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Quotes of the Day:
"No amount of belief makes something a fact."
- James Randi
"Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well; I belonged to it, and labored with it. It deserved well of its country. It was very like the present, but without the experience of the present; and forty years of experience in government is worth a century of book-reading; and this they would say themselves, were they to rise from the dead. I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with; because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
- Thomas Jefferson
"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."
- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
1. N.K. allows citizens abroad to return in official reopening of border following pandemic closure
2. Thousands rally in Seoul to protest Fukushima wastewater release
3. S. Korean, US navy special ops engage in combined drills
4. Worsening food shortage forces Pyongyang to reopen borders
5. East Asia’s ‘seismic shift’: why China sees the Camp David summit as the start of a de facto military alliance
6. S. Korean experts depart for Japan to monitor Fukushima water release
7. Yoon faces mounting protests as Japan releases Fukushima water
8. Yoon's broadcasting czar
9. 'Barbie' and Korean patriarchy
10. Why Japan is seeking to boost regional deterrence with the US and South Korea
1. N.K. allows citizens abroad to return in official reopening of border following pandemic closure
This likely means that the 2000 or so Koreans from the north in Chinese detention centers will be forcibly returned to north Korea for certain torture and potenital death for some.
(LEAD) N.K. allows citizens abroad to return in official reopening of border following pandemic closure | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 27, 2023
(ATTN: REWRITES headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has lifted an entry ban imposed on its citizens staying abroad over COVID-19 concerns, state media reported Sunday, reopening its border following more than three years of its stringent virus restrictions.
The North's national emergency epidemic prevention headquarters announced that North Korean "citizens abroad have been allowed to return home," as it has decided to "adjust the anti-epidemic degree in reference to the eased worldwide pandemic situation," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
It added that those who return home will be put under "proper medical observation at quarantine wards for a week."
The move came after North Korea resumed commercial flights with China and Russia last week following more than three years of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Koreans line up at a check-in counter for Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, at Beijing Capital International Airport on Aug. 22, 2023. (Yonhap)
Flights operated by Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrived in Beijing and Vladivostok from Pyongyang last week, bringing the North's people staying there back home.
With the lifting of the entry ban, more North Korean diplomats, laborers and students staying in foreign nations are expected to come back to the North.
North Korea, which closed its border in January 2020, imposed "maximum emergency anti-epidemic" measures in May 2022, when the country reported its first COVID-19 case.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory against the COVID-19 crisis in August last year, claiming an end to the pandemic in the country. But North Korea had maintained its tight border closure while only resuming cargo operations by train and truck with China and Russia last year.
In July, the secretive regime invited senior Chinese and Russian officials to its military parade, marking the country's first known foreign visitors since Pyongyang's border shutdown.
North Korean buses carrying dozens of its taekwondo athletes also crossed the border into China earlier this month to participate in the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships in Kazakhstan.
The North has also registered seven judokas to compete in the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China, from Sept. 23-Oct. 8.
An airplane of Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport on Aug. 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 27, 2023
2. Thousands rally in Seoul to protest Fukushima wastewater release
Thousands rally in Seoul to protest Fukushima wastewater release
The Korea Times · by 2023-08-25 15:22 | Tech · August 26, 2023
Thousands of people hold a rally in Seoul, Aug. 26, to protest Japan's release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Yonhap
Thousands of people rallied in Seoul, Saturday, to protest Japan's release of radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The rally was held near City Hall, with the participation of some 90 civic groups who have formed a coalition to protest the water release, and members of four opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).
Occupying four car lanes, the protesters chanted slogans and held up signs reading: "Retract disposal of Fukushima contaminated water," and "Denounce the Yoon Suk Yeol administration."
The rally came two days after Japan began to release the water into the Pacific Ocean despite lingering concerns in South Korea and China about its potential impact on the environment and people's health.
How safe is wastewater discharged from Fukushima?
Japan's move came after the International Atomic Energy Agency green-lit the wastewater's disposal into the ocean.
"Japan has crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed," DPK leader Lee Jae-myung said from a platform installed for the rally. "Discharging nuclear contaminated water is a declaration of war against nations bordering the Pacific Ocean.
"Japan should apologize to the Republic of Korea, which is its nearest country and is suffering the most damage," he added.
Lee also accused President Yoon Suk Yeol of justifying and supporting the watewater release when Japan was hesitant out of concern about its neighbors.
