The Marmot’s Hole

12 Comments

1. Hugh
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 2:29 pm | Permalink

   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cited the success story of Korea during a speech urging African leaders to put an end to suffering caused by regional conflicts and to strive for economic development… He stressed that settling conflicts is a prerequisite for improving the lives of Africa’s people.”

   What a crock. Koreans are a ’success story’ in settling regional conflicts? The Korean peninsula is a sad example of stubborn stupidity and refusal to be reasonable, a regional conflict that has festered worse and worse for 40 years until the point today where the artillery annihilation of Seoul and/or the nuclear annihilation of Tokyo is a daily possiblity? Where the political life of one half is merciless oppression and murder, and that of the other half lunatic partisanship and inability to compromise for the national good? This is the example?

   (Side point to Mr. Ban: Korea got to where it is today because of massive American direct financial aid, indirect money pouring in through the US military, and generous import treatment. Without America, economically Korea would be …Thailand, or Indonesia.)

   On the subject of settling conflict, Koreans are the ‘what NOT to do’ example.

2. Robert Koehler
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 3:01 pm | Permalink

   Hugh: Trust me, as flawed as Korea might be, as a post-colonial state, you could do a lot worse—see Ban’s audience. Trust me, I know. Frankly, I don’t mind Korea holding itself up as a model for developing states to follow. It’s just that I’d prefer to see the Korean UN ambassador doing the Korea-boostering rather than the UN secretary-general.

   (Side point to Hugh: Korea got to where it is today because its leaders made smart decisions, including on how to use U.S. assistance. After all, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were also recipients of generous U.S. aid, both financial and military, and probably got off to better starts.)

3. wjk
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 3:09 pm | Permalink

   I agree with Robert Koehler.

   South Korea got to where it is today because Lt. Okamoto made a good economic decision.

   Let’s not forget to thank Japan also for providing aid and technology to South Korea, after signing the treaty in the 60s.

   No play of words there. South Korea should thank US, Japan, and Lt. Okamoto. If the thanks come off colored, I don’t see what I can do about that.

   Economically, they did good.

4. michael
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 3:24 pm | Permalink

   Ban could point to Korea’s superior dictatorships….

5. wjk
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

   oh, yeah, I called him Lt. Okamoto. But that was his chosen name after Park to Takaki. He felt Takaki wasn’t Japanese enough.

   No thanks to the Russians for spreading death, wars, and economic set backs for half a century in every part of the globe they touched.

6. wjk
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 3:28 pm | Permalink

   I think South Korea may be the only economic success story under a military dictatorship.

   Not too sure if Chiang Kai Shek was also a dictator. I would guess he was. Then, Taiwan counts and so does the current PRC.

7. jodi
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 4:24 pm | Permalink

   Point taken on Robert’s observation that things could be worse for Korea, but I did find this ironic (and yes I agree that as UN head, Ban shouldn’t be doing stuff like this).

   But as for Korea’s economic “success”, I found that to be ironic in a way. My boss is a well-known economist whose resume in the field gives him a lot of credibility whenever he comments on such issues. But one thing he said which I will never forget was this and it was in regards to China although it is the broader issue I am more concerned about. He once said to me:

   “There was a time when the Chinese government started sending all these officials to Korea to study our economic success and to benchmark how we were able to build ourselves up so quickly following war. But these days it is now the opposite. With the success of China’s economic development and especially the rise of Shanghai, Korea is now sending its government officials to China in order to research how they have successfully managed to attract the FDI they are getting these days. In a way, it’s a little humiliating for Korea to be in this position.”

8. seouldout
   Posted January 31, 2007 at 9:44 pm | Permalink

   It’s well-meant advice, and may be better received coming from an Asian than from a former colonial power, but how many of Korea’s building blocks, especially those fortuitous ones found in the Cold War, exist for 21st century Africa?

   1) Security guaranteed. Can investment be attracted, talented people retained, and the future generation educated without it?
   2) Stable government that didn’t plunder all the wealth. Yes, Park’s was an iron-fisted rule, and yes, most were compelled to persevere, yet meaningful investments were made.
   3) Absence of natural resources. Many Koreans cite its lack of natural resources as a curse; it’s a blessing.
   4) Working women. Korea’s industrial revolution was stitched together by their dexterous fingers. Letting them out of the house and keeping them in the factories kept them out of the maternity wards.
   5) Birth-rate reduction. For families to go from 8-10 kids to 1-2 kids in a generation or two is a miracle.
   6) Emasculated boogeyman. Using Japan as a role model whilst demonizing it to spur sacrifice for economic development may seem hypocritical, but it’s good to have a boogeyman that stays in the closet. It’s a “threat” without the expense of an arms race. Even better when the boogeyman provides investment and technology.
   7) A traditional people who embraced modernization. Enough can’t be said.
   Retain the educated. Whether for Japan’s sole benefit or not, many were educated during the colonial era, and those who survived the Korean War had skills. And most didn’t/couldn’t leave the country.
   9) Restrict unnecessary spending and encourage savings. From banning consumer imports to restricting overseas travel the money stayed in the country and, when not in the bank, was spent on domestically made goods.
   10) Profit from someone else’s far-away war.
   11) Rich and generous friends. You gotta be able to sell the stuff you make. Also good when they take in many of your lower-educated people.
   12) Take advantage of bad choices. When others are embracing socialism, nationalizing businesses, driving their talented citizens overseas, or just making crappy products it betters your competitive advantage.
   13) Respect property rights, but not the intellectual kind.

9. a-letheia
   Posted February 1, 2007 at 12:09 am | Permalink

   Was he really schooling the African leaders? Maybe we should consider the source since there are no quotes in the article. This is the Chosun Ilbo, after all, and might be a case of the media trumping Korea’s superiority in the self-serving masturbatory fashion that they do with sports heroes.

   I could be wrong, but the title of that article seems misleading. Lecturing? I don’t know…

10. Sonagi
    Posted February 1, 2007 at 2:07 am | Permalink

    Jodie quoted from an economist:

    “With the success of China’s economic development and especially the rise of Shanghai, Korea is now sending its government officials to China in order to research how they have successfully managed to attract the FDI they are getting these days. In a way, it’s a little humiliating for Korea to be in this position”

    I’m no economist, but China’s competitive advantages over Korea could be summed up in two phrases: cheap labor and lax environmental protection. Even China is being priced and regulated out of the manufacturing business as more Chinese and foreign factories relocate south to Vietnam.

11. wombat_socho
    Posted February 1, 2007 at 12:53 pm | Permalink

    So what Africa needs is for Japan to come in and exploit them for forty years, after which we come in and plop down a couple of divisions to keep the Arabs out while the Africans rebuild, amirite?

12. dogbertt
    Posted February 1, 2007 at 1:37 pm | Permalink

    If Africans would just start eating kimchi, that would solve a lot of their problems right there.