From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V8 #496 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Thur, 23 Aug 2001 Vol 08 : Num 496 In this issue: the_dojang: KSR 2001-17: _Mass Politics and Culture_ and_Consolidating Democracy_ the_dojang: Friendship Tournament VI the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V8 #493 the_dojang: Ow! the_dojang: Creeps the_dojang: busted knees, boredom, and form the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V8 #495 the_dojang: Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:22:26 -0400 the_dojang: Re: age the_dojang: . ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~1000 members strong! Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource The premier internet discussion forum devoted to the Korean Martial Arts. Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of The_Dojang at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ray Terry Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:57:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: KSR 2001-17: _Mass Politics and Culture_ and_Consolidating Democracy_ Forwarded message: _Mass Politics and Culture in Democratizing Korea_, by Doh C. Shin. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 1999. 320 pages. ISBN:0-5216-5823-3. _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_, edd. by Larry Diamond and Byoung-Kook Kim. London: Lynne Rienner. 2000. ISBN:1-5558-7848-2. Reviewed by Mike Goodwin College Station, Texas [This review first appeared in _Acta Koreana_, 4 (2001): 184-88. _Acta Koreana_ is published by Academia Koreana of Keimyung University.] The Republic of Korea's transition to democracy began arguably on June 29, 1987 when the then would-be Democratic Justice Party (DJP) presidential candidate Roh Tae Woo "relieved," as Larry Diamond and Byung-Kook Kim write in their new collection, _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_, "a dangerous stalemate between the authoritarian regime and its democratic opposition" (p. 2). Any number of points could be made about this. Roh's decision, for example, to stand down his candidacy (until Korea's military ruler, Chun Doo Hwan, had both pardoned the imprisoned Kim Dae Jung and allowed for direct presidential elections) served to contain what were increasingly virulent, widespread, and highly popular "anti-Chun" demonstrations. Yet relieving the 1987 crisis as he did also led, in part, to Roh's own election as the president of the Republic later that same year. For in the following December election (and in a classic Korean-style moment of failure to align national interests) the opposition vote was "split" between the newly released Kim Dae Jung and the Reunification Democratic Party's candidate, Kim Young Sam. What more can be said about the summer of 1987 when Chun Doo Hwan reluctantly accepted Roh's demands?[1] Perhaps it is this: though thirteen years could rush by since that time, nothing -well, almost nothing (in the realm of Korean democracy anyway) would ever again seem as clear as it did back then, on that day. Or such is the overwhelming impression I have recently formed on reading both _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_, as well as Doh C. Shin's masterly 1999 contribution to the "Cambridge Asia-Pacific Studies" series, _Mass Politics and Culture in Democratizing Korea_.[2] Before I explain just what I mean here allow me to speak to the market by emphasizing some methodological points. These two works complement each other in several important respects and this should make them attractive to educators in Korean Studies. Taken together, for instance, they might nicely serve as the foundation for a critical, comprehensive, and extremely up-to-date middle and/or upper-year college "survey" of the complex array of issues-both theoretical and empirical-underlying Korea's efforts to claim a place amongst the so-called, "third wave" democracies. Despite all the substantive changes that have, since 1987, combined to produce within Korea what Shin calls, "a politically new state," (and despite the rapid pace with which such changes have been affected), Korean democratization "still remains largely unexplored using the theories and methods of comparative political inquiry" (xxiii). If it is true, as Seymour Martin Lipset has said (and here I paraphrase), that to know a lot about one nation, and one alone, is really to know very little about anything at all, then the comparative aspect of Shin's study may well emerge as one of its primary strengths. Shin's study both compares and contrasts Korean developments with those in Eastern and Central Europe, as well as Scandinavia and Western Europe and other regions (e.g., Taiwan). But the analogous aspect of this study of Korean democracy is not limited to international comparison alone; there is also a cultural-theoretical side to the work. For a decade that witnessed the veritable emergence of a new state in Northeast Asia, Shin declares, "not a single volume can be found [that offers] a comprehensive and balanced account of the Korean example, which 'challenges directly the notion that Confucian societies don't really want democracy'Éand offers 'an East Asian model of prosperity and democracy'É" (xxiii), _Mass