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Chris Gelken Reporter's Notebook

Chris Gelken Reporter's Notebook
Commentary on the day's top local and international news.

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Are English teachers ready for a union?
2007-05-23 16:19:00
The establishment of an association or a union to represent foreign teachers here in Korea is likely to be one of the hot-topic agenda items at the Global EFL Conference from May 25-26 at Korea University in Seoul.Leading the discussion will be former lawyer Paul Robertson from the online legal advice forum, EFL-Law. About seven years ago Robertson organized a law information session for foreign teachers in Busan. "About 80 teachers turned up to listen to attorneys talk about teachers' rights. At that time the Ministry of Justice had indicated that they would strongly oppose any attempt by foreign teachers to form an association," Robertson told The Korea Herald."Over the years we have noticed an increase in the number of legal problems that foreign teachers are encountering in Korea," he said, "We had expected a drop in the number of problems by providing information online and via law forums on the internet. However, it may have been that as teachers became aware of their legal r...
More About: Union , English , Teachers , Ready

Axis Of Evil Tour
2007-05-23 16:15:00
"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world," said U.S. President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address on Jan. 29, 2002.When Bush coined the phrase that was to echo around the world, American Scott Fisher was teaching English at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul. Little did the long time resident and fluent Korean speaker know at the time, but those three little words -- "Axis of Evil " -- were going to have a profound impact on his life, and lead to the publication of a book that most reasonable people would consider essential reading for the current occupant of the Oval Office."I never intended to write this book," says Fisher in the introduction to "Axis of Evil World Tour ." "When I visited my first axis country, North Korea, in 2002, it was simply out of curiosity to see the North after living for almost ten years in the South."Two years later, Fisher, then working as an Asia Analyst for the...

More Banco Delta Asia
2007-05-20 18:07:00
A reader brought my attention to the following article on the Banc o Delta Asia issue, and it is well worth five minutes to take a look. The writer is essentially reiterating much what I have been writing on the subject for months, but does it so much better!https://mail.heraldm.com/exchweb/b in/redir.asp?URL=http://english.ohmynews. com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_ class=%26no=362192%26rel_no=1For more insight on the BDA scandal visit http://chinamatters.blogspot.com/And just to show that I haven't ?dropped the ball? on the subject, here is the transcript of my Friday report on Arirang Radio.RH Transcript May 18 with Chris GelkenDJ: An American newspaper has reported that a U.S. bank is considering stepping in and helping with the transfer of frozen North Korean funds from the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. Joining us with more details is Chris Gelken from the Korea Herald.Chris, this is obviously a welcome development ? but I am almost too afraid to ask ? is it a viable devel...

Print and be damned?
2007-05-08 17:07:00
Korean Libel LawsA minefield. Especially for internet bloggers. But it is no walk in the park for the mainstream media either.I have learned a few things in the past couple of weeks while researching an article for The Korea Herald ? ?Is publish and be damned a wise choice?? (KH May 9). Some of those things, I actually wish I hadn't learned. It has been a frustrating period. The National Security Law notwithstanding, the illusion that Korea has a completely ?free press? has taken a bit of a beating.The shocking fact that ?getting it right? isn't enough to protect a writer from a libel suit is rather hard to swallow. Of course, a story has to have value. It has to qualify as being in the public interest ? not simply of interest to a gawking, pedestrian public who crave titillating, sensational celebrity stories.That has never been a problem for me. I don't do ?titillating, sensational celebrity stories.? Reporting on documented incidents of wrongdoing can still land a reporter in ...
More About: Print

Another of "those" weeks
2007-04-30 16:53:00
It had been another of "those" weeks, too busy to really get anything done, if you know what I mean. The "highlight" of my week on the purely domestic scene was probably the Seoul Town Hall Meeting, which doubtless tells you a lot about how my week actually was. An applaudable and inspired initiative, but a rather less than inspired execution. I have written more, but you'll have to pick up the KH on Wednesday...And what exactly is Anne doing with her pen? Click and enlarge the picture.So when the weekend finally rolled around, there was the choice of stay home and do Korean language class homework and update the blog, or grab the cameras and go out and enjoy the amazing weather. No contest. But now there are hundreds of more photographs to edit and sort into galleries. One man's music is another's noise pollution. A fact that was brought home to Todd from Phillies on Saturday afternoon. The Haebangchon community were left scratching their heads when at about 4.30 p.m. they were ...
More About: Weeks

