Happy Holiday!

Happy Holiday Season, Everyone!
How's everything with you and your beloveds around you?
Some of you, I still maintain to contact with, some I may have not. My apologies to those you haven't heard from me for a while.

Weather in Seoul has become chill over last few weeks, but not enough considering the average tempt. of the season.

La Vie en Rose

Mon DieuMon Dieu
Edith Piaf

Paroles: Michel Vaucaire
Musique: Charles Dumont (1960)

Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!
Laissez-le-moi
Encore un peu
Mon amoureux!
Un jour, deux jours, huit jours...
Laissez-le-moi
Encore un peu
A moi...

Le temps de s`adorer
De se le dire
Le temps de se fabriquer
Des souvenirs.
Mon Dieu! Oh oui... mon Dieu!
Laissez-le-moi
Remplir un peu
Ma vie...

Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!
Laissez-le-moi
Encore un peu
Mon amoureux
Six mois, trois mois, deux mois...
Laissez-le-moi
Pour seulement
Un mois...

Le temps de commencer
Ou de finir
Le temps d`illuminer
Ou de souffrir
Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!
Même si j`ai tort
Laissez-le-moi
Un peu...
Même si j`ai tort
Laissez-le-moi

Encore... Mon Dieu

Thanksgiving Message.

When we count our many blessings;
It isn't hard to see that life's most valued treasures are the treasures that are free.
For it isn't what we own or buy that signifies our wealth.
It's the special gifts that have no price: our family, friends and health.
I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you just how much your friendship and love means to me.
Many of us have lost dear friends and loved ones this past year and our country as a whole has suffered great losses also.
In times like this, it gives us a chance to stop and reflect and think about what is really important to us in this life;
Just how precious and fragile it is, and to not waste what time we are given with the special people in our lives.
For myself, it is the gift of family and friends that are the riches in my life.
Those precious times that we hold dear to our heart and memories and special moments that can never be replaced, neither by time nor all the wealth in the world.
Whether you have planned a grand feast surrounded by friends and family, an intimate candlelight dinner for two, or a simple frozen dinner or takeout, it is not really the edible food, but rather who we share them with that counts most of all, and to me, this is the true value and meaning of Thanksgiving.
I will be thinking of each and every one of you during this season of Thanksgiving, and even though we may be seperated by miles, you will be close to me in my heart.
I give thanks for you all, friends and close loved ones.
You have touched my life in many ways and I am a very wealthy individual for this.
For those that have passed on to be with the Lord, I know there will be a special place for you in the hearts and minds of many of us as we observe Thanksgiving this year.
Please remember those who can't be with their loved ones.
God Bless You all,

Alexa

Link to my Facebook site.

Flamenco Dancer

Updating photos.

Click the above link to see some of my newly updates.

Hae In Sa (Temple Hae In)

Chris from UBC Kendo Club, Mr. Lee, his roomy then and now turned into everyone's Seonbae (a respected senior member of a group) and I got together for a weekend hike to Hae In Sa (Temple Hae In, one of the largest buddhist temples in Korea) in far south thereof. Gradually more difficult to see one another now since we all live in different parts of the globe, the rare chance gave us valuable time to savor the good old days and envisage the bright blueprints. Although having realized life isn't sometimes exactly spreaded out as we planned, our hearts were still hot and wide enough to render

Happy Chuseok from Seoul!

<= my little niece before blowing her grandpa's 67th birthday candles>

The biggest holiday of the year in Korea, Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) is only a few days ahead and I begin to see smiles on faces.

This morning, just outside of exit 7 of Yeoksam Station, the one that I take on my way to the office, I witnessed a group of people cracked out laughters and giving out tiny stickers for those turning their head and smiling back at them. "Weird," I thought. Of course, I looked at them and almost instantly cracked some laughters, and gave them my breathtaking wink. In return, I received my reward and a small green smily sticker on my arm, feeling proud.

Heading back toward my office, although I felt slight sadness, realized how desperately people in this city is trying to laugh, seek a tiniest piece of happiness to thereby regain a meaning of life. I was certain that I was pretty much the only person to return their laughs at that hassles and bussles of the intersection full with working people rushing themselves to work. Most of them looked at the group as if they saw some socially retardeds, and probably thought that's a bad luck to start a day with. How sad...

Today went okay, busy as usual. Completed some complicated legal translations for the newly opened Hotel's Fitness Club and handed into the Director of Finance who asked me to do the work. I have no idea how the work has been under control of DOF, yet like many other things at work, task boundaries are blur and so do their responsibilities. I felt proud at the first time when DOF personally asked me to do him a favor, which meant he thought I have things to offer, but later on things slightly became trickier when realizing my direct boss might not be too happy that I spent time, otherwise I would've spent for him.

It is 2:07 in the morning and I am still having trouble to sleep. This is very unusual for me to have sleepless nights. Not so sure if this is due to a pure excitement for the coming holiday or something else that I've longed for my life time and today is the day that I would find out the result whether I was meant for it or not.

Writing always has been one of my favorites, yet I find difficult to do so lately. Partly because of lack of time, but mostly of losing enthusiasm in observing things. Alert!

All sophisticated!

Dear all,

Spending most of my time for last three and a half months at the hotel located in downtown, I eventually turned into an all-around-urban lady whose fragrance mellows those nearby.

Monthly wages are not much different from those I earned at the law firm a while ago, but it seems my current work has been greatly extending my expense habit. God, help me! Although, it's not too much difficult to find an excuse for it, since there aren't much entertaining gadgets or personnel around me to fill up my scare free time, I decided to pay more attention on my gender characteristics, the things to define me as a female. And now I seem to get into the addictive habit that many girls find near impossible to get out of.

To my dearest friend,

One of friends who I haven't seen for almost a decade, yet still very vividly amicable in my mind has been diagnosed as the last stage of an intestine cancer. Since past month, I've tried to contact him, which I found harder as time goes by, probably because of him taking more painkillers by the passage of time. I called him again last weekend, hoping to see him once for all, which he only resigned politely. In his voice, I felt no life. Near whispering voice was much too toned-down with obvious despair and pain, whereas mine exaggeratedly loud and pseudo-cheerful. For the first time, I felt him dying. A man in his early thirties, at a pinnacle of one's life, was fading away.

Perhaps, I pushed him too much. Felt somehow guilty to be well, while he has not been blessed with, I have wished to see him, perhaps even wanted to confirm how well and happy I am by seeing him suffering. Maybe, I was selfish to ask him too much to go and see him when he is at his worst state since we saw last time. Deep sorrow surged from the inside.

"It means a world to me."

How can such simple words embed such a profound feeling?

Lately, I've had troubles to read and comprehend updated news from papers or any other sources of media for some unknown reasons. Instead, I decided to go over some nonfictions that I purchased yet never had enough time to indulge myself into. "The Kite Runner," a book recommended by a friend with wondering mind, has been kind to me enough to provide a humble resort in my barren city life for last couple of days. There, newly immigrated Ali seeks comfort in Jahara, a girl he has longed for, at his father's near death bed. Prohibited from being seen together by their customary Afgan Sharia Law, how they found out the feelings for each other would be god-only-knows. After years of hide-and-seek type of pursuit for each other, finally Ali said to Jahara at his father's death bed that her presence next to him then means a whole world to him.

At the first glance, it may sound stereotypical. However, to me, the simple comment was overwhelming enough to make me bite my lips not to shed tears in the crazy communiting subway No. 2 this morning.

When did I feel so desperately longing for something? What did I desire then, if any? I know there still is burning fire within me, the thirty that can't be met easily any time soon, yet I also feel that the longings have been gradually faded away from hectic daily chores depsite all the struggles I've made.

By your side.

Ladies from the Financial Dept. of our hotel invited me over to their little Ddeok-bokki (Korean rice cake with red-peppered source) luncheon this afternoon. Being verterans working over a decade in the hotel, they were well aware of whatabout politics in/out of the hotel. One of top gossips for today was, without doubt, about the current GM leaving and its expected political turmoils afterwards. There are almost seven hundreds mouths and ears to gossip and listen to whatever you say near this work place, and certainly these four late thirty something ladies didn't find too difficult to seek their hideouts at the Ddeok-bokki place to gossip.

Now, everyone seems very aware of the currnet GM leaving and a new one replacing him early next month. What a lame duck he is. Mostly, not because of him simply leaving his office, but because of him not having been such a virtuous, respectful, and proven leader-typed manager who put so many of employees into deep frustrations as a result, most associates in the hotel seem not too sorry at all about his departure.

Personally, I have a mixed emotion on GM's leaving. I am glad to confirm my judgement on him as a supervisor and a leading personnel of this big organization, but at the same time, feel sorry to see this happening so early. Because this also may imply nobody in this hotel would be responsible much for their works and feel ownership to the hotel, which will inevitably weaken the fundamental structure of an organization. Who will be so sincere when they think they can only be in a position for less than a year or two?

Thanks to all the mess GM made, the company is now undergoing a severe restruction, laying off dozens of employees who have been working for this firm more than fifteen years. This means, lots of managerial staffs are leaving and there will be big vacancies in regular operations. Everyday, I realize an individual doesn't cost much, and he/she can be replaceable without exception, most of cases. It's sad. And I think about how would I be remembered at the end of the days. Most definitely, fondly over dreadfully and missed over regretted, I wish to be recalled.

One fine summer afternoon.

Sweetheart sorrow.

It was only a few days ago, when things started to slip away from what I scheduled. The new job, which I was unexpectedly offered with, had put me into a rocky rollercoster with the notorious boss and eventually relocated me into a position different from what I signed for. A person who I've been kindly of looking forward to seeing again only brought a very very awkward momentum of the grendeur rendezvous after more than a year of separation. Perhaps, I expected much. That's fine.

Now I am sitting in an office I wouldn't imagine to be then, sipping water from a plastic bottle, updating my blog, and waiting the office hour to be ended. Although, things are not particularly moving in a way I planned, I still have plenty of things to take care of and to make me feel needed. Additionally, since I already understand sometimes unexpected turns may be await us here and there to garnish to our lives, the nearly a month of rather hectic past period of the transition did hardly scare me nor change my attitude towards life in general.

At this new position, okay, ,,. I was offered with a head assistant position to general manager of Renaissance Seoul Hotel, a branch of Marriott International the hotel magnate, and now switched to the Operations Dept., the largest managerial division of five others in the hotel hierarchy. No matter what, as always, I will do my utmost effort to meet the company's expectation, and hope to find an initiativeness to lead my career in a way that I can shape into an ideal blue print I have always dreamt of.

Seoul, Seoul, Seoul!

Summer, the queen of all seasons, has indeed arrived. Some of those who I have become acquainted with at some point of my life are visiting Korea and many of us are planning for a short summer trip to somewhere, well, though not all of us do. As an employee who has been hired twice and laid off once within two weeks, asking for day-offs would be ridiculous thing to do, so I swallow the strongest sense for an exploration and filed fatigue through my throat.

So far, the experience with this hotel has been very unique in its own way, yet I still find there are plenty of things that I feel gratitude for. Although, interactions among colleagues are relatively shallow and too quick to savor thereof, compared to those at my previous firm, I sense there still are invisible hands ready for me to hold, thereby leading me toward the betterment. I thank for that and his will.

Wheel of chaos

Last two weeks were the MOST unpredictable and insecure moments in my life. Transition made into its grendeur entry, since then everything went blur and disceptive that I could literally trust no one at work where I was supposed to work for a possibly extended period of time.

Direct boss wasn't ready to train me in whichever way and expected the same or above experiences and work capacity that he couldn't even find from a person with ten years of experience in the field, who he eventually dismissed before I entered into this firm. After one and half week of nightmarish time with him, he dismissed me as well. It's not that I stole money or anything. I guess it was simply a result of huge differences in expectation. That's fine. But the problmatic points arised therefrom was the misjudgement of the employer brought out severe damages to my rights to be hired and work, according to a legal expert who I asked an advice from. Although, I did not make too much confusion or loud noise for everybody's sake in the firm, so I asked the firm would give me either an approved involuntary separation paper. Then the employer offered me a different position, which pays less annual salary. I rejected the offer unless they pays me the same amount of salary indicated in our contract, then, director and deputy director from Human Resouces Department with an approval from General Manager verbally guaranteed that they will assure my annual salary to be unchanged dispite of changes in job position. It was already ridiculous enough to experience all that confusion, but real fun part hasn't come yet. They gave me a red slip showing the position entitled to me has been changed. Funny thing? I have never received the form when I first came into the previous position, and it does not indicate the wage stays the same in anywhere thereon. That is, they are neither willing to keep their verbal assurance they made to me, nor to give out an involunary dismissal paper that can be used unfavorable to them. Sneacky and wicked wastes!
Perhaps, I only become aware of what really is happening in most of the society in which I reside, I feel pity for all of our comrades who fight for their share of bread, and wish the best for all of us!