Politics and Culture in Democratizing Korea_ aims to fill this gap. Thus, while Shin situates Korea today within the history of similar Western experience, the book also promotes a vision of the complementarity of democracy with traditional Asian values. Sensitivity to both comparativist and cultural issues is a key virtue of Shin's work. Another is its robust empiricism. "This book," the author writes, "seeks to define and distinguish the Korean model of democratization in terms of what the Korean people themselves have actually experienced during the course of change" (xxiv, my emphasis). But what is the best way to understand what people have actually experienced? The answer, of course, is "to engage in survey research asking people directly what they think and how they choose to act in the political process" (xxvii). The core data for Shin's study was collected (by Seoul National University and Korea-Gallup) over a period of some nine years. Beginning in 1988, six nation-wide surveys were conducted; two in the Roh era, and four throughout Kim Young Sam's tenure (November 1993, November 1994, January 1996, and May 1997).[3] It is, Shin suggests at the outset, incontestable: "ÉKoreans neither interpret nor value democracy in the same way as Westerners do." (xxix) In an effort, therefore, to avoid the "teleological assumption that Koreans are becoming like citizens of Western democracies," many of the indexes used by Shin (both qualitative and metric) were constructed specifically for this study(274).[4] The surveys themselves comprise over eighty separate questions ranging across twenty-two different categories and were designed to solicit-among other things-citizens' understanding of democracy, views of their experiences with democratization, their preferences for democracy (both in theory and in action), as well as a sense of the nature of their commitment to democracy, and their dissociation from authoritarianism, etc. (pp. 277-287). Diamond and Shin's edited compilation, _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_ contains eight quite independent chapters; each of which (with the exception of Kim and Diamond's introductory essay and the final segment of the book by Georgetown University's Asian Studies Director, David Steinberg) is written by a Korea-based scholar. Contributors to this work also include Song-min Kim (Yonsei University), Hyun-Chin Lim (Seoul National), Chung-in Moon (Yonsei), Hyug Baeg Im (Korea University), and Kyoung-Ryung Seong (Hallym).[5] The subjects discussed by these authors include comparative assessments of the Korean experience with consolidation (H-B Im), the ambiguous successes of Korean political parties (B-K Kim), the achievements (and remaining objectives) of an emergent civil society (Seong), dilemmas faced by labor (B-K Kim & H-C Lim), an analysis of the connections between the consolidation process and Korea's overall economic performance (Moon and S-M Kim), and a study of the effects on electoral politics of the 1997-1998 economic crisis (B-K Kim). _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_ begins with a valuable overview of the book in which its editors seem to chart a middle course between the optimists and the pessimists. "[E]ven if South Korea's democracy can be considered 'consolidated'" (a point on which the contributors to this volume disagree), its political institutions, write Diamond and Kim, "remain shallow and immature, unable to structure a meaningful choice of policy courses and to provide the responsiveness, accountability, and transparency expected by the South Korean public." (p. 2) But why is this? And what are the obstacles facing Korea in its efforts to achieve the level of stability now enjoyed by other "third wave" democracies in Central and Southern Europe? As I mentioned, Diamond and Kim's book dovetails nicely with Shin's study, and educators may find this helpful in developing their own curricula. In fact, Shin's national surveys provide much of the data for Diamond and Kim's own introductory chapter. As Shin writes, "[c]ontrary to what was expected during the promising transition from military rule, the consolidation of democratic political structure has advanced neither quickly nor steadily. Nor has the political culture consolidatedÉ" (p. 250) Building on this, Diamond and Kim note that, while in 1996 a full 84 percent of Koreans supported the shift from a military regime to the Sixth Republic, "[m]ass public support for democracy declines sharply É in the wake of the 1997 financial collapseÉ" (p. 5) In fact, "in October 1998, only 54 percent said 'democracy is preferable to any other form of government.'" But there's more as well -and it's not good news. In the final, cynical year of Kim Young Sam's "democratic" administration (a period that saw more Koreans prosecuted under the National Security Act than under Roh Tae Woo), the Korean polity was badly battered by a volley of scandals. These included the arrest (for bribery) of a key Blue House advisor, the arrest (for bribery) of the director of the nation's Security Oversight Commission, the arrest (for bribery) of the Defense Minister, the resignation (under suspicion of bribery) of Kim's Health & Welfare Minister, the arrest (for bribery) of the President of Seoul Bank, and of course, the complete collapse of Hanbo Steel -something which eventually led to the arraignment of Kim's Interior Minister, a close fund-raiser, and the conviction of his own son.