Updates..

As you might have noticed, my posting has slowed down this last week. Its because I've gotten slightly busy this week due to moving out of my Seattle home, an upcoming retreat, working on MUN related issues and planning my transfer to Korea. Expect this to be slow for another week with occasional random news notes. Once things settle down, I'll hit the throttle again. I already have a plan of what I will be posting over the next couple weeks. So far this is on my agenda:

-More on Kim Dae-jung and his involvement in labor
-Book reviews (A new labor book and some classics on independence movements in Korea)
-Updates on my future plans in Korea (once I get things settled there)
-A critique of the DPRK, not on liberal or human rights grounds, but on the grounds of a pro-labor progressive. It will be an attempt to point out that leftists do not have to defend the DPRK nor is it truly a "worker's" paradise as people make it sound

Have fun everyone!

SMOE cuts jobs for english teachers..

Many hopefully ESL teachers going to Korea have been hit with the horrible news that they no longer have a job. Korean public schools are generally the most attractive for foreign teachers due to the stability they bring and the long vacation times. SMOE was one of the biggest groups involved in this; this is pretty sad.

Now I am glad I am taking the job in Suwon; I might have dodged a bullet.

ECLA allows gay clergy men...

In a historic moment the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ECLA) has voted to allow gay clergy into the church. The issue of homosexuality has been a major divide in the mainline protestant churches for a while now; the Anglican church split due this very same issue. Expect other mainline groups (Most notably the United Methodists) to follow the same path. This is easily the most decisive thing that has hit American churches since the issue of slavery which caused many churches to split into separate groups. Expect the same here. As much as I hate to see such horrific divisions, I think its almost a necessary evil at this point in protecting gays and promoting progressive theology into the mainstream.

One annoyance about evaluating KDJ's legacy..

The issue over many articles and posts I have read involves the hopes and failures of the Sunshine Policy that Kim Dae-Jung developed during his Presidency. It is often portrayed that this policy was a radical and new idea in ROK politics and that Kim Dae-jung deserves blame for keeping the DPRK in existence.

First, I should say that saying any specific person is the cause for keeping the DPRK alive is ignorant. There are many factors that keep the DPRK from collapsing, singling any person or entity out is just foolish. This idea seems to stem from the basic idea that was thrown around in the early 90s that the DPRK was on the verge of collapse and Kim Jong-il will not last a few years. Clearly this is has been proven to be false and we got to stop acting like that it is an undeniable fact that the DPRK is barely surviving on a shoe string. The reality is that we don't know.

Secondly, Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy was not that radical; in many ways it was the natural evolution of ROK policy that stems back nearly 30 years. The first ROK President to try to make peaceful reconciliation with the DPRK was Park Chung-hee during the 1970s. Park Chung-hee met numerous leaders in the DPRK, and the two sides came up with a Join Statement in 1972 that called for peaceful reunification of the country and setup committees to prepare for it. The plan was eventually scratched because of an assassination attempt on President Park by a DPRK agent.

In the late 80s, President Roh Tae-woo begin a policy of cooling relations between the two sides with some success. During this period the two sides signed the the Agreement on Reconciliation, Nonaggression, Exchanges, and Cooperation and the Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. President Roh also publicly discussed allowing family reunification, intertrade and other peaceful exchanges on both sides. This was derailed by the first nuclear crisis that happened at the end of his Presidency. After the Agreed Framework was signed, Kim Young-sam begin loosening business restrictions on firms within the ROK with dealing business in the north. These eventually paved the way for the Sunshine Policy to exist, and many aspects of it was clearly influenced by the agreements achieved by both President Park and President Roh.

Even the conservative leaders of Korea do not want a military conflict, and prefer a peaceful resolution than war. That is the nature of international relations.

Korea loses one of its finest...

To the surprise of few who have paid attention to the news, Kim Dae-jung has finally passed away after a month in the hospital battling pneumonia. It took nature and age to take away the life of a man who has several assassination attempts put on his head, was sentenced to be executed and nearly killed by Communists during his lifetime. You can find numerous news articles everywhere, and Gusts of Popular Feeling have a series of nice photos over the span of his life. Kim Dae-jung joins former President Roh Moo-Hyun and fellow 80s democratic fighter Cory Aquino of the Philippines who all earned their wings this year.

