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).

...

Japan to invite South Korea and other countries to join new body made up of whaling states

So says the Japan Times.

Gotta hand it to Japan. No matter how bad whaling makes the country look, there's so much determination to keep the industry going, even when Japanese themselves have pretty much turned their back on whale meat.


Though I like the idea of Seoul and Tokyo cooperating, this is one case where I hope South Korea gives it a pass (see here and here). It might be better if South Korea's 8000-year-old whaling tradition also died a quiet death. The country's already got enough PR problems with dog meat.

California sushi restaurant serving banned whale meat will close

In an update to this story, the Los Angeles County restaurant being charged with serving banned whale meat has closed. This followed protests like the one shown above.

And they seem to have found religion on the subject. From the Los Angeles Times:

A Santa Monica sushi restaurant facing federal charges for serving endangered whale meat appears set to close its doors Saturday, according to a statement posted to The Hump's website Friday which called the decision a “self-imposed punishment."

“The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will help bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species,” read the statement on the restaurant's longstanding website.

Given the litigiousness of the US in general and California specifically, I'm actually impressed that they would admit that they would so clearly and unconditionally admit and apologize for "our illegal actions."

The charges came after an undercover sting operation (Isn't that redundant? Can you have a sting operation that isn't undercover?) orchestrated by followers of Louie Psihoyos, the director of Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, about dolphins slaughtered in a national park in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture.

That's the same Mr Psihoyos who is currently in Seoul protesting Japanese whaling in front of the Japanese embassy, but not protesting against South Korea's own shadow whaling efforts.

[above: Apologies and regrets the morning after at The Hump.]

Sorry, Mr Psihoyos, those spots are reserved for the elderly

Louie Psihoyos, the director of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, a heart-wrenching work that chronicles the slaughter of dolphins in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture, has taken his anti-whaling protests to Seoul.

When I'd first heard that, I thought he was in town to protest against South Korea's own resurgence of it's supposedly 8000-year-old whaling industry, centered in the port city of Ulsan (formerly Kobe Bryant), which has been attracting more and more negative attention in recent years.

But he was there in front of the Japanese embassy to focus on Japanese consumption of whale meat and "toxic" dolphin meat, which Mr Psihoyos claims is illegally labeled as whale meat and fed to schoolchildren. It isn't clear from the video that accompanies the Huffington Post piece linked above (also found here) if he is also in Seoul to protest against ROK policies on whaling, which seem to favor hiding in Japan's shadow on the issue.

This is the same spot, by the way, where one often finds elderly women who were once sex slaves of Imperial Japan, known euphemistically as "Comfort Women," protesting the lack of adequate direct government compensation by Tokyo, which asserts that it was "finally settled" in the 1965 treaty to which the women were not a party to, some three decades before the Japanese government admitted their existence.

I mention that, because the two issues — continued whaling to Australians and lack of adequate direct compensation to sex slaves of Imperial Japan's military — are two very public and emotional issues where Tokyo earns a lot of ill will by stubbornly holding to an unethical position that benefits very few.

One thing I'm curious is if Mr Psihoyos got a permit, or if anyone noticed that his visa (presumably a tourist one) prolly does not allow public protests.

California sushi restaurant charged with serving banned whale meat

UPDATE:
The Hump has closed and the owner has apologized for "our illegal actions."

ORIGINAL POST:
Maybe this whale of a tale will produce one whale of a meme which will finally chase away the meme of Korea's canine cuisine, which has been dogging the country's image for decades.

I'm just glad they found the one sushi restaurant in L.A. County that's not run by Koreans. (HT to ROK Drop)

From CNN:

Federal authorities have charged a trendy Santa Monica sushi restaurant with serving whale meat -- an investigation that was spurred by the team behind the Oscar-winning documentary, "The Cove."

Prosecutors charged Typhoon Restaurant Inc., the parent company of The Hump, and one of its chefs -- Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45 -- with the illegal sale of a marine mammal product for an unauthorized purpose.

While it is considered a delicacy in Japan and some other countries, meat from whale -- an endangered species -- is illegal to consume in the United States.

The misdemeanor charge carries a federal prison sentence of up to a year and a fine of up to $200,000 for the company, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Lawyers for Typhoon could not be reached for comment. But the restaurant told the Los Angeles Times it accepts responsibility and will pay a fine.

The investigation began in October when two members of the team that made "The Cove" visited The Hump, officials said.

"The Cove," which exposes the annual killing of dolphins at a Japanese fishing village, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary on Sunday.

The restaurant, located at the Santa Monica Airport, is known for its exotic fare. Its Web site asks diners to surrender themselves to its chefs for "a culinary adventure ... unlike any that you have previously experienced."

Armed with a hidden camera, the two women captured the waitress serving them whale and horse meat and identifying them as such, a federal criminal complaint said. A receipt from the restaurant at the end of the meal identified their selection as "whale" and "horse" with the cost -- $85 -- written next to them.

The women snuck pieces of the meat into a napkin and later sent them for examination to a researcher at Oregon State University. He identified the whale sample to be that of sei whale, prosecutors said.

The sei is found throughout the world's oceans.

Whalers began to hunt them after the population of blue and in whales declined due to overfishing. It is now considered an endangered species.

Here are some of my thoughts on whale meat consumption, from a four-year-old post. And while I'm at it, I'll reproduce a picture of whale meat, because the picture of Hump Restaurant (as in humpback whale?) makes the whole thing seem so sanitized.