Tiger Moms Hire Private Tutors in South Korea as Saturday Classes Scrapped

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-28/tiger-moms-hire-private-tutors-in-south-korea-as-saturday-classes-scrapped.html

Chung Eunjung, a 46-year-old mother from Seoul, says South Korea’s plan to give children more play time by ending Saturday classes means only one thing: more private tutoring.

President Lee Myung Bak’s government said on June 14 it would recommend schools adopt a shorter week starting in 2012, ending Saturday classes that have been a feature of the modern education system since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Most schools now hold classes on two Saturdays a month.

“I’m not the only parent to feel this way,” said Chung, who already spends $1,700 a month on additional classes for her two sons. “It would be a brave mother who let them play.”

The reaction of mothers like Chung helps explain why students in Asia are outperforming the rest of the world. Nations in the region dominate the top five slots in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s assessment of reading, math and science skills. U.S. students are ranked 30th in math, 23rd in science and 17th in reading.

President Barack Obama has cited South Koreans’ dedication to schooling as an example of the need for American kids to study harder to compete. Three out of four South Korean parents use cram schools, tutors or online learning to get their kids into college. More than half of the students in Asia’s fourth- largest economy take private math and English lessons, according to the government.

Education Stocks
Rather than creating more family time, the plan to shut schools at the weekend would be a boon for academies like MegaStudy Co., or language-course operator JLS Co., said Kim Mi Song, an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co. in Seoul.

“This will be good news for education stocks,” said Kim. “It is clear that the amount of time students spend in private courses will increase.”

Even with the change, South Korean children will spend more time in school than their U.S. counterparts. In his State of the Union address in January, Obama said South Korea treated its teachers as “nation builders.” In 2009, he said: “Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea every year. That’s no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.”

In the latest round of the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessments in 2009, South Korea placed second in reading, fourth in math and sixth in science. Finland was the only country outside Asia to make it into the OECD’s top five in any of the three categories.

‘Send My Son’
“If private institutions expand Saturday classes, I’ll definitely send my son,” said Kim Hyeran, who pays $2,800 per month for out-of-school classes for her 13-year-old, including as much as 20 hours of math. The Kim family, like the Chungs, live in Seoul’s Gangnam district, renowned in Korea for its concentration of specialized schools and private academies.

South Korean parents spend about $220 per child every month on out-of-school classes, tutoring and online learning, according to government statistics.

Traditional Confucian reverence for learning matters less to parents these days than the fear that their children will be left behind, according to Han Zun Shang, a professor of education at Yonsei University in Seoul. Annual per capita income has doubled in the past decade to $20,759 and wage inequality is increasing, said Han.

Japan, which cut the school week to five days in 2002, is reversing course after its students began sliding down the OECD’s rankings.

Reversing Course
Between 2000 and 2006, Japanese high school students slumped from first to 10th in math, second to sixth in science and from eighth to 15th in reading comprehension.

Japan added 278 hours to the elementary school year in 2009 and 105 hours to junior high school. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government in January last year told schools they could resume Saturday classes twice a month, according to its website.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, which governs state education in the capital, said it plans to add two hours to weekday classes and will reduce some vacation days to offset ending school on Saturdays.

Hyundai Securities’ Kim is one of 10 analysts with “buy” recommendations on MegaStudy, which prepares kids for college exams. Eleven others rate the stock a “hold,” according to Bloomberg data.

Kim said the stock should rebound from a 13 percent drop in the past 12 months, after the government cracked down on cram schools holding classes past 10 p.m. and changed the way college-entrance-exam questions were chosen.

MegaStudy, Thinkbig
JLS, which offers online courses as well as regular language classes, has declined 7.8 percent over the past year.

Officials at MegaStudy and JLS declined to say if they would begin offering more classes.

Daekyo Co. and Woongjin Thinkbig Co., providers of home- study materials for elementary school students, may also benefit from the end to Saturday classes, said Joseph Shon, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities Co. in Seoul.

Weekly workbooks produced by Daekyo and Woongjin provide a cheaper alternative to private tutors and academies. The companies are setting up study centers where parents can leave children to work by themselves under limited supervision.

Daekyo has gained 9.4 percent on the Korea Exchange this month while Woongjin has advanced 0.6 percent. The benchmark Kospi index has dropped 2.2 percent over the same period.

“I put great stock in my son’s education,” said Kim, the mother of the 13-year-old boy. “I will make sure he gets whatever he needs.” ◦

Tiger Moms Hire Private Tutors in South Korea as Saturday Classes Scrapped

Wi-Not? South Korea's Seoul To Blanket The City With Free Wi-Fi

http://www.fastcompany.com/1760834/the-wi-rich-get-wi-richer-south-koreas-seoul-to-add-free-municipal-wi-fi

By Tim Carmody (Fast Company)

South Korea's capital city is already the best connected in the world [1], so it's not surprising that the local government has announced a $44 million project to bring free Wi-Fi Internet access [2] to every outdoor space and street corner city-wide. Surprising, no. But jealousy-inducing? Oh my, yes.

All buses, taxis, and subway trains will be covered, too. Korea Telecom (KT) already had Seoul's subway lines covered with WiBro [3], its nationwide commercial wireless broadband service.

Was that good enough? Not in Seoul.

KT had rolled out that leg of its service back in 2004 and put it into service in 2007. Before North American telecoms got serious about 3G, before much smaller municipal Wi-Fi projects stateside collapsed under their own weight, South Koreans were already living the IEEE 802.16e mobile WiMAX dream.

South Korea's wireless penetration rates and download speeds make most of the U.S.'s cabled broadband look like an anachronistic joke. (Like when your grandmother tells a long, meandering story that's only funny because she's so old and adorable.)

Seoul is already the long-reigning hotspot champ [4]. You can already get wireless almost everywhere. Their version of the last mile problem [5] is getting Internet signal outside. Actually, Seoul's problem (such as it is) illustrates both the genius and the frustrations of municipal wireless plans worldwide.

They boil down to this: City and regional governments don't want to blanket their jurisdiction in Wi-Fi for the benefit of their citizens. At least not directly. They need data coverage for government workers: police, fire, emergency responders, city inspectors, parking meter readers, and so forth.

Putting Wi-Fi everywhere a city worker might go means putting Wi-Fi everywhere in a city. That's expensive. Metropolitan and regional coverage is even more expensive. Nor do these cities or regions themselves typically have the expertise to do it.

Enter the service providers. They agree to wire up the city and run the service on the cheap so long as the city can help give them paid private subscribers on top of the government users. This sounds like a win for everybody.

