Most Popular AAK! Posts of 2011

Here is a quick look at the most popular AAK! posts of 2011, by page view.

Most Viewed Posts of 2011 (All-Time)

1.  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Korean Men
2.  The Ultimate Korean Looks List

3.  AAK! Wiki: Oppa! Oppa! Oppa!

4.  Why is StarCraft Popular in Korea?

5.  Dog Meat in Korea

The never-ending quest of the Internet for Korean men will never end.

Most Viewed Posts of 2011 (Written in 2011)

1.  Training of North Korean Special Forces

2.  The Korean's Response to Wesley Yang's New York Magazine Story

3.  How to Make Yourself Attractive to Korean Men (Special Guest Post by I'm No Picasso)

4.  Tiger Moms are Superior

5.  Picture from 1992 Los Angeles Riot

Thank you everyone for reading this blog. See you next year!

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Kim Jong-Il's Death -- Assorted North Korea Questions

To round out the posts about Kim Jong-Il's death, here are all the North Korea-related questions received in the last few days.

Dear Korean,

I read this on CNN:

In addition, the South Korean government asked church groups to refrain from lighting Christmas trees near the demilitarized zone between the two countries due to the North's mourning period. The Christmas trees have been deemed a symbol of psychological warfare, and North Korea threatened in the past to retaliate if the South lights the trees.

How can a Christmas tree be psychological warfare?

Philipp

The Christmas tree thing goes back to a controversy a few days before Kim Jong-Il died, and the report from CNN is slightly inaccurate. It is not about Christmas trees -- it is about a single Christmas tree. In particular, the one that is 100 feet tall, right near the Armistice Line.

There has been a 100 feet tall watch tower since 1971 at Aegi-bong, which just across the river from North Korea. In 2010, after North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong-do, South Korean government decided to engage in "psychological warfare," and one of the weapons of choice was to allow Yoido Full Gospel Church (the largest Pentecostal church in the world, with 1 million members,) to turn the watch tower into a giant Christmas tree. This is what it looks like, from last year's lighting.

(source)

Of course, North Korea did not take this kindly, and threatened to destroy the tower. Again this year, strong words were exchanged about the Christmas tree just before Kim Jong-Il died. And as reported, South Korean government decided to not light the Christmas tree this year.

All of this is rather ironic, because Kim Il-Sung was born into a devoutly Christian family in Pyongyang.

(More after the jump.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.





Dear Korean,


I happened across your site while doing some research on the Korean monarchy. I was speculating as to whether the 'cult' of personality being built around NK's dictators has some historical precedence in Korean attitudes towards their monarchs? Is there any link? Or is the current cult of personality in NK a relatively new phenomenon?

jc

A lot of people -- including South Korean intellectuals -- are fond of linking the personality cult of North Korea with the past monarchies in Korea, e.g. the Joseon Dynasty. The Korean believes that this is a mistake borne out of ignorance about how the kings of Joseon Dynasty operated.

To be sure, it may be fair to point out some level of connection, given that Korean kings were treated like, well, kings, i.e. treated with extraordinary care. The Korean's favorite example is: the excrement of Joseon kings were called "cherry blossom," and was immediately wrapped in silk after, um, "production," to be shown to the doctor resident in the palace.

But on the whole, traditional Korea almost never had a personality cult around the king. In fact, very rarely did traditional Korea even have an extremely strong monarch in the mold of Louis XIV. For the most part through its history, Joseon Dynasty was a country ruled by a relatively weak king and a large bureaucracy of Confucian scholars who shaped most of the national policies. The personality cult in the mold of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il simply has no precedent in traditional Korea.

Dear Korean,

But what about the military? From everything I've seen, it appears that the military leaders are solidly behind the status quo. After all, if the regime were to topple, they'd have to find real jobs and would lose their access to what apparently passes for the good life in North Korea. And the rank-and-file soldiers seem well fed, warmly dressed, and reasonably healthy, and presumably may support the status quo, too. Or is my off-the-wall assessment simply wrong?

Doug C.

The Korean would say that the assessment is correct up to a certain point. It is true that, compared to the rest of the population, North Korean soldiers are relatively well fed, warmly dressed and reasonably healthy -- which is why North Korean military has not rebelled yet. (If they did, that would really be the end of North Korea.)

But it is important to note that such relative comfort is no thanks to the regime itself. The formal rationing system in North Korea is almost completely destroyed, such that the military is acting on its own to feed itself. The military does this by extorting from the civilians around them, essentially setting up a feudal fiefdom around the bases. Certain military bases have gone so far as to set up their own trading companies that sell weapons and natural resources to China. Also, as Mr. Joo Seong-Ha pointed out, there is virtually no discipline left in North Korean military, particularly at the level of ordinary soldiers who grew up during the mass famine in early 1990s. This means that the military supports the regime not on an ideological basis, but on a transactional basis -- in other words, the military will support the Kim Jong-Un regime only to the extent that the regime would let the military take its share. 

Having a highly corrupt military that is slowly slipping outside the sphere of his influence is obviously not a good situation for Kim Jong-Un. Yet should Kim Jong-Un incautiously attempt to root out the corruption in military, it is entirely possible that the military would turn against him -- a disastrous consequence that would almost certainly result in the fall of North Korean regime. This is an added challenge for the young new ruler, and another reason why the Korean is hopeful that North Korean regime is not for much longer.

