Christmas Eve in Seoul

...My first ever Christmas eve was at Bob's place,  a classmate and also a professor, on December 24th. 2002. He is one of the coolest people I've ever met! Anyhow, it was my first year in Korea and my first semester at the graduate school....half of my classmates at that grad school were also teaching English there since it was absolutely FREE for them to study further.

Anyhow, it was Bob who especially asked me to come join him on Christmas Eve and a couple of others who couldn't visit families for Christmas back in States. I had no idea what to expect? However, to be on the safe side, I carried with me some 'chaplie kebabs' and made broccoli and cream soup in his kitchen! I also made some palak. Everybody loved the food. The fun part is ...I had no idea that on Christmas Eve people abstain from meat and that day, everybody tasted the kebabs.  I was wondering why there was 'no - meat - dish' and probably that was also the reason why Bob made chickpea curry and emptied the entire jar of achar (mango pickles), aside from chickpea curry he made a couple of dishes and different sorts of cheese and pie and not just that he brought  some new board games and shared childhood memories of what Christmas eves and Christmas days were like??

Bob's one of those people who love art, literature, political discussions with Dr. Dawson and cooking. His small apartment was like a small museum but at the same time a small library and then a small tea house - 3 in one. He loved Buddhists art work and had quite a collection. Sculptures and  paintings were aesthetically placed in that small place that it never gave a feeling of being crammed at all despite being very small. His was place where on entering the door - it was impossible not to have a sense of being welcomed, it was so homely, so cosy. Bob painted his apartment rooms in orange and bright yellow and his kitchen red with one wall deep blue. His mom used to send a variety of Cheese from America which he always shared with us.....hundreds of teas, spices and his experimental cooking surprised us all. He cooked some wonderful curries by downloading recipes and working on their details with passion. His get-together, potlucks and tea parties gave us a chance to listen to great debates between him and Dr. Dawson or him and Rob.It is something that I'll always miss. Bob left Seoul to work for the State Department and was posted in Indonesia and then Burma. He is now teaching in a university in Florida and I'm gonna meet him when I'll visit my folks!

I still remember the lively conversation on that cold, windy night....my first Christmas Eve. All I know is that it is time for family and firends to get together and enjoy time - at least, that's how it works at Bobs'.

Eqbal Ahmad: Terrorism - Theirs and Ours

 Eqbal Ahmad wrote: 

“Never before had been so tragic the links between wealth and weakness, material resources and moral bankruptcy. Never before in the history of Islamic peoples had there been so total a separation of political power and civil society”.

Pervaiz Hoodbhoy wrote this piece in Hearld, 'Eqbal Ahmed - As I knew him' sums up his life and work very beautifully.

His lecture on "Terrorism: Theirs and Ours," found a new life on the Internet after September 11, Ahmad reflected on the marriage of convenience between the United States and the anti-Soviet Afghan mujahedeen, one that by then had ended in a bitter divorce with the rise of Al Qaeda. As he recalled:

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan received a group of bearded men in the White House.... They were very ferocious-looking bearded men with turbans who looked as though they came from another century. After receiving them, President Reagan spoke to the press. He pointed toward them, I'm sure some of you will recall that moment, and said, "These men are the moral equivalent of America's founding fathers." These were the Afghan Mujahideen. They were at the time, guns in hand, battling the Evil Empire.... Terrorists change. The terrorist of yesterday is the hero of today, and the hero of yesterday becomes the terrorist of today. This is a serious matter in the constantly changing world of images in which we have to keep our heads straight to know what is terrorism and what is not.

During President Clinton's bombing of Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998, Ahmad warned: "The United States has sowed in the Middle East and in South Asia very poisonous seeds. These seeds are growing now. Some have ripened, and others are ripening. An examination of why they were sown, what has grown, and how they should be reaped is needed. Missiles won't solve the problem."

His lecture on You Tube: Terrorism Their and Ours is here.

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' hits a BILLION in STYLE!

