To Flee Communism and Starvation

In 1990s 3,000,000 North Koreans are reported dead from starvation. People from North Korea escape their communist country to seek for better life. Although geographically South Korea is the closest country, for the separation of one country to two there is a very strict military-only area which makes it almost impossible to cross. Therefore the escapees often go to China. The Chinese government failed in counting the exact numbers of the escapees from North Korea, but it has been reported to be about 100,000-200,000 according to UN.


The escapees from North Korea who enter the Chinese land become illegal residents. The Chinese government has made secret agreement with the North Korean government, first in 1960s, then made it official in 1986, on forcefully repatriating North Korean escapees. Even the ones who manage to avoid the eye of the government either work under cruel conditions with no pay. In case of women escapees, most often they get married with a Chinese man or are sold for prostitution.

It is understandable that both Chinese and South Korean government cannot be ‘pro-escapees’ for political burdens and issues -situation in overwhelming number of escapees or aggravation of relationship between two countries. However, South Korea has been more ‘sympathetic’ towards the escapees since they are dreaming of the reunification of North and South. Those few who make to South Korea either from China or from North Korea do qualify for special protection under the South Korean government. The escapees who enter the South Korean land go through series of investigation by the National Intelligence Service, then are educated for three months at Hanawon, the education facility for domiciliation. When they graduate, the escapees can start a ‘normal’ life as they are offered a leased housing in the area they choose. They are also given about government aids of about $30,000 per person for housing and domiciliation, and are guaranteed identity protection for 6 months.

This issue might seem like a political, social and economical one, but what can a designer contribute to make the situation better? First step was made in late 2004, five years since it opened; barbed wire entanglements which were surrounding Hanawon, the facility for domiciliation were removed and replaced with securities cameras. Although the barbed wires were for the protection for the escapees, the image depicted was an asylum. The result was praised Hanawon felt more welcoming for escapees and it would help them to feel more comfortable for their new domiciliation.

But what more can be done?

Image 1: Escapees held in China

Image 2: Hanawon

Climate Change Produces Environmental Refugees: Shishmaref, Alaska

Throughout history, social injustice and political unrest necessitates migratory movement as social communities relocate within their own country or flee to neighboring countries in search of safety. For those persons “forced to leave their country because of persecution or armed conflict,” the Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) grants them refugee status to secure their safe entry onto foreign soil.[1] While the UNHCR traditionally deals with such refugee cases, the past few decades present the UNHCR with a different type of refugee—an “environmental refugee.”

E. El Hinnawi initially coins the term “environmental refugee” in the 1970’s to describe “ ‘people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of marked environmental disruption…that has jeopardized their existence and/or seriously compromised the quality of their life.’” By deeming such people as “refugees,” political debates challenge the term’s meaning because it implies the need for states to provide asylum for those given “refugee” status. While environmental catastrophes often displace communities both temporarily and permanently, the effects of global climate change arguably draw a clear distinction between environmental “migrants” and “refugees.”[2]

For the 570 Inupiaq people living on the Alaskan island, Shishmaref (located in the Chukchi Sea five miles from the Seward Peninsula coast and twenty miles from the Arctic Circle), rising sea levels and warmer temperatures[3] incite migratory displacement as the inevitable solution.[4] With ice forming over the sea later in the fall and dissipating earlier in the spring, the small island (only a quarter of a mile wide and three miles long) loses its only means of protection from violent storm surges, which destroyed 20 feet of the island’s northern edge in 2007 and produced twelve-foot waves in 2001. While compromising the narrow landmass only 22 feet above sea level, temperature increases also place their indigenous hunting industries at stake because animals are migrating northward in search of colder climates.”[5]

In addition to threatening their native cultural heritage that dates back four thousands years, the prospect of relocating the entire village to the mainland comes with a formidable price tag of an estimated 200 million dollars or 330,000 dollars per person. This number also applies to close to two hundred Arctic villages similar to Shishmaref. While the issue receives attention from federal to local levels of government, funding cannot accommodate the costly needs driven by landmass erosion. For the former nomadic natives, the issue of relocation would not pose significant challenges, but the island’s “school buildings, airstrips, roads, and washeterias keep once-nomadic people anchored in place.”[6] Due to the global scope of climate change, people across the world become “environmental refugees.” Failure to adequately address the problem could force a predicted 150 million people (by 2050) to leave their homes and traditions in search of safety and resources. Thus it becomes increasingly critical to address the chain reaction of “environmental scarcity [which] causes large population movements, which in turn causes group identity conflict [and] economic deprivation, and disrupts social institution, leading to ‘deprivation’ conflicts.”[7]