Dear Korean,

I've always wondered if South Korea maintains an action plan for the sudden and complete collapse of North Korea, as in "We're now responsible for millions of starving people, not to mention one million soldiers and lots of guns and a nuclear arsenal, so starting tomorrow we're going to do x, y, and z.

Don W.

Actually, it is not (just) up to South Korea to have an action plan on what to do on the day when North Korea collapses. For situations that are DEFCON 3 and above, Republic of Korea - United States Combined Forces Command handles the situation. The ROK-US CFC has a series of Operation Plans that deal with different situations in North Korea, and the proposed OPLAN 5029 details the action plan in case of a sudden collapse of North Korea. OPLAN 5029 has five scenarios to which CFC may have to respond:  (1) coup d'etat; (2) mass defection of North Korean people; (3) humanitarian aid following a massive natural disaster; (4) foreigner(s) being held hostage in North Korea, and; (5) the regime loses control over the weapons of mass destruction, and such weapons are exported out of North Korea.

OPLAN 5029 was only proposed and is not yet officially adopted, because Korea and U.S. could not settle their disagreement about which country would take the lead role in the operation, especially in the scenario involving weapons of mass destruction. But regardless of OPLAN 5029's official adoption, there seem to be few reasons to doubt that ROK-US CFC would know what to do in case of a sudden collapse of North Korea.

In addition, South Korea has a mid-range plan of what to do with North Korea in the 3 to 6 months time frame. Although details are not available to the public, each ministry in the South Korean government has an action plan of what to do in North Korea in case of a reunification. (So for example, Ministry of Education has a plan on the school curriculum to be implemented in North Korea.)

As to what the Korean thinks of what ought to happen . . .

Dear Korean,

I'm curious about your views on Korean reunification. Not so much the if, when and why but more on how, in a practical sense how would one begin integration of the two halves of Korea? During my brief year in SK as an exchange student my Korean classmates seemed almost apathetic to the north and the issue of reunification seemed an impossible and unwanted task to most of them.

And while I would be the first to cheer on the collapse of the north I can't see how the people of the north could be integrated into a new, united country remotely resembling the South Korea we have today. Of course my insight is quite limited so your views on the matter would be much appreciated.

Chris

The Korean has not been thinking too hard on exactly what should happen, so he cannot give a full, detailed plan on how the integration should proceed. But he does have a few reasons to think that the integration process, which will certainly be difficult, may go smoother than one might think.

1.  Korean nationalism is powerful.  When it comes to Korea, never, ever, ever underestimate the power of Korean nationalism. Both in South and North Korea, nationalism has been mobilized to achieve remarkable things, albeit in diametrically opposing directions. South Korea achieved wealth and democracy at a speed unprecedented in human history. North Korea became the only country in human history in which an industrialized country backslid into a massive famine. Either way, Korean nationalism is a powerful thing.

After reunification, there surely will be an undercurrent of mistrust and hostility between former North and South Koreans, going in both directions. But such undercurrent will have a difficult time getting articulated in public and at the leadership level, because Korean nationalism and the idea of "one people" [한민족] is simply too powerful. In fact, that South Koreans still broadly support reunification after 60 years of constant terrorist and military attacks by North Korea is a reflection of just how strong Korean nationalism is.

2.  Korea is an leadership-oriented society.  Relatively speaking, Koreans generally trust the social leaders to know better and do the right thing. This is not to say Korean people are sheep -- remember that South Korea was also a dictatorship only slight better than North Korea until the 1980s, but South Korea democratized because of the relentless protests by democratization activists. By "leadership-oriented society," the Korean only means that Korea is a society in which ordinary people are willing to sacrifice their personal interest in favor of the national direction set by the leadership. 

Reunification would certainly entail sacrifices, particularly on South Koreans who would have to subsidize North Korea for quite some time. Yet because of the strength of nationalism described above, South Korean leadership would almost uniformly call for such sacrifices. And Korean people would generally respond to those calls favorably.

3.  North Koreans are used to law and order.  A common worry about reunification goes like this: "What if North Korea degenerates into a complete chaos? How could anyone restore law and order?" But one must remember that although North Korea suffers from dire poverty, it is still a modern country used to modern law and order. North Korea is not, say, Somalia, which constantly degenerates into warring factions because its people have little experience with modern and centralized state. In contrast, North Koreans have plenty of experience living in a modern, organized state. (In fact, the problem in North Korea is too much organized state.) North Koreans are used to be being educated and working in an organized environment, which would make their repatriation to an industrial economy relatively smooth.

4.  Migration is sticky.  Another common worry about reunification is:  "What if the poor North Koreans flood and paralyze South Korea?" The Korean is pretty sure that after reunification, North Koreans would come down to South Korea in enough numbers to disrupt the status quo for South Korea. But he does not believe that it would come to a point of total chaos.

A general truth about human migration is that it is sticky. Total migration, in which the entire population migrates, is extremely rare and only confined to situations in which there is an existential threat to that population. (For example, migration in the wake of Rwandan genocide or the war in Kosovo.) Absent such existential threat, people generally do not like to move from where they are, even if there were zero restriction in their movement and it is very likely that their living conditions would significantly improve elsewhere.

Here is an interesting case -- Poland after joining the European Union. After joining the EU in 2004, Ireland, Sweden and United Kingdom immediately opened their doors to Polish immigrants. All three countries have a per capita GDP that is more than double of the per capita GDP is Poland. In other words, in 2004, Polish people had the freedom to move out of Poland to a much wealthier country any time they wanted to. And sure enough, many Polish people did take that chance. But did the elimination of border empty out Poland? Hardly -- between 2004 and 2009, a little more than 200,000 people moved out of Poland, in a country that has more than 38 million people. What is more, the number of emigrants peaked in 2006, and by 2009 the figure returned to the level of Poland's pre-EU days. Clearly, 200,000 is not a small number. But it is hardly the case that Poland emptied out.