The song, first posted on YouTube on July 15, clocked the 1 billion milestone at 10:50 am EST and YouTube marked the occasion with a dancing Psy doodle next to their logo.
The song also became YouTube’s most watched video last month, overtaking Justin Bieber’s “Baby” video, which previously held the title.
“I didn’t even imagine ‘Gangnam Style’ would get 1 million views, let alone 1 billion views! Is this the Tru-PSY show?” the rapper said in a statement.
This has been a whirlwind year for rapper Psy, 34, who is the first Korean pop (or K-pop) artist to achieve mainstream success in the US after “Gangnam Style,” named after the affluent Gangnam District in Seoul, captured viewers’ attention.
The rapper recently performed for President Barack Obama, met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and won the best video award at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November.
The video shows the outlandishly dressed Psy rap in Korean while performing an invisible horse-riding dance, which has become a pop culture trend, spurring many copycat and parody videos.
The popularity of the song has sparked growing international interest in Asian pop music, throwing a spotlight on the K-pop industry, which now aims to follow Psy into mainstream Western pop music.

Source: DAWN

Professor Kim, Jaechun

Professor Kim is one of the star professors that I have come across in Seoul. He wasn't a teacher but a wonderful, patient friend of every single student irrespective of their major, origin, color and race. A  beautiful soul.

He completed his studies at Yale and joined Sogang University in 2003. I met him in 2004 for the first time. His PhD thesis is entitled: 'Democratic peace and covert war: A case study of the US covert wars', and you can read his paper:

The First American Secret War: Assessing the Origins and Consequences of Operation AJAX in Iran

 Anyhow, while looking at his Facebook page that seems dear to him, I'd like to share his post (date: December 29th. 2011). It is very sentimental... I 'like' it..

 Dear friends,

The year of Rabbit is drawing to a close. From the very beginning, this year has been an uphill battle upon another for me and my family. One of the many woes that have been eating away at me this year was my dad’s deteriorated health.

A couple of years ago, my father, now long retired from 18 years of journalism and then 20 years of politics, had to go through a surgery to remove about one third of his prostate gland.

The surgery itself went well. But the ensuing complications and chronic kidney trouble had kept him bed-ridden for several months. Early this year, it looked so obvious to everyone except my dad that he reached the end stage of kidney failure. Doctors recommend an immediate treatment of dialysis for the end stage renal failure, but my dad has been refusing to receive it doggedly. “I am feeling so well. Why do I need a dialysis?” replies my dad. My dad’s health situation and also his stubbornness exacted heavy tolls on my mom’s health as well.

At times, my dad can be as stubborn as a mule, but I still have great respect for him. There is no denying that my dad’s career and lifestyle exerted great influence on mine.

When my dad was the editor-in-chief of Chosun Daily, he used to bring home daily copies of all the major Korean newspapers with him. One of the hobbies that I developed during my formative years was to peruse those newspapers for hours and hours until my mom yelled at me to get back to regular school work.

As he entered politics circa 1980, I became what they would call a political junky. What’s transpiring in political arena – both local and international – was what interested me the most. My early exposure to the world of journalism and politics surely affected my later decision to call it quits with the Bankers Trust Company and embark on Ph.D. level study of politics.

My dad is a quintessential self-made man. He was born into a poor family as the eldest son of four children. Upon entering the college, he became the sole bread winner of his family. With small salary of junior reporter, he had to put his younger brothers and sisters through college education. My dad, a true patriarchal figure, was feared as well as revered by our entire family. In fact, he was more feared than revered by me when I was little.

Being a traditional male from Kyongsang Province, my dad lacked skills to communicate effectively with his wife and his three kids, although he had the uncanny knack of socializing with others once he stepped outside the family boundary.

But nevertheless he is remembered by many as the man among men. When I was younger, I felt completely overwhelmed by his manliness. And I hoped that someday I would become half the man he was.

Dad, I know that you have been a fighter all your life, but I want you to fight this fight in smart manner. Please go on a dialysis treatment right away, otherwise you will be losing this fight! I can’t say this to you in person, because I become such a bad communicator in your presence as you have been a bad communicator with your family, but it really breaks my heart to see a man like you deteriorate this way…

Probably, the highest moment of this year for me was the time when I took a business trip to four European countries in May. I want to express my deepest gratitude to my counterparts in our partner universities in Europe and our exchange students there for making my trip such an enjoyable and enriching experience. The trip to Europe has given me yet another chance to appreciate the power of Globalization and to realize how closely we are connected to each other’s lives.

Globalization has been a buzzword of our generation that entered the vernacular of both journalism and academia, but without universally acceptable definition. For the proponents, it is the synonym of global prosperity as well as international security, but to the opponents, it is just another manifestation of imperialistic struggle of great powers on global scale. To me, Globalization is all about sense of connectedness among people.

