NakpyeongThe Environmental Problems and Movements in South Korea

8/14/2019 NakpyeongThe Environmental Problems and Movements in South Korea

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Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

The Environmental Problems and Movements in South Korea

Presented by Nakpyeong, Chairperson of the Executive Committee

(Gwanju Federation of Environmental Movements)

1. Introduction

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 was awarded to Ms. Wangari Maathai, a

Kenyan environmental movement activist. This was an exceptional case, as the Nobel

Peace Prize has normally been awarded to those who have stood out in the fields of movements for the promotion of human rights and democracy or for the eradication of

war and other conflicts. Ms. Maathais winning of the prize can be interpreted as amessage that environmental issues are now recognized as being as important as other

issues, such as human rights and democracy, and they are now problems that need to besolved for the peace and welfare of the whole world.

Are environmental problems truly being solved? Despite the Declaration of the

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, in 1972, and theRio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992, the environmental crisis of the world still continues. As the climate changes, global warming continues to proceed

and the glaciers on the polar areas continue to melt; the rain forests, or the so-calledlungs of the earth, are decreasing; the diversity of animal species is also diminishing.

Freshwater sources are severely contaminated and many people around the world suffer from water shortages, while at the same time the amount of toxic waste is increasing.

The developed countries, in particular, are abusing natural resources and energy throughtheir socio-economic system of mass production and conspicuous consumption. Thedevelopment policies of the 20 th century are, in fact, still in operation.

South Korea has some of the worst environmental and ecological conditions inthe world. Since the early 1960s the country has focused on policies for

industrialization, urbanization, rapid growth, and exports, and has achieved aremarkable economic growth. Behind the scenes of this rapid economic growth,

however, the destruction of the environment and damage to the ecology of the countryhas also proceeded at a rapid rate. Korea has experienced an unprecedented rapid

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development and growth which was accompanied by an equally rapid environmentaldestruction. Even with the appearance of the Roh Muhyeon Administration, the old

paradigm of growth and development still prevails. The Roh Administration supportseconomic growth as one of the most important elements for national competitiveness inthis time of globalization and neo-liberalism (new freedom).

Environmental movement organizations in Korea have carried out an active struggle

against the Roh Administrations development-oriented economic policies that do notshow any concern for the environment. Korean environmental organizations define the

current situation as an environmental emergency and are uniting in their efforts to

change the Roh Administrations policies. It is not yet quite clear how the governmentwill respond to the recent activities and demands of these environmental organizations.

The history of the environmental movement in Korea is not long. It can be said to have

started in the late 1980s and major environmental organizations, formed spontaneouslyin the early 1990s, are still in operation. Before the 1990s, the Korean society

concentrated all its efforts to change the authoritative military dictatorships andestablish democracy. Finally, social movements throughout the 1990s came to fruition

in realizing democracy in South Korea. The environmental movement in Korea startedto take root slowly in this social context.

2. The Environmental Problems in South Korea

South Korea is a country of 100.00 , 65% of which consists of mountains. It has a population of 47 million, four distinct seasons, and rainfall of 1400~1500mm per year.The country has the worlds fourth highest density of population. Owing to high

manpower and consistent economic development, the country has become the eleventhlargest economic power with a GNP of more than US$10,000 per person. The imports

and exports of South Korea have increased considerably: the country imports the fifthlargest amount of petroleum in the world; its car manufacturing industry and pelagic

fishery also rank the fifth in the world. South Korea ranks the seventh in the world interms of the number of nuclear plants, having 20 of them. As a result of this

industrialization, more than 85% of the population in South Korea is living in cities. In

the early 1960s, the country was a poor, agriculture-oriented country, with a GNP of

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US$ 200 per person. The amount of exports was less than 100 million US dollars.There were only about 30,000 automobiles in the country, and around 85% of the

population was living in farming and fishing communities. It has, however, achieved aneconomic growth at the rate of 5% per year, and has transformed itself into an urbanizedindustrial country.

Due to this economic growth, the country was able to overcome poverty and is

now enjoying a certain wealth and convenience. Housing is provided to more than 90%of the urban households and more than 13 million cars are on the roads (1 car per 3.6

persons). Korean companies have advanced into more than 170 countries across the

world, and the number of South Koreans who travel abroad has also consistentlyincreased.

In order to understand the environmental problems in Korea, one should first

understand the economic growth and the development policies of the country. In the past, the growth-oriented policies of the country were not concerned with the

importance of the environment or the ecology. Their only interest was growth anddevelopment. The dictatorships, which ruled the country for 30 years after the 1960s,

truly suited their nickname, development dictatorship. Those dictatorial authoritiestook any questions about the environment as challenges to their system and suppressedthem. The governmental policies, which could not last long, made indiscreet

developments prevalent. Without thinking, the general public followed thesegovernmental policies as development offered them chances of employment and were

thus a way to escape their poverty.

