Whaling and South Korea

I hate whaling, and everything associated with it

South Korea are whaling again. And I don't know how to feel about it

This week, South Korea have announced that they are going to begin "research" based whaling again, after having agreed to the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) 1982 moratorium. Now I am personally VERY opposed to whaling, for both commercial and scientific uses. I am a conservationist in general, a bit of a greenie and all round pro-environment. So when I heard that the county I was planning on moving to was taking up a practice that I find abhorrent I needed to rethink if this was somewhere I wanted to go. I know it sounds kinda extreme, but I am really quite passionate about certain environment issues and whaling sickens me. Will going over to Korea and having an awesome time make me a hypocrite?
In saying this, I actually do not know all that much about it. I know that whaling involves the killing of whales (duh) for the meat and blubber, and that Japan have gotten away with it through a loophole in the moratorium that allows whaling for scientific research. So I thought that i would try and have a closer look in the whaling in South Korea, and how I feel about the whole thing.

Whaling moratorium

In 1982 the IWC put forward a moratorium to ban commercial whaling. The stocks of whales in oceans all around the world were so depleted that there was really not enough left to sustain commercial whaling. Countries all over the world signed up to it, as they agreed that to save the different species something had to be done. Pretty much all whaling countries agreed to it, but there were a few who didn't. These included Iceland, Norway, Russia, and of course Japan. All these countries have continued whaling, Japan is the only country that claims scientific research the others simply do not care. 

Interestingly enough, many other countries allow their indigenous peoples the right to hunt whales... So in Canada if you are an Inuit then you are allowed the hunt whales. The sad part about this is now it is a massive tourist thing, to go on a traditional whale hunt. I guess some people feel really manly when they can shove their spears into and kill something that can't escape. 

Anyway, South Korea were in with the moratorium, and have been since I think 1986.

http://iwcoffice.org/conservation/rms.htm

South Korea and whaling

Apparently, in the past the people of Ulsan on the coast of Korea used to hunt whales for meat and all that. They claim it is part of their history and culture. Being a country surrounded by ocean I don't doubt this, I am sure whaling had played a part in their history. South Korea have been acting in good faith and accordance with the moratorium for all these years, following the rules and not whaling (a complete lie, but they were not out there actively hunting whales in international waters *cough Japan cough*). 

This week, the IWC had their annual meeting in Panama and discussed what was going on in the world of whaling. It was here that Kang Joon-suk, the delegate from South Korea, announced the country's intent on whaling. They claim that Japan has been hunting whales for their "research" program for years and Korea was now going to do the same. He said that they will not act as Japan does and flout international laws i.e. hunting in marine parks and sanctuaries, but they would only hunt whales that happened to swim into South Korean waters. 

A really good article is a BBC one - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18719512

The guy who wrote it reports on the meetings every year, and knows the players and the rules.

In a nutshell, South Korea want to start whaling again and they are looking for loopholes too. 

How to the Korean people feel?

I have no idea. I would imagine it is a mixed bag. The culture is different, many of these countries honestly don't see a problem with whaling. Its like fishing to them (which I also have an issue with, but thats another story), and if its in the ocean its fair game. But they would totally be hearing the international objection to this... A lot of people globally are opposed to whaling and environmentalism is getting more and more trendy every day. Being 'green' is cool right now. So even if they are feeling not committal about whales, they would have to be aware of how people view whaling around the world. Generally, people are pretty opposed to the friendly sea giants being slaughtered for meat and whatever else people do with dead whales. 

There are even reports from Japan that whale meat is not as popular as it once was - people are waking up and realising that its not cool to eat endangered animals. 

I have been thinking about this issue all week, and how it makes me feel. I want to know how the average Korean citizen feels about whales, and whales in general. Do they know they are protected? Do they like whale meat? Are they opposed to whaling? Do they have endangered species lists too? What is the Korean deal when it comes to protecting biodiversity? Do they have a plan?

it opens up a can of worms. And I am very curious about it. I mean, i'm not going to get over there and start preaching, but if I am responsible for teaching young kids English, maybe this is an opportunity to teach them something else... 

Its a bit like how Gen Y are all about climate change, and how to fix it. Do the young people of South Korea have a similar deal? Is there factions of the public who want change too? 

I think there would be. And if this is the case, then I am going to find them and make friends with them.

Change happens from the inside and works its way out. So I am going to go and plant seeds in the minds of young, impressional Korean kids about the negative impacts of whaling. And about being energy efficient, and being nice to their parents, and eating plenty of fruit, and all sorts of good things. And if a few pay attention then thats awesome! If they don't, then oh well I gave it a try. 

Something that i have learnt, is that you can only make an impact on your own space. And its up to you how big your space can be... So for me right now, my space is my friends and family and all that. I grew my space by making this blog, and it will grow even wider once I up and move countries. And I have a responsibility for it too, what I do and say affects what happens in my space. So if I can do something positive with it then I will. Or I will at least try. 

So, in summary, boo to whaling, and I am very disappointed in South Korea for wanting to take it up again. But I will treat this as a conversation started and learning topic, and go over there and tell people what I think. And hope i don't get deported.

xx