DeCal Update, Fires in Los Angeles

The DeCal page is now up.

More information will be posted on this blog, yes, I do indeed plan on podcasting all the classes. The page can be found here.

On a personal note, the fires that are blazing through Los Angeles have been on my mind a lot over the past two days. It wouldn't have been possible to anticipate how wide the fire has spread, but my mother's house is in one of the mandatory evacuation zones as of 2 am Sunday morning and until now 1am Monday morning. And, my hometown of La Crescenta is one of those neighborhoods that are threatened by the fire. I came across this piece of work here in the Los Angeles Times, a publication that I have been critical of in the past:

At its southwestern flank, the fire is spreading actively in the foothills above
the 210 Freeway, from Altadena to Little Tujunga. Officials said they had four
control objectives for the day:
-- Keep the fire west of Mt. Wilson Road
-- Keep it south of Highway 14.
-- Keep it east of Interstate 5.
-- Keep it north of both Foothill Boulevard and Altadena Drive (Firefighters predict another difficult day as they battle blaze on multiple fronts Los Angeles Times)

I mean, I don't know if the situation is that desparate, though it looks pretty bad or if its a typo or if its probably the least ambitious goal I've ever seen. Though I fear I am treading on hallowed ground here by criticizng the firefighting effort, that statement right there should and probably would induce panic in a lot of people -- I believe it is an extreme case of irreponsible journalism.

If I were to criticize all four of those statements together, it would sound even worse as that's a huge stretch of land right there, but if just all the houses above Foothill Boulevard were lost, then that's half of La Crescenta and La Canada-Flintridge, not to mention the neighboring suburbs of Tujunga, Sunland, and Altadena. Twelve thousand homes as one publication put it. My family has lived there for more than two decades now and I've never seen this before nor have I seen such a lackluster goal before.

The Los Angeles Times does provide an "interactive map."

A surprising discovery. Of a Heating System and Balhae

Well, I was writing about the embassy, when I stumbled upon an article reporting the discovery of Ondol heated houses during the Balhae period. It made me stop and write abut this much more interesting topic. I'll return to the embassy later.

Previously, I alluded to the Balhae(발해,渤海) topic or the North-South States Period:

By the way, on a tangent here, for those Koreans, who believe in this newly created North-South States Period Theory or 남북시대 (신라+발해 = Korea), let me tell you -- it's pure rubbish, which I would like to address in detail one day(The main question behind that issue comes down to who were the Mohe (말갈, 靺鞨) people (A Schizophrenic Han : Breaking Down Borders: Korea).

Well, I'm not sure if it's "pure rubbish" anymore. A lot of information that is available on this topic is the subject of debate between many nationalist historians (you'd be hard pressed to find a better oxymoron), so much of what is available on the topic is unreliable at best. But, first, let me try to go over what is generally accepted. By the way, the Mohe (말갈, 靺鞨) people were ancient Manchurians.

What is generally accepted is that up until the late Joseon dynasty Koreans felt that Silla unified Korea for the first time in 664 A.D., but beginning at this point in time, certain Koreans felt that many Koreans had forgotten that Silla had unified only part of the peninsula and that vast tracts of Manchuria, which had been controlled or contested by Goguryeo and Balhae up until the end of the first millenium, had been largely ignored when studying the history and legacy of Korea.

What happened in 664 was that Silla in an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, whose forces Silla also had to defeat for control of the Korean peninsula, finally controlled the Korean peninsula by herself. In that the the (Early) Three Kingdoms Period of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla gave way to just Silla. But, sometime in the eighteenth century, certain Korean historians from the Joseon dynasty felt that the heritage left by Goguryeo had been ignored and that by ignoring vast tracts of Manchuria, which Goguryeo had controlled, but Silla couldn't, Koreans were indeed ignoring much of Korean history.

This is precisely where Balhae comes in. You see, those parts that Silla (or Tang) couldn't control ended up being part of a new state called Barhae(발해, 渤海). But, since most of Korean history from that point on comes from the Silla perspective or a Korea unified by Silla, studies of Barhae must come from either Chinese or Japanese sources. While much about Balhae remains controversial, I'd say the following statement is less so. This is from an old Japanese source that recorded a letter from a Balhae king:

'復高麗之舊居,有扶餘之遺俗' translated into "Balhae is the country that upholded the tradition and spirit of the Koguryo and Buyeo" (續日本紀; English translation found from The Chinese History Forum).

