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Elephant Drawings
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Doors fans aren’t made, they’re born!
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hE WAS TOTALLY GONNA SNEAK UP ON THE OTHER ONE OMFG
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This is a follow-up to my previous post on Fleur Pellerin and peaceshannon’s comments on it.
The Journal du Dimanche has just published an article on Fleur Pellerin, the French minister of the digital economy who was adopted from South Korea at the age of 6 months. She’s currently in Seoul on an official visit.
Unlike the portraits that have emerged of her in most of the Korean and French press, the article explores a little deeper her uneasy relationship to the country of her birth.
Although she has publicly expressed her enthusiasm about returning to Korea for the first time since her adoption, the article notes that she’s also expressed her apprehension about it as well.
She never became fully conscious of the fact of her adoption until her nomination as minister last year. “Until then, I hadn’t internalised it at all,” she says. “My family, my friends, always saw me as French. As Parisian”…
“I have a mother who didn’t receive a higher education and who probably largely projected her desire for social ascension and independence onto her children. You didn’t joke around with school. I quickly learned that it’s through scholastic success that one could acquire financial independence, the freedom to choose.” …
During her studies, she stayed nine months in Japan; she also went to China, to Hong Kong, to Thailand. Never to Korea. “I circled around it,” she lets slip. The administrative documents of her adoption were sent to her by her mother last year. They’re “somewhere” in her loft apartment in Montreuil, her hometown. In her family, adoption “is not a subject” for discussion….
read the whole article (in French) by clicking on the title above.
this makes total sense in light of france’s colorblind model for their multiculturalism policy. (hanguknamja and i are also having a discussion about this in private - don’t be jealous ya’ll)
but what i always find interesting with asian adoptees is that no matter where we grew up, when we end up in asia (some adoptees that i’ve met go to japan, taiwan, or china first), we often state that we didn’t have any “real” reason that we came here. for example when interviewing adoptees for my thesis and when i asked why they decided to come to korea, i got a lot of ambivalent answers like “no reason really, just wanted to get away somewhere so i thought why not korea”, “just wanted to try something new” etc. to be honest, i was pretty ambivalent about my reasons when i first came here as well.
but, i don’t think it’s a coincidence that we end up here, otherwise there would be a huge community of coincidences here in korea. although pellerin is here on official duty, not necessarily by “choice”, i also don’t think it’s a coincidence that she was in japan, china, hong kong, and thailand. this, for me, negates her statement that she “never saw myself as asian.” i don’t want to speak for her, obviously she’s a grown and intelligent woman… but, i just… can’t believe it’s a coincidence. of all the places in the world, you know? going to japan had nothing to do with a sense of asian identity?
the same goes when i talk to adoptees about why they came to korea and they say, no reason really. but.. of all the places in the world… korea? for me, i think my ambivalence was two-fold. one, i think it was an attempt to protect my parents from feeling betrayed. i think subconsciously i felt that having concrete goals or expressing this deep longing to come to korea would be a deeper betrayal (or clear sign that i was not grateful enough for my life in america…) and two, i think it was an attempt to protect myself, in the case that i felt out of place in korea too. i was afraid of the disappointment if i articulated any clear intentions - even to myself. so ambivalence was a way to protect myself from feeling rejected, coming all the way to korea and not feeling comfortable here either. i think going to other asian countries first, or stating ambivalence about coming to korea, can often be an emotional buffer, a security measure for adoptees. i end with something i wrote, about a year and a half after coming to korea.
when rough shit happens in the US, it’s hard enough. when time was hard when i lived in france, it was a little harder still. when it happens to me in korea, wrong or not, i take it more personally. as if korea herself, is rejecting me once more.
-august 2008.
I mentioned before how PGH’s proclaiming that she would clean the streets of petty crime was not enough. That she needed to tackle the cause at the roots of the problem. Stopping sexual harassment is more than just preventing people from physically assaulting women. There are women who endure sexual abuse every single day, on multiple occasions, in their line of work. Which has nothing to do with sex. This is a long overdue post about the verbal sexual abuse the women who answer the 123 Dasan Call Center.