Originally funded by the US Department of Defense as a project to build a robust, fault-tolerant computer network that could survive nuclear wars with the Soviets, internet has brought about such a fundamental change to humankind that saying so now sounds like a real cliché. Smartphones and SNS like Facebook have become indispensable parts of every man’s life, even a life of computer illiterate like me.

Who now says man’s best friend is a dog? Facebooking has become my best friend, an integral part of my daily life, and also my lifesaver when I find myself on the verge of being swept away in the whirlwind of emotions. Communicating with my facebook friends and the advice and courage I gleaned from it was what sustained me all through this year when self-pity and lack of self-confidence was grinding me down to a heap of self-blaming lonely soul…

In our lives, we oftentimes encounter seemingly insurmountable hardship.

This year, I witnessed how the ‘system’ could render such a small institution of Sogang GSIS completely defenseless. Sogang GSIS will be moving to a new building in January next year, but with less space and fewer professors. Founders of modern democracy invented a number of institutions to tame the tyranny of majority, but I witnessed the tyranny of majority infringing upon the very basic rights of minority in this university where we teach and learn how democratic institutions ought to function.

This year, I witnessed how the system could render such a fine person like Stephen Kim’s life utterly incapacitated. Stephen, I understand if you feel the damage done is virtually irreparable. But this is the moment when you will have to whip up the courage and keep fighting on. Please do not lose faith in you, because we all have unflagging faith in you, too.

I make a living by teaching and researching international politics. Maybe for this reason, people around me oftentimes ask me whether I am a realist or liberalist (or constructivist for that matter). The question always bewilders me. It is a question to which I don’t really have a good answer.

I am a big believer in human progress. To that extent I consider myself liberalist. I believe that people can learn from the past mistakes and make a progress. Being able to learn from the mistakes and to progress through education and institutionalization is what separates human beings from the rest of the creatures on this planet. I don’t think Germans and French would ever fight wars again because they have learned, because they have adopted good institutions. International politics does not have to be the same damn story over and over again as some realists like Mearsheimer would like us to believe. Our world is so full of contradictions and distortions, but it is my firm conviction that you and I can better this imperfect world no matter how grueling the process may be.

When I was doing my Ph.D. work in 1990s, my ultimate objective was to get it done as soon as I can and move on to the next stage of my life, and then quickly to the next... From New Haven to New York is normally a two hour driving, but it only took me about an hour to complete that trip. I was driving really fast as if I was in real hurry. But going into the fifties in several years, I find myself slowing down a little bit and trying to enjoy the little things along the way. I guess it’s the sign of maturity or sign of aging.

I am not as edgy as I was before and my mind is not as nimble, but the maturity has taken over my life and turned it into a whole new nature...

I am a father of two great sons and a husband to a devoted wife. I have many friends who sincerely care about me. All in all, I am a very well-loved man. I obtained the highest academic degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the world and teach at one of the better universities in Korea. Maybe this should be more than enough for me... No need to struggle to pull off anything extraordinary... no need to change a thing from here...

But more often than not I dream that there are two lives apportioned to every man’s life... or that every man is allowed his ‘avatar’ and the planet of ‘Pandora.’ I dream that every man has the luxury of leaving this earthly world for Pandora and Neytiri... I dream that every man can choose Pandora and Neytiri to become his real world, as Jake Sully does in the movie... Pandora to which he mysteriously feels that he belongs...

“Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before…” Then you can finally say, “I see you... I see you… I see you…”

The more I get older, the more I find it exponentially difficult to make good friends. That’s why I cherish our friendship (though it’s on-line most of times) from the bottom of my heart. So please stay on-line and drop me a line or two on my wall every now and then. And do not hesitate to find me in times of your deepest trouble as well as utmost joy. I will also remember you and your family in my prayers, quiet times, and meditation.

I am taking a short trip to Jeju island for two days tomorrow. I will meet you all again on-line in year 2012.

Happy New Year Wish

your facebook friend, Jaechun

Philippines Passes Human Rights Law

BRAVO....but isn't it time for the rest of Asia and Pakistan in particular to benchmark Philippines?

New York Times reported (here) that the Philippine President B. Aquino III has signed a law imposing up to life imprisonment for state agents convicted of being involved in enforced disappearances, the first major human rights legislation under his nearly 3-year-old government.

