07.07 topic

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Topic1. Lessons from Greece

A country with a rich legacy can be doomed if it spends recklessly and squanders resources.

The Trojan War is the climax of Greek mythology and the history of ancient Greece. The Achaeans (Greeks), led by heroes like Achilles and Odysseus, waged a war for 10 years on the city of Troy, which eventually fell due to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. There’s no Trojan Horse to save the Greeks in today’s world.

Modern-day Greeks are engaged in a nerve-racking battle with their troika of creditors - the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank and European Union members - after they received 240 billion euros ($266 billion) in two bailout packages in 2010 and 2012 to save the country from default. Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his radical Syriza party gained power in January vowing to renegotiate the stringent bailout terms with the creditors. He made Yanis Varoufakis, an economist and expert in game theory, his finance minister and negotiator.

But the troika was unyielding. The EU members led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood firm and shot down any new proposals offered by Athens. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who cannot risk the bank’s multibillion-dollar bailout going down the drain ahead of next year’s re-election, also remained staunch on the creditors’ condition that Greece must go on with a prescribed set of harsh reforms if it wants to stay in the bailout program and the EU.

The new government refused to accept the troika’s terms for fresh relief funds that included more cuts in pensions, government employees’ salaries and tax hikes. Athens asked for an extension of the bailout to give it more time to reform on its own. Up against hard-line lenders, whom Tsipras accused of “blackmail,” the bold 40-year-old prime minister announced in a national address that the country would hold a referendum on July 5. He advised his people to vote no to the humiliating bailout terms. On Tuesday Greece missed the deadline on a payment of the 1.5 billion euro loan to the IMF and became the first among advanced nations to miss a payment to the 71-year-old international institution.

In a game of chicken in which two drivers drive at each other, one must swerve or both can die. But the one who swerves becomes the cowardly “chicken.” In order not to lose face, one must be bolder and drive at full speed until the other player yields. But that sort of brinkmanship failed to work with the troika.

EU countries have had enough time to build buffers to minimize any shock wave from a Greek bankruptcy. Greece contributes just 1.3 percent to the EU gross domestic product. If the mess does not wreak havoc on the financial markets, the Greek ordeal won’t do major harm to the EU economy. But a Greexit, or the country’s withdrawal from the euro zone, could have deeper ramifications. The solidarity of the 19-state economic block could be shaken if one of its members drops out, motivating weaker members like Portugal to follow suit.

It could be a better prescription for Greece to return to its old currency and seek cuts in interest rates and a deval‎uation instead of sticking to the harsh belt-tightening. But an exit from the euro zone could stoke consumer prices and disrupt the financial system. Most Greeks also prefer to stay in the euro zone. It is therefore likely that a last-minute compromise would be arranged to preclude the extreme option of a Grexit.

The lingering problem is that the Greek crisis cannot be solved simply through a financial bailout. The economy failed to get any better despite multibillion-dollar bailouts since 2010. Its productivity is at rock bottom. Per capita output does not even reach half that of the Germans. The fiscal state is in a mess due to welfare profligacy. Corruption and tax evasion are rampant. The country is relatively small with a population of 10.8 million. Income levels are relatively high, with Greeks earning an average of $28,000 in 2007, before the financial crisis of 2008, similar to what Koreans earn today. But the economy contracted 4 percent on average in terms of per capita real income over the last six years. National income has been shaved to $21,700. Unemployment hovers at 26 percent and at 50 percent for the young. Its future remains perilous with or without bailout.

Greece provides a lesson to us. It says that a country with a rich legacy and the historical significance of being the birthplace of Western civilization can fall from grace and be doomed if it spends recklessly and squanders resources without endeavors on labor and intelligence to improve productivity. A country can fall into disarray if it drags its feet on much-needed reforms in pensions, labor, finance, debt and competitiveness.

Greece’s problems are the same ones that have been slowing our economy. A Siren call is both alluring and dangerous. On his way back from the Trojan war, Odysseus made his crew stuff their ears with wax and tie him to a mast so that he would be able to resist the call of the Sirens. To completely stave off temptation can be hard. But a resolute leader and commitment from the people can assure us safe sailing when waters turn treacherous.