Transition.

Just to give some pause for the transition, I decided to go for a ride, away from Seoul. My usual weekend getaway place of Mui Island provided me an excellent hideout. Last day of three days of transitioal period dayoffs, I took Vicky and my sis along.

Alea iacta est.

So it is, the die has been cast! It was rather frustrating until the moment the decision was needed to be made and become known to those related, yet the moment is gone now and I feel lucky and much more optimistic for whatever may come ahead, mostly because I know he will be with me every step of the way. Yes, it will be a lie if I say I am not nervous about an unknown kind of work and new environment, etc., yet surprisingly peace residing within me overwhelms the nervousness or frustration that may occur during this transition, along with deep appreciation for him to answer some of my calls.

The work will begin from June 19, and my heart beats from sheer excitement and hopeful expectation.

1987.

I was twelve years old when I first saw this painting of a bleeding college student, Lee Han-yeol. Too young to comprehend what was going on then, all I remembered about the occasion in 1987 was pretty much only this painting. They say memories have a tendency of being encarved as images, they may be true of this case. Periodically organized details of the incident and stories of young social activists, now most of them being big shots in Korean politics, are fascinating to read, particularly only a few months before the election. Click the title of the article to see more details.

A change, again?

An offer from a seemingly prestigious employer certainly boosted my ego and made me feel honored, yet I had to spend my whole weekend speculating over possible pros and cons to take the offer. Perhaps, write all those down would help me to make the decision.

pros.
1. an employer with a better-known label,
2. possible step stone for a career path,
3. approximately CAD 7,000 of an annual salary raise,
4. possibly more extrovert work characteristic depending on how I manage the work,
5. up close contact with people having quite interesting backgrounds,
6. better work environments including more perks with a strong union (for better or for worse).
7. access to information.

cons.
1. three-months of provisional period; i can be laid-off aftermath,,(god, this would be horrible!)
2. I can be completely isolated if work is mismanaged,
3. seemingly more competitive work condition (a handsome amount of politics will be foreseeably involved),
4. leaving the current position, which I get relatively stable and friendly work condition and relationship with coworkers,
5. this can be seen as another career change in my CV,
6. my work will be evaluated by a single person, most likely, which may be advantageous or vice versa depending on situations.
7. need to get accustomed to a new environment.

What would you reckon?

Zeal for life.

Seriously, I am not going to trade an hour of sleeping with anything else in this world. I can't stop yawning for hours now, and this seems not too uncommon lately in my life. Some say why bother to sleep when knowing that you will be sleeping eternally when you're dead. Well, though I have to say I just love taking time in my comfy bed with a crisp cotton bed sheet wrapped around my thighs until late mid-afternoon, reading and sipping morning coffee therein.

At a tea table on a rooftop of a tea shop in Insa-dong last nite, fellow colleagues from the previous job gathered around and shared thoughts on our future path and what hopefully could give us a purpose or a zeal for our lives. Dramatic blue prints made by the UAE's city planning strategies introduced by one of the previous bosses was particularly interesting to listen, since it almost sounded to me as aiming for the impossible. What he described is this;

The UAE sets a target to increase an average capital per person from the current approximately slightly over USD 20,000 to USD 1,000,000 by 2025(?), if I remember correctly. Can you believe a nation bold enough to aim making all of their people millionnaires? It sounded ridiculous in the beginning, but it wasn't much so as I listened to what he eagerly delivered to us under the bright cresent. He wasn't emphasizing whether they would achieve the target or not, but seemingly wanted to point out that certainly setting a higher goal would enable those believers to achieve more than what the others with smiliar qualifications and backgrounds would do. Creativity and ambition; boldness to take risks to carry out thereof, if i may summarize his lengthy talks into a sentence.

The manuevers taken so far were striking and even sensational for a big entity as a state to adopt, and the risks potentially following are needless to mention.
What they do is creating a building paradise, proudly touched by cutting-edge techniques from top engineers around the world, in the middle of desert. ... hey, this sounds a lot alike the stories of Bugsy Siegal, the legendary founder of the hotel "Flamenco" in Las Vegas, a thug dreamed an impossible but turned into reality. Now back to those in the UAE who built a hugh mass of sand island along the shore, their perks to allure foreign investors were building grandeur structures with very odd concepts such as an indoor ski slopes in amid of sandy desert, THE most luxurious seven star hotel of Birds-al-arab, etc. But to everybody's surprise, the real estate of the sand island has been skyrocketing for last some years. Here, he didn't forget to advise us to invest some money if we're interested in.

Surely, listening to what he said helped to broaden the scope of my agendas, which lately have been suffered from a dramatic downsize thereof, due to routined repetitive life circles and work. well, i have been inquiring around information to invest in stocks and funds like most of Seoulites would do when they begin to see their bank account growing. Bank interests are just so mere to expect any no matter how long you leave your money there, so~yeh, why not turn my eyes a little bit further!

Glass eyes

I saw glass eyes last night.

Eyes so hollow as if they were directly tunneled into an oblivion of the eternal darkness. They seemed transparent, yet unabled to show any signs of vividness from inside. They emitted a strange metalic blueness, almost surreal to envisage that they indeed belong to life.

Completely being bewildered and even feared by those eyes filled with rampage and hatred, there was I still desperately seeking a hint of fullness, warmness, and celestialness that once plenished thereof.

Confronted with impetuous hollow eyes at the front and a helplessly sobbing wounded heart at the back, I was crushed by the same dilemma once Camus faced and dictated in his "Le Mythe de Sisyphe." Quickly going through the past few days to examine any occasions that would've fired up the misfortunate event of the night didn't particularly provide any clear answers to the profound distress we were facing; only discarding what we believed as a source of this viciousness and praying for the best were followed.

Favoring abortion when a fetus is proved as disable.

Myung-bak, Lee, the former Seoul Mayor and a strong president hopeful from the major opposition party, the Grand National Party (GNP) in Korea said yesterday that he is fundamentally against the gay marriage and the abortion, but an abortion may be considered if a fetus is proven disable.

Not surprisingly, his comment brought up an immense criticism from civil groups advocating human rights particularly for those wtih has physical and mental difficulties. Tear shedding scene of physically challenged demonstrators in wheelchairs shrieking out strike slogans was painful to look at. They've already suffered from all forms of discrimination and unbearable arduousness beyond anybody's imagination. And this person who hopes to run the country "proudly" calls it may not be worthwhile to share the grendeur theme of "human rights" with the challenged personnels. Wonderful!

I was speechless when I heard him speaking it. I couldn't simply believe that someone intending to run for a presidency has such an unethical, cold-blooded, discouraging, and simply wrongful idea. And he didn't bother to make an official apologetic comments aftermath. Well, his spokesperson made a press release that his comment was "misinterpreted" by media, yet never made an apology. Very convient! More shocking fact adding to it? He is supposedly a sincere Christian, entitled with a senior position at the church he has been attending.

Listening to a series of mistakingly(?) made comments of his, I became convinced that he can't be a person who will give his best to embrace all and protect the needed, and he won't hesitate to leave those behind if they don't concur with his ideas or can't meet thereof, which severely blemishes one of the integral constituent of democracy; reaching mutual concurrances through negotiations, not leaving opponents behind offended and unsatisfied.

An exploding tomato.

This is a perfect example of what-not-to-do for a reporter. John Sweeney is a BBC reporter who was filming a documentary "Scientology and Me" at the time of him being caught in this Youtube UCC. He appears as completely lost while conducting an interview. Sorry for him, it is though unbelievably hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsHyRSi08ic

Japan takes steps to revise the Constitution's Article 9.

There have been concerns regarding the emerging movement to revise Japan's Constitutional Article 9, which was imposed by American occupation authorities after World War II. Living in Korea, one of many Japan's neighboring nations used to be a colony of Japan during the war, I felt this concern rising up close and personal.

Japan's strong nationalists supported neocons in the US that strategically have intended to position its ally Japan more to fill up the military vacancy, and thus maintain the power balance by surpressing the emerging power of China after the foreseeable withdrawal of the US military forces in the region.

Now, its parliament having endorsed a national referendum on the revision of the pacifist Constitution article 9, Japan will be able to hold the referendum as early as 2010 under a bill approved by the upper house of parliment; the bill was passed in the lower house last month. This rings an alarm bell in a sense that Japan has never been so clearly apologetic on war crimes committed during the war, and its educational system still not fully encompassing its past as it was.

Notoriously known, arbitrarily laid US foreign policies throughout the world, especially since early 20th century do not particularly lessen the concern. Al Qu'aida, once assisted by the CIA of the US in order to deter the former USSR's expansion to the region, is now THE evil target for the US to primarily destroy. The Khmer Rouge, which also was funded by the US as an American attempt to stop spilling of the domino effect of communism by Vietnam in the region in late 1960s and early 1970s, which only came up with self-created lunatic form of Maoism-like ideology resulting in the genocide of one third of its own population. What about the coups in 1970s in Korea by general Park, the father of one of the strongest candidates for upcoming presidential election (can you believe that? seriously, what's wrong with people in this country? they must be either out of their minds or have masochistic fetishes to vote for Park, Geun-hae). The coup by Park has been widely believed that it would not be possible if there weren't aids or at least intentional negligence from the US. The exemplary cases above imply a fatal tendency of the US foreign policies in modern era, i.e., their arbitrariness and ignorance on different poli-economical entities, and thus immense amount of finance and bloodsheds had to be spilt on route to clean up mess aftermath. How could we assure the US policy to support the revision will not bring out the similar consequences?

Being salt and light.

What use salt would have if it loses its unique taste?
This is quite threatening words if you think twice, since it is questioning the purpose of our existance, directly. For some time, but not from so long ago, I have been sensing that the once intense strength to differ myself from many of the others and drive me forward with critical perspectives to observe daily occasions have been faded away, very slowly and thus almost unnoticeably even to myself. Then, bang! Without anyh particular reasons or occasions, I just realized this morning that I have lost the unique taste of mine if there were any to start with in the beginning. Envisaging the above plunged my ever lazy awareness into a tiny confinement cell filled with senses of insecurity and endangerment.

It was when I listened to one of CBC Radio programs introducing a book called "Sleeping Buddha," written by a young Canadian woman with an Afgan ethnicity who travelled to Kabul and met with young Afgans as an attempt to understand how they perceive the world and deliver their thoughts to the outside of the Islam world. So she did. I was inspired not because that I felt the book was done in highly sophicated manners, but because the book was completed by a woman of my age pushing herself to seek what she aimed initically, which is in many ways, not so different from what I have wished for doing in my life. Through paying attentions to the voices unheard and assuring to publish their stories in the west, she realized her promises that she made to herself and to those she met along the way.

Depressing myself or the others would be the last thing I would want to do, but certain things seem seriously not right lately. Finally, the daily routines surpasses my reason, and this slowly yet painfully puts me into a deep sleep of numbness and indifferences. Occasionally, there are those trying to warn me for not noticing what I was supposed to notice, here and there of my daily routines, but I don't/can't seem to catch glimpse of them anymore. Oh, god, what should I do and where should I start to annihilate this viciousness?

Ladies' night in Chongdam St.

Well, yes! Five ladies with fire in their hearts got together after approximately a year of separation . We met as colleagues then, but the passage of time allowed us last night to let our hairs down and completely be comfortable with each other. To our amusement, we discovered one of our mutual bosses was truly a womanizer who tried smooches to more than three of us then but not so successful. We cracked out laughters for a while when one of us said she actually pinched his arse so hard until he outcried for pain. Gosh, for a moment, I was wondering how he would react if he were there listening all that.

