North Korean defector Yeonmi Park has been on a roll lately with her comments lately:
Gwen Berry protesting the national anthem.
Park, however, said the Olympic-qualified athlete was “so privileged” and that she does not know what oppression under a dictatorship really looks like.
“In North Korea, people who are actually oppressed don’t even know they’re oppressed,” she said. “The fact that she’s complaining about oppression and systemic racism — she does not understand that she’s so privileged.”
“There are people dying to come to America at this very moment,” Park said. “I just hope they go to North Korea, China and see how humans are being oppressed, and they will truly understand how valuable the freedom that we have is.”
H&M put a dollar tag on upsetting China: about $74 million in lost sales. Though some Chinese shoppers aren't going to let politics get in the way of their shopping. “I like H&M,” said one Shanghai man, Du Jianing. “We wear H&M all the time.”@stuwoohttps://t.co/b5iiHgxMOB
Eased social distancing rules An employee puts up a sign at a restaurant in Seoul on June 28, 2021, to inform customers that gatherings of up to six people are allowed starting July 1 under the eased social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the new Level 2 distancing, the ban on gatherings of five or more people will be eased to six people until July 14 in the greater Seoul area before the ceiling goes up to eight. (Yonhap)
Was is interesting about the ROK participation in the Australian led exercise is that the Japanese are also participants:
This file photo provided by the Navy on Sept. 30, 2011, shows South Korea’s DDH-II destroyer Dae Jo Yeong.
South Korea plans to take part in a large-scale naval exercise that the United States and Australia plan to hold next month, the defense ministry said Monday.
The Navy will send a 4,400 ton-class destroyer to the Talisman Sabre exercise set to take place in mid-July in Australian waters. The biennial exercise is the largest bilateral training activity between the U.S. and Australia.
“We’ve decided to join the exercise for the first time this year with a goal to improve our capabilities of conducting combined operations,” ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan told a regular press briefing.
You can read more at the link, but besides the U.S., Australia, and the ROK; Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Japan are also participants, while France, India and Indonesia are observers this year.
Giant pot Models promote CJ CheilJedang’s new ready-to-eat cooked rice product with a giant pot and a wooden spoon at Time Square shopping mall in central Seoul on June 27, 2021. (Yonhap)
Listening to Kim Jong-un it appears they have had an outbreak of COVID somewhere in North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, in this photo disclosed by the North’s state media on June 30, 2021.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said a “crucial case” has happened that could threaten the safety of his people and country in nationwide anti-epidemic efforts, state media reported Wednesday, spurring speculation that a coronavirus outbreak could have hit parts of the country.
Kim made the remarks as he presided over an extended politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on Tuesday, accusing senior officials of neglecting their duties in carrying out measures needed to fight the global pandemic, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“Senior officials in charge of important state affairs neglected the implementation of the important decisions of the party on taking organizational, institutional, material, scientific and technological measures … associated with the worldwide health crisis, and thus caused a crucial case of creating a great crisis in ensuring the security of the state and safety of the people and entailed grave consequences,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
If you are an international student at the University of Seoul expect to pay double the current tuition rate:
Controversy has arisen over the University of Seoul’s plan to nearly double the tuition fees paid by foreign students starting next year.
Some students and members of the general public say the sudden hike is unfair and taking advantage of a minority group at the school. However, others say the school’s tuition fees are kept artificially low through subsidies from taxpayers and it is improper to provide such a benefit to foreign students who do not pay taxes.
You can read more at the link, but according to the article students at the University of Seoul have their tuition cut in half with the subsidy from taxpayers. Tuition is roughly $906 a semester with the subsidy meaning international students will pay twice that rate which is still extremely affordable compared to tuition rates in many U.S. universities.
The Korea Times has a review of a new book written by the former German ambassador to North Korea Thomas Schafer who spent 8 years living in Pyongyang. Here are some insights from Schafer from the book:
While Pyongyang is initially presented as home to a clash between extreme and moderate approaches, it is the former that have won the day, through their use of belligerent acts that include, but are not limited to, the sinking of the RAS Cheonan, the breaching of the Leap Day Agreement, the public execution of Jang Song-thaek, the closing and eventual destruction of parts of the Kaesong Industrial Zone and various military and border skirmishes. For Schafer, these acts are not carried out solely on the order of Kim Jong-un, but are often outside of his control and perhaps actually to send him the message: that he is imminently replaceable.
Schafer is also quick to discount suggestions that, following the examples of Libya and Iraq, the North’s nuclear missiles are but a defensive necessity in a world characterized by brutal and unilateral American imperialism. While they may serve that purpose, the book makes no secret of the fact that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons have offensive intent and that their goals center on removing American troops from the Korean Peninsula (by force if necessary), as well as carrying out the oft-repeated desire for undefined international justice.
You can read more at the link, but the fact that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are also intended for offensive purposes is often forgotten about. Something else forgotten about that appears this book may not mention as well is North Korea’s acquiring of nuclear weapons to proliferate them for hard currency as we have seen before. Anyway this book seems interesting and I will likely pick up to read. It is not often that a foreigner lives 8 years in Pyongyang and writes a book about it.
South Korea announced that they will put their 2nd helicopter carrier into operation in October of this year:
This undated photo, provided by the Navy, shows South Korea’s new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship, Marado.
South Korea’s new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship will be deployed in October with improved combat capabilities developed with the country’s own technologies, the military said Monday.
Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Boo Suk-jong presided over a commissioning ceremony for the landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship Marado at the southern port of Jinhae ahead of the planned deployment, according to the military.
Named after the country’s southernmost island, the Marado is South Korea’s second large-scale transport ship following the Dokdo, which was deployed in 2007.
