Move Over Kia, Ford Is Coming to Town...

The NY Times reported today that the US and Korea finally reached a free trade agreement that would allow American auto makers into the Korean auto sales market. Check out the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/business/global/04trade.html#

North Korea's Attack on the South

While you've probably heard by now, North Korea launched an attack on South Korean soil today. While not very close to Seoul (I'm not in any danger), it's still serious and it's going to have lasting effects in the coming weeks and months.

Here is an AP video describing the events and the current climate on the peninsula.



And the following is a link to a good BuisnessWeek article about the incident: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-23/n-korea-attack-on-south-kills-two-sets-homes-ablaze.html

The newly opened Gwanghwamun and another peek around Gwanghwamun Plaza

On Liberation Day (광복절-光復節) August 15, 2010, the newly reconstructed Gwanghwamun was open to the public. As long as I can remember, Gwanghwamun has been covered due to the construction, and I guess has been since 2006.

The history of Gwanghwamun is quite an interesting one. There's a good Wikipedia article here, but basically it was built in the Joseon Dynasty in 1395, then it was destroyed durring the Imjin war with Japan in 1592. It was reconstructed in 1867, but was torn down and relocated slightly during the Japanese occupation to make way for the Japanese Governor General Building. Then it was destroyed again during the Korean war and rebuilt with concrete in 1963. Finally in 2006 they decided to restore it to it's original position and original grandeur which is now finally viewable. (Please don't quote me here because the more sources I read, I keep getting slightly different dates and facts... this seems to be the closest to the truth I can get)


The location of the gate is very important because it must line up correctly with the rest of Gyeongbukgung palace behind it, but even more importantly, it must be in the correct fung shui (pungsu in Korea), or correct alignment with the mountain behind and the river in front. When the Japanese relocated the structure, it was no longer in the proper alignment with not only the palace, but with it's natural surroundings. (See here for another article)

Sejeongno, which runs north past the Cheonggyechong up to Gwanghwamun is a very historic street as well. Last summer a plaza was opened, running down the center of the street. Here you can find the famous monument to General Lee Sunshin, but that's just the begining.

Here is the statue of Lee Sunshin. As you can see, there are fountains on all sides, which I like to think of as Lee Sunshin's water park. Kids have a ball playing in the water here all summer long. It's like going to Oceanworld, I suspect, but without the lines and the prices.


If you keep walking past the wet children you'll come across a giant statue of King Sejeong, the most famous of the Korean kings and the inventor of Hangul amoung many other things.


Go around to the back side and you'll find an entire museum dedicated to King Sejong the Great and General Lee Sunshin below. The admission is free, so there's no reason no to check it out while you're in the area.

Turtle Ship

There was also a performance of traditional musical instruments here when I visited. First each played some more traditional music, but then got together and played some more modern songs with their instruments.



After leaving here I stumbled upon yet another museum. This was called Green Growth Korea and it was just a small museum dedicated to ideas for a greener future. It was also free, so I went in to check it out.


Here is Korea's energy usage for the past number of years. The last column is a projection for the year 2030.
Here is a model city with lots of little ideas for energy production and conservation. One cool one I liked was "solar trees" which were poles with solar panels on the top. I think solar panels are going to have to get a bit more efficient in order for that one to work out though...

When you get a chance, be sure to check out the new Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbukgung Palace and everything around Gwanghwamun Plaza. Everything except palace has free admission, so it can make for a cheap weekend afternoon. Take line 5 to Gwanghwamun Station or Line 1 or 2 to City Hall and walk 5 minutes.

Extra Passport Pages- Price Increase

In today's edition of the US Embassy's monthly newsletter, they mentioned the price for extra passport pages would be increasing from $0 to $82. It seems a bit of a steep hike to me, but what can you do? So, I highly recommended getting your extra pages now before July 13th, 2010 when this price increase goes into effect!!!

