'있다' and 'Have'

사과 한 개가 있다(있습니다/있어요).

If you translate the sentence above into English, you may get two ones.

1. I have an apple.

2.  There is an apple. (or an apple exists.) 

The reason why there could be two translations is that '있다' has basically two meanings: the first one is 'exist' or 'be' and the other one is (subject+) have.(depending on the context, the subject could be I, you, she or whoever. It would be appropriate to say that the subject is skipped.)

Actually, teaching Korean students English, one of the hardest parts for me to let them understand is the usage of verb 'have' because in Korean expressions of 'Subject + have(or has) something' are not used as universally as in English.  There are more examples. 

I have a stomachache.

배가 아프다(아픕니다/아파요).

We have snow tomorrow morning.

내일 아침 눈이 온다(옵니다/와요).

I have asked myself which is more original meaning of verb '있다(있어요)' between 'be' and 'have'. More specifically, when the ancestors who lived 200 years ago were said "사과 한 개가 있어요,"  for which meaning would they understand it?

I got a clue from a book I bought a few days ago. 

To those who believe that "to have" is a most natural category of human existence it may come as a surprise to learn that many languages have no word for "to have." In Hebrew, for instance, "I have" must be expressed by the indirect form jesh li("it is to me"). In fact, languages that express possession in this way, rather than by "I have," predominate. It is interesting to note that in the development of many languages the construction "it is to me" is followed later on by the construction " I have," but as Emile Beveniste has pointed out, the evolution does not occur in the reverse direction. This fact suggests that the word for to have develops in connection with the development of private property, while it is absent in societies with predominantly functional property, that is, possession for use. (Fromm, Erich. To have or to be. Bloomsbury Revelations(2015), p20)

I tried imagining that I was a son of a poor peasant somewhere outside Pyeongyang 150 years ago.(my father's family fled Pyeongyang during the Korean War).

What or how many things would I have exclusively on my own? Maybe a few clothes and a pair of shoes?  Most farmers could barely feed their families and cooperation in the community was the key for survival. All kinds of tools and resources were rare and had to be shared. 'To have something exclusively' was kind of evil value or a privilege confined to a few nobles. Naturally expressions with 'I have blahblah' must not have been used as often as the modern times. The modern concept of private property was introduced with the colonization by Japanese Empire in the early 20th century and spread rapidly after 1960s, when the industrial developments were organized and executed under President Park Jung Hee's regime. 

Therefore, from Fromm's sociolinguistic perspectives, it would be logic to guess that the meaning of "to have" was added in "있다" with the introduction of the concept of 'private property' which is the core one in capitalism in the modern times.  

Meditations and Zhuang-zi(莊子)

Figuring out the differences of the ways of thinking between the people from the West(I would say people from the Western Europe, North America and Commonwealth more specifically) and the ones from the East (I would say Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese specifically) has been an ongoing issue for myself as well as my friends, and quite frequently it pops up as a hot issue for debating while drinking beer or coffee. So, looking for clues with which I can find the origins of the differences has become my life project(or a hobby).

There is a podcast channel which I listen to from time to time(of course, it's done in Korean). It deals with various kinds of topics which could be great sources for a bit more intellectual conversations such as Socrates and postmodernism. The title of the channel is 'wide and shallow knowledge for intellectual conversations(지적 대화를 위한 넓고 얕은 지식).'

The Panel of the podcast

 "Meditation" written by Descartes and "Zhuang-zi((莊子)" were introduced in a row and the discussion over the differences over how each book  was organized by the panel was interesting enough for me to borrow the books from the library and read them. I thought comparing the classics from the West and the East could give me a good clue with which I could understand the gap of the ways of thinking. 

Descartes's most popular "Cogito, ergo sum" is from "Mediations." The purpose for him to write the book is  that through doubting even the most undoubtful he could gain the ultimately undoubtful knowledge and build up the structures or schemes of the rest upon it.  His conclusion of "Cogito, ergo sum" is one of the results of his meditations of doubts. 

Two traits I could find tracking the flowing of 'Meditations' are 'giving conditions and making clear the abstract concepts' and 'organzing the abstract concepts through logics and making the conclusion upon.'

All that up to the present time I have accepted as most true and certain I have learned either from the senses or through the senses; but it is sometimes proved to me that these senses are deceptive, and it is wiser not to trust entirely to any thing by which we have once deceived. (The First Mediation)

Reading the paragraph above, I could read Descartes' way of developing his logics.

I get knowledge mostly from senses.

1. Trustable knowledge should be errorless wherever and whenever.

2. Knowledge from senses have errors from time to time.

3. Therefore, knowledge from senses is not trustable. 

Throughout the book, Descartes suggests and makes clear his ideas through syllogism, which is quite typical in the Western philosophy and I guess my Western friends are so great in using it especially while debating or arguing.  

