Unable to Post

I went climbing and fell pretty bad to the point it required surgery and a long stay in the hospital. I will not be able to blog again until after the follow up surgery some time in Apri.May.

One of the reasons as to why I have viewed the Sunshine Policy to be so ideologically bankrupt

The widening income gap between South and North Korea continues. One of the prime reasons as to why I viewed the Sunshine Policy to be ideologically bankrupt was the widening income gap between North and South Korea even as proponents of the Sunshine Policy stated the policy would prepare the two states for unification by closing the income gap.

Note that the statistics for the size of South Korea's economy as reported in the article/blog posting are in nominal terms as procured by exchange rates. Considering South Korea to have been the second worst performing currency in the globe in 2008 after the disaster that Iceland faced, the wealth gap has grown to actually be much greater between South and North Korea.The article reports South Korea's GDP to have been 837 billion dollaars in 2009, whereas in nominal rates
CIA World Factbook:

GDP (official exchange rate):
$832.5 billion (2009 est.)

Arirang News via North Korean Economy Watch:

DPRK-ROK income gap reaches record in 2009

The income disparity between South and North Korea has widened by close to 40 times.

According to figures released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday South Korea’s Gross National Income reached 837 billion US dollars in 2009 about 37 times more than North Korea’s 22 billion dollars.

South Korea’s GNI per person posted 17,175 US dollars roughly 18 times more than North Korea’s 960 dollars while in annual trade the South saw 686 billion dollars in 2009 which is 202 times larger than the North’s 3 billion dollars.

As for economic growth that year the South saw a [0.2%] expansion in the wake of the global financial crisis whereas the North posted a contraction of 0.9.

Economists say such figures show that it is almost impossible for North Korea to catch up with South Korea anytime soon.

An official with the finance ministry in Seoul says South Korea’s overall economic strength is about 40 times that of the communist regime adding that such power provides the foundation for South Korea to stay ahead of North Korea in every field including defense.

Read the full story here:

Income Gap Between South and North Korea Records 37 Times Differences in 2009

After 2009 and 2010, It's high time the United States began exporting F-22's to Japan...

In light of the United States Air Force ending procurement of additional F-22's and with the Chinese still manipulating its currency amidst years of trade surpluses with both the United States and Japan, it's high time the United States began exporting the high tech F-22s to the super loyal Japanese. The Chinese have sped up plans to procure an aircraft carrier and are deep in their development of a counterpart to the U.S.A.F.'s F-22.

Global Security:

Chinese Stealth Fighter

J-X / J-XX / XXJ

J-12 / J-13 / J-14 / J-20

(Jianjiji - Fighter aircraft)

On 29 December 2010, the right estimable China Defense Blog published the first no-kidding photographs of the long rumored J-XX Chinese stealth fighter. Unambiguous confirmation of the existence of this program will require re-evaluation of aircraft modernization efforts in a number of countried, including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Chinese combat aviation has made remarkable strides in recent years, moving from a collection of obsolete aircraft that would have provided a target-rich environment to potential adversaries. Today China flies hundreds of first rate aircraft, and even flies more Sukhoi Flankers [the aircraft the American F-22 was designed to counter] than does Russia. The Chinese stealth fighter has arrived right on schedule. Chinese military technology is generally rated about two decades behind that of the United States. while the advent of a Chinese counterpart to the F-22 fighter might be disconcerting, the first flight of the prototype American F-22 stealth fighter came on September 29, 1990.

 

January 1st, 2011 brings a new year after China has condoned North Korean acts of aggression against South Korea, bullied Japan over the Senkaku Islands, and driven the United States to defend Vietnamese interests over the Spratly Islands.

To ensure both the security of the United States and our East Asian ally, Japan and keep highly skilled Americans employed as unemployment and underemployment rates remain sky high, F-22s should be made for our super loyal Japanese allies by our countrymen.

How I view Graduate School in 2011

Last year, applications to doctoral programs in economics spread into my celebration of New Year's Day. I wanted to see how sure I wanted to apply to terminal masters programs.

Me: Jan. 1st, a year go (2010): Of Malibu, 2010, and the puzzling dearth of Korean Nobel Laureates

It's 2010 and it's been twenty-two years since the Dodgers won the pennant, one hundred years since Japan annexed Korea (Joseon/Chosun/朝選), and ten years that I've had the right to vote. And, probably a a little more time than that since I've been to the Rose Parade in Pasadena (the Rose Parade's on TV right now). And, on a side note, it's interesting how there are probably as many floats from Chinese companies as there were from Japanese companies back when I went to the Rose Parades. My younger brother graduated from La Canada High School in La Canada-Flintridge, which would make a float for the parade each year. I attended the school for a semester as well and, well, it's a pretty big thing in that city.  