But then the long-delayed pain sets in. It turns out that citizens (who are now paid subscribers to a public/private service) want Internet access in strange, exotic places, like their homes. Government workers actually don't want Wi-Fi inside your house as much as they want it on your street. They're not going to hang out and watch a movie. Nor would you like them to.

The conflict between the needs of the two user groups means that either one group or the other is unhappy until the ISP runs a lot more string and puts up a lot more cans than it thought it would have to. Meanwhile, big telecoms (at least the ones cut out of the deal) are doing everything they can to throw up obstacles to public wireless, from lobbying the government [6] to whispering (or shouting) about poor service quality.

Sometimes projects go broke; sometimes they fall apart entirely or have to be saved or taken over by the city, like in Philadelphia [7]. Often, there's a big gap between the initial vision of what a public wireless network could be and what it winds up becoming.

These, however, are birth pangs. They are known bugs, to borrow some jargon from software development. Because when it works, it works. It works for all of the reasons everyone wanted to start the thing in the first place: because it's arguably only at the scale of a metropolitan public works project that you really can deliver the smooth, broad, deep data coverage that we all say and believe we want--not just for those who can put down a mint, not just in place of convenience X, Y, and Z, but everywhere, and for everyone, for the public good.

It's worth remembering that even in South Korea, our wireless infrastructure is still in beta.

[1] http://www.focus.com/briefs/mobile-wireless/most-connected-cities/
[2] http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-seoul-free-wifi-areas.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiBro
[4] http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/25/technology/wifi/index.htm
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile
[6] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/57034
[7] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357395,00.asp
[8] http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerardosotelo/
[9] http://twitter.com/?lang=en&logged_out=1#!/fastcompany
[10] http://www.fastcompany.com/1728968/south-korea-invests-718-billion-in-smart-grid ◦

Wi-Not? South Korea's Seoul To Blanket The City With Free Wi-Fi

Video: Meet Sung-Bong Choi, South Korea's Susan Boyle

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Video: Meet Sung-Bong Choi, South Korea's Susan Boyle

South Korea needs fewer wage slaves and more entrepreneurs

http://www.economist.com/node/18682342

Earlier this year Humax, a maker of digital set-top boxes based in Seoul, announced that its annual revenues had exceeded 1 trillion won ($865m) for the first time. For South Korea, this is something of a milestone. Humax is a classic start-up, founded in 1989 after a chat between engineering students in a bar. Alas, scandalously few Korean start-ups grow this big.

The Korean economy is dominated by the chaebol, huge conglomerates with tentacles in every stew. The biggest, Samsung, accounts for around a fifth of the country’s exports. Although the chaebol have played a vital role in South Korea’s development, they also suck up credit and obstruct the rise of start-ups. “Everyone knows you don’t compete with the chaebol” is a commonly heard refrain.

Parents of bright young Koreans typically steer them into steady careers in the chaebol, the government or the professions. As in Japan, being a salaryman (or woman) is far more respectable than running one’s own firm. “In Korea, stability is everything,” says one such parent.

Widespread youth unemployment is changing that calculation, however. An impressive 58% of Koreans aged 25-34 have attended university, but 346,000 graduates are currently out of work, up from 268,000 two years ago. Some become entrepreneurs out of necessity: almost 30,000 young South Koreans say they want to launch their own companies, one survey found. And according to the government, the number of “one-man creative enterprises” in the country has risen by 15% in the past year, to 235,000.

Young entrepreneurs often favour tech fields such as social media or gaming, where the only barrier to entry is the power of your imagination. Challenging the chaebol at, say, shipbuilding, might be trickier. The previous wave of young entrepreneurs—a result of the first internet boom, and the unemployment that followed the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis—threw up fizzy firms such as NHN, the operator of Naver (the “Korean Google”), and NCsoft, a maker of multiplayer online role-playing games. Each was once tiny but now belongs to the trillion-won club.

These new entrepreneurs are being joined by a growing band of foreigners, including ethnic Koreans from Western countries. Californian Koreans see no stigma in starting your own business. And they see South Korea, where the economy grew by 6.2% last year, as a land of opportunity compared with sluggish America. The country issues about 35,000 investor visas a year, mostly to small-scale entrepreneurs. The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Global Centre has recently been swamped by expats seeking to attend its classes on Korean business procedures and regulations.

The city has also launched a “Youth 1,000 CEO Project”, to provide young entrepreneurs with free office space and grants of up to 1m won per month. South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak grumbles that Korea has no Mark Zuckerberg (the baby-faced founder of Facebook).

The problem, though, is not young Koreans, who are both bright and energetic. Nor is it business-throttling regulations: South Korea does better on that score than Japan or Taiwan, says the World Bank. The real obstacle to enterprise is a society that urges its best young minds to aim low. ◦

South Korea needs fewer wage slaves and more entrepreneurs

Hunger in North Korea: Let them eat maize husks

http://www.economist.com/node/18682803

It is the time of year when the previous harvest has been nearly eaten and the next one has just been planted. Time, in other words, to worry about North Korea’s perennially hungry masses.

North Korea had long grown dependent on food handouts from its estranged brother, South Korea, and from the United States. But the South’s current president, Lee Myung-bak, has taken a tougher line, tying assistance to less provocative behaviour by Kim Jong Il’s nuclear-tipped regime. So Mr Kim’s envoys have travelled further afield of late, reportedly doing the rounds of Europe.

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is now preparing to distribute emergency aid to 3.5m North Koreans suffering from “severe malnutrition”. Programme officials are concerned about the possibility of a famine on the scale of the one in the mid-1990s, in which over 1m died. They blame a series of shocks, including the coldest winter in years, widespread flooding and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock. Some 297,000 tonnes of cereal and 137,000 tonnes of fortified blended food must reach the most vulnerable.

With murky data, and diplomats and foreign-aid staff restricted in where they may travel, not everyone agrees with the WFP’s assessment. Certainly, estimating North Korea’s food needs has long been a politicised business. A member of South Korea’s ruling Grand National Party, Yoon Sang-hyun, says that the North is hoarding 1m tonnes of rice, playing up a shortfall in order to get aid on the cheap. Some say Mr Kim wants the aid in order to announce a bumper harvest in 2012. That year is the 100th anniversary of North Korea’s founder, Mr Kim’s father, Kim Il Sung. Something approaching paradise has long been promised to North Koreans for 2012.

The South’s unification minister, Hyun In-taek, also suspects North Korea of exaggerating its troubles for political gain. Certainly, he says, starvation has begun to overshadow other topics that the South would rather discuss, namely denuclearisation and the North’s refusal to apologise for last year’s shelling of Yeonpyeong island and the presumed sinking in March 2010 of a naval corvette. This is apparently a view shared by Daily NK, an activist network and news source which says that the price of rice in the black market has actually fallen by around half in recent months.

