There have been a few stories in recent days that have caught our attention, along with one giant mural we saw inn Daejeon a few days ago.
The first story that embodies everything that makes us laugh about Korea, while at the same time shake our heads both in fear and dismay comes from the Chosun Ilbo. The headline was what caught our attention, since it said that applications for overseas military service were pouring in, and the specific example was to go to Iraq. The story explains that the money is far above what they would make by staying in Korea. They also go into the challenges of overseas postings.
But, and I say this honestly, the 'real' story here is actually found in the last paragraph:
The spokesman said soldiers who want to serve with overseas units must get their parents' consent in advance. During the early recruitment process for the Zaytun Unit, some soldiers were recruited but had to drop out because they failed to get their parents' consent, he added.
And this is what makes it a TiK story. Men. Adults. Who can vote. Drink. Drive. Men (and women) who are trained to kill, and who are entrusted to go into battle, defend their country etc. These men have to 'get their parent's permission'. I honestly shake my head in wonder at these people...
Then there's this article which shows one of the major, MAJOR problems in this country. The issues of pardons is one I don't like, because if you need to issue pardons there is something wrong with the system. And to pardon some people who have lost their jobs over minor, minor things is one thing, but to issue 341,864 pardons shows the system is totally fucked up. And that's over 340 thousand pardons IN A SINGLE YEAR!
And the number is only the start of what's wrong here. The other issue is who gets pardons:
Among the 74 people in the economic sector receiving pardons were Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Kim Seung-youn, chairman of Hanwha Group.
The three tycoons were handed suspended prison terms by judges in recent years for embezzlement, accounting fraud and assault, respectively. Despite their convictions, all three have remained active in the boardroom.
The fact that they committed crimes, received suspended sentences, and continued to serve on boards is, again, totally fucked up. The fact they received pardons is even crazier.
And perhaps the most disturbing element of all:
Also among high-profile figures pardoned was Kwon Young-hae, a former South Korean spy chief.
Kwon was found guilty of plotting to destroy the 1997 election campaign of former dissident Kim Dae-jung. Kim was elected and served a five-year term.
A man who literally committed treason by trying to undermine the country's democracy gets a pardon. The sheer number likely has something to do with trying to gloss over some of the more controversial pardons, but the pardons that were issued to these specific people shows that there are major problems in Korean society that need to be rectified.
And these pardons, both in the number and for who received them made me think about something. Thousands upon thousands of people will take to the streets in protest day after day over completely insane fears over american beef, and when corrupt and criminal businessmen receive pardons, and this many pardons are issued, they do nothing. More importantly came this story about an arrest.
One of the organizers of the insanely stupid beef protests is getting arrested. MONTHS after the protests started, and while they were apparently illegal the entire time, they are arresting him NOW. Again, this type of act undermines democracy in a way that is very, very serious. As much as I disagreed with the protests and thought they made Koreans look like complete and total idiots on the world stage, this arrest is wrong on many, many levels, and in many, many ways.
But all of these issues can be explained away by reading THIS article. Delusional nationalism explains so much in this country that it's scary. That said, I wonder if they think these "secrets to their success" also explain why they:
1. Koreans work the longest hours for less money
2. Why Korea has the third largest wage gap in the OECD
3. Korea's gender wage gap is the biggest in the OECD
4. Korea's educated job rate ranks low in the OECD
5. Korea has the sixth highest inflation in the OECD
and
6. Korean producer price growth is the second highest in the OECD
The lesson to learn from this is that as long as you are 'fighting' and/or 'sparkling', all of your nation's problems don't need to be addressed.
One final TiK lesson. Not only does nationalism make all your problems meaningless, but spelling things correctly doesn't matter either... I leave you with this:
