Petition for Reciprocal Operating Agreement between the U.S. and Korea

Looks like the US is at fault here for "limiting" the SK Ham to operate for 6 months in the US whereas, at the time, US Hams operated indefinitely in SK.
The SK are only retaliating.

 

So "you" have a hang up about DXing and DXers so we who do DX should stop or should we contact you for permission when we want to DX so you can regulate it? I'm personally tolerant of every aspect of hamateur radio including the aspects I no longer am involved with or have never done and probably never will.

Tolerance is the best avenue to travel.

 

I fully agree we should have reciprocal agreements with every country. The petition, however, is a strong argument for forbidding foreigners from operating altogether.

I don't like the tone of the petition at all. Calling someone you're attempting to negotiate with "irresponsible" puts them on the defensive, and kills the deal. It also fails to address the fact that the United States still prohibits their own citizens from operating here (USA). Six months there is still better than zero here. So, of course they're waiting for our country to do at least something for them before they do even more for us.

Another thing I don't like about the petition is the cultural insensitivity. What makes the author so certain they want big antennae and suitcases full of electronic gear spoiling the view and atmosphere of their sacred religious sites? How would Catholics feel about an 80m yagi at the entrance to the Sistine Chapel? Same goes for the Mormon Tabernacle. Same goes for the Wailing Wall. Same goes for Mecca. Even if hams might intend to put up something more subtle in a more discreet location, that's the image one gets when reading the part about setting up DX stations at "Korean Temples... and other places of sightseeing." That statement is a very strong argument for why DX stations should be prohibited; not permitted. It's why CCRs don't allow antennae. No one wants their neighborhood or sacred sites to look industrialized. So, if you want to encourage their government to allow it, a rewrite is definitely in order.

 

Having lived in asia, and operated in various asian countries (including South Korea) over the years, I've experienced various permanent and temporary licensing requirements there.
Asia has a different culture, and that is true also about radio licensing.

Reciprocal licensing is a strange mix of "treaty and trade" and "posts and telecom" .

"Level playing field" and "respect" are two cornerstones of asian diplomacy and interactions between countries.

The usual diplomatic culture in asia for "treaty and trade" is based mainly on logic, and goes something like this:
1. Observe long term actions of other countries.
2. Observe short term actions of other countries.
3. Gather facts about the global trends for the field.
4. Make projections for the next 5 to 10 year span.
5. Make treaty and trade decisions based on those facts and statistical projections.

USA, on the other hand, has frequently changing administrations, and over the past year has adopted a haphazard unpredictable foreign "policy".

With USA's new ego-driven treaty and trade, rather than fact-based, it isn't surprising that asian countries would pull back their cards in the ham radio reciprocal licensing game.

Honestly, I wouldn't expect any change to the South Korea reciprocal licensing situation until after the end of the current USA administration.

Sorry to say it, but, if you look at this from the asian point of view, currently USA isn't a stable partner for treaty and trade.

 

Try the political forum I'm sure they would be glad to hear from you.

 

Bonnie's point isn't to take a political stand. She pointed to the fact that the US government changes its policies every time there's a new leader. That's true regardless of the parties of incoming and outgoing leaders. The current US leader changes policies whimsically, often contradicting his own spokespersons, which makes for a very unstable and unpredictable treaty partner. Sure, it excites his base of supporters, but foreign governments aren't impressed. Bonnie is correct in saying that governments that wish to set long term foreign policies are going to carefully consider the long term stability of governments with which they make agreements. Since ours is currently whimsical, they naturally will wait and see whether the next leader is more predictable and amenable to a mutually beneficial deal. It doesn't matter the political party of the leader. They don't want to waste their time aiming at a moving target.

The bottom line is, when the US government appears to be stable, other countries will gladly come to the table to make deals regarding amateur radio.

 

This political post might also be welcome in the political forum .

 

@K3XR Why must you politicize? This discussion is about national governments making agreements which affect amateur radio; not about taking political sides.

 

Dear Dale AC7NP,
I've read your "reciprocal licensing petition".
There are 2 lines in it that would probably be considered "highly disrespectful" to the South Korean government.

The first problem line... disrespects the South Korean government by telling them that they have no right to change their own laws without consulting foreigners:

1. "This would not normally be an issue, but the Korean government made a license change to all foreigners without any discussion or notification at all. "

"이러한 상황은 정상적으로는 발생할수 없는것이지만, 한국 정부는 외국인 햄들에게 토론이나 해당 당사자에게 미리 알려주는 과정 없이 순간적으로 모든 외국인들에게 면허변경을 통보함으로 발생한 것입니다."
​

The second problem line... disrespects the South Korean government by telling them that they are irresponsible and that you are angry with them (showing anger is a bad thing to do in asian diplomacy) .

2. "By all outward appearances, this would seem irresponsible and I think we can all agree that if it happened to you, you would be very angry and ask for some relief. "

"표면적으로 보았을때 이번 사안은 무책임한 처사라 생각되며, 만일 이러한 상황이 여러분에게 발생하였다면 여러분 역시 무척 화를 내게될것이고 안전한 보호책을 원하게 될것입니다."
​

If you want to actually succeed, rather than just make things worse, I would highly recommend that you change your approach, and ask someone who has experience in asian dipolomacy for guidance ( to be clear, I'm not volunteering ).

 

Will try again....can we get a time line on all this maybe I missed it but when did the agreement change in SK and when was the SK ham who came to the US denied privileges ?

 

I will be happy to sign any petition that promotes Reciprocal Good Will of Amateur Radio. I hope that you will be careful and mindful of not offending the South Koreans, as you unintentionally might.

Koreans are great and proud people, and it saddens me that they have gone through Hell for many Centuries. Geographically their situation reminds me of Poland: Where foreign powers have always looked to their own interests, instead of the good of the people who actually live there.


73 and All the Best!
DE W8LV Bill





73 and All the Best!
DE W8LV Bill

 

Help! Couldn't get this link to work properly!
When I tried it, I got:
Error 1005Ray ID: 41fa91003c77511c • 2018-05-23 21:20:25 UTC
Access denied
What happened?
The owner of this website (www.change.org) has banned the autonomous system number (ASN) your IP address is in (14061) from accessing this website.

73 and All the Best!
DE W8LV Bill

 

I gotta' agree - it's a pretty poorly written petition. More like a scold than a plea. And the line about setting up a DX station at a temple... all I can say is, go back and try again.

 

Oh no she definitely took a side... as you just did in defending her... and as K3XR did by calling her out on it.

Oh wait!

I suppose I just took a side, too!

 

Aside from Bonnie's previously-called-out political preference, I agree with her fundamental suggestion here. At least those two lines she has pointed out should be edited to fit their intended audience, as she is suggesting. I fully respect AC7NP's intentions and choice of language in an American v. American context. However, culture is culture and diplomacy is never all "my way or the highway". +1 to revising the language to be more reverential to the South Koreans whom we are REQUESTING a certain outcome from.

73 de K9SPY