It is nice to see that some things are the same around the world.
For years, the sidewalks in my part of Ansan have been so broken up and uneven that most of the recycling grannies prefer to push their carts and strollers on the street.
Well, I was walking home today and what do I see: Crews working on a Sunday afternoon to quickly lay out new sidewalks. That couldn’t be related to local elections coming up on the 31st, could it?
The new sidewalks look nice and smooth but will only stay that way for a few weeks. Alas, they are just colored bricks laid out on packed sand. Once the rainy season hits and the sand shifts or washes out, the local sidewalks will revert to being an uneven mess…
…at least until the 2010 elections.
11 Comments
Maybe a wishful thinking?
Asian armies
By Richard Halloran
Published January 10, 2006
Senior army officers in the Philippines and South Korea have become
disgruntled with their respective presidents, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
and Roh Moo Hyun, but they differ on what to do about it.
In Manila, the city is awash with rumors of an impeding coup to
replace President Macapagal Arroyo with a junta. That revolt has so far
been staved off by the president’s supporters led by former President
Fidel V. Ramos. He has warned the army a coup would weaken the nation’s
fragile democracy.
In Seoul, displeased army officers appear to have decided to wait
out President Roh whose term expires in February 2008. Under Korean
law, he is limited to one five-year term. In the past, the army has
intervened frequently in politics but democracy has evidently become
rooted deeply enough that Koreans citizens would rise against a coup.
These episodes underscore the pervasive influence of Asian armies
– not overall military forces or navies or air forces but armies that
often go beyond soldiering to become the arbiters of power in politics,
the economy, diplomacy, and the social order. Only in Japan, Singapore,
and India are armies clearly subordinate to civilian authority.
This role of armies is part of the legacy of Asia’s post-World War
II anticolonial movements that led to independence. In many countries,
the army was the only institution with cohesive leadership. Some armies
were almost immediately fighting, as South Korea was against North
Korea and the Filipinos against the Hukbalahaps, which reinforced their
standing.
For the United States, the power of Asian armies underscores the
vital necessity of military-to-military relations. The Pacific Command
in Hawaii and other commands in the region prepare and execute military
operations but their political-military responsibilities are equally
demanding as they seek to enhance alliances and to deter potential
adversaries.
Army leaders in the Philippines, the Manila press reports, have
become enraged by what they consider President Macapagal Arroyo’s
failure to overcome economic stagnation, to end a Muslim insurrection
in the south, to clean up government and business corruption and avoid
election irregularities.
In response to open speculation about a coup, the president’s
spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, felt compelled this week to dismiss the
recurring threat. “We have undiminished faith in the professional
loyalty of the [Armed Forces] and the full capacity of the command to
deal with these controversies,” he said. “Rumors of a coup can be set
aside, as the discipline and morale of our troops is high and the chain
of command, solid.”
In contrast, dissatisfaction among South Korean army officers has
been largely expressed in private whispers. They are dismayed by
President Roh’s anti-American political stance and worried he has so
damaged South Korea’s relations with America that the United States
will withdraw most of its military forces and dilute its security
commitments.
Those officers say they consider President Noh’s accommodation with
North Korea close to appeasement, giving away aid without something in
return. They are distressed by the president’s apparent tilt toward
China and fear South Korea, as in ancient times, will become a vassal
of China.
President Roh has called for reform of the armed forces, which army
officers argue means cutting budgets, reducing the forces, and slowing
efforts to modernize. They also point to the dismissal of senior
officers out of favor with the president and appointment of cronies to
top positions.
Even so, Koreans who know army officers and U.S. officials with
access to intelligence say they have seen no evidence army officers
plan to intervene as they might have a few years ago.
Elsewhere, the People’s Liberation Army in China is a pillar of
communist rule. The North Korean People’s Army benefits from an “army
first” policy. The Vietnamese soldiers who conquered South Vietnam have
faded away but their influence remains. All across Southeast Asia and
South Asia, armies in democratic or noncommunist nations wield varying
degrees of power.
In this context, the commander of U.S. forces in Asia, Adm. William
Fallon, talked about military-to-military relations when he was in
Beijing in September, telling correspondents that open, reciprocal
exchanges were “really, really critical.”
While he spoke about China, his thoughts could apply everywhere
else, saying good dialogue between the U.S. and other militaries would
help “to reduce the anxiety, to reduce the fears of the unknown, and
the suspicions that come from lack of knowledge.”
That sidewalk made of bricks with sand packed between them must be part of some kind of program to keep city workers busy, because it’s obvious that method doesn’t work…I mean it’s obvious to some people anyway.
cm,
I think a summary would do just fine.
Those bricks are a problem all over the country. Every place Ive seen them they are uneven. Big pools of water gather when it rains which makes the problem worse. They’re not built with a curve towards the gutter. I honestly believe that the ppl making them have NO training at all. They make it up as they go along. When they repair them they put in odd coloured bricks that don’t match the rest or even odd shaped bricks so there are big gaps where weeds grow. It’s an absolute joke. Makes the whole city look absolutely amature. How about investing in some SKILL? Is it that hard to do it right the first time?
i’ve not been a fan of the brick sidewalks ever since my foot went through one in itaewon during a bad storm. i was jumping along trying to avoid the puddles when i felt the bricks give way under me. very scary. when i looked back, there was this nice foot-size hole in the sidewalk smiling back at me. not to whine about it too much, but i figure that had i been a little more unlucky i would have had some serious damage to everything below my shin.
not sure why sand would be used as the foundation for anything that people would need to be walking on.
Because sand is cheaper than cement. There are reasons why tax in Korea is lower than the OECD average.
It might be a good idea to raise taxes by a won or two if that’s what it takes to keep people from breaking their legs on shoddily made sidewalks…. This reminds me of the “national symbol” thing Marmot posted about–instead of always fretting about Korea’s “external image,” why not put some work into making Korea better for Koreans, in little things like un-f*cked-up sidewalks and a clean environment, which would have the net effect of making the country look better to the rest of the world as well?
I like the IDEA of the cobblestones.
Where I grew up, in NY city, we had sidewalks that were displaced sometimes more than a foot by trees. We didn’t have blogs then. There were large pieces of slate split in into two pieces…no one said much about it, I think the elderly must have been upset, and that is VERY important.
What are we a bunch of old ladies complaining about the sidewalks? What the fuck? It’s a city!
Who gives a shit about elections or what they do?
You’re gonna complain about the fucking sidewalks?
They’re pretending to make the sidewalks better for the elections…? You sound like Rabbi Nisenbaum.
When a woman comes to your home to you have to clean the toilet? Who the fuck are you? You’re perfect?
Neither perfect nor drunk.
Post some pics of the sloppy sidewalks in your area please.
I don’t understand what the hostility is all about. It sounds like nothing more than comments by a resident who is dissatisfied with some of the services offered in his community. Is it not through discussion of these kinds of municipal issues that people become interested and actually push the city council to do something about it? I would prefer that to apathy. What is wrong with wanting to have nice sidewalks? When you are a long term resident in a community with a family to raise you tend to be concerned with such issues. It may not have been as important as FTA’s, or US army bases or fraudulent scientists, but so what? It is not like the poster was making broad statements about Korean society in general. It is in fact something that Korean nationals themselves might care about.