Gloster Valley, "Imni" FTA and Yonsei University
2007-04-22 07:52:00
It has been an incredibly busy week, for obvious reasons. But there have been other stories that needed to be covered, and actually they provided a welcome relief. Not least among those other stories was the ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Imjin River. Held at the site of the 1951 battle that pitched about 700 British soldiers against some 27,000 Chinese, the ceremony was as much a celebration of life as it was a solemn occasion to remember the fallen.A total of 87 British veterans were in Korea for this and other ceremonies throughout the week.It has been a very odd spring so far, with some rather unseasonal weather hitting the capital.But rain and high winds did not deter the small band of anti-FTA protesters who gather daily in Gwanghwamun to register their displeasure with the KORUS-FTA signed on April 2nd. The smaller than usual group that gathered on Friday, chanted and sang songs despite the constant chilly drizzle. A few days earlier on one of the few r...
More About: University , Article , Valley , Univers

Anniversary of the Battle of the Imjin River
2007-04-21 08:50:00
Chris Gelken Reporter's Notebook http://chrisgelken.blogspot.com
More About: Photography , Anniversary , River , Battle

The BDA's "black money"
2007-04-17 17:00:00
Stanley Au, the head of the troubled Banco Delta Asia is now threatening to sue the U.S. Treasury. He also gave a name to and explained why the funds are still in his bank.MACAU (AP) - ``I believe no money had been taken away from the bank yet ... because they cannot transfer the money out,'' Stanley Au told The Associated Press, referring to the US$25 million (euro18.4 million) worth of North Korean funds that had been frozen at the bank.``There are no banks accepting the so-called black money,'' he added. ``The only thing they can do at the moment is to take the money in bank notes out of the bank.'' Other banks are apparently worried about accepting funds from Banco Delta Asia that were the center of criminal investigations.After seeing what happened to Stanley's little bank, it is hardly surprising. I tried explaining the conundrum over the ?release? of the funds to a colleague today by using what I thought was a simple analogy.My colleague was insisting, as was the U.S. ...
More About: Money , Article , Black , Lack , Black Money

Yonsei University, April
2007-04-17 08:43:00
Chris Gelken Reporter's Notebook http://chrisgelken.blogspot.com
More About: Photography , University , April , Univers

U.S., China disagree over BDA issue
2007-04-15 05:13:00
The mainstream media has been carrying banner headlines claiming the more than 18-month drama over North Korean-related funds locked up in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia has finally been resolved. Again. In fact, this is the second or third time the issue has been "resolved" since the original announcement on March 14.But again we find ourselves asking the same question, for the second or third time: Has it really been resolved?According to a spokesperson for the Macau Monetary Authority on Tuesday afternoon, all and any restrictions on the movement of North Korea-related funds held in the BDA had been lifted with immediate effect. "Authorized account holders simply need to come to the bank and arrange for the transfer or the withdrawal of their funds."Three days after the announcement, there has apparently been no mad dash by account holders to recover their money. The MMA said they have received a number of inquiries from account holders, but no withdrawals or transfers.The devi...
More About: China , Article , Over , Issue

Uncertainty over release of BDA funds
2007-04-12 16:39:00
The announcement by the Macau Monetary Authority that some $25 million in North Korean related funds held in the Banco Delta Asia would be released with immediate effect is being met with some skepticism by analysts who have been following the issue.The United States is claiming that the financial dispute that has stalled North Korea's implementation of the Feb. 13 Beijing Agreement has been fully resolved, and there is now no obstacle to the North acting on its promise to shut down its nuclear programs.But sources familiar with the so-called "technical issues" that have held up the transfer of funds from the BDA are not so confident. They have told The Korea Herald that while actual details are still scarce, getting the funds out of the BDA and out of Macau may not be quite as simple as Washington apparently considers it to be.Questions remain, they say, about how North Korean customers of the BDA can actually transfer their balances out of the bank if the BDA remains cut off from...
More About: Article , Release , Over , Fund , Lease

