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Developing Country, my eye!

The Asian Games 2014 just wrapped up.   The local press was of course excited about it, with plenty of coverage of the contests as well as the human interest stories and the local angle.  Specifically, the Little Country That Could showing the world this great success story of modernization.   And the games went quite smoothly -- the website immediately listed stats on all the contests with all the player names and numbers, as they happened!  

Unfortunately, the English-language web portal was evidently subcontracted to a travel agency that really did not worry about local English speakers seeking tickets -- various links looped to each other, or to brochures or Korean-language pages.  We could not figure out how to buy tickets online.  And there did not seem to be much local marketing -- few flyers or handbills or ads in the papers.   Our local 7-11 posted an ad reminding that 7-11 was the official sponsor of the Asian Games!

The games were held mostly in Incheon, the large suburb of Seoul that the central government is desperate to develop.   Miles and miles of flat (landfill) area -- remember the mudflats that General Macarthur brilliantly maneuvered through to counter-attack in the Korean War?  It's largely paved now, awaiting development.   They built a huge new stadium for the event -- a few miles from regular public transportation, so organizers have to arrange for shuttle buses.

Remember that Korea is constantly competing with its (formerly-)colonizing big brother in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan.   Japan sent a large delegation of athletes to the games.  Everyone expected China to dominate the medals race, but there was some fear that Japan could come in second.   So it was particularly ironic that the Japanese soccer team had to walk up 17 flights because an elevator was not working; then one of their game venues lacked a locker room.  The team spokesman said "We are used to it, because most venues at developing countries are like this."

Hey!  Developing country, my eye!  We've got the fastest internet in the world!  Everybody on the subway is watching TV on their Samsung smartphones!

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