Seoul Metro has a call center for those who need any kind of information—from phone numbers to translation services. The representatives there are mostly women. And all are verbally harassed several times every single day. “You whore”, “Slut”, “Fucking bitch” are ordinary and rather easier to listen to because they hear it so often every day. There are others who say “I’m going to rip your sexual organs and kill you”, “Come on, sleep with me. I want to hear you moan.” Such are one in every ten calls. Of the 540 representatives, 10% suffer from obsessive-compulsive neurosis and depression. Just for the first six months last year, there were 2286 sexually abusive calls per month. Then in June, Seoul Metro installed a manual in response to verbally abusive calls. The number of calls were reduced to 1448 in the second half of last year. Now it’s only 31 a day.
They say it was significantly reduced when 4 of the worst callers were sued by the city. A was fined 4 million won. He had made false reports and when they weren’t attended to, he’d keep calling, screaming profanities. B and another person were fined 1 million won. The last person has 100,000 won proposed and is waiting for his sentence. B is the person who had made 1651 calls that were unrelated to city business, from June 2010 to August 2012. He had vocally abused and sexually harassed the women representatives, making them fear for their own being.
Still there are those who keep calling from six to seven times to twenty or thirty times. Those who keep talking on the phoneline hours on end. Who make calls that are unrelated to city business. Who still plainly sexually harass the representatives. This is why we need the fucking Women’s Bureau, mushroom head.
(via peaceshannon)
Bare yourself at own risk
A decree penalizing “overexposure” is to go into effect on March 21 amid a debate on the clarity of the term. Those caught “overexposing” themselves may face a fine of 50,000 won ($44.85). / Korea Times file
By Kwon Ji-youn
Lee Mi-young, 24, an account coordinator at Google Korea, is in a dilemma over an outfit she bought for a special dinner late this month.
The cause is the “overexposure” decree that will go into effect on March 21. She has to brave a fine of 50,000 won ($44.85) for a night of roaming the hip district of Gangnam in her little black dress.
The chance is that Lee is not alone.
Seoul is packed with women sporting tops and, apparently, little more. These women varnish their legs with stockings or leggings, and their sweaters barely conceal their backsides.
This trend, namely the “bottoms gone missing” look, is common in the entertainment profession. Celebrities appear at public venues wearing miniskirts or micro-shorts, showing off their legs.
Girl groups attempt to make it their trademark.
The members of Girls Generation, a leading girl group, wore micro-shorts to flaunt their legs while performing the “crane” dance, during which they whipped their legs around.
Bare legs do not scream “sex,” unlike low-cut or cropped tops.
Celebrities known for their scanty attire criticized the decree. Lee Hyo-ri, a singer considered a sex symbol, posted on Twitter, “Is it true about the overexposure fine? I’m dead.” Kwak Hyun-hwa, 32 and notorious for her sex appeal, asked, “What am I going to do?”
There is an interesting comparison being made between President Park Geun-hye and her late father, former President Park Chung-hee.
In her first Cabinet meeting on March 11, the new government led by President Park endorsed the regulation designed to impose fines on those caught “overexposing.” It also called for a fine of 80,000 won for the crime of stalking.
Late President Park Chung-hee banned women from wearing miniskirts that reached less than 10 centimeters above the knee. The senior Park’s 18-year reign ended in 1979 when he was assassinated by his aide.
One netizen commented, “Now with the decree, it’s a matter of time before the government begins intense regulation (on the public).”
Another tweeted, “It’s the fact that the (new government’s) first Cabinet decision is to pass a decree that is the vestige of a dictatorship that makes me laugh.”
“Personally, I think it violates our freedom. It could easily be understood as a revival of the Park Chung-hee regime,” said Hyun Ji-hye, 24, a student at Sogang University. “I don’t think it looks good when people dress scantily, but it’s not really anyone’s business.”
Scholars and legal experts also expressed disapproval, claiming the amendment “goes against the course of time.”
“When I heard the phrase ‘overexposure,’ I thought they were speaking of cropped tops and shorts. I thought, ‘this regulation is a stretch,’” said Prof. Kim Kyung-hoon of the Department of Police and Law at Kwangju Women’s University.
