Asia

Tepid response to tragedy

I searched the Korean news media web sites for the Korean perspective on today’s events.  I thought the official response to the massacre at Virginia Tech was tepid at best and tasteless at worst.  President Roh Moo-hyun sent his condolences to the families of the 32 victims at Virginia Tech who died at the hands of 23-year-old Korean student and U.S. permanent resident Cho Seung-hui.  However, President Roh concluded by urging Americans to show restraint in response to the tragedy.  Although I do hope that Americans show restraint and do not rush to judgment in light of today’s revelations about Mr. Cho’s identity, I thought President Roh’s conclusion was in bad form and faith.
 
 
I was also dismayed to find that the major left-wing Hankyoreh newspaper neglected to publish any articles or commentary on today’s tragedy.  Instead, it chose to complain about the number of slots available to Korean students who want to sit for the TOEFL test, the test required for foreign students to study in the United States.  It also published an article on documents released about the U.S.’ alleged involvement in a "civilian massacre."  Blow it out your nose, Hanky.  You may not be a friend to the United States, but you should be ashamed.
 
 
I hope that Americans do not personalize this tragedy and use it to single out Koreans who live, study, or visit the United States.  The vast majority are good people, and Koreans should not fear reprecussions because of one man’s actions.  However, I am very disappointed by Korea’s public response to this tragedy.  For a nation that focuses incessantly on its own public image and is highly sensitive to how it is perceived on the world stage, Korea should know that it needs to handle this tragedy with care and respond appropriately when one of its own commits such an atrocity.

Inside North Korea

My eyes and ears still perk up whenever I see or hear something about the Koreas.  This video clip showing footage of life inside North Korea produced by National Geographic is absolutely heartbreaking.  No explanation needed.  Watch it for yourself before it’s yanked off YouTube for copyright violation or another reason.
 
 
Life never seems so bad whenever I watch video footage or see photos from North Korea.

Happy Year of the Golden Fire on Water Pig

Happy Chinese New Year and Seol Nal!  (Seol Nal is the Korean name for the lunar new year.)  This is the Year of the Pig, but not just any ol’ Pig Year.  Depending on who you talk to, it’s either the Year of the Golden Pig, Year of the Fire Pig, or Year of the Fire Pig that falls on a water element.  It is such a special lunar year that no one can say for sure whether it happens every 60 years or 600 years or every 12 years.  Either way, it’s a special year, and a lot more babies will be born in Greater China, on the Korean Peninsula, and their respective diaspora.  Many Chinese and Koreans believe this will be the most special year to bear children since the Year of the Dragon seven years ago, and hospitals are expecting a spike in birthrate.  Births will undoubtedly increase as East Asian parents rush to have children who will be recipients of the good fortune lavished on them by this auspicious Zodiac sign.

Why?  According to an article published by AsianAvenue.com:

Supposedly children born in the year of the Golden Pig will make a lot of money. The Pig sign represents everything that makes us plump—health, fertility, and money. And the fact that this year’s pig is golden only adds to the material wealth. But the pig has bad traits as well—it’s also a symbol of greed, laziness, filth, and stupidity. But for many couples, this seems to be a small tradeoff for an early retirement.

However, no consensus has emerged on the special significance of this year.  After all, the Year of the Pig occurs every 12 years, but this year is being touted as a special one by many people, especially merchants hoping to generate additional sales by promoting the “Year of the Golden Pig.”  According to Korean broadcasting company, KBS:

People who believe in the year of the golden pig say the special year comes every 600 years. They came to this conclusion through calculations, using a combination of the Chinese zodiac and the yin and yang theory. However, a folklore professor, Joo Young-ha, at the Academy of Korean Studies rebuts the theory. He explained that if the year 2007 is the golden pig year which comes every 600 years, there should be records about the special year written in the ‘Taejong Sillok,’ archives of King Taejong. King Taejong ruled the Joseon Dynasty 600 years ago. But there are no such records, which makes him believe the myth was made not long ago.

This Year of the Pig may not be so special after all.  According to Asia Times Online:

This lunar year…is fraught with an especially strong dose of astrological Viagra because it is believed to be the Year of the Golden Pig, which – depending on the astrologer you consult – comes once every 60 or 600 years. Either way, it’s a rare pig.  Or is it? Serious Hong Kong practitioners of the ancient art of feng shui, or geomancy, have debunked the notion that this is a golden year, writing it off as a commercial invention fostered by shopkeepers to boost business. The next golden pig year, they say, will not come around until 2031.

This is a fire-pig year, according to feng shui masters such as Raymond Lo and Peter So. It is only golden in the fired imaginations of shopkeepers scheming for additional profit. But those merchants have succeeded in duping the general public.  Before the crass intervention of commerce, here, by most accounts, is how the Chinese astrological system was supposed to work: each year in the lunar calendar is represented by one of the 12 animals of the zodiac, which then rotates through five earthly elements – metal, wood, water, fire and earth.  This year’s pig is matched up not with gold but with fire and, significantly, the fire sits on water. The elements are therefore in conflict – a theme not particularly popular with merchants and mall decorators – and the year ahead will be full of turbulence.  It would be better if this year’s flame were a yang fire, which symbolizes the warmth of the sun, politeness and optimism. But instead, it’s yin fire, and that signifies the spark of tension, conflict and even war. 

From what I gather–and I am no scholar in Chinese astrology–this is really the Year of the Fire Pig on Water.  So what are the sociological implications of this combination?  Well, it seems to portend that children born in 2007 will be hotheaded but prone to being all wet.

 

More About China
Click on the icons below for more articles about China

[table]

World Adventurers, China

[/table]