Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)

NK Brief No. 09-10-26-1

10/26/2009

Companies in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) are pushing for permission to transport goods manufactured within the complex along the railway running from Kaesong to Sinuiju and the highways connecting Kaesong, Pyongyang, Sinuiju and the Chinese city of Dandong.

Currently, the majority of goods exported from the KIC flow through the South Korean port of Incheon. They are then distributed elsewhere after arriving at the Chinese port of Dalian. This route is expensive and slow. Shipping by sea costs 1,900 USD per container and takes as many as 10 days, while if the railway infrastructure was built up between Kaesong and Sinuiju, both the cost and the time could be significantly reduced.

Seventeen percent of Kaesong goods are exported not only to China, but to Europe, the Middle East and Russia. In the mid- to long-term, Kaesong needs to be connected with Rajin-Sunbong, so that goods can be distributed throughout Russia and Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway. In order to make this happen, companies within the KIC are seeking to attract foreign joint-ventures and investments while at the same time lobbying North Korean authorities in an effort to convince them of the need for such land transportation infrastructure.

These companies are also pushing for improvements in the highway spanning the 160 km between the KIC and Pyongyang and the injection of KIC goods into the Pyongyang markets, where they could compete with Chinese imports. One part of this effort is promoting the attachment of ‘Made In DPRK’ labels to goods produced in these factories.

It appears that North Korean authorities have been receptive to these ideas, but questions still remain on the logistics of the project. One source has said that the North Korean Central Special Direct General Bureau has shown interest recently in the idea of including KIC goods in the annual Pyongyang International Trade Fair.

On the one hand, the number of North Korean workers in the KIC has now topped 40,000; but on the other hand, given the number and size of the factories in the complex, the factories are about 26,000 workers short of full capacity. The effort to find suitable workers means that now people from Sariwon, Pyongyang and Hamheung have been brought in. Companies in the KIC are adamant that construction of dormitories in the complex needs to be sped up. At the same time, North Korean authorities are demanding that workers be paid according to their level of education, job description, and experience.

via North Korean Economy Watch » Blog Archive » Campaign to sell Kaesong goods in Pyongyang.

YONHAP NEWS

TOKYO, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) — Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Wednesday it is “ideal” for South Korea, China and Japan to write a history textbook based on a common recognition of the history of the countries, a Japanese daily reported,

It is the first time a Japanese government official has mentioned the necessity of publishing such a history textbook as a way to resolve issues surrounding Japanese history textbooks that critics say justify and beautify Japan’s imperialist past.

Japanese textbooks have drawn international criticism — chiefly from South Korea and China — for allegedly playing down Japan’s wartime atrocities and glorifying its participation in World War II.

Lives – Picnic in North Korea – NYTimes.com

In August, my mother and I found ourselves in North Korea, where she and my father were born.

It was indeed announced one day that for lunch we would have a traditional clam bulgogi, clam barbecue. The bus took us to a gorgeous area in the mountains, complete with a waterfall and a tranquil pool. People were already there having their own picnic on the sandy beach. Our picnic was set up on a rocky ledge on the other side, but the water was irresistible in the heat, and some of us gravitated there. Oddly, our handlers said nothing, even though normally they were alert as sheepdogs to anyone wandering off and earlier in the day an unauthorized photo incident caused upset all around.

To get to the beach, you walked a path where a young boy sat painting a picture of the waterfall — it was almost too picturesque. The locals had spread out a feast of kimchi, bulgogi, mounds of fat purple grapes, cold bottles of beer. Soon some of the picnickers were cheerily exhorting us to join them, even picking up food with chopsticks and depositing it straightaway in people’s mouths. Beer was poured; songs were sung. It was the first time I’d seen North Koreans smile wide, toothy grins.

After a while the tour guide sauntered over and reminded us that we weren’t supposed to talk to locals. She didn’t sound convinced of her own words. I suddenly started to see everything anew. Why were the picnickers here in the middle of the workday? Why was their food, those perfect pyramids of fruit, untouched before they pulled us over? Even the boy; I peered at his easel as I walked back and saw he was using a kind of paint-by-numbers kit.

While we ate our clam bulgogi, burning our fingers on the shells, the picnickers below continued to have the time of their lives, laughing and swimming. Some in our group shared my suspicions: this was a “propaganda picnic” for our benefit, but others insisted these North Koreans just wanted to show their good will.

The Associated Press: American sees changes in his North Korean hometown

PYONGYANG, North Korea — Daniel Chun peers out of the window of the Air Koryo turboprop from China as it touches down outside Pyongyang, his former home. It has taken him less than two hours to go back nearly 60 years.

n the evening, North Koreans stream toward May Day Stadium for the Arirang festival, the marvel of choreography and synchronicity known as the “Mass Games.”

The cast of 100,000 dances, tumbles and flies through the air in an unparalleled show of precision and discipline meant to inspire unity among the North Korean people. Two themes stand out at this year’s Mass Games: The drive to transform North Korean into a “strong and prosperous country” by 2012, and a plea for peace on the Korean peninsula without the intervention of foreign forces.

“We are one nation,” read placards held aloft by a phalanx of schoolchildren directed by a conductor across the stadium.

Chun is impressed, but wonders about the long days and months spent training for the spectacle.