The question is how the decree defines “overexposure.”
“It’s difficult to understand what it means to overexpose, or what it refers to when it says to hide places that should be hidden,” said Prof. Jeong Byeong-gon of Nambu University’s Department of Police Administration.
“If the clause is going to be unclear, then I believe it would have been better to delete the clause altogether.”
The decree defines overexposure as “showing too much skin while in public places or causing embarrassment or displeasure by revealing body parts that should be kept hidden.”
In the face of public outcry, the police said in a statement that the decree has been in place since 1963. They said the amendment is aimed at simplifying the legal procedure and making the penalty lighter.
The police tried to reassure the public that the revision does not apply to miniskirts and tank tops, but concern is still growing over excessive governmental control on people’s private lives.
Because the term “overexposure” is vague, it is questionable whether the decree is in fact a mitigation of punishment or just another way for the government to increase its revenue by collecting more penalties.
If the decree was designed to mitigate punishment and simplify procedures, then, as a netizen asks, “Did the government just announce we can dress anyway we want for 50,000 won and stalk anyone we want for 80,000 won?”
A Michigan auction house owner has been charged with selling this piece of ancient Korean currency - considered a precious artifact - to a Fort Lee art collector.
DETROIT — The owner of a MIchigan auction house was arrested today on charges he illegally sold a precious Korean artifact to a Fort Lee art collector in 2010.
According to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, 50-year-old James Amato was taken into custody this morning at his home in Oxford, Mich.
He is the second suspect to be arrested in the alleged sale of a Hojo currency plate - an extremely rare piece of Korean currency that dates back to the 1890s.
According to federal authorities, Amato obtained the plate from a relative of a former Marine who is believed to have brought the plate back with him after serving in the Korean War. Through his business, Midwest Auction Galleries, the plate was then sold to Won Young Youn, a New York-based art collector who was living in Fort Lee at the time.
Using an acquaintance’s bank account, Youn purchased the plate for $35,000 and allegedly began advertising it for sale on the internet. Youn was arrested earlier this month on charges of selling and transporting stolen goods.
Won Young Youn, shown here in a YouTube video displaying a Korean currency plate that federal authorities say was likely stolen from South Korea.
According to ICE, both Amato and Youn were advised by U.S. and South Korean officials that the sale of the item was likely illegal, because the item was considered a precious artifact that belonged to South Korea.
The plate is believed to be one of only three still in existence, and holds a special historical significance because they are among the first pieces of currency produced using modern printing methods in Korea.
“Artifacts have a specific dollar value in the legitimate marketplace where they are bought and sold. But the cultural and symbolic worth of these items far surpasses any monetary value to the people and nations of their origin,” said acting special agent William Hayes, who runs a Homeland Security Investigations office out of Detroit.
Amato is charged with making false statements, transportation of stolen goods and sale or receipt of stolen goods. He could face up to 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.
Is This Korean Soccer Prodigy the Next Lionel Messi?
A 15-year-old South Korean phenom is dazzling in the youth ranks of one of the world’s best professional soccer teams.
South Korean men spent $495.5 million on skincare last year, accounting for nearly 21 percent of global sales, according to global market research firm Euromonitor International. That makes it the largest market for men’s skincare in the world, even though there are only about 19 million men in South Korea. Amorepacific, South Korea’s biggest cosmetics company, estimates the total sales of men’s cosmetics in South Korea this year will be more than $885 million.
The metamorphosis of South Korean men from macho to makeup over the last decade or so can be partly explained by fierce competition for jobs, advancement and romance in a society where, as a popular catchphrase puts it, “appearance is power.” Women also have a growing expectation that men will take the time and effort to pamper their skin.
Evidence of this new direction in South Korean masculinity is easy to find. In a crowded Seoul cafe, a young woman takes some lipstick out of her purse and casually applies it to her male companion’s lips as they talk. At an upscale apartment building, a male security guard watches the lobby from behind a layer of makeup. Korean Air holds once-a-year makeup classes for male flight attendants.
