan, will be coming to Pyeongtaek soon as well:

The government said yesterday it will invest more than 18.8 trillion won ($18.1 billion) by 2020 to develop Pyeongtaek, southern Gyeonggi province, where the U.S. Forces Korea will build a consolidated base by 2008.

The ministry said nearly 1.5 trillion won will be spent to improve farms, build industrial complexes and develop tourist facilities near Pyeongtaek Lake.
The Defense Ministry also said it will invest nearly 1.4 trillion won on roads, parks and noise-proof facilities for residents. The ministry will also construct housing for relocated residents.
More than 16 trillion won will be invested to develop harbors in the region along with other industrial development projects.

Nomad has more on this topic, but I can’t help but think why the Korean government feels this need to surround the USFK base with urban sprawl. This same urban sprawl that currently plagues US bases will only continue to lead to traffic accidents and problems.

Former Korean President Kim Dae Jung is preparing to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded after the June 2000 summit with North Korea:

Attaching more significance to the “fifth’’ anniversary, a group of dignitaries who served as Cabinet ministers under the Kim administration from 1998 to 2003 has formed a committee this year to prepare for a grand convention which will highlight the commemoration week.

High-profile officials from the incumbent Roh Moo-hyun administration as well as political leaders from the ruling and opposition camps, including potential candidates for the 2007 presidential election, are expected to attend the congratulatory event.

Only in Korea would you celebrate someone who bought a Nobel Peace Prize.