The human rights group Karapatan says more than 1,000 political activists and suspected supporters have disappeared since the 1972-1986 Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, including more than 200 under Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It has documented 12 cases of enforced disappearance since 2010 under Aquino.  

The law defines an enforced disappearance as the abduction or "any other form of deprivation of liberty" of a person by state officials or their agents who subsequently conceal the person's fate or whereabouts.

 In Pakistan, where disappearance is a routine of the day, we desperately need to pass this law. For more on disappearances in Pakistan read this report by Amnesty International HERE.

After Snow....A Magpie!

This Korean magpie is a resident here for some years -  same tree, same nest and the same places where she chills out!

They have their own ways to enjoy the season, the snow in particular and no doubt that on and off we the students have picked up frozen magpies and pigeons and brought them inside our rooms and they were ready to fly in the open skies and leave us as soon  as they saw themselves among us inside these huge cages (our rooms).

In the West magpies bring bad luck but in Asia it brings the good news and for Chinese it's the 'Bird of Joy'. A chattering magpie symbolizes the coming of a guest or something good is going to happen. Actually in India and Pakistan, a crow symbolizes the same features and magpies belong to crow family...

In old Korean folk paintings (민화) we have often seen magpies chirping on a pine tree and under the tree is a crouching tiger. Daily Korean Stuff wrote:

The Tiger and Magpie paintings belong to the genre of Folk Art, as such, little is known about the authors of most of these paintings. The paintings were usually hung on the wall during the New Year ceremonies for about a month before being replaced by other pictures or calligraphies. Most of the paintings depict the same scene with a tiger crouching below a pine tree on which two magpies are chirping. Drawing on Chinese symbols, the Korean considered the magpie a bearer of good news. The tiger symbolized strength and power while the pinetree symbolized the upcoming year. It was therefore believed that if the painting was hung on New Year's, good news would be announced during the upcoming year. 

Most of the paintings have a clearly humourous tone, which can be seen in the strange expression of the tiger's face.

 Some of these painting are:

Google Doodle Marks the End of Mayan Apocalypse

Past three days we saw interesting doodles from google,such as the Mayan Apocalypse

South Korea's Election Day (above) and ,

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm (here you can see the entire story in google) - to whom we all owe our thanks for some of the most lovely and engaging fairy tales ever written. Though they created countless tales but the main focus remained with just one- Red Riding Hood.

Top 12 Tourism Spots in Korea

Korea’s top twelve record-setting tourism destinations were revealed by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) at a celebration held on December 11 to mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment.

Out of 28 candidates with a significant record in the tourism sector during the KTO’s tenure, twelve tourism destinations were selected via online and mobile surveys conducted by the KTO.

The Metasequoia Trail in Nami Island, the symbolic backdrop of Winter Sonata, is still a hot spot drawing fans of the drama all year round. It’s a wonderful place to take a stroll with loved ones (photo: Yonhap News).

[Memories of Winter Sonata remain in place]
Nami Island in the Bukhangang is famously known to Korean and non-Korean tourists alike as the filming location of Korean hit drama Winter Sonata. True to its nickname ”Republic of Trees,” Nami Island leads visitors down endless woodland paths. The Metasequoia Trail, in particular, has gained unprecedented popularity since actor Bae Yong-jun and actress Choi Ji-wu were featured walking together here in the popular drama. In addition, a collection of galleries, museums, exhibitions, and craft workshops are prepared with diverse cultural offerings to welcome the inflow of visitors.

[Korea’s first non-verbal musical Nanta]
Korea’s first non-verbal musical performance Nanta, incorporating free rhythmical movements with unique traditional drumbeats, brought fresh attention to domestic and international performing stages. Since its debut in 1997, Nanta has drawn the largest audiences in the history of performing arts in Korea and made its way further into off Broadway in 2004, a first for Asian countries.

The Korean non-verbal musical Nanta was first highlighted on the global stage in 1999 at the Edinburgh Festival and now it has reached audiences in 37 nations including the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, France, Spain, Turkey, Australia, and Japan (photo: Yonhap News).

[Jeju’s infinite charms]
Seongsan Ilchulbong and Olle Trail also made their way onto the list. Both are on Jeju Island which was designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2007 and the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011. Seongsan Ilchulbong has long won international acclaim. Located at the eastern tip of the island, Seongsan Ilchulbong preserves Korea’s unique marine life including topographic and geographic features and also its scenic landscape draws millions of visitors.