Others, such as Good Friends, a South Korean Buddhist charity long working in the North, insist the situation is very bad—and that tuberculosis is on the rise owing to malnutrition. Rimjingang, a magazine with reporters secretly stationed in North Korea, says that in North Pyongan province by the Chinese border even the army is going hungry.

Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland, both at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, say that even though the WFP has overstated the case, “all indicators point to a deteriorating food-security situation”. What is more, they take issue with Mr Lee’s belief that withholding aid will temper the North’s behaviour. Rather, they argue, the response will merely be for the hermit kingdom to “hunker down and tighten repression”. The regime has been consistent chiefly in showing complete disregard for its people.

But arguing is pointless. Widespread malnutrition and starvation in at least some parts of the country is a reality in North Korea. For Jimmy Carter, the former American president, who visited Pyongyang recently, the fault lies mainly with South Korea and the United States. That is presumably tonic to the real culprit for the hunger, the chubby Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il. ◦

Hunger in North Korea: Let them eat maize husks

Conscription in South Korea: Elvis and the draft-dodger

http://www.economist.com/node/21516831

Every South Korean man of sound mind and body is obliged to complete 21 months of compulsory military service. For those with enough money or influence though, the temptation to cheat one’s way out of early mornings, crew cuts and square bashing is often too much to resist. Sons of politicians and business leaders are notorious for this, as are the likes of pop star MC Mong, who spent his youthful years on more enjoyable pursuits, e.g., Mr Mong, or rather Shin Dong-hyun, as he is known to the army and the courts, was given a six-month suspended sentence last month (http://sangchusan.blogspot.com/2011/04/rapper-gets-suspended-sentence-super.html) , plus probation and 120 hours of community service, for “delaying” his enlistment. Judges however could not decide on whether or not he deliberately had healthy teeth extracted by a compliant dentist in order to disqualify him from service—hence their relative leniency.

Not everyone in his position is so recalcitrant. Hyun Bin, a hugely popular hallyu (http://www.economist.com/node/15385735) TV actor, last week embarked on the toughest assignment of all: a posting with the marines, to Baengnyeong Island (http://www.allkpop.com/2011/04/hyun-bin-boards-for-baengnyeong-island) —close to the Northern Limit Line and Yeonpyeong, where last November’s lethal North Korean bombardment (http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2010/11/conflict_korean_peninsula) took place. The army’s original plan was to put him on “public relations duty”—appearing in promotional videos, and the like—but highly vocal criticism and Mr Hyun’s reported desire to serve as a marine have seen him sent to the front line.

In a country increasingly preoccupied with the issue of fairness—“Justice”, an academic book on ethics written by Harvard’s Michael Sandel’s sold 1m copies in its Korean edition last year—Hyun Bin’s preference for the Elvis Presley route (http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvisandtheusarmy.shtml) to service is likely to go down well. MC Mong, having been seen as trying to sidestep his national duty, will have a harder time turning his service into a virtue. A quick march towards career oblivion seems more likely. ◦

Conscription in South Korea: Elvis and the draft-dodger

Censorship in South Korea: Game Over

http://www.economist.com/node/18561127

A liberal, free-market democracy has some curious rules and regulations

Over 700,000 South Korean children own smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone or a local rival by Samsung Electronics called the Galaxy S. Many use them so much for mobile online gaming that some 50 parental associations have called for an imminent night-time curfew for under-16s playing online computer games to be extended to mobile phones.

Concern over computer games is nothing new. Claims that marathon gaming sessions in South Korea’s “PC-bang” internet cafés have led to violence, including deaths, have prompted much soul-searching. All the same, the state seems too keen to use heavy-handed regulation. Its Game Rating Board (GRB), with the legal power to ban any game, now risks obstructing the development of an entire industry, one of the country’s most vibrant.

Graphic games such as Grand Theft Auto III are already off-limits to Korean gamers. But the chief problem is the GRB’s trouble keeping up with the sheer number of new mobile games being released on the iPhone and the rival Android platform, which Samsung uses. The board insists on a long approval process for even the most innocuous games. Apple and Google, which developed Android, are avoiding trouble by simply not selling any games to Korean customers. Related topicsCensorshipSocial issuesGamesHobbies and pastimesVideo games Yet many “indie” games developers in South Korea desperately want to reach customers. With talented programmers and a ready-made market of smartphone-owning game obsessives, this is a natural growth industry. The government pays lip service to the idea of encouraging entrepreneurship among the young. Yet the GRB, says Kim Jin-sung at Pig-Min, a games developer, is “the arch-enemy of the Korean gaming community”. This is all part of a bigger problem: technology-related censorship. In 2009 an online “economic prophet” who called himself Minerva was prosecuted for making gloomy predictions about the South Korean economy and casting aspersions on policymakers. The 30-year-old was later acquitted. The only charge that stuck was the state’s heavy-handedness. Unusually in a democracy, a “real-name” system is now in effect for those posting on popular online forums: any participant signing up to websites must use their national identity number. So would-be Minervas are now easily traced. The spread of false information carries a maximum punishment of five years’ imprisonment and a hefty fine. What is more, since 2008 a supposedly independent Korea Communications Standards Commission has had the remit to promote a “sound and friendly communications environment”. Critics argue that the commission serves as the government’s de facto internet censorship body. It is supposed merely to “advise” portals to remove articles believed to contain falsehoods, obscenity or statements in favour of North Korea that infringe the National Security Act. In fact it may issue administrative orders backed up by law, forcing content to be deleted. Unsurprisingly, its “advice” tends to be followed. Chang Ha-joon of Cambridge University, whose free-trade critique, “Bad Samaritans”, is on a list of books the defence ministry has banned troops from reading, argues that such efforts are counterproductive. “This is not the 1980s, when you could just cut a few telephone lines,” he says. Blocking free speech in one place would simply “start a bushfire” somewhere else. Much of the desire to control the flow of information and ideas can be traced back to longstanding fears over the spread of North Korean propaganda, which remains illegal. The administration of President Lee Myung-bak has additional suspicions about the power of IT thanks to massive, internet-driven protests against imports of American beef that brought Seoul to a standstill in 2008. Yet South Korea’s mild paranoia about controlling information harms its reputation as a liberal democracy and undermines its potential as a creative powerhouse. ◦

