Korea-U.S. FTA

What is distinctive about young Koreans?

They're relatively conservative, non-ideological, pragmatic, and motivated by a new type of national pride.  And that makes them different from the Korean's who came before.  Says Park Sun-Young, international affairs reporter for the Hankook Ilbo.

Park briefed a workshop at the East-West Center in Hawaii in June: Shinsedae: Conservative Attitudes of a 'New Generation' in South Korea and the Impact on the Korean Presidential Election (translation, EWCInsights, September 2007)

Korean Cultural Exports

Korea is an important exporter of popular culture - songs, movies, tv shows - particularly in Asia.  The phenomenon is striking enough that there is a term for it, "Hallyu" or "Korean wave."

Sociologist Eun Mee Kim is going to try and explain how Korean cultural exports became such a hit across Asia in a talk sponsored by UCLA's Center for Korean Studies next Friday: South Korean Culture Goes Global?: K-Pop and the Korean Wave.  Here are the details:

"Why is son preference declining in South Korea ?"

This is not, strictly speaking, or probably even very loosely speaking, FTA related, but it's still interesting.  From the World Bank: Why is son preference declining in South Korea ? the role of development and public policy, and the implications for China and India ( Woojin Chung and Monica Das Gupta, working paper, October 2007):

South Korean politics

Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation surveys the political landscape in South Korea: South Korea’s Mercurial Political Landscape (Sept 12, 2007).  The Koreans are in the middle of a Presidential election campaign which should culminate in December, and face elections for the National Assembly next Spring.

Not a lot specifically about the FTA, but a lot about general trends in public opinion, Korean politics, and the dynamics of the Presidential contest. 

Time off from the FTA: take a trip to Seosan-si...

with Robert Koehler: Temples, Oysters, and Dead Catholics (The Marmot's Hole, July 10).