Organizers estimated the turnout at 50,000 people, while police put the number at around 7,000, though it did not plan to take an exact count.
The participants marched toward the presidential office in Yongsan after ending the rally.
The civic groups plan to hold another rally at the same place next Saturday. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · by 2023-08-25 15:22 | Tech · August 26, 2023
3. S. Korean, US navy special ops engage in combined drills
S. Korean, US navy special ops engage in combined drills
The Korea Times · August 26, 2023
South Korean and U.S. special warfare troops engage in drills at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 25, in this photo released by the South Korean Navy. Yonhap
South Korean and U.S. navy special commandos held joint drills at an American military base south of Seoul on Friday to beef up their readiness, Seoul officials said, amid tensions caused by North Korea's failed yet defiant space rocket launch earlier this week.
The exercise took place at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of the capital, as part of field drills during the allies' ongoing annual exercise, called the Ulchi Freedom Shield.
Soldiers engaged in drills on special reconnaissance operations, casualty treatment and responses to unexpected military situations, among other training programs, according to the South Korean Navy.
"Our special ops unit will strengthen our 'decisive warfare' posture and combined defense posture through repeated realistic training programs to ensure that it can accomplish its mission 100 percent under any circumstances once it is given a mission," a Navy official was quoted as saying in a press release.
The allies' special warfare personnel plan to continue various training sessions, including those on seaborne and overland infiltrations and strike operations, throughout September, the Navy said. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · August 26, 2023
4. Worsening food shortage forces Pyongyang to reopen borders
So internal conditions, e.g., food shortages, may be driving this. So this must mean that food imports will be allowed. But will those imports go to the markets? Or has Kim sufficiently weakened the markets? Can and will those markets function? They remain the best method to feed most people outside of Pyongyang.
What does all this mean for potential internal instability?
Worsening food shortage forces Pyongyang to reopen borders
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
An Air Koryo commercial plane is seen through barbed wire as it taxies on the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Aug. 22. AP-Yonhap
North Koreans abroad return home after over three years
By Lee Hyo-jin
North Korea on Sunday approved the return of its citizens from abroad after over three years of stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, taking a big step toward aligning with global efforts to "live with the virus," according to analysts.
Experts say that the Kim Jong-un regime's decision is likely driven by an exacerbating food crisis and economic difficulties, although the isolated nation still remains wary of a full-scale reopening of its borders.
Pyongyang's state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported Sunday that North Korean citizens who had been staying abroad were recently allowed to return home, marking the first approval of international passenger travel since the reclusive regime shut its borders in January 2020.
"Concerning the easing of the worldwide spread of the infectious disease, the citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea staying abroad were allowed to return home according to the decision of the State Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters to adjust the degree of epidemic prevention," the report read.
"The returnees will undergo strict medical supervision at quarantine facilities for a week," it added.
While the KCNA did not specify the departure countries or routes, the announcement came after North Korea resumed commercial flights with China and Russia last week.
The lifting of the entry ban on the citizens means that more laborers and students staying abroad are expected to come back home, according to Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korean Institute of National Unification.
"North Korea's border closure has passed the tipping point. Some overseas laborers who were deployed long before the COVID-19 outbreak were stuck there for about six years now, separated from their families," Cho said.
North Korean women head to the departure area of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Aug. 22. Yonhap
He viewed that North Korea's resumption of commercial flights seems to be driven by a sense of urgency to resume trade and people-to-people exchanges.
The largely agricultural nation's food shortage has severely worsened as trade with China plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting off an important source of food supply. And the dire food situation has been aggravated by typhoons and heavy rainfall that battered the Korean Peninsula this summer.
But still, it would take a while until North Korea reopens its borders in earnest to pre-pandemic levels, said Cho.
"We have yet to see other indications that the nation is opening all of its borders, such as the resumption of passenger trains between North Korea and China, as well as increased movements of cargo trucks between the two countries," he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drives a tractor outside the Kumsong Tractor Factory during his inspection of the facility, Aug. 23 in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, commented that the return of overseas residents signals that Pyongyang is preparing to enter an era of "living with the coronavirus," despite lingering virus concerns.
"The unvaccinated nation is still highly wary of the coronavirus, but it has no choice but to reopen its borders to resume trade and address the ongoing food shortage which has reached a serious level," he said. "I've heard that the price of rice per kilogram has reached 7,000 North Korean won (KPW) in some places, the highest figure in several years."
Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute, anticipated that Pyongyang may begin to accept foreign visitors from next year.
