Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bossface]

in my opinion, Syngman Rhee. he could have changed the course of history after the Koren War. he could have recognized what a horrible idea it is to have a nation's capital and population center a stone's throw away from an unfriendly border. no other country in the world has such an important city in the shadow of such danger. Syngman Rhee should have moved the capital to Busan.

had Busan become the capital and primary metropolis, a lot of military logistics would have changed. if Seoul had morphed into a provincial backwater, NK's artillery would have been a much smaller threat, in fact it may have never existed at all if Seoul weren't important enough to destroy. If the North didn't hold the Seoul destruction trump card that it now holds, it would have never become the geopolitical menace that it is today.

on a lesser note, if Busan were Korea's cultural, musical, entertainment, political, and financial center as a result of becoming the capital in 1954, it would have been considered one of the world's great cities. imagine having Itaewon, Hongdae, Gangnam, Daehangno, Myeongdong, Yeouido, and ICN within a 20-30 subway ride of the beach. a Busan like that could have competed with the likes of Tokyo and Bangkok for international travel.

woulda coulda shoulda, i suppose this sort of argument doesn't matter much now.

[silkhighway]

Good point about what Busan could have been. However for the longest time neither the South nor North reckonized the other's right to sovereignty. I'm not sure they still do. Seoul is in the middle of Korea, so as a capital of a unified Korea it makes sense. I imagine nobody in 1945 would have thought the country would be divided and in a warlike stance for at least another 65 years. After all they are one people, one nation, or so they would have believed.

[redaxe]

Well, if you really wanna get down to the root of it, it's Lenin's fault.

[bobbybigfoot]

Interesting ideas, Op.

[jvalmer]

Can't just move a capital. Seoul was the capital well before the war and both side did all they can to hold onto Seoul.

[BoholDiver]

Hindsight is 20/20.

Seoul was Hansung before that time and it was the largest urban centre of thecountry south of the 38th. It seemed natural it would become the capital.

[silkhighway]

[jvalmer]

[wylies99]

[jzrossef]

[lifeinkorea]

If Busan were Seoul, you would have the same thing but in the south. I would prefer seeing a "4 corners" approach (Seoul Incheon, Gangwon?, Gwangju, and Busan) with a central hub band consisting of Daejeon and Daegu. Spread the wealth. Packing everything into Seoul or Busan, yuck, pooey, throw it out the window.

[northway]

[redaxe]

Well in some countries, it doesn't matter that much if you move the capital. The US has had like nine or ten different capitals in its short history.

But in Korea, the businesses and government are so interconnected (oftentimes in corrupt and unethical ways) that Seoul is not only the political capital but also the economic, educational, and cultural capital of the country. All the major businesses, government organizations, universities, etc. are headquartered in Seoul. About 50% of South Koreans live in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do. So it would be a BFD if they decided to move the capital.

A lot of countries have actually moved their capital far inland and basically constructed a new city from scratch for that specific purpose, to either discourage corruption, improve security, or help populate and develop an underdeveloped interior area. Brasilia would be a good example.

[redaxe]

[mc_jc]

Right now, it is the Chinese Politburo who is truly to blame.
They are refusing to reign in their ally in the north.

There is a lot of news reports where the Chinese are denying any influence over the North Koreans, but many of the main military trainers in North Korea are in fact CPLA soldiers and a lot of its modern equipment comes from China- North Korean rockets are made from Chinese components and built according to Chinese design.
Most of North Korea's natural gas and oil comes from China as well as many of the western luxury items used to reward ranking North Korean officials, are filtered into North Korea from both Macau and Hong Kong.

However, the US and Korea are also at fault as well. As I mentioned in another post- US, Korean and other aid provided from western NGOs have been diverted from the population to feed its 1.2 mln-strong military.

Also, a piece of irony- the Iran Millat bank that is situated downtown also has accounts from its North Korean clients, mostly from shell companies that do arms and technological sales in the middle east and southeast Asia. So, Korea is also at fault for allowing this bank to remain open even though it provides hard currency to the very people looking to destroy them.