 Me in 2011: My attitude has changed considerably. I will not  apply to doctoral programs out of both the questionable likelihood of being able to pursue research interests life long in academia and due to the attractive feature of terminal masters program in economics being able to function as a  prognosis to measure how suitable I am to pursue my research interests within academia. I would like to return to London and attend the MSc in Economics program beginning in October of this great new year. I guess you see the first paragraph of my statement of purpose first draft. But, that's also what this blog does - share thoughts

 I view these programs as prognostic programs that see whether I am suited to continue studies within Academia.

How many North Koreans Are Relegated to be just Waitresses for China?

About a month ago, I was in a long line to see one of my old professors, and sitting next to me at the time were three graduate students from China. If you ever meet me in real life, you'll notice that I like to talk and ask quite frequently about people, places, and things I identify with, such as California and Korea and a multitude of cities in both states. And sure enough, I asked the graduate students if there were any North Koreans in China and was told that a lot of North Korean ladies are in the service industry in China with a belittling look. I rarely get offended by such talk, but as I sit here and wonder how many North Koreans are relegated to be waitresses in China, I wonder how the conversation would've went if I brought up that the manner in which you describe North Koreans is the exact image that Chinese nationals hold in South Korea. Also, pregnant North Korean refugees in China that are caught by North Korean fascist agents undergo abortion forcibly as they try to ensure that Korean blood does not become tainted. I'm curious how their reaction would be to such a comment and if I were to see them again, I want to see if Chinese nationals really view Koreans to be too nationalistic as I have picked up on the Internet during the Winter Olympics some time ago when Korean female athletes held up a sign claiming that "Mt.  Baekdu is ours." 

Anyways, I would be grateful if someone could provide a link to a paper or data set that can provide an answer to how many north Koreans are relegated to low level service jobs in China. Happy New Year ^^

Happy New Years! ^^

So 2011 is near as January 1st floats ever closer. And, no, I don't think Steve Jobs qualifies as person of the year. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to give him a decade?

A planned visit to South Korea. What does North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island mean? rev 1

Dec.23.10 - Part 1, draft

I plan on visiting South Korea for a month or so in the new year, contingent on my schedule for 2011. I find news of North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island to be quite shocking and the numerous number of protests that followed the provocative act.  After North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island, this was then followed by a number of demonstrations that were either targeted against North Korea or South Korea's response for being too forceful.I would like to get a first hand impression of how things are/ in South Korea in late spring of the new year.

The United States finally sent the U.S.S. George Washington to the Yellow Sea in live fire exercises. This was not followed by another North Korean response by North Korea's military, but rather hideous claims by North Korea re-inviting inspectors to suspected sites in North Korea's nuclear weapons program and of the existence of a nuclear weapons program not unlike that of Pakistan or Iran (parallel uranium enrichment program).

I lived in South Korea in 2001 - 2005 and I cannot imagine how South Korea could be now. The years I was there were memorable for its livid Anti-American protests.

I had earlier thought that in the wake of the deployment of the USS George Washington that another North Korean act of aggression in the 2010 calendar year to just not be possible out of North Korea's fear over a China angry that there happened to be a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier off  the waters that surround Beijing and Shanghai. Furthermore, the sinking of the ROKN Cheonan brought forward a (weakly worded) UNSC statement and large joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea in both the waters west and east off the Korean peninsula.

However, this was then followed in November with a North Korean attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, which happens to be located in the Yellow Sea. North Korea then announced that the country welcomes back inspectors to suspected sites for its nuclear weapons program and also happily announced an existence of a parallel, uranium enrichment program. 

This finally brought the USS George Washington off the waters of the heart of China and an easy way to bring forward thoughts that criticize China -- such as the AEI's proclamation of concern for North Korean aggression.

To finally bring the USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea as well as provide the AEI or organizations that lack any genuine interest over North Korea to use the country as a convenient method to attack China -- by attacking North Korea, the attacker could bring to attention how useless and ineffective Chinese leadership in the region is. Almost as in a textbook example, China protects North Korea out of concern for her provinces that border North Korea and North Korea responds by selling out China in order to gain a security guarantee from a power that rivals China. 

With a transition in North Korea leadership still in progress and this being situated next to promises by South Korea's Lee Myung Bak Administration for a more forceful response to future North Korean acts of provocation, it might be too early to say these events will be followed by a long period of silence. This should in no way lead to absolute fabrication of heightened tensions resulting from President Lee Myung Bak's policy toward North Korea being too aggressive towards fascist North Korea.

This is a political environment that I'd like to see first hand.