Navy makes move today on Jeju Island in South Korea

Posted by Bruce Gagnon

As recent experiences have repeatedly shown, increasing militarisation in the South has been quite successful at preventing North Korean belligerence, as well as bringing North and South closer together.
Following this brilliant strategy, the construction of a new naval base is under way on the southern island of Jeju, which will be apparently large enough to host permanently visiting U.S. warships.  No doubt that China is also thrilled to have more American belligerent potential so close to its coastlines.

And beyond geopolitics, what's missing from the equation is the impact that further militarisation has had on the average Kim on both sides of the 38th parallel.  From where we live, we won't have much trouble believing that northern Kim has been suffering in his garrison state, but we shouldn't dismiss either the hardships endured by southern Kim in the name of American-made freedom.  What can we expect around the new military base on Jeju Island?  A dramatic increase in prostitution, violence against women, traffic accidents, environmental degradation, trafficking, etc.  And who would be unpatriotic enough to protest after the killing of four South Koreans by the North Korean shelling of Yeongpyeong Island recently? 

The plan to construct this naval base well predates the recent exchange of deadly fire.  Like in South Korea and the U.S., it is bound to benefit the elite classes in North Korea, whose well-being and viability depend on the permanent state of tension between the two Koreas.  As for the commoners, they'll foot the countless bills.

You can read more about the people's struggle against this new military base here and here.

No, they won't be sent to a goulag, but is that the measure of our sense of ethics?

South Korea show of delight

Christian Science Monitor, 23 December 2010

Not sure exactly why they are cheering.
Because they're finally going to get that war they've been training for?  Because they're going to have the opportunity to die or be maimed in the name of an ideology? 
Something to celebrate.

The latest military drills by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, amongst the largest since the end of the Korean War, are intended to punish Pyongyang for its shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the killings of four South Koreans a few weeks ago, and to show that Lee Myung-bak has found his testicles, and is ready to use them to think about how to deal with North Korean belligerence.
It seems that it's all in good humour though -- and it's clear that there hasn't been a shred of constructive policy towards North Korea in Seoul/Washington's response to the crisis thus far.  We're making a point.  That we have a much bigger stick.  And we are aware that what we are doing now will not help improve "stability" in the region, as we like to say.  After settling down a bit, things will return to low-intensity harassment, which may take a new form, to accommodate a fresh context.

The recent South Korean military response reminds me of the incident which took place within the DMZ in the 1990s, I believe, when two American officers in the middle of trimming a tree to improve visibility were assaulted by North Korean troops.  The American response was immediate: they scrambled two F-16s, and blew the Korean tree to smithereens. Very mature.

When we have other Wikileaks revelations in a few years, I will be curious to learn how Chinese officials will have described the South Korean/American response to this crisis.  Childish?  A tantrum?

Corée: le déclin du nombre de mariages est en rapport direct avec le travail précaire

Une étude publiée par l'Institut pour la recherche économique et monétaire de la Banque de Corée confirme les conclusions rapportées par RFI au début du mois au sujet des travailleurs précaires. Les Coréens ont moins d'enfants et se marient moins et/ou plus tard. L'étude constate qu'il existe des liens immédiats entre ce phénomène et la situation catastrophique en matière d'emplois stables aujourd'hui. En effet, en 2009, l'âge moyen pour s'échanger une alliance était de 31,6 ans pour les hommes et de 28,7 ans pour les femmes. En 1990 seulement, le rapport était respectivement de 27,8 et 24,8.

Apparemment, la précarité de l'emploi grandissante et les prix de l'immobilier contribuent très fort aux changements dans les moeurs nuptiales en Corée. Et curieusement, les sexes ont des comportements différents: ceux qui sont moins enclin à se marier sont les hommes recevant des salaires de misère, à l'instar des femmes à revenus élevés. En revanche, les femmes sous-payées préfèrent trouver chaussure à leur pied plus tôt, tout comme les hommes "qui ont une bonne situation."

L'article du Hangyoreh est ici.

Kang Eunju on the guitar

According to the poster, her name is Kang Eunju. She attends Shin Hung Kindergarten in Hamhung City in North Korea. She is playing a tune from a children's movie entitled "Boy Commander".

"What might save us, me, and you
Is if the Russians North Koreans love their children too."

Corée du Sud : un marché de l’emploi à deux vitesses qui menace la croissance du Tigre asiatique

Incroyable: La Corée du Sud annonce une croissance de près de 6% pour 2010.

Comment est-ce possible?
La dérégulation du marché de l'emploi qui avait été lancée à la suite de la crise financière à la fin des années 90 a pris de l'ampleur sous la présidence du neo-libéral 2MB (Lee Myung-bak).  Les chiffres officiels d'aujourd'hui sont effarants: un tiers de la population active sont des travailleurs précaires.  C'est-à-dire qu'ils travaillent sans contrat ou avec un contrat non-régulier, bref: sans sécurité d'emploi.  Tout profit pour les employeurs.

Dans de telles conditions, on commence à comprendre pourquoi les Coréens se marient de plus en plus tard et ont beaucoup moins d'enfants.  En fait, la Corée affiche un des taux de natalité les plus bas au monde (moins d'une naissance par cent habitants en 2010).  Pourquoi prendre le risque de construire une famille si on n'est jamais sûr d'avoir un revenu le mois suivant?  Pour ceux qui profitent joyeusement du taux de croissance, il est important d'entretenir les sentiments de précarité et d'individualisme chez les travailleurs afin d'augmenter les bénéfices.  Mais il faut aussi s'assurer que les gens ne réfléchissent pas trop à leur situation misérable: encourageons la consommation, censurons les médias gênants, trouvons des boucs émissaires.

