In what version of reality would it ever be a good idea for Korea to propose the resumption of "scientific whaling"?

Dear Angry Reader: Yes, I know this is a picture of a protest against Japan and not South Korea, but that is part of the point if you will read past this shock-value photo of an anti-whaling demonstration. 

Despite the success of K-pop and the rest of the Korean wave, the warm-and-fuzzy image of South Korea the world now seems to have is still a bit tenuous.

And when the rest of the world sometimes confuses you with neighbors like China (which is bad), North Korea (very, very bad), Japan (mixed bag), or yourself in the past (potentially bad), we're talking tower-of-Jenga-blocks tenuousness.

And it is against that backdrop that I would like whichever Republic of Korea officials are responsible for South Korean proposals at the International Whaling Commission to please reconsider their proposal to resume so-called "scientific hunting" of minke whales.

See, when the BBC is reporting on you being a part of this loathed practice, that's a very bad sign:

South Korea is proposing to hunt whales under regulations permitting scientific research whaling, echoing the programmes of its neighbour, Japan.

Hunting would take place near the Korean coast on minke whales. How many would be caught is unclear.

The South Korean delegation to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) said the research was needed "for the proper assessment of whale stocks".

Many governments at the IWC meeting condemned the Korean announcement.

There are several different stocks, or groups, of minke whales in the region, and one of the them, the so-called J-stock, is severely depleted.

Given that fact, "we believe that scientific whaling on this stock borders on the reckless," New Zealand's delegation head, Gerard van Bohemen said.

But Joon-Suk Kang, the head of the South Korean delegation, said the programme was necessary to answer questions about minke whale stocks that non-lethal research had been unable to solve.

Questions they want to answer: Which minke whale stock is most delicious?

Korea's IWC proposal:
"It's a cookbook!"

Look, I get that down in Ulsan there is a history of whaling supposedly eight thousand years old, but even the froggiest of officials in the deepest of wells must realize that our buddies next door in Japan are hated around the world by many people because they keep trying to pursue "scientific" whaling where the carcasses of these giant sea mammals legally end up on dinner plates because it would be a shame for them to go to waste.

Why, oh why, would you want to drag Korea into that miasma of piss-poor international relations?

Let me put it another way, ROK officials at the IWC. Japan's obstinacy has been on display lately as diplomats and not just right-wing nut jobs try to pressure the United States to remove local memorials to the Comfort Women (brutalized World War II-era sex slaves, for those of you living in a wifi-less cave). Japan's unpleasant combination of boneheadedness and pigheadedness on that issue is exactly how much of the world sees Japan's intransigence on "scientific" whaling (it doesn't help that they kill dolphins in documentaries), and you would basically paint South Korea with the same blood-soaked brush.

Let me put it yet another way: If countries like Great Britain were willing to lead a boycott of the 1988 Seoul Olympiad over consumption of dog meat, do you think South Korea will be able to dodge threats of a similar boycott of the 2018 Pyongchang Winter Olympics? (One of the problems of hosting major international events is that it means your cojones are hanging right out in the open.)

Don't think for a minute that I am the only one who's thought of that. Ditto with campaigns against Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, and LG.

You can't win, ROK. If you strike me down, I shall become
more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Ultimately you have to ask: Is it worth it? Is reviving or preserving the whaling industry in Ulsan worth the scathing bad press, tarnished national reputation, and potential economic losses that will likely be incurred from this proposal?

Sorry, even though I don't like other countries pushing South Korea around (and I see no small amount of hypocrisy that so many critics of whaling come from the US and the UK which hunted several species nearly to extinction), I have to say no on this one.

See, whaling conjures up notions around the world of brutal murder of not just sentient but highly intelligent creatures and thus it stinks of being morally wrong. And that means adding them to the list of such creatures your country kills for food is indelibly bad for the national image (as well as stinking of being morally wrong).

...

Daily Kor for the half week ending Wednesday, July 13, 2011

story #4

Been too busy on the Mainland for daily Daily Kor. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. (And does anyone get the joke that it's supposed to be one letter off from "Daily Kos" in the hopes that people will wind up here when they mistype?)

1. North Korea's IOC member expresses interest in co-hosting 2018 Winter Olympics recently awarded to Pyongchang County near inter-Korean border (Monster Island, AFP, Reuters, AP via WaPo, Yonhap, Korea Herald)
2. South Korean unemployment in June remains at lowest level since November 2010 (Reuters, Bloomberg, Korea Herald)
3. Local governments to hire 7000 more welfare workers by 2014 (Yonhap, Joongang Daily)
4. Days of heavy rains from monsoons leave at least nine dead (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
• North Korea reportedly discharges water without warning from dam near DMZ (Yonhap, Korea Herald)
• North Korea says Typhoon Meari caused significant damage and casualties (Yonhap)
5. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk confident that free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama will be passed by August (Reuters)
• US Secretary of State urges quick passage of FTAs, saying good diplomatic ties are crucial to job creation at home (AP via WaPo)
6. Kim Jong-il holds dinner party for visiting Chinese delegation, pledging to maintain close ties with Beijing (AP via WaPo, Global Security Newswire, Yonhap)
7. US sees no problem in North Korea temporarily heading UN body on nuclear disarmament, amid Canada's announcement it will boycott organization while North Korea heads it (AP via WaPo)
8. South Korea to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020 (Chosun Ilbo)
9. Ryu Soyeon wins US Women's Open (NYT, Reuters, Joongang Daily)
10. Lie detectors to be used in growing soccer match-fixing scandal (AP via WaPo, Bloomberg)
11. North Korea says it has developed world's largest smart phone (Yonhap)

Should North Korea co-host the 2018 Pyongchang Winter Olympics?