In the west, he is best remembered for the Sunshine Policy and the controversy surrounding that (including sending money directly into Kim Jong-il's pocket). I will forever remember him not as a President, but as one of the leader of the democracy movement in Korea. As one of the few Asian leaders who took a swipe at the "Asian Value" concept that authoritarian leaders were arguing. As the leader whose goals had reached so many people, the the ILWU refused to handle Korean shipping until Kim Dae-jung's life was spared.

I will post more when I get my thoughts cleared on this matter. I am currently incredibly sad at this moment.

Bigot Watch: "Ragin' Asians!" by Erika Hobart

As some of you probably heard, recently the Seattle Weekly posted a trashy stereotypical article on the Asian nightlife scene called "Seattle's Ragin' Asians" by Erika Hobart (who is Asian American just FYI). In about four pages, Erika does nothing but portray Asians in a "exotic" light for things that are relatively common while slipping in numerous stereotypes while at it. The Asian American community is pissed, but quiet a few people are baffled why. And in this lovely post, I will explain why this article is offensive and why this should not be acceptable.

Pham is Vietnamese. He's invited several friends to his Tukwila townhome that Friday to pre-funk before going out to one of their favorite Seattle clubs: Venom. All the 20-somethings pre-funking at his house are also Asian—most of them Vietnamese or Cambodian.

Now there is nothing wrong with this part but I would like to note that the group Erika is portraying are southeast Asians. Outside of the whole "What about the other guys?!" issue, I also find this just reinforces some nasty stereotypes on this group. Unlike east Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) which generally have the stereotype of being lame mathematicians, southeastern Asians have more of the stereotype for being wild and lose. Blame this on the sex tourism within southeast Asia and the dominance of this group in pornos.

The gaggle of girls at his house could easily pass for sisters—sorority sisters, anyway. They're wearing strikingly similar dresses from Forever 21. Two of them—identical twins—look like they're in middle school, but are actually 20. They plan to get into Venom by waiting outside the club for a friend who's already gained entry to return with the IDs of those inside. (It can get so crowded at the rope that the bouncer won't notice an ID is being used twice.)

Nightlife photographer Luis Ongpin of streetpaparazzi.com, a local Web site devoted to photos of club-goers, often witnesses the operation go down while shooting at clubs like Venom and the War Room. "One Asian girl brings 10 with her. And to people that don't know them, they look similar enough to pull it off," he says.

First of all, what the hell is Erika thinking when writing this? Does she want these people to get in trouble? This is just irresponsible. If you read the comments in the article, Luis Ongpin actually comments and is not very happy. Second, what is with this whole "they all look young!" and "all look alike!" crap?

. The 22-year-old, whose cousin is married to the ukulele-strumming Nguyen, dons high heels and a skimpy purple get-up that stretches down to her mid-thighs, which she admits is actually just a long shirt. Mom just graduated from Seattle University, and is putting her job search on hold so she can enjoy one last responsibility-free summer.

Why is Erika sexualizing all the girls here? Is this to attract the white male audience or something?

"I have some white friends who won't even go [to Venom]," Mom says, laughing. "It's too Asian for them. For us, it's like family. Everybody knows each other there."

What the hell is "too Asian"? Do people run around eating kimchi by the gallons? Are there giant mecha robots as decoration? Are there posters dedicated to Ho Chi Minh? No seriously, I don't get it.

"Asians are like neon tetra fish—they travel in schools," Truong says. "You always see masses of them together. Once you get the group leader to come, you get the entire group. Then you get the friends of people in that group, and so forth."

... What the fuck?! Yes, I know Asians do generally travel in groups but then again so does everybody else. There is nothing unique or Asian here. Not to mention it just reinforces the whole "Asians have a group mentality!" stereotype.

"A lot of Asian-Americans that you see out there don't go to a four-year university or have a scene they really fit into," Ho explains. "They aren't going to frat parties or dive bars or sports bars. But many of them have been born and raised here, so they're incredibly in tune to the city. The club is a good comfort zone for them to go out with other Asian-Americans."

Really? I guess the explains the numerous Asian fraternities and sororities around UW. Or why I see several in places like Earl's on numerous occasions. Not to mention, clubs are not the only "Asian" night places they like to go too. I know several nightplaces around the Ave where the Asian population generally goes too that are not clubs. Why don't we talk about BBQ Chicken instead?

The girls begin sucking on Blow-Pops the bartender gave them, and then get up and start dancing with the sticks hanging out of their mouths. It's like a weird fetish-porn video.