I shall then suppose, not that God who is supremely good and the fountain of truth, but some evil genius not less powerful than deceitful, has employed his whole energies in deceiving me; I shall consider that the heavens, the earth, colours, figures, sound, and all other external things are nought but the illusions and dreams of which genius has avail himself in order to lay traps for my credulity. (The First Meditation)

The paragraph above suggests a few abstract concepts such as God(of course I can say  theologically He is not abstract, but philosophically He is abstract) and those concepts are made clear such as seen "God who is supremely good and the fountain of truth." 

'Moderations' was written in 17th century when so-called 'science' was about to be born growing from 'Natural Philosophy.' But reading the books by Plato, Aristotle, and etc, the two traits of 'giving conditions and making clear the abstract concepts' and 'organzing the abstract concepts through logics and making the conclusion upon.' are quite generally visible. 

For the readers who are familiar just with the Western Philosophies, reading Zhuang-zi(莊子) could be quite exotic and refreshing. Or sometimes it could feel like strange and sound like it doesn't make any sense. Zhuang-zi(莊子) is the name of one of the most representative persons in Taoism in China and the title of the book which is supposed to have been written or orated by him. 

In the northern ocean, there was a fish named Kun(鯤). Its width was so huge that it was impossible to guess how many thousands of yards it was. It could change into a bird named Peng(鵬). Its back is so huge that it was impossible to guess how many thousands of yards it was. When Peng(鵬) flied holding huge amount of air in its chest, its two wings looked like the cloud in the sky. The bird wanted to travel to the southern ocean when the ocean moved.  ······  A quail laughed at Peng(鵬) flying and said, " Where on the earth is it going? I can freely jump and flying in the bush and forest. I can fly tens of yards at most. Where on the earth is it going?" 

北冥有魚, 其名爲鯤, 鯤之大, 不知其幾千里也, 化而爲鳥, 其名爲鵬, 鵬之背, 不知其幾千里也, 怒而比, 其翼若垂天之雲, 是鳥也, 海運則將徙於南冥, ······ 斥鴳笑之曰, 彼且奚適也? 我騰躍而上, 不過數仞而下, 翶翔蓬蒿之間, 此亦飛之至也, 而彼且奚適也?

The story above is introduced at the first part of Zhuang-zi. Many classics in the East, especially ones from Taoism, are organized with an array of stories like the one above. Reading the story at first, I felt like "what on earth is the story about?" That kind of feeling of being confused is not confined to me.  A member of the panel of the podcast who majored in East Asian Philosophy said that due to the possibility of wide spectrum of interpretations for the classics, there developed an academic culture of writing commentary books over classics by scholars in East Asia. Through the long and ongoing process of debating and making commentary books, integral ideas are built up over the classics. 

Then, why did authors in East Asia use story making as a tool often? The panel of the podcast emphasized the culture of seeking insight for truths.  There has been belief in East Asia that wisdom can be gained not through analytical logic games of words but integral perspectives for the flows or the big pictures of the phenomenon (I know even the perspectives for the flows or the big pictures sound quite ambiguous.)

There are two things more I would like to mention; the first thing is that there has been distrust for languages in East Asia. Scholars and Wisdom seekers in East Asia recognized the limitations of words. In Korea, related to Taoism, the most popular words are below.

                               

If you say the truth is the truth, it is not the truth anymore. 

道可道非常道. 

It can interpreted in two ways. The first is that the truth can not be expressed with a few words. The second is about the relativity of truth; it can be the truth in 1990, but possibly it can't be true in 2017. 

The second thing to mention is that there is scholarly resistant attitude against making abstract concepts in a straightforward way(which is quite opposite to the Western way). This kind of attitudes is revealed in the conversation between Confucius and one of his disciples. 

Fanchi(樊遲) was one of the closest disciples of Confucius(孔子). One day, he asked Confucius.

" What is knowledge?"

Confucius answered.

" If you respect gods, but keep distance from them, it could be said that you know things."

敬鬼神而遠之   可謂知矣

As seen in Confucious' answer, he was quite reluctant to define what knowledge is. Of course, its basic assumption is that there is limitation in words in expressing truths.

Surely, just comparing the two books is not enough to get a clear picture over what the differences of way of thinking between Western people and the people in East Asia are from. Actually, there are so many exceptions. Reading the Gospels in the Bible, I see stories with which I don't understand what they mean and the classics from Neo-Confucianism are so abstract and analytical. But considering that the classics are the books that have influenced people's way of thinking so long, I can say that the classics are very useful clue to figure out the differences.


