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Thor's Korea Diary from September 2000

This Korea Diary follows hard on the heels of two years in China. That experience will inevitably influence my expectations and perceptions in the months to come. Korea however is a very different proposition from its giant neighbour. Although historically the culture has been heavily influenced by Chinese proximity, and also by the Japanese, the Korean people remain fiercely distinctive. Independence has often come at a high price, and has sometimes been lost on the ground, but never lost in spirit. This is no longer the Hermit Kingdom (or at least, South Korea is not) -- I and thousands of others are here because of an insatiable demand for the international language of English. Yet even a casual visitor cannot help noticing that the international bazaar of goods from a hundred nations which is so evident in, say, Australia, is severely constrained in the shops here. The thousands of knick-nacks from China, the shirts from Indonesia, the plastic buckets from Thailand and so on are hard to find.

Koreans of course have their own ideas about the good life, and what's valuable. As an arrivee from China next door, one feels that the price of food is exhorbitant, and even Chinese tea is scarce. There are few "foreign" cars on the roads (in the public perception... Many of the engines, for example, in those "Korean" cars were made in Australia).The seeker after electronics is likely to be stuck with Samsung or pay a high premium for imports. There are sound economic reasons for much of this. Korea has next to no resources of its own to export and (in the South) 47 million people to feed. It can't fudge foreign reserves by digging up mountains of iron ore like Australia, or pumping "Allah's gift" of oil out of the ground like Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, protectionist economic policies, with all of their psychological and monetary costs seem to be deeply ingrained. The gaint chaebols (cartels) have had a cosy life, become flaccid, and as the 1997 economic crash showed, lost the street fighting skills that come from intense competition. An initial impression is that protected interests, backed by self-serving regulations, extend deeply into the economics of daily life. Retailing is overwhelmingly in small stores with unmarked prices. It all adds up to high prices for the consumer, and restricted choices, but perhaps also employment and a social safety net for large numbers of people who would be flotsam in other societies. Certainly nothing seems to arouse Koreans to collective fury faster than any attempt by some foreign company to buy into "their" industries, or put conditions on "their" banks.

Macro observations of the kind above are the staple of journalists, politicians and academics who parachute into exotic locales (as they see it) for a two week study visit. The things that really matter, those intricate flavours which make each culture distinctive, take longer to truly perceive and appreciate. We are all generalists. The casual tourist will talk wisely about Kalahari Bushmen or Viennese burghers after a two week annual holiday visit in an airconditioned tour coach. It doesn't stop there. I have met Asian students returned from postgraduate study in Australia with firmly embedded stereotypes about my own culture which seem, to me, to be grotesque. No doubt my Chinese friends feel somewhat the same about some observations in my China Diary.  All of which is fair warning to anyone who risks believing what I write in the Korea Diary.

My Korea will be an accident of personalities and experiences. From the kindnesses and the bastardry of this individual or that I will, no doubt, make profound statements about the "Korean character", Korean culture, institutions, and so on. Take it with a grain of salt. Store my prejudices and confusions away as questions to be checked out further, hypotheses to be tested. For me this is an adventure in progress, where mistakes have to be made and foolish statements lived down tomorrow.

Happy reading, Thor.
Pusan, Korea

...Introduction / 1. The Coming  / 2. Pansong Dong / 3. Visa Run /  4. The Sports Festival / 5. Mountain Walker / 6. An End to Beginnings / 7. The Bus Driver's Heaven Machine / 8. Japanese Influence?? Believable yet absolutely wrong .../ 9. Was Korea a Chinese Lap Dog? / 10. Korea, North & South: The Geopolitics of Unification / 11. Them and Us, Pusan and The Rest of 'Em / 12.Pusan was a Haven / 13. So What is a Korean Anyway? / 14. Hill Gods and Ghostly Signs / 15. Tiger in the Night / 16. Captive Foreigner has Fake Consultation / 17. Of Tampons and Honey / 18. Who Wants a Reunified Korea? -- some reflections on war, peace and the armaments business / 19. T'aejongdae Tourist / 20. The Accident / 21. Embassy Follies in Haeundae / 22.The Marathon Club / 23. When Is It Rude To Be Rude? / 23a. ¾ðÁ¦ ¹«·ÊÇÏ¿© ¹«·ÊÇØÁö´Â°¡? (Korean language version of 23) / 24. Skin Deep / 25. Scouting Seoul / 26. Traveler on a Leash, or a Free Spirit? / 27. Dead or Alive? / 28. Free Spirits On The Road To Unmoon Valley / 29. Thou Shalt Not Smile For The Photographer /  30. Ghost Story / 31. The Bright Smile Love Club / 32. A Tale of Two Kingdoms / 33. Omen / 34. The Banker's Tale / 35. The Monk's Magic Moment - Stage  Blind / 36. The Second Hand Man / 37. Whose Chook Are You Anyway? /  38. Busan Summer / 39. Daegu Is On The Map / 40. North Korea - The Smell of Rat /  41. Travels With My Dentist / 42. Crime and Punishment / 43. Inside Pusanweb - An Interview with Jeff Lebow / 44. The Hermit Kingdom - A Book Review / 45. North Korea - The Japanese Card / 46. South Korean Language Policy - A letter to Mr Roh Moo-hyun /

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