tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post5330304751512837345..comments2024-03-18T07:07:53.346-04:00Comments on Ask a Korean!: Leftovers from 2014: The Nut GateT.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-50464431974037363052015-01-18T18:31:43.414-05:002015-01-18T18:31:43.414-05:00As a big fan of your Sewol write up (*easily the m...As a big fan of your Sewol write up (*easily the most cogent, best researched explanation by any English news source), I wish you had given this incident more than a perfunctory summary.<br /><br />I understand that the underlying incident seems trivial (an 11 minute delay would be an unattainable dream for Delta), but I think that it reveals some of the rot in modern Korea in a very obvious way, and that a little more detail would go a long way. Regulatory capture, malfeasance, incompetent government response followed by witch hunt, the herd mentality of Korean news outlets, the lack of protection for whistleblowers/witnesses, undue influence of the chaebol on every day life, ad nauseum.<br /><br />The incident is an allegory that writes itself- most Koreans are just anonymous bodies in cattle class in an aluminum tube who have no influence on the conditions of their journey. Meanwhile a spoiled moron with an unwarranted tantrum is really calling the shots. In the aftermath, the chief witness is bought off (woo hoo! from jr. flight attendant to university professor), the chief flight attendant's testimony is rewarded with blacklisting and the end of his career, and nothing really changes for the Cho family. Maybe she'll get a short prison term, be released astonishingly early (or pardoned for contributions to the economy) and then ascend back into some other executive position in another tentacle of the hanjin conglomerate. And of course there's the garden variety Korean regulatory capture of former airline executives at regulatory agencies passing information to their erstwhile employers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179422265341115960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-57824465125190408982015-01-09T15:32:39.365-05:002015-01-09T15:32:39.365-05:00My favorite headline was "going nuts over nut...My favorite headline was "going nuts over nuts". In all seriousness, I am lucky enough to fly Korean Air business class (not first class) between NY and Incheon pretty often and I have to say it's pretty sweet. The attention to detail is what makes the difference. However, the KAL executive did overreach her bounds with her reaction. I hope they throw the book at her, just to make an example. What a spoiled brat. Keep up the good work, TK. Peter the Eagles Fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06992502970689519100noreply@blogger.com