US Jounalists releaced from North Korea

Bill Clinton made an unexpected trip to North Korea to apologize on behalf of the two American journalists who happened to work for Al Gore's Internet news channel. Fortunately, he was able to get them out of labor camp and back home to their families. Too bad he couldn't have negotiated for all the Japanese and South Koreans still being held hostage there too, but I guess we can't be too greedy. Head over to CNN to check out the full story.

War Photos from Iraq

So, while listening to NPR on podcast (I'm an NPR addict, even over here... I'm a geek, but I'm proud of it) I head about this blog:

http://www.zoriah.net/blog/

This blog is by a war photographer named Zoriah who takes some incredible photographs. He is significant right now though, because he was embedded within a battalion in Iraq when there was a suicide bomb attack. He was able to get photos of many of the casualties before the military officials of his unit were able to stop him. They tried to confiscate the memory card of his digital camera, but he refused to give it up, because that is not within the regulations regarding journalists in Iraq. He posted many photos on this blog, but within hours the military had discovered what he did, and essentially dragged him out of the his unit and shipped him back to the Green Zone. Although the military tried to get him to take the photos off his blog, he refused. Now the photos that he took of dead American soldiers are some of the only that exist in publication of the entire Iraq war because of the extreme control the military has put on free press regarding photos taken in Iraq.

If you want to see these pictures of this suicide bombing in Anbar, you can find the link here:

http://www.zoriah.net/blog/suicide-bombing-in-anbar-.html

But, please keep in mind that these are real images of a real suicide bombing attack. It is gruesome. But, as I see it, it is the truth.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in the NPR podcast, it was broadcast on August 1st, 2008 from the program called On The Media. Just search for the program in the iTunes store, all NPR/PRI podcasts are free. It was very interesting, and had an interview with Zoriah himself.

The Dokdo Island Controversy

Have you heard? Maybe not. The past few weeks have brought out some good old anti-Japanese sentiments. Why? Well, Japan published in some text books that the Dokdo Islands were considered part of it's territory. These islands were seized by Japan when they took over the rest of Korea in the early 20th century, but theoretically, they should have been returned to Korea after world war two in 1945. For some reason though, the nationality of these islands has been a bit ambiguous over the years.

To make matters worse, about a week ago, the U.S. board of geographic names (didn't know we even had a board of geographic names) declared Dokdo as "Undesignated Sovereignty" giving more legitimacy to Japan's claims on the territory.

Furious, Korea pulled its ambassador temporarily out of Japan. Protests were held in front of the Japanese embassy here in Seoul on the 18th of July, and even some adds for Japanese products were pulled out of the metro.

The Korean government staged a large military drill over the island this week which included maritime police and six naval ships including a destroyer and the air force's newest jet, the F-15K.

Things are finally settling down though here. Bush apologized for the mistake of changing the nationality of the islands, and restored it to Korea, it's obvious rightful owner (at least in the eyes of Koreans). Ambassadors have been sent back to Japan and things should be back to normal soon I think. Now the Koreans can go back to being angry about US beef again.

So, what's the big deal about these islands you ask? Well, let's first start with the island's population. There are TWO permanant residents.. who are by the way of South Korean decent. There is a a Korean police department there, and light house staff. What's on this island that everyone wants so bad? Well, here's a picture. you tell me.

Yup, these are just two hunks of rock in the sea.

Ok, ok, there might actually be some value to these hunks of rock though. It's more about the water surrounding these hunks of rock. I won't admit I totally understand the politics of it, but the owners of the islands also will control the fishing rights surrounding the islands, and any other potential natural resources that might be present.

Korean Protests

In South Korea right now there is a big controversy over the import of American beef, which they claim could be infected with mad cow disease. I won't make any commentary on this until I get there and see what is happening for myself, but I did read this excellent article that I wanted to share about the nature of the protests. I found it very interesting, and slightly reminiscent of my time spent in Chile, during the protests of the pinguinos (high school students) protesting against the unfair distribution of money within the school system.