Censorship in South Korea: Game Over

Video: The Flavor of Seoul

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Video: The Flavor of Seoul

Korean BBQ Taco Box in Orlando

http://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/63-korean/1391-korean-bbq-taco-box Written by Scott Joseph As we gear up to Tuesday’s The Daily City Food Truck Bazaar (gear up; get it?), I thought I would do a preview of one of the bazaar’s participants, Korean BBQ Taco Box. Recently, I told you about Big Wheel Provision’s shiny new truck that is essentially a professional kitchen on wheels. But if Big Wheel’s rig is the Rolls Royce of food trucks, Korean BBQ Taco Box’s is, well, the Dodge. A Dodge Sportsman, to be exact, one of a certain age. Its yellow paint job does not appear to have been professionally applied, and you don’t have to get too close to spot the places where it has been puttied and patched. And from what I could see when I peeked through the open screen door of what is essentially a repurposed camper, it is not outfitted with commercial grade cooking equipment. But the food, though perhaps as quirky as the vehicle, is good. At least the spicy pork taco box I sampled was. Actually, on the menu, it says spicy pork tacos, however there was only one. But a big one. The chunks of fried pork had been marinated in a deliciously spicy sauce and folded with lettuce inside a large flour tortilla. I was hoping it might have some shredded kimchi to further the fusion theme, but alas no. There were some other goodies included in the box, however. There were a couple of small rice balls and two little pieces of an egg roll. One compartment held some lettuce with ginger dressing, and there were a couple of pieces of fried tofu and a fried chicken wing. It was plenty to eat for $5.99. KBBQTB has only one table with two plastic chairs for people who choose to eat their lunches onsite. It’s really more of a take-away sort of truck.

I had only one major complaint, and that was the length of time it took from the time I ordered my food to the point where it was passed through the window, which was more than 20 minutes. That’s a long time to stand around in the hot sun. But when I saw that one of the people who had placed an order before I arrived was handed three bags of about seven boxes, I figured that was the holdup. And when my order was finally ready, the young man who gave it to me apologized for the long wait, so I’m guessing it was an anomaly. During the day -- everyday -- Korean BBQ Taco Box is parked at the Citgo gas station on the northwest corner of Colonial Drive and Primrose Avenue, next door to a McDonald’s. The actual address is 2705 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando. In the evenings, it can be found at a Shell gas station in Oviedo, at 4300 Alafaya Trail and the corner of McCulloch Road. Click this link to go to the Korean BBQ Taco Box website, but you can call orders ahead to 407-844-3990.

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Korean BBQ Taco Box in Orlando

Photo: South Korean Street Food

These are photos from South Korea. I took it at a very famous, open 24/7 shopping central called Dong Dae Moon in Seoul. The lady in the first photo (above) obviously specializes in sea shells and other seafood. In the second photo, you find a menu on the top left corner that reads vertically from left to right,”chicken gizzart, chicken feet, octopus ocellatus, pig skin, seafood pancake, kimchi pancake, and udon. (the rest are not legible due to the reflection.) You also see a big sign on the top middle that reads “Original Mira’s Intestine.” In addition, you see Shin Ramen that you can find at Ralphs, Korean style sushi called “Gim Bap”, and boiled fishcake skewers. http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2011/04/photo-south-korean-street-food/

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Photo: South Korean Street Food

Post-Daewoo, GM Plasters Chevy Brand In South Korea

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/03/31/post-daewoo-gm-plasters-chevy-brand-in-sk/?mod=google_news_blog

South Koreans will see more cars and dealerships carrying the Chevrolet logo as General Motors Co. focuses on its core brand globally.

General Motors took a big gamble in South Korea at the start of March by getting rid of the brand name that was long familiar to Korean shoppers, Daewoo, in favor of its Chevrolet brand. So far, the transition is going smoothly, says Mike Arcamone, president of GM Korea. In the past four weeks, GM has re-outfitted its Korean dealers with Chevrolet signage and merchandising. More importantly, car inventory has rapidly shifted into Chevrolet-only product. Daewoo is one of the classic names of Korean business history, one of the major conglomerates to have been built during the 1960s as the country began its meteoric rise from poverty. But it was also the biggest conglomerate to fail during the country’s financial crisis of 1997-98. GM bought Daewoo’s car-building assets in 2001. But GM kept the Daewoo name, in part because South Korean consumers have long tended to favor Korean brands over foreign ones. Renault Nissan bought the car assets of Samsung under the same circumstances and in the same time frame and continues to brand its South Korean cars as Samsung, though they are basically re-badged Nissan models. But the Daewoo brand was tired, Mr. Arcamone said in an interview at the opening of the Seoul Motor Show on Thursday. And the move with the broader reshaping of the General Motors, which recently exited a bankruptcy process that allowed it to trim its brand portfolio and shed troubled assets. “Chevrolet is a global brand, an iconic brand,” he said. “Our studies demonstrated the Korean consumer was ready for this.” This year, Chevrolet will celebrate its centennial. At the Seoul Motor Show (which actually takes place in the suburb of Ilsan), GM added a couple of classic Chevy models sent in from Detroit and placed them near a futuristic concept roadster, dubbed Mi-ray, that was designed in Korea. GM Korea has the third-largest booth at the auto show, after the soccer-field-sized booths of Hyundai and Kia, which together account about 75% of all auto sales in the country. The giant gold Chevy emblem that dominates the booth is visible from much of the convention floor. A small part of the booth displays Cadillac models. The name change came just a few months after the South Korean and U.S. governments in December hammered out the final details of a free trade agreement that had been bogged down by perceptions that U.S. car makers didn’t fare well in the South Korean market. GM Korea has had about 15% market share under the Daewoo brand, but U.S. lawmakers, pressured by Ford and Chrysler to seek better terms in the FTA, rarely acknowledged GM’s toehold in the Korean market. Mr. Arcamone said the timing of the name change was unrelated to the FTA, which GM officially took a neutral stance on. He said the change took a long time to plan and execute, involving tens of millions of dollars in production and merchandising expense. “We never decided to wait for the outcome of the FTA,” he said.

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Post-Daewoo, GM Plasters Chevy Brand In South Korea

Food-on-a-Stick - Korea and the World

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/foods-on-a-stick-day-skewers-candy-apples-corn-dogs-yakitori-fondue-pie-pops.html Today is a special day for stick-food lovers. Thanks to SE:Talk, we learned that it's Something on a Stick Day. What qualifies as a stick-food? Corn dogs, yakitori, kebabs, pie pops, fondue, and really anything else that's stabbable with a stick. Slideshow: http://tinyurl.com/4j7l8dk State fairs are usually full of stick-foods. The Minnesota State Fair, for example, sells 60 different foods on a stick, ranging from corn on the cob to spaghetti. In Seoul, South Korea, you can find street vendors selling Tornado Potato, a swirl-cut potato wrapped around a long stick that's deep-fried. Speaking of deep-fried, we've also seen french-fry-coated bacon on a stick, rice-battered hot dogs, and in Ecuador, "chuzos" are deep-fried sausage and plaintain skewers. For those celebrating at home today, here are recipes for 13 of our favorite stick-foods. In most parts of the world, it's not exactly outdoor grilling season yet, so here are some indoor tips. ◦

Food-on-a-Stick - Korea and the World

China cracks down, South Korea speeds up

http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/24/6333593-china-cracks-down-south-korea-speeds-up

By Adrienne Mong

SEOUL, South Korea – It’s a strange thing to be reading about China’s continued crackdown on the Internet from our temporary perch in Seoul.