“The whole thing was very, very sad to me. I was thinking about why they have to stage this kind of show, what kind of lives these people lead — that was sad to me,” he says.

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Korean Language Resources | Official Website of 10 Magazine Asia

How can you keep your Korean skills up to speed when you’re out of class? The following books, websites, and blogs will provide you with the resources you need to pick up the learning pace even without a teacher. The entries are roughly organized from beginner to advanced for ease of reference.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | N Korean and US envoys meet in NY

A senior North Korean diplomat has held face-to-face talks with an American counterpart during a rare visit to the United States, officials say.

The North Korean, Ri Gun, is the deputy negotiator in stalled talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme.

He met the US special envoy for North Korean nuclear disarmament, Sung Kim, in New York, according to a statement from the US state department.

The US is pushing for talks to resume on North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Below is an interesting interview about Hyun Jeong-eun’s – chairwomen of the Hyundia group – August trip to North Korea, which included a meeting with Kim Jong-il.

Doing business in North Korea – CNN.com

Subsidiary Hyundai Asan has led efforts to build economic ties between the North and South, so Hyun is not only managing a multinational through a recession but also through global tensions over the North’s nuclear program.

Hyundai Asan has invested $272 million in North Korea, in projects like the Kaesong Industrial Park and tours to Mount Kumgang.

Hyun traveled to North Korea in August to secure the release of a Hyundai worker who was detained on accusations he insulted the government. While there, she spent more than four hours with the state’s reclusive leader – Kim Jong Il — who was said to be recovering from a possible stroke.

As part of CNN’s Eye on South Korea, Kristie Lu Stout sat down with Hyun at Hyundai Group’s Headquarters in Seoul. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

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The Kaesong industrial complex, the joint facility run by North and South, what is the future of that complex?

Currently we are only operating the first block, but I am sure that once things get settled down by both governments, we have many plans for the second block as well. A hotel needs to be built. We need to have hospitals, post offices, so I am expecting gradually that we will expand business there.

‘Konglish’ Proves to Be Double-Edged Sword

How do you order an apple-cinnamon-flavored pretzel ― written in Konglish on the menu board ― in Korean, using a native-English speaker’s accent?

The situation may sound comedic, but behind the inevitable verbal faux pas is a more serious issue: English that is written and spoken in Korean.

Konglish, or English words written in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is an increasing phenomenon that contributes positively on a cultural level but negatively on a linguistic one for natives and foreigners alike.

“(The overuse of English) actually makes it harder for Koreans,” said Brian Deutsch, a former English teacher of four years.

“They are so accustomed to pronouncing these borrowed words the Korean way that they can’t adjust to English pronunciations and meanings.”

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Typically, foreign languages will impress upon native tongues through vocabulary alone, he said, but in the case of English and Korean, grammatical structure has also been affected.

“The Korean language did not (originally) have the present perfect aspect,” Kim said. “The recent introduction has resulted from the use of English in Korean.” This could later distort the traditional Korean way of constructing meaning, he added.

Amid Missile Tests, North Korea Agrees to Talks – NYTimes.com

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea agreed to hold talks with South Korea later this week on nonmilitary matters, officials said here Tuesday, a day after the North tested short-range missiles off its eastern coast.

Officials from the two Koreas plan to meet Wednesday at a North Korean border city to discuss how to prevent floods in the Imjin River, which runs through their heavily armed border, the Unification Ministry in Seoul reported…..

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Still, the test-firings on Monday were the first in three months and were seen as both a provocation and a puzzle — an ominous reminder of the North’s military muscle but also confounding because it has been trying to get Washington to start bilateral talks.

“North Korea is blowing hot and cold, taking both conciliatory and hard-line gestures to force its opponents to decide,” Mr. Yang said. “The North sees the United States dither in starting bilateral talks with it, so by launching and preparing missiles, it is offering a reminder of why it needed to be engaged.”

The North’s missile tests on Monday would not disrupt the South’s plans to hold talks with the North, said Chun Hae-sung, a government spokesman here. He said the missiles launched were ones that had been tested many times before.

In Beijing, Ma Zhaoxu, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said North Korea’s missile launches would not damage a growing momentum for dialogue following Premier Wen Jiabao’s meeting with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, last week. The American secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, also said on Monday that American efforts to resume the nuclear talks with North Korea would proceed despite the new tests.

Obama Becomes Japan’s English Teacher – NYTimes.com

TOKYO — When Utako Sakai was changing the background music in her beauty parlor recently, she did not opt for the classical piano pieces she usually chose.

A CD of President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech has sold a half million copies in Japan, leading publishers to flood the market with over a dozen language-learning titles centered on his oratory.

Instead, she picked her favorite CD: “President Obama’s Inaugural Address,” released by Asahi Press, a Japanese publisher of language books. She says the speech lifts her spirits and helps her to learn English all at once.

“All our customers love it,” said Ms. Sakai, who is based in Ayase City, in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo.

The speech CD and its accompanying book have been a resounding success, selling 200,000 copies since its release in January. A compilation of President Barack Obama’s speeches has done even better, selling half a million copies since November, solidifying his role as Japan’s English teacher.

North Korea May Be Open to Talks – NYTimes.com

SEOUL — The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, told the visiting prime minister of China that his government was ready to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons program if it sees progress in bilateral talks with the United States, state-run media in North Korea and China said Tuesday.