Category: Uncategorized

According to this report, Kim Jong Il expressed his concerns about the collapse of the North Korean regime with Chinese leader Hu Jin-tao:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is worried that prolonged U.S. financial sanctions on the Stalinist country could lead to the regime’s collapse, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported on Saturday. It said Kim expressed his concern during his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing last month.

He was responding to a call from Hu to drop threats to stay away from six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear program unless the United States lifts the sanctions, the Japanese news agency said.

North Korea is obviously feeling the heat of US economic sanctions, but the only way their regime will collapse is if either China or South Korea also implements sanctions as well and discontinues propping up Kim Jong Il’s regime. I wouldn’t hold my breath to long waiting for that to happen.

Here is something I’m sure no one will see on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NY Times, orthe LA Times tonight:

Active-duty services exceeded their January recruiting goals, while some reserve branches fell short, the Defense Department announced Friday.

The Army met 103 percent of its goal with 8,337 recruits; the Navy got 101 percent of its goal with 2,726 new sailors; the Marine Corps met 106 percent of its goal with 3,234 Marine recruits; and the Air Force got 101 percent of its goal with 2,195 new airmen, according to the DOD.

The Army National Guard also got 113 percent of its goal with 6,341 recruits, while the Marine Corps Reserve and Air Force Reserve each met 100 percent of their goal with 854 and 2,362 recruits respectively.

Meanwhile, the Navy Reserve came up short, meeting 88 percent of its goal with 757 recruits.

Actually I can envision the headlines now if a story is made of this: Navy Falls Short of Recruiting Goals, Iraq War to Blame, with no mention of how everyone else has well exceeded their recruiting goals especially the Army while simultaneously expanding the size of the military. In fact the military has been exceeding recruiting goals for months now, yet you hear no one talking about it outside of the blogosphere.

Of course the anti-American website Voice of People would have the first reports and pictures concerning the protest Sunday at Camp Humphreys.

People Protesting Without Bashing in Policemen’s Heads with Pipes.

The report is all in Korean, but using my limited Korean knowledge I was able to make out, correct me someone if I’m wrong, that the protest drew approximately 4,000 people and get this, there was no violence against the riot police. In fact the riot police look pretty bored judging by this picture:

I have no problems with this protest; these people got their message out without destroying property or injuring anyone. In fact instead of violence they resorted to flying kites:

Actually looks like fun, but I don’t think young children should be at a protest like this, but I guess if you belong to one of the hate groups it is best to indoctrinate them while they are still young before they actually have a chance to meet any US soldiers and judge for themselves if they are the evil, thug barbarians that they have been told about.

Besides the kite flying this bomb fire looks like fun for the entire family as well:

Where’s the Marshmallows at?

Here is one of the main guys stirring up the trouble down there in Pyoengtaek, a Catholic priest named Mun Jeong-hyun:

Now my first question for him is how is he a Catholic priest, but is able to endorse people making offerings to an altar that is used to please the traditional Korean Gods for a good harvest:

On top of that the Shaman priest is some guy from Okinawa, Japan:

I thought these hate groups hated both the Japanese and the Americans?

Mr. Mun is a well known anti-USFK activist from Kunsan, not Pyeongtaek, and he has caused violence before in the past and has had police warrants out for his arrest, but yet here is again. At least this time he didn’t incite violence, but still I find it interesting that a Catholic priest is compliant with shamanist offerings and inciting violence in the name of the Catholic church.

Well I will continue to update this post as more information becomes available in the English media, but from what I can tell this protest wasn’t very large but I never expected it to be. The hate groups’ Super Bowl will be when the Korean government tries to forcibly remove protesters from homes on the bought land that will be used to expand Camp Humphreys.

Via Riding Sun, the Japan Times is reporting a veiled threat made against Japan by the Egyptian ambassador to Japan:

Attacks like the ones on the Danish embassies in Syria and Lebanon last weekend could take place in Japan if the media here insult Muslims by reprinting cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, Egyptian Ambassador to Japan Hisham Badr warned Friday.

“This is not a question of freedom of expression… This is a question of blaspheme of religion,” Badr said in an interview with The Japan Times. “It touches a very raw nerve” with Muslims worldwide.

Badr praised both Tokyo for urging media not to reprint the cartoons and news organizations for complying.

…”Reprinting (the images) is a provocation,” the ambassador said. “It is as if they are saying ‘we don’t care about your feelings.'”

He added that even pictures of the caricatures that show them indirectly is unnecessary. The Japan Times printed a photograph in its Feb. 4 editions of a person holding a French newspaper that carried the cartoons.

Amazing that an ambassador is threatening Japan with violent protests over a cartoon. I doubt the media will publish the cartoons due to Japanese business interests in the Muslim world but still I find it arrogant that this guy is trying to push his country’s societal norms on to the Japanese. What he is going to tell the Japanese next, that all the women in Japan must wear burkas because the women showing their faces offends Islam? Where do you draw the line?

This story made me think if Islamic countries like Egypt have made any threats against Korea. I haven’t heard about any veiled threats and I have not seen the Korean media publish the cartoons either; probably because of the same business reasons as the Japanese.