The last time I was here was in 1989. The Pre-Internet Age.

This time, on my first visit in more than 20 years, South Korea owns the mantle of the world’s fastest Internet connection, according to a quarterly survey known as the State of the Internet by Akamai. It's on average four times as fast as that of the U.S.

But that just isn’t fast enough.

By the end of next year, the South Korean government plans to have every home in the nation hooked up to the Internet at a speed of one gigabit per second. Imagine being able to download the entire Godfather trilogy in 20 seconds.

In the meantime, over in China, land of the Great Firewall, reports are emerging that the download speed of Gmail has plunged. We won’t get into the technicalities of kbps, but let’s just say Gmail is now operating 45 times slower than the most popular free Chinese instant messaging service known as QQ.

The disruptions to Gmail don’t end there. For weeks now, ordinary Gmail users have complained about interrupted service. Writer Wang Lixiong tweeted that he received this message from Gmail when he tried to log in: “Your account is locked, because abnormal activities are detected. You may have to wait 24 hours before you can log in again.”

Another user told my colleague Bo Gu that China Unicom appears to be blocking Gmail entirely from mobile devices.

And in the wake of calls for Jasmine rallies foreign journalists in China have been vigilant about attempts to hack into their email accounts.

The disrupted service coincides with a surge in reported failures of several VPNs (virtual private networks), designed to circumvent China’s Internet firewall.

On Monday, Google accused the Chinese government of obstructing access to its Gmail service, saying the company had checked everything on its own end and concluded that the problems are the result of a “blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied the accusation.

Speedy Internet = Open Internet
South Korea’s drive to lead the way globally in broadband access originated in the mid-1990s, but its efforts stepped up immediately after its economy was crippled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. And technology became a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to reboot and refashion its economy.

Seoul's approach to the Internet is instructive. Although there are many reasons it has managed to power ahead of the pack, there is one that stands out in sharp relief against what’s happening in China: the open (and highly competitive) nature of its telecoms market.

“The idea behind an “open” system is essentially that, for a fee, broadband providers must share the cables that carry Internet signals into people’s homes,” says one report. “Companies that build those lines typically oppose this sharing. A number of governments, including South Korea and Japan and several European countries, have experimented with or embraced infrastructure-sharing as a way to get new companies to compete in the broadband market.”

China doesn’t allow that kind of openness—either in its infrastructure or in its content. ◦

China cracks down, South Korea speeds up

Japan radiation fear sparks South Korea diaper rush

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/23/us-japan-radiation-fear-idUSTRE72M74U20110323

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters Life!) - The risk of radiation contamination from Japan's damaged nuclear power stations has sparked food bans across the globe and more surprisingly, a buying frenzy from South Korean mothers who fear their favorite Japanese-made diapers may suddenly become unavailable.

Cho Myung-jin, who organizes online group-buying for Japanese diapers, saw her website collapse on Tuesday under the weight of traffic as panicked South Koreans chased brands they believe are better quality than locally-made products.

"The reaction was scary. Some mothers did not go to work to reserve diapers," the 31-year old mother told Reuters.

According to Auction Corp, the second-largest online shopping website in South Korea, sales of Japanese diapers have doubled since the quake.

After her social commerce website collapsed, Cho opened a new message board selling 300 packs of diapers, limiting sales to one pack per person, and said she received 2,000 offers in a minute.

She said the price of Japanese diapers available online has nearly doubled to 150,000 won ($133.30) a package.

"I feel sorry that they sold out, upsetting parents who had waited for days," said Cho, whose 22-month old infant uses the Japanese product. ◦

Japan radiation fear sparks South Korea diaper rush

South Korea’s Smart Grid Will Lead the New Green Revolution

http://ecopreneurist.com/2011/03/22/south-koreas-smart-grid-will-lead-the-new-green-revolution/comment-page-1/

South Korea is attempting to bring about a new green revolution with its own hands in an attempt to both cut down on CO2 emissions and also to make their electricity market more efficient.

They’re pouring somewhere around the ballpark of $7.18 billion dollars into making a new smart grid for the country. There will be an annual spending of $358 million until 2016. At this point there will be about $2.1 billion spent per year on the project.

It’s estimated that by the year 2030, the complete investment will have been made. You might find yourself wondering what a smart grid could possibly do to help the country. The reason for this is that those using it will only find themselves using as much electricity as they need to.

Even when you try to consciously cut down on electricity usage, you don’t have as much control as you may want to on how much you use. With the implementation of this smart grid, consumers will have a much bigger grip on how much they consume as long as they remember to use home appliance monitoring and give feedback directly through the grid.

In recent years, South Korea has been investing heavily in green technologies and policies. Despite the fact that the nation has been listed as a high-carbon polluter within the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, critics have been praising the fact that it has been attempting to clean up its act.

For example, it has turned landfills into hydrogen generators, constructed gigantic gardens on rooftops and in some places has even replaced traditional automobiles with electric scooters for police officers. Compared to other countries it has been investing much more in alternative forms of energy. For example, it has been estimated that out of the 972.1 billion dollars included in the United States’ stimulus package, only 11.6 percent has been green technology.

In comparison, out of the 38 billion dollars in South Korea’s stimulus package, a whopping 80.5 percent of that includes green technology. Some countries are doing an even worse job. Japan received 485.9 billion in its stimulus package but only a minuscule 2.6 percent of that is green technology.

South Korea is leading the way for alternative energy usage. The nation’s highways are adorned with solar panels. Seoul is also covered in parks, restored tree-lined streams that were previously covered by urban development and plenty of other green gestures.

For its laudable efforts, the International Council of Societies of Industrial design named Seoul the World Design City for 2010. This is a title well deserved, but only time will tell how much the smart grid will contribute to cutting down on emissions. ◦

South Korea’s Smart Grid Will Lead the New Green Revolution

Jumbo size burger introduced at GS Supermarkets

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110320000362
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/photo-of-the-day-giant-burger-from-gs-supermarket-in-south-korea.html

A jumbo burger four times bigger than the McDonald’s bulgogi burger has hit the market.