[6] Given all this, is it surprising that, as Kim and Diamond report, by October 1998 (and with the economic crisis now full-blown), "[a]lmost a third of respondentsÉclaimed that 'under certain situations, a dictatorship is preferable'" to a democratically elected government? Is it perplexing to find (as anyone who has been reading the newspapers lately surely senses), that close to a majority (i.e., 44 percent) believe they would actually "prefer 'rule by a dictator like Park Chung Hee rather than a democratically elected president?'" (p. 5) This sort of backsliding in the consolidation of democracy contrasts, as mentioned, with relative steady successes enjoyed by other new democracies in Central and Southern Europe, as well as Asia (i.e., Taiwan).[7] Yet when we step back and reexamine the apparent clarity that surrounded the events of June 29, 1987, we may begin to wonder what happened? Where did the apparent promise of a straightforward trajectory marking the gradual but steady consolidation of democracy in Korea go? Will the early gains of the 1988 to 1996 period return? If so, when? And how? These are complex questions touching not just on the procedural or "electoral" domain (the solidity of which seems, in a way, to be one of the few certainties in Korean politics today) but also on matters of fundamental cultural transformation as well. Those interested in exploring further the wide range of issues currently influencing both the consolidation of democracy in Korea, as well as the participation in that process by the Korean people themselves may wish to begin their exploration with the works discussed above. Notes: 1 Hoare, James E. and Susan Pares, _Conflict in Korea: An Encyclopedia_ (ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA. 1999) p. 164 2 We know that between 1962 and 1978 -a period of some sixteen years-the autocratic Park Chung Hee was five times "elected" president of the Republic of Korea (i.e., in 1962, 1967, 1971, 1972, and 1978). How often though do we reflect on this fact: the "consolidation" of democracy in Korea has been under way for a period of time equal in length to fully one-half of Park and Chun's (much despised yet increasingly fondly remembered) "military" era as a whole (i.e., 1961-1987)? 3 As I read Shin's survey findings I found myself recalling some major events on Korea's bumpy road to democracy: e.g., the Kim Young Sam government's desperate (and ultimately foolish) efforts to "railroad" anti-democratic labor and national security laws through the National Assembly during the Christmas season of 1996; the same government's "raid" on the student movement at Yonsei University in the summer of 1996; and of course the slow, painful unfolding of the Hanbo scandal in mid-1997. From this point of view, Shin's data is fascinating in its specificity, because it allows readers to chart their own impressions of Korean democracy on the basis of their own preferred recollections (and to then compare their results with the Korean peoples' themselves). 4 Shin's study rejects ethnocentric (Western) teleology and something else too; i.e., the sort of "procedural minimum" definitions of democracy that appropriate aspects of Schumpeter, Dahl, and Huntington, among others. Such views tend, Shin writes, "to equate democracy with the mass public's free, fair, and competitive elections [sic] of political leadership on a regular basis." (p. xxiv) For Shin, this perspective misses too much about the quality of life under democratization. But if widening his analysis to include cultural, as well, more traditional electoral, legal, and institutional factors strengthens his study, it also invites controversy. In 1997 Bruce Cumings, for example, wrote this: "[t]here is no questionÉin my mind that the American organization of society in our time, speeded by a globe-ranging media, carries every alternative social form before it. It is deeply popular because it convinces people everywhere that they can lead a life of carefree individuality, and thus it transforms and dissolves the alternatives one after another, including old Korea." (_Korea's Place in The Sun_, p. 14) Surely such claims fly)-apriori-in the face of what Shins seeks to do? 5 In addition to their academic responsibilities at the institutions mentioned, both Im and Seong are members of Kim Dae Jung's Presidential Commission on Policy and Planning and, therefore, likely bring to their work a measure of practical, "on the ground" experience. 6 Source: James West, Research Fellow (East Asian Legal Studies), Harvard Law School, Harvard University, June 6, 1998. Personal Correspondence. 