As a result of these development-oriented policies, the following environmentaland ecological problems have arisen in South Korea:

First, the injudicious land development was carried out consistently through projects to build cities, industrial parks, resorts with golf links, various roads and

harbors. This abusive development and further exploitation of the land has resulted infundamental transformations in the ecological environment of the country. A

considerable portion of the land was exploited to meet the goals of development andgrowth, and, consequently, the ecosystems of the forests and the foreshores have

suffered major damage.

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Second, mass production and mass consumption have become a part of dailylife in South Korea. The development and growth-oriented policies changed the South

Korean production-consumption structure in one stroke. In other words, the successfuleconomic growth was made possible at the cost of different natural resources, water resources and energy resources. For instance, in the case of petroleum, South Korea is

the fifth largest importing country in the world, and comes in as ninth in terms of thetotal emission of greenhouse gases. In the case of wood, South Korea is the second

largest importing country in the world, following Japan. This process of mass production and mass consumption has brought about diverse and complex ecological

and environmental problems.

Third, due to the consistent urbanization and industrialization, every city has

certain problems of environmental pollution. The overgrowth of the countrys capitalarea has become a serious problem that now confronts South Korea. South Korea might

well be the only country in the world where approximately 47% of the entire populationis concentrated in the capital area, as well as all the structures and functions of the

political, economic, social, cultural, and educational fields. It follows that all the citiesin the capital area are suffering from traffic-related pollutions such as air pollution, the

lack of green spaces, the difficulties of securing safe drinking water and anoverburdened hygienic refuse disposal system. The industrial parks in South Korea arealso confronted with serious problems of air pollution, toxic wastewater and other toxic

waste matters.

Fourth, although it is one of the biggest energy-consuming countries in theworld, South Korea has not put enough effort into preventing climate change. Korea

emits the ninth largest amount of greenhouse gases in the world and this over-consumption of fossil energy means an extreme and dense emission of air pollutantssuch as greenhouse gases. Despite these figures, the country does not seem to pay

enough attention to considering any viable alternatives.

Finally, South Korea has 20 nuclear plants and is the second country in Asia to put into practice an electric energy policy concentrated on nuclear energy. These

nuclear plants have been producing a huge amount of radioactive waste, even thoughthe country has yet to secure a permanent disposal site. Despite this, the South Korean

government is building even more nuclear plants. The nuclear energy issue, especially

concerning the problems of radioactive waste disposal sites, has been one of the biggest

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environmental issues in South Korea for the last 20 years.

Having been exposed to large-scale environmental pollution caused by abusiveland development, as well as to a mass production and mass consumption structure, andto rapid urbanization and industrialization, the people of South Korea are now

increasingly demanding safe drinking water, pollution-free food, and clean air in order to have healthy lives.

The South Korea government, however, has stated its determination to revive

the South Korean economy and is enforcing large-scaled development projects such as

the following: the Saemangeum reclamation project, which destroys the foreshore mud-field; the construction of radioactive waste disposal sites which are combined with

further construction of nuclear plants; the construction of roads which destroys theforest ecosystem; and the construction of large-scale dams to secure more water for

private and industrial consumption. The government also plans to accelerate thedevelopment of the Capital area, the construction of hundreds of new golf links which

will damage the forest ecosystem, and the construction of dozens of tourist and resorttowns.

Both the central government and the local self-governing bodies have specialsectors concerning environmental problems and allocate them a considerable portion of

their budget. The government seems to emphasize with a certain harmony among itscitizens and a safe environment, as well as development, and says that it will carry out

policies for sustainable development as adopted at the UN conference; its actual policies, however, still focus on economic growth and development. The South Korean

government is carrying out a so-called end of pipe administration, i.e., the ex postfacto measures, instead of planning preventive measures in advance. Theenvironmental policies of the government cannot control huge development projects. It

is, thus, very likely that the environmental problems that our generation is experiencingnow will continue in the future as these development-oriented policies will have grave

consequences for the environment and the ecosystem. For all these above reasons,South Korean environmental organizations feel compelled to carry out this struggle for

a better environment.

3. The South Korean Environment Movement Against the Development

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Dictatorship

Since last November, the environmental organizations in South Korea have been carrying out their struggle against the development-oriented policies of thegovernment through certain extreme measures such as a sit-down strike in the middle of

the streets of Seoul and a hunger strike. Major environmental organizations, both fromthe Capital area and the local areas, are putting forth a collective effort to achieve their

goals.

The major demand of the environmental movement organizations is the

withdrawal of the large-scale development plans that will certainly destroy theenvironment. They claim that the government should stop the above-mentioned

projects: the Saemangeum reclamation project, an energy policy that is dependent onnuclear energy, the construction of roads, golf links, and leisure towns that will further

degrade the environmental. The environmental movement organizations are demandingthat the government reinforce regulations and restrictions to preserve the environment,

and abandon their development-oriented policies.

