Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Wikipedia - Lee Myung-bak

Hello class-

I felt compelled to expand on Lee Myung-bak’s wikipedia page for a multiplicity of reasons. First, Lee’s promise to strengthen US-ROK relations and implement a tougher approach with North Korea left me with great optimism. However, recent events regarding the reactions of his policy choices made me less sanguine about his future, and I wanted to gain a better understanding of what factors and how these factors are contributing to his plummeting approval ratings. Second, I felt that keeping track of Lee throughout our course would provide me with valuable insight into the inner workings of the South Korean political system. Third, I wanted to delve deeper into his North Korean policy. I asked myself, "What are the specifics of his plan? What are his assumptions? Is it really on the wrong track, as critics suggest?"(still figuring that one out).  Fourth, his wiki page was relatively terse, and I felt significant changes needed to be made soon, considering his critical role in US-ROK and ROK-DPRK relations.

I chose to expand on the “Foreign Policy” and “Criticism” sections. Surprisingly, the additions that I made have not been deleted. Although, some of my sentences have changed, but the substance and meaning are still there at any rate.

Here are the links to my changes:
Lee Myung Bak Wiki (foreign policy)
Lee Myung Bak Wiki (criticism)

Just some final thoughts, the future does not look great for Lee. With a disastrous approval rating in the low 30's, he is also facing opposition from within his own party. He is certainly in a precarious position: Either he changes his policies and is considered a man with weak convictions. Or he becomes resolute or defiant but faces the prospect of being unable to push through any of his initiatives.

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