Three of us spending most of the past one year in Seoul, one in Singapore, and the last in Ohio, we all were in slightly different walks of lives, yet there were still stuffs that we could relish mutually. The one visited from Singapore, where she is doing her PhD in public administration, before she hops off to Brussel for her internship in an energy chart organization under the European Union was constantly mourning about wrinkles on her forehead and was paranoid of this hollucination that she has been losing loads of hairs everyday from ridiculous amount of reading. Funny, i thought but completly understandable. After her brief affair with another coworker at work two years ago, now she's got a new cute aussie beau named James who had worked at the World Bank for some years before taking some time at the program she's in. she overall seemed quite happy and proud of what she's been doing.

Another lady just, who came back from Ohio after visiting her sister and brother-in-law who study there, looked ever more voluptuous and femine. Seriously, she could've had a better career in film industry with that body! Taking some time off from work and her seemingly not so pleasantly ended love, she came back with regained strength and zeal for a new start. Yet, she opted out for the night club, which i only later regretted not to join her.

Last but not least, a very deer friend of mine showed up with her usual combat-styled work wears of sneakers and pants along with her pink Channel jacket. Although her prestigious title at a regional branch of the UNESCAP, because of recent undergoing troubles with her boss at work, she now is considering to leave the work. Though complaining her near fiance departing for Australia this afternoon for a business trip without taking her, she also seemed enjoying her being herself again. Sometime, I do wonder why I talk to this woman so often and become so honest with her in almost all matters. Despite some characters in her that I would never act concurred upon, she is exceptional in ways of her bluntness and vigor on almost all subjects in life, which have facinated me for last two good years.

Anyways, after being mellowed with some good glasses of wine, we decided to extend our night excursion a bit further and hit the floor at a night club in Chongdam-dong, the fancy district for yuppies in town. Well, .. Although I have never experienced "night club" here, somehow I presumed it wouldn't be much different from one of those regular clubs. So we got a cab and proudly stepped out of it at entrance of the club. There were two bouncers at the door, looking very unprofessional and having boring looks on their faces. They bluntly asked if we were interested in "yangju (imported liquors)" seat. "Huh? What on earth this guy is talking about?," I murmured. Then, to our surprise, the youngest, shiest, and most moderate looking with very well-mannered one among us stood up and led our ways into the hall in the club passing smoothly through two dumb-looking bouncers. I asked later about the definition of this "yangju" seats to her. She, ever looking confident than before, explained that they are seats located in the private rooms surrounding the dancing hall, of which door is see-through so that people therein can watch the dancing floor and enables to pick ladies of their tastes. Yes, this kind place indeed exists in the land of morning calm, of which its supposedly most valued virtues include the modesty. Well, as soon as I heard of what she told me, I felt like being a piece of meat on a shelf. Without even realizing what had been going on for the first few minutes, my friends were "sold" one by one, and last two of us being rather still in shock decided to act as if we're in love.. Great!
Music was too loud so we could barely hear each other. Had a couple of sips before hurriedly moved ourselves from the panic hole. No drama took place that night, only memories and slight hangover in the morning.

Yamagata Perfecture

Three days in Yamagata perfecture went very quickly. To my surprise, it had abundant natural beauty to offer, including endless rice paddies, curvy mountains extending over an hour of train riding distance, multiple waterfalls and the green moss-covered paths therebetween. Late cherry blossoms were still blooming to savor, surviving through rains until a day prior to my arrival. Weather was warm enough to stroll around with shorts, and sellers of street vendors were kind enough to make me constantly indulge myself into new bursting tastes of soy souce and fish stocks.

The photos on top left was taken from the hike around Yamadera, a beautifully embraced path along the stream of crystal blue water amid of deep greens of early summer. One on the middle was taken on the first day of the journey at a walkway along a seashore busy with many street oyster shops. The top right is my tired feet wearing Simpson socks cooling off from the mountain breeze after a long walk.

Along the hiking trails, millions of flowers and herbs greeted us with somehow familiar, yet still exotic appearances and frangrances. Colors of wilderness ranging from yellow, blue, purple, green, red, pinkish white, etc. were proudly illumiating under summer sun ray.

Other than mesmerizing colors of wild flowers and their almost intoxicating frangrances as well as the superb weather all through my stay in the little mountaineous town up north, several hours of driving from Tokyo, my holiday was completed by a pleasant companionship from Thang, a friend from UBC who has been working at the Yamagata perfecture's provincial governmental office for three years. In spite of constant quarrels over cute Japanese guys by blaming each other for depriving chances to attract their attentions and some excessively heated debates on numerous subjects, we agreed upon the past couple of days being still mutually beneficiary and inspiring to each other. My trip could be perfect only because of you, my friend! Oh, I also appreciate your haiku!

Seeking for the light amid of the dark.

There are moments in life that we simply can't explain and completely feel helpless, and thus overwhelmingly sense existance of a supernatural being that may look down on our earthly lives and guide those to detined places. Surely none of victims or those enrolled in Virginia Tech University on early Monday morning last week would've foreseen or even guessed in their wildest dreams that an atrocity such as the one occurred on that day would've taken place on the supposed-to-be a holy ground of an academia. According to aftermath statements from some survivors and witnesses, many experienced a strong disbelief even when they faced the terrorizing scene under their own eyes and fiercing sounds of ammunitions flying right by/penetrating through their bodies. One survivor from a German class in which the shooter entered and fired at students and a professor therein said, he couldn't still believe his own eyes until he felt one of his ears was penerated by a flying bullet and started to bleed, even then, he continued to imagine/think, the blood pouring down from his ear and the body on top of him felt like a ketup-like substance, just like the one used in any ordinary hollywood films.

In the amid of doomed chaos, still a reel of fortune or a destined path laid by a supernational being - or whatever it may be called - divided the fates of those therein. How ironic! Some survived by pretending dead when the shooter walked around nearby bodies of their friends, some survived by their prof holding off the door to prevent the shooter from entering the room, etc.

Among the stories from survivors, the most intriguing of all was regarding Liviu Librescu, a professor who survived the holocaust during WWII. Apparently, he gave up his life in order to secure more time for his students to flee from the scene. In a message by one of thousands of mourners for Dr. Librescu, an anonymous writer wrote that Dr. Librescu survived the holocaust and lived for sixty something more years only for this day (to sacrifice himself so as to save others).

It won't be much of anybody's surprise that he was thinking of, if he had any chance to think of anything then, the rampaged strikes reminded him much of events he would've experienced during the war as a holocaust victim and psychological debt he might hadtoward other Jew victims of the war who were not fortunate enough to survive through the dark tunnel of the time. And this caused him to decide to stand against the evil, once he feared and ran away from. There is not doubt that he was a brave man and was the one who shone us the light among the dark.

Now, talking about the dark side of the event, the shooter Choi, known as a Korean American immigrated when he was still a child. Most of those who had been acquainted with him at some point of their lives recalled him as a very introverted child who never bother to make an effort to engage with anybody, and more than that, even rather reluntant to do so. Trying to understand what would have been going through his mind at the time of massacre may be beyond our capability, obviously even his own family, according to the statement released by his sister, didn't notice the eerie darkness that has dwelled in him until the moment of the massacre. Well,,, whether those who knew him could've guessed the date of massacre coming or not may not be the most important issue here. The significance is there were people who thought something was snapped in him and his behaviors bazzed, sometimes even threatening, but decided to let him be there alone, knowing that he was not capable of dealing with the devil inside all alone.

Of course, the issues with gun-control in the US, and the NRA's role therein have been a great concern, and perhaps is the priority we need to talk about at this moment, but personally, I rather welcome that people make an effort to look inside of the shooter's psychological state and any social/cultural environments that may have influenced him, because hate crimes, which doers do not fear to take their own lives, do usually take more delicate and complicated origins than controlling tools of conducts, in this case, a 9-mm gun and another handgun Choi used.

An interesting point here occurred from observing the incident and its aftermath is the reaction from Korean government and people therein, not to mention of those from Koreans residing in the US. Korea's strong attachment to its fellow countrymen abroad has been well known dispite diplomatic misconducts of failing to protect them on an occasional basis. The case concerning Choi wasn't an exception and most Koreans expressed their sincere consolation to the US.

Articles from major daily newspapers in the US including the Washington Post and and the NYT repeated cleared that the shooting by an individual is nobody's responsibility. But it seemed that it was nation-wide heartfelt consolation from Korea that drew the condolation and a sort of redemption to other fellow Koreans in the US.

Interview on Korea's chief negotiator of the FTA with the US.

