North Korea sentences Asian American journalists
North Korea to understand that saving “public face” doesn’t always lead to the desired solution?
Of course the U.S. should send Al Gore and save North Korea’s “public face.” Of course Washington should pretend not to be patronizing towards North
Korea, and humor North Korea’s cultural demands, because North Korea is a dangerous country.
They have the potential to become a nuclear threat and to share their nuclear knowledge with nations that are opposed to the U.S. South Koreans are
also afraid of North Korea’s nuclear threat.
And then there’s the drug trade from North Korea to South Korea, the sex-trafficking from North Korea to China that no one wants to account for, and the
nationalist fears of migration and immigration.
According to Taipei Times, thousands of North Korean sex slaves are in China under the threat that they will be returned to North Korea if they are
caught. If they’re sent back to North Korea, they’ll be “punished.”
Perhaps, “killed” is the more accurate word. They’ll kill the women.
Shouldn’t North Korea be more concerned about the thousands of North Korean women who are tricked into sex slavery in China, than they evidently
seem to be about missile testing? Are they?
No.
The situation is so bad that activists in Seoul asked China not to send North Korean sex slaves back to North Korea, because they would be
repatriated, starved or killed, which is, in the parlance of activist conferences, worse than beatings and rapes.
Perhaps it is.
Perhaps North Korea is that kind of country. Worse than China. As bad as the U.S. Or the other way around.
Of course the U.S. should send Al Gore and save North Korea’s “public face.” Of course Washington should pretend not to be patronizing towards North
Korea, and humor North Korea’s cultural demands, because North Korea is a dangerous country.
They have the potential to become a nuclear threat and to share their nuclear knowledge with nations that are opposed to the U.S. South Koreans are
also afraid of North Korea’s nuclear threat.
And then there’s the drug trade from North Korea to South Korea, the sex-trafficking from North Korea to China that no one wants to account for, and the
nationalist fears of migration and immigration.
According to Taipei Times, thousands of North Korean sex slaves are in China under the threat that they will be returned to North Korea if they are
caught. If they’re sent back to North Korea, they’ll be “punished.”
Perhaps, “killed” is the more accurate word. They’ll kill the women.
Shouldn’t North Korea be more concerned about the thousands of North Korean women who are tricked into sex slavery in China, than they evidently
seem to be about missile testing? Are they?
No.
The situation is so bad that activists in Seoul asked China not to send North Korean sex slaves back to North Korea, because they would be
repatriated, starved or killed, which is, in the parlance of activist conferences, worse than beatings and rapes.
Perhaps it is.
Perhaps North Korea is that kind of country. Worse than China. As bad as the U.S. Or the other way around.
By Kenny Tanemura
On June 8, two Asian American journalists were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally crossing
into North Korea. The journalists — Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 26 — were working on a story near North
Korea’s border with China. They both work for Al Gore’s Current TV. Though the journalists were on the China’s
border, it’s not the Chinese government, but rather, the Swedish Mission at the United Nations which has acted
as the intermediary.
Because the border between North Korea and China is such an ambiguous, ambivalent space, Asian
American journalists have always talked about covering more of what goes on there. But the high degree of
nationalism in both countries prevents either from seeing connections between people outside of its own
citizens.
Evidently, North Korea doesn’t really want to send the journalists off to do hard labor. They want to use them
to barter with the U.S. over North Korea’s missile tests and interest in nuclear weapons.
According to Victor Cha, former adviser to President George W. Bush, “North Koreans care a great deal
about public face, and sending someone of Gore’s stature would be an eminently credible humanitarian
mission.”
While Cha may be correct in saying that there are cultural differences that the U.S. should consider, such as
North Korea’s concern with “public face,” it’s hard not to wonder if, from the North Korean perspective, saving
“public face” is the best, most effective, and diplomatic way to approach international relations.
Just as it is important for the U.S. to always be mindful about how other cultures perceive incidents and
events, and to act carefully and according to the way another culture operates, is it not equally important for
On June 8, two Asian American journalists were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally crossing
into North Korea. The journalists — Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 26 — were working on a story near North
Korea’s border with China. They both work for Al Gore’s Current TV. Though the journalists were on the China’s
border, it’s not the Chinese government, but rather, the Swedish Mission at the United Nations which has acted
as the intermediary.
Because the border between North Korea and China is such an ambiguous, ambivalent space, Asian
American journalists have always talked about covering more of what goes on there. But the high degree of
nationalism in both countries prevents either from seeing connections between people outside of its own
citizens.
Evidently, North Korea doesn’t really want to send the journalists off to do hard labor. They want to use them
to barter with the U.S. over North Korea’s missile tests and interest in nuclear weapons.
According to Victor Cha, former adviser to President George W. Bush, “North Koreans care a great deal
about public face, and sending someone of Gore’s stature would be an eminently credible humanitarian
mission.”
While Cha may be correct in saying that there are cultural differences that the U.S. should consider, such as
North Korea’s concern with “public face,” it’s hard not to wonder if, from the North Korean perspective, saving
“public face” is the best, most effective, and diplomatic way to approach international relations.
Just as it is important for the U.S. to always be mindful about how other cultures perceive incidents and
events, and to act carefully and according to the way another culture operates, is it not equally important for
Kenny Tanemura