“I can understand why girls don’t like to go outside without makeup — it makes a big difference,” said Cho Gil-nam, a tall, stocky 27-year-old insurance fraud investigator in Seoul who starts important days by dabbing on makeup after finishing his multistep morning cleansing and moisturizing routine. He carries a multicolored cosmetics pouch so he can touch up in public bathrooms throughout the day.
While U.S. cosmetics companies report growing sales in male cosmetics, American men are often wary of makeup. ”Men Wearing Makeup a Disturbing Trend” was how American columnist Jim Shea titled a recent post.
In South Korea, however, effeminate male beauty is “a marker of social success,” according to Roald Maliangkay, head of Korean studies at Australian National University.
Amorepacific Corp. offers 17 men’s brands, with dozens of products to choose from, and operates two Manstudio stores in Seoul that are devoted to men’s skincare and makeup.
Source: http://www.asiancemagazine.com
S. Korea is also the world’s fifth-largest importer of water, new survey finds
How much water do you use? South Korean citizens consumed an amount of water equal to half a swimming pool per person in 2007, which is just below the international standard. South Korea is also the world’s fifth-largest importer of water in the world.
These are the results of a survey recently announced by the UNESCO International Institute for Infrastructural Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, or UNESCO-IHE, and a research team from Twente University in the Netherlands. UNESCO-IHE aims to promote water education, research and policy development.
The “water footprint,” a concept introduced in 2002 by IHE researcher Arjen Hoekstra as an indicator of water consumption, represents the total amount of water necessary to produce the goods and services consumed by an individual or group. The term was derived from the “ecological footprint” concept, which represents the area of land needed to meet consumption.
A nation’s water consumption is divided into two parts: direct and indirect. Direct consumption indicates the use of domestic water resources, while indirect consumption involves a nation’s use of international water resources.
Human water consumption is generally indirect, the survey found. In particular, it takes a lot of water to produce meat, grain and industrial goods. Approximately 80 percent of water consumption worldwide can be attributed to food and agricultural products. The production of rice consumes 21 percent of the water used to grow crops across the world. The production of one kilogram of beef takes 15,497 liters of water.
For other commonly consumed items, 140 liters of water are required to produce one cup of coffee, 150 liters of water to produce 500 milliliters of beer, 200 liters of water to make 200 milliliters of milk and 2,000 liters of water to produce one cotton T-shirt.
The nation’s per capita water footprint, which includes both direct and indirect annual water consumption, was 1,179 cubic meters in 2007, a little lower than the world average of 1,243 cubic meters.
The United States was the largest consumer of water, with a footprint of 2,480 cubic meters, due to that country’s high rate of consumption of meat and industrial goods. U.S. citizens consume 120 kilograms of meat per person per year, three times more than the world average. That figure is about 32 kilograms per person for South Korea.
China’s per capita water footprint was as low as 696 cubic meters, but the survey found that the nation was the second-largest consumer of water in the world after India.
South Korea was the world’s fifth-largest water importer after Japan, Italy, England and Germany. Water imports occupied 65 percent of the nation’s water footprint. Korea also imports a large quantity of beef, beans, cacao, and corn, good which all take a great deal of water to produce.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
Water Resources of Korea
Korea’s Annual Precipitation
Korea gets an average precipitation of about 1,245mm annually, which is 1.4 times higher than that of global average of 880mm. But due to the highly dense population, average precipitation per capita is 2,591㎥, which is only about one eighth of world average precipitation per capita.
NoNationAverage annual precipitation(㎜/year)per capita(㎥/year)1Korea1,2452,5912Japan1,7185,1073The U. S.73625,0224The U. K.1,2204,9595China6274,6936Canada537174,016 World average88019,635
Korea has severe seasonal, yearly, regional variations of precipitation. Moreover, 65% of the land is mountainous and thus channel slopes of rivers are relatively steep. Therefore, for geographical reasons, when rain falls, it immediately flows to the oceans without staying on the land. Since the amount of water staying on the land is very small, Korea in terms of managing water resources during dry the season (Fall and Winter) is at disadvantage.
Status of Water Use in Korea
Korea has a higher average precipitation rate than that of the world average, but it is essential to effectively manage water resources since Korea has severe seasonal and regional variations in precipitation.
