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<DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Dear Dong-Hun Lee,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I hope the short article below may be some help to
you,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>though it is a few months old and I claim no special
expertise.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Its scope is wider than the GKW alone. Ar</FONT><FONT size=4>e
you also </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>covering the Four Rivers Restoration Project?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>There must be far more in Korean, e.g. NoCanal.org
.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>But even in English, and perhaps German, you can Google
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>your </FONT><FONT size=4>way towards the experts and then
contact them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>For instance, I think the GKW's moving spirit,
professor</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Yu Woo-ik, is now out of government and back at
SNU.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>As to critics, some are mentioned here:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/world/asia/12canal.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=korea%20canal&st=cse"><FONT
size=3>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/world/asia/12canal.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=korea%20canal&st=cse</FONT></A><FONT
size=4> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>There is a lot of discussion not only in obvious
places</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>like OhMyNews or the Hankyoreh - for instance</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=385405&rel_no=1"><FONT
size=3>http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=385405&rel_no=1</FONT></A><FONT
size=4> or</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/363115.html"><FONT
size=3>http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/363115.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- but also the mainstream </FONT><FONT size=4>right-wing
press, e.g.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/06/24/2009062400765.html"><FONT
size=2>http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/06/24/2009062400765.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>In my own fairly limited research, I found
<STRONG>BirdsKorea.org</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>very helpful and well-argued. For instance:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Grand_Canal/BK-HA-Grand-Canal.shtml"><FONT
size=2>http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Grand_Canal/BK-HA-Grand-Canal.shtml</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- And just for you, they also have this in
German!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Grand_Canal/BK-HA-Grand-Canal-de.shtml"><FONT
size=2>http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Grand_Canal/BK-HA-Grand-Canal-de.shtml</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>You'll find lots of other materials, links and contacts there
too.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I'm glad you are doing a feasibility study. The
government's</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>failure in that regard is, in my view, puzzling and
worrying.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Good luck!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Best wishes</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Aidan FC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 14pt" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Aidan Foster-Carter<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><FONT
size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology
& Modern Korea, Leeds University, UK
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Flat 1, 40 Magdalen Road,
Exeter, Devon, EX2 4TE, England, UK<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">T: (+44, no 0) <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>07970 741307 (mobile); <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">01392 257753<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Skype</I>: Aidan.Foster.Carter<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN-GB>E: </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><A
title=mailto:afostercarter@aol.com
href="mailto:afostercarter@aol.com">afostercarter@aol.com</A>,<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><A
title=mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com
href="mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com">afostercarter@yahoo.com</A><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>W: <A
title=http://www.aidanfc.net/ href="http://www.aidanfc.net"><FONT
color=#800080>www.aidanfc.net</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>------------------------</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<H4 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"
lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman"><STRONG>Draft Brief for Oxford Analytica
by Aidan Foster-Carter.</STRONG> <SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>Completed 17 May 2009</FONT></SPAN></I></H4>
<H4 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"
lang=EN-GB></SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"
lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN></I> </H4>
<H4 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"
lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><FONT
size=4>SOUTH KOREA: Rivers restoration project rekindles canal
controversy<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P></H4>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B>SUBJECT: </B><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The Lee Myung-bak administration’s
environmental infrastructure plans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B>SIGNIFICANCE: </B><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Critics claim the government’s ideas are
environmentally unsound, and a ploy to resurrect the president’s dream of a
nationwide canal network via the back door.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">ANALYSIS: </B>On April 27 President Lee
Myung-bak presided at the launch of an interim plan to upgrade South Korea’s
four major rivers: the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan. This is to be finalized
by end-May, with work starting in September after the rainy
season.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">The four river restoration project (4RRP) is a core part
of a 50 trillion won (37 billion dollar) ‘Green New Deal’ announced earlier this
year. Costing 14 trillion won, the 4RRP aims to:</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Provide more and better water. Two new dams and 13
reservoirs are to store an extra 1.25 billion cubic metres of fresh water by
2012.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* This, and dredging the river beds, are also meant to
improve control of seasonal flooding. The latter has worsened since the 1970s,
possibly because of the effects of industrialisation.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Amenites will include 1,411 kilometres of new cycling
paths, sprucing up cultural relics near the river banks, and general riparian
beautification for leisure and tourism purposes. </FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* It is hoped thereby to create some 190,000 jobs
directly and more indirectly, boosting local economies along the rivers and
contributing to more balanced regional development.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* New photovoltaic and small hydropower plants on or near
the four rivers, as well as larger green spaces, are supposed to reduce carbon
emissions by 100,000 tons annually.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Canal redux? </B>On February 26 prime
minister Han Seung-soo said “there should be no more controversy over this
project,” calling it “the backbone of our Green New Deal plan.”
