• The Southeast Asian review
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.21-51
• /
• 2018

This article takes several approaches in explaining recent developments in Vietnam. First, it draws upon an array of sources that idealize Vietnam's embrace of capitalism and integration into the global market in order to sketch out its economy's progress in 2017. Second, it observes, evaluates, and diagnoses recent changes in the Vietnamese economy in the medium to long term by incorporating conflicting perspectives on Vietnam's performance as a capitalist country. Third, this article traces the power shifts that have risen from internal struggles in the Communist Party over political and social issues. Fourth, it elaborates on the aforementioned impact that foreign relations have had on socio-political developments in Vietnam, as well as the government's response. In so doing, it also attempts to evaluate, however briefly, the significance of the 25th anniversary of South Korea-Vietnam relations. Finally, it examines the public's reaction to the post-reform transitions in light of recent sociocultural changes. 2017 was a memorable year for Vietnam: a continuous march toward capitalism; the resulting expansion of the Vietnamese people's demands; political controversies and government control; the looming instability of United States-China relations and various attempts to address the situation. These events will inevitably replicate themselves in the future as the ostensibly socialist Vietnam adopts a capitalist model. The problem is that it is unclear whether these experiences will continue with the consent of the people of socialist Vietnam or engender resistance. It is difficult to achieve meaningful consent in the status quo of worsening inequalities, widespread corruption, monopoly on power, and sustained use of unskilled low-wage workers. In other words, when concerns such as welfare, public health, and the environment are set aside in favor of economic development and commercialization as they have been, discontent, rather than consent, will prevail. It is thus important to keep a watchful eye on the viability of the nominal economic growth, surface-level political stability, and strategic responses to foreign relations that took place in 2017.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.37-53
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this research is to find what difficulties the agricultural successors, the Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries (KNCAF) graduates, face with in implementing eco-friendly agriculture in Jeju, and what solutions they can be provided with. This research, a case study on the basis of open-ended survey questions, has 6 cases out of 8 graduates who have or had implemented eco-friendly citrus farming. In Jeju, 24 graduates have involved in citrus farming. According to the case study, only one case was environment-friendly farming method at the pesticide-free level, and the others at organic farming level. All the cases have tried to alter main crops or to diversify management for coping with global climate change and market-opening. On analyzing operating cost to gain product of merchantable quality, it revealed that the environment-friendly farming method needs much more managing efforts than the conventional farming does. But to the contrary, the materials cost in the environment-friendly farming method was lower than in the conventional farming method. In the total production and the price, the environment-friendly farming was 20~50% lower and 10~50% higher than the conventional farming, respectively. Difficulties which the graduates confronted with in implementing the environment-friendly agriculture are as below. Firstly, many of the difficulties have resulted from lack of the environment-friendly farming techniques, and the high cost of farm scale improvement due to high price of land and topographical features of Jeju. Secondly, the agricultural successors, the KNCAF graduates, have trouble in obtaining approval of their parents to changeover from the conventional farming to the environment-friendly farming. Lastly, there is no advisory organizations and experts for environment-friendly farming in the given area. For shift to the environment-friendly farming, followings are needed. Agricultural Technology & Extension center, with cooperation of leading farms in environment-friendly farming, should have a key role in offering education and consults on the environment-friendly farming techniques. Also, this organization should inform rapidly the research results to the farmers, and their feed-back should be involved in the next research. Therefore, it is suggested that the forum called 'Environment-friendly Organic Farming Forum in Jeju' tentatively is organized.

• Economic Analysis
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.70-119
• /
• 2021

This paper analyzes the changes in financial reform during the Kim Jong-un era based on North Korean literature. We find that North Korea has systematically and functionally separated the central bank from commercial banks since the Kim Jong-un era began. In addition, enterprises have been allowed to withdraw cash from bank accounts and make inter-enterprise cash payments. In other words, nowadays non-cash currencies with passive money can partially serve as active money with purchasing power. With the systematic and functional separation of the central bank and the commercial bank, the issuance of the central bank changed to a money supply method through the commercial bank, and changes in the currency distribution structure have allowed commercial bank's credit creation function to be implemented. This means that the banking system and the monetary·payment system of the socialist planned economy are changing in the way of the market economy. Reforms in the financial sector are believed to have been necessary to support changes in the economic system and to restore the function of the public financial sector. These changes have progressed in terms of the level of reform, but they are still considered similar to the period of the former Soviet Union's Perestroika or to the early period of China's reform and opening. Although North Korea's financial reform is superior in terms of enacting the banking law, it is insufficient in terms of realizing the functions of commercial banks. In addition, it is assessed that institutional constraints such as maintaining a planned economy, and the lack of confidence in public finances limit the effectiveness and development of the financial system. It should be noted that these results are based on literature published in North Korea. In other words, there is a limit in the fact that such recent changes have been carried out on a trial basis in some areas, or have been carried out in a full-scale manner with a blueprint, since Kim Jong-un's inauguration.