Who you going to call?
2007-04-12 16:37:00
You're a teacher. Your school or hagwon has just blatantly broken the terms of your contract. After 11 months of dedication and stellar service, the director suddenly accuses you of being a bad teacher, among other things, and gives you your marching orders. He then cheerfully tells you he has contacted immigration, he won't give you a letter of release, and by the way, you have 14 days to get out of town.Who do you call?You may be tempted to call The Korea Herald - plenty of teachers have - but the Seoul Help Center is actually your best bet. Or you could try the Labor Department. They have an English language website and there are various other resources on the internet. But if you are determined to fight this through to the bitter end to assert your rights, be prepared. You are holding very few cards and the deck is stacked against you.First off you have to know your "enemy." Frankly speaking, the hagwon sector has become just too big and too influential. According to some esti...
More About: Article , Call , Going , Goin

Left behind in the eleventh largest economy
2007-04-08 09:05:00
The scene greeting visitors arriving by rail in the capital of the world's eleventh largest economy can be something of a surprise. The area around old Seoul Station is home to scores of vagrants and alcoholics. Despite the fact that some of them can become quite aggressive, even toward casual tourists taking photographs of the historic old Seoul Station, there isn't a police officer in sight.
More About: Economy , Photography , Left , Behind , Leven

Left behind in the eleventh largest economy
2007-04-08 09:05:00
The scene greeting visitors arriving by rail in the capital of the world's eleventh largest economy can be something of a surprise. The area around old Seoul Station is home to scores of vagrants and alcoholics. Despite the fact that some of them can become quite aggressive, even toward casual tourists taking photographs of the historic old Seoul Station, there isn't a police officer in sight.Chris Gelken Reporter's Notebook http://chrisgelken.blogspot.com
More About: Economy , Photography , Left , Largest , Large

Oh, what a surprise!
2007-04-04 17:56:00
Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to learn, according to high level diplomatic sources, that North Korea is unlikely to meet the deadline to shut down its reactor at Yongbyon.Those funds stuck in the Banco Delta Asia are still proving to be a stumbling block to progress.It is easy to say 25 million dollars is small change, so give it up. But if you can't trust folks on the pennies, how can you trust them with the big bucks?The report on the BBC site is short and pretty much to the point.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pac ific/6525145.stm
More About: Article , Rise

KORUS FTA at the Hyatt in Seoul
2007-03-31 16:24:00
The KORUS FTA talks went down to the wire on Saturday morning, skipped over it, and negotiators set another deadline that will expire in the early hours of Monday local time. One unfortunate consequence for guests of the Hyatt Hotel in Namsan is that their temporary home away from home would resemble an armed camp for another couple of days. In reality though, apart from the inconvenience of passing through metal detectors when entering the hotel, and a lobby full of bored journalists, it probably isn't so much a hardship as an adventure. The authorities were taking no chances that negotiators, or paying guests for that matter, would be disturbed by anti-FTA protesters. Small groups of police were stationed on access roads up to more than a kilometer from the hotel. But if all you were looking for was a quiet weekend, or an international ATM as one unfortunate member of the USFK and his family discovered, the Hyatt probably wasn't the place to head for. These emergency flares were...
More About: Seoul

Drug company urges aid donors to "buy local"
2007-03-29 17:08:00
(From The Korea Herald, Friday, March 30) "Its not just about making money, at least not from our perspective as a producer," declared Felix Abt, president of the Pyongyang-based pharmaceutical company PyongSu Pharma. "The profit margins are very small. It is more about supplying a necessary and quality product at a price people can afford."Abt was in Seoul earlier this week meeting with South Korean pharmaceutical companies and aid organizations. On the table was a unique opportunity that would allow them to expand their existing humanitarian work, while at the same time helping to lay a solid foundation for the future of the pharmaceutical sector in North Korea."One of the main purposes of my visit here is to meet with the people who donate drugs and medicines to North Korea, or their agents who are based here," Abt told The Korea Herald. The "frontier-businessman" believes substantial savings could be realized if the donor had the drugs produced locally, in North Korea, rather th...
More About: Company , Comp , Local , Drug , Compa