If someone showed me this article without giving me any information on the author, I'd swear it be some white guy with an Asian fetish. Seriously, why is everything these Asian girls do being so hypersexualized?

Sab, like a majority of the clientele, hits up Venom on weekends because she's seeking the company of other Asians—not the people who fetishize them. Pham's circle arrives at and leaves the club together. It's like the Asian version of No Child Left Behind.

First of all, what the hell does Erika mean by NCLB? Is this another point about Asians looking young or something? Or is she thinking about "No Man Left Behind"? Second of all, has Erika actually been clubbing before? This is not an "Asian" thing. Its a universal rule among club goers. Everyone stick together, dance in a circle and leave together. Its a basic safety rule to make sure your drunk female cadre is not getting raped in the bathroom.

The patrons, most of whom are Filipino or Vietnamese, crowd the understaffed bar or thrash about on the dance floor.

Erika, "thrash dancing" is a type of moshing done at hardcore concerts. I doubt these people are listening to hardcore metal. Please be careful with your use of wording from now on.

And dear god, why is this article so long? Why did we have to go through that one page of how they drink and whine about people wearing similar clothes? Why didn't the editor make sure this article had a point?

many of them possessing that telling red-faced glow as they kneel over family-sized portions of greasy Chinese fare to soak up the booze in their bodies.

Oh god, now she brings up the "greasy Chinese food" stereotype. Chinese food is not anymore greasy then any other food; that Panda Express crap is not Chinese food. I seriously feel bad for these places mentioned in the article, especially the Purple Dot. I've been to the Purple Dot and none of the food is "greasy" and is actually fairly high quality. They serve Peking Duck for god sakes.


Of course, I could have saved all you and me the trouble of this by simply linking to this article from the Stranger that pretty much sums up the major issue we have with this article. And I do not care about what race Erika is, I don't believe in privilege politics and it does not change this article is garbage.

My analysis of the Ssangyong occupation..

For 77 days, nearly a thousand workers occupied the Ssangyong factory in Pyeongtaek in a losing battle against layoffs. During this time, the workers would be attacked by the management, other workers, the media and the government itself with violence. Despite this, they managed to hold until almost the very end when it became clear that they were going to lose their fight. Many people are quick to blame the union leaders at the strike for calling the armistice, which I find completely unfair considering that the situation looked like it was going to be bloody.

The workers had an uphill battle to fight from the very get go. Ssangyong Motors is one of the smallest auto manufacturers in Korea, and Ssangyong is a relatively smaller chaebol. Furthermore, the company was already deep in financial problems before the occupation took place. Its a miracle that the company has not completely liquidated yet. This makes it easier for management and media to pain the striking workers in a negative light and makes the possible awards more minimal. If this was Hyundai or even Kia, things might have been slightly different.

Finally, this occupation shows how badly the KCTU is doing right now. The KCTU did absolutely nothing for the workers, and did not even promote their cause until very late in the game. There also seemed very little attempts to coordinate the occupation with the other strikes that were going on at the time. The KCTU seems to be interested in being involved in parliamentarian tactics and trying to deal with its own inner turmoil. The KCTU was suppose to be the more militant and independent alternative from the FKTU, but it looks like it is becoming irrelevant. Whether or not we should be surprised that a trade federation that existed thanks due to its own armistice with the government would have these problems is worth another post on its own.

64 workers from Ssangyong arrested...

In the largest number of detainees since Posco union sit-in 2006, Korean police have arrested and detained 64 workers involved in the Ssangyong occupation with permission from the courts. Oh, and they are also apparently a bunch of Communist pigs;

Judges Jeong U-yeong and Jeong Ha-jeong of the Pyeongtaek branch of Suwon District Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday morning for 38 of the 42 workers for whom warrants were requested for violating the Law on Punishment of Violent Acts, obstructing the performance of official duties, and obstructing operations. The two judges cited sufficient grounds for criminal charges and flight risk as reasons for issuing the warrants for the workers, including one for Han Sang-kyun, the head of the Ssangyong Motors chapter of the Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU). Han and the other workers are also being investigated for acts of violence against police officers and the company’s security personnel during the occupation of the factory from May 21 to August 6, and for using illegal weapons such as Molotov cocktails and air rifles.

...