Posted by: Linnea Cook

[1] Antonio Guterres, "Millions Uprooted Saving Refugees and the Displaced," Foreign Affairs 87 (2008), Wilson Web,
Libproxy, New School. 24 Oct. 2008.
[2] "Environmental Refugees," In Immigration and Asylum from 1900 to Present, Ed. Mathew J. Gibney and Randall
Hansen, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005, Credo Reference, Libproxy, New School, 25 Oct. 2008.
[3] According to Alaska Climate Research Center temperatures have increased over the past 50 years by 3.5°F and
6.3°F in winter
[4] Lempinen, Edward W., ed, "In Arctic Alaska, Climate Warming Threatens a Village and Its Culture" Science 27 Oct.
2006, AAAS News and Notes, AAAS. 24 Oct. 2008 .
[5] Kolbert, Elizabeth, "The Climate of Man-I" New Yorker 81 (2005): 56-71, 4 Nov. 2005, Academic Search Premier,
New School, 6 Dec. 2007.
[6] Beth Bragg, "Villages Endangered by Global Warming," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 4 Nov. 2007: A-2.
[7] “Environmental Refugees.”

“What Happens Here Stays Here”: Destination Las Vegas

How does a place become a destination “that everyone is talking about”? What types of people does that place attract and why do they talk about it more than another place? For Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) avidly works in conjunction with the state of Nevada to fund marketing and construction projects that will maintain the city’s backbone—tourism.[1] Considering that 39.2 million tourists create an “economic impact” of 41.6 billion dollars last year, the city’s success depends on design (graphic, architectural, interior, product…) to shape it into a “destination” both physically (as a plastic, florescent, and artificial “adult playgroup”[2]) and psychologically in the minds of target consumers.
Initially, LVCVA’s ad agency, R&R Partners, uses travel agencies across the US to promote Las Vegas as a vacation and conference destination. In doing so, they offer travel packages and recommendations for the city’s luxurious hotels, casinos, restaurants, outdoor strip malls, and impressive live performances. While this strategy sells Las Vegas to vacationers, gamers, and businessmen alike, it fails to successfully brand Las Vegas.[3]
Continuing to advertise within the US, R&R releases the well-know ad campaign slogan in 2003, “What happens here stays here.” While domestic efforts to endorse Vegas sustain travel interests, the current economic crisis across the US negatively impacts tourist frequency and stunts the city’s expansion construction projects.[4] As a result, a new branding strategy targets travelers internationally. Beginning with Canada, R&R collaborates with Toronto’s Aerial Communications Group to generate interest among Canadians. In order to give Vegas an international face-lift, the ad campaign aims to evoke in consumers an emotional response that assimilates the rich sensory experience of Las Vegas. In addition to the slogan “Your Vegas is Showing,” television ads, and promotional events in Canada, a website offers information about the city’s attractions, events, and travel accommodations, which has the potential to reach a much broader global travel community.[5]

Posted by Linnea Cook

[1] “Tourism Key to Las Vegas’ Success (Special Report: Destination Marketing Organization),” Nation’s Cities Weekly
31.19 (May 12, 2008): 7(1), General OneFile, Gale, The New School, 17 Oct. 2008 .
[2] Jeromy Lloyd, “Tales of Two Cities,” Marketing Magazine 113.10 (Jan 16, 2008): 19, General OneFile, The New
School, 17 Oct. 2008 .
[3] Ibid.
[4] Lisa Jennings, “Hard Luck Befalls Las Vegas Following U.S. Housing Bust: Restaurateurs in Sin City Bet on
Continued Building as a Way to Keep Tourists, Convention Visitors Coming (Hard-Hit Markets: Part 5 in a Series),” Nation’s Restaurant News, 42.37 (Sep 22, 2008): 1(2), General OneFile, Gale, The New School, 17 Oct. 2008 .
[5] Jeromy Lloyd, “Tales of Two Cities,” 19.

South Korea

There are many victims in countries who goes through human trafficking and suffer. South Korea is one of the countries. South Korean women and girls get trafficked for comercial sexual exploitation in the U.S and other countries. On the other side, women who gets trafficked from Russia, Ubekistan, Kaakhstan, P.R.C, Philippines, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries gets sent to South Korea for sexual and labor exploitation. Most of the victims come from people who looks for job opportunities in other countries.

In South Korea, some women were trafficked to become brides of the men in South Korea, and girls were trafficked for child sex tourism. Some victims become prostitutes and it's the same for children. Being trafficked for marriage seems to be intriguing to me than women trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation, since the women don't really get a choice to whom they get married to. South Korea is now trying to help those who gets trafficked, especially victims from other countries. South Korea is one of the countries where a lot of travelers go to, for tourism, and I think that a traveler or a designer should know about it or visit to see if any kind of design or anything can help the victims.

Buzz

When the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened in 1997, newspapers, television and architecture journals produced the images and opinions that made so many people—architects and not—feel that they HAD to see it. Nowadays, often the first stop for the latest irresistible objects is a blog like Dezeen or Design Observer. On a more institutional level are the many yearly fairs of art, design, and architecture—in Miami, Milan, Stockholm, Tokyo, Venice, New York (see Open House New York), and many other cities. Needless to say, designers and architects tend to go—if they can.

What does it feel like to "have to see" something? What things or places give you that feeling, or seem to you to have become points of reference—a place everyone wants to have been?