Anti-FTA Protest Seoul, Sunday 25th March
2007-03-25 17:12:00
As trade negotiators prepared for their last round, eleventh hour, make or break talks to reach an agreement on a raft of issues from rice to auto imports, thousands of anti-FTA protesters gathered in downtown Seoul to register their opposition to the deal.The protest was noisy but largely peaceful. For more pictures click on "Anti -FTA Protest Seoul" in the photo section.
More About: Sunday , March , Test

Is Washington messing with Pyongyang's head?
2007-03-24 09:18:00
"It was quite a rude awakening to hear on the news that my money was going to be used for charity," the holder of an account with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia told me on the condition that I didn't reveal his identity.He was referring to the announcement last weekend that a deal had been struck to release some $25 million dollars in North Korea related accounts held at the small family-run lender. The cash had been frozen by the Macau Monetary Authority after the U.S. Treasury Department accused the bank of being a money laundering concern back in September, 2005.Under the deal, the money would be transferred to an account with the Bank of China in Beijing, and then disbursed for humanitarian and educational programs to help the people of North Korea."What needs to be understood," he said, "is that not all the funds belong to the North Korean government, but that a substantial amount belongs to private customers."Colin McAskill, chairman of the London-based fund Koryo Asia Ltd ...
More About: Washington , With , Messi , Yang , Pyongyang

Art from the Daechu-ri Autonomous Village
2007-03-20 16:40:00
DAECHURI, Gyeonggi Province - It is like entering a quarantine zone. Riot police, long coils of barbed wire stretching off into the distance, and checkpoints. Lots of checkpoints. There is no disease in the small village of Daechuri, near Pyeongtaek, but the hamlet is dying. Its final death certificate is likely to be issued at the end of this month when wrecking crews move in to demolish what is left of this formerly tight-knit farming community some 75 kilometers south of Seoul. In December 2005 the government's Land Expropriation Committee approved the imminent seizure of Daechuri and the surrounding farmland to make way for the expansion of a nearby U.S. military base. The approval came with the ominous warning; forced evictions would take place if the residents did not move out peacefully.Daechuri farmers and residents responded by marching to the Pyeongtaek City Hall where they burned their Korean residence cards, revoked their citizenship and declared the establishment of th...
More About: Auto , Village , The D , Villa

Transcript from Arirang Radio "Riding Home" March 16th
2007-03-16 10:37:00
Monday to Friday I get to contribute a report on one of the day's top stories to the Arirang Radio program, Riding Home . This week my focus has been on developments regarding the U.S. Treasury's final report on the Banco Delta Asia, the Macau-based lender accused of laundering money for North Korea. As we head into the weekend, this "resolved but unresolved" issue casts a lengthening shadow over the six-party talks that are scheduled to convene in Beijing on Monday."Riding Home with Chris Gelken"DJ: North Korea can now move ahead with the implementation of its initial steps to denuclearize, now that Washington has resolved its financial disputes with Pyongyang. That's according to Washington's top nuclear negotiator, Chris Hill speaking in Beijing today. Well, joining us to discuss the prospects for that is Chris Gelken, Senior Associate Editor from the Korea Herald.Chris, with the next round of the six party talks set to convene on Monday, it seems Washington is rather on the d...
More About: Iran , Script , March

The elusive truth
2007-03-13 05:09:00
The key reason why North Korea walked out on the September 2005 agreement reached at the six-party talks in Beijing was the economic fallout from accusations that a Macau-based bank was helping to launder and provide a safe haven for the ill-gotten gains of the Pyongyang regime. Legitimate businesses in the North Korean capital, many of them owned and operated by Europeans, vigorously protested the freezing of their accounts after the U.S. Treasury blacklisted the bank.As part of the latest Beijing Agreement reached on Feb. 13, the U.S. Treasury promised to resolve the Banco Delta Asia issue once and for all. There has been widespread speculation that an official announcement will be made this week ahead of the next round of six-party talks in Beijing on Monday, 19th March. But while the North may get its money back, they may remain completely isolated economically."The U.S. Treasury Department will apparently cut the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia off from the U.S. financial system o...
More About: Truth , Ruth

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