P.S.
If you are more into figuring out the differences, reading "The Geography of Thought" could be helpful.

Recruiting Fair for Foreign Graduates by Pasona in Tokyo (2017/8/4)

For the last 2 and 3 years, I read lots of news that Japanese job market is booming. Economy is recovering from the long depression and trying to hire more staff to expand thier businesses. But the problem is that the populaton of college graduates has been declining steadily and Japanese companies are having difficulty in recruiting young staff. To overcome the problem, companies have paid attention to the foreign students and held variety of events to attract talented staff overseas. South Korea has been one of thier targets to invest thier energy and as far as I know, lots of Korean college graduates started to pay attention to the opportunities in Japan as well. In Korea, I could see more online advertisements that promoted job fairs in which Japanese companies take part. 

I was one of the Korean students who paid attention to the job market in Japan. I felt like seeing what the real situation is in Japan, even a little bit. I had studied Japanese for years and was supposed to get a Japanese community college degree soon. I wanted to get a kind of objective reward for my effort. Moreover, I wanted  a kind of turning point in my life if possible (but I didn't have hig expectation partly due to my age). Before leaving Korea for trip in Japan, I found a recruiting company called 'Pasona.'   

I found it in a book titled 'Tokyo Business Walk' (임상균, '도쿄 비지니스 산책' , 한빛비즈(2016)). The company was mentioned in the book not only because it performed so well but because it pursued quite innovative ideas to have its staff maximize its potentials such as healty diet in cafeteria and so on ( I will write a seperate blog about it). 

I checked its homepage and found there were supposed to be a recruiting fair for foreign college students and graduates in the headquarter builidng in Tokyo in the early August. I put the event in my schedule of the travel of Japan and signed up for it(it was free). 

Before leaving for the fair, I ate a ramen in a small restaurant. It tasted like a real Japanese ramen. But, looking inside the kitchen, the cook was South Asian (Indian , Nepalese, or Pakistani). In convenience stores and fast foods restaurant, it was not hard to see non-Japanese cashiers.

 I got off the subway at Nihonbashi Station and walked around 5 minutes. The headquarter building was located right next to Tokyo Station.

People were guided to the 12th floor. They got a short briefing over the schedule and the companies participating in the event. Each one got a few sheets of paper in which they wrote thier profiles to submit the companies the could be interested in. I checked the proportions of nationalities of participants just with my eyes and ears. Chinese including Taiwanese were dominant. They seemed to be about 50 % of the whole participants. The next dominant group was Southeast Asians. They were like 1 in 4. Interestingly, there were not many Koreans seen.  The guy sitting right next to me was an American. I asked him a few questions. He confrimed the news that Japanese job market is definitely in a better situation than Korea. He said that he already got three jobs offered and came to the fair to find companies with more culturally friendly atmospheres and policies.  

I moved down to the 10th floor with the venue for seminar. At the entrance, there was a bulletin board with brief profiles of companies participating.

Companies gave participitants their pamphlets and offered a briefing over what kind of businesses they were doing, what kind of talents they were looking for, how the working conditions including salaries, and etc. Most companies offered individual consultations and did kind of screening procedures.

The most bustling section was Panasonic.  Most of the participants waiting for individual consultations were Chinese because Panasonic was looking for staff who are able to  support its business in China.

There were some IT companies' sections with couple of foreign staffs who could give consultation in English. In those sections, more people with Western origins joined in, which is I think natural. It was quite interesting to watch them doing like Japanese college graduates wearing all-black suits.

Visiting several sections and getting a few consultations, I recognized what kind of talents Japanese companies are looking for from foreign staff.

1. Glocalization( Globalization + Localization)

I had a short interview with the personnel officer of a leasing company named 'Lalco'. The company was expanding its business in Laos in Southeast Asia. From hotel business, it diversified its business area such as automobile leasing, micro-finance and etc. It was looking for staff who could stay in Laos for a long-term basis and do marketing in the area(learning the local langauge was a must). The problem is that Japanese staff don't prefer to work abroad. In a book titled 'Reimaging Japan: The Quest for a Future That works' which is filled with the suggestions by people who can be said to know Japan quite deep such as Carlos Ghosn, the ex-CEO of Nissan Motors pointed out Japanese youngsters' introvert characteristics. Many of them argue not only that more foreign talents should be welcomed but also that Japanese college students should be encouraged to have more experiences abroad and improve thier English in this kind of globalized business world (concerning the issue,I felt Japanese are quite opposite to Koreans because Korean youngsters are crazy going abroad). It seemed that they think that if the hired foreign staff don't have any big problems communicating with Japanese staff, they are more capable to do marketing abroad. Panasonic got the biggest space in the hall and brought massive staff to procceed its event. It targeted Chinese students who can speak Japanese, Chinese, and (probably) English. 