As of Sunday, prosecutors have also announced that “outside forces with a strongly pro-communist character” were involved in the Ssangyong Motors strike, including individuals with a prior history of violating the National Security Law. “We confiscated ideological documents and illegal weaponry, and uncovered an attempt to establish a military committee,” prosecutors reported. However, the security investigation division of the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, which actually conducted the investigation of the case, was unable to apply charges of violating the National Security Law against any of the individuals. This suggests that baseless charges of communist sympathies have been pinned on workers who waged a strike against large-scale layoffs.

When in doubt, just blame the whole incident on outside Communist influence. Noone has ever been hurt by that, right?

In other news, the Defense Security Command might have resumed spying on civilians for non-military activities. Now I remember why I called President Lee an authoritarian leader who is cutting back on the democratic process in Korea. And I was called a crazy left winger for that.

YH Incident anniversary....

If you have not yet read Matt's blog called Gusts of Popular Feeling yet you should be ashamed of yourself and go there right now. Today is the thirty year anniversary of the Y.H. Incident which I would not have been aware of if Matt had not posted about it today. He also posted a nice article on women's labor and the democratization movement that I will read later today. You should all do the same.

Say a prayer for Kim Dae-jung...

Former President Kim Dae-jung is not doing to well. He has been in the hospital for a while now, and is still going through a crisis now and then. What really makes me worry is the news that Kim Young-sam, who has been public for his dislike of his fellow democratic opposition leader, decided to pay Kim Dae-jung a visit in the hospital to reconcile after their relationship fell apart nearly twenty years ago. The JoongAng Daily has more on the situation:

Kim Young-sam also said he wished Kim Dae-jung’s family the best of luck and added, “I said there are always miracles in life.”

...

A source with knowledge of Kim’s condition said the former president “may not last very long.”

“The X-rays of his lungs showed that his condition has worsened,” the source said. “He did improve slightly from early Sunday morning [when his blood pressure plunged], but he is still relying heavily on the respirator and medication to maintain his blood pressure level.”

First Roh and now maybe Kim Dae-jung in one year. Meanwhile Chun Du-hwan, the biggest monster south of the DMZ line, still remains alive and active. Life is cruel like that I guess.

Ssangyong strike ends with a armistice...

After a two month long occupation that was filled with numerous attacks by police, including a 4 day counteroffensive this week, fighting between scabs and the striking workers, tear gas bombing from helicopters, and numerous failed attempts at making a deal, the two sides finally reached an agreement this week. According to the KCTU website the following agreement was made:

ü Union members who are affected by the layoffs, are allowed to make a choice of unpaid leave, transfers to sales positions, transfers to spin-offs, or voluntary resignation. 48 % of restructured people are being given unpaid leave or are being transferred to sales positions, and 52 % are voluntarily resigning or shifting to spin-offs. (However, what is the '100%' out of which the ratio is applied is subject to additional negotiations for details.)

ü After one year, depending on production levels, workers on unpaid leave are allowed to engage in job rotation and 2-day work shift system will be implemented. Workers who are transferred into sales positions will be provided with wages of 500,000 Won (ed note: that is about $400) per month for one year.

ü Workers who take an unpaid leave, transfer to sales positions or voluntarily retire during this restructuring period will be fairly reinstated or rehired if a demand for new workers arises in the future as a result of an improvement in the company’s financial situation.

ü An additional two-month voluntary retirement allowance will be paid to workers taking unpaid leave or retiring voluntarily, while livelihood security support, such as job placement, will be provided in cooperation with central and local governments and cooperating firms.

ü The management will withdraw criminal proceedings against the trade union and its members in order to encourage good willingness for the revival of Ssangyong Motors. Civil liability will be also called off when the company’s revival plan is approved.

The union has essentially backed off on the "no lay-off" platform in hopes to get some protection for those laid off. Fears of a brutal police crackdown leading to tragic consequences at Ssangyong probably influenced the union to make such a deal along with the threats of liquidation of the company. It will be a while before how effective this deal will turn out for the workers, though I imagine there will be some conflict within those workers on who is going to leave and who is going to shift over.

Problems are still ahead though. 96 workers are currently in jail and the union might face giant legal fines from the government for their action. We will not see the conclusion of this until much later.

UPDATE 1: libcom.org has some nice photos from the scenes today in its article. They also note that 20 to 30 workers are still in the factory refusing to back down. I'll post my own analysis probably Monday.