Necessity

Up to this point we have considered reasons to travel that could be called "motives of the traveling designer." This week, we contemplate the world in which the designer works and travels. The voluntary trip—to say nothing of the dream or luxury voyage—is just one kind of travel. Some people travel because they have to, to find work or freedom or to escape oppression. Some are forced into travel, or invited to travel and then held against their will.

Concluding a good trip, it is common to feel for a while as though the world has changed. Yet one could argue that far from being an exceptional experience, travel defines the world we live in. A study of the Grand Tour might examine its relationship to the slave trade between Europe, North America and Africa—and countless other paths or "flows" of people moving in, through, across, cultures in past times. If the freedom of a designer "on tour" contrasts with the necessities that govern many kinds of travel, to plan a trip is to approach a complex human landscape. What if we contemplate the various kinds of necessities that govern the flows of people that make up a culture—in contrast to the static entity a culture may be thought to be?

In the article we have as a resource this week, Arjun Appadurai aptly describes the world in terms of flows (i.e. the "ethnoscapes"). More important, he asserts that imagination—by filmmakers, writers, and other artists—plays a crucial role in defining the terms that draw people from one place to another, the way they see one place or another. And what about designers? A designer imagines. To think of the world as flows of people driven by imaginary images and mythical objects may be a good first step in overcoming the apparent helplessness of design in the face of inequality, suffering, poor distribution of resources, and other issues seemingly determined by social and political realities.

What can a designer contribute to a situation in which the movements of people are bound by necessities? Might there be specific places, like Lampedusa or Guantanamo Bay—or Dubai, or New York—in which design is entangled with politics and geography in a way that exposes the potential—or limits—of design? Where else would you go to explore these issues?

And in such a place, in what objects would you examine the designer's input: tents, shelters, boats, billboards, maps, bags, brochures ... ?

Senegal, Africa

Senegal is a small country in western Africa. Here, child trafficking is found at situations based upon tradition and greed. The day nine-year old boy, Coli, planned to run away was the day he woke up curled up on a dirty mat in the cold. He was pressed between tens of other sleeping children just like him, all lying next to one another on a concrete floor. It was still dark out when he and the other boys, a group of seven to nine-year olds, were directed to beg for money in between stopped cars on a freeway. They were all given empty tomato paste cans as begging bowls. Like these group of young boys, another 1.2 million children are involved in human trafficking for the benefit of those who make $15 billion annually for such services [according to the International Labor Organization]. It’s a popular business in Senegal. In the capital of Dakar, about 7,600 child beggars are ordered to work on the streets [according to a study by the ILO, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Bank]. These children collect an average of only 72 cents a day, where their keepers take in $2 million a year.

Under the cover of Islam, ninety percent of these boys are brought to beg with reasons including tradition and greed. Coli’s cover to be taken and work in Dakar was his family’s blessing to learn the holy book of Islam. With this, Coli’s days were spent with two hours of the day memorizing Quran verses and over nine hours begging to earn money for the one he called his teacher. Quranic boarding schools were once praised for their education purposes but most are growing into a business of child trafficking. More and more Quranic teachers are taking in as many students as possible to increase their daily flow of money. An Islamic scholar of Columbia University concludes, “If you do the math, you'll find that these people are earning more than a government functionary. It's why the phenomenon is so hard to eradicate."

It’s necessary for designers to learn of such problems existing within the underground realms of countries. Situations grow deeper and deeper into the depths of dirt when nothing is done in attempts to stop any of it. Design may not solve the problem completely, but it’s important to think of ways that can certainly help.

Catherine

china

China is start line of ancient civilization and largest country in East Asia. Probably China has longest history of culture, language system, and major inventions. The compass, gunpowder, paper and printing are called four great inventions of ancient China. However, Shenyang is the capital city of the Liaoning, a province in Northeastern China. Shenyangs rich landscape along with a lot of historic places and numerous festivals contributed to why Shenyang continuously draws many tourists from all over the globe. Many popular industrial companies particularly those involve in heavy equipments, aerospace, machine tools and lately software and electronics conduct their key operations in Shenyang, this fact contributed to how Shenyang came to be one of the most important industrial and commercial centers in China. Shenyang is also considered as a historical center of Northeastern China with its interesting history and a rich culture. Many interesting places in Shenyang that draws tourists are products of the city’s extensive and fascinating historical past. Shenyang’s rich culture and tradition gave birth to a lot of festivals that are celebrated the unique Shenyang way. Shenyang Ice and Snow Festival considered as the third largest winter festival in Northeast China, this festival is held every December through February. Fascinating ice and snow sculptures along with some ice and snow entertainment are featured in the celebration. The third largest country in the world China is one of the important places in Asia, with great ethnic as well as cultural diversities. China has been ranked fourth among the world’s most popular tourist destinations, after France, Spain, and the United States. According to the World Tourism Organization, China attracts more than 46 million international tourists per year.

YeJi Choi