2. Tourism (English + Japanese + maybe Chinese) 

Tourism has been booming for the last 5 years in Japan. Weak Yen and the rapid growth of middle class in China and South Asia are the main factors for the growth( cheaper flights with introduction of budget airlines could be another). In 2015 about 20 million people visited Japan and in 2016 about 25 million people did. This year until July about 17 million people visited Japan. Just for July, 2,681,500 people visited Japan. It was 16.8% increase year on year.

https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-database/stats/

The matter is short of staff who can serve overseas customers. Due to the decrease of young populations, hotels and resorts have tried to hire foreign staffs. Even in the fair, I  saw more than five hotel or resort companies recruiting foreign students. Some were recruiting temporary staff who could work seasonly like a ski resort in Hokkaido. 

3. IT( IT technologies + Japanese + a little English)  

General Japanese economy is recovering and IT sector has been catching up with other competitors like Korea, China, and Taiwan. Especially, it found its own strength: IoT. But it has faced the same problem called 'workforce shortage.' Actually, I could see the situation indirectly in Korea. There were quite a lot of training programs seen like computer language training plus being hired by Japanese firms in Korea. The problem will be more severe as time goes by( one of my students asked me to help him learn Japanese after deciding to major in computer engineering).

Definitely there are opportunities in Japan. Speaking Japanese is a must. Good English and Chinese are welcomed. And they are starving for IT guys. But it is better not to expect to get a high salary at first. More than anything, the work is tough whatever it is(Japanese work so hard whatever it is).  

Hygiene, Obsessive-compulsive neurosis, and Harmony(和)

I found the notice above in a men's room and thought that the toilets in Japan are the most representative cases that show how sophisticated Japansese are for their work. Actually I have never thought of sitting on the toilet as the picture on the left side is shown. But, seeing the notice, there must be some people sitting that way. Then, why do they sit that way? I guess that they think it is too dirty to get thier buttocks on the surface of the toilet seat. Definitely, Japanese are more sensitive over hygiene than Koreans or any people in the world from my observations. I remember a news article that there are some Japanese who get problems on thier hand skin because they wash thier hands so frequently that they become overly dry. Then, what is the origin of Japanese own uniquely high consciousness over hygiene?

In 'Crazy for Japan'(일본 열광), Kim Jung Woon(김정운) says that being overly sensitive over hygiene is a kind of 'obsessive-compulsive neurosis' and it comes from 'fixation of anal stage.' In anal stage by Freud, volunatry urination and defecation become the primary methods of gratifiying the sex instinct. Toilet training produces major conflicts between children and parents. The emotional climate that parents create can have last effects ( Shaffer, David. Developmental psychology: childhood and adolescence. 6th ed, 40.Wadsworth, 2002).

The problem in Japan is tatami.  According to Kim Jung Woon, when a toddler pees or poops on the  tatami floor accidently, the floor can't get cleansed as it used to be. Therefore, the only solution is that parents are strict enough to prevent the accident from happening, which he argues is the origin of Japanese own unique hygiene consciousness (김정운, '일본 열광', 프로네시스(2007), p146-p148). I am not sure whether tatami culture is the main factor for Japanese to pursue high level of hygiene. As a matter of fact, I read an essay over history of tatami culture and got to know that in the past tatami was thin and could be folded up when not used or piled in layers.

But I understood what Kim Jung Woon intended to say. From toddlerhood there are heavy restrictions on individuals in Japan. Because harmony(和) is priotized as the top value, every individual should learn how to keep the harmony from the time they should be socialized over his or her family. Consciously or unconsciously, the harmony(和) should be kept and any kind of distinctive behaviors destroying it should be prevented. Therefore, in almost every social situation rules and orders are emphasized and individual freedom is put aside. 

Whenever I visited Japan, I happened to see lots of social clues proving that. After runnning along Sumida river in Asakusa, I took a rest in a park and watched a group of very young kids playing guided by thier nursery teachers. I was so surprised over how orderly and harmoniously they were playing games. Compared to the Japanese kids' playing, the way or style Korean kids in the same age would be called 'disaster,' I thought.  What makes the Japanese kids play differently from Korean kids? The different degrees in  strictness of the parental disciplines between Japanese parents and Korean ones would be the main factor, I assume. Whereas Korean parents are quite generous over thier children's mischievous behaviors, they are quite strict over thier children's academic performances. On the other hands, while Japanese parents are generous over thier children's academic performances, they are quite strict over thier children's mischievous behaviors. 

