In Miryang, South Korea there are still many old school style villages who still like to keep all of their traditions alive and well. Many of these villages rely on their rice paddies and other crops that are planted in order to survive. At the same time there is the more modern side of Korea, looking to keep up with the world. Both are completely fine in my book, the issue that then has presented problems is the expansion of power lines from the modern into the lands of the traditional. These power lines would be "encroaching on the villages, including their burial grounds." These villages happen to be on the same route that a large "transmission route expected to distribute nuclear-generated electricity." Many towers have already been built with many more to come.
The villagers have been doing everything within their power to protest and keep these lines from being built. Acts of rare self-immolation, demonstrations in Seoul and a two-year sleep-in by older women who have built tents on the tops of mountains on the plots the utility company cleared for some of the towers are only some examples that these village people have and are doing. This is holding up a 166 billion dollar utility. I found it interesting that this story seemed to receive a lot of coverage in South Korea but as i continued reading the article make a good point of saying, "the story has grabbed headlines not only because it is a potent symbol of South Korea’s perennial struggle to reconcile its traditions with its hard-charging modern incarnation, but also because of a growing battle in South Korea over nuclear power." As we have seen in the past, Korea is certainly interested in nuclear power and are on the hunt for it.
I think it’s an obvious shame what these up to date people are doing to the villages. There are so few places like this in the world now that everyone is trying to technically compete with each other. Burial grounds especially would seem most upsetting for a country based on tradition considering that’s the history that has past on the tradition for generations. Bringing in nuclear-generated electricity would completely ruin their means of living a simple life and would force productivity and population to merge into their village. As the first article states, it is turning villagers against one another. So what’s even the worth of destructing this village. What makes it even worth it?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Valerie to an extent, however we live in a time of development and technology. If these power lines can bring more efficient power to all parts of the country I think it would be beneficial to continue with their plans. Yes culture and style of living need to be preserved, but in times of growth it is essential that a nation take every step it can to improve itself domestically in order to survive. I know this is a bit of an exaggeration, but what I am trying to get at is that sacrifices must be made in order to preserve the longevity of the nation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tanner. As terrible as it is, states need to constantly be looking forward. I feel that it is imperative that South Korea does whatever it must to maintain and improve economy, especially because of neighboring North Korea. SK needs to remain a strong, democratic state in order to establish a balance in the Asia Pacific. I believe that can justify sacrificing aspects of old culture. Surely there are negotiations that can be made. Possibly the villagers can be relocated while the power companies promise to avoid construction on burial grounds. Although this is a very serious issue in terms of the fatalistic determination of the villagers, I highly doubt this would be something that would evolve into something terribly violent. Great post though. It's pretty incredible that even in advanced and industrialized states there still exists stark differences in peoples' lifestyles.
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