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Viewing cable 08SEOUL496, BUSAN NOT AS FAR FROM NORTH KOREA AS YOU MAY THINK

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08SEOUL496 2008-03-13 04:08 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Seoul
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0496/01 0730408
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130408Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8886
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3953
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4097
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 8571
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2543
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP
UNCLAS SEOUL 000496 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KS
SUBJECT: BUSAN NOT AS FAR FROM NORTH KOREA AS YOU MAY THINK 
 
1. (U) This message is from the American Presence Post (APP) in 
Busan, Korea. 
 
2.  (U) SUMMARY:  Despite an apparent lack of attention to North 
Korean issues, the port city of Busan is home to several key players 
in the expansive realm of North Korean issues.  While Busan is home 
to one of the leading academic commentators on North Korea, there 
are few academic programs available to students here.  The NGO group 
that started the medical clinic in the Kaesong Industrial Complex 
was founded in Busan and originally staffed exclusively by volunteer 
doctors from the founding city.  A candidate for the National 
Assembly in Busan received national media attention as he based his 
platform on human rights in North Korea and greater efforts to 
secure the release of abductees being held in the North.  However, 
the print media in Busan lacks credibility and insight into North 
Korea leaving interested citizens looking to Seoul periodicals as 
their primary source of information on the topic.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ACADEMIA 
-------- 
 
3.  (U) Secondary education in Busan remains a vibrant industry that 
continues to grow to meet the demand of Busan residents.  There are 
12 four-year universities in the city, one of which, Pusan National 
University, was formerly regarded as the top university in the 
country.  Despite the thriving academic community in Busan, no 
school has a North Korean studies department.  (It is worth noting 
that there are only a few of these programs even in Seoul. The top 
North Korea program is at Kyungnam University whose main campus is 
in the southeastern province with the same name, but the school of 
North Korean studies is actually located in Seoul.) 
 
4. (U) There are a handful of professors in Busan that consider 
themselves North Korean experts. The leading North Korean professor 
in Busan is actually an American, Brian Myers, who made a name for 
himself as an expert on North Korean propaganda.  Myers taught for 
several years at Korea University, one of the top three in Korea, 
but made the move to Dongseo University where he had the opportunity 
to be a dean at the International Studies department, a position 
that he says would never be offered to a foreign professor in Seoul. 
 
 
5.  (U) Myers told us that he finds it challenging to maintain his 
"edge" as a North Korean expert while being separated from the 
mainstream of this issue that remains in Seoul.  Myers has to travel 
back to Seoul several times per month where he pores over KCNA (the 
DPRK's official media outlet) articles and other North Korean 
periodicals that are collected by the Ministry of Unification's 
Information Center on North Korea in Seoul.  In addition to the lack 
of research facilities related to North Korea, Myers said that all 
of the symposiums and conferences are held in Seoul which also 
limits Busan's students and professors who may be interested in 
North Korean issues.  For now, Myers said it was very unlikely that 
any of the schools in Busan would find a reason to launch a North 
Korea program and most schools will be satisfied to offer a handful 
of North Korea-related classes. 
 
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
------------------------------ 
 
6.  (U) For those in Busan who choose to donate their time and 
talents to help North Koreans, proximity to the DMZ or to Pyongyang 
is not a driving factor.  Green Doctor is an NGO that an eye doctor 
in Busan named Cheong Gun started.  Dr. Cheong, like many who are 
eager to assist North Korean residents, is motivated by his religion 
and his desire to help those in need.  Cheong began to make a 
significant impact in North Korea when he opened a medical clinic 
inside the Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2006.  The clinic is small 
by any standard, only measuring 360 square meters.  There are three 
full-time South Korean doctors stationed at the clinic, each 
specializing in a different area.  The clinic is open to any of the 
North Korean workers employed at the KIC and is considered better 
than most medical care facilities available elsewhere in North 
Korea.  To date, the clinic has treated over 60,000 workers in its 
short period of operation.  Dr. Cheong said it was tough going at 
the outset because the North Koreans were suspicious about the group 
due to its English name and suspected ties to the U.S.  The turning 
point came when the Vice Mayor of Kaesong was overcome by fumes and 
was rushed to the clinic to receive oxygen treatment, not available 
anywhere else in Kaesong.  The Vice Mayor was cared for and the 
clinic had proved its value to the DPRK leadership. 
 