Named “The Greatest Burger,” it is has been available for sale since Friday at GS Supermarkets nationwide.

The super-sized burger, which is 25 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 600 grams, is served in a cardboard box, not wrapped in a paper, as it is about the size of a regular-sized pizza.
Although the price is cheap for its size, the burger has everything inside -- a chicken patty, a slice of tomato, cucumber, lettuce and pickles.

The burger is priced at 12,000 won, but is available at 5,000 won until Thursday during the promotional period.

The burgers were sold out on the first day of the sale, as the news circulated rapidly via word of mouth.

GS Supermarkets’ move to launch the new burger marks the latest entrant in a series of ultra-cheap foodstuffs introduced by big retailers such as Lotte Mart and E-Mart. Lotte Mart stopped selling its 5,000 won chicken, about one-third of usual price, after suffering a backlash regarding its pricing that was said to potentially hurt small chicken franchises.

◦

Jumbo size burger introduced at GS Supermarkets

Expats to teach south Korean students about their cultures

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2933700

Seoul city government said yesterday that it again will sponsor a program in which expatriates will teach the culture and history of their homeland to Korean students by visiting elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul.

"The goal of the program is to nurture students to become leaders in a globalized world and help them understand cultural diversity, as there are more than 260,000 expatriates living in Seoul right now," said Go Hong-seok, a Seoul government official.

Begun in 2009 when roughly 4,000 students took classes by expats, this year’s lectures will start in April and last until December, the Seoul city government said. Roughly 50 foreign volunteers from 16 countries including Nepal and Ireland will teach in classes with less than 30 students.

In an effort to boost the quality of the program this year, the government said it will work with embassies and foreign institutes to encourage teachers to introduce their folk music and dances to Korean students. Seoul city government is now recruiting interpreters. For teachers, applicants can send their resume anytime to the government. ◦

Expats to teach south Korean students about their cultures

Korea’s Labor Force: Muscle Behind Economic Miracle (April 2010)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/08/291_63565.html

By Andrew Salmon

Economic pundits examining South Korea in summer 1953 had few positive signs to assess. The war had resolved nothing: The peninsula remained divided; and inter-Korean animosities were fiercer than ever. Much of the nation's urban area and national infrastructure was devastated. Moreover, most of the industry, and key natural resources ― minerals, precious metals, hydro-electric power ― lay in the North. The country was a basket case ― yet three decades later, was being lauded as an ``economic miracle.''

Post-war South Korea had only one significant resource: people. And they hardly looked formidable. Many 19th century Western observers considered Koreans corrupt, backward and lazy; many 20th century observers saw them as fractious and brutal. Yet the seeds to transform a nation of peasants into a nation of workers ― in 1960, workers in the agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors accounted for 63 percent of the labor force; by 2008, this had plunged to 7.2 percent ― were planted early in South Korea's history.

Educational Premium

The nation's first president, Rhee Syngman, enacted universal education. He was building on an existing cultural construct: Educational achievement has been revered by Koreans since at least the 15th century. For a nation as a poor as Korea, Rhee's investment was risky: As much as 19 percent of national budget was devoted to the project.

The system was based heavily on rote-learning, with particular emphasis on successfully inculcating the basics of numeracy and literacy (Korea boasts one of the lowest illiteracy rates on earth). But beyond classroom teaching per se, the culture implicit in the wider educational system helped incubate an effective labor force that was tailor-made for the manufacturing industry that would appear in the 1960s.

In Korean education, the end result ― i.e. achievement in examinations ― is more important than the learning process itself. For this reason, students are expected to study long ― by Western standards, ridiculous ― hours. Moreover, conformity, not individuality is demanded: team mentality dominates. Teachers enforce rules with strict discipline. All these factors would prove effective in forging a labor force that could read and count; was less focused on process than on outcome; was conditioned to working excessive hours; and was disciplined and responsive to orders.

Korean males were subject to another kind of training: national service. Military training further inculcated discipline, spiced with a fierce patriotism ― a force that could be leveraged by authority figures in all areas of life. Nothing was more sacred than working for the group, the company, the nation.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, we had a kind of military morale at work sites,'' said Choi Im-sik, manager of the Labor and Government Relations Team at the Federation of Korean Unions, or FKTU. "Labor obeyed without question.''

A government that prioritized export-led growth provided technical education that upgraded skills as the nation transitioned from light (textiles, wigs, dolls) to heavy (petrochemicals, electronics, construction) industry. In 1967, vocational training was introduced. Technical high schools, such as the Construction High School in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, the Electronics High School in Busan and the Mechanical High School in Gimhae were established. Graduates particularly valued by industry were exempted military service; university departments set aside quotas for technical high school students. In 1976, official policy obliged employers to provide compulsory vocational training.

All for the Company

Unlike communist states, Korea ― which certainly benefited from a strong, Socialist-tinted dose of central planning ― used private, rather than public corporations as its economic growth engine. Companies leveraged their staff to the maximum.

Conglomerates ran courses for new hires that could best be described as indoctrination programs: military-type group training inculcated company spirit. Many companies, even small ones, had a paternalistic side. Teams, shifts and departments fostered close relationships, cemented by after-hours bonding. Firms sponsored in-house sports squads, and weekend excursions that often included games and team-building exercises.

Management was hands on. Department heads attended staffers' weddings and family funerals, even playing the role of match-makers. In the early days of economic growth at least, corporate leadership was personal and charismatic: Hyundai godfather Chung Ju-young was noted for wrestling with his workers. Bosses were known for getting their hands dirty. As CEO of Hyundai Construction, Lee Myung-bak, a typical workaholic, dismantled a bulldozer to see what made it tick.

These various factors engendered powerful loyalties. A 1996 report by global HR agency Humanbridge noted: "Korean employees are expected to dedicate themselves not only to their work, but also to the success of their company. While there is no guarantee of lifetime employment, Koreans generally do not approve of job-hopping.''

The end result was a workforce willing to sacrifice itself for the company. One example was exceptional working hours: Korea routinely topped international surveys (the nation currently has the longest working hours in the OECD). While Korean workers might lag behind those of more developed nations in productivity terms, willingness to work long and hard made up for it.

These fearsome hours ― which corroded quality of life, particularly family life ― did not go unrewarded. As members of an intensely ambitious society, workers sought extra income from overtime and bonuses. A 2007 study by scholars Lee Byung-nam and Rhee Yin-sog, examining manufacturing companies between 1972 and 1987, found that bonuses did, indeed, reflect increased output. "Even these days, Korean workers work hard,'' said Dr. Kang Choong-ho, spokesman for the FKTU. "They want to earn more.'' Indeed: With Korea having customarily been a producer-led, rather than a consumer-focused economy, living costs have always been high.