<연합인터뷰> 김종훈 "통상조약, 공동선위해 주권일부 접는것"(서울=연합뉴스) 경수현 기자 = "통상조약이란 공동선을 위해 주권을 일부 접는 것입니다"광화문 외교통상부 청사의 집무실에서 만난 김종훈 한미 자유무역협정(FTA) 우리측 수석대표는 투자자-국가간 소송에 대한 합의를 두고 주권포기니 나라를 내주었다느니, 일방적으로 손해만 본 독소조항이라느니 하는 반대파들의 비난 표적이 되고 있는데 대해 답답해했다. 우리 투자자를 보호하기 위해 외국과의 통상협상에서 우리도 반드시 얻어야하는 것인데 왜 투자자-국가소송이 우리에게만 일방적으로 불리하다는 것인지 이해하기 어렵다는 표정이었다. 미국과의 협상은 끝났지만 김 수석대표는 요즘도 협상때와 마찬가지로 하루 24시간이 빠듯할 정도로 분주하다. 국회에 참석해 협상 결과를 설명하고 후속대책 마련을 위해 관련 부처를 만나야하기 때문이다. "지난 일요일에는 그래도 좀 잤는데 개운하지가 않네요" 응접테이블을 마주하고 가까이에서 본 그는 온몸에 피곤한 묻어났다. 미국과의 피를 말리는 막판 마라톤 협상이후 제대로 쉬지를 못했다. 국가 통상 역사를 새로 쓴 한미FTA를 어렵게 타결했지만 그보다 더 힘들다는 대내협상(국민설득과 국회 비준동의)이라는 가시밭길이 기다리고 있는 것이다. 김 수석대표는 임기가 끝나는 7월이후의 거취에 대해 "외교부는 순환근무가 원칙인데다 본부 근무 3년이 다돼가므로 외교관 직분을 충실히 할 수 있는 데로 가야지 국내에서만 근무해서야 되겠는가"며 무거운 짐을 벗어버리고 싶다는 속내를 숨기지않았다. -- 4월2일(월요일) 타결 직전에 다녀온 곳은 청와대였나. ▲청와대는 아니고 광화문에서 몇몇 장관들이 모여 있었다. --돌아오면서 최종적으로 협상안을 받겠다고 미국에 통보한 시점은. ▲낮 12시40분쯤이었다. 미국도 나름대로 전전긍긍한 것 같다. 미국 행정부와 의회의 문서수발 담당자가 낮부터 대기하다가 미국시각 일요일 밤 11시40분까지 기다렸던 것 같다. --당초 3월31일(토요일) 새벽 1시였던 협상 시한이 연장될 것이라는 짐작은 언제 했나. ▲처음부터 했다. 4월1일 밤에 경제 관련 장관 회의에 갔더니, 2일 새벽 1시 타결을 전제로 후속일정이 짜여 있었다. 그래서 오전 11시까지 협상이 계속될 수 있다고 보고했다. 아침에 출근해 타결 소식이 없더라도 협상중일테니 너무 궁금해하지 말라는 말씀도 드렸다. --농업 분야는 처음 연장 때 통고받지 못해 토요일 새벽 5시 가깝게 협상이 진행됐는데. ▲협상은 배짱 싸움이다. 분과장들은 별도의 지시가 있을 때까지 열심히 하라고 했다. 당시 농업, 자동차, 섬유는 열심히 협상하고 있을 때다. 또 의약품, 투자, 지재권, 금융, 서비스 등도 몇개 쟁점이 남아 있었다. --토요일 새벽에 협상 연장 가능성을 공개하지 않은 이유는. ▲토요일 새벽 1시쯤 연장 가능성을 공개할까 생각은 했지만 그렇게 하면 우리의 생각이 노출될 수 있다고 판단했다. 미국이 48시간 연장 얘기를 꺼내서 아침에 연장사실을 브리핑한 것이다. --장관급에서 다룬 패키지 협상 대상은. ▲시간이 흐른 뒤 얘기하자. 방식은 장관급으로 올라온 상태에서 서로 의견을 좁히는 것이다. --막판 협상전 2차례의 고비는. ▲의약품 때문에 논의가 중단된 2차 협상 때와 연말에 무역구제 분야에서 미국이 법률 개정은 안된다고 통보했던 때다. 그래서 되면 되는대로 안 되면 안되는 대로 값을 키워 다른 것하고 교환할 생각을 갖고 국회에 살짝 보고했는데 문건이 유출됐다. 결과적으로 보면 무역구제와 의약품 분야의 최저가 보장, 투자자-국가간 소송제(ISD) 간접수용에서 부동산.조세 제외 등으로 해서 좀 맞췄다. (이 부분에서 그의 목소리가 다소 커졌다) ISD는 왜 그렇게 불안해하는지 모르겠다. 국가주권을 내준 것이라는 주장은 이해되지 않는다. 세계무역기구(WTO) 같은 다자간 통상조약도 공동선을 위해 주권을 일부 접는 것이다. --한덕수 총리가 빠르면 내주중 협상원문을 공개하겠다는 의사를 밝혔는데. ▲봐야 한다면 보여줄 수는 있다. 그러나 보안이 지켜져야 한다. 또 문구 조정이나 법률 검토과정에서 바뀔 수 있다는 것을 전제해야 한다. 나중에 바뀌었다고 논란이 되면 안 된다. (FTA 비판자들이)무엇을 그렇게 숨긴다고 그러는지 모르겠다. (지난 4일 배포한 세부협상 자료를 들추면서) 자 봐라. 유전자변형유기체(LMO) 기술협의, 스냅백 이런 것이 (배포자료에) 다 들어있다. --의심을 갖고 보면 그럴 수 있지 않나. ▲이미 다 공개하겠다고 국회에서 말했다. 다음주에 공개하면 관세양허표 같은 것들은 오타 문제 등 때문에 숫자를 일일이 다 확인해야 하는데 나중에 달라졌다고 할까봐 걱정된다. 해보긴 하겠는데 참으로 걱정이다. --전문직 비자쿼터를 따내는 작업은▲미 의회를 상대로 한 정지작업은 오래전부터 해왔다. 6월30일 체결되면 호주가 했던 식으로 할 것이다. 장담할 수는 없지만 할 수 있다고 본다. --비자 유형은. ▲호주는 새로 만든 것이다. 체류상의 여러가지 편의를 누릴 수 있는 카테고리를 만들어 받고자 하는 것이 우리 목표다. 별도의 카테고리를 만들어야 하고 쿼터는 호주보다는 많아야 할 것이다. --노동분야 등 추가 협상 가능성이 거론되고 있는데. ▲미국 민주당이 다수석을 차지하면서 행정부도 곤혹스러운 입장이다. 미국도 국제노동기구(ILO) 기준을 모두 충족하지 못한다. 민주당은 그렇다면 미국법을 고치라는 입장이지만 합의가 도출되지 않았다. 가설적으로 미 행정부와 의회가 합의를 이룬다면 다시 협상할 수 있지 않겠느냐는 얘기가 나올 수 있겠지만 불확실한 상황을 갖고 말하는 것 자체가 부적절하다. 막판 협상때 그런 일이 있으면 안 된다는 반대 의사도 이미 강하게 표명했다. --한반도역외가공지역(OPZ)위원회 아이디어는 어떻게 나왔나. ▲역외가공이 당장되면 좋겠지만 현실적으로 쉽지 않다. 미북관계, 북핵문제, 미국의 테러관련법, 적성국교역법 등을 봐라. 협정문에서 일거에 (문제를) 해소, 개성공단 제품이 협정 발효후 바로 미국으로 실려나가는 것을 목표로 삼기는 힘들다. 그렇다면 그것을 위한 가능성을 열어놔야 하는데, 일단 역외가공 지역이라는 원칙에 합의하고 이를 구현하기 위한 위원회를 만들어 점차 협의하자는 쪽으로 정부 내부에서 올해들어 좀 논의가 됐다. 그것 자체도 미국이 응하기 쉽지 않을 것이라고 봤다. 마지막 협상 앞두고 미측에 우리 문안을 던졌고 저쪽에서 거의 그대로 우리 문안을 받았다. 미측이 좀 더 추가하고 싶은 문안을 넣어 수정안을 만들기는 했다. 협의 과정에서 느낀 점은 미국도 6자회담 등 동향을 긍정적으로 평가하고 그런 모멘텀을 계속 살려가려 한다는 것이다. 원칙은 하는 것으로 하되 필요한 조건들은 협의해 나가자고 하는 것은 적절히 절충된 것 같다. --영문 명칭에도 한반도가 들어가나. ▲"COMMITTEE ON OUTWARD PROCESSING ZONE ON KOREA PENINSULA"로 돼있다. --이익의 균형을 맞췄다고 하는데 정부내에서 평가방법이 있나. ▲경제와 통상은 다르다. 경제학자들은 개방은 개방자체로, 교역은 교역자체로 좋다고 한다. 그런데 통상은 경제+정치다. 통상은 돌아가서 그 품목에 관심있는 업계에 할말이 있어야 된다. `이건 내가 받았습니다'라고 말할 게 있고 `저쪽도 챙겼습니다'라고 말할 게 있어야 한다. --웬디 커틀러 미측 대표와 협상 타결 뒤 통화는 했나. ▲두번 했다. 비준도 남아있고 하니까 서로 발언을 조심할 필요가 있다는 얘기를 나눴다. 그게 바로 정치영역이다. --양측 협상단 모두 명분을 얻은 것인가. ▲굳이 말하자면 우리 입장에서 공산품은 94%까지 조기철폐 됐으니까 돈이 된다. 농업은 우리가 선방했다고 하지만 미국은 시장접근에서 많이 개선했다고 볼 것이다. 미국은 제도개선 차원에서 투명성, 이해관계자의 의견제출 기회, 동의명령제, 고시나 기술표준 제정절차의 투명성 등에 관심이 많았다. 이들 내용은 미국이 받아갔다고 할 수 있지만, 우리도 어차피 그쪽 방향으로 갈 필요가 있다. --자동차 분야 스냅백과 신속분쟁처리절차는 미국이 제시한 아이디어였나. ▲그렇다. 자동차 분야에서 우리는 시장접근을, 미국은 비관세 장벽 개선을 요구했는데 미 의회는 약속이 지켜질지 보장받고 싶다는 시각이 있었다. FTA를 체결하려면 상대편의 요구를 서로 수용해야 한다. 불쾌한 생각도 들었지만 시장접근은 실리 문제이고 미국 요구는 명분이어서 명분은 주고 실리는 챙긴다는 생각으로 받아들였다. --얀포워드 예외품목수는 ▲남성용 셔츠 등 관세분류 코드(HS10단위)로 하면 33개다. 지난 3년 평균 1억3천만달러 수출된 품목이다. 그 다음에 관세특혜할당(TPL)이 있다. 미국과 한국에서 원사 공급이 부족한 중간투입재로 만든 완제품은 원사기준 예외다. 금액으로는 대체로 3억달러가 좀 넘는다고 한다. 업계가 적극 활용하면 잠재력이 있다. --한미FTA에 따라 개정해야할 국내 법률은. ▲지금 부처별로 집계하고 있는데 농업 등 4개 분야는 덜 끝났고 나머지 15개 분야 집계 결과만 보면 15개 안팎의 법률 개정이 필요하다. 전체적으로 20개안팎이지 않을까 생각한다. 계속 집계하고 있지만 고시나 시행령 등은 15개나 20개정도이니, 이 것까지 다 합치면 40개 정도다. --법률 개정 부담은 당초 예상보다 덜한 수준인데. ▲법률을 고쳐야 하니까 어찌됐든 부담은 있다. 하지만 고칠 것은 고쳐야 한다. --미국도 물품수수료 면제는 법률 개정사항이라고 들었는데. ▲그렇다. 또 미국이 지리적 표시 특별취급 품목으로 들고나와 우리도 안동소주 등이 있다고 받아쳐서 합의됐고 이는 시행령 개정사항인 것으로 안다. (여기서 공식적인 질문은 끝나고 가볍게 개인적인 얘기를 물었다)--수석대표 지위는 언제까지 가나. ▲작년 2월에 발령받을 때 7월1일까지로 돼 있다. 6월말 체결 때까지다. --국회 비준 동의 과정에서 협상 당사자를 부르지 않겠나. ▲비준은 범 정부 차원에서 해야 한다. 비준은 어떻게 보면 정치행위다. 협상 수석대표보고 책임지라고 하는 것은 좀 그렇다. --그럼 7월이후에는 어떻게 되나. ▲외교부의 원칙이 순환근무다. 올 가을에도 내년 봄에도 인사가 있을 것이고 본부 근무 3년이 다 돼가므로 외교관 직분을 충실히 할 수 있는 데로 가야지 국내에서만 근무해서야 되겠는가. 지나고 나니까 때때로 어려운 고비도 있었지만 보람도 있었다. 예전에 분과장 및 분과원들과 용인에 모여 워크숍을 할 때 인생에서 유일한 기회이니 전력투구하자고 말한 적이 있다. 저는 장단기 이익을 갖고 주판알을 튕기는 것도 중요하지만 개방과 공정한 경쟁의 방향으로 간다는 메시지가 국민들에게 전달된게 더 중요하다고 생각한다. evan@yna.co.kr

Korean German Exiled Professor Song, the Aftermath.

Contact me via my email or leave your contacts if you need to learn more about the details, or simply have troubles to read the article.

2003년 9월22일부터 다음해 8월5일까지 한국에 머문 10달여 동안(그중 9달을 국가보안법 위반 혐의로 서울구치소에서 보냈다) 보수-진보 등 세력갈등의 진원지였던 재독 학자 송두율 교수가 사건 이후 처음으로 당시를 되돌아보는 책 <미완의 귀향과 그 이후>(후마니타스)를 냈다. <경계인의 사색>을 낸 뒤 5년간의 공백 끝에 나왔다.
그는 서문에서 당시 사건에 대한 기억을 “필자 자신의 것이기는 하지만 동시에 당시 한국사회가 경험했던 ‘집단적 기억’”으로 자리매김하면서 “때로는 잊어버리고 싶은 기억이지만 다시 살려내 반성적으로 고찰하고 또 이를 (한국사회와) 공유해야 할 의무를 느껴왔다”며 집필 동기를 밝혔다. 이는 그가 “광기와 폭력이 난무했던” 상황으로 파악하는 당시 사건을 한국사회가 너무도 쉽게 당시 사건을 망각해버린 채 아무런 생산적 교훈도 얻어내지 못하고 있다는 문제의식의 연장이며, 그것은 이 책 기획자의 착안점이기도 하다.
2003년 9월22일, 36년 2개월 만에 고향땅을 밟은 송 교수는 한달 뒤인 10월22일부터 다음해 7월21일까지 서울구치소 독방에 감금당했다. 책은 이때의 불편했던 기억을 실명까지 거론하며 구체적으로 더듬는다. “독일 영사는 (서울구치소가) 수감중인 미군 병사에게는 책상은 물론 침대와 냉장고 시설까지 허용하면서 저술이 본업인 독일대학의 (송)교수에게 최소한의 편의도 제공하지 않는 이유가 무엇이냐고 항의했다.”
그는 당시 유력지들이 무책임한 보도를 일삼았다며 한마디로 “썩은 내 나는 신문들”이라 질타했다. 검찰과 법원의 권위주의도 그에겐 너무 힘들고 낯선 풍경이었다. “도주나 자해의 위험이 없는데도 수갑만 채운 것이 아니라 포승에 묶인 상태에서 조사를 받아야 하는 공간이다.” “…그들(공안검사들)의 특권의식은 좀 유별난 것 같았다.” “무엇보다도 검사들의 수준에 놀라지 않을 수 없었어요. 그들이 보는 세상은 그렇게 단순할 수가 없어요. ‘아직도 김일성을 존경하느냐’는 질문을 해대질 않나, 계속 그런 식의 취조였어요.”
송 교수는 독일 현지에서 진행한 박상훈 후마니타스 주간, 김용운 기획위원과의 대담에서, 안전보장 확인도 없이 어떻게 귀국했느냐는 질문에, “떠날 때는 (구속 따위는) 전혀 상상할 수 없었다”면서 국정원에 직접 가서 조사받기로 약속한 바도 그렇게 한다는 얘기도 사전에 들은 바도 전혀 없다고 말했다. 선처를 호소한 자성의 글을 발표한 것은 상황파악이 미숙했고 국가보안법에 대한 투항이기도 했다는 비판에 대해선 “그 문제를 가장 가슴 아프게 생각한다”며 아내의 반대를 무릅쓰고 많은 주변사람들의 종용에 넘어간 점, 그리고 같은 맥락의 독일국적 포기도 아쉬워했다.
송 교수는 한국에서 초청할 경우 응할 것이냐는 질문에는 이렇게 답했다. “전보다 더 심리적으로 어려운 선택이 되겠지요. 반드시 돌아가야 한다는 그런 생각이 있는 것은 아닙니다만, 남한이든 북한이든 자유롭게 다니며 가르치고 대화할 수 있었으면 좋겠다는 바람은 늘 있지요. 기본적으로 이분법적 이념이나 편견, 단순논리에 의해 희생되지 않고 좀 자유로워졌으면 좋겠습니다. 한국에 다시 가고 싶으냐 아니냐 하는 문제가 중요한 것이 아니라, 갈 수 있느냐 아니냐가 여전히 내겐 더욱 절실한 문제입니다.”
한승동 선임기자 sdhan@hani.co.kr

