I guess the anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea does not apply to race horses. The Asahi Shimbun is reporting that Japanese race horses are being bought from breeders at a record pace from South Koreans.
So why the sudden interest in Japanese race horse despite the current tensions between the two countries? Well this just goes to show that making money is more important than two rocks out in the middle of the ocean.
Hyundai last week opened an automobile manufacturing plant in Montgomery, AL. This is a big step for the company in trying to increase it’s market share in the United States.
The plant will be responsible for making both the Hyundai Sonata car and the Santa Fe SUV. The plant will also provide 6,000 high paying jobs and many other secondary jobs providing services for the plant. The plant has even taken a policy to provide locals with the first jobs at the plant. Needless to say that Hyundai is now very popular in the Deep South.
I have to thank one of my commenters for providing this link to the local WSFA Channel 12 website in Montgomery. The news channel actually has a really good webpage that features many news video segments about the opening of the Hyundai plant and the news channel even sent a reporter to Korea to provide a news segments about Korean culture and traditions. He found out though that the only thing Koreans know about Alabama is the song “Oh Susanna”. If Korea wants to improve its image in America, this is a good way to do it. Images of Hyundai creating jobs for Alabamans will do more for Korea’s image in America then people continuously seeing protestors burn the Stars and Stripes and Kim Jong Il’s puffy hair doo.
Alabama and Korea have got to be two of the most culturally different places in the world but it appears this partnership is working out. The effect the plant is having in this southern city is really phenominal. By viewing the numerous video segments you will see that the city has now offered MBC as part of their cable program, more Korean restaurants and businesses are opening up, local news webpages are being translated into Korean, locals want to buy Hyundais, and even former President George H.W. Bush has gotten into the act by saying God Bless Korea at the Grand Opening ceremony for the plant.
The Grand Opening of the plant was quite elaborate and featured many Alabama and Korean politicians. The Grand Opening also had a musical performance by the Electric Cookie Trio which is three Korean ajummas with keyboards and electric violins. Yes, that’s right electric violins. I have never heard of one before either. Anyway it was an interesting blend of music, but when they started playing “Oh Susanna”; I just wanted to cover my ears. Their rendition of Arirang wasn’t to bad, though I prefer a more traditional playing of the classic Korean song.
Hopefully this venture works out for both Hyundai and Alabama. Good to see something positive happening between America and Korea. Sure beats talking about nukes and anti-Americanism.
This gave me my biggest laugh of the day. The Japundit reports that the new Japanese professional basketball league will call itself Basketball Japan League or the BJ League for short. You need to check out some of the comments from the Gaijin Biker website for some more laughs. Here is a sample.
1) The league features an in-your-face style of play.
(2) The players really suck.
(3) League motto: “Get your head in the game.”
Will the fun ever stop with Dokto? Now comes this piece from the Japan Times about 26 Japanese claiming domicile residency on Korea’s Dokto islets.
Twenty-six Japanese have registered their family domicile origins on a group of disputed islets in the Sea of Japan under South Korea’s control, the government revealed Tuesday.
Seoul has lodged a protest with Tokyo over the move. It claims the islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and called Tok-do by South Korea, are part of South Korean territory.
The “honseki” family domicile origin is the place where the family register is recorded on paper at the local government level. Unlike resident registration, a Japanese national can choose any address for honseki, regardless of their current place of residence.
In response Korea has registered their own people:
Seoul has reportedly allowed more than 800 South Koreans to register their domicile origin on the islets.
Tokyo has demanded that the decision be annulled if the reports are true, but Seoul has refused to disclose any information, according to a Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo.
I have been to Dokto and there is only one way I can see these people fitting on the isles. High rise apartments will need to be made, one on each islet. One for the Koreans and one for the Japanese could be constructed. Could this end the Dokto dispute?
(Hat tip to the Japundit.)