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">However, this has not silenced claims that the 4RRP is
essentially a covert bid to revive Lee Myung-bak’s pet project for a ‘Grand
Korean Waterway’ (GKW): a 540 kilometre cross-country canal linking Seoul to the
port of Busan in the southeast, costing 16 trillion won.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">Mountainous and densely populated, South Korea has high
logistics costs. But few experts supported the GKW, fearing rather a white
elephant and ecological harm. Yet Lee persisted, <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>until forced to drop the idea last June
amidst a deepening political crisis caused by protests against US beef imports
and complaints that he was riding roughshod over public opinion.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Water shortage. </B>Among the varied aims
of the 4RRP, water shortage is a growing problem. Though South Korea’s yearly
rainfall of 1,274 millimetres is 30% above the global average, its dense
population means per capita water supply will fall to 1,199 cubic metres by
2025; the UN regards 2,000 as the safe minimum. Yet daily consumption per head
at 397 litres is the highest in OECD, suggesting a need for action at the demand
as well as the supply end.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Protest. </B>Environmental NGOs are
influential in South Korea. Their record includes:</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Holding up for several years construction of the
world’s longest seawall (see below).</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Delaying the last section of the KTX high speed rail
link from Seoul to Busan, now set to open finally in 2010. On April 23 the
Supreme Court convicted Venerable Jiyu, a Buddhist nun, for obstructing this;
most famously in a 120-day hunger strike in 2005 against a planned 13 kilometre
tunnel near her monastery, said to threaten the habitat of a rare salamander.
</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Green? </B>Ecological NGOs are predictably
sceptical of the 4RRP and its green credentials: </FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Birds Korea (BK) claims that the plans to dredge rivers
and build dams, weirs and bicycle paths will breach obligations under the
Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, to
both of which South Korea is a signatory.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* BK also argues that vegetated riverbanks, appropriately
supported, would be stronger and cheaper to maintain than concrete, as well as
more attractive for biodiversity and recreation.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Or again, silting and stagnation from dams will harm
rather than help water quality. Tap water potability has become a public concern
in recent years; bottled water sales have soared despite official insistence
that mains water is safe to drink. Water quality and quantity and flood control
alike would be better guaranteed by restoring natural flood-plain
wetlands.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Conversely, a construction-focused approach will
disturb and restrict water flows, destroy natural river beds and edges, reduce
biodiversity and risk long-term ecological damage.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Bulldozer. </B>Relatedly, critics query the
underlying perspective and priorities of this project:</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* President Lee is a former CEO of Hyundai’s construction
arm. Nicknamed ‘bulldozer’, he is viewed as espousing an old-school view of
development as covering nature with concrete.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* The construction sector, accounting for nearly 20% of
GDP, is suffering in the downturn. This affords an excuse for public works
projects as Keynesian stimulus, and for job creation. On this basis the 4RRP,
like the GKW before it, is popular in most of the localities affected, with
hopes of regeneration and new employment outweighing environmental
concerns.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* In Lee’s favour, his controversial removal of a raised
motorway to restore a long-hidden stream while mayor of Seoul is now applauded
as much improving the capital’s amenities.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Exempt? </B>There is disquiet that no full
feasibility studies have been done. Indeed, a 1999 law mandating such a survey
for all projects costing over 50 billion won was recently amended to exempt
works for “natural disaster prevention” – as the 4RRP is classified – from this.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Canal reduced. </B>Similar unease affects