Dark Side

But there were other factors behind Korean workers' extraordinary output: Growth-obsessed authoritarian governments were untrammeled by such niceties as labor rights or the need to fund social welfare. "From the 1960s to the 1980s, Korean economic growth was the result of the sacrifices of the workers,'' said Kang.

Labor consciousness rose in 1970 after the self-immolation of Chon Tae-il in protest at the sweatshop conditions endured by textile workers (SEE BOX) but the soil for union formation remained stony for another 17 years. For one thing, in the aftermath of the war, any left-leaning organization was looked upon with suspicion. In a 2007 study, researcher Hwang Suk-man found that, absent an environment in which unions could be openly organized, many union leaders based their leadership on personal charisma; when they were jailed or otherwise removed, unions imploded. Moreover, government cynically used the gender divide, pitting males against activist female workers in the 1970s. A 1980 Labor Law revision banned formation of sectoral unions, limiting unions to individual companies.

Historical suppression of unions detonated explosive events in summer 1987, when Koreans won democracy after almost a decade of struggle. Union membership soared. So did industrial disputes: between July and September, over 3,000 conflicts occurred, exceeding the total number in the previous two decades. Some were spectacular: Seoul deployed helicopters, landing craft and more riot policemen to break up a strike at Hyundai than the British government had used soldiers to recapture the Falkland Islands. Wages soared across industries. The early-mid 1990s were the heyday of union activism; a general strike in 1997 forced the Kim Young-sam administration to back down from changes to labor laws. But in 1998, with the specter of mass layoffs hovering due to the Asian economic crisis, a Tripartite Commission, formed of representatives of government, management and labor was formed to mediate industrial disputes.

Korea's Labor Force Today

An iconic image of today's Korea is massed ranks of head-banded unionists, waving banners, thrusting fists in the air and roaring in unison: ironically, militaristic organization, so valuable to management in the past, is now utilized by labor. Two national umbrella unions remain active, and continue to use the language and paraphernalia of struggle.

Such high-profile activism masks that the fact that just 10.5 percent of the workforce is unionized, and Korea's top company, Samsung, lacks a union. While foreign firms routinely beg Seoul to "increase labor market flexibility'' (i.e., ease dismissal rules) over 50 percent of the workforce, the FKTU notes, is either part time or temporary. Moreover, as services industries expand, union organization becomes more difficult. (One exception to this truism is Korea's finance sector, which has unusually strong unions by global standards.)

Korean workforce vulnerabilities include increasing wage levels and poor productivity, but retain strengths against counterparts in, for example, China, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Dr. Lee Jong-il, an HR specialist at Samsung Economic Research Institute lists them: "Creative capacity, high global literacy, high attainments in scholarship ― more than 80% of workers have university degrees ― and a high IT capacity.'' Koreans agonize that the education system that successfully supported the metal-bashing era is inappropriate for a knowledge-based economy, but hundreds of thousands of Koreans studying abroad bring home new skills and new concepts.

The rise of Korea from war's ashes is not exclusively due to labor. Vision; efficient central planning; authoritarian governments that prioritized economic growth over political development; generous post-war U.S. aid, trade and technology transfer terms; imports of industrial consultants from Europe, Japan and the U.S.; all contributed to Korea's economic ascent.

But historically, labor's role, has been underplayed. None of the factors above would have taken effect without the efforts ― and sacrifices ― of the workforce; Korea's labor was the muscle that built the miracle. ◦

Korea’s Labor Force: Muscle Behind Economic Miracle (April 2010)

Massages in Seoul

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110318000838

If working hard has left you keen for a break, but you’re all out of holidays, then look no farther than Seoul. For exotic, blissful relaxation in the big city ― on a range of budgets ― let your mind travel and your body experience the pleasure of some of the world’s best massage traditions.

Thai massage uses deep pressure and stretches and is based on the idea that air, or “lom,” enters the body and travels along a myriad of “sen” or vessels. Therapists manipulate these sen lines and combine this with positions akin to yoga.

Located in a sleepy residential enclave of Gangnam, Rai Ra offers a truly restful taste of this globally recognized treatment.

Set in a house, the atmosphere is welcoming. You are greeted by floral decor and a living room complete with fireplace. Therapists here are Thai, making for an authentic experience.

In place of a massage table, Rai Ra use mats on the floor ― as in Thailand. Customers also wear pale pink Thai trousers with matching T-shirts if they opt for the country’s traditional massage, known there as “nuat phaen boran,” or ancient manner massage.

After carefully covering you in warm towels, leaving just a candle in the corner and a softly-dimmed bulb for light, the massage begins, feet first.

Slow and expert, the therapist maneuvers your body with full use of theirs. With a moderate level of pressure, the massage incorporates not only hand techniques, but also knees to knead buttocks and feet to ease down on heels.

Ever-gentle, the therapist sneaks in some more precise deep tissue work ― with special concentration on the shoulders ― but there is never a hint of pain.

Ending in a cross-legged position and a dream-like state, this soothing massage helps you happily drift off to the idyllic beaches of Thai islands.

An hour’s full-body massage at Rai Ra costs 55,000 won. For more information and directions call (02) 567-4711.

“Champissage,” or Indian head massage is said to unblock pockets of negative energy. Particularly recommended for those suffering with achy necks and shoulders, they are also said to help clear the mind and improve mental clarity.

“This treatment helps stimulate the auto-immune system of the body by relieving stress-induced tension and filling the body with positive energy,” explained Sarah Kim, Team Leader of AWAY Spa at the W Seoul Walkerhill.

Tricky to find in Korea, Indian head massages are a real treat ― especially for those who work hunched in front of a computer.

Amid an ultra-modern, plush white setting, the AWAY spa experience starts with a firm shoulder, neck and chest massage, kneading away knots.

The therapist begins on the head slowly, working a sesame aromatherapy oil ― infused with menthol and lavender ― in circular motions into the scalp, one small section at a time.

Gradually, pressure and speed intensify. Using whole palms, each side of the head are rubbed in grand, sweeping motions. The movements then become faster, honing in on acupressure points ― some shooting a tingling sensation down the back of the legs.

The treatment culminates with a warm head wrap and gentle arm stretches. From here, customers are guided to the W Chill room, for a choice of hot and cold teas, five channels of chill-out music and the chance to lay back and fully enjoy a moment of calm.

An Indian Head massage at the W Seoul’s AWAY Spa starts at 120,000 won for 60 minutes. For more information call (02) 2022-0450 or visit www.wseoul.co.kr.

