Smooth Sailing Ahead or Rocky Waters?: A Look at U.S.-Korea Relations in the 21st Century

By Michelle Kwon

Photo taken by The Brookings Institution

At a 2013 Georgetown University dean’s symposium, former Minister of Trade Bark Tae-ho highlighted South Korea’s three trade-related goals: revitalize trade and exports with the United States, increase the number of free trade agreements South Korea enters into, and secure continued market competitiveness via foreign investments. This three-pronged approach provides Korea the increasing momentum to secure its position as a leader within the Asia Pacific, and pursue a greater, more aggressive trade policy agenda in the 21^st century[1]; a successful conclusion and reception of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) represents the first necessary step in helping Korea achieve its short-term and long-term goal. 

Lessons with Gum Gang: Prayer

One of the major aspects of my time with Gum Gang was looking at the importance of prayer to his and his clients’ lifestyle. Even many different people followed different faiths, from Buddhism to ancestor worship to Christianity, everyone who visited Gum Gang’s home took the time to pray. During this time Gum Gang taught me the many values of prayer to how we think, how we interact with each other and how we choose what is important to us.

Below is another excerpt from the e-book I am currently working on, detailing Gum Gang’s methods and advice for prayer. Prayer is different for each person, but this can form a solid base for anyone who feels that, in the hustle and bustle of modern life, they may have forgotten how to pray.

Lessons with Gum Gang: Su Chon Gua

A large part of the lessons I’ve learned with Gum Gang don’t just come through the knowledge of the remedies themselves, but different approaches to cooking them that can save time, money and keep up health on a budget. One of the most important benefits of traditional knowledge is the fact that it is made to be an accessible and affordable alternative for the sake of minor health problems. For example as someone who has dealt with allergies since the age of six, drinking this recipe called Su Chon Gua can clear my sinuses and help me breathe easy without needing antihistamine. However I have met Gum Gang at times when my allergies were so bad he saw antihistamine as necessary. These remedies provide a different approach to varied levels in our health problems.

Su Chon Gua is not so much an exclusive Mudang remedy as a traditional Korean recipe. On the other hand Su Chon Gua can be hard to come by outside of the occasional traditional restaurant or tourist trap. Additionally, these brews of Su Chon Gua might not be as potent as the remedy version as an effective batch can taste quite strong. People like Gum Gang keep this remedy in connection with its older purpose as a “poison that removes other poisons.” This concept was frequent in East Asian traditional medicine and was thought important in various ingredients from ginseng to dog tongue. The idea is that by putting a small amount of certain elements into your body that it will process out, you will encourage other poisons which we ingest on a regular basis to leave the body as well.

Lessons with Gum Gang: Homemade Remedies

A large tub of Umeshu – preserved plum juice with healthy side effects

As much as a shaman performs or gives counsel to help others, their attachment to well-being and tradition touches many different parts of daily life. One of these is in diet and remedy, taking as much care with what we put into our bodies as what we do with them. Healthier people make happier people, and in turn a better community. As a result understanding traditional medical knowledge was and still is a large part of the role that Mudang play as social guides. Just as 1+1= a bigger 1, proper circulation and staying active throughout the day play a large role in how we live our lives, and in turn the quality of work we produce. These easy recipes  address different long term afflictions that may not be easily (or cheaply) answered through modern methods.

Whether or not one puts stock in these recipes, they also represent an important aspect of tradition and culture that figures like Mudang preserve. These different natural remedies were used to heal in ancient Korea, remnants of an older way of life that we can learn from and cherish. These remedies don’t just represent something we can use today, but also display a way of thinking that we often pass over in modern life.

Terrorism on the Peninsula

By Michelle Kwon

 

The terrorist attack at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya shocked the world, as innocent civilians became the unfortunate targets of the radicalized arm of a Somali terrorist group, al-Shabab. Terrorist activity has, quite unfortunately, been one of the foremost foreign policy challenges in the 21^st century facing the international community. In this vein, South Korea experienced a terrorist attack closer to home. Most recently, 3 South Korean tourists were killed in a deadly bus explosion in Egypt orchestrated by the militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis.

