Tag: South Korea

Back in the day when I was growing up we called two friends living together roommates, not molecular families:

Last year, South Korea surpassed 8 million single-person households for the first time.

According to data released in December by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, 8.045 million households were made up of just one person, up from 7.166 million in 2021, bringing the share of solo households to 36.1 percent, the highest level on record. The proportion has climbed steadily, crossing 30 percent in 2019 and 35 percent in 2023, with Seoul posting the largest concentration of people living alone.

As the country’s single-person households reach record levels, “Two Women Living Together” arrives as both an intimate memoir and a subtle social argument about how people might live and care for one another outside the institution of marriage.

Co-written by Kim Ha-na and Hwang Sun-woo, two friends who decided in their 40s to buy a home together rather than marry, the book chronicles their decision to grow old together under one roof.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but this article truly demonstrates why South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birthrates.

South Korean Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha (left) and Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min attend an event installing a plaque at the consular section building of the Korean Embassy in Washington on Monday to mark the historic building as the site of the Asian country’s first-ever embassy. (Yonhap)

You would think the Korea would have prioritized getting this deal done months ago considering how impatient Trump notoriously is on issues like this:

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, amid uncertainties over their trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning of a tariff hike.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet one-one-one with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (local time) to discuss efforts toward implementing the summit agreements reached between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, including the trade deal, the ministry said.

Cho is visiting Washington to attend a U.S.-led ministerial meeting on critical minerals supply chains, set for Wednesday.

The upcoming talks between Cho and Rubio are their first meeting since Trump threatened to raise the reciprocal tariff on South Korean goods to 25 percent from 15 percent, citing a delay in Seoul’s legislative process required to move the trade deal forward.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Another sign of improving relations between the ROK and Japan. Hopefully we continue to see positive cooperation like this between two countries that should be natural allies:

South Korea and Japan agreed Friday to resume joint naval search and rescue exercises for the first time in nine years as they seek to strengthen defense cooperation, according to the defense ministry.

The agreement came as Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, met at the Yokosuka base of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force to discuss regional security cooperation and ways to deepen the two nations’ defense cooperation and exchange.

“Both ministers concurred on activating personnel and unit exchange to boost mutual understanding and trust between the South Korean military and the Japanese Self-Defense Force,” the ministry said in a joint press release, mentioning the resumption of the joint drills for humanitarian purposes as an example.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It now appears the Chinese are not too eager to assist South Korea on the North Korea issue:

South Korea’s presidential office said the two leaders reaffirmed that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula — an apparent reference to the denuclearization of North Korea — are shared interests, and confirmed China’s willingness to play a constructive role.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no reference to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula in its readout of the summit.

Doo Jin-ho, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said China’s unresponsiveness on the North Korean issue fell short of South Korea’s expectations.

“Beijing did not appear to roll up its sleeves to the extent Seoul may have hoped, nor did it take a particularly forward-leaning stance on the North Korean nuclear issue,” Doo said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I did not expect the Chinese to do much of anything on this issue. Right now the North Koreans are having all their needs met by the Russians, which means the Chinese do not have as much influence as they have had in the past over the Kim regime. China also probably looks at pressuring North Korea as a waste of time because they understand that North Korea will engage with South Korea when they want to, not because the ROK demands they do.

It seems to me that if China wants to promote positive relations with South Korea how about they apologize for destroying the ROK during the Korean War?:

President Lee Jae Myung has said that South Korea and China should work to ease negative public sentiment toward each other and develop “good neighborly, friendly” relations to help expand economic cooperation.

Lee made the remarks at a welcome dinner hosted by Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining after arriving in Shanghai on Tuesday — the second and final stop of his state visit to China.

“I believe building good neighborly, friendly relations is essential when it comes to resolving economic issues,” he told Chen.

He noted that “unfounded and unnecessary misunderstandings” have long hurt public sentiment in both countries and have become a factor hindering the development of bilateral relations.

“We need to minimize those misunderstandings and encourage more goodwill between our peoples,” Lee said. “If there are areas of conflict or confrontation, we should minimize them and maximize the areas where we can benefit each other so that we can truly become good neighbors.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is no misunderstandings; China almost completely destroyed the ROK during the Korean War. After they were unsuccessful in that venture they have continued to back the North Korean regime which has launched countless provocations against the ROK over the past 7 decades leading to the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of Koreans. China has also on multiple occasions tried to economically bully South Korea with the THAAD issue being the latest example.

