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Kim points to a gentler North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun's New Year speech on improving the economy and
reaching out to South Korea has sparked a flurry of speculation that Pyongyang
is planning to shift direction in 2013. Kim's remarks should be taken with a
grain of salt, yet they give some insight into the unfolding dynamics of his
rule. - Evans J R Revere (Jan 9, '13)
COMMENT
Time to end the Korean War
As the burden of history haunts Park Geun-hye, the first woman president in
South Korea and daughter of an oppressive dictator, it also rests upon the
United States for its decades of hostile policy towards North Korea. The US has
its own second chance - one of peace and co-existence with Pyongyang. For sake
of Koreans and Americans it must grab it. - Dorothy Ogle
(Jan 8, '13)
China's short-lived North Korean shift
A solution to the riddle of why China abandoned staunch support for North Korea
with a stern warning in the prelude to the North's rocket launch in December
has its origins in Cambodia. It was there that outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao gave
the warning as a personal favor to United States President Barack Obama. That
may also explain why the shift was so short-lived. - Sunny Lee
(Jan 8, '13)
Kim cracks open refugee issue
The broadcast "confessions" on North Korean TV of a young man and young woman
who fled to the South then returned after realizing the error of their ways
suggests Kim Jong-eun understands where the threats to his rule comes from,
even if they are likely to have only a marginal impact on popular, more
favorable, attitudes to the North's rich neighbor. - Andrei Lankov(Jan
4, '13)
North Korea a culture of warriors
Although North Korea isn't actually fighting a war and lacks a martial history,
leaders have used propaganda to instill in children a warrior spirit that
emphasizes self-discipline and toughness towards the world and themselves.
South Korean childhood remains truer to a Confucian legacy and is now augmented
by educational trends of contemporary Western democracies, so any future
conflict would see ruthless patriots pitted against learned gentlemen. - Tatiana
Gabroussenko (Dec 21, '12)
Dealing with "North Korea 3.0"
A year into Kim Jong-eun's rule, North Korea has acted much as it did under his
father and grandfather. With the ultimate goal remaining unification of the
Korean Peninsula under its terms, Pyongyang in 2013 can be expected to test the
South's new leadership, frustrate Japan, and continue to exploit China's
"shield". The US, Japan, and South Korea must work together to show the North
Koreans that play time is over. - Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi
(Dec 21, '12)
Park wins South Korean election
Jubilant supporters greeted Park Geun-hye's promise to heal "a divided society"
after her election win to become South Korea's first female head of state. The
new, conservative president faces grim challenges, including a belligerent
North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's
most rapidly aging societies. (Dec 20, '12)
North Korea's nuclear theater
North Korean leaders have showcased their deep understanding of the importance
of theater to dazzle their citizens and keep foreigners on the edge of their
seats with the spectacle of rocket launches that, finally, have managed to get
something into orbit. The United States could create a spectacle of its own by
acting less like a passive audience and instead engage in a comprehensive deal
to bring North Korea in from the cold. - John Feffer
(Dec 20, '12)
Life's a gas for award-winning Kim
North Korea has fallen for an internet prankster’s joke, announcing that
dictator Kim Jong-eun has been chosen Time Magazine "Person of The Year" after
computer hackers manipulated the online poll to catapult the young dictator to
the lead while making sure the first initials of the following vote winners
spelled out "KJU Gas Chambers". - Nate Thayer
(Dec 19, '12)
COMMENT
Kim Jong-eun should fear Sunshine
A turn towards a "Sunshine" policy if Park Geun-hye wins South Korea's
presidential election would annoy many on the country's political right, but it
is North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun who should have the most to fear. Deepening
exchanges between the North and South may lead his people to reconsider the
officially sanctioned image of South Korea as a near-starving United States
colony. - Andrei Lankov (Dec 14, '12)
Korea picks its rocket moment
North Korea picked a curious moment for its latest rocket launch, but it might
help buy Kim Jong-eun some time to figure out policies that solve his country's
development challenges more effectively - should he be so inclined. In the
short term, we will soon find out what South Korea, in the form of a new
president, will offer in return. - Andray Abrahamian
(Dec 13, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Pyongyang has what it wants
Optimists who say young North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun will launch a Deng
Xiaoping-style reform process point to increases in visas granted for travel to
China and agricultural reforms as indicators of his intentions. The complete
absence of any relaxation of political controls suggests Pyongyang has simply
co-opted existing trends. - Alexander Acimovic
(Dec 13, '12)
North Korean refugees leave intrigue
behind
Perceptions of North Korean refugees as disinformation agents, who'll say
anything to defame the North, ignore that the demographic of the average
"defector" has shifted from political figures to starved, poorly educated
laborers. Imagining that an era of Cold War intrigue still exists suits
left-leaning South Korean intellectuals with residual sympathy for Pyongyang's
regime, but for most refugees, their only agenda is survival. - Andrei Lankov
and Peter Ward (Dec 7, '12)
China to rule the seas - unmanned
Fast forward a few years beyond the current crop of territorial skirmishes in
Asian seas and drones, rather than naval ships, will be ruling the waves.