Jeju Olle Trail is 200 kilometers of walking paths, connecting each ten- to 20-kilometer course and leading travelers all along the south coast of Jeju Island. This November, the final track was completed, opening up a total of 430 kilometers on 21 courses. Seongsan Ilchulbong and Jeju Olle Trail have been recognized for their contribution to drawing in the one millionth visitor to Jeju Island this year.

Cheonwangbong is one of mountain peaks in Jirisan National Park, covered in a blanket of snow. Jirisan changes each season, offering something for hikers who seek various aspects of the mountain’s terrain (photo: Yonhap News).

[First national park of Korea]
Registered in 1967, Jirisan National Park is Korea’s first national park. The mountain has the largest footprint in Korea, spanning an area of 471,758 square kilometers and incorporating one city, four counties, and three provinces -- Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang Province), Jeonnam (South Jeolla Province), and Jeonbuk (North Jeolla Province).

With more than 4,000 rare species of flora and fauna inhabiting the park alongside national treasures such as Waun Cheonyeongsong (Millennium Pine Tree), Jirisan has raised the profile of biodiversity conservation. In addition, the full scenic view from each mountaintop has captured the hearts of millions of visitors.

Seven more tourism spots were included on the list for their outstanding features. Geumgangsan offered the first chance for South Koreans to visit North Korea in 50 years of division. The sea fountain of Mokpo was recognized for its dazzling water show interplayed by more than 292 LED lights, 73 multidirectional nozzles, and 203 airjets, while Mireuksan Ropeway was recognized for having the longest cable car ropeway in Korea offering a grand view of the whole Hallyeosudo Marine Park.

The list also includes Busan International Film Festival, Busan Songdo Beach, Everland Theme Park, and Incheon Bridge. For more details about each location, click the name to follow the link.

Source: KTO 

Snow Fall, Malls, Christmas Trees and Full Boots

We have all sorts of interpretations of Maya ...but here in Korea, the day started with heavy snow fall and all one can see is the white carpet everywhere.SO our afterlife is is colder than usual days and looks pretty thus far.

It is hardly one hour and the lake  and the road that goes up to the lake near my place looks like this..

A few days are left of 2012, where it slipped and how fast it went by, I can't imagine....it came and it went.........

This is my video ( I made today) of the road going up to the lake and then the lake itself ...this is the amount of snow that fell in less than an hour.

This is view from the lake which is now frozen and all the ducks have migrated already. It will still take a couple of more snowfalls when people will walk and skate on it!

Hey, drive safe and stay warm...

By the way, day before yesterday while at a store, I noticed long/fur boots and shoes were the hottest item being sold and then jackets and  bags.... ( I desperately need long boots with fur inside them however here in Korea they are over priced and so I'm gonna buy them in  States. I regret why I threw my boots when I was leaving Korea?? What was the hurry?? Gosh, they were  so comfortable and nice...I miss them.

I like these shoes (flat ones) in the last photo as they seem comfortable and warm too.

I like this backpack - the brown one!

The decorations are nice

Some of the picture were taken at AK Plaza while others at Lotte in Bundang.

Before coming out of the store, I saw one interesting thing which helps to keep your back, shoulder-neck and feet warm (hot packs - microwave heating pads)....all you have to do is to microwave it and then wrap it around these places. Must get one for my mom...as a gift for her on her birthday  which is on December 25th. I'm quite sure she wont use them...that's her style...

 One pair sells for 38 USD or 38,000 won.
Happy Holidays everybody!

End of the World Tomorrow??

A friend is very excited with this idea of Maya tribe. Anyways,  I have already done my grocery shopping and bought myself some goodies for the life after....

According to TIME, 

Much has been made about December 21, 2012 by doomsday prophets, busily proclaiming that the end of the world is upon us. But archaeologists and scholars of Maya culture explain that the mystical date of 12.21.12 will not be the catalyst for apocalypse. The Maya’s long-form calendar will end, but not the world itself, which will simply enter a new period.

 Hence, whatever it is....have a good one.

Obama Edges Out Malala to be TIME's 'Person of the Year'

President Obama was chosen as the 'Person of the Year 2012' NOT Malala.

We are in a habit of not taking a risk with new ideas, faces, struggles, ideologies ...

Toronto Star's heading is, "Time magazine names its ‘Person of the Year’ – and it’s not Malala Yousafzai".

