It appears more than the Hallyu phenomenon is being culturally exchanged between China and Korea. Rampant cheating in Chinese classrooms has caused the government to implement harsh measures to crack down on this behavior:

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UPDATE#1 The Chosun Ilbo is now running an article on it and also has an editorial discussing how everything may not be to rosey between the US and Korea:

The United States, however, has through the agreement virtually broken with the principle it had been most bombastic about. The Bush administration had been saying it could not reward illegal actions, calling it the ?fundamental of fundamentals? of a resolution to the nuclear issue. Washington had also claimed that North Korea, which had already misused its peaceful nuclear program, could not be allowed another light-water reactor. Through this agreement, however, both principles have been shaken. Accordingly, some say its possible that U.S. neoconservatives, who take a hard-line against North Korea, will unleash an attack on the architects of the agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

Some point out that should there be criticism within the U.S. unsatisfied with South Korea?s mediation role, tensions and fissures may arise between Seoul and Washington.

Of course Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is taking the credit for the success of the talks:

The adoption of the principle document in the six-party talks on how to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula is the “accomplishment of South Korean diplomacy,?? which opened the way to end the Cold War confrontation, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in Seoul on Monday.

His remarks are based on the idea that the joint principle statement laid the groundwork for the establishment of a permanent peace on the peninsula, even though the document apparently focused on the nuclear issue.

Here is another interesting quote from Song-Sin-moon the head South Korea negotiator:

“I got a feeling that we now open the way for making history by ourselves,?? Song Min-soon, South Korea?s top delegate to the six-party talks, told reporters after the official announcement of the principle document. “In the past, we were given a situation at others? will and we had to deal with it.??

Correct me if I’m wrong but was it not Koreans that started the Korean War? Yes outside countries initially divided the country but Koreans as well have had opportunities to chart their own history. When it is good history like today, South Korea is responsible, when it is bad history the foreigners are responsible. So when this deal falls apart which it probably will at some point it will not be the North Koreans fault but the United States.

So how can this deal fall apart? The US will agree to build this light water reactor only if the North Koreans verifiably dismantle their nuclear program. We all know the Norks won’t allow inspectors that type of access in their country, but in the mean time the Norks will use the free energy from South Korea until the next crisis arrives. Then there is the thousand pound gorrilla that no one wants to talk about either that has yet to be resolved and that is human rights in North Korea. This whole agreement appears to be all sides positioning themselves to place blame on each other when the agreement ultimately fails.
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Reports are coming out that North Korea has agreed in principle to end it’s nuclear program:

North Korea pledged to drop its nuclear weapons development and rejoin international arms treaties in a unanimous agreement Monday at six-party arms talks the first breakthrough in more than two years of negotiations.

“It’s a good agreement for all of us,” Hill said. But he added: “We have to see what comes in the days and weeks ahead. We have to seize the momentum of this.”

This may sound like good news but I have been following North Korea issues long enough to know that what North Korea says and what they actually do are two different things. The Norks are talking nice now probably because the Chinese want to save face and show the world that the talks they are hosting are productive.

I really think the Chinese want to win some international prestige by reaching some kind of agreement on this nuclear crisis. It is also in their interest to have a stable North Korea before their hosting of the 2008 Olympic games. They don’t want a nuclear or refugee crisis overshadowing their moment of glory.

The North Koreans also want a deal that keeps their regime stable, but they also want enough flexibility in whatever agreement is reached to keep the capacity to make nuclear weapons. This is why the Norks want to be allowed to have a civilian nuclear power program after whatever agreement is reached.

Don’t get your hopes up with this “breakthrough”, however this is at least progress. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts.

The Marmot has posted a letter from the coordinator of the photo exhibit, “GIs and the Kids – A Love Story”, which was to be displayed at the War Memorial. I was actually looking forward to seeing this display when I first heard about it. Now according to the letter the exhibit has been cancelled because some General over at the War Memorial who had connections at the Blue House got the project cancelled because he thought the content would hurt Korean Pride. Or is it just another effort to rewrite history:

When an army vehicle tragically killed two Korean girls several years ago tens of thousands of Koreans marched in the streets protesting against the presence of US forces in Korea. Yet, seemingly, none of them are interested in the fact that we American GIs saved the lives of over TEN THOUSAND Korean children during the war years. The difference? One knew who the parents of the two girls were but the orphans of the war years were without lineage and not worth saving. I have been told by Korean professionals and even by Korean diplomats, that this photo exhibit is insulting to many Koreans. I have tried to get them to explain why they deem it so and it always turns out that it, indirectly, portrays their own lack of interest in and compassion for the orphans.

