The Challenge of Governance: Cultural Barriers to Enforcement of the IWC Whaling Moratorium in Korea

In this article we examine obstacles to the successful implementation of Korean policy for the protection of whales. At the local level, we focus on the governance problems raised by a political campaign for the restitution of the right to whaling, centered in Ulsan, Korea. Considering the difficulties of implementing the Directive on the Conservation and Management of Cetacean Resources emitted in 2011 by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries, we suggest that the political campaign in Ulsan presents a barrier to any policy intended to protect whales. However, at the international level, another major obstacle to policies for whale protection is presented by the impasse within the IWC on determining catch quotas and allocating authority for monitoring and oversight of markets for whale products. We advocate a compromise by which already existing institutions and social networks could be mobilized for participation in market monitoring and oversight, in exchange for a quota allocation under the Revised Management Procedure. If this policy were implemented, Korea would become the first nation to concede market monitoring jurisdiction to the IWC and would set a virtuous example for neighboring countries.