So you probably know that one result of the visit was that President Lee agreed to reopen Korea's markets to the importation of American beef, despite concerns about mad cow disease. This was after Bush made Lee eat a steak.
Reading this news presented me with a bit of a conundrum. For some years now Erma and I have not been eating American beef, unless we are fairly confident that it is organic, natural, or otherwise not being fed ground up brains of other mammals. This is because of our suspicion that the beef supply isn't really safe in the US -- a suspicion that seems to be confirmed every few months by news of an infected cow or of unsanitary practices at slaughterhouses.
Thankfully, it looks like American beef imports into Korea won't begin until I'm safely home and within striking distance of a Whole Foods.
As it happens, the beef import issue came up in class on two different occasions last week, offering me two different Korean perspectives. The first teacher who mentioned it said that Korean were mostly pleased. They didn't want to eat the American beef, of course, but its presence on the market would hopefully drive down the prices of Korean and Australian beef, helping the average consumer. It was the meat industry people, said the teacher, who opposed the importation, since it would drive down prices and profits. And, of course, Koreans could still make sure to buy Australian or Korean beef at the markets. (Students eating at cheap restaurants would not have the luxury of selecting the source of their beef, though.)
We have three different teachers, who come on different days of the week. The second teacher also raised the issue. She said most Koreans were opposed. They feared that even if they bought Korean or Australian beef, it might be sliced up with a knife that had touched American beef. In short, there was no way to defend oneself against the possibility of infection by mad cow disease. (Not eating beef would probably never occur to most Koreans as an option.)
She said something else interesting. Most Koreans believe that Korean beef is of exceptionally high quality, and those who can afford it are willing to pay almost twice as much for it. But this teacher said that her husband suspects that Korean beef really isn't so great. Why? Because the Japanese, who are famously discerning in their beef choices, don't eat it. So he only eats Australian beef!
From what I can tell looking at the news media, the second teacher seems to be right: most Koreans are not pleased with the concessions made by President Lee. See, for example, this recent news item.
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