Some of this embarrassment was expressed publicly during the Seoul Olympics when Korea was taken to task for the export of children without lineage or of questionable lineage (over 200,000 in the last 55 years!). I feel the Korean reaction to this photo exhibit is similar. They can’t stand seeing a picture of a little Korean girl hugging a GI with affection when “proper” Koreans wouldn’t even consider having that urchin allowed in the house.

This is so ironic coming from a country that condemns the Japanese for white washing history, but Korea continues to rewrite their own history continuously. The MacArthur Statue controversy is another perfect example of this.

The fact that Korea as a society has abandoned many orphans is undeniable. Their own authors have even said so. In the book Chinatown, written by Oh Jung-hee, the author writes about her experiences as a 9 year old growing up in the Chinatown section of post war Inchon. The author in the book describes the daily life of the kids, the prostitutes wandering around Chinatown, actions of American soldiers stationed in town, and talks about what happens to orphans in Korean society. Orphans were beaten, abandoned, and scorned upon by Korean society. By the way she also liked the MacArthur Statue and the kids back then used to climb on the statue and play on it, not try to tear it down like the idiots of today.

How will Korea ever change the treatment of orphans if no one is educated about the problem? Plus the statement that Korean people will find the exhibit insulting I find particularly interesting. Does anyone worry that this whitewashing of history is insulting towards American people?

For those interested here is the link to the Korean War Children’s Memorial site.

American golfer Christina Kim is feeling the heat for being to American. Here is a translation provided by Joel:

In last year’s Pinx Cup tournament too, KLPGA criticism over Gim Chorong’s participation on the Korean representative team was strong, but after Gim Chorong’s teary-eyed appeal she was placed on the team.

People began to talk bad about her last year when right after being selected for the American representative team for the Solheim Cup, Gim Chorong said in an interview, “I am proud to be an American.”

I agree with Joel that the easy solution to this is to not let Korean-American golfers participate in the tournament. If someone is considered to American for a tournament then the organizers should just invite native Koreans. That would solve the problem. However, that would mean Michelle Wie could not play in this tournament if she wanted to. I wonder what the organizers would do if she showed up with an American flag painted on her face?

The MacArthur Statue controversy has now taken a new twist with the US Congress now weighing in on the controversy and they are voicing their displeasure of the Korean government’s handling of this situation:

Members of the U.S. House Committee on International Relations on Thursday protested at calls in Korea to topple a statue of U.S. general Douglas MacArthur in Incheon. Their protest came in a letter to President Roh Moo-hyun signed by committee chairman Henry Hyde and others.

The letter said but for the 1950 Incheon landing led by MacArthur, the Korea of today would not exist. If attempts to damage the statue continued, it would be better to hand it over to the Americans, the signatories said.

One Free Korea has the complete scanned letter posted on his site. If a posting from One Free Korea has ever been a MUST READ!!!!! this one is it. Reading through the letter the Congressional Representatives had some really good passages that voice their displeasure. Here is one I particularly liked:

Needless to say Mr. President the Congress of the United States and the American people would never subscribe to such a description of a hero who led the allied forces which liberated the Republic of Korea twice, first from the yoke of Japanese colonialism 60 years ago this summer and secondly through the brilliant execution of the Inchon landing 55 years ago this month. Our critical bilateral alliance was forged in the crucible of Inchon. The common sacrifices, goals, and achievements which sprang out of Inchon form, in our opinion, the continuing basis for our alliance. We presume that the government of the Republic of Korea shares this view of the critical importance fo the Inchon Landing and the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur.

Reading in between the lines of this paragraph the Congressmen wanted to remind President Roh that America did in fact liberate South Korea twice and that Inchon is the symbolic representation of the liberation given to Korea through American intervention and that by denying Inchon and MacArthur you deny the US-ROK alliance as well. The last part about presuming that the Korean government shares these views is, I believe, the Congressmen trying to call President Roh’s bluff. President Roh has spoke out before that the protests are straining US-ROK relations but he has never condemned the ideology that the hate groups stand for.

