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Monday, May 31, 2004
US-Korea Relations What with the plannied removal of some 3,000 odd troops out of Korea to Iraq, and recent revelations of a further massive exodus of troops the debate over the future/current state of the US-Korea alliance is hotting up. The witheld notification of the troop removal is also an issue of interesting discussion but since 12 months ago there were massive protests going on I suspect it was deemed an inapproriate time to bring the issue up for objective and rationale debate. Perhaps more information on why it was witheld will be forthcoming. Representative Park Jin has just returned from US lamenting perceptions held in Washington of Korea's disdain for the alliance, especially the findings that Koreans see China as a more important ally than US. This view was augmented as China surpassed US as Korea's A1 trading partner. The 17th National Assembly There may be some high expectations for the new four year Assembly but already the usual bickering is already underway. Part of the problem, as I humbly see it, is that parites are used as simply tools for the elected officials. This is in contrast to a party that is elected by interests or classes within civil society whose aims and interets it then strives to represent. If then, the party's goal is to distinguish itself and uphold itself as the opposition and has no expressed interests to represent (apart from perhaps region), there is no reason to expect bi-partisanship on any level greater than what we have seen in the past, i.e, very little. Pension Update The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that it likes to gamble and will be investing some of the pension money into stocks and bonds. For Korean readers, the MoHW has more information. I know this was an interesting debate in the Ministry of Planning and Budget when I was there over the matter of whether it was a good idea or not to risk pensions on unpredictable stock markets. Of course, on the economic side, throwing a large amount of cash into the bond and stock markets is a good idea to boost confidence but that doesn't make it a good idea for actual pension fund if the stock market continues to fall and they end up losing money.
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Friday, May 28, 2004
Pardon me Roh's aide Choi Do-sul got sentenced to 2 years gaol for soliciting illegal funds mostly from SK. I believe he pocketed some and used the rest for the presidential elections. In the meantime, those found guilty in the 2000 cash-for-Summit scandal have been issued get out of gaol free cards otherwise known as presidential pardons according to the Ministry of Justice. Park Jie-won though was not included in the list of those to be freed. Pension Scheme There is an article about civil discontent with the pension plan in Korea. I found this interesting mostly cause I just finished reading/editing an article by a Korean scholar here at the Korea Studies Program regarding the historical development of Korea's pension plan. Applying certain western-oriented theories in combination he explains that welfare policies in developmental states, using Korea as a case study, tend to be used as tool to gain ends other than public welfare such as legitimate government, gain public support for authoritarian regimes and to quell public anger against hardship, such as welfare efforts in the aftermath of the crisis. In this context, he noted that welfare policy was much more heavily influenced over the years by the Economic Planning Board than the Welfare Ministry and was considered valuable for capital accumulation for promoting economic growth rather than supporting disadvantaged. Hopefully, the maturation of civil society in Korea will give rise to more 'public good' considerations for the future development of social welfare. Monday, May 17, 2004
Bay to Breakers 2004
Today in San Francisco was the Bay to Breakers 7 mile run. I was part of the Stanford Escondido Village Team which meant that at the race we were right up the front just behind the seeded runners which was pretty sweet. It also meant that we had to get up at four am this morning to get there in time. This was a huge amont of fun and I ran and walked and took photos along the way. There were lots of interesting sights. I saw two naked (fit)men who ran past me. There was a sign that announced free beer for any women willing to flash her boobs. (NO! I did not do that), a Wonder Women centipede group, the salmons running agaisnt the tide, people dressed up as members from Kiss and Elvis was dancing on a balcony of a house along the path. A lot of houses along the path had parties going on with music blaring and cheering the crowd which was not only hugely encouraging but great to see. Everyone was having a good time. Wednesday to Friday of Human Rights in North Korea Okay, apparently a daily blog during such a busy week was too ambitious. The week is now over so I'll just recap the last days. Wednesday Wednesday was speaker panel. Debbie discussed the situation of human rights abuses in North Korea. The dprivation of basic rights such as equal access to food, suppression of freedom of speech, mobility, cases of torture and imprisonment without trial. She also spoke about the plight of North Korean refugees fleeing to China only to be repatriated, trafficked, living in fear and in hiding. David Hawk discussed the background of his research for the publication, The Hidden Gulag and how that basic research could/should be utilised by varying groups to start increasing our knowledge of the atrocities in human rights and to bring this issue to the attention of the world. Larry Diamond talked about some hopeful signs of the regimes collapse and economic reforms and the