Yes, yes, the Korean knows that the difference between South and North Korean per capital GDP is more like 15 times than double. It is not as if the Korean is advocating for a full-blown, open-South-Korea-immediately policy as soon as the reunification is achieved. For a short term, it would probably be necessary to implement some level of movement control. But the Poland example is nonetheless a data point. As long as South Korea can quickly build up North Korean economy, there would be more incentives for North Koreans to stay than migrate South. And such build-up can happen rather quickly because . . .

5.  South Korea has a ton of construction experience, and there is a lot of money in the world.  One must remember that South Korea got its start on building its national economy by engaging in huge infrastructure projects, both domestically and abroad. For example, water pipeline construction in Libya by Dongah Construction, completed in 1991, was the largest construction project in the world at the time. Reunification would mean a series of huge, huge infrastructure projects in North Korea, because North Korea pretty much needs everything -- roads, rails, airports, power plants, aqueducts, sewage, large buildings, high speed Internet, everything. Only a handful of countries around the world have the necessary expertise to engage in such broad-based building projects, and South Korea is one of the best. Such infrastructure project could double as massive job creators for North Korean people. When there is a hope for a better life in the place they live, people don't move.

But how to pay for all that? This is where the second factor comes in. Right now, there is a lot of money in the world. Or to be more precise, there is a lot of liquidity in the world -- huge flows of cash that are not being invested because of the volatility in world markets. If North Korean regime falls in, say, the next five years, suddenly the greatest risk factor for the world's 15th largest economy is gone, and one of the most experienced countries in the world in massive infrastructure construction needs money. Who wouldn't want to lend money to Korea at an attractive rate in that situation? This is partially why Goldman Sachs forecast that by 2050, unified Korea will have a larger economy than Japan, Germany and France.

Of course, the Korean is not saying that it will be a cakewalk and everything will be hunky-dory. There will certainly be all kinds of ghastly issues in the short term, like discrimination, crime, and various injustices that are prone to happen in a major upheaval. Even in the long term, North Korea may become like the American South -- still relatively poor and somewhat discriminated against, even after 150 years since the Civil War. But the Korean believes that the worst cases scenarios that people fear, i.e. total chaos and mayhem, long-term economic depression, etc., are unlikely. 

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Best of the Worst 2011

End of the year is coming . . . which can only mean one thing . . . the annual list of worst questions of the year!! Compared to the ridiculous glory of last year, this year's crop has been relatively tame -- but still, there are some real doozies.

Every email below is a real one, copy/pasted without any editing. The worst email of the year is at the bottom.

*                 *                  *

re:  (no subject)

Hi!I dont know if i am using the right address,but if its not please bear with me and help me find the right address.I just recently read some articles about korean men in the internet and got me interested.I just want to know if its possible for korean men to date a black woman especially from Africa.If so,do you have a website where somebody can go through it and check if they korean men looking for black women?Can korean men marry black women from Africa and those already have children?If you are going to use that website where you publicise the replies,please use Pee as my name.Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.Bye!

"Pee" means "urine" in English and "blood" in Korean. Either way, it won't attract too many guys.


re:  birthday cakes

Do you have a recipe for a birthday cake?

Thank you

Jane

Sorry, the Korean is a good cook, but baking is another matter. 


(More after the jump.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.







re:  Can I give you dog articles?

Hi,

I was checking out your site [WEBSITE REDACTED] and saw that you publish articles and content related to dogs & pets.

Would you be interested in publishing more dog-related articles that would be totally unique and exclusive to your website at no cost to you?  You can find out more about it athttp://askakorean.blogspot.com

but here's a little more info.

We have a team of full time writers with extensive backgrounds in the pet industry.  What we prefer to do, instead of sending articles to the article directories, is to find other website publishers who use quality content & maintain mutually beneficial relationships.

For you, that means unique content - which means two things.  First, you'll get more bang out of the search engines when the article is exclusive to your site.  Second, your visitors won't be able to find the article anywhere besides your site.

For our partners (who pay the writers), it allows them to expand our overall reach.  When a reader likes the article, they sometimes click through to the partner site, which gives them some exposure that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

So if exclusive content sounds appealing to you, just grab a free account athttp://askakorean.blogspot.com

Here's some sample articles in the library right now (there's usually at least 200 articles in there at any given time):

The ABCs of Puppy Classes

Preventing the Theft or Loss of Your Dog

Massage - Rubbing Your Dog the Right Way

Tips for Exercising Your Dog

Health Issues for Senior Dogs - Eyes, Ears & Tumors

The articles will have a link back to one of our partner's sites.  That's what's in it for us.  You get fresh new unique content, we get some extra eyeballs to our partners.  We only partner with high quality sites.... examples are Dogster, Oh My Dog Supplies, Facebook, and Youtube.

Remember - once you publish an article, we will NEVER send it anywhere else.

If you have any questions, you can certainly reply to this email.  Or read more & sign up for your free account at:

http://askakorean.blogspot.com

Thanks,

[NAME REDACTED]

Editor - [WEBSITE REDACTED]

Unless the website also features proper ways of cooking dog meat, the Korean is not interested. (Upon learning about this email, the editor of the website emailed to apologize -- apparently it was a mix-up by a company that handles PR for the website.)


re:  ROKMC Pohang HQ

Dear Korean,
How can I contact the ROKMC HQ in Pohang to inquire about someone?