In a  nutshell, social pursuit of harmony(和) is the main reason why we can use the cleanest toilets in the world in Japan, assumingly.

 

Japanese read a bit longer than Koreans

On the second day after arriving in Tokyo, I headed to Uneno Park which is quite close to Asakusa where I was staying. There were many social activities including school field trips going on. I found a big group with primary school kids, their parents and teachers. Outside of the group, there was a girl reading a book.  She was so focused. I like people reading books. One of the things I am impressed whenever I visit Japan  is that there are relatively more people seen reading books from primary school kids to senior citizens. Compared to Korea, more people reading books are seen in the subway trains. Of course, it seems that due to the increase of smartphone users, the number of people reading books on the subway is fewer than 10 years ago when I visited Japan for the first time. 

I felt like googling to know whether my impression over Japanese reading habits is in accordance with the statistics. So I googled typing in " Which country reads the most." I found a page. Surprisingly, it was 'India' that reads the most( I had expected Finland which is popular for its high reputation of education system). Indians read more than 10 hours a week. Japnese read a little bit longer than Koreans. They read 4 hours and 6 minutes a week. Koreans read 3 hours and 6 minutes a minutes a week.  Chinese read 8 hours a week. My impression over Japanese reading habits was a bit matched with the statistics(Japanese read more than Koreans). 

Indians read 10 hours a week!

Chinese read  8 hours a week!

Japanese read 4 hours a week.

Koreans read 3 hours a week.


https://www.statista.com/chart/6125/which-countries-read-the-most/


I feel like visiting Beijing and Mumbai soon.

The most serious concern in Japan: shrinking of population

Taking the subway in Tokyo, I found two posters which advertize books. Interestingly, both were about the population issues of Japan. Even the posters show a lot. 

Strike of Shrinking Japan ( 縮小日本の衝撃）

The books is based on a NHK documentary over demographic change in Japan. I've never watched it yet. There is a big graph in the poster which shows change of the population of Japan throughout the history and the projection for the start of 22nd century.

Population in Japan

2008: 128,000,000 (the peak) 

2016: 127,100,000

2030: 119,130,000

2050: 109,192,000

2100: 59,720,000 

In less than a century, the populaton will be less than half the current one!

The Chronicle of the Future ( 未来の年表）

2017: 1 in 3 Japanese women is over 65. 

2018: National universities are on the verge of bankrupt. 

2019: Supply of IT engineers is  extremely short. 

2021: There is massive shortage for caregivers for senior citizens.

2014: 1 in 3 Japanese is over 65. 

2026: There are 7 million people who suffer from dementia and similar cognitive regressions. 

2030: Departments, banks, and nursery facilities disappear in local areas.

2033: 1 in 3 houses is empty.

2040: Local municipalities face the risk of disapperaing.  

I got an impression that Japanese society started to treat the problem of shrinking population quite seriously. I went to a bookstore called Yaesu near Tokyo Station to figure out what kind of books are popular these days. I found one of the two books on a shelf which was put to show the rankings of best sellers. Interestingly, 'The Chronicle of the Future' ( 未来の年表）was ranked as No. 1 in the newly released section. It was the first week of August.  For now (2017/8/6), it is ranked as No. 4 as a whole. 

http://www.yaesu-book.co.jp/bestseller/

I have paid attention to social pheonomena related to the demographic changes not only in Japan but also in South Korea. For now, one of the main issues in Korean society is the low birth rate. The population of South Korea is still growing but very soon it will face the same situation as Japan. There are still controversies over whether South Korea will face the same problems such as the abrupt falldown of prices of real estates and the potential growth rate, but most people agree that the matter is not whether South Korea will face the similar problems that Japan have gotten but how serious they will be. For the last five years, many books that observe Japanese sociey to get insights over how to overcome the obstacles South Korea will soon face have been published. One of them is 'Korean Economy, Money Starts to Betray '(타마키 타카시, '한국경제, 돈의 배반이 시작된다', 스몰빅인사이트(2016)).

The author, Tamaki Tadashi observed Korean society as a journalist working in NIKKEI for 30 years. He focused on the similarities between Japan and Korea and suggested that through studying the era so-called '20 years' of Japan,  Korea can get a lot of clues to avoid the hardship Japan had faced.  The most important thing which he concentrated among similarities is, of course, the demographic change.  The reason I paid attention to the book posters was that I wanted to observe how Japan has been changing with the decrease of population. One thing I found was that Japanese feeling the effects and treating them more seriously than Koreans.  I checked the ranking of the best seller books in Korea this week(2017/8/6). There was only one book related to democraphic changes, Myeonggyeonmanri(명견만리). It was ranked 7th.( as far as I know, the book became popular becasue President Moon recommended people to read it not because people became quite interested in demographic changes in Korea).