Principle of not having a principle

According to the New York Times reports and the reports from Reuters over the weekend, the Bush administration "allowed," not even "turned a blind eye" on Ethiopia's arms trading with the North Korea, which was an obvious violation of the UN Security Council's sactions resolution against the NK. A few sources from the US government said, it was done so partly because Ethiopia was fighting against Islamic insurgents in its neighboring country Somalia, which concurred with the US's war on mostly Islamic milias in the region. While the Bush administration together with the Ethiopian government either have denied or avoided to confirm its truthfulness, the recently revealed apparently hypocritical side of the US foreign policy, which is saying one thing and almost always doing another afterwards - nonetheless it was not so surprising any more to many of us -, throws out some significant questions regarding setting a barometer in intergovernmental relations, role of the UN, effectiveness of the UN Resolutions, etc. Should it only have goals but not principles? Is it the way always has been therein? Or is it just another depressing dark side of underground politics, which of course based on an assumption that there also has been a bright side of onground politics. Let me hear your voice on this.


North Korea sells arms to Ethiopia with U.S. OK
Christopher Michaud
Reuters
Sunday, April 08, 2007
NEW YORK — The Bush administration allowed Ethiopia to complete a secret arms purchase from North Korea in an apparent violation of a U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution passed months earlier over its nuclear test, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.
Citing unnamed U.S. officials from a number of agencies, the Times said the United States allowed the January arms delivery in part because Ethiopia was fighting Islamic militias in Somalia in an offensive that aided U.S. policies of combating religious extremists in the Horn of Africa.
A spokesman for the State Department declined to comment on the specifics of the arms shipment, but said the United States was “deeply committed to upholding and enforcing U.N. Security Council resolutions,” the newspaper reported. No response from the Ethiopian Embassy was available.
Washington’s former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who helped push the resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea through the Security Council in October, said the United States should have told Ethiopia to send the weapons back.
“I know they have been helpful in Somalia, but there is a nuclear weapons program in North Korea that is unhelpful for everybody worldwide,” the Times quoted Bolton as saying.
U.S. intelligence agencies reported in late January that an Ethiopian cargo ship that was probably carrying tank parts and other military equipment had left a North Korean port. The shipment’s value was unclear, the Times said.
After a brief debate in Washington, it was decided not to block the arms deal and to press Ethiopia not to make future purchases, according to the report.
It was unclear if the United States ever reported the arms shipment to the Security Council, the Times said. But intelligence reports indicated that the cargo was likely to have included tank parts, leading at least some Pentagon officials to describe the shipment as a clear Security Council violation.
Several officials told the Times they first learned Ethiopia planned to receive military cargo from North Korea when the country’s government alerted the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa after the U.N. measure imposing sanctions was adopted on Oct. 14.
“The Ethiopians came back to us and said, ‘Look, we know we need to transition to different customers, but we just can’t do that overnight,’” the paper quoted a U.S. official as saying.

Flesh and blood.

Like many of writers preferring to stay behind the curtain and being pessive of revealing themselves, I too have felt rather shy to show myself online to even those who I have known for a long time. But what the hell, while I was downloading some photos from my out-of-fashioned digital camera, I found some of me and my beloveds in photos looking so great that keeping those only to myself would make me feel guilty. So here I am planning to share some with you from now on.

The scene behind me almost looks like one from a desert, but in fact, it is a hill leading to a cliff near an island not so far from Seoul. The first day of our arrival, we spent most of our day for an excursion of the island, and the next early morning, I found a gorgeous looking view point, which appeared to be an abandoned military checkpoint. Almost all parts of the island were laid right in front of my eyes while splendid reflection of the morning sun ray gently warmed my cheek. How magnificent! Laying the stiff back of mine on those soft soft grass on the hill was like a heaven. I lay there and spent god knows how many minutes or hours of dream-like tranquility. Feeling all refreshed and warm in my body and soul, I was ready for another battle to come, whatever it may be.

BDA: Hill's Tactical Miscalculation.

Any of my readers who are interested in following issues related to the Six Party Talks among two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the US should read the article below. Written by a former senior interpreter at the US State Department and now a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a research professor at Korea University, Tong Kim continuously impresses me with his in-depth insights on many of ongoing issues from the perspective of the US government, but at the same time, not to forget about mentioning those from Korea. A series of his writings can be found at

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200703/kt2007032520413554330.htm

if you're really interested.

The article below, in particular, attracted my attention this morning because it confirmed my thoughts on the recent agreement of Feb. 14. The moment the US responsible negotiator Christopher Hill announced that the transit of NK's deposits in BDA will be implemented by the regulations and rules set by the in-situ banks dealing with the fund, it seemed apparent to me that the US wasn't willing to change any in their part, but certainly push NK further to legitimate pit hole by having NK to sign in another paper. This probably could've been understood along the same line with the reason the US has been insisting the SIX party talks regardless of increasing demands of bilateral talks between the US and NK. Anyways, enjoy the article, hope this brings up some of your critical ideas.

BDA: Hill's Tactical Miscalculation.

It is now clear what the confusion was all about in Beijing last week, concerning the technicalities involved in transferring the freed North Korean funds of $25 million from the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau to an account held by North Korea in the Bank of China (BOC) in Beijing, or transferring them through BOC to a bank account in a third country.
No party in the talks seemed to have expected the money transfer issue would hold up the serious talks of nuclear dismantlement. No diplomat at the talks seemed to have studied beforehand the international banking requirements for ``remittance business’’ and the legal ramifications and concerns for an international bank to accept ``illegal funds.’’
All U.S. banks operating under U.S. laws including the Patriot Act are on notice to cut off transactions with any foreign bank that is involved in money laundering or terrorist financing.
Nobody explained why the North Koreans did not want or could not transfer the funds to their Trade Bank in Pyongyang or why they wanted the money transferred to BOC.
A testimony to the confusion and unpreparedness was found in the words of South Korean chief delegate to the talks, Chun Yung Woo, ``Absurd and preposterous things are happening, but nobody really knows why these things are happening.’’
Now Washington is sending back deputy assistant secretary of treasury Daniel Glaser, who watches terrorist financing and financial crimes, to explain to the reluctant BOC officials that their bank will not be punished after it receives the ``dirty money’’ from BDA.
Glaser was in Beijing only a week earlier to announce the conclusion of an 18 month investigation of North Korean illicit financial activities – including money laundering and counterfeiting – and a U.S. decision to unfreeze the DPRK related funds from BDA a couple of hours before the convening of the multilateral talks last Monday (March 19th).
Despite the U.S. treasury department’s barring all American banks from doing business with BDA and its condition that the released DPRK funds could only be used for educational and humanitarian purposes, assistant secretary of State Christopher Hill, who joined Glaser at the hurriedly staged announcement, appeared confident that the BDA issue would no longer be an impediment to the nuclear talks. It took him only a few hours to find that he was wrong afterwards.
Washington could have told Glaser to stay in Beijing and do what he is now going back there to do. This action could have saved at least a few days to a week to complete the transfer and to bring the parties back together sooner than possible under the present circumstances.
It does not surprise me that the North Koreans refused to discuss the substantive issues of how to implement the 2.13 agreement and what steps to take for disablement in the next phase. Under different circumstances, the defiant North Korea had walked out of meetings before, even when they had less understandable justification to do so.
From the beginning, the North Koreans said they would not move until the issue of financial sanctions is fully resolved. However, what they did not make clear before was that they wanted to ``see the money’’ deposited in their own account. Apparently the U.S. negotiating team had erroneously assumed ``U.S. assurances’’ for releasing the frozen DPRK funds, backed up by a policy pronouncement _ which was not exactly seen as an exoneration of North Korea from the U.S. charges of financial crimes _ would suffice to meet North Korea’s needs. This assumption quickly proved wrong.
Amid last week’s confusion, the frustrated U.S. chief negotiator said, ``The day I am able to explain to you North Korean thinking is probably the day I’ve been in this process too long.’’ About the same time the South Korean foreign minister said North Korea is ``an unpredictable group that gives us a headache.’’ The common sentiments reflected in these two statements are the incomprehensiveness and unacceptability of North Korean behavior.
Well, unacceptability is one thing, but if it is about incomprehensiveness, here is something to consider. Having a few bilateral meetings, a few occasions for social dinners and drinks or even going to a Broadway show is hardly enough to understand the reasons for North Korean behavior.
Those of us who had engaged the North Koreans for many years still found it hard at times to figure out the true motivation of what often appeared to be unreasonable or offensive behavior. But they always acted on their own reasoning and logic, either as a tactical move for what to pursue next or as a matter of ``principle’’ reflecting their unique thinking. Their logic is typical: ``You did or did not do that, so we do this.’’
There is plenty of blame to go around for the unproductive conclusion of the last round. Some of the blame goes to the United States, some to North Korea, some even to China _ for failing to persuade BOK to accept the risky DPRK related funds. The rest of the six parties were actually irrelevant to the complicated problem, and there was little that they could do, except wait in vain, wasting their valuable time.
My uneasy hunch is that the DPRK leadership, beyond the level of vice minister Kim Kye Gwan, was not fully satisfied by the final BDA outcome. It might be going through an internal debate over how far and how fast it should proceed with the negotiation process. It is also possible that the DPRK, now possessing nuclear weapons, may even think that they can drag out the process to squeeze the maximum political and economic benefits, believing that the Bush administration badly wants to strike a deal to meet its political agenda.
Washington is hoping to resume the talks in a week or two, once the money transfer is completed. The U.S. disposition of the BDA issue _ a verdict of conviction but no immediate punishment against the DPRK _ was perhaps the best creative compromise possible from the legal and political perspectives of Washington. That compromise probably was made possible by Hill’s negotiations within the administration, as Don Oberdorfer, chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS wrote in last week’s Newsweek Korea about the U.S. envoy’s internal efforts.
The North Koreans should heed the rekindled criticisms among the opponents of the Bush administration’s new approach to the DPRK since their refusal to participate in the talks last week. They should remind themselves that they won a rare opportunity to engage the United States after waiting 6 long years. They should also remember that the United States still has other options to resort to, if it is convinced, as events may prove right or wrong, that there is no way to reach a fair negotiated settlement.
Lessons from last week: for the United States, it does not pay to push the process too fast. As a principle in negotiation, it will be more difficult to get a desired result, if you are seen as badly wanting a settlement. It should not act on assumptions until validated by unmistakable communication.
Critics of the administration’s BDA disposition are quick to point out no negotiation can succeed without pressure on the opposing party. Some of them warn that the United States should not use up all its bargaining chips at this stage. Some may even argue that negotiation must be conducted from a position of strength if it is to succeed. But I think the United States has plenty of leverage, including its capability and strength to pressure the DPRK, and the DPRK knows it.
The DPRK learned from its experience last week first what it takes to transfer funds from one bank to another in the international financial community. The real ownership of the released funds may belong to the government of the DPRK, but since the funds were deposited in 50 accounts under different names of entities and individuals some of whom are dead, the BDA required applications for each account, not a single, master application for all the accounts as the DPRK presented at first. More importantly, the DPRK must have learned it will be extremely difficult to have access to banking benefits if it engages in illicit financial activities in the future.
As long as the DPRK wants normalized relations with the United States and a stronger economy, its leadership should seriously cooperate with other parties to steadily move towards the common goal of denuclearization. What’s your take?

