We are continuing to see the building up to a provocation cycle by the North Koreans:
North Korea on Sunday warned the United States will face “a very grave situation” because President Joe Biden “made a big blunder” in his recent speech by calling the North a security threat and revealing his intent to maintain a hostile policy toward it.
Last week, Biden, in his first address to Congress, called North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programs “a serious threat to America’s security and world security,” and said he’ll work with allies to address those problems through diplomacy and stern deterrence.
“His statement clearly reflects his intent to keep enforcing the hostile policy toward the DPRK as it had been done by the U.S. for over half a century,” Kwon Jong Gun, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, said in a statement. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.
Anniversary of birth of Adm. Yi Sun-sin People clad in traditional clothes conduct a rite at a temple in Asan, south of Seoul, on April 28, 2021, marking the 476th anniversary of the birth of Adm. Yi Sun-sin, the 16th-century hero renowned for his victories over invading Japanese forces from 1592-1598, in this photo released by the Cultural Heritage Administration. (Yonhap)
Apparently some residents don’t want President Moon to retire to their small community in South Gyeongsang Province:
Banners hang in downtown Habuk, Yangsan, in a protest against the construction of the president’s retirement residence there. (Yonhap)
Construction of President Moon Jae-in’s post-presidency residence has been halted recently faced with resistance from residents of the area, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources Thursday.
Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook plan to relocate to Habuk, a small town in the rural city of Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, after retiring in May 2022. They purchased a 2,630-square-meter property in the area for 1.06 billion won ($870,000) last year.
You can read more at the link, but supposedly the villagers are concerned by increased traffic from his residence, but I suspect the opposition is more for political reasons.
Self-driving wheelchair Lee Ji-hoon, who was a member of South Korea’s para ice hockey team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, demonstrates how to use a self-driving wheelchair with autonomous navigation technology as he takes part in an event to unveil the smart wheelchair at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul on April 28, 2021. The vehicle was co-developed by the Korea Institute of Robotics and Technology Convergence and the private robotics firm Rovitek. (Yonhap)
This is pretty funny that someone filed a complaint against President Moon for violating his own coronavirus prevention measures:
President Moon Jae-in has come under fire for having a dinner with four of his former aides at Cheong Wa Dae, which critics claim was in violation of the nationwide ban on gatherings of five or more people as a measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two days after the Moon administration’s latest Cabinet reshuffle, announced April 17, Moon had drinks and dinner with the four former aides to show his appreciation for their work, at his residence within the presidential office compound. The aides were former senior secretary for social policy Yoon Chang-yul, former senior secretary for political affairs Choi Jae-sung, former spokesman Kang Min-seok and former secretary for legal affairs Kim Young-sik.
However, a person later filed a civil complaint on the website run by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, saying Moon’s gathering with the former aides was against the ban on gatherings of five or more people.
You can read more at the link, but the Blue House is saying that the gathering ban only applies to private gatherings and not official gatherings like what are held at the Blue House. Just like in the US, what is with these politicians that can follow the rules they push down on everyone else.
The anti-China sentiment has always been there in the Korean public; it is just incidents like this bring it out publicly:
The Chinatown issue comes on the back of Koreans’ protesting claims made by some Chinese influencers and media that kimchi is their traditional food. After Beijing received an international certification for its pickled vegetable dish, “paocai,” in November, China’s state-run Global Times reported that this certification amounted to “an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China.” Since then, the nationalist newspaper has been running articles containing the implication that Beijing is leading the kimchi industry and that the dish originated in China.
These articles led to an online spat between the internet users of both countries, with Koreans arguing that China was now attempting to steal Korea’s cultural legacy.
This will make life a little better for those who are vaccinated:
Soldiers wait in line to be vaccinated at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on April 28, 2021, in this photo provided by the Kookbang Ilbo.
South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that fully vaccinated people will be exempted from the country’s mandatory 14-day isolation period from early next month as the country is struggling to speed up the vaccination campaign.
Health authorities said that, under the country’s anti-infection measures, those who have been fully inoculated will no longer be required to self-isolate themselves after coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering the country from overseas from May 5.
