In the LAT, Bruce Wallace looks at Korea’s never-ending circle of scandals. (HT to reader)
‘Scandal-a-Day’
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
The LAT seems to date Korean corruption to the Asian Financial crisis. Heck there were plenty of signs before that. Anyone remember the Department store owner who bribed city officials in order to make changes to the building. I’m in Florida, and been to Korea only once in my life, but I recall what happened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong_Department_Store_collapse
Can someone copy-and-paste the article here? (is that allowed?)
Yeh, I know, I should register.
For lazy people who can’t register
LA Times sign in- GCSMCCAVA@aol.com
Password- Patrick
This was a good piece, well-balanced and the journalist showed a good understanding of what’s going on here. He painted the type of picture that eludes other foreign journalists who’ve tried to cover Korea.
I take issue with this one section, buried right at the end, and only because I don’t think the youth of the country are as engaged as the “expert” would like:
“Most people believed or suspected this sort of thing was always going on and took it for granted,” says Lee Ji-soo of the Center for Good Corporate Governance in Seoul. “The difference this time is that someone has come forward to speak out against it, and there are more people prepared to say that this is not acceptable.”
“There is a generational divide in Korea,” Lee says. “And the younger generation is saying that Korea can’t move forward unless we overcome that old way of thinking to become a more transparent society.”
seth… just register. it’s free.
# 1
I saw a Discovery Channel story on that.
And,
# 3 The password(Patrick) didn’t work. I’ll register myself and use Muhammad as my password. Any objections?
Yoo-jin-e! Man, I know that woman and she is alright. She is a good stage actress and can sing fairly well. I know one does not need a degree to do what she does either.
The flip-side to that article that is mentioned only at the end is that someone who is jealous of her *was* trying to set her up.
P.S. I just want to add as background to what happened to Yoo-jin, I know a talented, Julliard alumni who sings that was blackballed by the other singers in an opera production here in Seoul once because she got a coveted role that certain others did not get. They other singers protested to the director, who, in turn, fired the woman — who had more talent and training than the jealous freaks that protested to the director. Believe it or not.
Backstabbing and sneaking is always in fashion here in Korea and being good will not always prevent bad things from happening either.
of course, backstabbing and sneaking don’t happen in the music and entertainment industries in other countries.
i would say, though, that the koreans have an incredible talent (oddly enough) for encouraging mediocrity in place of meritocracy.
here’s more from the wiki article re sampung.
‘When the initial contractors refused to carry out these changes, Lee fired them and hired his own building company to construct the building……’
‘When a construction company tasked to complete the extension advised that the structure would not support another floor, they were fired…..’
just to show some contrast.
btw, these scandals a day are happening why? they’re happening because koreans are making them happen. do you folks somehow miss that part? and do you folks keep in mind korea has had less than 60 years to establish institutions that took hundreds of years to develope in the west?
the fact of the matter is, korea has changed quite a bit in the last half century and is on it’s way to becoming what we consider a mature nation. that it’s not changing fast enough for you is too bad.
lastly, at the end of the article, the author pointed out that younger koreans are less willing to put up with the old ways. there’s even more big changes coming to korea. stay tuned.
ps it was young korean folk who ratted out charlatan hwang. ‘member that?
#2, #3, #5, #6:
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“i would say, though, that the koreans have an incredible talent (oddly enough) for encouraging mediocrity in place of meritocracy.” – mjw
Shh! You make it sound like a bad thing.
One of the things I love most about Korea is that I apply my technique of strategic incompotence to a whole nother level when I so desire.
For those of us living in Korea, this article is all pretty much old hat.
The only tidbit I may possibly offer is that while it may seem to many foreigners that Koreans are desperately trying to be at the head of the pack, the reality is the even greater motivation or anxiety is ensuring not to be left behind.
Consequently, if most rising executives seem to have PhDs, then one had better get some kind of PhD so as to be considered a bona fide peer. The fact remains that many such PhDs are highly questionable in terms of from where they were awarded – not to mention their overall legitimacy. No matter. Keeping up with the Kims – by hook or crook – is too often the name of the game.
It comes as no surprise that beyond dreams of wealth, the next biggest motivation for Koreans to emigrate is to raise their children in a less competitive society.
And, I might add, having lived some 13 years on and off in Japan between 1970 and 2000, I can assure you that things are not any different there in terms of scandal regularity. The motivations may be different, but when it comes to money, the sleaze factor is awfully familiar.
And, for anyone thinking Korea’s scandals are a result of some rapid, modern development, PUH-LEEZ…Japan has had consistent corruption for at least for some 250 years — and we can find heaps of the same in both early and modern US history — particularly at the local levels of government in many states.
Corruption has been prevalent in human society since day one. It didn’t just start 60 years ago in Korea. This fact may be a hard pill to swallow for some, but take with a big gulp of water (or soju) and it’ll go down easier.
# 14,
Of course its all old hat for Korea residents. The L.A Times is a bit slow with international news. However, it’s good to know that major publications in the states can not only keep up, but also write articles in English that nicely summarize what’s going on back in Korea.
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