Water Resource Preservation and Usage Status
Since 1965, total amount of water usage has seen a six fold increase thanks to infrastructure expansion including dam constructions. The amount of municipal use arising from population increase is relatively on the rise, while the amount of agricultural use is gradually decreasing due to reduction in agricultural population. The amount of other water usage except for industrial uses has been steadily increasing.
Newly registered marriages fell to an all-time low last year, study finds
South Koreans, who already have one of the lowest birthrates in the world, at a total fertility rate of just 1.25 per female, are also marrying less, according to statistics compiled by Statistics Korea, which found that the number of newly-registered marriages fell to an all-time low of 309,000 in a country of nearly 49 million people.
What appears to be happening is a major transformation of a society that in the past was called the most Confucian in Asia. Confucian philosophy, which places significant importance on the stability of the family, appears to be waning, at least when it comes to marriage. The Statistics Korea study identifies a whole panoply of changes that is in fact taking place in Korean society that impinge on family values. The number of young who are agreeable to having children out of wedlock is rising, they don’t want their parents living with them, and they are happy to marry outside of their race.
As a result of the changing demographics, South Korea has become the fastest-aging country on the planet despite the fact that Japan has received most of the publicity over the issue. In 1960, the number of South Koreans aged 65 and older was 726,000, or just 2.9 percent of the Korean population. It is expected to rise to 10.1 million or 19.3 percent of the total by 2030.
The percentage of people who believe they should marry at all has declined steadily, according to Statistics Korea’s survey, from 68 percent in 2008 to 64.7 percent in 2010 and 62.7 percent in 2012. At the same time, those describing marriage as a choice rose steadily from 27.7 percent to 30.7 percent and 33.6 percent during the same period.
Men, according to the survey, are more interested in marriage than women, with 60.4 percent of unmarried men saying marriage is a must, compared with only 43.3 percent of unmarried women. As a result, international marriage is rising rapidly, with nearly two thirds of those surveyed (64.4 percent) saying they would be willing to marry a foreigner, an increase from 60.3 percent in 2010. The beneficiaries appear to be women from throughout Asia, particularly Chinese, both of Korean and Han Chinese descent, Filipinas, Vietnamese and Cambodians.
The demand for Cambodian brides became so heated that the Southeast Asian country temporarily banned its citizens from marrying South Korean men after two dozen women were sold into marriage by matchmakers, according to an Associated Press dispatch on Aug. 19, 2010. It was the second time the government had imposed such a ban. An estimated 50,000 Filipinos live in South Korea, either as skilled workers or marriage migrants.
One of the serious obstacles to marriage between Koreans apparently is the cost. It is estimated that a South Korean couple will spend as much as US$200,000 on a combination of cultural mandates including expensive gifts between the families and cash from the bridegroom for a home. As a result, according to the Korea National Statistical Office, the average age of first marriage is 31.6 years for men and 28.7 for women as they save for matrimony.
More people are also open about having a baby out of wedlock in Korea today, according to a new study by the Seoul-based Samsung Economic Research Institute, which is password-protected. The portion of people in favor of having a baby out of wedlock was 22.4 percent, up 1.8 percent from 2010. Additionally, 45.9 percent said they could live together with a partner without getting married at all.
In another blow to Confucianism, according to the SERI report, people are less willing to support their parents compared to the past, with an increasing number of people believing parents should earn their own living expenses (48.9 percent) and fewer insisting that family members should take care of elderly parents (33.2 percent). However, those saying the government, society and family members are all responsible for taking care of the elderly went up from 47.4 percent in 2010 to 48.7 percent in 2012.
While Confucian values continue to mean South Korea has a very low rate of elderly in nursing homes, the implications of the SERI and Statistics Korea studies mean that number can be expected to rise rapidly, especially with the fast-aging population. It is estimated that the country has some 530,000 dementia patients, a figure that has risen by 27 percent in just the past four years. It is expected that that figure will rise to 1 million patients by 2025. The condition costs South Korea the equivalent of US$8 billion a year, a figure that is expected to double every decade.