I don't speak Korean, just English. And I'm not in Korea.

Here's my story:
I'm going mad. I haven't heard from the boyfriend for 3 weeks now and I don't know what to think of it. Could he be in training? He's been in the service for a little more than a year now. Do they still have trainings that last for a month? Could he have left me cold-heartedly by not talking to me instantly? Could there be something wrong with him right now? Injured?I'm a mess. Been trying to call but his phone just keeps on ringing. We almost always talked daily. I really don't know what to do. Calling the parents is not even an option.

Please help! Sound advice would be very much appreciated, or ROKMC HQ     details, whichever is more appropriate with this madness!

TIA,
GK


Your boyfriend went to the military, not to a boyscout camp. What's the point of calling his phone?

re:  How act and look like a korean fob

Can you tell me everything to do with acting and looking Korean fob. Like what they wear, how they talk, what their hair looks like, what they eat,  what music they listen to and more stuff like that...? I might be a wannabe but i don't care.

Here is one thing you can do to act like a Korean -- stop emailing this blog.

re:  ask korean girl

ask korean girl for short time play.howmuch money i pay...thank's

You're welcom'e.

re:  (no subject)

can you speak Korean?

아니요.

re:  asking for the frequent used words in italy

Ho we say in italy

good day, good bye

please

the menu please

can you please help me

You should ask an Italian.

re:  hey

My name is elena and I am looking for old korean man that wants to have hot sex with sexy woman. Please contact me I live in korea town ca.

Didn't know there was a city called "Korea Town" in Canada.

re:  OK, I'VE STUDIED YOUR BLOG/WEB SITE & THE JURY IS IN

Bonjour,

Nearly 4 years ago, in response to my reading about French racism on your site, your response to me was I needed to study your blog site and kiss your ass (sorry, I'm not gay and have nothing against gays, but I don't kiss guys in the "mouth").

Regarding the French being racist, no I'm not going to defend or justify it. It is absolutely shameful.  However, when I see the racism exhibited by Koreans......! Well, let's just say they should start an organization calledKKKK: Korean Ku Klux Klan!

NOW I DO HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS FOR YOU: Believe it or not, I took your advice, and spent quite a bit of time reading the blogs at your site. NOW HERE'S THE BAD NEWS: While reading and studying the articles at your site, I did so while comparing it to what I consider to be the gold standard of "Ask A....." blog sites: Gustavo Arellano's "Ask A Mexican".

My conclusion: Your site is like quite a number items imported from Korea: A cheap, knock off imitation!

Now go criticize and stop the racism in your Korean culture, as well as in the culture of your adopted country of America (and once you're completely done with that, you can then take on the racism of anyone else you damn well want)!

A bientot,

Ai-Chi Hua Hua

Wow, you held a grudge for 4 years against some random dude on the Internet? Your life must be wonderful.

re:  (no subject)

I have a Korean boyfriend. Which sentence that Korean boys want to listen to the most. I just know only one which my boyfriend taught me " ne namja chingu changsaengnim " = my boyfriend is handsome hahahahaha.. He is such a baby. Thanks in advance

The Korean is pretty sure that the sentence is "Take off your pants."

re:  (no subject)

Hello, i have a Q...

actually, it's not so easy, but ....my craizy dream is find korean boy friend, please, help me to find way ... how???

i am in USA, Omaha, NE. Maybe attend to some churches?  

/ I am single, but have a doughter (3 years old). also have PhD degree! 

thank you so much (Avietta, 29)

please, e-mail me back, if you need I give u more details, why looking for korean and e.t.c.

The Korean only wishes he could firebomb the college that gave you a Ph. D.

re:  rape in Korea

Hi, why do so many young, unmarried women in Korea get pregnant? I understand why the babies are sent all over the world – because of Koreans strong cultural emphasis on blood relations. But are these young women being raped? What is the history of rape laws in Korea? Thanks for any information you can give me. Linda

Sometimes, stupidity is so staggering that there simply is nothing else to say in response.

re:  marrying young Korean girls

I am a thirty year old American white who has lived in Korean for three years and can speak Korean, not perfectfully, but I want to marry a Korean girl and raise a family in Korea. My question is, is it possible for a thirty year old American guy to marry a twenty to early twenties year old Korean girl, or does the age difference and the fact that many girls these days are marrying later make this impossible? What if the guy had an excellent income and could buy a nice apartment? How likely would he be able to find a "good” girl that could commit to a husband and family? What if he could pay for her education, so that she could start a career if she wanted? Yes, I know that I am old fashioned and traditional. That is one reason I left America.

This is the Korean's favorite kind of bad email -- an email that begins pretty normally, then slowly degenerating into creepiness.

re:  My wifes parents

my s.korean girl and I both have mental illness and we made a baby and her parents wont relax and im mix with im confused but im light colored and my childs mom and I are both americans I dnt speak any other laguage and we kill for eachother wats her parents prob

Laugh? Cry? Both? My goodness.