"If the large-scale return of overseas residents does not pose significant issues to North Korea's quarantine situation, the North could gradually reduce the isolation period. And it is anticipated that the entry and tourism of foreigners will be fully permitted from next year," he said.
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
5. East Asia’s ‘seismic shift’: why China sees the Camp David summit as the start of a de facto military alliance
Beijing was caught off guard? Their analysts must have been asleep at the switch and their intelligence officers and diplomats must have been reporting only what they thought the party wanted to hear. Even a blind man could see the shift in Korea's positions since the election of t President Yon.
East Asia’s ‘seismic shift’: why China sees the Camp David summit as the start of a de facto military alliance
- Leaders from the US, South Korea and Japan forge a new partnership to hold joint military drills and share intelligence
- Beijing caught off guard by Seoul’s change of heart under new president, observer says
Shi Jiangtao
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Published: 9:00am, 27 Aug, 2023
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3232167/east-asias-seismic-shift-why-china-sees-camp-david-summit-start-de-facto-military-alliance
As Washington inches closer to a de facto military alliance with Tokyo and Seoul, pundits have warned of the destabilising impact it could have on the regional power balance amid fears over escalating tensions between China and the US.
US President Joe Biden hailed the “new era” of a close security partnership between the three powers at a landmark trilateral summit held at Camp David over the weekend. While Biden also insisted the summit was not targeted at Beijing, a joint statement from the three powers voiced concerns about China’s “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea and its policy towards Taiwan.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin lashed out at the summit, which he said had “smeared and attacked China” and was “a deliberate attempt to sow discord between China and our neighbours”. He compared the partnership to other US-led alliances such as Aukus with Britain and Australia and the Quad with India, Japan and Australia.
“We see two trajectories in the Asia-Pacific [region] today,” Wang said. “One features efforts to advance solidarity, cooperation and economic integration. The other features attempts to stoke division and confrontation and revive the Cold War mentality.”
Seong-hyon Lee, a senior fellow at George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, said by formalising the cooperation between the countries, the Camp David summit marked “a de facto military alliance without explicitly stating so”.
25:55
Biden is freezing out China’s tech industry
Biden is freezing out China’s tech industry
“We are witnessing a seismic shift in the East Asian security landscape that we haven’t seen for the last 100 years,” he said, noting that Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to hold summits and joint military drills annually.
The trio also agreed to set up a new hotline to share military intelligence, pledged to share real-time data on North Korea’s missile launches and discussed measures to de-risk global supply chains from exposure to China.
Shi Yinhong, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University in Beijing, said although the summit fell short of announcing a military alliance, it marked a new stage of intensifying strategic coordination between Washington and China’s neighbours.
In recent years, he said, both the US and Japan had stepped up “extensive, in-depth and specific” preparations for a possible conflict with China over Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a runaway province that must be reunited, by force if necessary. He added both countries had also implemented supply chain restructuring to further squeeze China’s strategic and economic operating space.
“Under these circumstances, the establishment of a permanent military and economic security framework against China by the United States, Japan and South Korea was formally put on their joint agenda through effective coordination, and thus there was a Camp David meeting,” Shi said.
For Beijing, the most important takeaway from the summit was the high degree of coordination on China-related issues between the three powers, against the backdrop of the Biden administration’s “comprehensive suppression of China”, said Zhu Feng, a professor of international affairs at Nanjing University.
Of the three nations, Zhu said South Korea’s rapprochement with Japan and its change of heart on sensitive issues such as the South China Sea and Taiwan on Yoon’s watch were particularly unexpected for Beijing.
“While the US, Japan and South Korea have established a tighter trilateral alignment on regional security issues, the summit also meant that Seoul has basically ended its years-long policy of maintaining a balance between the US and China,” Zhu said.
“The fact that South Korea has effectively picked a side in the US-China rivalry will have a very important impact on China’s peripheral security and its strategic competition with the US in East Asia.”
Unlike Japan, South Korea used to be reluctant to side with the US on maritime disputes and cross-strait tensions. But since Yoon took office over a year ago, Seoul has sought closer military ties with Washington, improved strained ties with Tokyo and increasingly aligned itself with the two countries on China issues.
The three leaders, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, formed what is being touted as a de facto military alliance at the Camp David summit. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Beijing recently stepped up pressure on Seoul, publicly criticising the Yoon administration’s pro-US stance, particularly his pursuit of close security alignment with the US and Japan. In June, China’s ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming was caught in a diplomatic row when he warned that Seoul would “definitely regret it” if it bet against Beijing in the US-China rivalry.