China's declared intention to deploy marine surveillance drones heralds a brave
new world of perception politics, eyes in the sky and military conflict - a
future in which it is likely to emerge the winner. - Elizabeth Van Wie Davis
and Margaret Albert (Dec 5, '12)
ASIAN CULTURE
A new kind of scholar
American expatriate Emanuel Pastreich has found an unusual niche for Koreans as
a commentator on their culture. His best-selling book, Scholars of the World
Speak out about Korea, focuses on specific challenges and
unconventional solutions. That maverick approach is at the heart of the
institute he founded in Seoul - and a far cry from the opinions of think tanks
inside the Washington beltway. - Subadra Arvind
(Nov 30, '12)
The future of wealth and welfare in
Korea
Wildly divergent plans on healthcare reform and scant attention to the stealth
issues like housing and unemployment suggest neither candidate in December's
South Korean presidential vote knows the biggest economic risks facing the
country. While critics link conservative candidate Park Geun-hye's support for
conglomerates to political repression, others say her liberal opponents would
worsen social welfare burdens. - Yong Kwon (Nov
29, '12)
South Korea sets the sat nav to 2032
Optimistic academics envisioning South Korea in the 2030s see continued stellar
economic growth, as green technologies and education reforms foster innovation.
Dire geopolitical, economic, demographic and environmental scenarios loom just
as large from other observers. The soothsaying is something to consider for
whichever visionary gets to set the controls after next month's presidential
election. - Ronan Thomas (Nov 28, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Korea shows America its lost intimacy
Gaping contrasts between the experience of teaching the study machines that are
South Korean students and labored efforts to enlighten eye-rolling, text
messaging audiences in American classes reflects how both societies are headed.
The intimacy and respect Koreans show teachers and elders suggests theirs is
the better path. - John M Rodgers (Nov 21,
'12)
North Korean minders
endure
Chinese invasion
North Korea's need for hard currency has led to a significant relaxing of
restrictions on visiting Chinese tourists - one of Pyongyang's last sources of
foreign revenue. With minders told to tolerate everything from
photograph-taking to ostentatious displays of wealth, but still facing the
wrath of security services for client's behavior, the job's becoming a harder
by the day. - Yvonne Su (Nov 7, '12)
BOOK REVIEW
Making Korea possible
Korea: The Impossible Country by Daniel Tudor South
Korea is far from being a dull place, and has much more to offer the visitor
than kimchi and K-pop. From "neophilia" to Shamanism, Tudor reveals cultural
and political concepts missed by less-informed Western observers while
exploding the myth that this is a conservative and isolated country. - James
Pearson (Nov 2, '12)
North Korea takes risky path of
reform
North Korean farm reforms this summer had the declared purpose of easing the
current economic crisis and improving people's standard of living. Given the
earlier disastrous consequences of currency revaluation, the government needs
to carefully weigh the impact of this and other reforms before implementing
them. - Sangsoo Lee and Stefano Facchinetti
(Nov 1, '12)
Purist Pyongyang purges Marx
The eradication of all remnants of a Marxist-Leninist legacy from North Korea's
state landscape highlights accelerating moves toward an ideology seen as
superior to Sino-Soviet doctrines. The shift reflects a historic split between
well-educated underground communist activists from the pre-1945 era who
initially led the independence struggle against Japan and the ruthless
nationalists who then took control. - Andrei Lankov
(Nov 1, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Personality politics stifle Korean
democracy
Personality politics in South Korea rooted in the country's Confucian
traditions perpetuate a weak party structure, leaving leaders unable to tackle
people’s grievances. In an ideal world for democratic growth, political enigmas
like Ahn Chul-soo would drop out of electoral races so the system can be
institutionalized and parties develop realistic policy agendas. - Steven Denney
(Oct 29, '12)
Korea shops till the mom 'n' pops
drop
As in every modern society, hypermarkets flourish in South Korea - if they're
not "foreign". If they are, like US-based Costco, they are interlopers stealing
from "traditional" markets and small, overpriced, low-variety independent
shops. Unlike home-grown hypers like E-mart - Tesco's cleverly localized and
rebranded Homeplus - Costco is evidently undeserving of the protection of the
law, or fair reporting by the local media. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Oct 25, '12)
'Money masters' hold lifeline for
North Korea
North Korea's collapse and eventual reunification with the South is not
inevitable if Kim Jong-eun allows the already growing entrepreneurial elite -
the "money masters" - to expand control over the economy. Demonizing southern
capitalists will also help. - Peter Ward (Oct
18, '12)
South Korea's path towards
militarization
Plans to double the range of South Korea's ballistic missiles underline Seoul's
wish to project power beyond the peninsula. While leaders say this and naval
expansions are justified by China's and Russia's military capabilities, the
moves threaten to intensify a new Northeast Asian arms race as sovereignty
tensions come to the fore. - Yong Kwon (Oct
15, '12)
INTERVIEW
2013: First year for Korean peace
Reunification proponents see next year's anniversary of the 1953 Korean
Armistice Agreement as an "inaugural year of peace", pointing to a local custom
that says 60th birthdays signal a new life. Citing the US's Asian "pivot" as
proof Washington keeps a state of war simmering on the peninsula, Solidarity
for Peace and Reunification of Korea leader Kang Jeong-Koo says Seoul must
grasp its own destiny. - Christine Hong (Oct
12, '12)
Busan takes a place in the spotlight
The Busan International Film Festival puts on glitzy display how important
Korean film has become, not just in the region but globally, much as the
country has had a worldwide impact in the fields of finance and logistics.