Here is the link to the actual article at the Asia Times Online: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JF13Dg01.html

Party time at South Korea's protest 2.0
By Sunny Lee

SEOUL - This is strange. Even as anti-government demonstrations in South Korea go, this is an odd, odd scene. Even a foreigner thinks so. "I have never seen anything like this before," said Jeff Lazar, an American activist observing the ongoing protests here over the import of beef from the United States. "It's like a festival. They are even using a laser projector to write their protest words in the air. It's effective because it's fun. It's also a sure attention-grabber," he adds.

South Korea's infamously combative street protests have taken an unexpected, and sometimes amusing, turn. It has become much more peaceful, but, mind you, that's a relative term compared with previous practices. For example, during the 40-day-long candlelight demonstration that started on May 2 - when 15,000



students unexpectedly took to the streets - and up to this Tuesday which commemorated the June 10 Democracy Movement in 1987 that had bid farewell to the decades of military rule, only one person has lost his life.

And the deceased was not killed because of a bloody clash with the riot police, but because he set himself on fire.

Like any good festival, some people have come out wearing interesting costumes. Lee Dong-keun, a 19-year-old freshman at Korea University, and a classmate wear identical full-body tiger outfits. "I got a lot of pictures taken by media people," said Lee with pride.

And the streets themselves are much cleaner because of people like Cho Eun-mi, who volunteers to pick up trash, including empty soda cans, water bottles and pieces of torn slogan-bearing placards. "I know some people frown on the protesters. They think streets get dirty after protests. So I thought if I made the street less dirty by picking up trash, then those people might also get less upset," Cho said.

The most commonly seen slogans are variations on "No to US beef!" But people seem equally, if not more, upset about President Lee Myung-bak. "The President Lee said he would serve people. I think he's not doing it. So, I am protesting," said tiger-suited Lee.

Mahbub Alam from Bangladesh said of the street protests: "I get the feeling that the issue is not just about the beef. The American beef is rather a symbol for people to snub President Lee, who they feel is snubbing them."

Besides the lack of violence, what is surprising - even to South Koreans - is that there is no organizer for the already weeks-long demonstration. People took to the streets and formed ad hoc protest groups, usually around 6pm or 7pm each day. This has been bewildering to South Korean civil society, labor unions and opposition politicians - the usual players in such public protests. Tuesday's rally was the first officially organized protest and had the biggest turnout - police estimate 105,000 demonstrators, while the organizers said the number was closer to 500,000.

Still, one might think it was some kind of mass picnic, until you spot the riot police standing stiff, waiting for a crackdown order. Some people are holding impromptu concerts complete with guitars and violins, singing and dancing. In some cases, entire families have arrived to literally "camp out" in the middle of traffic. Of course they brought tents with them.

Other "protesters" have brought hot coffee to serve anyone who needs it. And high school students have given out roses to riot police, a move that definitely brings down the tension level. Some are distributing water bottles to the aggressive "frontliners" who usually shout more and work up a justified thirst. There are even volunteer medics walking around, shouting "Does anybody need help?"

Young couples use the protest for a romantic outing. They march with hands held tight, and the other hand holding a candle. Local TV footage has shown a man celebrating his girlfriend's birthday with a protest-candle cake. Other "demonstrators" have brought an outdoor movie projector and are showing the US documentary Sicko.

With the party atmosphere in full swing, the street vendors are enjoying a heyday of extra money and unusual business hours. It's 2am, and here they are selling kimbob (Korean sushi) or bundaegi (roasted silkworm larvae) right in the middle of roads that have been declared "no-traffic zones" by protesters who're occupying them.

This is South Korea's street protests 2.0. Or, perhaps, South Korea's "postmodern" demonstrations. With some Koreans mistrustful of mainstream media reports on the demonstration, they've taken matters into their own hands by broadcasting and reporting themselves. Using high-speed wireless Internet, some "embedded" citizens are using their own laptops and camcorders to broadcast real-time events. There are "citizen reporters" conducting interviews and taking pictures and posting them on their personal blogs and Internet forums. In fact, these news hounds have been so effective that some established newspapers have begun quoting them.