Basically this year's nomination came as a surprise since, people were expecting a new name. 

For many it has been controversial, as controversial as was the Noble Prize nomination for Obama. :-)

In 1939, TIME Magazine chose Adolf Hitler for it 'Person of the Year' says Dennis Byrnne of the Chicago Now. He further wrote: "Time magazine's person of the year is Obama; should have been Malala Yousafzai" ...I don't agree with his interpretation of hows and whys but nevertheless, a part of his narrative is what I do agree with too... that even though 2 women made it to the Top 5 short-listed candidates but then the magazine struck out, perhaps blinded by its ideology, in overlooking  Malala Yousafzai..."

Nicholas Kristoff on Gun Control

As for Norway, its laws did not prevent the massacre there last year. But, in a typical year, Norway has 10 or fewer gun murders. The United States has more than that in eight hours.

If people want to kill, you can’t stop them. Even a fork can be deadly. On the same day as the Connecticut tragedy, a man attacked 23 schoolchildren in China with a knife.

But, in the attack in China, not one of those children died. What makes guns different is their lethality. That’s why the military doesn’t arm our troops with forks. 

Read the entire article here.

United Nations and WHO Suspends Vaccine Work

The heading above is from the New York Times. It further says: the front-line heroes of Pakistan’s war on polio are its volunteers: young women who tread fearlessly from door to door, in slums and highland villages, administering precious drops of vaccine to children in places where their immunization campaign is often viewed with suspicion.

These beautifully done hina colored toe-nails have brought tears....I call the killings: savagery!

The World Health Organization and Unicef ordered their staff members off the streets, while government officials reported that some polio volunteers — especially women — were afraid to show up for work.  After militants stalked and killed eight of them over the course of a three-day, nationwide vaccination drive.

A very beautiful little girl is showing her finger with a mark that signifies she has been vaccinated - even these young girls are targets!

The killings started in the port city of Karachi on Monday, the first day of a vaccination drive aimed at the worst affected areas, with the shooting of a male health worker. On Tuesday four female polio workers were killed, all gunned down by men on motorcycles. The hit jobs then moved to Peshawar, The first victim there was one of two sisters who had volunteered as polio vaccinators. Men on motorcycles shadowed them as they walked from house to house. Once the sisters entered a quiet street, the gunmen opened fire. One of the sisters, Farzana, died instantly; the other was uninjured. One of the vilunteers was a 17 years old high school girl - shot in Peshawar.

Resistance is particularly strong all over Pakistan, where there has been a severe backlash against immunization for polio and other diseases since the CIA used a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, to set up a fake vaccination program as the agency closed in on the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in his hiding place in the town of Abbottabad, in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, last year.

Female polio workers here make for easy targets. They wear no uniform but are readily recognizable, with clipboards and refrigerated vaccine boxes, walking door to door. They work in pairs — including at least one woman — and are paid just over $2.50 a day. Most days one team can vaccinate 150 to 200 children.

All these women, who volunteered, despite of having real and imminent danger - chose to work in some of the most hazardous of Pakistani areas. Hats off to them, they are the bravest of all women, risking their lives.

More read here.

Park Guen -hye Winner!

Park Guen-hye is already considered the winner.
Some of the students are sobbing already in the TV room and are considering to kill the pain by drinking Soju. This year the race was close and the difference is just between 3% to 4%. Supporters have already started celebrating in front of Gwanghwamun square.

Most of the young people were with Moon Jae-in at least in our school.

Park Guen-hye is winning..(Election update)

As of now, Park Guen-hye is winning the elections.
Out of five people I asked, 3 of them voted for Park Guen -hye and  at this point she is winning in post areas including Seoul.

The vote count will be over by to-nite so .... I think Park will make history by becoming the first female president in this region and also for kicking off dynastic politics here. Moon Jae-in has already won in Seoul with less than one percent but then Park has won Gyeonggi-Incheon along with Busan-Ulsan and Kyeong nam regions.

Korea Herald summed up these elections as one:

The election has been as much about the past as the future, perhaps an inevitable clash between the collective memories of the country’s impressive process of industrialization and its bloody transition toward a democracy.

Entire media is outside Parks house in Samsong-dong.

                                                                                                      

2012 South Korean Elections Today...(towards dynatic politics?)

I wrote this for a Korean Magazine last week and when it will be published I will leave a URL.