Breathing lessons

The tips how you can survive in Seoul.

A report published this week has suggested that air pollution in our big cities could be as damaging to our health as the radiation Chernobyl survivors were exposed to. But short of moving to the countryside, what can city dwellers do? Quite a lot, actually.

10 tips on how to breathe more easily.
Take a deep breath. If you live in an urban environment - which four out of five of us now do - then you are exposing yourself to a cocktail of airborne pollutants that could be seriously damaging your health. According to a study published this week, if you live in a "major city" then the air pollution you suck into your lungs each day could be shortening your life expectancy even more than the radiation exposure suffered by survivors of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
The idea that city air is bad for you is hardly new, but it is an area scientists are only just beginning to get a real grip on. Last month the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, an independent body set up in 1970 to advise the British government, confirmed what many of city dwellers instinctively knew: that urban living should carry a large health warning. In a major report entitled The Urban Environment, it detailed what impact urban air pollution is having on our health. The headline conclusion was that air pollution reduces "life expectancy in the UK by an average of eight months".
Meanwhile the World Health Organisation reports that transport-related air pollution - which now causes the vast majority of urban air pollution - causes a wide range of health problems including "cancer, adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, and lowering of male fertility". In 2004, a report said that a pedestrian walking down Marylebone Road in London would draw in the equivalent pollution of one cigarette in just 48 minutes.
But other than moving to the countryside, what practical steps can city dwellers take to reduce their exposure to urban air pollution? Quite a lot, it turns out.
1 Watch where you walk
One of the best ways to reduce your exposure to air pollution, says Dr Roy Colvile, a senior lecturer in air-quality management at Imperial College London, is to avoid walking along busy streets and thoroughfares, instead choosing side streets and parks. Carefully choosing your route has a "dramatic" effect, he says, because pollution levels can fall by a factor of 10 just by moving a few metres away from the main source of the pollution - exhaust fumes. "Just by being one block away makes a massive difference as the high pollution levels are generally restricted to fairly small areas within a city," he says. Also, try to avoid walking down "street canyons" (where tall buildings hug tightly to the sides of streets, creating valleys in which pollutants build up), don't walk behind smokers, and walk on the windward side of the street where exposure to pollutants can be 50% less than on the leeward side.
2 Pavement sense
When you're crossing a road, stand well back from the kerb while you wait for the lights to change or for a gap in the traffic. Every metre really does count when you are in close proximity to traffic, according to Colvile. "Do all you can to avoid getting stuck for too long on a central reservation," he adds. As the traffic moves off from a standstill, the fumes can dissipate in just a few seconds, particularly if the wind is up, which means holding your breath during this momentary period can make a difference, silly as that might sound. Also, don't dawdle: cross the road as quickly as possible. And once you're over, continue along the pavement as far away from the kerb as possible.
3 Avoid pollution spikes
Predictably, there are large spikes in pollution during times of high traffic congestion - ie, the morning and late-afternoon rush hours. Pollution levels generally fall during the night-time. The time of year can also make a big difference. Pollution levels tend to be at their lowest during the spring and autumn when winds are at their "freshest"; the trapping effect of extreme cold and hot spells tend to exacerbate the build-up of pollutants.
Venturing outside when there is less pollution obviously makes sense, but of course that's not always realistic. In fact, the hottest part of a summer's day - the time when most office workers go outside during their lunchbreak - is a particularly bad time to head out, according to Noel Nelson, one of the authors of the Royal Commission report. Walking in the rain, conversely, is a good way of avoiding the worse excesses of air pollution, he adds, as the rain "cleans" the air both by washing out the pollutants and bringing with it fresher air.
4 Wear a mask
Masks can be a good thing, but they only make a difference if they fit tightly and are cleaned regularly. Even the slightest gap to allow you to breathe more easily will cancel out any benefits. Worse, if you fail to clean or change the mask regularly there is a danger of allowing oily organic compounds to build up on the filter. Build-up can make the air you breathe dirtier rather than cleaner. As for looking like Michael Jackson while you go about your daily business . . . only you can decide how high a price you're willing to pay for clean lungs.
5 Pushchairs
According to the Royal Commission report, several recent studies indicate that "children living close to busy roads have an approximate 50% increased risk of experiencing respiratory illness, including asthma". Children are smaller than adults and therefore that much closer to the source of pollution when walking besides roads. They also have a faster metabolic rate and breathe more rapidly, and tend to inhale more pollution, proportionate to their size, than adults. One small step that can be taken is not to push them along in a buggy too close to traffic. Colvile advises positioning the buggy alongside you, instead of in front of you, when waiting to cross the road.
6 Beware of exercising in traffic
Cycling or jogging disproportionately expose you to air pollution - you inhale three times as much as if you were walking, according to Colvile - for the simple reason that your lungs are gasping for more air than the people you're speeding past on the pavement. The best times of day to exercise, thus avoiding the worst excesses of air pollution, are early morning or in the evening. Alternatively, exercise indoors or in a park. Cyclists - for whom the exhaust of a car should be seen as being as much of a hazard as the front bumper - should stick to side-roads where possible.
7 Where to sit on the bus
Buses are cleaner in terms of their emissions than even just a decade ago, particularly London's fleet, but they still emit pollutants worth avoiding. Intriguingly, Colvile says that his own research shows that sitting on the driver's side of a bus can increase your exposure by 10% compared with sitting on the side nearest to the pavement. And sitting upstairs on a double-decker can reduce your exposure too. He says it's difficult to say whether travelling on an undergound train, if you have that option, is better or worse than taking the buses, but he does say that the air pollution on underground trains tends to be less toxic by weight than that found at street level because the pollution is principally made up of minute iron particles thrown up by the wheels travelling along the rails as opposed to the mixture of pollutants found in diesel and petrol fumes.
8 Protect yourself indoors too
We spend about 90% of our time indoors, on average, and two-thirds of that time is spent at home; more perhaps for some of the most vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children. And indoor pollution can actually be more of an issue than that found outdoors, it seems: studies by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that pollution levels can be two to five times higher indoors than out - and this can rapidly rise depending on what activity you are doing at home. It tends to be a different soup of chemical pollutants from the ones we encounter outside, and if anything, less is known about how they affect us. Our centrally-heated, carpeted, airtight homes only act to aggravate the situation.
Ventilating your home is therefore an important step to take in reducing risk - hopefully with air that's not full of air pollutants from the outside - as is using a good doormat to help prevent outdoor pollutants from the pavement being walked into your home. (The EPA has raised doubts about the claims made by some "ozone generating" indoor air purifiers, by the way.)
Feeling smug about the fact that you live high up in a flat away from outside air pollution? Well, unless you live in a penthouse at the top of a very tall skyscraper, then height doesn't seem to offer significant sanctuary. A study by Hong Kong's City University used laser measurements to show that pollution levels in the city remain constant up to heights of 700m. Living in the suburbs, away from major roads, seems the best way to avoid the worse excesses of urban air pollution. But that then means you are statistically far more likely to be a car owner and are therefore only exacerbating the situation.
9 Don't drive
The best thing you can do, both for yourself and for your fellow citizens, is to get out of the car. Fuel choice is also important: diesel may produce less carbon dioxide compared with petrol, which is good news in terms of climate change, but it produces more ground-level pollutants. While urban air-pollution levels today, compared with the "pea-soupers" of the mid-20th century, could be said to be vastly improved - healthy young men don't tend to drop down dead in the street now from air pollution as they did then, says Colvile - we are now exposed to a form of pollution that can much more readily enter our bloodstream. A particle of pollution today tends to be 100 times smaller than a particle of coal soot and therefore it can pass into the blood stream via the lungs as opposed to being caught in the bronchial passage. The full health implications of this shift in pollution type have yet to become fully apparent.
10 Get out of town
As long as you go by public transport so as not to create yet more pollution, lifting yourself up and out of the urban mire offers at least a temporary escape. But don't head to the south-east corner of England. Colvile speaks of a "sheet of pollution from Europe", thick with sulphates, nitrates and ozone, that now regularly reaches across the Channel and can affect the counties south of London. For example, the air over the idyllically rural South Downs is only two to three times cleaner compared with the air over central London. Better instead to head to the nation's extremities, preferably facing into the winds blowing off the Atlantic.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

Unification Unlikely Under Kim Jong-il's Rule.

Korean reunification is unlikely while Pyongyang's current leader Kim Jong-il is still in power, the more likely scenario being South and North Korea engaged in a prolonged period of conferderation-type arrangement, a U.S. historian said Tuesday.

Bruce Cumings also argued that it is unwise to seek agreements with North Kore based on trust, and that any accord with the communist regime should depend on verification.
"I don't think Korean unification will occur while Kim Jong-il is in power," Cumings said at a luncheon speech sponsored by the South Korean embassy, referring to North Korea's 66-year-old top leader.

Instead, a prolonged period of coexistence, culmination in provincial independence and a confederation-like relationship, may be possible 10 to 15 years from now, said Cumings.

South and North Korea are technically still at war, having signed only an armistice at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Tension lingers as Pyongyang flaunts nuclear capabilities, displayed most recently with its first atomic weapons test in October last year.

A six-nation forum, attended by South and North Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, struck a deal last month that commits Pyongyang to shut down and eventually disable its nuclear weapons and programs.

Cumings called the February agreement "no bettrer, and in some ways worse than" the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework between the U.S. and North Korea. The bilateral pact froze Pyongyang's nuclear activities but was later scrapped following accusations by Washington that the North was hiding a secret weapons program using enriched uranium.

Yet, it is a good agreement, he said, setting principles on ending the Korean War and talking about diplomatic normalizations.

The most unproductive, and "even stupid," U.S. policy has been to divide world affairs strictly in terms of good and evil, Cumings said.

"You may think that North Koreans are evil, but you have to have a policy for what to do about that," he said."

Yonhap - Washington (March 29, 2007)

P.S. Having a confederation-like state form has been considered as an alternative for South Korea to step toward the ultimate unification of two currently separated Koreas. Cumings is pointing out only what has been going around for quite a bit of time, and says not so fresh comments of obviously foreseeable prospects on difficulties of Korea's reunification under Kim. Found his view very disappointing considering he has been well-known as a Korea scholar for some time. ~~;

Free Hugs.

Check out the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL7Jo_1Z3Y8

Just to remind you that I'm available if you need one, seriously! ^^

Whiter Shade of Pale

We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels 'cross the floor

I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more

The room was humming harder
as the ceiling flew away

When we called out for another drink
the waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly
turned a whiter shade of pale

She said, "There is no reason
and the truth is plain to see."
But I wandered through my playing cards
and would not let her be
one of sixteen vestal virgins
who were leaving for the coast
and although my eyes were open
they might have just as well've been closed

And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale.