http://book.naver.com/bestsell/bestseller_list.nhn?cp=kyobo

Paul and Kenotic Christology

One of my friends who I think is still in doubt and turmoil looking for God like me watched 'Silence' and suggested it to me. I' have been interested in the history over how Christianity was introduced, spread and oppressed in Japan, so I watched it before I left for Japan. The character I focused on in the movie was 'Kichijiro' who sometimes helped Rodrigues and Garupe and sometimes betrayed them. Helping the two young Portuguese Fathers or betraying them like Judas, Kichiro was always suffering from guilt and fear.  Whenever there was a chance, he begged Rodrigues to get his confession. Looking at him, he looked scared over losing his chance to go to the Heaven. He was not the only one.  A couple of poor peasants kept asking Rodrigues to confirm they could go to the Heaven getting thier baby baptized. They chose Christian God to go to the Heaven.

Luckily  in the church I go to the pastor got me a good chance to think over a simple but profound question: why I need God. It was the question he suggested at the start of the sermon. I stopped and stood somewhere  questioning over whether Christianity can help people including me overcome their igocentrism. I thought that a lot of Korean Christians look like  they go to church and confess thier faith in Jesus Christ in order to be guaranteed something in their lives or after thier lives, which I guess is ultimately putting themselves as the priority. Of course, it is human nature to put oneself priority, but if there are no concepts or ideas to overcome the egotism in a religion, whether well-structured logically and theologically ,I have thought it could be meaningless. 

For the fellowship after the service, 'Romans' was dealt with for sharing ideas, which was a good chance as well for me to be reminded 'Paul.' Arriving home, I checked the books about religions and Christianity I have and read the parts where Paul was mentioned( of course, the amount in the four books I have over Paul was huge given his significance in Christianity). Fortunately, I found some clues which could get me a few more steps further from the place where I've been stuck.

Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think  of equality  with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privilages: he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appered in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. (Philppians Chapter2 3-8)

Paul emphasized the sinificance of 'emptying(being humble)' and asserted that we should empty(humble) ourselves. He said 'Jesus' Cross' is the the symbol of self-emptying. Understanding and accepting Jesus this way is called 'Kenotic Christology'(오강남, '종교, 심층을 보다,'현암사(2011), P147).

In the later part of 'Silence', Ferreira who Rodriues had been looking for, persuaded him to surrender his faith.

Ferreira: Japansese believe the distortion of our Gospels. They did not believe it at all. They never believe it.

Rodrigues: How could you say that? There are hundreds of thousands of converts from St. Fransis Javier through you!

Ferreira: Fransis Javier came here to teach Japanese Christianity and first try to figure out how 'Son of God' is referred to. It was 'Dainich' he was told. Can I show what 'Dainichi' is? Behold(pointing out the sun). That is  Son of God. Japanese can not think of any existence beyond the relevant nature. For them, nothing transcends humans. They can't not conceive the idea of our Christian God.

Looking at the situations of Korean churches polluted with corruptions, scandals, and crimes, I doubt maybe most Korean Christians believe in the distortion of Gospels like Japanese in 400 years ago.

Automation and Removal of Jobs

automated immigration system in Inchoen International Airport

I found a new immigration process system in Incheon International Airport.  After getting security screening, I did the process using the system. It is the automated immigration process system, which means it does not use human workforces. The automated one is confined to Korean passport holders and foreigners with specific residential status. It was the first time using the system, so it took a while to learn how to use it. But I guess it  will be shorter and easier to do next time. Like the automated immigration system there have been more automated systems introduced in Korea.

http://www.airport.kr/pa/en/a/2/2/4/index.jsp?tabIndex=1

High Pass Toll Gates

One of the most representative automated systems introduced in Korea is High Pass(하이패스). It is an automated toll paying system for high ways. If you buy a gadget for paying tolls and a prepaid card(or a registered credit card), you can use High Pass System.  Even though it takes a bit of money to buy the gadget(around 25,000 won), you can get discounts and go through tollgates without stopping for getting tickets. Simply speaking, it is very convenient.  But the system is not good for everyone. After the introduction of the system, there have been seen fewer cashier in tollgates. The jobs usually used to go to middle-aged women, but due to the introduction and extention of High Pass System, there have been fewer positions available. According to Kyunghyangshinmun(경향신문), Korea Expressway Corporation(한국도로공사) which manages the overall highway systems in Korea announced its long term restructuring plan including cutting down the number of tollgate cashiers. KEC planned to upgrade the current tolling system getting tolls by High Pass and cashiers to so called 'Smart Tolling' which uses zero human cashiers until 2020 ("한국도로공사 톨게이트 수납원 7233명 '칼바람' 예고", 경향신문 인터넷판, 2015년9월11일).

