The Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs hosted a forum yesterday designed to present multiple perspectives of the United States’ past and present relationships with North and South Korea.
The “Korean Conundrum” included two separate panels of representatives from the University, state government and private businesses that discussed the political and economic relationships between the United States and North Korea.
The first panel included mass communication Associate Professor David Perlmutter, Stephen Costello from ProGlobal, Inc. and mass communication Professor Bradley Martin, whose recent book, “Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty” has been hailed nationally as one of the finest books written about North Korea.
Perlmutter spoke about the history of U.S. relationships with both North and South Korea, focusing on the Korean war.
The United States was not prepared when it entered a war against North Korea in 1950, Perlmutter said. The Korean War became a “catastrophe” for everyone except North Korean communist dictator Kim Il-Sung.
Perlmutter said much of American media coverage was vague and overly-optimistic about the Korean crisis.
American media told the public that North Korea was not a big threat to national security, Perlmutter said. The media also assured Americans that China would not interfere in the conflict, and if it did, America could easily beat its army.
Despite all these assurances, 34,000 American soldiers died in the Korean war before North and South Korea signed an armistice in 1953, Perlmutter said.
Martin emphasized that North Korea is still an enemy of the U.S. because it never signed a peace treaty.
Shortly after terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush identified North Korea as one-third of the world’s “Axis of Evil,” along with Iraq and Iran.
Martin said Bush, other officials and the media shape Americans’ popular perceptions of North and South Korea because most Americans are not exposed to its culture themselves.
After Bush identified North Korea as “evil,” more and more Americans began to think the same way, Martin said.
Martin said he is most concerned about media coverage that demonizes North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il and suggests he is insane.
Such negative coverage will discourage people from making peace with North Korea, Martin said.
Costello said the government has had a great deal of control over the press in that country since the Korean War.
“South Korea had to demonize North Korea,” Costello said.
Costello said South Koreans did not trust the press for a long time after the Korean War because they believe the press manipulated war coverage.
“There is now a far more open media climate in South Korea,” Costello said, adding that the media will play a large role in the upcoming presidential election in South Korea.
The second panel included Rachel Poytner from the Office of Korean Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, Brian Chapman from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development and Guy Barone from Xenetech, Inc.
This panel discussed North Korea’s economic relationship with the U.S.
Poytner said the United State’s relationship with South Korea is strong and helps build a good military relationship as well.
South Korea has begun initial discussions with the United States about possible free trade agreements, which would be very important to Louisiana because it has a large port, Poytner said.
The U.S. and South Korea traded 27 billion dollars worth of exports last year, Poytner said. Louisiana alone exported 727 million dollars.
Chapman said 18 percent of Korean overseas direct investment was in the U.S. last year.
Many economic experts say Korea has the potential to become an economic superpower, but Chapman said he is unsure.
“We will certainly be watching the Korean market closely,” Chapman said.
Sara Taylor, an international studies and French senior, said she thought the forum was interesting and informative.
“I didn’t know any details about North Korea before,” Taylor said. “I feel like I know a lot more.”
Bobby Kwok, an international studies senior, said he enjoyed most of the forum.
“I wasn’t that interested in all the economics,” Kwok said. “But I did learn a lot more about the country.”