Korean Women in the Workforce (Or a Lack Thereof)

By Michelle Kwon

A realistic ratio of men to women in the Korean workforce (image courtesy of Washingtonpost.com)

While South Korea has an enviable unemployment rate, currently hovering at about 3.9 percent, that figure obscures more complexities about the work environment in Korea than it reveals. Korea’s economy has grown dramatically since the 1970’s, often referred to as an “economic miracle” and earning the title as one of the four Asian Tigers. This success has been in large part the result of the labor of women working in low status and low wage jobs within the manufacturing industries. “The Miracle on the Han River”[1] was achieved on the backs of Korean female factory workers. The labor force participation rate of women increased from 26.8 percent in 1960 to 47.6 percent in 1995 as women left the rural areas and moved to the cities for work in the new factories and businesses. Until the early 1990s, women were employed in labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, food processing, and manufacturing; these very sectors provided the export goods that created Korea’s economic growth, and yet the contribution of women to the development of Korea is rarely spoken of. As Korea has become a more advanced country with greater lucrative economic opportunities, job creation has shifted to services sector, which happens to be a natural progression for countries that pass the threshold from “developing” to “developed.”

New Approaches to Cancer Treatment Being Developed in Korea

By Nathaniel D. Taylor

This article will provide an introduction to plasma and some of the work that is being done with it. Later articles will explore plasma further and explain more specific projects and research group.

Argon gas plasma discharge.
Photo Credit: Plasma Bioscience Research Center, Kwangwoon University

Throughout Korea and around the world, research labs are working to develop new treatments for cancer using electric plasma. Traditional methods of cancer treatment rely heavily on the use of pharmaceuticals as well as other invasive treatments like surgery and radiation. Plasma has the potential to selectively reduce cancer cells without additional chemicals.

Chaebols and the Korea Discount

By Michael Chung

South Korea’s chaebols (image courtesy of Peter Schrank – economist.com)

Both economic researchers and financial analysts alike have documented the existence of a “Korea Discount.” The term refers to the low equity values of South Korean firms in relation to those in comparable capital markets (i.e. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore). In the past, researchers have suggested that the Korea Discount was a result of the perennial threat and instability of North Korea. Other theories have suggested that the South Korean economy is over-reliant on exports in cyclical industries, or that the capital structures of Korean firms are too debt-heavy. However, upon witnessing very little change in both the KOSPI and the Won following the news of Kim Jong Il’s death, researchers have posited a new theory – that the Korea Discount is a result of the poor corporate governance found in the family-run chaebols.

The New Koreans: An Introduction

By Sangita Annamalai

 

Changing Population – publicbroadcasting [dot] net

 

 South Korea (here onwards to be synonymous with “Korea”) is well known for its rapid economic changes and technological advancements made within the past four decades. Simultaneously, South Korea’s population demographics have been changing equally as rapidly. As the corporate workforce increases, the amount of dual income couples increase, leading to the natural outcome of fewer children. This is not an unusual phenomenon and a lower birthrate in and of itself is not the concern; the issue lies in the rate of change. In 1960 South Korea’s fertility rate was above both China’s and Japan’s at an astounding 6.16 (China’s was 5.47 and Japan’s was at a direct replacement rate of 2.0). Since then South Korea has dropped to become the lowest of the three countries to 1.24 (last recorded in 2011).

South Korea’s Energy Experiment: Nuclear Energy and Green Tech

By Andrew Ju

Korea’s bet on clean energy

Nuclear energy and green technology (solar, wind, hydro) are among the most exciting technologies today that, if perfected, could revolutionize the world and hail a major landmark for human progress. This tantalizing possibility is, of course, a devilishly difficult and arduous task that has thwarted most efforts thus far. South Korea, however, has nonetheless boldly strayed from the path of older, fossil-fuel based energy sources and is doggedly pursuing the dream of abundant, cheap, clean energy. My Fulbright research topic and blog posts focus on the political economy of the nuclear and green technology industries in South Korea; or in layman’s terms, how the government and these industries interact and influence each other as they strive towards this collective goal. This initial blog post will be an overview of the scope of my research and a chance to start a dialogue that I hope will engage and inform.