The San Diego Union Tribune is reporting this interesting article about the North Korean gulag system. The article has interviews with defectors from North Korea who served time in the gulags. They provide a insightful look into the gulag system. Here is a fact I found amazing:
The concentration camp is a kind of closed town where a number of camps are linked together by a road. At least two of the camps, Hoeryong and Hwasong in Hamkyong Province, are larger in area than the District of Columbia.
A prison larger than Washington, DC? That is one large prison. Here is another piece of the article I found interesting:
In the 1990s, imprisonment befell some North Korean students and diplomats who had been studying or posted in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe and had been exposed to the collapse of socialist rule. According to Yong Kim, he saw some old white men in his gulag who he believed were American POWs from the Korean war of early 1950s. Also believed to have been placed in the prison system were a large number of South Koreans, including many fishermen, captured or abducted by North Korea over the years.
This would be absolutely horrible if we abandoned POW’s from the Korean War to a life of hell in a North Korean gulag. They white prisoners may be Russians or people who have defected to North Korea who needed to be reeducated. Hopefully these claims will be investigated by the government. Personally I find it hard to believe they could have survived so long in a gulag. Anyway interesting reading about the every day life of your average prisoner in North Korea, worth checking out.
Kaechon, a mining camp of about 15,000 prisoners, is about 25 to 31 miles long by 19 miles wide. According to Kim Yong, one of the camp’s survivors, daily meals consisted of 20 to 30 kernel of corn and watery cabbage soup. This image was provided by Space Imaging Asia, courtesy of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
(Hat Tip to Simon’s World for the link.)
A large cave was discovered recently on Cheju Island by utility workers installing a new power pole.
A pseudo-limestone cave, the world’s largest of its kind, was found on Cheju Island last Wednesday.
The island’s Pukcheju County reported Wednesday that the cave was confirmed to be a rare pseudo-limestone cave, referring to a secondary limestone cave transformed from a lava cave by water. Dr. Son In-seok, an independent geologist and teacher at Daejeong High School, made the confirmation.
“(The cave) is at least 2.5-kilometer-long and rich in formations of mineral deposits such as calcite stalactites and stalagmites. As far as we know, there is no other pseudo-limestone cave like this in the world,” Son told The Korea Times in a telephone interview. So far, 120-meter Hwanggum cave on the island was considered to the largest of its kind.
If you have plans to go to Cheju Island make sure to check out the different caves on the island. They are really amazing to see and worth the hike to explore them. This may become yet another worthwhile cave to explore on the island if they open it up to the public.
FIFA today fined the North Korean soccer team for the conduct of their fans during a recent match in Pyongyang.
The recent riot at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang cost North Korea and its soccer fans dearly. During the game against Iran, angry North Korean players shoved the referee. Disappointed fans hurled bottles and rocks on the field after their appeals for a penalty were turned down. Soldiers and the public security forces moved in to suppress the public unrest so uncharacteristic of this communist state.
After the game, the angry mob for two hours was preventing Iran’s bus from leaving the stadium. The Stadium, which is believed to be sacred for every citizen, has been vandalized. The common belief that the public order in North Korea is fully controlled by the state has been shaken.
For these actions North Korean soccer was fined the following:
The final stage of the 2006 World Cup preliminary competition does look dramatic for North Korea. The DPRK Football Association will be fined by FIFA and the next “home game” will be moved from North Korea to be played on a neutral ground and behind closed doors. When FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision was announced a month later, many named it unfair and cruel.
The currency-hungry state is forfeiting the equivalent of $16,800 in penalty. It will also lose hundreds of foreign guests and journalists who planned to visit Pyongyang on June 8, 2005, and miss the advantage over the rival team who are not accustomed to the artificial grass on the Kim Il-sung Stadium.