Apart from Yoon’s pivot towards the US, Zhu said China’s Wolf Warrior-diplomacy in dealing with South Korea, especially following Seoul’s deployment of a US missile defence system known as THAAD in 2016, had also had negative impacts on bilateral ties.
“Following Japan’s lead, South Korea has accepted that its security and strategic concerns trump other issues, including business and economic interests,” he said.
Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an international affairs specialist at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said Yoon’s election in South Korea was the key factor in bringing the three countries together.
“Without [Yoon’s] willingness to reach out to Japan despite the political risks it entailed, none of this would have been possible,” he said.
“This highlights the potential fragility of the trilateral partnership. While we cannot ignore the geopolitical variables that brought them together, this partnership remains liable to the vagaries of domestic politics in South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Japan.”
He noted that if a candidate from the progressive opposition, which is traditionally more anti-Japanese, won the 2027 presidential election in South Korea, it could “spell serious trouble for trilateral cooperation”.
We cannot understate how significant the Camp David summit was
Benoit Hardy-Chartrand
Hardy-Chartrand added that the other factors behind the summit included North Korea’s repeated missile provocations, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a shared perception among regional countries of a growing challenge posed by China.
“We cannot understate how significant the Camp David summit was. Leaders often tend to overhype such diplomatic events in order to score domestic points, but in this case, bringing the three leaders together for the first Japan-South Korea-US stand-alone summit was not only a diplomatic success for Biden, but also a sign of the widening fractures in regional geopolitics,” he said.
Zhiqun Zhu, an international relations professor from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, said the summit served to underline that the world was being divided into two Cold War-style camps, with the US and its allies on one side, and China, other authoritarian regimes and some developing countries on the other.
“As the Biden administration galvanises support from its allies in Europe and Asia in competing with China, tensions will not only grow between the US and China, but also between China and its Asian neighbours,” he said.
“As a result, East Asia will become more unstable, and the dangers of conflict in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea will increase.”
Zhu cautioned against what he called “a misguided belief” among the US and its allies that by strengthening security alliances, China would be deterred on issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
“This miscalculation unfortunately underestimates China’s will and preparedness to defend what it considers ‘core’ national interests,” he said.
In response to the US, he said we could see China consolidate its relationships with Russia and other countries in its own circles, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brics, which held a summit in Johannesburg this week.
However, he said China should take a long view and wait for political changes in the US, South Korea and Japan before taking any action.
“After all, Biden may be out of office after the 2024 election, and approval ratings of both Yoon and Kishida are lacklustre at home. Nevertheless, it is unwise for China to confront the US head-on now, especially when Beijing is facing serious domestic challenges now,” Zhu said.
Lee pointed to a possible weakness of the partnership: the three leaders’ focus primarily on security “at a time when people are more concerned about the economy”.
“If these moves do not yield economic benefits, they risk facing domestic political backlash,” he said, adding that the leaders were trying to advance an economic partnership that complemented their security cooperation.
Brazil’s President Lula meets with Xi, seeks to expand trade, Chinese investments and talk Ukraine
Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy, also said domestic politics, especially leadership reshuffles, remained the biggest challenge for the trilateral partnership.
“If Trump wins the election [next year], the future of trilateral cooperation will be opaque, because Trump’s keynote is America first and isolationism,” he said. “The historical issue between South Korea and Japan will also rise back to the surface if Seoul has a regime change to progressive government.”
Kim also said that despite China’s frustration, it was unlikely to retaliate against Japan and South Korea due to economic difficulties and concerns about a public opinion backlash in both countries. He added that besides the North Korea factor, China’s hardline diplomacy with South Korea and Japan had also played a big role in pushing them into the arms of America.
Hardy-Chartrand agreed that China’s heavy-handed approach to South Korean relations was partly to blame for the situation.
“Beijing could until recently be comforted by the fact that South Korea was keen to maintain strong ties with China, in large part due to its economic dependence on its neighbour. But now that Seoul appears poised to move away from its traditional equidistance to Beijing and Washington, this is a blow to Chinese efforts to forge a favourable geopolitical environment and pry away American allies,” he said.
Additional reporting by Seong Hyeon Choi
CONVERSATIONS
Shi Jiangtao
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A former diplomat, Shi Jiangtao has worked as a China reporter at the Post for more than a decade. He's interested in political, social and environmental development in China.