John Bolton is an idiot..

I was wrong; while everyone is celebrating the release of the two US journalists, warhawk John R. Bolton decided to be a debbie downer on the subject. John R. Bolton also proves himself not to be very knowledgeable on history.

ad_iconThe Clinton visit may have many other negative effects. In some ways the trip is a flashback to the unfortunate 1994 journey of former president Jimmy Carter, who disrupted the Clinton administration's nuclear negotiations with North Korea and led directly to the misbegotten "Agreed Framework."

First of all, there is no comparison to either of the situations. Jimmy Carter was sent by the US in hopes to brokering a mutual agreement with Kim Il Sung on the matter. What angered the Clinton administration was that Carter created a treaty with Kim Il Sung and announced it on television before telling Clinton. In this case, Clinton went with approval of Obama with a simple mission of getting the two journalists back (which many analysis believe was already negotiated before his arrival). Comparing the two situations is ridiculous.

North Korea violated the framework almost from the outset but nonetheless enticed the Bush administration into negotiations (the six-party talks) to discuss yet again ending its nuclear program in exchange for even more political and economic benefits.

Bolton is negating the fact that the US also violated the Agreed Framework when it came to offering aid. This was due to Republican opposition in Congress during the time. Despite this, we made better inroads in nuclear proliferation and had much better knowledge on the DPRK then we did during the first term of the Bush administration.

Also, why did Bush decide to start the Six Party talks again? Oh wait, I remember now; because their policy of doing nothing that was promoted by John Bolton was a failure and lead to the DPRK getting nuclear weapons in the first place. During this time, Bolton was the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and was kicked off the negotiations team with the DPRK due to his inability to keep his mouth shut at the negotiating table. Gee, now I remember why I don't take Bolton seriously.

The offense begins and some other stuff..

While many people are celebrating the release of the two US Journalists from the DPRK (Thank god), the police have begin their offense on the Ssangyong factory in hopes to retake it from the workers. This is a last ditch effort to stop the trike before the company is completely liquidated.


Also, begin to see a small slow down in posts for a short bit. Don't worry; I am not going on hiatus. I just got a job for a short bit and working on getting my documentation together to head back to Korea in a month. The lack of internet at my place also makes it harder for me to make long ranting posts that I did earlier. I'm also working on some longer posts that I've been planning to do for a while that will require some research and time. More on that coming soon.

RIP: Corazon Aquino

For those who have not heard, Corazon Aquino, the first democraticly elected leader of the Philippines and wife of anti-Marcos martyr Ninoy Aquino, died Saturday from colon cancer.

Corazon Aquino become President in 1986. Running against Marcos (who had ordered the death of her husband 3 years before), she was announced as the loser in a obviously rigged election. The announcement of the election results caused a massive wave of non-violent street demonstrations all over the Philippines. Dubbed as the People Power Revolution or the Yellow Revolution (in reference to the yellow ribbons worn), the demonstrations managed to overthrow the Marcos regime and installed Aquino in office. During her term in office she survived numerous coup attempts as she pushed through land reform and a new democratic constitution. She spent the last few years of her life being involved in the street protests against the authoritarian and corrupt Arroyo regime.

Cory Aquino was not without her faults. Her presidency as a whole was a mixed bag and failed to end some of the major economic problems in the country. She initially worked with the Communist forces against Marcos and released hundreds of prisoners when she took office. Unfortunately, the two sides were unable to reach a peace agreement and she restarted the bloody conflict against the communist insurgency. Despite this, Jose Maria Sison and the National Democratic Front have only spoke of goodwill and condolences to her family.

Rest in Peace Cory

Ssangyong updates and ban on demonstrations...

Too the surprise of few, the Ssangyong talks over the weekend have failed and people are preparing for total liquidation of the company. The police have begin increasing attacks on the factory and around a 100 strikers have left after losing hope. I said this before and I'll say this again; this is going to turn ugly.

In other news, there will be a ban on demonstrations at the restored Gwanghwamun Plaza. For those not familiar with Seoul, Gwanghwamun is in downtown near city hall. It is also where the famous statue of Yi Sunshin is. The area has been a popular place for demonstrations over the years, especially during the Candlelight Protests last year. The statuee of Yi Yushin was used as a roadblock during some of the protests to prevent demonstrators from marching to the Blue House, as well as making it easier for them to be controlled.