It this punishment fair for North Korea? Heck they were just acting like soccer hooligan fans in Europe. I like the reasoning of this editorial though:
In handling this incident, one should not forget the FIFA’s motto of fair play. The Disciplinary Committee’s decision has been made with consideration of safety for players, coaching staff, audience, and the fairness of the game in general. The North Koreans have failed to provide the safe environment during the match against Iran, a friendly state which is often grouped with the DPRK for its nuclear ambitions. What should we expect from the game where both states are technically at war with each other? The issues of kidnappings, territorial dispute, and history books may easily overshadow the atmosphere of international sport festival.
If North Korean fans treat a fellow “Axis of Evil” nation like this, how should FIFA expect North Korean fans to behave if the Japanese were to beat them in Pyongyang? I would have to agree it is a safety issue and probably a good decision by FIFA.
The Korea Times is reporting that the US is not planning to send Secretary Rice to North Korea.
Washington denied Tuesday a news report that North Korea has invited U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Pyongyang for discussions on the deepening dispute over its nuclear weapons programs.
No invitation has been received for Rice to visit the reclusive communist country for bilateral talks, an unidentified official at the State Department in Washington said.
The official was responding to a report by a Japanese business daily that North Korea has asked China to arrange a visit by the U.S. state secretary.
I don’t see this happening unless Pyongyang makes a lot of concessions in return. Especially after she called North Korea an “Outpost of Tyranny”. I would be surprised if they would want to have such a anti-North Korean figure traveling to their country. Plus I would think Secretary Rice has more important things to do then listen to demands from the Norks for food and money. I bet she in content to let the South Koreans listen to all the whining for now. I don’t see her getting involved unless a concrete deal has been reached.
The Korea Times has a nice follow up on a posting I did on the American Campaign of 1871 in Korea that is worth checking out.
The Base – For most people coming to Korea, Osan Air Base is the first place you will see because this is where the Space A flights land in Korea. The most recognizable feature of Osan while landing will the PATRIOT missile batteries that protect the airfield.
However, going to Osan Air Base when you have been stationed in 2ID for a while is like going to Disneyland. The cultural difference is just amazing. It actually feels like you are back in America. The base is extremely nice and has a huge PX and commissary plus everything else you would expect from a large US military installation back in the states.
At Osan AB there is plenty to do both on and off post. On post there is opportunities to participate in many intramural sports from softball to bowling. There is also a great golf course located coveniently on post. The post also features plenty of American eating establishments along with night clubs. The housing on Osan for the soldiers is the best in Korea with college dorm quality that the majority of barracks are either new or renovated. The rooms all have access to a great cable package to get all your favorite stations from the states along with high speed internet access. So if you get stationed on Osan feel fortunate because it is the nicest installation in Korea.
The Shopping – The Songtan market is famous for great shopping for foreigners in Korea. The shop owners in Songtan can speak some English and are familiar with western tastes. Unbelievable discounts on suits, leather jackets, hand bags, wallets, jewelery, etc. can be found in Songtan.
You will be absolutely amazed by the bargains there. Make sure you always haggle for the best price because in Asian culture haggling is expected so don’t by shy to negotiate for a lower price. Just tell them “kaka-chu-seyo!” This is Korean for, “I want a discount.” Use this phrase because it will save you money. Don’t pay more than you have to because if you do it encourages the shop keepers to raise their prices to rip off other foreigners.
Night Life – Outside the gate is the city of Songtan. The city features possibly the best night life in Korea outside of Itaewon.
Songtan has both your typical “juicy girl” clubs where soldiers buy drinks for $20 to talk to either Phillipino or Russian women brought into Korea. Make sure you do not get involved in human trafficking and prostitution. There is a big crackdown on this activity in the military and the best way to avoid it, is to avoid the juicy girl clubs.
The novelty of the juicy girls gets old and expensive after a while anyway so make sure you check out all the great normal clubs in Songtan. Unlike other GI “villes” in Korea that have nothing but “juicy girl” clubs, Songtan has plenty of normal clubs to check out.
If you have been stationed on Osan before please leave comments about your insights on Osan Air Base.
