In you another sign the FTA is really dead, another group with nothing to lose and everything to gain is protesting against the pact. In this case its the Korean Oriental Medical Practitioners who are worried about US certifications for similar work being recognized in Korea. Of course there is no such similar certification in the US really since the mainstream medical community considers most of what these guys do as “Alternative medicine” when they are being polite.
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3 Comments
Koreans are throwing away a golden opportunity for advancing their economy in the future. Other Asian countries such as Japan and China are signing FTAs with other countries like they’re going out of style. Where is this going to leave Korea in a few years? Wake up Korea, the Chinese are gaining fast in your core areas of strength. Now is not the time to stick your heads in the sand.
If anti-American elements have their way and the FTA with the U.S. fails, then Korea will suffer.
Amongst the financial information available to me at this time, I see a worry in the older people now at the local shi-jang, I see 대출 (loan shark) stickers up in the nice, quiet neighborhoods around Apkujongdong that have seen no such stickering (within the last eight years), I have seen a dramatic rise in 모집 (temporary jobs) ads and loan shark ads in the subway, changing menus at chain restaurants (price and content), rising pork prices, etc. and it all says a housing price bust is not far away. Combined with the failure to open new markets for Korean goods, Koreans are in for something more painful than IMF. I really hope this does not occur but the signs are growing . . .
And if they’re being really polite, they don’t make the air quote gesture when they say that.