So, in other words, Balhae, according to those who lived in Balhae as the Japanese source reports, is the successor state to Goguryeo. But, what does this mean? Does this mean that the kings and people of Balhae are indeed of Goguryeo (or Korean) stock? And, what does it mean to be Korean? Does living under Goguryeo mean that you are indeed Korean? Or, no? This is where it gets complicated. For me, I was under the impression and still am under the impression that the kings of Balhae were probably of Goguryeo(Koguryo, Buyeo) stock, but it's people less so. I'll get into what Buyeo means in a second. But, first:

The largest "ondol" heating system dating from the Balhae Kingdom has been unearthed in a nearly intact state in Russia's Maritime Province, confirming the kingdom to have been a Korean settlement.

Ondol, literally "warm stone", is an under-floor heating system where flues carry hot gases below the living space. They were a distinct feature of Korean dwellings and are not found in the remains of Chinese, Khitan or Jurchen homes ("Heating System Confirms Ancient Kingdom Was Korean" : Chosun Ilbo).

This makes it seem as if not only the rulers were Korean, but that the people who lived under Balhae were also Korean (Khitan or Jurchen are names for Manchurians or ancient Manchurians). Ironically, what is interesting is that I would actually argue that from what I have read is that Japan should be seen as the natural successors to Goguryeo (haha, I might get shot here), but those that spoke a Buyeo language were Goguryeo rulers(and subjects), Baekje rulers (and possibly her subjects), and, yes, Wa (Japan). Notice the conspicuous absence of Silla here. As Silla unified the peninsula, Buyeo became an extinct language on the Korean peninsula.

There is actually a stone edifice found with Goguryeo inscriptions during the Japanese colonial period, which led Japanese scholars at that time to believe that Japan had colonized Korea before. This, of course, is preposterous as it is actually the case that "Korean" (or Buyeo-speaking) people from the peninsula were fleeing from Silla that colonized Japan and that those that had fled to the island had actually returned back to the motherland.

At any rate, I'm not yet sure how much this new discovery lends credence to the case that Balhae was a Korean kingdom, but if only Koreans used the Ondol heating system and those living under Goguryeo used it and those that lived under Balhae used it, but the people that lived under Jinthe Liao Dynasty and later Manchurian states did not in the same geographical area, I would be inclined to think that Balhae was indeed a "Korean" kingdom.

Of course, this gains additional traction today when you consider that Korea remains a divided country with there being a northern Korean state and a southern Korean state and that this would then resemble the period where there were two Korean states a millenia ago (Balhae and Silla). So, perhaps, (Silla + Balhae = Korea, 신라+발해 = 코리아) as much as (North Korea + South Korea = Korea).

North Korean Embassy in Europe Part I

During the heydays of the Sunshine Policy before, of course, before it became widely discredited, South Korea actively encouraged Western Democratic nations to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with North Korea. When France had setup diplomatic relations with North Korea, I felt it was a no brainer. I mean to me the French have always been no different than the Russians; they just don’t want to be left out (Of course, you can go all the way back to Napoleon III, who helped unify Germany and in the process create a neighbor that is naturally larger and stronger than you). So, anyways, when I heard of that I didn’t make much of it.

But, when the United Kingdom setup diplomatic relations with the North Korean regime, in my mind it was decidedly different. With the United Kingdom holding a “special” relationship with the United States, more so at that time than any other – it was right around the time after the 9/11 attacks, I thought this meant that the Sunshine Policy was in some ways gaining traction in Western Europe. I say this to mean that Europe also thought that by engaging North Korea, in the traditional sense of the word engagement, North Korea would eventually give up its nuclear weapons program in order to join the global community of nations as a responsible member. Consider the muted reaction to the rocket launch in South Korea using a rocket built from largely Russian technology to the North Korean missile launches using rockets built using, again, largely Russian technology.

During that time, North Korea was thought to have begun to "embrace" economic reforms by letting small markets develop. North Korea has since then went back on most of these developments and it is now thought that most of these developments arose as state controls were breaking down rather than North Korea choosing to reform its economic system.

Well, if you do a quick search on the web for information on the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) embassies in London and Paris, then not much really pops up. And, considering that I was indeed in the capital of these countries, all it took was a quick search to find where the mission was and to go out there and check it out myself. What did the people there actually do? Could I actually go there and ask them questions? How accessible were these diplomats or those people representing the North Korean regime in the West?

Shrimp among whales?

The reason that I brought up the population of these countries is not to suggest that Korea is a better country by any means, but to rid the common perception that Korea is not a "shrimp among whales" at all. It's just the very fact that Korea's neighbors are so monstrously large that lends credence to this misnomer.