With less than a week left in South Korea’s sixth Presidential election scheduled to be held on December 19, what does this election hold for Korean voters?

South Korea’s transition from being a dictatorship to a democracy has a fairly short history. It was not until 1987 that Korea held its first general elections in a free and fair manner. No wonder that its march to democracy can be benchmarked for other countries in Asia, a continent where dynastic politics, personalities and certain families dominate the electoral scene for reasons which include deep roots in dictatorships, feudalism, lack of democracy at grassroots level and the involvement of large amounts of money. South Korea has been an exception thus far but it seems to be fading away gradually. These upcoming elections are going to be a watershed in the development and evolution of political and ideological preferences of the South Koreans as well as the democratic process, per se. 
 

From the perspective of someone who has grown up in and now living in Seoul for the past decade or so, dictatorships are what we Pakistanis grew up with and are most familiar with. More than half of the country’s history is overshadowed by dictatorships. Even when democratic governments took reigns of power, family members of these dictators joined mainstream politics and clung to power from the platform of one or the other political party. South Asia in particular and Asia in general is the most favored breeding ground for dynastic politics and the chosen ones. 
 

Zooming in on South Korea, the two major candidates for these upcoming elections – Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in are considered the political legacies of the past. One is the daughter of an army general and the other – a close friend/aid of a former president. All the surveys thus far have shown a very narrow gap in terms of their lead on each other but mostly in media, Park Geun-hye seems to be the favorite to win. Almost all polls showed that she is leading the race even if it is with a slight margin. Already major international newspapers are predicting that she is very close to becoming the first female president of South Korea. 
 

Many voters within the age group of 50 and above want to vote for Ms. Park and there are several reasons to it which include their sympathy for the woman whose parents were assassinated. Moreover, she is the daughter of a general who laid the foundation for one of Asia’s great economic success stories. It was General Park Chung-hee’s rule of 18 years that Korea broke its shackles of poverty; saw the miraculous economic growth and development. Last but not the least, she is also seen as the first woman who may lead South Korea, a country that is his highly patriarchal and Confucian in nature and none of the neighboring countries in the region ever saw a woman heading a government yet in Northeast Asia.

With this heavy baggage if she is elected for the top office then Korea will enter this long list of Asian countries where we see dynastic politics. But what is wrong with dynastic politics? Actually, in principle, there is nothing wrong with political dynasties. In practice, however, it reinforces the exclusionary power structure. Fatima Bhutto, niece of Pakistan’s former prime minter Benazir Bhutto, when asked why she doesn’t enter politics since her grandfather and her aunt both served several terms as presidents and prime ministers of Pakistan replied: 

 

"Dynasty is fundamentally incomparable with the democracy and they are opposites. While dynasty is exclusive, democracy is inclusive. Democracy inspires participation. Dynasty enforces closed policy. Democracy is all about creative differences, tolerance for the unknown and dynasty is all about self."

In my country Pakistan, we have seen the stranglehold of dynastic families on politics and how it has deterred capable people from entering politics, since they don’t stand much chance of winning. For those who do enter politics their chances of reaching the top are very few. On the other hand, for the family of the political/military elites, they do not have to struggle too much to reach the top echelons of power since they are always in the public eye and for them to reach prominent positions is relatively easy. This holds true for Ms. Park also who was the de-facto First Lady of Korea, at a young age of 22 years only, after her mother’s assassination. So if we have to compare her, the Gandhi’s in India and the Bhuttos in Pakistan is what Park Geun-hye will be to Korea – which surely is not an ideal situation because once this starts it is really difficult to stop.

One of the experts on the subject is Professor Ronald U. Mendoza who notes that dynastic politics in particular, is “pernicious” in so far as it retards a democracy’s ability to respond to its citizens’ needs and people’s empowerment in general. It is to be seen what these elections hold for the people of Korea – will they vote for the dynastic politics or not!

Shahrukh Khan in Swat Valley (circa 1973)

This picture is from the DAWN newspaper - Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan went with his family on vacations in Swat in 1973. Swat was the tourist hub until September 11th. attacks in the US. The rise of anti Americanism in Pakistan's north has changed Swat into the killing fields between Pakistani Taliban and Pakistan's armed forces.

Once, Swat's entire economy was based on tourism that has been shattered and people have been displaced.

Swat was also called the 'Switzerland of Pakistan'. Swat has an ancient history and is one of the most important sites rich in Buddhist heritage. Tantric Buddhism first developed in Swat and was later spread around other regions including Tibet.

