Among Singaporean policymakers and the political elite, a common refrain is that the country is “pragmatic” and that they do not subscribe to ideologies, and only focus on “what works.” The last few years have shown that this idea of being non-ideological is only true within a narrow domain – Singapore has always been ideologically driven in its policy-making. There is a ruling ethos of “economic growth is always good” and an accompanying belief that “economic growth matters above all else.”

Surprisingly, there is little awareness of this underlying ideology among the ruling class, and this can explain why the last election caught people so off-guard. To many of us who interact at a more grassroots and humble level, it was not hard to see the discontent on the ground. However, the political elite convinced themselves that they were “pragmatic,” there was no groupthink, and that as such, their policies could only endear themselves to the population.

It is not hard to see why such an ideology is so dominant among the ruling elite. They had inherited an ideology from Singapore’s period of development (the Third World to First mindset). Along the way, they convinced themselves that this is a “pragmatic” approach. The idea that issues such as inequality or pace of change might matter was something that was difficult to bring up in the past as a challenge to the dominant ideology.

Just in case you have not been following the news, Kim Jong Il passed away last week. As North Korea enters a transition phase, I am starting to look hard at what opportunities there might be to return full-time to my work in the country. While I enjoy having a job that pays me (and pays me well) here in the US, as well as a supportive environment that pushes me to learn about business, it is hard to stay apart from all the excitement happening in the region especially as room opens to expand the impact of our programs.

The situation there is making me re-evaluate my time-table for returning to the region. I will be spending more time thinking about this as I evaluate post-consulting options in the coming months.

When I was in college, I wrote a class paper on the Italian Camorra, an organized crime syndicate that was heavily involved in the trash collection industry in southern Italy. They were in the media spotlight that year because of a strike that had left rubbish piling up on the streets of Naples, home to the Camorra.

Just the other day, I was talking to friends who were looking at the trash disposal industry. It was incredibly interesting to note that organized crime is involved with the business in the US. We started coming up with ideas of the top of our head as to why this business would be attractive to organized crime. Some ideas:

- It’s an industry where political connections determine contracts
- Synergies with disposal of bodies
- Synergies with trucking business where mob has influence
- Isomorphism: perhaps the mob involvement here derives from their “expertise” in the Italian side of garbage disposal
- Ability to lower costs through illegal garbage disposal

We all know how popular Korean dramas are in Asia. But these dramas often pop up in the strangest place. When I was in Iran this year, I got into a shared cab in Tehran. A lady sitting in the front seat started talking to me in Korean. After I told her that I was not Korean (in Korean), she continued speaking to me in Korean telling me how much she loves Korean drama.

Late this year, while I was giving a talk at Philips Exeter Academy, I spoke about Korean dramas in North Korea. Surprisingly, a number of students at the Academy were big fans of Korean dramas.

My home owner elaborated a little more on the situation on the floor above us. He had previously mentioned that the person living above us runs a call girl service. (I know I live in a dodgy neighborhood, but when you have a non-profit to feed, you don’t have many choices!). Being a very practical person, our house owner is only glad that the tenant pays his rent, which is not always the case for the other people living in the house.

According to this second-hand information source, he mentioned that the last time he entered the apartment, he counted seven girls. Having read Freakonomics, I asked if he knew what the price differentials were for protected versus unprotected sex, and he mentioned that it is about US$100. Given that the girls charge US$100 to US$500 for their service (there are huge differentials largely driven by experience), this would be a 100% to 25% increase in revenue. I did not ask about other ‘tricks’. Often, the clientele caters to people working in downtown Boston, and they come to the neighborhood because this is a place where they are highly unlikely to run into their colleagues.

He claims that part of the reason the girls stay is because they “love” the pimp. He said they might fight occasionally, but he tries not to interfere. At the end of the day, the girls will run back to the pimp and it unnecessarily makes him enemies of both the girl and the pimp. He points out that people remember such slights, and things can happen down the road (e.g. thefts…etc.) if you make the enemies of people.

Iran is a land of history and beautiful sights from ages past. But what really caught my eye was when I passed through a desert town in the middle of Iran (think its Yazd) and spotted a yellow car with a Swiss license plate.

Its not a large town, so I eventually ran into the two Swiss who were driving from Switzerland to India. They regaled me with tales of driving through the breakaway republic of Transniestria (in Moldova), and how they will be escorted by the Iranian police as they approach the borders of the Central Asian states - kidnappings have taken place in that area.

As I was stopping by Switzerland on the way back to Pyongyang, they were kind enough to offer their room in Zurich to me saving me $120 in hostel fees. Its wonderful what people will do for other strangers.

My colleagues were shocked when they learned that I sleep on the floor, which I fastidiously clean. I have to point out that this is not my usual practice. The room was unfurnished and I spent some time debating internally whether I should get a bed.

While it is not too expensive to buy a bed, I spend a lot of time reviewing rather trivial purchases . This is because I believe that a minimalist approach to owning things is the best state of mind for me to transition back into the non-profit projects I am most interested in. I believe that buying more stuff allows one to fall into a comfort zone which income is needed to sustain. With each purchase also comes a material cost of attachment.

The downside is that with my current income level, perhaps I need not be so fussy with spending. Should I cede ground to comfort and convenience at the expense of principles?

I just moved to Boston and will be based here in the near future. I will still be working on Choson Exchange’s North Korea project, although my full-time job will mean that the pace of work at Choson Exchange will slow down. Given how quickly we have grown over the last few years, I am really proud of what we have accomplished, and feel somewhat disappointed that I have to wind down my involvement in such a meaningful and interesting project.

I have settled into Boston, and have completed my relocation. I chose somewhere cheap so that I can save and return to North Korea-related work someday. The neighborhood I moved into has a lot of history including housing Martin Luther King when he studied in Boston, and being home to Malcolm X. Not too coincidentally, there is a reason why these legends came from the area: it is a poor part of town with high crime, and so far it seems I am the only non-African American person on the block. My roommate and landlord has also kindly drove me around town, pointing out areas where there had been “bloodbaths.” To be fair to the place, its a lively community with Cape Verdians, Somalians and Eritrieans bringing their mix of culture to the area.

I have always expressed the wish that museums can be made more interactive. There is always the dark urge to touch paintings or run my fingers over statues when I see them. The Shewdagon in Myanmar, while not a museum, did fulfill some of my wishes for interactive displays. Rituals here include washing a Buddha, stuffing notes into a tree, pulling a string that fans a giant Buddha, and striking bells.

When I was traveling the area around Mandalay, I took on a guide. His name is Mg Mg Lay and I strongly recommend him (Corner of 81st and 26th/ cyber.bug7@gmail.com/ 02-64506). Anyway, he was showing me pictures of his youth and one of them was Mg Mg Lay in monks robes.

I found out that monks come in many shapes and sizes. There are full-time monks, just as there are summer-time monks or week-long monks. He said that he was only able to be a monk for 2 weeks and expressed regret that he was unable to do so for longer periods. He also added that because it was the summer holidays at schools, I was able to witness the many noviation process taking place all over Myanmar.