7.  (U) In addition to originally providing all of the volunteer 
doctors to staff the KIC clinic, Busan is also responsible for a 
sizable portion of the financial contributions needed to fund the 
clinic and other efforts in North Korea.  Dr. Cheong estimated that 
80 percent of the funding for his group came directly from Busan 
residents.  (Note: The Ministry of Unification also contributes USD 
40,000 per year to the Green Doctor organization in support of the 
clinic.  End Note).  Cheong said that he has received USD 3 million 
in pharmaceutical donations from local drug companies.  Green Doctor 
relies heavily on financial donations from Christian churches and 
Buddhist temples but also receives smaller amounts from private 
citizens.  For his next effort, Cheong plans to open a 150-bed 
hospital in Kaesong City where he could serve common citizens in 
addition to KIC workers.  To make this dream a reality, Dr. Cheong 
will once again look to the people of Busan for support.  He is 
confident they will respond. 
 
 
POLITICS 
-------- 
 
8.  (U) As surprising at it may sound, one Busan native started a 
run at a National Assembly seat primarily on a North Korea platform. 
 Do Hee-yoon is the president of the Citizen's Coalition for Human 
Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, or CHNK for short. 
CHNK is a loose coalition of 25 groups, most of which have a 
religious orientation.  Do grew up in Busan in the relatively 
undeveloped and poor Kangseo district.  In the run up to the April 9 
parliamentary elections, Do said the GNP asked him to prepare to run 
for the seat in his district if the incumbent, Chung Hyung-keun, was 
not able to run.  In the end, it was decided that Chung would be the 
GNP candidate in the district but not before Do had launched his 
campaign and made news as a "North-Korean activist" who was running 
for office. 
 
9.  (U) Do explained that his platform was based around the need for 
the National Assembly to do more to secure the release of abducted 
South Koreans who are being held in North Korea.  The majority of 
abductees that the South claims are being held by the North are 
fishermen who were captured after wandering into DPRK waters.  Do 
claims that about one third of these abductees are from Busan 
thereby making this issue important to the people here. 
 
10.  (U) Another connection between Do's district and North Korea is 
the increasing number of North Korean defectors who are being 
resettled there.  Mostly due to the large number of inexpensive 
apartments in the district, Do said that approximately half of the 
600 defectors who live in Busan reside in his district.  Although 
there are a host of services available to defectors living in the 
Seoul vicinity, Do lamented that there is less support in Busan and 
he hopes to change that if he is able to one day claim a seat in the 
National Assembly. 
 
MEDIA 
----- 
 
11.  (U) If you were to only look at the print media in Busan as an 
indicator of interest in North Korean affairs, you might draw the 
conclusion that Busan is more than 392 miles away from Pyongyang. 
Busan Ilbo's International News Editor, Lim Sung-won, told us that 
North Korean issues are just as relevant and applicable to the 
residents of Busan as they are to the residents of Seoul.  Lim's 
claim is upheld when you compare the North Korean editorials 
appearing in the Busan Ilbo to those in the Chosun Ilbo, the leading 
daily in Seoul.  Although the frequency of North Korean editorials 
is generally the same in the two papers, Busan Ilbo focuses on 
specific events while the Chosun focuses more on overall policy 
debate.  It is clear in talking with ordinary citizens in Busan that 
the Busan Ilbo is not considered as a serious source for North 
Korean news.  For those who are interested in more than local 
issues, many choose to subscribe to one of the larger papers based 
in Seoul such as the Chosun Ilbo or the Joong-Ang Ilbo. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
12.  (U) There are almost an endless number of facets to North 
Korean issues.  Ranging from human rights to nuclear proliferation 
to concern for fellow Korean "brothers", every South Korean who is 
interested can find a North Korean issue to take to heart.  It is 
not surprising to find several groups and individuals who are making 
significant contributions to better understanding of North Korea in 
Busan, South Korea's second largest city.  That said, the North 
Korea policy brain trust is not likely to ever shift into the 
outlying areas as the flow of students and professors continues 
toward Seoul.  The people of Busan appear to be content with 
providing in-kind service and financial contributions while leaving 
the heavy academic lifting to Seoul.