When Pyongchang (aka Pyeongchang) was selected to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone would make a serious suggestion that (a) South Korea and North Korea field a joint team, and (b) North Korea be allowed to host some of the events.

On cue, via AFP:

North Korea would like to share some events in the 2018 Winter Olympics with South Korea, a senior North Korean sports official was quoted as saying Wednesday.

Jang Ung, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said it was "positive" for Asia to host only its third Winter Games, the South's Yonhap news agency reported from Tokyo.

Asked about the possibility of sharing some events with host town Pyeongchang, Jang replied, "I hope so."

"The political and military situations between the Koreas aren't good and they have to be improved," Jang was quoted as saying. "Otherwise, they could influence the Olympics."

Jang was visiting the Japanese capital for the general assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Pyeongchang, making its third bid for the Winter Olympics, secured the right to host the 2018 event in an IOC vote last week.

The South's ruling and opposition parties have agreed to try to have North and South Korea field a unified team and train players jointly.

But Sohn Hak-Kyu, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, went further Monday and said he would explore ways for them to co-host the event.

He said the Games should become "a turning point in the history of the divided Korean peninsula, as well as in global peace".

Should I start claiming the title of Kushibo the Clairvoyant? Hardly. What I predicted was the same thing that has been happening since the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Just as in past years, we have someone like opposition leader Sohn Hakkyu saying this would be "a turning point in the history of the divided peninsula." That's long been the selling point, even becoming a key part of the bid for the 2014 games.

But will we see this come to any fruition? In the past, the best that's happened (as I recall) is the North and South teams walking in to the opening ceremonies together.

In the end, the prospect of a joint team ends up being a bargaining chip for Pyongyang, and they themselves back out in the end. The only way I see a joint team going through is if we actually see reunification between now and February 2018.

But I could be wrong. And that begs the question: is fielding a joint team fair or wise? Athletes on both sides of the DMZ work very hard to make the team, and maybe it's not right that they should lose their spot to bring on someone from another country (even if the same nation). There's also the issue of team cohesion: a joint team put together in the last few months might not be able to practice and play together often enough to make an effective team for events that require it.

Daily Kor for Thursday, July 7, 2011: The world to Pyongchang, ...Pyongchang to the world

I'll have more on this later, but the big news today, of course, is that Pyongchang (aka Pyeongchang) has been awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics. And as you can imagine, the K-blogopshere commentariat has nothing but praise and congratulations for Korea on this accomplishment.

In case you didn't realize, I was being sarcastic.

1. Pyongchang County awarded hosting rights for 2018 Winter Olympiad in first round of voting (BBC, Reuters, UPI, NYT, Bloomberg, WaPo, AP via NPR, WSJ video, Yonhap, Joongang Daily)
2. Despite EU promises of food aid to North Korea, South Korea's Unification Ministry says it has no such plans for the time being (AP via WaPo)
3. Defense Ministry investigators find that marine who went on killing rampage on forward deployed Kanghwa-do Island base, leaving four dead, may have had an accomplice (Joongang Daily)
4. After finding no structural damage, local ward office in eastern Seoul says it plans to life eviction order on TechnoMart high-rise but will use monitoring equipment to pinpoint any further swaying and its cause (Yonhap)
5. North Korea has scoreless draw with Colombia, 0-0, in inconsequential match of FIFA Women's World Cup, insuring that neither team scored any goals during the tournament (AP via WaPo)
6. US State Department offers American citizens new recommendations for avoiding terrorism when traveling abroad (AP via WaPo)

Pyongchang a frontrunner in the 2018 Winter Olympics bidding process?

According to AP (via WaPo), Pyongchang (p'yŏng•ch'ang, aka Pyeongchang) and Munich are the favorites in the run-up to the July 6 vote:

The two days of meetings with IOC members consolidated Pyeongchang’s longtime status as the city to beat, but also provided Munich a tangible boost as a serious challenger and gave Annecy hope to believe it still has a chance.

“The French are working well and trying hard, but I think very honestly it will be between Germany and Korea,” Swiss IOC executive board member Rene Fasel told The Associated Press.

Another senior board member, Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico, agreed.

“I think this one is a close race between the top two,” he told the AP.

Fasel said there is “no question” that Pyeongchang remains the favorite. The South Koreans, bidding for a third consecutive time after narrow defeats for the 2010 and 2014 Games, are pushing the case of taking the Olympics to a new winter sports market in Asia.