Topic2. Choices in K-pop raise serious questions

White women featuring in videos raises eyebrows among foreign fans

July 06,2015

The appearance of Caucasian women in the K-pop scene has become noticeable in recent years. And no where is that trend more dominant than in the music videos of popular boy bands, especially those looking to appeal to a more global audience.

Yet, the increasingly frequent inclusion of Western women in such videos has begun to raise questions, some less comfortable than others, around the motivations for their employment, as well as accepted perceptions of race and sexuality.

Big Bang, one of the country’s top all-male K-pop acts, found themselves at the center of controversy after the release of the video for their song “Bae Bae,” which features the band interacting solely with white models and is rife with sexual innuendo.

The band’s more recent music video, for “Sober,” also includes the appearance of a white female in a sexually suggestive scene with one of the band’s singers.

But while those instances may not raise eyebrows among Korean fans, they have caught the attention of some foreign viewers.

A few of the comments written below the music video for “Bae Bae” from YG’s official YouTube channel touched upon the phenomenon, including one that directly questioned the band’s choice: “I love Big Bang, but why are all the women in this video white?”

White women also feature in popular boy band Shinee’s music video for “View,” in which the bandmates are shown drinking and partying with them.

When pressed, however, most entertainment companies were unwilling to expand on their reasons for including Western women rather than females of other races, saying that it was up to the viewer to decide.

“We do not provide detailed reasons behind Big Bang’s decision to include white females in their music videos because we want to leave the viewers free to interpret the clip,” said a source affiliated with YG Entertainment, the band’s talent agency.

Lending another voice was pop critic Ha Jae-geun, who said that the issue stemmed from the fact that Korean pop culture had developed and been heavily influenced by Hollywood and American trends in music and fashion.

“Under the American influence, Koreans have been making videos that are highly similar to those of Hollywood’s, and as a result, it has become natural for Koreans to portray white people in clips that are made in a more Western style.”

“Koreans don’t really raise or see racial issues in K-pop videos [because they are so used to seeing Hollywood-style videos of the same nature], so [it’s understandable that] these music videos may seem inappropriate to foreign people, who are relatively sensitive to race,” he added.

Ha also noted the global appeal of K-pop and the industry’s efforts to make inroads into foreign markets.

“Korean music videos are seen not only by Korean people, but also by people around the world [thanks to the rising popularity of K-pop bands].

“Creating clips that can be enjoyed by people around the world is more sensible, especially in terms of race and the inclusion of other races,” he said.

Still, the story takes a different turn when considering content by female K-pop groups, where white men - let alone men from other races - have rarely appeared in music videos.

In the majority of clips, the female members of the band, and sometimes Korean men, are the main features.

In the music videos for the girl bands under YG Entertainment, for example, hardly any Caucasian males appear, which is in stark contrast to those put out by the agency’s all-male acts.

That trend is evidenced, in particular, in the majority of the music videos by 2NE1, represented by YG, which mostly revolve around the band’s four members and sometimes feature one or two Korean men.

The same rule applies to Girls’ Generation, arguably the nation’s top girl band.

Although the group has released a number of music videos since their debut in 2007 and has global appeal, hardly any white males are to be found in their repertoire.

Perhaps one of the primary reasons behind the issue is that girl bands already have a set target audience, mostly Korean obba troop (a term describing Korean males in their 20s and 30s who follow girl groups), according to art critic Lee Taek-kwang, who also teaches at Kyung Hee University.

“Since their purpose as singers is to appeal to their main target [obba troop], who are attracted to this delicate but sexy female image [pervasive in Korean pop culture], most girl groups attempt to pursue such an image [through their music videos].”

But cultural perceptions around male attractiveness and masculinity also play a part, Ha said.

“Korean men don’t like seeing Korean girls hanging around with Caucasian men [because they perceive white men to be more attractive],” he said.

According to Lee, in that sense, it is only natural for girl groups to promote themselves as the main focus of their videos, particularly because, for their target audience, that in itself is usually enough.

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