another canal project, predating the GKW and still going ahead. On May 6
President Lee visited the site of the 18 kilometre Gyeongin canal. By 2011 this
will connect the Han river in Seoul with the port of Incheon on the Yellow
(West) Sea for cargo ships of up to 4,000 tons.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">Conceived in the 1990s, this idea was abandoned five
years ago amid doubts that it could be economic. In 2003 the Board of Audit and
Inspection (BAI) criticised officials for fudging a cost-benefit analyis by the
Korea Development Institute (KDI) to make it look viable. Lee revived the 2
billion dollar project, but doubts persist and KDI’s study remains
unpublished.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">[Green growth. </B>More broadly, on May 12
the Presidential Committee on Green Growth said 12.6 trillion won will be
invested by 2013 in green technologies, to create half a million jobs.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>4.2 trillion won will be spent on
Internet infrastructure, green IT products, and low-carbon transit systems,
while R&D into other various green technologies, such as high-efficiency
solar batteries and hybrid vehicles, will receive 8.4 trillion
won.]</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Seawall saga. </B>If precedent is any
guide, two relevant cases point in opposite directions:</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* Confounding early scepticism, upgrading of the Han
river in Seoul – initally for the 1988 Olympics – has been a success. The river
now is far cleaner and more attractive than before.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman">* However, the main recent precedent for large-scale
nature-remaking is discouraging. At 33 kilometres, Saemangeum on the southwest
coast is the world’s longest seawall, infilling an estuary and adding 400 square
kilometres of reclaimed land. This remains controversial:</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>* Begun in 1991, the wall was not finished
till 2006. Environmentalists opposed it, saying it would destroy some of East
Asia’s most important wetlands, crucial for migratory birds. In 2007 the RSPB, a
British bird protection body, reported that seabirds were starving there.<SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
size=4>* Conceived mainly to boost and placate the neglected Jeolla region,
which complained at missing out on major development projects, Saemangeum’s
precise purpose has never been agreed or clarified. Talk variously of industrial
or agricultural uses has come to little so
far.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
size=4>* Last year the area was designated a free economic zone (FEZ), again to
no visible effect. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB>* In March the central and provincial governments agreed to make
</SPAN>Saemangeum a “model green vacation spot”, international tourist resort,
or even “a Korean Dubai”. This latest twist appears no better thought out, nor
more likely to succeed, than its many predecessors.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB>CONCLUSION: </SPAN></B><SPAN style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB>Lee’s river restoration plan is ambitious and far-reaching.
Confidence that it will actually achieve its diverse goals would be higher if
feasibility studies had preceded it. If this goes ahead but proves to have
little or negative impact, especially on the environment, this will only cement
the president’s reputation for bulldozing projects without consultation, and
could work against the ruling party in 2012’s presidential and parliamentary
elections.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 8/26/2009 05:04:58 GMT Standard Time,
dong.lee@post.rwth-aachen.de writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Dear
list members,<BR><BR>maybe some of you can assist in my search:<BR><BR>I'm
currently writing my thesis about the Grand Korean Waterway which <BR>will be
a kind of feasibility report.<BR><BR>I don't know if there are any blueprints
(official ones) or stats or <BR>plans that deal about the canal (esp. Gyeongbu
Canal).<BR>So far I checked kwoonha.com and mltm website (Statistical
yearbook), <BR>and a bunch of reports which are so far not really useful to
me.<BR>My Problem is that although I'm a korean, I barely understand it since
I <BR>was born in Germany.<BR><BR>So if anyone has some english material about
that matter (reports, maps, <BR>detailed plans) I'd be very grateful. BTW: my
major is economic <BR>geography and the focus will be here on transport
geography.<BR><BR>If you have questions please mail.<BR><BR>Sincerely Dong-Hun
Lee<BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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