7 It may be objected that Taiwan has not undergone the economic "trauma" and, therefore, the deep social and political stresses to which Korea has been subject since 1997. One rebuttal-or at least a balancing comment-is that while Taiwan has indeed largely escaped the recent Asian economic "crisis," Japan certainly has not and (on the surface at least) one sees there little evidence of a widespread withdrawal of support for the principles of democratic governance. Also, Taiwan shares with Korea the day-to-day reality of remaining cold war tensions, as well as a highly contested political future. (A fact that is often cited as an important, even an "exceptional" factor influencing the consolidation of democracy in the latter nation.) Citation: Goodwin, Mike 2001 Review of _Mass Politics and Culture in Democratizing Korea_, by Doh C. Shin (1999) and _Consolidating Democracy in South Korea_, edd. by Larry Diamond and Byoung-Kook Kim (2000) Korean Studies Review_ 2001, no. 17 Electronic file: http://www.iic.edu/thelist/review/ksr01-17.htm ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 16:43:29 PDT Subject: the_dojang: Friendship Tournament VI Forwarded message: PROF. BILL DEWART ACADEMY OF TAE KWON DO AAU TAEKWONDO HDQTRS. 988 OAK STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117 (415) 864-4827/e-mail tkdbill@pacbell.net Dear Friends: September is coming and that means the beginning of a new AAU year and, of course, the FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT VI. The event this year will be held at Serramonte High School at 699 Serramonte Blvd., Daly City, CA 94105 on Saturday, October 14th. The school is located only ten minutes outside of San Francisco off of Interstate 280 and up the block from the Serramonte Shopping Center. It is convenient, easy to get to and, most importantly, has plenty of free parking. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to join us again this year for what should be an outstanding event. As always we will provide free AAU membership for the 2000/2001 season for everyone who pre-registers by October 1st. For those of you who are school owners this is the time to either renew your AAU school membership or, if you have not done it before, do it now for the first time. Remember the AAU provides the best insurance policy available anywhere with $5 million of liability coverage for only $50 a year no matter how many locations you have. If you need a school package simply call 1-800-228-4872 and request a Taekwondo Club membership package. Believe me you will be saving a lot over whatever insurance you currently have for your dojang. Please let everyone know about this year's FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT so that they can make plans to attend. We are looking to make this the largest AAU event ever held in the Bay Area. With your assistance we will succeed. We will look forward to seeing all of you on October 14th. Peace. Yours in Taekwondo, Bill Dewart Prof. Bill Dewart Regional Director AAU Taekwondo ------------------------------ From: Neal Konecky Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 17:05:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V8 #493 Craig, Sorry to hear about your toe. I broke mine about a year and a half back, went to the podiatrist who said tape it to the next one (did that, wear this special funny looking shoe (that did not make it out of the Dr's office), and rest it. That did not happen either, although I did skip pad kicking for a while. I would not recommend this for every, make that any body. To this day, I get looks of disgust from my Dr. I would make every effort to rest it. (Yes, I would recommend it even though I did'nt. I was preparing for BB test, I had to train :) ) Good luck Neal Konecky ===== “Whenever a people or an institution forgets its hard beginnings, it is beginning to decay.” Carl Sandburg __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ From: thomcat@binary.net (J Thomas Howard) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:43:13 -0500 (CDT) Subject: the_dojang: Ow! Re: toes breaking... I know that several people have said this already, but I wanted to point out that while the "just tape it to the next toe" brand of therapy is pretty much the norm (isn't a whole lot else to do) make SURE you have the toe aligned properly before you do so. A could of people have said that already, I know, but it is important. No matter what, the toe is going to heal up, and having it heal crooked is the best way I know to have your feet _always_ ache. (Unfortunate personal experience there.) Align it, then tape it. Thomas - ------------------------------------ thomcat@binary.net http://www.binary.net/thomcat/Hap.html "If you aren't modeling what you are teaching then you are teaching something else." ------------------------------ From: "Rudy Timmerman" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 11:08:54 -0400 Subject: the_dojang: Creeps > Anybody else want to share stories about some of the assorted creeps that have > graced their doorways? A sad change in demographics in the area of our dojang resulted in a number of creeps to walk in uninvited. I have no patience with that type, and I escort them out a soon as they come in. I found I can only fit two of them through the door at one time, so sometimes I have to make a second trip. It's worth the effort, because they make nice ornaments on the lamp post I have outside our dojang. Somehow the word got out about my short fuse, and the number of such "guests" is fast declining. Great practice while it lasted:) Rudy ------------------------------ From: "Jennifer