Cosmonauts or Cosmeticians

By Lim Hyong-gohn

North Korea has test-fired a long-range missile disguised as a satellite launch, while China is about to launch a mission to the Moon.

Aboard Shenzhou-7 last year, Chinese cosmonauts walked in space, lending credence to the viewpoint of the ancient philosopher Zhuangzi that the earth seen from immeasurable heights is as broadly blue as is the sky where peng, a legendary bird, flies nowhere in the south.

It seems that China's launch of spaceships is gradually proving that theories written by Chinese sages in ancient times were not groundless.

With the entry of China into the space race, all three countries neighboring South Korea ― Russia, China and Japan, with the exception of North Korea North Korea has test-fired a long-range missile disguised as a satellite launch, while China is about to launch a mission to the Moon. have their own astronauts or cosmonauts now. But now remember the South Korean female astronaut who orbited aboard the International Space Station transported by a Russian spacecraft.

To our regret, South Korea, the world's 13th largest economy, is falling far behind its three neighbors in terms of space science and its application, while others are forever marching to the heavens based on their advanced science and technology.

It is hard to tell when South Korea's highways into space will be constructed while highways on the ground are constantly being constructed and extended.

In China, however, things Korean starting with the prefix ``cosmo'' are seen and heard here and there. But it is with cosmeticians, not cosmonauts. Please do not misunderstand. Korean cosmetics are selling for good prices in China because of the Chinese economic boom and their so-called world-class quality.

It, however, does not stop at cosmetic products. Cosmetic surgery, too, is being practiced according to an advertisement slip, illegally plastered on a light pole near the railway station in Changsha, Hunan Province.

It is appalling that such visibly unlicensed breast enlargement surgery in the name of Korea is being practiced in China.

Well-known Koreans, if not all, are no exception. A man identified as Kwon, a Korean actor, shows up in a commercial for a male urology clinic in Shenzhen. A Miss Song and a Miss Jeon, commercial queens in Korea, aren't missing their chances to make money by showing up in advertisements in China, as they do in Korea.

Advertisement posters carrying their faces and their smiles are seen in numerous places in Shenzhen, signaling that Korean cosmetic techniques and science stand in Asia and beyond.

It is quite regrettable that as a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Korea is gaining a reputation for its cosmetic surgery skills, while our neighbors are ascending into space.

What Korea has is only a single female astronaut and a host of cosmeticians; this is where Korea stands today in the field of space science and aerospace. While a lot of Korean cosmeticians are operating in China, Chinese cosmonauts are ever increasing thanks to their leaders' aims to develop space technology.

The problem lies in the country's leaders who make laws and enforce them. For example, another railway traversing the south of the country between Busan and Mokpo is planned.

It seems that Korean leaders want to have everything they see in advanced countries regardless of the priorities they should really heed.

The budget used to obtain technology from, and pay royalties to France for the bullet train and for the construction of the infrastructure needed for it could, if it had been appropriated to aerospace technology, have brought about an earlier space age for Korea.

Now is the time for South Korean leaders to change their mind and policies to invest more in aerospace technology and industries to keep abreast with, if not outpace, our three neighbors who are speeding up their space development.

Lim Hyong-gohn is a resident of the southeastern city of Ulsan.

[출처 : 코리아타임스]