Look, it’s not like I’m heartless bastard — I eat dogs, but I don’t kick’ em, and I sure as hell feel for the victims of the Ryongchon blast. Given the situation, sending emergency relief aid is the proper thing to do. The Hani, however, is CLEARLY on a different plain of understanding:
Knowing that there are people injured and displaced waiting desperately for help, one wants to send medical supplies as soon as possible and even run up there personally. Our expression of that desire was expressed in our offer to send needed supplies by land and also medical staff. It is frustrating that the North is reluctant and has turned down that offer, even while expressing its gratitude.
The North probably has its reasons, however. One can make guesses as to what that is. What’s most important is that we thoroughly convey our earnest desire to share in their pain and do all we can to help. And the right thing to do is to consider their circumstances and cooperate with their wishes instead of insisting on our own ways. The principle of humanitarian relief is to respect their judgment and take measures accordingly, with a generous heart even if the situation is slightly unlike how we’d prefer it to be. We should not feel hurt and the warm should not cool when we think they won’t recognize the purity of our intentions. Opening our hearts and helping actively without making a scene about it in order to avoid offense is how you express consideration for others and honestly impress them. If we approach them with open hearts, we should be able to find a rational and realistic means to give assistance.
Seriously, I think I’m going to puke. The situation is “slightly unlike how we’d prefer it to be”? Yeah, I can see how that might be the case. As I’ve said before, I can understand arguments as to how engagement with the North might be necessary. If you’re going to shake hands with the Devil, however, you need to do so with a hard-head. There’s no need to bullshit ourselves about “pure intentions” or “warn, generous hearts.” Today, in Gaeseong, the North turned down South Korean offers to send a hospital ship and medical personnel to Ryongchon. It also spurned, once again, South Korean requests to send the land overland, requiring Seoul to send aid by ship to Nampo, where it will have to be loaded on trucks and sent to the disaster site near the Sino-Korean border. Oh, and rather than medical supplies, the North is asking for cement, steel roof panels, diesel fuel and bulldozers, along with school materials (including TVs). Now, it wants South Korea (and the international doner community) to rebuild the town better than it was. Actually, to be more accurate, it want the South to pay for the reconstruction; South Korean engineers are not welcome. Now, this is where I draw the line. North Korea has more than enough resources to rebuild Ryongchon. The problem is, it would rather sit and let the rest of the world pay for the reconstruction effort while it continues to spend it money on, oh, smuggling nuclear technology from Pakistan. I mean, you’d figure the money made from drug and missile sales alone would be enough to cover the rebuilding costs. But why should the North get its act together when it’s got such generous, pure-hearted benefactors?
I’m not saying Seoul should send aid up North while taunting Pyongyang — that’s hardly appropriate. At the same time, however, there’s no need to act — as the Hani suggests — like a whimpering little bitch unless, of course, ones intention is to be treated like a whimpering little bitch by Kim Jong-il and crew, who you can rest assured care little about the “purity of [South Korean] intentions.”
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I was sad to hear that Kim Jong Il wasn’t harmed in the blast. He is the definition of an unfit leader. Poor kids and the residents of Yong Chun. They’re going to die in hospitals lying around. That’s what’s going to happen. And someday, someday, I pray that Kim’s reign will end by a coup, a natural disaster, or foreign invasion. It ain’t Ryong Chun. No need to appease the North by spelling mere words their way as well.
Totally agree. I’m still amazed at how much South Koreans can be blackmailed and bullied by the DPRK yet throw hissy-fits and go hysterical when some GI jay-walks in Itaewon. Too bad the GNP botched the election - the electorate need a good kick-in-the-ass from a governing party with a little spine.
- “hissy-fits and go hysterical when some GI jay-walks in Itaewon”
Oh, I didn’t know GI’s are so unfree that they can’t even jay-walk in Itaewon without being mobbed. My understanding is that Korean cops don’t bother with foreigners who break local traffic rules.
Look, I know what you’re trying to get at. But exaggerating and distorting doesn’t help your point at all - just the opposite.
yeah this is truly bizaare, the reaction of south korean “progressives” that is. the north is making their usual cold, political calculations to ensure their totalitarian existence. and folks like the editorial board at the hani make these dumbass emotional justifications for allowing the dprk to let children lie in cold hospital burn wards with no morphine, antibiotics or any care beyond a filthy hospital bed.
Let’s take the American vs North Korean infraction comparison to a more serious level than “jay-walking”, shall we?
Further selective quote, of Marmot’s quote:
“….respect their judgment and take measures accordingly, with a generous heart even if the situation is slightly unlike how we’d prefer it to be. We should not feel hurt and the warm should not cool…….Opening our hearts and helping actively without making a scene about it in order to avoid offense is how you express consideration for others and honestly impress them. If we approach them with open hearts…..”
Reading these lines, I was immediately struck by their stark contrast to what I read about the attitudes of many South Koreans towards the two Americans who drove the tank that hit and killed the two South Korean schoolgirls.
That was a traffic accident– wasn’t it? Like this Nork train explosion? Were the two Americans sorry — or were they unapologetic and refusing of help immediately afterward? What did the Hani say about them?