6. S. Korean experts depart for Japan to monitor Fukushima water release
S. Korean experts depart for Japan to monitor Fukushima water release | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · August 27, 2023
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- Three South Korean nuclear safety experts left for Japan on Sunday to monitor the release of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima plant, an official said.
The experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety plan to visit the Fukushima office of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the official said.
The duration of their stay has not yet been finalized.
The visit comes after South Korea, Japan and the IAEA reached an agreement on South Korean experts visiting the IAEA office every two weeks to examine the discharge of the contaminated water.
Japan began releasing the treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant into the ocean Thursday, despite concerns in South Korea and China about its potential impact on people's health and the environment.
Seoul has said it sees no scientific or technical problems with Tokyo's discharge plan.
A South Korean national flag is hoisted at a fish shop in Seoul's Noryangjin market on Aug. 24, 2023, amid concerns over the safety of seafood following Japan's release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · August 27, 2023
7. Yoon faces mounting protests as Japan releases Fukushima water
Yoon faces mounting protests as Japan releases Fukushima water
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · August 27, 2023
By Choi Si-young
Published : 2023-08-27 18:09:54
South Korea’s opposition parties hold a rally criticizing the discharge of contaminated water in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is under increasing pressure over his neutrality regarding Japan's release of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
Opposition parties participated in rallies in Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday, calling for an end to potential irreversible harm to health and the environment.
Rep. Woo Won-shik, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's campaign against the discharge, labeled the release plans as "criminal," highlighting harm from releasing 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 years.
Japan, which started the discharge Thursday, asserts that radiation levels in the water being released into the sea will be sufficiently low, citing a process that filters out and dilutes radioactive elements.
“We will seek all legally available measures for damage Koreans would have to suffer from the release. ... Just yesterday afternoon, about 50,000 South Koreans voiced their opposition,” Woo said at the gathering joined by Korean minor opposition parties, Japan’s opposition parties and environmental groups in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima prefecture. Woo’s party and three other opposition parties had organized similar protests in Seoul.
At the largest anti-government rallies since Thursday's release, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, described the discharge as an "affront to humanity," dubbing it a crime that jeopardizes lives. "It's almost as if Japan has declared war on the Pacific Island nations," Lee added.
According to Lee, Yoon acts as a "facilitator" in aiding the Japanese government to promote its discharge plans, asserting the Korean leader has betrayed his own people. A June poll conducted jointly by the Hankook Ilbo and Yomiuri Shimbun newspapers revealed that 8 in 10 Koreans aged 18 and over oppose the release, while 60 percent of Japanese in the same age bracket support it.
The Yoon administration has neither openly opposed nor publicly supported the release. In July, it stated it "respects the findings" of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, which described the radiological impact of the discharge on people and the environment as "negligible."
The stance remains unchanged, said Park Ku-yeon, first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the body leading interagency efforts to monitor the discharge plans.
“South Korea opposes releases that go against international or scientific standards,” Park told reporters Saturday, without elaborating further. The next day, the Japanese government said radioactive levels around the Fukushima waters were low enough, citing checkups conducted Friday, a day after the discharge.
Choi Eun-mi, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said it isn’t up to the Korean government to approve or disapprove of the wastewater release. It is more crucial that Seoul holds Tokyo accountable for its decision, she contends.
“Japan has already made up its mind, and the IAEA has green-lighted it. And the discharge isn’t something that affects South Korea alone; it affects the entire world,” Choi said of voices demanding that Yoon openly challenge the release plans and potentially rally other countries to back him.
Shin Kak-soo, former South Korean ambassador to Japan, said the Yoon administration doesn’t have grounds to do that for now, because “there are currently no indications whatsoever to remotely suggest the release poses health or environment risks.” The former top envoy, who started his two-year stint in May 2011, two months after a tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, highlighted the importance of looking at “data and numbers.”
“We have to accept them. Otherwise, resisting the discharge will be perceived as politically motivated,” Shin said, adding that Seoul would “definitely have to raise issues with Tokyo when, for example, the figures go off the chart.” Yoon in July asked his Japanese counterpart to share real-time data on the release plans and suspend them if radiation levels exceed safety standards.
On Sunday, a three-member team of South Korean nuclear experts left for the IAEA office in Fukushima, also part of the July proposal. Officials in Seoul said the trip marks the first regular tour of many to come, set to take place every two weeks.
koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · August 27, 2023
8. Yoon's broadcasting czar
This is a South Korean political weakness.