The history of the environment movement in South Korea is not a long one. Itwas only in the early 1960s that the country started its full-out development and theenvironment movement came to the front only in the late 1980s. During the military

dictatorships the authoritative system did not allow any questioning, let aloneopposition to the governments policies for economic growth and development. With its

massive power behind it, the dictatorship pushed forward its development policy. Thiswas the so-called development dictatorshipa one-directional development,

development propelled through power and authority.

The major task of the Korean society at the time was to expel the dictatorial

authority and realize democracy in the country. Environmental issues could not attractenough attention as major social issues. The environmental organizations started to

form themselves only when the political society became democratized in the late 1980s.The general public also started to claim environmental rights as part of their basic

rights. This was because they were faced with severe environmental problems such aswhen, before and after 1990, several cases of large-scaled water contamination were

reported one by one. The mass media headlined the cases and drew the general publics

attention to the environmental problems.

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By the time of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992,

environmental issues had drawn much attention from the international community.Korea was not unaware of these issues and its nongovernmental organizations soughtinternational solidarity to deal with environmental problems at the global level. With

the vision of the Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development, which wasagreed upon at the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development Conference,

the organizations started to put on the brakes on the governments development-oriented policies.

At the moment, more than 500 environmental organizations are at work inevery corner of the country, forming a nationwide network. The organizations have

expanded at a rapid rate since the early 1990s, when there were only mere dozens of these organizations. In the case of the organization that I belong to, it started with 1

central unit and 7 local units in the early 1990s, but now has 53 local units. Throughthis case can be observed a phase of the environmental movements in Korea. Each

environmental movement organization has members and is run with the membersfinancial support. They have been coping with diverse environmental and ecological

problems, and different organizations have gotten together and carried out collectiveactivities. The following are some of the major examples of the environmentmovements and campaigns in South Korea:

First, the struggle against the construction of nuclear plants and radioactive

waste disposal sites, i.e. the struggle against nuclear energy in general, can bementioned here. Since the late 1980s, the environment movement organizations have

been demanding that the government change its energy policy, one which is verydependent on nuclear power. They have also opposed the construction of radioactivewaste disposal sites which are contingent upon the further construction of nuclear

plants. In spite of this, including the first nuclear plant built in 1978, altogether 20nuclear plants are in operation at the moment, producing a tremendous amount of

nuclear waste every year. Because of the organizations struggle against theconstruction of radioactive waste disposal sites, the government has not been able to

select a waste disposal site yet. The issue of nuclear plants and radioactive wastedisposal sites is and will be one of the biggest environmental issues.

Second, the save-the-energy campaign and the movement to introduce

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organizations have been coping with environmental problems through campaigns toreduce and recycle wastes, to encourage Green Consumption and Green Transport, and

to build green cities or ecological polis. These organizations have been carrying outdiverse publicity activities and educational programs. There have also been very activeinternational solidarity activities in the field of the environmental movement.

4. For the Sustainable Future

The 21 st century is said to be The Century of Environment. In this expression

is implied that the 20 th century was a century of environmental destruction, and that the21 st century should be a century to overcome this environmental destruction. It is also

implied that we human beings will have a future only when we overcome theenvironmental crisis.

Many environmentalists have been warning us that if the environmentaldestruction continues at the current rate the future of the world will be quite dark. This

can be easily seen in the global warming phenomenon. If global warming continues,unusual changes in the climate will also continue and the damages from drought, flood,

and typhoons will accelerate. The glaciers on the polar areas will melt, causing the sealevel to rise alarmingly. This, in the end, will have a direct influence on worldwideagricultural activities.

We need to overcome the environmental crisis. Then, how should we cope with

it? This is a very difficult task. The UN is recommending that every country aim to build an environmentally sound and sustainable society, as the destructive development

policies of the 20 th century should not be continued. Nonetheless, most developedcountries, including South Korea, are still carrying out unsustainable development

policies which give priority to the accumulation of national wealth. In the case of South

Korea, the unsustainable development policies can be observed in its land use, itsenergy policy, and its policy of economic growth. South Korea, in a word, will continue

to sacrifice its environment and ecosystem for its economy. This will be the same for the countries of the Third World.

The environment organizations, however, are making sure that they will

continue to carry out their campaigns to overcome the environmental crisis and to build

the sustainable future. One of their major efforts is to continue the struggle against the

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South Korean government. The governments unsustainable development policy, if continued, will further the environmental destruction, and eventually put an end to life

on earth. Environmental destruction is life destruction and it results in the deprivation of our basic rights. To secure safe and peaceful lives for our generation and the nextgeneration, i.e. to secure our sustainable future, the environment movement needs to

be carried on.

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NakpyeongThe Environmental Problems and Movements in South Korea