And now, for the worst email(s) of the year...

re:  men

why do korean guys hold grudges against the girl they supposed to have loved..will not text me ..i did nothing wrong he saw some texts on my cell phone and thought that i was cheating on him.. i never cheated on him if any i cared about him alot ..now its been 10 months and he will not talk to me..i think about him alot and i worry because i do not want anyone do anything to him..what should i do'''i fell in love with him.and i;m not seeing anyone i still care...some advice would help...thanks debbie

re:  I have this cute guy.I love him tp much right now he is not. Speaking to me.I k.ow me not deleating those texts made it look but l was not cheating with any p

I know what I did was. Wrong. I was not trying to b a player.I never cheated on him.I fell in love with him.he's the lucky onr
I tried to tell him.I miss him so much.if I can have one night with him I b happy.I told him I was ready but in all reality I was scared.but if I can have that one chance he woil
Know.just to say I love you baby.I really do I would tell the world that I love you.

- Debbie S.

If you recall, this is the same Debbie S., the "worst emailer of the year" of 2010. Obviously, she was not content with the second-best title of the "worst emailer" -- she decided to gun for the worst email of the year! Like a clockwork, Debbie S. has been sending an email of this kind every three months or so. In a weak field this year, persistence is victorious.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Kim Jong-Il's Death - Under-Appreciated Points to Watch

Having watched the news analysis and commentaries for the last week and a half following Kim Jong-Il's death, here are a few points that, in the Korean's estimation, a lot of people under-appreciate or simply get wrong.

1.  Change is coming.

Many observers said, essentially, that nothing will change; North Korea has survived this far, and there is no reason to believe that anything will change. This is a casual observation that is completely ignorant of the historical context. North Korea after the March of Struggles -- the massive starvation in the 1990s -- is a place fundamentally altered from pre-1990s North Korea under Kim Il-Sung. And it will be those post-1990s changes that will finally do the North Korean regime in.

2.  The tears of North Koreans are not real.

South Korean experts on North Korea rarely bothered with the question, "are those tears real?" But somehow, that question apparently fascinated non-Korean experts of North Korea, who attempted to offer various theories about why North Koreans were crying at the death of Kim Jong-Il.

For the Korean, this question served as a nice litmus test for figuring out which North Korean expert knows what she is talking about, and which North Korean expert is a hack. Here is the simple answer for the question -- the tears are not real, and North Koreans are crying because, for the most part, they are coerced. The reports from the inside of North Korea unanimously say that practically no one was saddened by Kim Jong-Il's death. Every defector who has watched the proceedings said that the fakeness of the mourning was transparently visible.

Recall back to the fact that North Korea is more porous than ever. North Koreans no longer hold any illusion about their leadership. Yet the idea that North Koreans are brainwashed is so fashionable that real stories of periodic uprisings in North Korea are completely buried. Anyone who claims that North Koreans are brainwashed enough to shed tears for a tyrant who killed millions through state-created mass famine and gulags simply has no idea what he is talking about.

(More after the jump)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.





3.  China is not as important as you think.

The importance of China in North Korean affairs is overrated. It is, of course, correct that China is critically important for North Korean survival. But it is nonetheless incorrect to say that China holds the key to North Korean survival. That is just like saying that oxygen holds the key for human survival. Is oxygen critically important for human survival? Of course it is -- without oxygen, all humans will die in a matter of minutes. But is there any reason to expect that something dramatic will happen to the world's oxygen supply? Of course not.

The same with China. It would be nice if we could do something to deprive North Korea of China's support since, like a human without oxygen, North Korea could collapse in a matter of days without the Chinese support. But there is no reason to expect that China would cease their current level of support of North Korea. We are better off treating China's support of North Korea as a constant.

(Aside:  The caveat of "current level" of support is an important one. There may come a point where China would decline to support North Korea because the cost of supporting North Korea became prohibitively expensive.)

Like humans can die of causes other than oxygen deprivation, North Korea can die of causes other than China deprivation. And China cannot prevent North Korea's internal turmoil any more than oxygen can prevent a person from getting shot. Because the tie between China and North Korea has been so emphasized, the degree to which North Korea is suspicious of China has been vastly under-appreciated. Such under-appreciation is a species of a common mistake made with respect to North Korea -- failure to see North Korea from its own, internal perspective.

Because of the terrible memories from the Imperial Japanese rule from early 20th century to the end of World War II, both North Korea and South Korea are deeply nationalistic. They are almost automatically suspicious of an undue foreign influence. However, North Korea went several huge steps beyond South Korea when it comes to utilizing that nationalism for legitimizing its regime. North Korean regime tied the nationalism with the personality cult of Kim Il-Sung, and justified Kim Il-Sung's rule by constantly emphasizing his role of delivering North Korean people out of the terrible colonization by Imperial Japan, and protecting North Korean people from the potential colonization by Imperial America. The governing philosophy of North Korea -- juche, or "self-reliance" -- is an outgrowth of this nationalistic ideology.

Does this sound like a country that would submit itself to China's meddling of its internal affairs? Because China is in a position to actually interfere with North Korea's internal affairs, North Korean regime is more suspicious of China than any other country in the world -- more than South Korea, more than America. Kim Jong-Il was reportedly fond of saying that a single Russian or Chinese spy in the regime was more dangerous than ten American spies. North Korea relies on China out of necessity, not out of fondness. North Korea will follow China's directives only as much as it has to, and not an inch more. And most importantly, if North Korea's fall is led by ordinary North Koreans, those ordinary North Koreans would overwhelmingly prefer South Korea to take over rather than China.