7233 tollgate cashiers on the verge of getting fired (Kyunghyangshinmun, 2015/9/17)

Mega Don Quixote in Shibuya in Tokyo

 This kinds of trend of automation and removal of jobs are seen more easily in Japan. I visited Mega Don Quixote in Shibuya in Tokyo. Don Quixote stores have almost everything I need when I travel Japan with very reasonble prices. They are, as seen in the photo above, tax free shops for foreign tourist customers. But they are quite popular among Japanese youngsters because the goods are quite cheap. They are seen almost all the main landmarks in main cities in Japan such as Tokyo and Osaka.  But, I found very interesting machines in Mega don Quixote in Shibuya. 

self cashier machine

The machine in the photo above is not for cashiers hired but for the customers. A clerk right next to it checks the bar-codes of the goods and put them in the plastic back. Then, the customer puts in cash  or use a special membership card charged with cash (called Majika) for payment. As a matter of fact, even checking the bar-codes is customers' job. Of course, the machine can be used partly because there is relatively low frequencies of shoplifting in Japan. But another thing to be pointed out is that with the machines introduced in the shops, the demand for staff decreases. Many Japanese companies have complained of the difficulty in getting workforces because of aging and shrinking of working-age population, but it doesn't seem that the situation put the people in the labor market on a more advantageous position.

"There will be a talk between North Korea and the U.S. soon" by Jeong Se Hyeon, the Former Minister of Unification

Jeong Se Hyeon(정세현), from 프레시안

Jeong Se Hyun(정세현), the former minister of the Department of Unification(통일부) came out in one of the most popular politics talkshow, 'Papa Is(파파이스)' and revealed quite unique stances and solutions over the tension in East Asia. They are quite interesting that I thought it would be beneficial to share his words with more people(English translation could be good). 

 His unique stances and solutions over the North Korea's nuclear arms experiments are not the only reasons why I thought his talk in the show was worth being translated to English and shared. His career records themselves show how worth listening his words are. He took a crucial role as the minister of the Department of Unification(통일부) in both Kim Dae Jung's administration and Roh Moo Hyeon's, when there was rapid progress of the relationship between South Korea and North Korea. Practically he led the administrations' conversations with North Korea. He met the North Korean leader, Kim Jung Il(김정일) several times and the rest high ranked officials hundreds of times. He has direct experiences over North Korean politics and diplomacy, which makes him different from other opionion makers and scholars who have never talked with North Korean diplomats at all. 

From Youtube

  For the readers who don't know about the talkshow 'Papa Is(파파이스)', it is the politics talkshow hosted by 'Kim Eo Jun'(김어준), a weirdo of the current Korean society. He is the pioneer who ventured to make a new media environment in Korea. He started his own podcasting show,'Nakkomsu(나꼼수)' in 2011 and make a destructive but creative stirrs on journalism. I will introduce him more specifically next time. 'Q' is Kim Eo Jun and another show hostess Song Chae Kyoung Hwa(송채경화) and 'A' is Jeong Se Hyeon(정세현)

Kim Eo Jun(김어준), from Kyobobook.com

Q: Main newspapers, cable news channels were talking about high possibility of the war in Korean Peninsula. But you mentioned the issue of defense bugdets of the U.S. and kept saying that there wouldn't be a war at all.  Then, why do you think U.S. President Trump react so overly?

A: As you know,  there was harsh verbal war between North Korea and the U. S. which led 'the Rumor of August Crisis(8월 위기설).' Trump expressed his anger with tough words like 'Fast and Furious.' But I claimed that there would be no war between the two. Basically, the U.S can't afford the war. Let's look back the case of Youngbyeon(영변) in 1994. Actually the U.S prepared for air strikes against the nuclear facilities in North Korea. It thought it would take just 3 days to end the situation. But the bigger concern was the concequences after the strikes. North Korean military reaction was strong enough to make Seoul destroyed in a moment. If it had happened, it could have been the Second Korean War. The casualties could have been catastrophic.  For the recovery after the war, it might have taken more than 300 billion dollars. And the U.S. might have taken all the responsibilities, even moral ones.At that moment, Kim Il Sung(김일성) suggested the summit between him and the South Korean president. The war didn't take place.  Cosidering the current situation, there is no specific information where the nuclear arms exists. Even if one of them  is destroyed, the consequences will be overwhelming including radioactive pollutions spread out. North Korea will do military counteraction and China won't stand watching it, which the U.S. can't afford deal with. That's why I reiterated there wouldn't a war between North Korea and the U.S.

Q: Then, why was Trump so furious?

