Protests on US Beef Imports Widens in South Korea

Candlelight street protests have resurfaced in South Korea, participated mostly by younger generations who had stayed away in the recent elections but are now expressing their anger at the Lee Myung-bak administration's handling of the US beef import issue. The impeachment petition has now surpassed one million. Fearing escalation of public outcry, the government has even announced a ban on candlelight protests -- which will likely backfire as a reminder of South Korea's authoritarian past prior to democratization in the 80s.

Here is a coverage from Korea:
Public anger has erupted on concerns over the planned import of American beef this month. Numerous government Web sites including that of Cheong Wa Dae [Presidential office] are being bombarded with Internet users' messages denouncing the decision, even calling it "humiliating and miserable diplomacy.'' The government is afraid that the online boycott campaign might trigger anti-American sentiment it experienced in 2002 when two Korean girls were killed by a U.S. armored vehicle. Several Web sites working to impeach President Lee Myung-bak were recently established for his role of spearheading the imports. The controversial deal has brought down President Lee's approval rating to a record low of 35.1 percent since he took the top job in February, according to CBS. More

Lee Myung-bak in Trouble Over US Beef Import

Looks like President Lee Myung-bak got himself in trouble by easing South Korea's ban on beef import from the US, as his support rate sank in recent weeks to 35 percent, and an online petition drive to impeach him (just after two months of administration) has collected more than 680,000 signatures.

Massive candlelight street protests that have ushered in the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration have resurfaced to protest Lee's hasty action, seen as an enticement to Washington for improving chances of passage of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.

Photo: a parody of Lee, Bush and US beef, circulating in South Korea.

Fusion: Korean Traditional Instruments and Western Music

Haegumplus group fuses Korean traditional music with non-traditional genres like jazz and classical music, and has performed worldwide with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Bobby McFerrin, Salta Cello, and the Yosida Brothers. The director of the group is Kang Eun-il, who plays a Korean traditional stringed instrument called the hageum. The group recently toured the US and played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where a Bach piece was played jazz style with Korean traditional instruments and Western instruments.

"Filmmakers take immigration debate to YouTube"

Annabel Park, a Korean-American filmmaker who has helped mobilize voters in U.S. Senator Jim Webb's surprise victory in 2006 and who played a leading role in the campaign for the passage of the U.S. House resolution on "comfort women" issue, is now working on the U.S. immigration issue.

Here is an article from cnn.com:
Equipped with a small video camera, a laptop and a point of view, filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park are trying to influence the heated immigration debate in a suburban Virginia county outside Washington. More

N. Korea, U.S. to Set Up Liaison Offices in Capitals

Followup to KR posting, US Diplomats Check In at Hotel Koryo in Pyongyang

Despite recent setbacks, the six-nation process on nuclear disarmament and normalization of relations seems to be back on track, as the six party conference will resume later in May. Moreover, once North Korea presents a declaration acceptable to the U.S. and delivers data on its past nuclear activities, it will likely lead to Washington taking steps to remove North Korea from its list of terrorism-sponsoring states.

This would mark the end of phase two in the three-stage denuclearization process and the start of phase three, in which North Korea would actually dismantle its nuclear program (dismantlement process at the Yongbyun nuclear plant is going on already) in return for additional economic aid and political incentives, as stipulated in the previous six-nation agreements. In the process, North Korea and the U.S. will likly operate sort of liaison offices in each other's capitals, which may serve as a step towards the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two sides.

Indeed, American officials in Pyongyang may open up a permanent office, most likely at the Koryo Hotel (pictured). Will North Koreans shop for office space in Washington, DC soon? The Lee Myung-bak administration of South Korea has proposed inter-Korea liaison offices, but this fell flat due to resumption of acrimonious relations between the two sides of Korea as the result of Lee's vocal repudiation of rapproachement policies of previous two South Korean administrations.

"Samsung's Leadership on Edge"

By Jason Lim (a research fellow at the Harvard Korea Institute) This opinion appeared in The Korea Times.

Declaring that he will "take all legal and moral responsibility and truly apologize for causing concern," Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee publicly resigned from the conglomerate that is responsible for 15 percent of South Korea's GDP after being indicted for tax evasion and breach of trust. He then announced a series of reforms that Samsung will undertake in response to the findings by the special prosecutor's office. Apparently, Lee Kun-hee's glorious run as the head of the most powerful business empires in Korea's history has come to an end. For now.

Depending upon which isle you sit in, Lee Kun-hee elicits dramatically different opinions. On one hand, he is the devil incarnate who has fundamentally corrupted and debased the ethical fabric of Korean society in his headlong and ruthless attempt to grow his business empire. On the other hand, he is the far-sighted executive who has overcome incredible odds and led Samsung onto the world stage to stand shoulder to shoulder with the foremost companies of the world. More

Washington Reverts to Hardline on North Korea

As the State Department officials tried to salvage the six-party process on nuclear disarmament/normalization of relations, the White House announced the alleged North Korea-Syria nuclear connection [photo: the site in Syria that was bombed by Israel]. Will this development escalate into another crisis like the "BDA" case (the dispute over North Korean funds at the Banco delta Asia in China that had previously stalled the six-party process) and threaten to derail the six-party process?

The timing and motive of the announcement perplexed many observers. See for example, The Seattle Times editorial, "North Korea policy sharpens the knives": "Confused by the belated revelations over North Korean help with a Syrian reactor of some sort? The best way to understand the method if not the substance is to think back to late December and the Iran saga." More