Yoon's broadcasting czar
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
Defenders of freedom do not interfere with free media
Unionized media workers have formed the mainstay of Korea's two public broadcasters ― KBS and MBC ― since the late 1980s.
It was a reaction from the long period of state-controlled broadcasting under military dictatorships. However, the government's attempt to control the media was revived during the presidency of Lee Myung-bak (2008-13).
The conservative leader tried to silence critical media using the state spy agency. For broadcasting, he established the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). It is a powerful agency that holds sway over the two public broadcasters' personnel management and daily operations.
Most presidents, conservative or progressive, replace KBS and MBC managers with figures sympathetic to them. But Lee went much further, driving out and destroying critics by blocking their advertising revenues, according to former spies and prosecutors. Lee did all these through his chief press secretary, Lee Dong-kwan, the officials said via records.
Last Friday, President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Lee as the KCC chief.
Yoon did so, although the National Assembly failed to adopt a report after Lee's confirmation hearing due to opposition parties' objections. It was the 16th appointment of cabinet minister-level officials in defiance of parliamentary opposition in as many months. Yoon may say the majority opposition has gotten in his way. However, surveys show that 80 percent of journalists and 60 percent of the public oppose Lee taking on that job.
Yoon's latest move follows separating the collection of KBS's near-universal viewing charge from the electricity bill. His political opponents say the next step will be a management overhaul to air news sympathetic to the president and ruling party in the run-up to parliamentary elections next May. The public will also watch such developments closely. Besides elections, the conservative leader seems to badly need allies among terrestrial broadcasters in addition to right-wing newspapers and cable channels because of his new policy drive.
Yoon is now staging an ideological war against what he termed "pseudo-progressives." He attacks unionists, activists and many others who criticize his policies by referring to them as "anti-state forces" and "reprobates." His administration turns a deaf ear to calls from the bereaved families of victims of various safety accidents to conduct more objective and extensive probes. These were human disasters and government failures, but officials regard protesters as manipulated by "anachronistic instigators." So are fishermen opposing Japan's release of radioactive water into the sea.
The Yoon administration needs friendly public broadcasters to air related news "from a more positive angle." Given his track record, few other persons can fulfill that mission better than Yoon's new broadcasting czar.
As the primary spin doctor for the former president, Lee suppressed critical media outlets and journalists and bolstered sympathetic ones. At his confirmation hearing, Lee justified his past acts as "basic duties." He even compared critical media to "communist mouthpieces," defining them as those who support rulers' policies even without confirming them. One can't help but ask, then, which are government propaganda machines here and now ― critical progressive or supportive conservative media?
President Yoon's appointment of Lee is also self-denial for two reasons. First, according to the probe records, Lee's previous digression was revealed by investigations Yoon ordered when he was the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. Do ends justify means, and do the boundaries of justice and even legitimacy crumble before political gains?
Second, Yoon's first and foremost value is freedom. However, according to Reporters Without Borders, Korea's press freedom index fell by four notches under the current government. Lee will likely pull down that ranking further. Is press freedom not in Yoon's freedom dictionary?
Press freedom and public broadcasters are now on the wane worldwide due to autocrats, populists, and challenges from OTTs and social media. However, the guardians of freedom and democracy must guarantee, not weaken, the independence of public broadcasters.
Broadcasters must reflect on themselves, including laxity in financial and other operations. They must ask why an increasing number of viewers, including millennials and the Z generation, avoid them.
Provided public broadcasters' self-reform efforts, right-wing politicians' media control attempts will fail, as they did even 15 years ago.
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
9. 'Barbie' and Korean patriarchy
Consider for our potential cultural understanding.
Excerpts:
Which leads to the question, "Did Korea dislike Barbie because of the entrenched patriarchy of Korean society?" That was the question my editor asked me.
The answer I have come up with is that there's more to it than that. And if Barbie is seen as a statement against patriarchy, why didn't it have supernal success in Korea where Korean women could laud the movie as an ally in the battle against Korean patriarchy.
'Barbie' and Korean patriarchy
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
By Mark Peterson
One of my editors at the Korea Times suggested I examine the recent summer hit, Barbie, and perhaps contrast it with Korean patriarchy.
That was certainly an interesting idea, a challenge and a gauntlet, thrown down at my feet. So, I took the bait, and went to see the movie.