Emerald from Swat is very famous aside from other precious and semi precious stones. Swati embridery is also intricate  and found in vibrant colors. Stone art of Swat is famous and so is the wooden carvings. Swati trout is considered as one of the best fish in terms of taste. One of the biggest buys in the furniture with exquisite carving  - a speciality of Swat and is very popular with foreigners for its designs and carvings.

One of the must see places is the Swat Museum which has Ghandhara sculptures excavated in Swat. This museum was established through Japanese collaboration and all the money was donated by Japan.

One of the recent reason for Swat to be in news is Malala Yousefzai - a young student who was shot in the head by Taliban.

Hope that conditions there normalize and people can get back homes and live normal lives, not in fear.  I also hope that domestic tourism revives in Swat.


 

Temperature: Minus 41 Degrees Centigrade in....

From Skype chat with bro.

It is my brother's birthday and so many happy returns of the day for him, Wish him health, happiness and peace of mind. While talking to him I said that it is painfully cold here in Seoul -  minus 10 Centigrade (-10 °C) so he showed me the temperature of the city where he lives....it was MINUS 41 degrees centigrade (-41°C or -41.8 °F).

Now, of course nobody can compete with the Siberian cold but the point is they have fantastic heating inside the house so everyone is roaming in T-shirts. Last year, temperatures went down to minus 55 degrees Celsius.

BTW. isn't it the temperature when the plane is flying at a hight of 50,000 meter above the surface of the ground or so..;-)

And the picture below is the last new moon of 2012. Beautiful!
I took this picture last night too!

Stay warm folks!

Christmas at the White House with Kennedys (circa 1961).

A Pakistani girl, Aqba (second from left), seen here celebrating Christmas with US President, John F. Kennedy and his family at the White House in 1961.

This is one heck of an interesting story also featured in Pakistan's famous newspaper DAWN. Aqba who belonged to a working-class Pakistani family that had managed to migrate from Pakistan’s Punjab province to the US city of Washington DC lost Aqba for a while when the young and extremely bright girl ran away from home and ended up outside the White House.

She was taken in by the President’s family, gifted a dress (the one she is seen wearing in the picture), welcomed to celebrate Christmas with the President’s wife and children, and then softly persuaded to rejoin her struggling family.

No one quite knows exactly what happened to Aqba, even though some reports suggested that she went on to graduate in Law from a Washington college and stayed in the US while her family returned to Pakistan in the 1980s.

..on Getting Married in Korea to a Korean!

Source:NYT

I have got a couple of emails on the subject. Honestly speaking, I have no clue but since friends or acquaintances have gotten married so I know enough to scratch the surface of the subject. However, talking on it further I would highly recommend a book by Laurel Kendall "Getting Married in Korea: Of Gender, Morality, & Modernity (1996)",
go through it and you will surely understand what it is all about? 

One Pakistani asked me how can he find a Muslim Korean woman...and the answer is: God knows better since a few that I have met are very strictly following Islamic principles and that means dating is out of question. Hello... !!!

By the way, in the past ten years besides drastic changes here and there, one of the most interesting ones is a marriage between a Korean man and a foreign woman. Every one out of ten marriages is taking place between a Korea and a foreign spouse. With respect to foreign wives,  by country, China formed the largest group of foreign wives including ethnic Korean Chinese. Vietnam came next followed by the Philippines. Japan is fourth in place and Taiwan fifth. Many a times experts say that real life in Korea is far different from the Korean dramas and the K-pop videos that women have fallen in love with hence, the tragedy strikes at time like in this case.

Another important thing is that a union of a Korean woman with a foreign man is still a big taboo. Men usually migrant workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan etc. have gotten married to Korean women. The government on the other hand deals with such couples differently too. Though things have improved in terms of laws and policies but still a foreign man marrying a Korean woman has to face troubles. A Korean newspaper highlighted why Korean women wants to marry a foreign man here: which boils down to the fact that the burden of fulfilling traditional roles is leading these women to seek intercultural relationships. According to the statistics, China and Japan accounted for the biggest proportion of men married to Korean women. Next came the United States, Canada, Britain, New Zealand and Germany.


By the way, NYT has a very good article on "Who counts as a Korean" -  this will give you a good picture of what things are like here....for anyone who is interested,read through it. All the best folks!

:-)