Author: GIKorea

The Korean left is going to be triggered by this news:

A history museum in memory of former President Park Chung-hee will be formally opened in the southeastern city of Gumi this week, the municipal government said Monday.

The President Park Chung Hee History Museum featuring nearly 5,700 pieces of relics left behind by the former leader will be opened to the public on Tuesday, according to the municipality of Gumi, 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The museum built near the late Park’s birthplace in the city will display or store 5,649 pieces of relics commissioned by the Park Chung-hee Memorial Association in 2004, it said. The opening ceremony is slated for 11 a.m. and there will be no other celebratory events in consideration of COVID-19, it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I ended up finishing up watching Squid Game on Netflix and it was pretty good, but the violence in the drama was a bit over the top. This is definitely not a series for kids to watch:

A pop-up replica set of Netflix’s original Korean series “Squid Game,” which was set up at Itaewon Station in central Seoul, closed down earlier than scheduled due to mounting concerns over a spike in COVID-19 infections here.

According to Seoul Metro, the pop-up set, operated by Netflix Korea, closed on Friday after drawing large crowds on the back of the growing popularity of the Korean drama.

The set was scheduled to be open until Sunday. 

“The operator of the set made the decision as concerns over violations of social distancing rules have been raised,” a Seoul Metro official said. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Anti-China sentiment continues to grow in South Korea, but with how intertwined the ROK’s economy is with China will their government be willing to do anything significant to counter China’s attempted hegemony over the Peninsula?:

However, a recent poll highlighted a major paradigm shift in the trend of South Korean public perception toward surrounding states, which may affect the presidential candidates’ foreign policy pledges. According to the poll by Hankook Research and South Korean online newspaper SisaIn, the South Korean public was least favorable toward of China; even North Korea and Japan were viewed more positively.

The participants were asked to give a favorability score to four countries – China, Japan, North Korea, and the United States – on a scale between 0 and 100. South Koreans gave the most negative rating to China with an average of 26.4, lower than North Korea at 28.6 and Japan at 28.8. The United States had the most favorable rating at 57.3. Furthermore, to the question of whether participants thought a particular country is “good” or “evil,” 58.1 percent labeled China as evil, whereas only 4.5 percent said it was good.

The increasing anti-China sentiment in South Korea is a remarkable trend for Seoul’s foreign policy. Previously, South Korean public opinion focused on North Korea and Japan as the country’s top potential threats. The same poll in late 2019 showed that Japan was the least favorably viewed country among South Koreans, with 21.0 favorability, while China rated 35.6. Although there were issues such as historical disputes centered on the former Korean kingdom Goguryeo and illegal Chinese fishing in South Korean waters, the hatred for China was relatively weak compared to concerns over the North Korean nuclear program and the rise of the far-right movement in Japan.

The Diplomat

You can read more at the link, but I will believe the significance of these polls when Koreans come out and protest against China like they did against the U.S. in the early 2000’s. The fact they don’t despite China’s wide unpopularity shows how intimidated Koreans are by the CCP.

Here is what Kim Yo-jong had to say about the recent comments for a Korean War peace treaty by ROK president Moon Jae-in:

 The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Saturday that her country will take steps to repair ties with South Korea, and may even discuss another summit between their leaders, if the South drops what she described as hostility and double standards. 

The comments by Kim Yo Jong followed a similar statement she issued Friday that the North was willing to resume talks with the South if certain conditions were met. 

Analysts say North Korea is using South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s desire for inter-Korean engagement to pressure Seoul to persuade the Biden administration to ease crippling U.S.-led sanctions over the North’s nuclear weapons program or suspend combined U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but North Korea knows time is short to get a deal done with no guarantee of the Korean left maintaining the ROK Presidency next Spring. With the various negative issues surrounding the Biden administration, the Kim regime maybe thinking the U.S. might be eager for a foreign policy “win”, by cutting a deal with North Korea for little to nothing in return. We have seen past U.S. Presidents play this card before.

If anything comes out of this prisoner swap, I hope it is the world takes notice that the Chinese government is willing to take foreign nationals hostage to free their criminals:

 China, the U.S. and Canada completed a high-stakes prisoner swap with joyous homecomings for two Canadians held by China and for an executive of Chinese global communications giant Huawei Technologies charged with fraud, potentially bringing closure to a 3-year feud that embroiled the three countries.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugged diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor on the tarmac after they landed in Calgary, Alberta early Saturday. The men were detained in China in Dec. 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer and the daughter of the company’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

Many countries labeled China’s action “hostage politics,” while China accused Ottawa of arbitrary detention. The two Canadians were jailed for more than 1,000 days.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads may remember that one of the exchanged hostages Michael Spavor was a Kim regime favorite for his North Korean travel operation. I would be surprised if he will try do any North Korean travel trips ever again after this.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.