Japanese Shiatsu for health and healing

Shiatsu, Japanese for “finger pressure,” is a rejuvenating massage using precise, rolling motions and compressions to promote the body’s flow of energy ― ki ― and therefore good health.

“Shiatsu’s principles evolved from a hybridization of traditional Japanese massage, Chinese medical practices and ‘Western’ anatomy and physiology,” said Dr. Sean Kim, CEO of Sky Wellness Center in Itaewon.

The clinic focuses primarily on corrective and chiropractic treatments, but therapist Lance Kim offers more massage for relaxation, fusing his Korea-influenced techniques with other traditions.
In bright and professional environs, clients are asked to complete a form about their health prior to their session to ensure maximum benefit. The staff here ― Koreans and expats ― are extremely knowledgeable.

After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, the therapist begins, placing slow but strong compressions along the length of the body. For him, the massage is an active affair, as he uses hands, feet and forearms to achieve the desired result. For the client, it is a fantastic way to unwind.

The massage is recommended by the clinic for people with back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as headaches, insomnia, stress and a host of other complaints ― and it’s not hard to understand why. Lulled into a deep relaxation during the massage, the gradual end to the session ― arriving through satisfying stretches ― leaves you feeling light and supple.

Shiatsu massage at Sky Wellness costs 69,000 for an hour for one person, with a reduced rate of 62,000 won each for a couple. For more information and reservations call (02) 749-4849 or visit www.skychiro.com.

Swedish luxury

Developed at the University of Stockholm in 1812, the classic techniques used in Swedish massage are now used as a foundation for many other massages around the world.

In particular, they are “effective in improving the blood’s circulation and releasing muscle pain by stimulating the outer muscles,” said Jeon Sook-jin, team leader at the Grand Hyatt’s spa.

The Swedish full-body here is for all-out pampering, as down to every detail this experience is luxurious.

The Spa is designed on a natural theme, blending hues of cream and white for its soothing color scheme, with a mix of fresh white flowers adorning each room.

As this is an oil massage, clients are requested to undress in the adjacent, well-equipped, shower room first. Beginning face down, you are treated to the aroma of cleansing frankincense through the face-hole in the massage table.

To the sounds of one of eight tranquil background tracks such as “calm” or “classical,” the masseuse begins by enveloping each foot in a warm, wet cloth, before gently rubbing a soothing balm into them.

Then the sweeping, sunflower-oil-coated strokes, typical of Swedish massage, begin. Working toward the heart, the hand-waves work their magic from tense backs down to tired, knotted calves.

The knee work here really stands out. The therapist walks a delicate line, with encircling finger tips, between lingering sensitivity and rippling tension release.

After a period of relaxation, and a dash of energizing face mist, the therapist gently eases you to a sitting position. From here you are free to rouse yourself slowly in a nearby arm chair, with rooibus tea and macaroons for refreshment.

The Classic Swedish 60 at The Spa costs 145,000 won. For more information and reservations call (02) 799-8808 or visit http://seoul.grand.hyatt.com.

Invigorating Chinese foot rub

The ancient practice of foot massage in China goes back about 5,000 years. It was originally intended for healing within Oriental medicine, rather than for relaxation purposes.

Using the principles of reflexology, it focuses on acupressure points on the feet, which are said to correspond to other parts of the body. A toe massage, for example, is said to clear sinuses.

Hongsuryeo is a dedicated Chinese massage shop in Apgujeong. The friendly staff here all hail from China.

Quiet and atmospheric, with warm, Chinese-themed decor, customers are ushered directly into one of the treatment rooms to change into the shorts and T-shirt provided.

To begin, feet are plunged into a steaming hot lemon soak, and you are left to luxuriate and unwind, coddled in a warm blanket.

The massage itself takes place with the customer lying face-up on a massage table. After moisturizer has been liberally rubbed into both feet, the invigorating massage starts.

Both fast and vigorous, this is one which should leave you feeling sprightly and refreshed. The strong rubbing motions ensure that you feel the boost in circulation, even as you lay motionless.

Using a quick combination of techniques, the therapist alternates the intriguing mastery of acupressure with rolling leg motions.

To get the blood to flow from tired and weary feet, a particularly impressive move ― quick and firm ― begins at the ball of the foot and continues up past the ankle and right up the lower leg.

The session culminates using elements of sports massage.

An hour-long Chinese foot massage at Hongsuryeo costs 55,000 won. For more information call (02) 549-1005. ◦

Massages in Seoul

Koreans in Japan: Shoddy Treatment

http://www.economist.com/node/18338862?story_id=18338862&fsrc=rss

A foreigner in her own home
Shoddy treatment of its Korean residents once again deals Japan a black eye

In a part of Kyoto so trusting that vegetables are sold via honesty boxes, a 72-year-old woman hides in her house in fear, she says, of foreigner-baiting right-wing thugs. On March 4th it emerged in parliament that she had donated ¥250,000 ($3,000) over five years to the political funds of Seiji Maehara, whom she befriended when he was a fatherless teenager and who rose to become foreign minister. On March 6th he resigned.

The donation was illegal because she is a resident of Japan who was born in what is now part of South Korea. That makes her technically a foreigner. Mr Maehara says he did not know of her gift, and she says she did not know it was forbidden. Speaking bitterly through the intercom of her home, she says that she came to Japan when she was five, has paid tax and “the highest amount of national health insurance” since she started her barbecued-beef restaurant 37 years ago, and “knows nothing about South Korea”. But because she has never taken Japanese citizenship, she is not allowed to play a role in politics.

Like other of the 406,000 zainichi, Koreans resident in Japan, she has sought to avoid discrimination by adopting a Japanese name (which, mercifully, the press has not disclosed). That would make it hard for any politician to know her nationality. But Shoji Nishida, an opposition lawmaker, heard that a photograph of her and Mr Maehara hung in her restaurant. Barbecue restaurants are often run by zainichi, and Mr Nishida combed the minister’s political-funds report to see if she was a donor. For Mr Maehara, the repercussions were swift.

The incident exposes the unsatisfactory status of Koreans in Japan as descendants of those brought over, often forcibly, during Japan’s brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula. The Democratic Party of Japan has unsuccessfully sought to change the law to allow permanent Korean residents to vote in local elections.

On the one hand, such permanent residents are free to renounce their South Korean citizenship (and roots) in order to secure their political rights, however much they dislike Japan’s historical legacy. On the other, shoddy tactics to expose what looks like a well-meaning woman’s mistake will only make them less trusting of the only place they know as home. ◦

Koreans in Japan: Shoddy Treatment