Towns" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 23:39:26 -0400 Subject: the_dojang: busted knees, boredom, and form Beginning stage: development of techniques, naming I have grown very bored thank to my knee injuries. Due to the fact that I have been unsuccessful in my online searches for any style of cane form, I have decided to make one up out of sheer boredom. Having no prior knowledge of techniques, patterns, or movements with a cane, it is purely experimetal. I envision 4 attackers in the form. I am asking for korean translations on a few words to get a name for it. Also, if anyone knows of anywhere to search online for cane forms that doesn't return 100 sugar cane pages, feel free to email me links. Translate these words to korean please: "Form" is it better to use kata or hyung, I have heard both, not sure if kata is korean. "Cane" "Attacker" "Strike" "Quick or Fast" Thanks in advance, Jennifer Towns 1st Dan TSD **bored and recovering** _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ From: DWoods321@aol.com Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:09:03 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V8 #495 "Visitors" I remember while training under my first master, Master Joe Goss, when a "full-contact Kickboxer" paid us a visit. Now keep in mind this was somewhat back in the old days. My master taught out of a converted diesel garage. When it got hot outside we would open the large garage door. This fellow came in and wanted to train with us, we are Tang Soo Do, and of course he was welcome to do so. He complained about having to do basics up and down the floor, this was due to the fact that he didn't know any I believe. Also he complained about forms are useless and again he didn't know any. Anyway we finally got to the part of class that he showed up for, sparring. Now we basically do a light contact free-sparring. Not this fellow, he came in and hit one of my seniors before the command to begin was given. His kicking technique was peculiar I believe he studied Jackass-Do. He made an excuse of an apology and sparring commenced. Again he was hitting full force, as much as he could muster, but my senior blocked all of his chop-socky flick kicks and gave him a good medium-contact side kick. Well the great Jackass-Do master was flung out of the dojang via the open garage door and landed on his rear end out it the alley. He didn't do a break fall either, must have been an off day for him. So he scraped the tattered remains of his pride off the asphalt and returned to the woodwork from whence he came. Tang Soo! David Woods ------------------------------ From: "Cheryl Wheeler" Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:44:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: the_dojang: Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:22:26 -0400 Hello everybody, I have a young student moving to Massachusetts. Can anyone recommend a good TKD dojang in the Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and New Bedford area? Preferably with ITF (Chon-ji) forms, although a positive, hard training atmosphere is more important. Our school is AAU affiliated, ITF forms, WTF sparring, so that's where he's coming from. Thanks a million, Jason Hughes Athens, GA ------------------------------ From: "Robert Martin" Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:26:20 -0600 Subject: the_dojang: Re: age At the ITF world championships this past summer, I spent a little bit (very little) with some DPRK team members. Usually, they aren't allowed to mix with the rest of us very much but I happened to sit by a few of them. These kids train full time. Most of them are in their late teens or early 20's. They are out of school and Taekwon-Do is what they do. The government "pays" them for training. One of them that spoke fair English told me that winning a gold medal assures them and their families of a good living for the next year. They work out 6 to 8 hours a day, six days a week. Of course it isn't TKD full time. They do weight training, running, etc. like any other "pro" athlete. I only got to talk for a few minutes as their "guide" figured out I was an American. Suddenly, they had to go to "a team meeting -- very sorry." They train very hard and it shows. Robert Martin > From: Ray Terry > Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:47:12 PDT > Subject: RE: the_dojang: age > > > Look at how the Koreans train? not just 2-4 hours a week like the majority > > of us but 10-12 hours per days 7 days a week, like most martial artists from > > the east they are totally dedicated to their training (may have stepped on > > some toes their!!!) > > Ken, do you really believe that Koreans, in Korea, train 10 to 12 hours > each and every day? Year in and year out? > > I gotta a bridge around here somewhere... :) > > Ray Terry > raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:02:48 PDT Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V8 #496 ******************************** It's a great day for Taekwondo! Support the USTU by joining today. US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 104C, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.org To unsubscribe from the_dojang-digest send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.