4.  South Korea is the most important country when it comes to North Korea.

The point above leads to this natural conclusion. Strangely absent from the English-language discussion about North Korea was:  what is South Korea planning to do? This is, again, a mistake. South Korea is the most important country in handling North Korea because it scores the highest in the equation of "influence over North Korea," multiplied by "willingness to leverage that influence." For better or worse, South Korea is the only country among the interested parties -- including U.S., China, Japan and Russia -- that significantly changed the course of its North Korea policy in the last 50 years, which signifies a degree of flexibility that other countries do not possess. South Korea is the only country that can focus on the whole of North Korea, rather than piecemeal aspects of it. (For the most part, U.S. is only concerned about North Korea's nuclear capabilities; China, possibility of North Korea's collapse and a swarm of North Korean refugees; Japan, North Korea's missiles and abductions.) South Korea is the only country that can focus its attention to North Korea at a national level, rather than at the level of a single governmental agency or less. If North Korea can change through external efforts at all (which is itself not a sure proposition,) such external efforts will come from South Korea.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Kim Jong-Il's Death -- More Articles from Joo Seong-Ha

Here is a summary of a few more articles by Mr. Joo Seong-Ha, published since yesterday's post.

Ten Real Concerns by Ordinary North Koreans
[권력승계 시기-방식엔 관심없는 北주민들… 그들이 진짜 신경쓰는 10가지] (Dec. 26, 2011)

Joo notes that ordinary North Koreans could not care less about when and how Kim Jong-Un succeeded the throne, because they know that their lives will not change. Joo then notes ten points about which North Koreans truly care.

1. What do you call Kim Jong-Un?  Kim Il-Sung was called "Chairman" [수령님], and Kim Jong-Il was called "General" [장군님]. Kim Jong-Un is still being called "Comprade" [동지], but that will almost certainly change going forward.

2. What do you call Kim Jong-Un's sayings?  Kim Il-Sung's sayings are called "lessons" [교시]. Kim Jong-Il's sayings are called "remarks" [말씀]. Both "lessons" and "remarks" have to be quoted extensively when North Koreans speak in public. There is no directive as to what Kim Jong-Un's sayings will be called.

3. When will the badge with Kim Jong-Un's face come out?

4. Will there be another round of forced labor?  After Kim Il-Sung passed, North Korea built thousands of "Towers of Eternal Life" [영생탑] to commemorate Kim Il-Sung by extorting people's money and labor. There may be another round of this, because the officials would hardly miss a chance to extort money in the process.

5. Will there be a special ration on January 8, known to be Kim Jong-Un's birthday?

6. How will Kim Jong-Il's statues be placed?  Currently, statues of Kim Il-Sung are placed at the center of every city. Would Kim Jong-Il's statue be placed next to those statues? Will they face the Kim Il-Sung statues, or will they stand side-by-side?

7. Will there be a "revolution study lab" for Kim Jong-Un also?  At every school, corporation and factor in North Korea, three rooms are dedicated as "revolution study lab", each chronicling the achievements of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jeong-Sook [Kim Il-Sung's wife] and Kim Jong-Il. It will cost a lot of money to construct an additional room for Kim Jong-Un. Even if those rooms are prepared, there is not much to add for Kim Jong-Un because of his youth.

8. When will the first Kim Jong-Un book come out?  There are thousands of books that proclaim the greatness of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, but there is yet no such book about Kim Jong-Un.

9. Will the "Ten Principles" change?  The "Ten Principles for Solidifying the Unitary Ideological System," a statement of governing principles in North Korea, begins with the words "The Great Chairman Comprade Kim Il-Sung." As North Koreans who aspire to be in any important position have to memorize the ten principles word-for-word, the potential change in wording (to include Kim Jong-Il) would be important.

10. Will there be a new song?  Every meeting in North Korea began with singing the songs for Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. There is not yet a song for Kim Jong-Un, and it is an open question whether three songs would be required to sung in every meeting also.

Joo also notes that there may be new money with Kim Jong-Il's face printed on it.

The "Apples" of Pyongyang are Trembling
[달러 맛에 흠뻑 취해 호화생활… 평양의 ‘애플족’이 떨고있다] (Dec. 27, 2011)

Joo notes that the children of the high-ranking North Korean officials are called "apples" -- red on the outside, white on the inside -- because despite outwardly being the most dedicated communists, they are in fact the most capitalistic members of North Korea. They are in the position to handle a lot of money through extortion and bribes, and they enjoy luxurious life filled with imported goods. Because they have the most to lose, they fear the collapse of North Korean regime more than anyone else. Since the hold of power is fickle in North Korea, they always have an escape route ready.

The Secret of Pyongyang's Million Mourners
[오늘 김정일 영결식… 평양 ‘통곡의 100만 물결’ 비밀은] (Dec. 28, 2011)

In anticipation of Kim Jong-Il's public funeral, Joo recounts his memory of Kim Il-Sung's funeral. He remembers that the hearse passed him by very quickly. Although he was surrounded by fellow Kim Il-Sung University students, he noticed that few of his fellow students cried. But he believes that for those who cried, the tears were genuine. Joo doubts that the same level of grieving will happen with Kim Jong-Il, and is certain that there will be no tears left for Kim Jong-Un.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Kim Jong-Il's Death - Summary of Articles by Mr. Joo Seong-Ha

Here is one more introduction for those who have not been acquainted with Mr. Joo Seong-Ha.  Mr. Joo is a former North Korean elite, who attended Kim Il-Sung University and was a professor at the same university. He defected from North Korea in 1996, was captured in China and survived a North Korean gulag. He defected again in 1997, and this time he successfully reached South Korea. Now, he is a journalist for one of the most prestigious newspapers in South Korea. He also writes for his own blog, North Korea Real Talk, which is easily the most visited blog regarding North Korea in all of the Internet. The Korean periodically translated some of Mr. Joo's best articles. You can check out the entire archive of translated articles by Mr. Joo here.