Still, the festival is a primarily Korean, and specifically Busan, event that
has inevitable political ramifications not to be ignored as a presidential
election looms. - Andray Abrahamian (Oct 12,
'12)
North Korea in development
crisis
As Pyongyang starts to implement economic reforms entailed within its "June 28
Policy", its inability to influence a vast portion of the population will
become increasingly evident. In particular, the government can no longer call
mobilize labor to deliver required food to urban centers, and is now
experiencing a developmental crisis that will irreparably change the nature of
the country. - Yong Kwon (Oct 10, '12)
Korean culture blitzes London
Korean rapper Psy, with his chart-topping global dance hit Gangnam Style,
is the first K-Pop artist to crack the British market. It's not only pop music
that offers an projection of South Korea's electronics-led soft power. British
appreciation of Korean art, culture, fashion, film, food and history has never
been higher. - Ronan Thomas (Oct 5, '12)
The first lady, North Korean style
When a little color found its way into the gray Hermit Kingdom, in the person
of Ri Sol-ju, the pleasantly stylish wife of the latest leader of the Kim
dynasty, Western analysts were unsure what to make of it. A sign of progress at
last, or of the great gulf between the tiny privileged elite and everyone else?
Both conclusions miss the mark, for it is not Western standards that define a
North Korean first lady. That benchmark was set by Kim Sung-il's beloved wife,
Kim Jong-suk. - Tatiana Gabroussenko (Oct 4,
'12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Kim Jong-eun prepares balancing act
Korean leader Kim Jong-eun was bequeathed a poor hand of cards - including
rotten hard and soft infrastructure, corrupt government, and a bloated military
- against which reforms to be announced next month will struggle to make
progress. Yet Kim recognizes the need for change and that if you can't be a
Deng Xiaoping, it's better to be a Gorbachev than a Gaddafi. - Chris Green
and Sokeel Park (Sep 21, '12)
North Korea: What's next is off the
plan
North Korea's the transition of power following Kim Jong-Il's death appears to
have gone smoothly, prompting enthusiasm over the potential for meaningful
economic reform. Wiser heads recognize that only the immediate, planned-for,
crisis has passed. What comes next lacks such planning. Here lies the risk. - Jeffrey
Robertson (Sep 20, '12)
Nothing new under North Korean son
A fanfare of little else but speculation is building expectations that North
Korea will announce reforms next week. Hopes now surrounding new leader Kim
Jong-eun and the optimism of the early years of his father's rule bear
comparison, and show that North Korea has been in a perpetual state of reform
since. - Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein (Sep
20, '12)
North Korea lacks rich relation in
Russia
History appears to confirm that Russia has a special relationship with North
Korea, dating from the latter's inception in 1945. The reality, mirrored in
almost non-existent mutual trade and Moscow's prime goal of using the North as
a mere transit stage to South Korea, is drastically different. - Andrei Lankov
(Sep 17, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Europe offers path for a nuclear Asia
The relatively incident-free transition to Kim Jong-eun's leadership in North
Korea still leaves the country's nuclear program a point of deep international
contention. Those seeking a breakthrough on the issue could find inspiration in
the experience of the European Community's post-war efforts to regionalize the
management of civil nuclear power. - Sangsoo Lee
(Sep 13, '12)
Treaty offers way out for Tokyo and
Seoul
The pit into which relations between Japan and South Korea have sunk was dug
long before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a trip last month to
disputed islets in what many see as a diversion from problems at home. Asian
interests would be well-served with a fresh start, concentrating on the 1965
Basic Japan-South Korea Treaty. - Kosuke Takahashi
(Sep 11, '12)
BOOK REVIEW
Can North Korea's agony find an end?
Escape from North Korea by Melanie Kirkpatrick
This author sees hope in the efforts of humanitarian heroes, largely Christians
with their "underground railroad", for "one free Korea", but the efficiency of
Pyongyang's politics of starvation along with the ill-treatment of refugees by
China make this unlikely. Still, her book is a compelling and important case
study of the North Korean tragedy. - Spengler
(Sep 10, '12)
Pyongyang mulls
another stab at risky reform
In a communist dictatorship, currency reform is never pleasant for the majority
of society, but the last time it was attempted in North Korea, it was an utter
disaster. Yet there are hints in official literature that decision-makers are
thinking about another attempt. It would be an extremely risky move, but with
inflation out of control, there may be no other option. - Andrei Lankov
(Sep 7, '12)
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ATol Specials
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Kim Comes Out
North Korea's nukes and what they mean
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