A cet effet, le naufrage du Cheonan et l'échange d'artillerie avec la Corée du Nord est du pain béni.  Ca permet de rassembler la population et d'oublier la précarité.  Pour être juste, les cadres du Sud devraient envoyer une partie de leurs profits au Nord afin de remercier Kim Jong-il pour sa contribution à la croissance économique étonnante de la Corée du Sud.

Vous pouvez écouter le grand reportage de RFI sur le marché de l'emploi en Corée en cliquant sur le lien suivant.

Who Killed Hatoyama's Career?

We invoke stability and harmony.  Clearly the hallmarks of extensive military exercises held in someone else's backyard.  After "Team Spirit," "Foal Eagle," "Hoguk," here is "Keen Sword"...

"Japan, U.S. begin joint military exercises," CNN - December 03, 2010

"Keen Sword will cap the 50th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. alliance as an 'alliance of equals,'" said Maj. William Vause, chief of operational plans, training and exercises. "It is the largest bilateral exercise between the United States and Japan military forces. [The exercise] will better enhance both of our countries' readiness to respond to varied crisis situations."

The drill is not directed to any nation, officials said.

"The goal of Keen Sword is to increase and improve our bilateral relationship to further enhance the Japan and U.S. alliance," Vause said, "and to provide a realistic training environment that allows Japan Self Defense Force and U.S. forces to respond to a wide range of situations."

The drill starts days after South Korea and the United States wrapped up joint military exercises on the Yellow Sea.

Health care in Korea

Written by Taeyon Kim:

On the day when Congress finally passes the long awaited Healthcare Reform Bill, I just have to speak on this issue from this side of the Pacific.

You can probably relate: You're in a foreign country, either travelling or living, and you get sick. Oh no! the last thing you want to do is go see a doctor. You don't know how clean the hospitals are. There might be foreign bugs there that you're not immune to. Will they use proper sterilization methods? Will they use anesthetics? Will your insurance cover it? Will the doctor even see you? Will you understand each other? Are they up-to-date in methods and technology? Can you trust the drugs? And on and on.

I've always been wary of seeking medical care in Korea. It's difficult enough to negotiate your way in a foreign country, but I reserve a special sense of foreboding when it comes to handing over the care of my body. And it's not just me. The Koreans I know in Canada don't trust the Canadian medical system, and my own uncle who has lived in the US for more than twenty years still sees his Korean dentist on his regular visits to Korea.

So when we first arrived in Korea two months ago, I was reluctant to go see a doctor even though Lucien was obviously sick. He had a cold. He was coughing. His breathing was phlegmy, his eyes were goopy and his nose was running. Plus he was running a fever. I kept hoping he would get better on his own. It was just a cold, right? But the landlady insisted, and practically dragged me by the hand to a nearby clinic.

So we went, without an appointment and without insurance. I grabbed a wad of cash on the way out. After all, I had spent $200 on one visit to the pediatrician in Los Angeles when I took Lucien to see Dr. Fleiss (yes, THE Dr. Fleiss of Heidi Fleiss fame - you LA folks will know who I mean - and also of Mothering's "People We Love" fame). I took about the same amount with me this time.

We walked a few blocks and up a flight of dirty stairs to a reassuringly clean office. I explained to the receptionist/nurse that I didn't have insurance or even an id. number (everyone has this, it's like a social security number), so she took down Lucien's name and told me to take a seat. I waited all of ... five minutes, at most ten.

The doctor was sitting in front of her computer. She asked some questions, checked Lucien's breathing and heartbeat, looked in his throat, cleared his nose with a huge suction machine, asked some more questions, then typed in a prescription. That was it. The whole visit took about ten minutes.

Then back out to the receptionist who printed out the prescription and -- here's the big important part -- charged me about $10 for the visit. I couldn't believe it. That's it? I thought I heard wrong. I pulled out a fraction of the cash I had on me and handed it to her, waiting for her to correct me. No. That was correct.

Ok, you might argue, sure it's $10, Korea's a third world country and the doctor was using rusty instruments and machines that were 30 years old. But no. The machines were really impressive and ... kind of comic, to be honest. This big honking machine sitting behind the doctor, with all these tubes and metal parts poking out of it, and a powerful humming whenever she turned it on...never seen one in North America. Not sure what it was for, other than suctioning snot out of Lucien's nose. And of course, Korea is not a third world country but one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.

So then I was left wondering, why is it so cheap? Or maybe I should rephrase the question: why is it so formidably expensive in America? And, why is it so cumbersome in America and Canada? It was just so easy to see the doctor in Korea.

While I was there, a few people came stumbling in, an old lady complaining of a pain in her leg, and a man with a child who had - he believed - swallowed a toy. His wife insisted the child had swallowed something, could they just take a quick x-ray and check? Now can you imagine someone just stopping in at the doctor's because her leg was bothering her? No appointment, just stopping by on her way somewhere else. Or someone rushing over for a "quick x-ray" to check, just in case, because their child might have swallowed something. It just seemed so effortless and efficient.

It's not all rosy and golden, though. My only complaint is that it is very perfunctory (though I'm used to that from my visits in Canada), and they love to prescribe drugs drugs and more drugs. For Lucien we picked up three different vials of pink medicine, as well as five sachets of powder, to be administered three times a day in different quantities for five days. None of them were labelled so I didn't know what any of them were (now I know to ask). One of them was an antibiotic, and it must have been a pretty powerful one because it did quite a number on his poor digestive system. I never saw such terrible diaper rash, for which the doctor prescribed a whole new cocktail of drugs.

There is a hospital right next door to us, and I went for a few visits to specialists. Cost? $16. Less than $20. Crowded, but the wait was never long.

Hopefully, as the U.S. reshapes the way it takes care of its people's health, some streamlining of costs will occur. Surely, if Korea can do it....?