Just thought I’d ask.
I think the proper term for the Hani’s attitude is “enabler.”
S.Korean media coverage of the USFK was uniformly inflammatory. I can’t recall if it was the Hani, but some outlets spread the rumour that soldiers driving the vehicle were laughing at the accident scene. Even the conservative papers were quick to dismiss the many U.S. apologies at all levels as “insincere” — they then turned around and reported as fact that the U.S. had not apologised. The South Korean media have few if any shining moments in their history, but coverage of the schoolgirl deaths was an all-time low, bringing them close to NORTH Korean media.
With this history in mind, my opinion is that the Iraq troop deployment by South Korea should be scrapped — because if they suffer one casualty, the anti-U.S. propaganda campaign will be merciless once again.
The scrapping of the troop deployment will offer a good opportunity to scrap the alliance as well, something beneficial to both parties, though the benefits for the ROK would seem to be more psychological than tangible. This is not to imply any schadenfreude, however (there probably won’t be any reason for it). I hope that the freedom from mutual association will be as good for the ROK as it will for the US.
That said, I’d be ambivalent about the Korean troop deployment in any case. On one hand, why support this war any more than necessary? On the other, more troops might mean more stability for Iraqis (depending on where the troops actually go) and a smoother handover, if such a thing is really and truly planned.
Since it seems like cancelling the troop deployment will hasten the end of the alliance, which is the one unambiguously good thing I can see in this situation, I’m all for keeping them in Korea.
Ya, this is a little nuts. Thank you for this update (and your spin). Been here too long, or not long enough–long enough to be out of the habit of reading Western news and not long enough to be able to read Korean (language) news.
Keep it up!
I hope it’s ok I use your site to publish these findings, but as much of the explosion aftermach is concentrated here, there’ll be more readers…
This is a brand new song by Yun Min-seok called ???????쨋??흸??째?? published in the Minjung Song site Song and Life. It’s no news that some the “progressives” are reproducing the military culture of the repressive times and creating their own kind of totalitarianism, but I can’t help asking what kind of people are encouraged to help the explosion victims with this kind of stuff.(The phrase ??쨈?????? ???????쨋??흸??is almost the same as in the “parody” posters using Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet material.
???????쨋??흸??째??(Assistance Troops Song)
??째?????????쨈?????? ???????쨋??흸???짚.
????????쩌 ????????????????????쨋??흸???짚.
??쩌??쩌?쨍째??쩌 ?????쑩??????? ?짹쨍??? ??쩌????쨀?
??짚??쩌 ???????쨋??흸??징흹
????????????쨈??쑣????????흹쩌?징흹 ??????
?짠???흹?징흹??쨈 ??쨈??쑣?????짠???흹?징흹 ??????
??쨈????????? ?????????쨈??????흸?째????째??쨈??흹
??짚??쩌 ???????쨋??흸??징흹
??째?????짚 ??쨈??쩌??쨈 ??쨈?????짚 ??쨈???
?짧짢??? ??짚 ?째쨍?째??????쩌
??째?????????쨈?????? ???????쨋??흸???짚
?짧짢??? ?쨔?????쨍? ??짚 ??쨈??쨈??쩌
????째???? ???????쨋??흸???????? ?????징?쨀?
??쨈?징째?짹쨈 ?????™궗??쩌??? ??째??? ????????쑣?nThe music file: mms://media.songnlife.com/newsong/wma/doumbudae.wma
See Hankyoreh for article on this.
Let’s ask this: is this sort of play with the South Korean military culture? Using the old patterns of military march songs in a new context to produce a reaction? Hard to think so, as the “Park Chung-hee nostalgia” is so despised by those who might find little or no problem with songs like this. Unintentional? Might be.
I’m convinced the Hani does more harm than good to the left’s cause in Korea. Its editorials are just plain offensive to many common sense middle-of-the-road Koreans.
Perhaps another reason why the GNP did much better than expected in the past election.
PING:
TITLE: More Good News from the Land of the Morning Calm
BLOG NAME: Barry Talks!
First , North Korea has, or will have, more nukes than we previously thought: The United States is preparing to significantly raise its estimate of the number of nuclear weapons held by North Korea, from “possibly two” to at least eight, according to U.S.
PING:
TITLE: Eyes on Korea: 2004-05-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today’s Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul….
PING:
TITLE: Eyes on Korea: 2004-05-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today’s Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul….
PING:
TITLE: Eyes on Korea: 2004-05-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
Today’s Headings Include: The DPRK (North Korea); The ROK (South Korea, incl. elections coverage); US-ROK Issues (incl. Iraq); and random Korea stuff, from photos to sports to religion
PING:
TITLE: Eyes on Korea: 2004-05-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
Today’s Headings Include: The DPRK (North Korea); The ROK (South Korea, incl. elections coverage); US-ROK Issues (incl. Iraq); and random Korea stuff, from photos to sports to religion
PING:
TITLE: Eyes on Korea: 2004-05-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
Today’s Headings Include: The DPRK (North Korea); The ROK (South Korea, incl. elections coverage); US-ROK Issues (incl. Iraq); and random Korea stuff, from photos to sports to religion