Consider that among the countries neighboring the two Koreas that the next two smallest countries in terms of population--Japan and Russia both have well over a hundred million people. Of course, there are no equivalents in Europe (just assume Russia is not a part of Europe, which it really isn't in my opinion and who, according to most Russia observers these days, doesn't really care to be). Then, of course there's China.

What brings me to writing about this topic is that in the process of visiting the regions outside London, it's hard not to come across the feeling that this country isn't that large. What I mean by this is when I visited Wales, I could picture a lof of the people that were there would consider a visit to her capital as like a visit to the city. I mean, yes, I bet rural areas the world over, including those in the United States, would fall into a similar category, but just the ridiculously small scale at which this occurs in let's say not just parts of the U.K., but that of France, Spain, and probably Italy as well, reminded me of what I felt when I would come across people that have lived in Seoul their whole lives without visiting Busan even once and vice versa.

Perhaps, this is the norm in most parts of the world and countries such as the United States, China, or Russia are the exceptions. But, to me it shed the image of Korea being this really small country if countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Italy were, by nature, actually smaller than Korea. Of course, none of these countries borders a China, let alone a Japan.

Now consider South Korea's recent satellite launch from her own territory and North Korea's many "attempts" to put a satellite into orbit -- though I question whether there actually were more than dummy satellites in the North Korean missiles. It seems more than a tad ridiculous in my opinion that in South Korea's quest to attain respect and prestige somewhat akin to China, the country would be willing to expend vast sums to build a rocket when the country remains divided.

South Korea forgets that when most foreigners hear news of a rocket launch from South Korea, they hear the word South, before the word Korea at all.

Breaking Down Borders: Korea, DeCal Update

I'm happy to announce that the DeCal, Breaking Down Borders: Korea will be offered this semester.

This is an excerpt from the official DeCal Page:

The DeCal Program (or just DeCal) is a student-run democratic education program at the University of California, Berkeley - here, students create and facilitate their own classes on a variety of (often unorthodox) subjects.

Each semester we support over 150 courses facilitated by students, for students, on topics ranging from Taiwanese Language to Simpsons and Philosophy. These are accredited Pass / No Pass courses on our campus. To facilitate a course, a student must find a faculty sponsor. For example, a student wishing to facilitate a course on a favorite book can find an English professor to sponsor the course (as English 98/198 on student transcripts.)

Around 3000-4000 UC Berkeley students take DeCals each semester. DeCals are awesome, popular, and all the cool kids take them. So if you’re a UC Berkeley student, check it out.

It will start either during the 3rd week or 4th week of instruction and class will be from 6-8pm on Mondays. I just submitted a request for a classroom today, so I don't know where the class will be as of yet, but you can find the syllabus here. And, while I do have the course control numbers (CCNs) for UC Berkeley students, as I just sent the paperwork to the DeCal office in the MLK building the course is not yet listed on the Decal.org site. I will post more information as it becomes available.

I am also fairly certain that I will try podcasting the presentations as well through this blog. as well.

And school starts...

After a week long vacation, I'm heading back up to Berkeley today for my final year of undergraduate studies.

I have some pictures and information on the North Korean embassy in London that I'd like to share shortly. There's like no information available on this embassy if you do an Internet search for it now.

In the meantime, if you look below I posted some of the articles I believe may be of paritcular interest that I've written over the course of the past couple months.

The passing of another South Korean President

I was saddened to hear that President Kim Dae Jung, who I believe to probably have been South Koreas most successful, civilian president has passed away. President Park Chung Hee would I believe still claim that prize on the grounds of putting into place policies first providing for sustained economic growth, including the normalization of ties with Japan (1965) and its accompanying economics dividends.

"I came here because I wanted to see you." — Statement to the North Korean people upon arriving in Pyongyang in June 2000 for the first inter-Korean summit.

But, I believe history too will judge the presidency of Kim Dae Jung in a similarly controversial, yet benign light. I mean, while a central and noble figure in South Korea s fight (and I mean this in a very literal, physical form of the word) towards a democratic form of government, his presidency was marred by the $500 million that has been shown to have been given to North Korea in exchange for the summit.

Yet, at the same time, he introduced economic reforms, after the IMF bailout in 1997, that not only broke apart several conglomerates or jaebols that during the IMF period, which ironically were first adopted during the Park Chung Hee Era, but which resided over a period where Korea experienced a sharp and very rapid economic recovery.

I feel that it is unfortunate that he became President so late as many of the statements that Kim Dae Jung made in recent years made many treat his words a bit lightly. I d say it s like the wise, but aged grandfather figure type of treatment particularly with respect to how the domestic press in that country covered him. An example would be his very public disagreement with curent South Korean President Lee Myung Bak this year.

I will be on vacation for the remainder of the week.