With no leaders leading, the protest might be considered "ineffective". People are protesting individually, shouting different slogans, marching in different directions; different people with different agendas. Some shout "2MB", the lowest speed unit of computer processing and also the initials of President Lee, sarcastically pointing out how slow Lee is in understanding the people's will.

Lee, who won the presidency in December with a record 5-million vote margin over runner-up Chung Dong-young, saw his popularity plunge below 20% by the time he marked his 100th day in office last week - another record in South Korea's recent decades. In fact, Lee has recently become so controversial a figure that the Korean edition of Wikipedia, the online participatory encyclopedia, decided to freeze any further revision on "Lee Myung-bak" for the next four months, fearing malicious attempts to distort the "facts" on him that have yet to be settled.

In this unusual protest, there are some unusual chants as well. "Turn away from your evil sin and turn to God," shouts a 40ish woman waving a Bible. "Take President Lee to God. I pray that God takes Lee out of the planet quickly," a man shouts back. Not far away, Roh Eun-jung, 28, a web designer chants: "Non-violence! Keep non-violence!"

Meanwhile, those who have earned an appetite after hours of street protesting yell, "We want food!" This mantra received echoes and giggles from sympathetic comrades throughout the crowd.

For the police, this unorganized rabble - ranging from a uniformed high-school student to a 57-year-old housewife, who said she came out "to change the world" - is easier to manage than a well-organized and militant group of protesters led by a strident leader. This self-appointed mob, however, does tend to stick around longer. And why not? It's 4am now in Seoul's main Gwanghwamun area and there are still quite a number of candle-holders milling about.

A police officer, asked when all this was likely to end, said: "I have no idea because this is an organization where there is no organizer." The conversation was then interrupted by a man holding out a cup of silkworm larvae to the officer. "Please, eat and keep up the good work!" the man says. A lady next him agreed: "We love you, police officer!" Surely, even love is possible in this wondrous war zone.

But things aren't so lovely all the time. As the protests have stretched into weeks, the familiar protest tools such as steel pipes and rocks have also surfaced, spelling an omen for possible violence and bloodshed.

For example, Friday will mark the sixth anniversary of the death of two Korean middle school girls who were run over by a US armored vehicle - a very emotional issue for many South Koreans. What is also worrisome is that the month of June in South Korea is traditionally a season for annual labor protests.

Already some labor groups have designated June 16 as a walk-out day. Then comes June 25, the Korean War Memorial Day. It's likely that the rightist groups will take to the streets at that time to protest against the leftist groups, who they believe are fooled by Pyongyang and sympathetic towards North Korea.

There will be many more pickets, chants, roses, candles, silkworm larvae and DVDs - it won't be a quiet month.

Some people call the recent lack of violence in protests as "democratic progress". They also see it as a social experiment in South Korea's deepening democratic experience. Hardline "old school" protesters, however, view it as "a picnic that doesn't change the nation". They argue that a street demonstration should be more forceful, with a clear set of actions designed to get concessions from the government. They believe that after the decades of military rule ended, a noisy protest is still the best way to make one's voice heard.

Amid this raucous imbroglio, it was a foreigner who saw the silver lining. "I think it will eventually help the country's democratic progress. People will find a point of convergence where they can begin a constructive dialogue," said Mahbub Alam from Bangladesh. "They just need some time to sort things out."

Sunny Lee, a native of Seoul, worked for the United Nations and as a journalist and writer. Lee is a graduate of Harvard University and Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Volcano eruption in Chaiten, Chile

I wanted to share some photos of the volcano eruption in Chaiten, which is 1,200 miles south of Santiago de Chile. This is nothing I have to worry about for my trip, but a friend showed me these pictures, and I had to get them up here, because they are really incredible. I stole these from Boston.com. Here's the actual link: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/chaiten_volcano_still_active.html



Lightning storm over the volcano. Evidently this is very common around volcanoes, but the scientists still don't know why.