North-Korea

Journalist, and former Washington Post correspondent in Seoul, Peter Maass on the influence of Korean nationalism and recent “radioactive” developments on the peninsula.

Whatever happened to nationalism and the risky maneuverings of states? Nothing, actually. Kim Jong Il, entering from stage far-left, reminds us that new threats, like Islamic extremism, do not replace old ones.

The Korean peninsula is an ancient hothouse for nationalism and its offshoots; it is also a brilliant example of the uses, abuses and durability of national esteem.

From the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Read the rest here.

A new report from South Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Education and Industry documents what most people have suspected for some time. North Korea keeps most of the wages of the workers in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, giving the workers only about the equivalent of $10 out of the $57.50 monthly salary for each worker paid by the South Korean companies.

More than half the salaries paid to North Koreans working at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Park go to the North Korean Workers’ Party, a document written by a team in charge of inter-Korean economic cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy shows. The team reported to the unification minister.

Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon made the document public on Sunday. According to the memo, US$30 out of the monthly pay of $57.50 goes to the Workers’ Party. With $17.50 spent on insurance and other costs, North Korean workers at the complex are left with only $10 a month.

This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since part of the deal with North Korea to open the Kaesong complex involved paying the “wages” not to the workers directly, but to the North Korean government, which is supposed to pay the workers in turn.

What is shocking is that the estimated $8-$10 the workers do get is double the average monthly salary of most North Koreans.

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Seoul conducted a civil defense drill around 2 p.m. today. And, before anyone back home gets too alarmed, apparently it’s something they do quarterly and is not necessarily related to the events of the past week. Since we’re just entering our fourth month here, we were a little overdue for one.

It’s a good thing a coworker called me this morning about a work issue and happened to mention the drill in passing–it was scheduled to start around the time I come into the office–or the air raid sirens downtown might have freaked me out.

Of course, I hope I would have remained calm enough to notice that no one around me seemed the slightest bit concerned. I was the only one I saw who trotted off the street and into the underground shopping area around the subway station just to play along. (I have always followed instructions well.)

From what my coworker and others have told me, all traffic was supposed to be off the streets from 2 p.m. until 2:20 and all eletricity turned off. I think people are also supposed to be taking shelter during this time. But unless the civil defense instructions equate taking shelter with standing outside your office building and having a smoke, I don’t think this part of the drill was too successful.

I would feel really stupid about not knowing there was a drill coming up, if it weren’t for a lot of expats who’ve been here longer than we have and they didn’t know about it either. Although it was announced on Korean television and radio, notification didn’t seem to make it to the English-language media. I guess we’ll try not to read too much into that.

David, whose office is in the World Trade Tower, never heard about the drill either and says they didn’t hear sirens at all. Maybe the drill was just for the northern half of the city? I hope so, because leaving your financial center our of the civil defense plans doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.