T.S. Eliot Can Shove It

Today I celebrated a vacation day so woke up past noon on a Monday to see the big news. Kim Jong Il died at 69 due to a heart attack. I almost wish I was at school today so I could see the reactions to this news from my Korean coworkers. Obviously living in Korea has given me a lot of insight and knowledge into Korean relations, especially given how little most people seem to know about both countries. Why, if I had a nickle for every time someone asked me which Korea I was moving to before I came out here… I’d be rich, but still incredibly frustrated. I mean, come on. I’m clearly going to the one that doesn’t have traveling sanctions against Americans.

From what I hear from my friends currently at work this afternoon, no one is phased. This happens a lot when something big happens. You look at the foreigner’s Facebook history and it’s nuts with links to news outlets and speculation. It’s to be expected, after all, we’ve only been residents for a few years. Three in my case. The North Korea drill every other 15th of the month where the air raid siren goes off still gives me pause, but I think that’s because the air raid siren sound is one of the most unsettling sounds in the world on purpose. Yet no one else is phased… (Worried about the boy who cried wolf, much?). The  two biggest events I was in the country for were the sinking of the Cheonan, and assorted instances of gunfire at the border, etc. Actually I’ve been here long enough that it doesn’t worry me as much as other people I know.

I went to the DMZ for the first time after the Cheonan was sunk reportedly by N.Korean forces, and there was gunshots exchange at the border the same week. Our tour still went as planned, and all we had to do was stand behind a cement barrier for out safety at the JSA. The second time I went to the DMZ was after Kim’s son was the designated heir, and the mood wasn’t nearly as tense. However, it could have been because the North was hosting a tour of Russians that day, so they were really putting on the show. Marching and formations and all that. It was a really different scene at the JSA that day.

Koreans have a very different view of their Northern neighbors. They hate the politics but love the people. They have to. They’re brothers. I went to the World Expo in Shanghai, where North Korea was allowed a pavilion for the first time, and I went with my ex, a Korean boy. We took pictures, and talked to the ladies, dressed up in their hanboks with a Dear Leader pin on their right side. You know they have to be high-level Pyongyangites to be let out of the country with a good political standing. That made me a lot more nervous speaking to them than speaking with defectors or ex-Northerners I met on the street.

I suppose what most of us are worried about is the uncertain future. No one really knows much about the new homeboy. The whole thing has been really hush hush. The problem is in the past. The boy has no military experience, which counts for a lot in that country, and about less than a year of dictator training? It’s a very plausible and very anticipated move that he would go a little bat shit to establish his dominance. You know that he has to be a little worried about a military coup by his own people now that his father is dead. Word on the street is that he hasn’t been getting the respect he feels is due to him.

Living in Korea during instances such as this has also given me the clearest examples of Western media exaggeration. Of course we all grew up knowing that news sources are a business, and that you’re supposed to compare stories across several outlets to decide for yourself what the real picture is. You know, now that I type that I realize the statement is false based on a lot of comments I read on news sources. The media is biased, and people tend to pick the one that suits their worldview instead of exploring further. I digress. This is true even of Korean news media, but less so, I feel, than in the West. There are three sources that have English news pages, one is extremely conservative, one pretty liberal, and the other one I don’t know. It’s clear when they decide what to pick and choose, but generally their coverage of major events like this is comparable. Speculation is reduced, and it’s simply the facts. Why bother getting people worked up over bullshit? I do admire that standpoint, but it would never sell in the states, or England. So it goes!

Anyway, I’m starting to ramble and have almost forgotten what the point of this article was.  For more information on North Korea, read “North of the DMZ” (Lankov) and “Aquariums of Pyongyang” (Kang).