As you might imagine, Mr. Joo has been a busy man since Kim Jong-Il died. Because Mr. Joo write a number of articles and posts since Kim Jong-Il's death, the Korean cannot translate all of them fully. Instead, the Korean will provide a summary of everything Mr. Joo has written so far, both for his newspaper and his blog.

Kim Jong-Il's Death:  Whither Korean Peninsula?
[김정일 사망, 한반도 어디로 가나?] (Dec. 19, 2011)

In the first piece he wrote after the news broke, Mr. Joo briefly noted that the first telltale sign will be the volume of defection. He also noted that there would not be much movement during the official funeral period, and the critical time will be around February or March 2012.

(More after the jump.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.



Dark Road Ahead for Post-Kim Jong-Il Era
[포스트 김정일 시대, 앞길은 절망적이다] (Dec. 19, 2011)

Mr. Joo actually wrote this article before Kim Jong-Il died, but he put the article up on the blog because the topic was relevant. In this article, Mr. Joo noted that North Korean regime so far has relied on five pillars:  (1) propaganda and deification; (2) closely knit organization; (3) reign of terror and guilt by association; (4) shutting off and distorting outside information; (5) special favors given to the loyal elite.

However, the massive famine in the early 1990s corroded four of the five pillars, such that the only pillar that is still intact is the reign of terror. Therefore, recently the reign of terror in North Korea has reached a new height. But because the presence of South Korea serves as a constant reminder for North Koreans as to what could have been, the desire to escape would only increase. Especially after Kim Jong-Il dies, Joo argued, North Korea would not be for long.

How North Koreans View Kim Jong-Un
[김정은 보는 북한 주민 심정 비유한다면] (Dec. 20, 2011)

This article is an absolute gem that only Mr. Joo is capable of writing. Upon watching the footages of North Korean people's initial reaction to Kim Jong-Il's death, Joo was shocked by how peaceful Pyongyang looked. This was in marked contrast to Kim Il-Sung's death. When the news of the elder Kim's death broke, ordinary North Koreans dropped to the ground and wailed. Much of the mourning was voluntary. But this time, even in a footage that North Korea must have carefully screened before its release, Mr. Joo only detected one or two people who appeared to be genuinely sad.

How Will the Bankrupt House Survive?
[거덜난 살림 물려주고 어떻게 버티라고] (Dec. 21, 2011)

Mr. Joo notes that the prevailing feeling by North Koreans about Kim Jong-Un is that of resignation. Although people complain of Kim Jong-Un's youth and lack of experience, there is no sign of an organized resistance. But one item of note is that hatred of Kim Jong-Un is spreading within the elite, as Kim Jong-Un has been ruthlessly purging the leadership class.

Mr. Joo points out that the current situation is different from Kim Jong-Il's succession, because, at the time, North Korean economy was still functional, and people supported Kim Il-Sung. As discussed in the previous article, Mr. Joo believes that Kim Jong-Un's only way by which he could manage the current situation is to engage in a reign of terror.

Kim Jong-Un's First Three Days Receives an F
[사흘간 지켜본 김정은 성적표는 '낙제'] (Dec. 22, 2011)

Mr. Joo notes that Kim Jong-Il's funeral would be the first test for Kim Jong-Un, because the funeral is an excellent opportunity for Kim Jong-Un to consolidate his status. When Kim Il-Sung died, Kim Jong-Il engaged in a number of creative policies that consolidated his power. For example, Kim Jong-Il was involved in every last detail of Kim Il-Sung's funeral, abolished the office of the Chairman (such that Kim Il-Sung would be the eternal chairman,) and generally pronounced that he was a filial son who was fit to inherit his father's legacy and rule the country. In contrast, Kim Jong-Un has been simply following the exact procedure that his father implemented when his grandfather died.

The Best Article about Kim Jong-Un's Future
[김정은의 미래를 점친 최고의 명칼럼] (Dec. 23, 2011)

This article is written by Sohn Gwang-Ju, head of the Center for Daily NK Reunification Strategies. Mr. Joo introduced this article by saying that it was the best one among everything he read about Kim Jong-Un in the last few days, and he generally agreed with the article.

In the article, Sohn begins by stating that it is pointless to speculate about whether Kim Jong-Un can succeed smoothly, because the succession is already a done deal. Sohn also points out that China would have a less influence than most people think, because North Korea consistently resisted China's interference in the political arena.

Sohn says Kim Jong-Un only has two choices -- destroy the market that is already in place, or open up the country. But Kim Jong-Un in fact cannot make either choice. Destroying the market would essentially require killing everybody in North Korea. If North Korea is opened up, there is no reason why North Korean people would follow Kim Jong-Un. Sohn then prescribes that South Korea's strategy must be "engagement" and "enlargement," in the areas of information, market, politics and military, in that order. Sohn concludes by castigating the current South Korean administration for getting caught flat footed at the news of Kim Jong-Il's death.

When Will We Hear Kim Jong-Un's Voice?
[김정은 목소리는 언제쯤 들을 수 있을까?] (Dec. 24, 2011)

Mr. Joo writes that Kim Jong-Un's ruling style will likely be similar to his father's ruling style. Just like his father, Kim Jong-Un strengthened his hold over the Security Bureau instead of the military or the Labor Party. Also, Kim Jong-Un's advisors have no experience in having any other kind of ruling style.