- Brooker/Reid

Updated news from Korean Ambassadors from Pakistan, Afganistan, and Nigeria

좌담회] [아프간 폭탄테러 한국군 사망]“한국인 안전불감증 심각 …테러 표적 위험성 높다”
[아프간 폭탄테러 한국군 사망]“한국인 안전불감증 심각 …테러 표적 위험성 높다”
- 해당지역 공관장 긴급 좌담회 -
사회 : 정재욱 정치사회부장
김주석 주파키스탄 대사
- ‘밀착 영사서비스’등 대폭확대 ‘교민-대사관 연락망 더 공고히
이기동 주나이지리아 대사
-“우리도 타깃…”우려가 현실로 “현지기업 안전대책 강화해야
강성주 주아프가니스탄 대사
-탈레반 축출 공세에 불안 고조 NGO단체 他종교 포교 자제를
아프가니스탄 폭탄테러로 현지에 파병된 다산부대 윤장호 병장이 사망하는 참극이 빚어지면서 전 세계 위험지역에 진출해 있는 기업인, 교민, 여행객 등 우리 국민의 신변안전 문제가 초미의 관심이 되고 있다. 이에 헤럴드경제는 27일 재외공관장회의 참석차 일시 귀국한 강성주(56) 주아프가니스탄 대사를 비롯해 이기동(59) 주나이지리아 대사, 김주석(56) 주파키스탄 대사를 초청, 긴급 좌담회를 가졌다. 아프가니스탄의 경우 올해 탈레반의 수도 카불 탈환 시도가 예상돼 어느 때보다 치안이 불안정할 것으로 예상된다. 나이지리아의 경우 지난해와 올해 연이어 현지 근로자 납치 사태를 겪었고, 파키스탄은 이란 핵문제로 긴장이 다시 고조되고 있다. 이들 위험지역 현지 치안 실상은 어떤지, 테러 및 납치에 의한 피해를 미연에 방지하기 위해선 어떤 노력이 필요한지 이들 지역 대사의 생생한 목소리를 들어봤다.
-사회=아프가니스탄에서 한국 현역군인이 테러로 사망하는 참사가 빚어졌다. 우선 어떤 조치를 하고 있나.
▶강성주 주아프가니스탄 대사=올해 아프가니스탄 치안이 특히 불안하다. 안타까운 일이다. 제일 중요한 것은 현지 부대원은 물론 체류 중인 근로자, 비정부기구(NGO) 관계자의 안전을 재점검하는 것이다. 윤 병장의 사후처리 문제와 관련해 현지 주둔 다국적군이 협조를 잘 해주고 있다는 것으로 보고받았지만, 공관 차원에서 주재국 정부와 협조할 일도 있을 것이다. 당초 일정을 앞당겨 귀임할 예정이다.
-아프가니스탄의 치안 상황은 어떠한가. 현지 체류 중인 한국인은 얼마나 되며 이들의 신변은 안전한가.
▶강 대사=근로자가 50여명, NGO 종사자 및 가족이 100명이 넘는다. 이들은 부대와는 멀리 떨어진 비교적 안전한 곳에 거주하고 있다. (치안이 워낙 취약해) 사고는 언제든지 일어날 수 있는 상황이다. 이번 사태를 계기로 체류 중인 우리 국민의 신변 안전에 좀 더 주의를 기울일 것이다. 정보기관 등에 따르면 아프가니스탄 중앙정부는 올해 탈레반 축출에 적극 나서고 있어 치안이 가장 불안 상태를 보일 것으로 예상된다. 게다가 아직 아프가니스탄 중앙정부 권력이 지방에까지 미치지 않고 있어 수사도 안 되고 어떤 사람들이 (테러, 범죄 행위) 했는지 조사가 안 된다. 현지 정부의 치안 및 정보당국에 따르면 현지 주민들은 외국 기업이 아직도 자신들을 도와주러 온 것이 아니라 자기 이익을 챙기기 위해 국제금융과 결탁해 들어왔다고 이해하고 있다. 반정부 세력은 정부가 하는 일을 무조건 반대하고 있다.
-아프가니스탄 치안이 불안한데도 NGO 등 한국인 진출이 있는 것으로 안다. 주의할 점은 무엇인가.
▶강 대사=앞으로 아프가니스탄 내 한국 NGO 관계자의 수는 증가할 것으로 보인다. 그러나 올해, 특히 7~8월 무렵 치안이 극도로 악화될 것이라는 걱정이 많다. 이 기회를 빌려 그분들에게 당부하고 싶은 게 있다. 아프가니스탄은 전후 복구를 도와줄 NGO 진출을 환영하고 있다. 그래서 지난 2002년 재건 과정 돌입시 NGO 수는 3000여개까지 치솟았다. 현재는 3분의 1 이하로 정리해 줄었다. 그 과정에서 아프가니스탄 정부가 NGO가 해선 안 될 사항을 법으로 제정했다. 대표적으로 두 가지이다. 첫째, 이슬람교를 세속화시키는 행위. 다시 말해 다른 종교를 전파하는 어떤 행동도 해선 안 된다. 둘째, 절대 영업행위를 해선 안 된다. 일부 사람은 NGO를 설립해 그 단체 이름으로 실질적으로 회사 이익 창출 활동을 한다. 실제 어느 외국 건설회사는 학교, 병원을 지어 자선사업을 하겠다고 해놓고 정작 세금을 포탈하기 위한 용도로 사용한 경우가 있다. 주재국 정부에선 그 두 가지 사항을 상당히 주시하고 있어, 의심행동은 적극 피해야 한다. 체류자 안전대책과 관련해 정부에선 나이지리아 사태 이후 외교부 차원에서 현지 조사단을 파견해 안전대책을 종합적으로 세우고 있다. 현지 공관에서도 그와 관련해 주재국과 협의 중이다. 하지만 무엇보다 기본적으로 현지 치안이 악화된 상황에선 정부가 취하는 대책에도 한계가 있다. 아프가니스탄에 오게 될 국민은 공관과 기민한 접촉을 유지해야 한다.
-이번 아프가니스탄 테러를 비롯해 최근 국제사회에서 위상이 높아진 때문인지 한국인이 테러의 주요 대상으로 부상한 느낌이다. 현지 진출 기업, 교민 안전 실태는 어떤가.
▶이기동 주나이지리아 대사=(현지 납치, 테러가) 광범위해지면서 우리가 포함됐다. 지난해 6월 대우건설 근로자 피랍 사건을 계기로 ‘우리도 표적이 될 수 있구나’ 경각심이 일었다. 하지만 우리 기업, 근로자가 일차적 표적은 아니다. 작년 한 해만도 그렇고 납치, 테러에 의한 피해는 다른 나라에 비해선 상대적으로 적은 편이었다. 한국인이 표적이라기보다는 일반적 치안 불안 지역에서 납치의 표적이 되고 있다고 봐야 한다. 최근에는 중국 필리핀 동구권 등 국적 불문하고 무차별적으로 이뤄진다. 부국이냐, 아니냐 개념이 없다.
▶강 대사=수년 전부터 한국 NGO가 활동해왔는데, 지난 2월 초 한국인을 타깃으로 한 테러 정보가 입수됐다. (편집자주: 이후 외교통상부는 아프가니스탄을 여행제한지역으로 설정) 그만큼 테러에 상대적으로 많이 노출돼 있기 때문이다. 그 이유로 일단 한국인은 현지인과 외모가 비슷해 ‘현지인과 유사한 복장을 하고 움직이면 상당히 안전하다’는 인식이 퍼져 있어 자유롭게 움직였다. 그러나 다른 외국 거주자에 비해 경호원, 경비회사 지원을 받는 것이 약했다.
-위험지역에서 우리 국민의 안전의식에는 문제 없나.
▶이 대사=안전의식이 결여됐다는 생각은 안 든다. 그런 사고가 어제오늘 일이 아니었기 때문에 기업의 경우 예산을 편성할 때부터 안전 문제를 고려한다. 실제 무장경찰, 해군 경비도 갖추고 있고 이동시에는 무장경관도 동승하는 등 나름대로 안전대책을 수립하고 있다. 그럼에도 불구하고 건설 현장이 보트로 쉽게 접근할 수 있는 지역에 있는 데다 무장세력의 화력이나 이동수단이 경비병력을 압도하기 때문에 돌발 상황이 벌어질 수 있다.
▶김주석 주파키스탄 대사=파키스탄 교민들은 현지 사정을 잘 알기 때문에 조심한다. 상황이 나빠지려면 대사관과 연락을 취한다. 하지만 일부 교민은 ‘여지껏 괜찮았는데’라고 방심하는 경우가 있다. 특히 배낭여행객들은 대사관에 연락을 취하지 않아 직접 연락할 방법이 없다. 파키스탄만 해도 넓고 지역마다 상황이 다르다. 민감한 지역이 있기 때문에 상황을 정확히 파악하지 않은 상태에서 여행하다 보면 위험에 봉착할 수 있다.
▶강 대사=아프가니스탄은 세계 각국에서 NGO 수가 가장 많은 지역 중 하나일 것이다. 하지만 안전이 아직은 불안한 지역이고 이슬람 국가이기 때문에 율법에 위배되는 활동을 하면 위험도가 높아진다. 일단 입국 전에 공관에 안전 관련 자문을 구하거나 방문 또는 전화를 통해 브리핑을 받는 등 활동하면서도 유기적인 연락체계를 유지해야 한다. 대사관 사이트에 어느 지역 위험하다든지 치안 정세를 올려놓도록 했다. 기본적으로 사이트를 한 번 보고 부족할 때는 메일이나 전화로 질문하면 알고 있는 가능한 정보를 제공, 안전에 이상없도록 노력하겠다.
-정부 대책으로는 어떤 게 있을 수 있나.
▶강 대사=현지 주민들과 의사소통하고 의견도 반영하면서 기업 활동을 하는 것이 좋다. 현지 주민을 많이 채용하고 공공사업도 해주고. 물론 개인 회사가 그런 것까지 커버하는 데는 한계가 있긴 하다. 단기적으로 해결할 대책은 없는 것 같다. 단, 장기적 대책이라면 현지에 대한 공적개발원조(ODA) 예산 지원을 늘려서 정부 차원에서 작은 사업이라도 해준다면 외국기업에 대한 주민들의 오해를 씻는 데는 도움이 될 것 같다. 다른 나라에 비해 아프가니스탄에는 공적자금이 많이 투입되고 있는데 지방에까지는 미치지 못하고 있다.
▶김 대사=파키스탄의 경우 대사관은 수도에 있지만, 교민들은 다른 대도시에 거주하고 있는 것이 문제다. 주요 대도시인 라오르만 해도 대사관에서 차로 5시간 거리에 있다. 제대로 된 영사 서비스를 하기 어렵다. 전세계적으로 (그런 나라) 여러 곳 있다. 정부에서 올해부터 교민이 있는데 영사 서비스가 어려운 곳에는 영사협력원을 둘 방침이다. 파키스탄은 라오르 한 곳에 두려고 한다.
▶이 대사=테러, 납치 사건이 끊이지 않는 주된 이유는 현지 정부에 대한 무장세력의 불만이다. 따라서 외국 국가에서 하는 얘기는 듣지 않는다. 지금 기업들이 간접적으로 지역에 대해 지원을 많이 해주고 있다. 학교도 지어주고 현지인을 채용하고 있다. 하지만 집단 구성원들의 요구를 다 맞춰주기 어렵다. 주재국 정부에서도 해결하기 어려운 것이 많다. 나이지리아의 경우 유전지대인 니제르 델타가 원래는 농업, 어업 터전이었다. 그런 곳에 유전을 만들어 생활터전을 잃은 국민에 대해 정부 지원이 취약해 불만이 많다. 외국기업들이 학교를 짓거나 우물을 파주는 등 현지 커뮤니티와의 관계 개선을 위해 노력은 하고 있지만 일과성에 그치고 있다. 근본 대책을 강구하기 어렵다. 나이지리아 정부가 무력을 사용해 무장세력을 소탕하려 해도 늪지대 등 수로가 많이 발달해 있어 소재 파악도 어렵고 많은 병력을 투입하기도 어렵다. 그래서 전반적인 치안 사정은 좋아지는데도 불구하고 납치 사건은 많아진다. 특히 올해에는 대통령 선거, 주지사 선거 등 정치 일정으로 인해 현지 치안이 악화일로에 놓일 것으로 전망된다.
-파키스탄은 최근 이란 핵문제로 불안이 가중되는 모습이다. 위험상황 발발시 대처방안은.
▶김 대사=파키스탄은 국제사회의 대테러전 최전방에서 기여를 하고 있는 나라다. 아프가니스탄에 평화가 오면 파키스탄 치안도 많이 좋아질 것으로 본다. 이런 가운데 이란 문제가 새로운 요소로 부각되고 있다. 파키스탄 내에서도 이 문제에 대해 염려를 많이 하고 있다. 무샤라프 대통령도 중동 순방 하면서 그 문제를 포함해서 이란 핵문제 포함해서 기여해 보려고 많이 노력을 하고 있는데 좋은 성과 있길 바라고 있다. 우리 정부는 상황이 악화될 경우 그에 맞는 대책을 세워 이행할 것이다. 지난 2002년 파키스탄은 9ㆍ11 테러 이후 인도와의 관계가 악화되면서 전쟁 위기까지 대두된 적이 있었다. 당시 최악의 시나리오에 대비한 비상계획을 많이 세워뒀다. 향후 상황이 악화되면 당시 그런 계획들을 토대로 충분한 계획을 세워 이행할 수 있을 것으로 본다.
권로미 기자(romik@heraldm.com)
사진= 안훈 기자(rosedale@heraldm.com)
주아프가니스탄대사, 주파키스탄대사, 주나이지리아대사 출 처: 헤럴드경제