It appears to me that the Congressmen want to know if President Roh believes General MacArthur is someone who helped liberate Korea or if he believes the general is a war criminal. President Roh has been trying to dodge this question because he knows MacArthur helped liberate Korea, but he doesn’t want to say it because then he would be denying the revisionists beliefs of his own political party and would give the appearance that he is giving in to American demands, which is something he has vowed not to do during his election campaign. It would be interesting to see the response to this letter; to see if President Roh actually confirms that MacArthur helped liberate Korea.

Here is another passage I thought was very well written:

In the chamber of the US House of Representatives, directly behind the speaker’s podium hang two portraits. On one side is that of a foreign friend, a soldier who came from a far to assist in the common cause of American independence. That portrait is of the Marquis de Lafayette. For more than 200 years his memory has been implanted deep in the hearts of the American people. We would hope that General MacArthur is so remembered in the hearts of the South Korean people.

I wouldn’t call Lafayette “implanted deep in the hearts of the American people”, because many Americans don’t know who he is, but many Americans do know that the French did aid the US in winning our war for independence from the British even if they don’t know the name of the Frenchmen who was a trusted friend and officer for George Washington’s Continental Army. However, people that do study history and know who Lafayette was cannot deny that he and the other Frenchmen who came to America to fight the British were directly responsible in helping the US colonies achieve independence no matter what the current bilateral relationship between the two countries stands at today.

I tend to think that the Statue of Liberty stands as another great example of the US appreciating the shared history between the US and France. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France that reprents the friendship between the two countries that was originally forged in blood, just like the US-ROK alliance. No one would ever dream of tearing down the Statue of Liberty to deny this shared history due to poor bilateral relations today.

I want to clarify that I think these hate groups can protest all they want but they don’t have the right to assault people and destroy property and get away with it. I also think that when they spread blatant lies and propaganda concerning the shared history of the US and Korea, that the Korean government has a responsibility to state their stance to something that clearly effects the very credibility of the US-ROK alliance. When the government doesn’t voice strong opposition to these hate groups it only gives these people more credibility with the public and encouragement to continue their violent activities.

So on this note, I have to dispute the Marmot’s belief that the MacArthur statue controversy is a domestic debate within Korea that the US Congress shouldn’t have intervened in. I tend to think that if the Korean government would have clearly stated their opposition to the hate groups from the beginning instead of making vague statements and arrested those that provoked violence and property damage, then the US Congress would have never gotten involved in the controversy to begin with.

With the Korean government taking no firm action and with the Pyongtaek land deal issue to relocate US forces away from the DMZ still waiting to be completed due to anti-American protests, I believe the Congressmen felt they had to make a stand on this issue to test the resolve of the Korean government to defend the US-ROK alliance. So as I stated before, the focus of the Congressional letter when you read between the lines is not really addressing the physical well being of the statue; it is addressing what the statue represents. Does the Korean government believe in the US-ROK alliance and are they willing to really publicly defend it?

If the Korean government is not willing to strongly defend what MacArthur represents then why should the US government believe that Korea would support the US in the up coming land deal in Pyeongtaek or more importantly with any hostilities with the North Koreans? Especially with the nuclear crisis still brewing. This is what makes the MacArthur statue more than just a Korean domestic matter. It is a test of the resolve of the Korean government to continue the US-ROK alliance in it’s current form. Or am I reading to much into this and the Congressmen just want a new statue to put up at the US Capitol building? Well, you be the judge.

With this in mind, I have to give huge props to the House International Relations Committee for finally standing up against the ridiculous disinformation, violence, and anti-Americanism being preached by the hate groups here which the Korean government does little to respond to.

Here is a list of the Congressmen responsible for the letter. If you are from their district I encourage you to drop them e-mail on their site thanking them for speaking out on this issue:

Henry Hyde (R-IL): Chairman of House International Relations Committee

Dana Rohrabacher (D-CA)

Ed Royce (R-CA)

Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa)

A Buddhist temple on Jindo Island in southwestern Korea has a new unlikely convert, a dog:

Hama — Korean for hippopotamus — follows monks into the temple and bows in the same manner for prayer, a temple official said. Some local Buddhists, who believe in reincarnation, are wondering what Hama may have been in a past life.

“The dog bows just like a monk,” said college student Park Sang-jin, who visited the temple after hearing about Hama.