First off, what about the movie? In short, I'd give it two stars ― not the five it has gotten at the international box office. The more intriguing question is why did the movie bomb in Korea? It has been a megahit everywhere in the world, but a major flop in Korea. Why? Is it indeed, a problem with "patriarchy?" And has Korean patriarchy militated against the movie?
To examine the question, let's review the movie briefly. The opening scene was just awful. Whereas there were some funny scenes in the movie, thus two stars, but the opening scene should go down in the annals of cinematography as an example of failed humor, and bad taste. The opening scene depicted young girls from the beginning of time playing with dolls, baby dolls, in mimicry of motherhood, for little girls to look forward to growing into motherhood. Then suddenly a supersized Barbie doll appears, like the monolith in "2001, A Space Odyssey", and indeed, the icon music from that famous scene was playing loudly in that scene. The monolith, however, was a Barbie that all the young girls suddenly idealized, and therefore ― here's the bad taste in humor ― the little girls start smashing their little baby dolls.
Left and right baby dolls are smashed against the ground, against rocks, their little head exploding into fragments. Funny? No, misguided violence and disturbing imagery. Why in the world did the writers and directors think that was funny?
Then we meet Barbie and the scenes are all in pink, and happy. And there are lots of Barbies in addition to the star of the show, Barbie. And we meet Ken. Lots of Kens, too. And as the thin-as-bullion plot develops, Barbie and Ken visit the real world where Ken learns about "patriarchy" and when they return to Barbieland, Ken stages a coup and with all the other Kens they establish good, old-fashioned male dominance ― patriarchy. The villain in the show is patriarchy.
Which leads to the question, "Did Korea dislike Barbie because of the entrenched patriarchy of Korean society?" That was the question my editor asked me.
The answer I have come up with is that there's more to it than that. And if Barbie is seen as a statement against patriarchy, why didn't it have supernal success in Korea where Korean women could laud the movie as an ally in the battle against Korean patriarchy.
I think the movie failed in Korea because of the deep-seated American cultural idioms that were the framework of the movie. Iconic cultural images that were deeply seated in American culture over the last fifty years were the fabric of the movie. Subtle cultural tropes that make sense, and are humorous, to an American audience, fell flat, and were "missed" by most of the Korean audience.
Some jokes don't translate well into other cultures. Barbie was full of such jokes. And images. Sexist tropes such as the "running gag" of a pregnant Barbie that failed to catch on commercially ― "thought we discontinued you". And the Mattel board of directors, all men in suits, 20 men in suits, was an obvious visual joke, and they played it out by having Barbie ask the CEO why there weren't any women in the boardroom, by his response that there was one in 1975, and another in 1980― "well, that's two", he said.
The resolution to the story was to have the "real" inventor of Barbie, a matronly, old, wise woman make sense of it all with some matronly wise advice. A feel-good moment that fell flat. More nonsense than resolution. More half-baked cultural distillation that was designed to make you feel good about the two hours you just wasted watching this cardboard pink fluff.
Did Barbie fail in Korea because of the "patriarchy"? I don't think so. It failed because it was one fully-loaded package of American culture of the last 50 years, which didn't convey much meaning to Korean audiences. In a sense, that's a very good thing. Korea is so "Americanized" in many ways that one would think the Barbie thing would work well in Korea. It is to Korea's credit that they are not sufficiently Americanized to "appreciate" the movie. In a sense the movie serves a useful purpose in Korea ― it tells us that Korea is not as Americanized as we had feared. And that's good. Thanks Barbie for proving that to us.
Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is a professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.
The Korea Times · August 27, 2023
10. Why Japan is seeking to boost regional deterrence with the US and South Korea
Yes, we are already seeing the challenges in the Seoul-Tokyo relationship with Fukushima.
Why Japan is seeking to boost regional deterrence with the US and South Korea
- Despite the announcement of the Camp David principles, more needs to be done to mend ties between Tokyo and Seoul
- Nevertheless, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is clearly convinced that bolstering the country’s defence capabilities is necessary both for security and the economy
Yoshihiro Sakai
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Published: 1:00am, 27 Aug, 2023
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3232282/why-japan-seeking-boost-regional-deterrence-us-and-south-korea
US President Joe Biden’s triumphant announcement of the Camp David principles with South Korea and Japan on August 18 could be a flimsy facade because the next leader of each country could erase them with no qualms.
