Author: GIKorea

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To me this huge ferris wheel will just be an eye sore, there is plenty of places to go in Seoul to take in the views without this ferris wheel:

To put Seoul on a par with New York City, London, and Paris, Mayor Oh Se-hoon has some lofty ambitions. One is the world’s tallest Ferris wheel offering views over the Han River.  
   
Oh thinks the Korean capital can become one of the top five global cities. His rallying slogan for the vision doesn’t translate into very stirring English — “Attractive Seoul”— but it’s behind some very big goals. One is to attract 30 million tourists a year from across the globe. Another is to draw investors from cutting edge industries and create a new Silicon Valley in Asia.  
   
In early August, the Seoul city government announced a project called the Great Sunset Han River, which includes tourist attractions to be built such as large floating stages and waterfront sculptures. One will be the world’s tallest observation wheel, larger than the London Eye or the Singapore Flyer. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but as the article points out the slogan of “Attractive Seoul” does not have good ring to it in English. With that said it is still better than “I Seoul U” which makes no sense.

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the US and the ROK conducted a full bilateral exercise:

The United States and South Korea kicked off a four-day preliminary drill Tuesday in preparation for their largest military exercise in five years.

The preliminary drill, which consists of training simulations, ends Friday and is the precursor to Ulchi Freedom Shield, the first large-scale command-post exercise between the U.S. and South Korea since 2017, according to a Ministry of Defense news release.

Ulchi Freedom Shield, named after Eulji Mundeok, a 7th century Korean general, is scheduled to start Monday and end Sept. 1. The exercise was known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian between 2008 to 2018 and as Combined Command Post Training from 2019 to 2021.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is one of two major exercises traditionally conducted annually by the U.S. and South Korea. Exercise Freedom Shield is scheduled for early next year.

Exact troop numbers and equipment used for the upcoming exercise have not been publicly released by U.S. Forces Korea or the Ministry of Defense. During Ulchi Freedom Guardian in 2017, around 50,000 South Korean and 17,500 U.S. service members were used for the air, land and sea drills. USFK has roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is really a continuation of long standing ROK policy of maintaining the status quo which has allowed South Korea to continue to be a prosperous country. Seeking regime change that would lead to a massive war with a possible nuclear exchange and humanitarian crisis is clearly not in the ROK’s national interest:

President Yoon Suk-yeol said, Wednesday, that South Korea will not pursue any efforts for regime change or any other intervention that can alter the current political system of North Korea, adding that Seoul is not in a position to guarantee Pyongyang’s security. 

The president also ruled out the possibility of South Korea acquiring its own nuclear weapons against evolving North Korean nuclear threats, saying the country is committed to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.

He made the remarks during a press conference held to mark the 100th day of his presidency. 

“Guaranteeing the security of the North Korean regime is not something that South Korea can provide,” Yoon told reporters. “But neither I nor the government wants the status quo changed unreasonably or by force in North Korea.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The President of the think tank, the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Choi Kang has an op-ed in the Chosun Ilbo advocating for using the Three No’s policy to pressure China to reign in North Korea’s nuclear testing:

If necessary, we could officially declare that South Korea is no longer bound by the ‘THAAD Three No’s’ given North Korea’s repeated nuclear and missile threats.  If North Korea conducts another nuclear or missile test in the future, it could constitute a just cause for renouncing the ‘THAAD Three No’s.’  Given China has failed to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear capabilities, its rationale for THAAD opposition is weakened.

Recently, President Xi Jinping said that “those who play with fire will eventually get burned.” Instead of trying to impose the ‘THAAD Three No’s’ on South Korea, China should sternly warn North Korea, which has played with fire for the past 16 years since its first nuclear test in 2006.

Asan Institute

You can read more at the link.

North Korea provided some fireworks for President Yoon’s 100th day in office:

North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, a South Korean military official said, as President Yoon Suk-yeol held a press conference to mark the 100th day since taking office.

“(The military) has detected two cruise missiles launched by North Korea from Onchon, South Pyongan Province, into the Yellow Sea early this morning,” the official said on the customary condition of anonymity without providing further details, including the exact type of missiles and time of the firing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but with the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise kicking off this month expect more provocations from North Korea.