Like his father, Kim Jong-Un would likely minimize his exposure to the public. This is in contrast to Kim Il-Sung, who enjoyed being in public.

Will the "Market Generation" Eat Away at Kim Jong-Un Regime?
['장마당 세대' 김정은 체제 갉아먹을까] (Dec. 26, 2011)

Mr. Joo notes that the "Market Generation" -- i.e. North Koreans who were born in 1994, when Kim Il-Sung died -- would enter North Korean society next year, either by getting drafted into the military or advancing to colleges. Mr. Joo writes that North Korea officially recognizes four generations of revolution. The first generation was anti-Japanese fighters who fought alongside Kim Il-Sung; the second was the people who experienced Korean War and the post-war reconstruction; the third was the people who were involved in the Three Communes Movement in the 1970s, and the fourth was the people who underwent the March of Struggles in the 1990s.

The fifth generation does not have an official recognition, but they may be termed as the Market Generation, because the parents of this generation entirely relied on the market to raise them, as they grew up during the mass starvation that was the March of Struggles.

The Market Generation is characterized by a significant depletion of numbers and malnutrition. Compared to the 1980s, North Korea's fertility rate dropped by more than 30 percent. Because of the drop, North Korean military is essentially losing one battalion (= 50,000 soldiers) every year. Also, because of malnutrition, a significant number of these young people are being exempted from conscription. Although North Korean regime has been attempting to address this issue by, for example, drafting more women into the military, it appears inevitable that the military control over North Korea would be weakened simply because there are not enough soldiers.

This generation is also marked by being materialistic, selfish and scornful of organized life. This generation received absolutely nothing from the regime. In fact, schools have been turned into a vehicle for squeezing money out of people. Because of that, over 40 percent of North Korean children do not attend school. Instead, as soon as they are in their teens, they work in the market and earn their own money. Because they are not socialized through school, they do not respect their teachers or any other authority figure. They attempt to get out of serving their military duties by bribing their superiors.

The Market Generation is also wildly enthusiastic about South Korean pop culture. South Korean pop music and dance have spread to every rural corner of North Korea, thanks to the Market Generation. They openly complain that no one in their family is smart enough to defect to South Korea. Having the Market Generation make up the most of North Korean military, therefore, would put further pressure on Kim Jong-Un's regime.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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Merry Christmas

Dear Korean,

Hope you and your wife have been doing well. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your three-parter with answers to the students from Jangheung High School. I may actually adapt some parts of it for my students. I particularly appreciate your vulnerability in the section about loneliness.

Occasionally I go through a few situations in which I question my decision to move to Seoul. Last week I experienced such a situation. I'll spare you the details except to say that it soured me on Koreans and, for the first time since 2007, I gave some serious consideration to moving back home. Maybe that's why the Jangheung post had such emotional resonance for me.

Anyway, it's not over until it's over. :)

Finals are almost done, and I'll be spending the vacation working on Korean study and continuing education stuff. Then a trip home in February. Your blog's been a big encouragement to me. Have a great Christmas.

Marc H.

The nature of this blog means that great many readers of this blog are non-Korean expats living in Korea. Sometimes, the Korean can be impatient with them, and castigates some of them if he thinks that they are being particularly stupid. But this does not mean that the Korean is blind to the fundamental challenge being faced by expats in Korea:  depending on the day, Korea can be a very unwelcoming place for non-Koreans.

Now, that does not excuse the rants in some expat blogs/message boards that are absolutely nothing more than racist tripe. Neither does that justify the gross distortions of facts about Korea, in an attempt to paint the entire country and people in a negative light. However, without excusing and justifying, the Korean can extend his understanding as to where much of that bile is coming from. For non-Koreans, there will be moments in which their lives in Korea are genuinely shitty, simply because they are not Koreans. And as much time as the Korean spends trying to elucidate the incorrect understanding about Korea, he recognizes that in many cases, a wholesale criticism against Korea is completely fair.

Even when Korea is not being unwelcoming, Korea can be just too different. A large part of our day-to-day lives is not about some great fundamental truths about the universe. It is about a series of habits whose accumulation we have not been even aware of. So, for example, if you are accustomed to a Western-style personal space, you might find it grating to have someone stand next to you a little too close on your everyday commute. Is it a big deal? No. But again, much of life is about small deals. It is the accumulation of those small deals that eventually influence the overall impression of a place.

For some, Christmas is a time where all the negativity about Korea can bubble up. It is another one of those times in which Korea is just too different. Instead of a warm, family-oriented affair, Christmas in Korea is at best a neutered holiday meaningful only to Christians, and at worst a crassly commercialized second Valentine's Day. Of course Koreans have their own warm, family-oriented holidays, but they don't mean that much to non-Korean expats. Instead, facing the assault on senses, it is understandable to feel cold, lonely, and sour about the goddamn place.

Christmas tree at City Hall Square, Seoul
(source)

So here is the Korean's Christmas message for all you expats out there:  stay warm, and get together with friends. Remember that in any place of the world, life as a minority and an immigrant has a potential to be shitty from time to time -- especially if the place does not have a tradition of immigration like Korea. You can read this blog to get a better understanding about why Korea is the way it is, but ultimately, your feelings are yours. Even for a nice person like Marc -- a long time reader whose thoughtfulness is always appreciated -- life in Korea will have shitty moments. Whether or not those moments accumulate to a point where you might consider leaving Korea would be up to you. But in the meantime, stay warm and be with other people. Don't let the annoyance and bile percolate, but be in the spirit of the seasons.

Merry Christmas.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

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