In South Korea, the issue of “comfort women” and people conscripted into forced labour remains alive. Meanwhile, some South Korean presidents have disappointed Japan by failing to fulfil promises over the years. The two nations need help to resolve these issues.
Despite 13 rounds of trilateral defence dialogue since 1994, no productive agreement has been reached. The 2018 incident, in which a South Korean destroyer directed its weapons targeting system at a Japanese maritime patrol plane, caused a lack of trust between the two militaries. Their sentiment is far removed from that of political leaders keen to tout their accomplishments.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is not concerned about Biden’s intentions, though, as he sees an opportunity to demonstrate Japan’s increased involvement in defence with the United States.
The idea of a trilateral summit was initiated during a two-minute exchange at the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May. At the summit, G7 leaders endorsed the Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament, committing to achieving a world without nuclear weapons.
Kishida believes Japan must attain defence capabilities through the consent of the people, who oppose nuclear weapons and view war as immoral. As such, he has aligned with Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukraine conflict.
Japan’s prime minister condemns Russian nuclear threat on Hiroshima bombing anniversary
Japan will need to demand changes to the “enemy state” classification of defeated nations in World War II in Articles 53 and 107 of the United Nations Charter. Furthermore, Japan is seeking to revise the US-Japan Treaty again, allowing Tokyo to take independent action.
Transforming Japan into an active military alliance partner of the US in the Indo-Pacific region could boost the country’s economic growth. Kishida believes this change will position Japan to export weapons and defence equipment, as buyers seek to witness operational ability and receive crucial training.
The US-Japan joint statement on the extended deterrence dialogue released on June 27 revealed Kishida’s aims. Although the dialogue was bilateral, the statement said trilateral and multilateral cooperation to enhance deterrence was imperative. This shows US and Japanese plans for regional deterrence may encompass South Korea and other Indo-Pacific nations.
Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes
The extended deterrence dialogue meetings have taken place for years. However, this year’s meeting, held at Whiteman Airforce Base in Missouri, was exceptional. Japanese officials experienced a B-2 flight simulator and toured a B-2 strategic bomber, which is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. They were also informed that a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile was necessary for Japan’s defence.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force’s largest warship, Izumo, which is set to become a de facto aircraft carrier, made a port call at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam on June 20. Japanese vessels also took part in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue navy drill off the coast of Sydney from August 11 to 21.
To devise a winning strategy for the Camp David meetings, Kishida worked with former prime minister Taro Aso and Komeito Party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi. Komeito is a minor political party that has held the minister of land, infrastructure and transportation position for over a decade. The ministry controls Japan’s coastguard, patrolling the disputed Senkaku islands, which are known as the Diaoyus in China.
Yamaguchi made a strong statement during his visit to the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam from August 16 to 24. He emphasised Japan’s commitment to the rule of law in the South China Sea and strengthening defence ties in the region. Japan has already provided two patrol ships to the Philippines, and Yamaguchi said that more support would be provided if necessary.
On August 23, the Japanese government informed ruling parties of its plans to allow the export of next-generation fighters, under development with the UK and Italy, to other countries. It is also considering easing the restrictions on arms exports.
US, Japan and Philippines hold first joint coastguard exercise in the South China Sea
Former prime minister Aso visited Taiwan the week before the Camp David meeting, the first time the vice-governor of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has visited the island since 1972. In a speech, he said Japan must show “resolve to fight” to prevent a change in the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. On a television show, an LDP lawmaker said Aso had discussed the issue with Japanese officials, indicating his view was in line with that of the government and the two ruling parties.
In July, the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies think tank held, for the third time this year, a simulation of a contingency in the Taiwan Strait. It came after the Kishida government’s release last December of three strategic documents which signalled a shift in Japan’s defence strategy, empowering it to acquire counterstrike missile capabilities.
The simulation showed that timing is critical because Japan could only continue the war with China for a few days. It suggests the need for greater independent defence capabilities and more visible US involvement.
Japan values its trade relationship with countries in the Indo-Pacific region and relies on the sea lanes to access the Middle East. Ensuring regional deterrence is crucial for Japan as it not only provides security but also supports the economy.
Yoshihiro Sakai is adviser to the Office of the President at the University of Tokyo. He is a former market operation officer at the Bank of Japan and a senior economist
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Yoshihiro Sakai
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Yoshihiro Sakai is adviser to the Office of the President at the University of Tokyo. He is a former market operation officer at the Bank of Japan and a senior economist.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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