A: The fiscal year of the U.S. administration starts in October. August is the peak time for assessing the budget plan. The MIC(Military Industrial Complex) and the scholars related to them spread the rumors over the possibility of the war and the atmosphere of tension. Then the bugdet is not cut down. Specifically, the defense budget for the Pacific area won't be slashed down. But I don't mean that Trump intended it.  He was just emotional. 

Q: South Korean president Moon repeatedly emphasized that there won't be any kind of war in Korean Peninsula without South Korea's permission or agreement. What's the reality of 'the Wartime Control'  between South Korea and the U.S.?

A:  Moon and Trump had already agreed on that. President Moon said South Korea will face catastrophic disasters if the war takes place.  Millions of people will die.  For such a serious decision, it does not make sense U.S. alone decides to have a war in Korean Peninsula. After the conversation, President Trump soothed his attitude against North Korea. But it is true that many media, especially conservative newspapers in South Korea reiterated that the U.S. can preemept North Korea. 

Q: Then, what's wrong with the media? I think they should have said that a third country can not make that critical decision on Korean Peninsula. There are no media which said so except for Hangyeorae(한겨레). Anyway, what's necessary for resumption of talk between South Korea and North Korea? 

A: The new administration should have sent a special envoy to North Korea right after the four special envoys came back. South Korea should have taken a mediator role between the U.S. and North Korea. But it didn't. The recovery of the relationship between South Korea and North Korea won't take a long time because of the experience of 10 years during the Kim Dae Jung and Roh Mu Hyeon's  administrations.  The problem is that the new administration just followed the tracks U.S and Japan agreed on; sanctions. 

Q: Do you think North Korea wanted the special envoy from the new administration to come?

Choi Son Hui(최선희), from JoongAngIlbo(중앙일보)

A: From my experiences, they were waiting for the special envoy. North Korea wants South Korea to intervene between North Korea and the U.S.  Actually, Kim Dae Jung and Roh Mu Hyeon's administrations promoted the conversation between North Korea and the U.S. That's why North Korea was quite cooperative for a while. But Bush administration broke the compromises and North Korea commited nuclear experiments. For the current situation, the U.S. government has soothed its harsh stance first. There is a kind of atmosphere for the resumption of conversation.  Recently Choi Son Hui(최선희), the Chief Director of the Department of the U.S of North Korea said she wanted to visit the U.S., which implies that there is a conversation ongoing behind the curtains between North Korea and the U. S. I guess they are moving to make a kind of momentum to have a table for serious talk.  There could be any conversation even in New York, when it is the best time to send a special envoy and suggest something attractive. Then, there will be recovery of channels of communication between South Korea and North Korea.  South Korea can take the mediator role. 

Q: You think it is a good opportunity.

A:  When the rumors of the conversation become real, South Korea should swiftly join in.  South Korean government should prepare for the moment.  It may be after August. There is Ulji Freedom Gurdian Drill(을지프리덤가디언훈련). 'Come September!' There will be a great timing to resume the talk in September. 

Q: What is the best attitude towards the missiles?

A: North Korea has experiences that  it brought the U.S. to the table, but  got a answer that it hadn't wanted.  To get a better position, it will do something provocative. Missiles and the nuclear arms are their tools to bring the U.S. to the table. North Korea has the experiences. Look at the example of 'Guam.' U.S. shrank. 

Q: Then, North Korea would do two-track strategies to keep doing the experiments and and trying to have dialogues with the U.S.

A: Depending on the characters of the U.S. administration, the approaches have been different.  Sometimes, talk was prefered, and sometimes not.  Clinton's administration  prefered talk, and until 2002  there was no nuclear issue from North Korea.  But Bush broke the compromise and tried to press down North Korea. In 2006, North Korea did nuclear experiments. Then in November that year, Bush suggested conversation. They made an another agreement in 2007.  But the government changed.  North Korea's brinkmanship(벼랑끝 전술) worked. Then, let's look at the current situation. U.S. tried to sanction North Korea, but economic growth rate of North Korea in 2016 was 3.9%.  Santions didn't work. The U.S. blames China. But the U.S. misunderstands the relationship between North Korea and the China.  The U. S. tends to think that less powerfull ally country will be obedient to the more powerful ally country like the case of the agreement over 'Comfort Women' issue between South Korea and Japan which was made under the pressure by the U.S. government to both sides. But North Korea is not under control by China. During the 50s and 60s, North Korea pursued 'Equidstand Dimplomacy(등거리 외교)' bewteen China and the Soviet to get the most. North Korea made them compete each other. North Korea doesn't trust China. Kim Jung Il has said so to me before.  

[Papa Is#155(2017/8/18)]