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인터뷰/기고문
[좌담회] '오지 공관' 동티모르·네팔·아제르바이잔·코트디부아르 대사 생생 체험담
"하루 7시간 정전 일쑤고 풍토병 주사 직접 놓기도"폭동 구경하다 총맞은 여행객도… 분쟁지 여행땐 안전지침 따라주길오지국과 외교 협력은 미래 위한 투자… 中 적극적 행보처럼 외교 넓혀가야
4개 오지 국가 대사들이 지난달 28일 서울 프라자호텔에서 외교활동의 어려움에 대해 얘기하고 있다. 왼쪽부터 류광철 주 아제르바이잔 대사, 남상정 주 네팔 대사, 이지하 주 코트디부아르 대사, 문호준 주 동티모르 대사. 손용석기자 stones@hk.co.kr
한국일보는 지난달 26~28일 열린 재외공관장회의에 참석하기 위해 귀국한 동티모르(아시아) 네팔(아시아) 아제르바이잔(동유럽) 코트디부아르(아프리카) 4개국 대사를 초청, 28일 좌담회를 가졌다.
한국 대사관이 개설된 곳은 192개 유엔 회원국 중 100여개국. 그런데 4개국 공관은 외교통상부가 ‘오지(奧地) 공관’으로 분류하는 나라다. 더구나 얼마 전까지 내전 또는 전쟁상태였고 지금도 정정이 불안한 ‘분쟁지역 공관’이기도 하다. 가기 어렵고, 생활하기 어렵고, 위험하기까지 한 이곳에서 외교활동과 교민보호에 여념이 없는 대사들로부터 오지 외교의 생생한 체험을 들어 봤다.
_오지인 동시에 분쟁지역이어서 교민ㆍ여행객 보호에 어려움이 많을 텐데.
남상정 주 네팔대사= “지난해 8월 히말라야 안나푸르나봉 인근 계곡에서 우리 배낭족이 실족사해 마을 사람들에 의해 발견된 적이 있다. 인적이 드물다 보니 실족 후 수개월이 지난 상태였다. 경찰의 연락을 받은 우리 영사가 시신을 확인하는 데만 3일 걸렸다. 직접 등반해 현장으로 가야 했기 때문이다. 베이스 캠프가 있는 고지 같은 경우 헬기를 이용하지 못하면 1주일을 걸어가야 한다. 국내 여행객이 히말라야 산악 트래킹을 할 경우 관광가이드의 안내를 받든지 2인1조로 행동해야 하는데 그러지 않아 사고 위험이 높고 사고 시 처리도 제대로 되지 않는다. 우리 여행객 중에는 민주화운동으로 극심한 혼란을 겪고 있는 수도 카트만두에서 시위가 재미있다고 구경하는 사람도 많다. 위험을 자초하는 행동이다.”
문호준 주 동티모르대사= “지난해 5월 해고군인의 반란으로 시내에서 총격전이 발생했는데 사업차 온 우리나라 회사원 중 한 명이 총소리를 듣고 바깥으로 나왔다가 유탄에 맞은 적이 있다. 위험한 곳일수록 호기심보다는 신변안전을 중시해야 한다. 남 대사는 2인1조를 말씀하셨는데 나는 3인1조로 행동해야 한다고 말하고 싶다. 사고를 당하면 한 사람은 사고당사자를 보호하고 다른 한 사람은 신속히 대사관에 연락해야 하기 때문이다. 동티모르 같은 분쟁지역에 왔을 경우 대사관에 미리 연락을 해 줬으면 좋겠다.”
이지하 주 코트디부아르대사= “2004년 12월 대규모 유혈폭동사태 이후 교민인구가 300명에서 150명으로 줄었다. 폭동 당시 초기단계에는 교민들이 대사관 지시에 잘 따랐는데 시간이 갈수록 긴장도가 떨어지면서 불감증이 생겼다. 상황이 발생하면 인터넷에도 올리고, 전화도 돌리고 하는데도 교민에게 상황전달이 제대로 안 되는 경우가 많다.”
_대사관 직원이나 교민들이 풍토병과 생활시설 미비로 겪는 어려움도 클 것으로 생각된다.
류광철 주 아제르바이잔대사= “치료문제가 심각하다. 아제르바이잔의 수도인 바쿠에서도 의사의 수준이 낮고 제대로 된 의료시설이 없어 병이 나면 무조건 다른 나라로 가야 한다. 과거 공산주의 체제였기 때문에 체육시설 등 가족 여가시설도 거의 없다. 주말을 어떻게 보내느냐가 항상 고민이다. 수도인 바쿠는 19세기 말 석유산업이 처음으로 상업화한 도시로 현재도 산업시설이 많다. 더구나 최근의 경제개발 붐으로 전체인구 800만 중에 300만명이 바쿠에 산다. 그러니 공해가 오죽 하겠는가.”
남 대사= “네팔은 11년 간 마오이스트와의 내전으로 인프라가 거의 없다. 공산품과 유류를 100% 인근 인도에 의존한다. 더욱이 지금은 민주화 운동에 따른 혼란으로 불편을 겪는 일이 많다. 카트만두로 진입하는 도로가 시위대에 점거되면 생필품이나 기름이 언제 공급될지 모른다. 이 때는 정전이 하루 6, 7시간씩 계속되기도 한다. 위험한 풍토병은 없지만 의료수준이 낮고 시설도 없어 현지에 봉사단으로 나온 우리 협력 의사의 도움을 받는 것이 고작이다. 이 때문에 큰 병이 나면 인근 태국으로 가서 치료를 받는다. 네팔 수상도 우리와 비슷한 고통을 겪어야 할 정도다.”
이 대사= “수도를 옮겨야 했을 만큼 말라리아 황열병 뇌수막염 등 풍토병이 심하다. 말라리아는 대사관 직원이나 교민들이 일상적으로 걸리기 때문에 응급처치용 주사기를 준비해 놓고 있다. 지난해 8월에는 수도 아비장에 유럽 모 화학회사가 독성이 강한 폐기물을 버리고 가 15명이 죽고 12만명이 호흡기 장애 등 각종 질병에 시달렸다. 폐기물 투척장소가 대사관에서 불과 3㎞밖에 떨어지지 않은 곳이었는데도 당국으로부터 아무런 정보를 받지 못했고 유언비어만 돌 뿐 현지 언론도 무감각했다. 상당기간 마스크를 쓰고 다니느라 혼이 났다.”
문 대사= “타국의 무관이 뎅기열에 걸려 후송된 지 3일 만에 사망한 일이 있었다. 우리 대사관 직원도 두 번이나 말라리아에 걸렸지만 다행히 회복됐다. 말라리아나 뎅기열은 면역이 생기는 게 아니기 때문에 일단 감기기가 있으면 지체 없이 확인하고 있다.”
_이런 어려움 속에서도 오지 국가와 외교관계를 지속하는 이유는 무엇입니까.
이 대사= “코트디부아르는 정세와 치안이 불안하지만 서부아프리카의 중심국가다. 코코아 생산량은 세계 1위고, 커피 목재 등 자원도 풍부한 국가다. 앞으로 협력해서 개발할 대상이기 때문에 당장 어려움이 있더라도 참아 내야 한다. 유엔 등 국제기구 협력차원에서도 무시할 수 없는 상대다.”
남 대사= “네팔은 사실 광물이나 석유자원도 없는 세계 최빈국이다. 그런데도 국내 모 건설회사는 적자를 감수하면서 사업을 계속한다. 그 이유는 개발 원조를 받아 인프라 구축에 나설 경우 엄청난 건설시장이 생기기 때문이다. 좀 좋아진다 싶어서 뒤늦게 뛰어들면 이미 늦다. 초기 투자가 중요하다. 외교관계 유지는 바로 이런 차원이다.”
류 대사= “석유 가스 등 자원 부국인 이곳에 서방자본이 들어와 대성공을 거뒀다. 그러나 여전히 인프라가 낙후돼 있고 산업다변화 필요성도 제기된다. 한국과 이에 대해 협력하고자 하는 의지가 강하기 때문에 우리가 외교적으로나 경제적으로 노력할 가치가 충분히 있는 나라다.”
문 대사= “동티모르는 천연가스 부국이지만 개발이 안되고 있다. 기업들이 많이 관심을 가져야 할 나라다. 그런 측면에서 우리 정부가 신생국인 동티모르에 대외원조를 하면서 협력관계를 유지하고 신뢰를 구축할 필요가 있다. 대외원조는 미래를 위한 투자다.”
_최근 중국의 적극적인 대 아프리카 외교가 화제가 되고 있는데 우리의 오지외교에서 부족한 점은 무엇인가.
남 대사= “이른바 대국외교를 펼치는 중국이나 경제강국 외교를 지향하는 일본에 비해 우리 외교관 수가 적다. 일본은 17명, 중국은 30~40명 규모인데 우리는 4, 5명밖에 안 된다. 주재국과의 협력관계나 정보 수집ㆍ제공, 기업서비스, 교민ㆍ여행객 보호 측면에서 경쟁이 될 수 없다. 이런 상황에서 우리 국민의 기대는 선진국 수준이니 어려움이 크다. 미래를 위한 투자라 할 수 있는 대외원조가 올해 늘어난다고 하지만 아직 우리 경제위상에서 볼 때 창피한 수준이다.”
류 대사= “우리 현실에서 여전히 한반도 주변 4강 외교가 중요하지만 외교관계의 동심원을 점점 넓혀가야 한다. 외환위기 이후 해외 공관을 대폭 축소시켰는데 우리 국력에 비해 공관숫자가 지나치게 적다. 중국의 아프리카 공략은 서방이 손대지 않은 미개발지역을 찾기 위한 전략적 선택이다.”
이 대사= “사실 유럽 같은 서방세계는 원조 제공 때 인권 같은 경제외적 문제를 평가한다. 반면 중국은 에너지 확보 등 전략적 측면에서 필요하면 무조건 한다. 그래서 전략적 원조라는 부정적 평가도 있다.”
_아프가니스탄에서 자살폭탄테러로 한국군 병사가 희생됐다. 분쟁지역 대사로서 해외파병에 대해 어떻게 생각하는가.
류 대사= “국제사회나 유엔 회원국의 일원으로서 일정한 목소리를 내려면 책임도 나눠야 한다. 특히 유엔은 평화유지군(PKO) 예산을 확대하려는 움직임을 보이고 있다. 큰 전쟁은 없지만 국지전이 늘고 있기 때문이다. PKO 파병은 정치적인 대외원조로 생각해야 한다.”
남 대사= “1993년 소말리아에 PKO를 파병할 때 공병부대인 상록수부대를 보내는 업무를 맡았다. 당시 이탈리아 전투부대가 우리 부대 경호를 맡았다. 과연 위급 상황이 발생하면 우리 군을 제대로 지켜줄 수 있을까 하는 의문이 들었다. 비 전투부대를 보내더라도 자체 방어부대가 함께 가야 한다. 다국적군과 정치적 성격이 다른 PKO는 임무과정상 희생에 대한 각오를 해야 하고, 이를 국민에게도 알려야 한다.”
문 대사= “한국전쟁 당시 유엔 참전국 군인들의 수많은 희생이 있었다. 참전국들은 이에 대한 자부심을 갖고 있고 우리의 발전상을 자랑스러워 하면서 한국에 진한 유대감을 갖고 있다. 윤장호 병장의 희생이 가슴 아프지만 국익과 대승적 차원에서 판단이 돼야 할 일이다.”