Or how about China apologize for what they did in 2008 when the Chinese Embassy bussed in Chinese students to attack and beat down Koreans protesting in Seoul for Tibetan freedom? Or how about apologizing for the Chinese fishing boats that continue to loot South Korean waters and have attacked and murdered Coast Guard personnel? China is even trying to claim Korean territory as their own. The Chinese then even fly bombers in coordination with the Russians through the Korean ADIZ to intimidate the ROK. None of this seems like a misunderstanding to me, it is bullying and I don’t expect it stop no matter how many nice things President Lee says about China.

It seems things went overall well during President Lee and Emperor President Xi’s summit this week. Xi had to be happy to hear Lee’s support of the status quo One China policy during the summit:

The summit also discussed sensitive issues, amid Seoul’s concerns over Beijing’s steel structures in a jointly managed Provisional Maritime Zone (PMZ) in the Yellow Sea. 

Since 2018, China has installed steel structures in and around the PMZ, raising questions over China’s intentions behind their installation amid concerns over Beijing’s growing territorial assertiveness in the South and East China Seas.

Both sides shared the view that turning the Yellow Sea into “a peaceful and co-prosperous sea” is important for the stable and long-term development of relations, and agreed to continue “constructive” consultations, Wi said, adding that he holds “cautious hope” for making progress on the issue. 

As the maritime boundary between the two countries has not been clearly demarcated, the two sides also agreed to hold vice-ministerial talks on the issue within this year. 

The two leaders also discussed cultural exchanges, as Seoul seeks to expand Korean content’s access to China, which has faced unofficial restrictions since South Korea hosted a U.S. missile defense system in 2017. Beijing does not formally acknowledge such restrictions. 

Lee and Xi discussed gradually expanding cultural exchanges in areas such as Go and soccer, and agreed to have working-level officials explore cooperation in dramas and films, the security adviser said.

The two leaders also noted the need to work together to address negative sentiment toward each other’s countries.

Asked whether China sought clarification on Lee’s position on Taiwan, Wi said the president reaffirmed Seoul’s respect for the “One China” policy and stressed the need for mutual respect to ensure stable bilateral relations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if Lee is able to get Xi to allow Korean music and films back into China that would be a big win for this summit. I guess we will see what happens.

Before President Lee’s trip to China he is making sure to say all the right things to appease Emperor President Xi:

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea’s position to respect the “one-China” policy regarding Taiwan issues remains unchanged, as he is set to pay a state visit to China for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

Lee made the remarks in an interview with China’s CCTV as tensions between China and Taiwan have flared anew after Beijing staged military drills near the self-ruled island earlier this week following Washington’s announcement of a large-scale weapons package for Taipei.

“I can clearly say that I, myself, respect ‘one China,’ and that peace and stability is very important regarding Northeast Asia and surrounding issues, including cross-strait matters,” he said.

He added, “When it comes to the Taiwan issue, which is the biggest pending issue for China, there is no change in (South Korea’s) position to respect the one-China (policy).”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the major issue with China is not the “One China” policy, it is them saying they reserve the right to forcibly make Taiwan rejoin mainland China. If there is any country in the world that should speak out against being forcibly annexed by a Communist attack it is South Korea. The ROK was first attacked by North Korea and then attacked again by China during the Korean War to Communize the entire peninsula. I wish someone in the media would ask President Lee what his position is on China attacking Taiwan? If he is indifferent to it then a reporter should follow up by asking him if international forces should have been indifferent to South Korea’s plight during the Korean War?

The only government showing leadership on this issue is the Japanese with Prime Minister Takaichi recently speaking out against attacking Taiwan which has drawn condemnation and retaliation from Beijing. If everyone in the region and beyond spoke out against a Chinese attack on Taiwan they can’t condemn and retaliate against everyone and would actually make war less likely. If China senses international weakness and feel they can get away with attacking Taiwan with little repercussions they would likely do it.

It is being reported that President Lee is going to be asking China to help get North Korea return to talks. I don’t see why the North Koreans would want to pursue talks right now when all their needs are being provided by the Russians currently:

President Lee Jae Myung will make a state visit to China early next week for summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday, with the leaders expected to discuss ways to strengthen strategic cooperation and bilateral economic ties.

Lee is scheduled to depart for Beijing on Sunday for summit talks with Xi. On next Tuesday, Lee will travel to Shanghai before returning home on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing.

The meeting will be the leaders’ second since their first summit talks on Nov. 1 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.