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” said Gerhard Heiberg, an executive board member from Norway. “It’s closer than what people say.”

Let's hope Kim Yuna can charm off the ice as well as on.

Kim Yuna off to Switzerland

Kim Yuna is heading for Lausanne, Switzerland, to directly promote P'yŏngch'ang's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics ('cept they're writing it as Pyeongchang).

Although President Lee Myungbak is also in Europe for a week-long trip to Germany, Denmark, and France ahead of the ratification of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, he himself will not be attending the Swiss meeting to promote Urinara's bid.

Anyway, with all the snow that was on the ground the last time the IOC visited, and now the reigning ice queen demonstrating that winter sports are starting to arrive in East Asia, the Olympics folks will be quite attentive when Ms Kim tells them how South Korea would be such a great venue.

Korea to perform harakiri if Pyongchang fails to get 2018 Winter Olympics

Well, not quite. But they might as well have said that:

South Korea faces "national disgrace" if its third bid to secure the winter Olympics fails, the sports minister said Tuesday on the eve of an IOC inspection.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choung Byoung-Gug, speaking in the eastern alpine resort of Pyeongchang, emphasised the government's determination to back its bid for the 2018 event.

Pyeongchang lost out to Vancouver for the 2010 Games and to the Russian resort of Sochi for 2014.

"Considering our national power and achievements of winter sports on the international stage, it must be a national disgrace if we lost the bid three straight times," Yonhap news agency quoted Choung as saying.

Look, Mr Choung, winning bids are not made of tears, appeals for unification with psychotic neighbors, or, now, warnings that your country will face national disgrace. A successful bid shows that you've got the train service and other ground transport to get people to the facilities (check!), you've got massive infrastructure to handle all the visitors (check!), it's easy to get to the facilities from major airports (check!), there's a lack of any separatist movement that might cause trouble during the games (check!), you've got a good likelihood of snow when the Olympics roll around (or the ability to make it in case Mother Nature isn't being cooperative), or perhaps a threat that you will cut off energy supplies to IOC members' home countries.

Cut it out with the "national disgrace" rhetoric. Focus on the snow and the infrastructure (and maybe how awarding this to South Korea helps promote winter sports in East Asia), because on these factors, South Korea rocks.

And consider dropping that stupid e from Pyeongchang: if they can't pronounce it, they don't want to go.

Daily Kor for the week ending February 14, 2011: Let it snow!

With the IOC coming to check out Pyongchang in reference to their third bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Mother Nature couldn't have picked a better time to belch over half a meter of snow all over Kangwon Province. Let's not forget that a lack of snow is a concern for the Winter Olympics, even in Vancouver and especially in places like the summer resort of Sochi, Russia.

On an administrative note, this blog reached 300,000 hits yesterday since I officially started keeping track. It was eight-and-a-half months ago that I hit 200,000, and eight-and-a-half months before that that I officially hit 100,000. That's only one-eight of Marmot's Hole's daily numbers, but still respectable, I think.

1. Inter-Korean talks end as North Korea walks out (NYT, LAT)
• North Korea rejects new talks with "sinister" South Korea (BBC)
2. Bank of Korea keeps base rate at 2.75 percent (AP via WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg)
3. Washington and Seoul sign amendments to KORUS FTA (AP via WaPo)
4. IOC arrives in Korea for inspection of Pyongchang (Pyeongchang) facilities for 2018 Winter Olympics bid (Yonhap)
• February "snow bomb" may help bid (Korea Times)
5. SK and Samsung engineering arms win $2.5 billion construction order for major gas plant in Saudi Arabia (AFP, Yonhap) 
6. South Korea offers easier loans for tenants and tax incentives for builders in bid to curb rising rents (Reuters)
7. Foot-and-Mouth Disease spreading across North Korea (Yonhap)
8. In wake of Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak, South Korea plans to increase tariff-free pork imports (Reuters)
9. Democratic Party ends boycott of National Assembly (Joongang Daily)
10. Op-ed: Is angry Tea Party rhetoric to blame for Cupid's violent rampage? (MSNBC)

Third time's a charm?

The former governor of Kangwon-do Province, who oversaw P'yŏngch'ang County (aka Pyeongchang) get oh-so-close to hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and then the 2014 games, has been brought back as an ambassador of sorts for the 2018 bid.

From AP, via USA Today:

Kim Jin-sun is the former governor of Gangwon province who led the unsuccessful bids for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games. He was appointed by the South Korean government Tuesday as an "ambassador" to the 2018 committee.

The committee is lauding Kim's "valuable international experience" and his "network of global sporting community contacts." Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho is the head of Pyeongchang's bid.

Pyeongchang is competing against Annecy, France, and Munich. The IOC will select the host city in July.

I think our chances are good. Pyongchang had snow this year when Vancouver lacked it (one of the worries about the Pyongchang bid, we were told), and in the meantime South Korea has been working hard on putting in the railway infrastructure that would make getting out to its venue a breeze, whether or not the games ever get there.

Okay, okay. I have to stop paying so much attention to this or I'll jinx the bid again.