Korean Job Discussion Forums

[in_seoul_2003]

I'm a bit surprised that not many analogies are being conceived between what's going on in Afghanistan and what happened in Somalia. Is there a contradiction here? I don't remember the stories of hostages in Somalia being nearly as sensational as what's going on now. Could be wrong though. Does Afghanistan's more sensationalised global image simply work more in line with Korea's international nationalism? From an article written in April of 2007:

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/art_view.asp?newsIdx=690&categoryCode=142

A year ago on April 4, a gang of Somali pirates captured a South Korean vessel off the coast of their war-torn country, arguing the ship was illegally operating in their waters. The permit granted by the Somali transitional government was of no use. The transitional government, backed by neighboring Ethiopia and the United States, exerted no control over the region, where warlords and Islamic militias ruled.

It was the beginning of a 117-day ordeal for the 25 fishermen on board the South Korea-flagged tuna vessel. Eight were Korean, nine Indonesian, five Vietnamese, and three Chinese.
Now a book has been published, shedding light on the immense psychological and physical stress the captured seamen suffered. The book also enumerates on a few murky points in the long negotiation process between the Korean government, the ship's company Dongwon Fisheries, and the Somali pirates.

``People Who Got Lost at Sea'' (Padaeso Kirul Irun Saramdul, Bookhouse; 327 pp., 11,800 won) is jointly written by Kim Young-mi, the only Korean journalist who actually went to Somalia to interview the captors and captives, and Kim Hong-gil, an ethnic Korean Chinese crew member, who kept a diary during his captivity. Kim Chin-guk, who was the chief mate of the ship, also contributed by recounting his nightmarish memories.

While the kidnapping of the South Korean fishermen itself became headline-grabbing news here at that time, the decisive moment came only in July, when Kim Young-mi's footage showed tired and worn out fishermen 100 days after the seizure aired on MBC's current affairs program. After the TV program aired, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Dongwon Fisheries were attacked for their lackluster efforts to release the captives. Five days after the program aired, the ministry and the pirates struck a deal, and the Korean fishermen were released on July 30, returning home August 9.
The incident is now fading from the public's memory. For the fishermen and Kim, a freelance TV producer, however, the battle has not yet finished.

This week, a Seoul court ruled that MBC should air a counterargument from the Foreign Ministry, which has been arguing that the current affairs program showed a lopsided view, portraying the ministry as lagging in its negotiation efforts.

Kim Young-mi, wearing the vest, was the only Korean journalist who went to Somalia to cover the kidnapping. /Courtesy of Bookhouse
There has been rancor between the ministry and Kim, the freelance TV producer. When MBC decided to air her program, the ministry issued a statement asking why a nationwide broadcasting station should trust the judgment of a ``mere freelance producer.'' The officials did not respond to an interview request before the program, but filed a lawsuit when MBC refused to air their counterargument after the program.

There is no doubt, however, in the fact that Kim was closer to the captured Korean fishermen than the ministry officials, who were safely sitting in their hotel lobbies in Kenya or Saudi Arabia.

In the book, the 36-year-old producer writes about her motives for going to Somalia. It was a hard decision for her, even if she had experience in covering conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq. But when she saw footage shot by a foreign agency, in which the Korean crew could not express themselves due to the language barrier, she decided to go herself. Korean journalists hired at major media outlets did not go because their companies were reluctant to take risks.
When she finally arrived in Somalia via Dubai, Addis Ababa and Nairobi, her first task was to meet Sheikh Hassan Dahir, who was at that time an influential leader of the Islamic Courts Union. Wearing hijab (Muslim headscarf), Kim won support from the charismatic leader, who showed diplomatic skills and a concern for his country. He vowed to sweep away the pirates _ which he did two months later _ and provided bodyguards for the Korean producer as she journeyed to meet the pirates and the captives.

After an eventful journey to the Somali coast, she was shocked to see the forlorn fishermen, who were suffering after more than three months of maltreatment by the gun-wielding, grass-chewing pirates. ``During their capture, they were like people without a nationality,'' writes Kim. The fishermen were relieved and delighted to meet a compatriot at last. She was the first and possibly the last woman to have stepped onto their ship.

As for the fishermen's accounts, there is no trace of heroism. They are seamen, and not used to expressing their feelings eloquently. The diary entries of Kim Hong-gil are largely limited to wishes to see his family, expressions of hate toward the Somali pirates who robbed the crew and threatened them at gunpoint, and resentment against the Korean government for not coming to their rescue.
It is the fact that they are not heroes that troubles ordinary readers. The chief mate Kim Chin-guk bitterly asks, ``What is the Republic of Korea to us? What if we were not seamen, but people of another profession? Would they have left us that way for such a long a time?''
All the fishermen who were on the kidnapped vessel have quit going to sea now. No one received much compensation. Fighting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they are looking for new jobs, despite poor prospects. Sad.