Veterans and retirees of the ROK Marine Corps turned out in force to commemorate General Douglas MacArthur at Inchon’s Freedom Park:

Marine Corps Veterans Association president Kim Myung-hwan told the rally attended by more than 3,000 veterans and others from across the country, “We cannot remain silent on calls for the removal of the MacArthur statue. Now Marine Corps veterans have to step forward.”

“The General MacArthur statue is an expression of our gratitude to the countries that participated in the Korean War,” said former defense minister Kim Sung-eun. “The reality is indeed so upsetting that it impels us to hold such a rally.”

Clad in Marine Corps uniforms and wearing red caps, the veterans waved Korean and American national flags and shouted such slogans as “Right!” and “Let’s Safeguard the Korea-U.S. alliance,” while listening to speeches. The rally site was filled with placards, some of which read, “Let’s decisively cope with anti-American and pro-North Korean forces that turn the cold shoulder to our national interests,” and, “Let’s leave to our posterity the fatherland we have defended with blood and sweat.”

I think it is great that these veterans are turning out and voicing their strong support of General MacArthur and the US-ROK alliance. However, I would like to see more average Koreans out defending the statue. Pictures of these older ROK Marine Corps veterans in uniform will not do much to sway public opinion here in Korea against the hate groups. Many people in Korea dislike the military as much as they dislike the hate groups.

ROK Veterans battle anti-US leftists in the streets of Inchon. 

The mayor of Inchon is the man that may be able be mobilize real public opinion against the hate groups:

At another ceremony celebrating the same occasion at the Incheon Landing Memorial in the morning, Incheon mayor Ahn Sang-soo said, “Assertions to remove the MacArthur statue are of help at all to the unification and prosperity of the nation.” The 2.65 million Incheon citizens will defend the MacArthur statue, added Ahn.

If the good mayor was able to mobilize a massive rally against the hate groups then that would clearly show the resolve of the citizens of Inchon. If not then the hate groups will continue to show up and cause problems to further try to cause a wedge between the US and Korean governments on this issue.

Of course the Marmot has outstanding coverage on this issue as well that you should check out.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun recently made some highly controversial comments during his keynote address to the United Nations:

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The Incheon Landing, code named “Operation Chromite” is quite possibly the most recognized action taken during the Korean War and what is most amazing about the operation is the fact that it happened at all. Just about every general in the Pentagon was against General MacArthur’s plan to invade Incheon because of the great danger involved in navigating Incheon’s infamous tidal flats. Everyone else was convinced that Kunsan or even Osan south of Incheon were better locations to launch an amphibious operation of this magnitude. MacArthur knew that this is where the North Koreans would expect the UN forces to land and the North Korean were in fact making preparations for landings in these areas because they believed no one was foolish enough to try and land at Incheon. Well no one accept General MacArthur.

MacArthur convinced the Secretary of Defense that his plan was the right course of action and eventually using has famous flare and prestige MacArthur was able to convince the Joint Chief’s of Staff and President Harry Truman to sign off on his plan. However, visions of landing crafts trapped in the Incheon mud which would be sitting ducks for the North Korean artillery raced through everyones minds.

Fortunately the successful “Operation Trudy Jackson” put those fears to rest. The operation allowed General MacArthur’s armada of ships containing the newly constituted X Corps and associated combat power to safely navigate the treacherous Incheon Bay the night of September 14, 1950. The bright light of the Palmi-do lighthouse proved to be a critical navigational aid for the sailors involved with the landing.

Lt. Eugene Clark’s successful intelligence gathering also allowed General MacArthur to gain much needed knowledge about the enemy’s strong points and weaknesses. However, General MacArthur had one weakness himself. The X Corps that would carry out the operation was highly inexperienced. The X Corps commanded by MacArthur’s close friend and advisor Major General Edmond Almond was created specifically for the invasion of Incheon and featured many troops with no combat experience.

Two of the three Marine regiments that composed the 1st Marine Division involved in the operation had no combat experience. In fact the 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division was activated in August and staged in Japan preparing for the invasion and the 7th Marine Regiment was activated on the 1st of September before deploying to fight at Incheon. Both of these regiments were filled with replacements from state side school houses, half of them were from the US Marine Reserve, and Marines transferred from the Mediterranean. The 5th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division on the other hand were battle hardened Marines who fought in ferocious battles along the Naktong River Line during the Pusan Perimeter defense. They were the only unit in the X Corps with combat experience.