Few countries across Asia are prepared for the coming demand for elderly care, according to a study by Fung Global Institute Senior Fellow Arthur Kleinman and his Harvard University colleague Hongtu Chen. Most rely on families to care for their aging relatives. The study calls population aging “probably the most significant global trend that will occur in this century across national and regional borders.”
“In addition to a large number of trained care workers who can provide direct care and support to elderly people either at home or in a nursing facility, what determines the quality of elder care in a country is the professionals who have extensive training and experience in that area,” the Fung Institute study says. “There are at least three professions that are urgently lacking in developing Asian countries: geriatric care managers, geriatric nurses and physicians, and geriatric mental health professionals.”
Asian families often prefer to have their elderly relatives stay at home. In South Korea, despite the new statistics, more than 90 per cent of older people with long-term care needs are exclusively cared for by informal caregivers at home. These caregivers are most frequently a spouse, daughter-in-law, daughter or son, or paid care worker.
By 2030, the traditional elder-care model that relies on one’s own children will no longer work and will have to be abandoned, the study continues. New models, possibly built on community-based social capital or collaborative care among families in the neighborhood, will have to emerge to rescue the future from the increasingly pressing burden of caring for the elderly.
Average Annual Hours Actually Worked Per Worker - Korea No 1!
“I feel so embarrassed and humiliated” … a Korean student attacked in Melbourne. Photo: Pat Scala
“They lied to me. At first they said the attackers were under investigation. Later they said they didn’t know who some of them were.”
A South Korean student whose finger was chopped off has spoken of his frustration with a police investigation into the incident.
Mr Chang, who is keeping his identity concealed, and a friend were attacked by a group of teenagers while sitting in Box Hill Gardens in Melbourne at night in September.
The attackers severed his left little finger and broke his arm. Mr Chang, who has worked as a designer and is left-handed, fears the injury will affect his ability to work in future.
“I feel so embarrassed and humiliated,” the TAFE Box Hill Institute student, 33, said. “I don’t want to go outside alone. I haven’t even told my family about what happened. They don’t know.”
Over the past two months two other Korean nationals, a 33-year-old Sydney man and a 27-year-old man from Brisbane, have also been attacked, fuelling outrage in South Korea, with media reports questioning whether Australia is a safe place to visit.
Two weeks ago, French woman Fanny Desaintjores was threatened by passengers on a Melbourne bus for singing French songs. One man said “speak English or die”, while another commuter shouted: “I’ll f—-ing boxcutter you right now, dog.”
Victoria Police is continuing its investigations into the assault against Mr Chang after the South Korean government requested they conduct a “more thorough and fair investigation”, capture the perpetrators and compensate the victim.
The Foreign Ministry of South Korea also demanded Australia “come up with measures to prevent future incidents”, the Korean broadcaster KBS reported.
Mr Chang, from Seoul, still believes Australia is a “safe and good country”, acknowledging every country has its share of offenders. But he said he was “unhappy” about the ongoing police investigation.
A spokesman from the Korean Consulate in Melbourne told Fairfax Media they formally requested Victoria Police to “carry out a thorough investigation that will also eliminate perceptions of unfairness and inadequacy from the victim and Korean public”.
Mr Chang had declared he was told by police he was responsible for the brutal attack because he “was in the wrong place at the wrong hours”, sparking alarm in Korea.
But the spokesman said that while police eventually apologised for the remark to Mr Chang, he may have “misunderstood the intention behind it, taken in the wrong way due to cultural differences”.
The Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported Mr Chang was approached by a group of teenagers who asked for a cigarette. When he refused, they assaulted him while shouting the words “f—-ing Chinese”.
Mr Chang blacked out during the attack and was taken to hospital, where his little finger was reattached.
Victoria Police has told Fairfax Media a 14-year-old boy from Doncaster, Melbourne, was charged the day after the assault.
Mr Chang is now seeking compensation through the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Monday night said it was aware of the media reports of assaults against Korean nationals in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
“The Australian Government and Australian state and territory police forces take very seriously any allegations of racially-motivated crime,” the spokeswoman said.