need to address human rights in consideration of what China, Japan, and South Korea are capable of doing and what they are likely to do and how US should be working with these nations which in many areas have much greater leverage over North Korea to affect meaningful change. In all, it was a pretty powerful panel with loads of good and compelling information about the human rights situation in North Korea. Special thanks for my good friend Jane Pak for being a great moderator at the event. Thursday Thursday was the Benefit Concert. Korean American comedian PK performed as did Ken Oak. Both were exceptional performers which made for great entertainment. We also had Stanford's own, Hwimori which is a Korean drumming outfit and some poetry and a performance written by fellow organiser Casey. Friday Friday was pretty much the wind down with the usual White Plaza petition and information drive being the main highlight. As the last day a lot of us came out for a final effort. We were also treated to a show by some African American performers on campus putting on a lunch show just opposite our table which made it all very festive and drew a good crowd to our table as well. So that was the HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA AWARENESS WEEK and my first experience as a human rights activist. In sum, I loved it. It was loads and loads and loads of hard work but it was great to see the week go so smoothly and to see people asking about human rights and learning more about it. Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Day Two - Student Rally and Documentary Screening
The student rally held in White Plaza featured some speakers reading testimonies from prisoners and some facts andd information on human rights abuses in North Korea. We also had a girl called Jackie singing. Wow! She had the kind of voice that made people stop and listen. At the table, where I was, we had a steady stream of people asking us what was going on, signing petitions and letters to senators and congress regarding the North Korea Freedom Act. And we got the hand print display going so people could put a hand print in paint and sign their name and make a comment as a sign of support. I took my (old but faithful) camera to White Plaza to take some action shots of the team at work and hope to finish the film during the week so I can put up some photos. We also had Joongang Ilbo taking some action shots at White Plaza today so keep an eye out for us in the Joongang! And for the evening's event we had a screening of Children of the Secret State. That was my second time to see that documentary and I think its quite powerful to show the human rights tragedy in DPRK and what that regime is really about. Tomorrow is VERY exciting as we have speaker's panel which is the event I was in charge of organising. We have Professor Larry Diamond, Deborah Liang-Fenton, and David Hawk all ready to talk on human rights and answer the tough questions regarding the complexities of the matter. Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Day One Not much to report on day one. I forgot to take my camera and couldn't participate in the lunch hour campaigning as I had class. I did manage to stop by White Plaza to check out the display more closely. It was pleasing to see others also reading the stuff and looking about. I also picked up a copy of the Stanford Daily which has an opinion piece about the HR week. I picked up a gift for Amb James Lilley and went to the talk. The best thing was seeing so many people from my course attending...I guess my bugging them paid off. The talk was pretty good, but focused more on the nuclear issue rather than HR. The manifold problems of trying to bring any human rights issues onto the agenda was the main crux of the talk. I'd explain more but am absolutely buggered - its been a 16 hour day. Monday, May 10, 2004
Human Rights in North Korea EVE With just one day to go before the big week I thought it might be a cool idea to start up the UNOFFICIAL DIARY OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA WEEK. The group met (not me cause I didn't check my email advising of the time) late this afternoon to set up the display at White Plaza. There are sections on refugees, hunger, ideology and more which give information on the issues of each and what is going on in DPRK. It all looks very cool. I'm pretty impressed as I had nothing to do with that part of the organisation but the guys did a great job. We are even going to have an interactive section where people can do a paint handprint to show support. And there will be copies of "The Hidden Gulag" available. Tomorrow is DAY ONE of the Human rights week which is very exciting. Former Ambassador James R. Lilley will give a talk at 5:00pm at 320-105. And don't forget to come by White Plaza to check out the display, do a handprint, and donate to Helping Hands Korea! Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Saturday, May 01, 2004
HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA This May 10-14th is Human Rights in North Korea Awareness Week. Check out the website and if you are a Stanford student PLEASE make a time to visit White Plaza and any of the events we have organised. We have former Ambassador James Lilley coming to give a keynote speech on Monday 10th, a speakers panel on Wednesday boasting Professor Larry Diamond, Deborah Liang-Fenton from the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and David Hawk who was one the researchers for the publication of "The Hidden Gulag" - a must read. We also have a student rally, a benefit concert and daily opportunities for people to write letters, learn more and donate. All money raised will go to helping North Korean human rights issues.
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