The 7th Infantry Division which was the Army’s contribution to the invasion was in worse shape than the Marines. They were the division responsible for occupation duty in Japan. However, as the war raged on in Korea the division was stripped for replacement soldiers in Korea. In August of 1950 the 7th Division was at approximately half strength. By channeling all infantry and artillery replacements into the 7th Division and transferring 8,000 ROK Army KATUSA trainees from Pusan to join the 7th Division in Japan, the division was able to near 100% strength by September.

However, these 8,000 KATUSA soldiers were merely nothing more than poor Korean boys taken from the refugee camps of Pusan for KATUSA training before being picked up for the Incheon invasion. They had not received any English or military training before leaving for Japan. Many of the KATUSAs in fact wore only shorts and sandals when they reported to their respective units in Japan.

To say the US invasion force lacked experience was an understatement but they did have numbers because X Corps when it was all said and done was composed of over 70,000 soldiers. MacArthur however, would rely heavily on the battle hardened 5th Marine Regiment to spearhead the landing at Incheon.

For two days prior to the landing the North Korean positions had been bombed repeatedly by US naval and air power. At 6:30AM on September 15, 1950 Marines from the battle hardened 5th Marine Regiment with nine Pershing tanks landed on Green Beach on Wolmi-do Island. The island sat in the middle of the harbor and had to be secured before the remaining invasion force could land at Incheon proper. The Marines secured the island in one and a half hours and killed or captured 400 North Korean soldiers while only suffering 17 wounded themselves.

However, the tide receded by 8:30AM and the invasion fleet had to retreat or risk being stuck in the mud flats. The Marines on Wolmi-do had to hold the island from an enemy counter attack along the tidal barrier connecting the island to the mainland until the tide rose again and more troops could land. The Marines held the island until 5:32PM when the tide rose again and the remaining Marines from the 1st Marine Division stormed Red Beach to the North and Blue Beach to the south of Wolmi-do, crushing the enemy resistance in the city of Incheon.

A picture of a Marine climbing a 15 foot high tidal barriers with a ladder while being shot at by North Koreans hiding in buildings over looking his position became the iconic image of the landing .

There had been no such amphibous landing during World War II into a city like what was being attempted now. Also during this time of combat in the streets of Incheon the Pershing tanks and Marines on Wolmi-do began to cross the tidal barrier to enter Incheon and also engage the overwhelmed North Koreans.

By 0130 on 16 September, 1950 the Marines had secured all their objectives in Incheon and allowed the ROK Special Marines to enter the city and mop up any remaining enemy forces, which they did with great brutality. Overall the X Corps had only 20 men killed, 174 wounded, and one MIA in taking Incheon. It was truly a brilliant amphibious operation constructed by General MacArthur.

The harbor was secured and the remainder of the X Corps, mostly the 7th Division, unloaded their equipment and men and began the march to capture Seoul. By September 26, 1950 Seoul was in UN forces hands and the North Korean supply lines had been effectively cut to their forces in the south. The 8th Army units at the Pusan perimeter mounted an offensive against the North Koreans and quickly the North Korean units were crushed by MacArthur’s hammer and anvil tactic. The North Koreans would never recover from this major defeat until the Chinese entered the war. But that is a story for another posting.

Information about the Incheon Landing was provided by the Kmike.com website and the book, This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach.

The Battle of Incheon

This Kind of War

Unsurprisingly South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, one of North Korea’s useful idiots, has sided with North Korea over the current controversy between Hyundai and North Korea’s joint tourism projects:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young met with Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun on Sunday to discuss a spat between the company and North Korea over a tourism project Hyundai Asan operates in the Kumgang Mountains.
A source connected to the matter said Wednesday the two discussed North Korean demands to reinstate Hyundai Asan vice chairman Kim Yoon-kyu, who was ousted over corruption charges, but the differences in opinion were wide. That suggests Chung asked for the disgraced executive to be reinstated.

It was the following day that Hyun posted a statement on the Hyundai Asan homepage saying that Kim had been removed due to corruption and rejected calls to reinstate the man who had for many years coordinated the tourism projects with the North.

I am beginning to like Chairwoman Hyun more and more. It is about time someone stood up to the Norks and blew off Chung.