However, how would Korea react if the sizable migrant Islamic workers in the country suddenly started protesting violently and burning cars? Would the riot police beat them down and arrest them though they would never do that to Korean people that protest. With the large ROK Army troop presence in Iraq, the Islamic radicals stirring up these global protests backed by Iran and Syria, would be eager to stir up trouble in Korea. I doubt it will happen though because the vast majority of migrant workers in Korea are to busy working and earning a honest living to make a better life for themselves and their families than to stir up trouble over some stupid cartoons.

UPDATE: In response to my below question concerning teenage prostitution in Korea, the Metropolitician has in fact confirmed this problem:

I’m not saying the United States or any other country in the world has a monopoly on morality. What I am saying is that there seems to have been a disconnect somewhere in the rush for development in this country that has fostered the message that development and “getting ahead” is important enough to get there by any means necessary. This mentality is what leads to “education fever” that convinces healthy 18 year-olds to take flying leaps off buildings if they fail an exam, or the statistic that 1 in 4 high school girls has exchanged sex for money or favors in some form (in one study done by a Korean researcher for a paper on sex in cyberspace).

If it seems high, let me tell you that after having worked in Korean public, private, and especially alternative schools – this number seems to reflect reality, believe it or not. There’s even a name for the concept of underage female girls having sex for “compensation” – wonjo kyoje (원조교제) – which may give you a sense of how everyday such acts are. I’m not saying everyone’s doing it – I’m just saying that it’s not unusual. Not a social problem you hear about in the oft-described “liberal” or “morally corrupt” United States. Ah, right – Korea’s is a “family-oriented” society.

Read the rest of the post for some more interesting insights into this issue.
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This from the Korea Times, is kind of disgusting:

About 20 percent of teenage prostitutes in the southeastern port city of Pusan began working in the industry when they were under 14 just for money, according to a survey.

The Pusan Metropolitan Police Agency Friday released the survey of 85 teenagers and 157 men who were caught engaging in the sex trade in the city last year.

Police said that 44.7 percent of the underage prostitutes sold sex to make money to cover entertainment costs like social gatherings.

About 31, or 36 percent of them said they sold sex for a living, indicating their motivation in turning to prostitution.

Who are these people willing to buy sex from 14 year olds?:

Police said that prostitutes are getting younger as adults are luring vulnerable teenagers into the sex trade with promises of money.

About 47 percent, or 40 teenage sex workers, received 100,000-150,000 won for a prostitution job.

Some 21 percent, or 18 teenagers, took 60,000-100,000 won, while 16.5 percent earned less than 50,000 won.

Among the 157 men who bought sex from girls, office workers accounted for 30.6 percent, followed by independent business owners with 22.9 percent.

Does anyone know if teenage prostitution in Korea is as bad as this article makes it out to be?

Former ROK Army veterans who served in the Vietnam War recently won a lawsuit against the US companies responsible for manufacturing the chemical, Agent Orange, that was used to clear foliage in the jungles of Vietnam:

In the first Korean court ruling on compensation for illnesses triggered by the use of Agent Orange, a defoliant, during the Vietnam War, the Seoul High Court said yesterday that the U.S. chemical companies Dow Chemical and Monsanto must pay 6,795 Korean veterans a total of 63 billion won ($63 million).

“There is a high possibility that the plaintiffs, who were in Vietnam between 1965 and 1973, were exposed to the toxic chemical,” the court said. “We acknowledged the need for compensation for those who suffered 11 diseases that are the aftermath of exposure to Agent Orange, such as lymphatic gland cancer and larynx cancer.”

I think it is a good thing that these veterans won this lawsuit because it is pretty well documented the affects Agent Orange has had on Vietnam War veterans. A little known fact outside of Korea, is the fact that Korea had 47,682 soldiers fighting in Vietnam at the height of the war in 1968, at the US’s request and over 5,000 Korean soldiers were killed in the jungles there.

I have talked to many Korean Vietnam War veterans and every single one of them felt like they had been spurned and forgotten by the general Korean public. The US government at least should not forget about these veterans and help them get their compensation from the specified companies.

It will be interesting to see if President Roh will do anything as well to help these veterans. Remember this is the same guy that will not attend a memorial ceremony for six South Korean sailors murdered during a coordinated North Korean attack. With this in mind why would President Roh care about some old, sick Korean Vietnam War veterans?

This has to be the longest police chase I have ever heard of:

After a 71-and-a-half-hour chase involving special forces, a helicopter and three patrol boats, Jeju Maritime Police boarded and took control Thursday of a Russian freighter, which was on the run after dropping logs into waters east of Korea.
The “Tyumen,” a 4,516-ton boat transporting lumber, sent a distress call on Monday morning, indicating that it was sinking about 68.5 kilometers (42.6 miles) east of Mukho Harbor, Donghae, Gangwon province. The boat was en route to China from Russia.

After 25 minutes, the troops and police gained control of the Russian boat. The police took the boat and its crew to Hwasun harbor where the captain was being questioned on charges of violating Korean laws governing public water management.

The Korean government has reacted to the recent reduction of the foreign film quota system in Korea by offering subsidies instead:

The government will inject W400 billion (US$400 million) into the film industry over the next five years to compensate it for a cut in the screen quota that so far guaranteed it a comfortable 176 days a year in the movie theaters. Half the money is to come from a 5 percent levy on tickets.

The long list of well made Korean films can stand on their own against Hollywood blockbusters and this subisidy that is coming from the consumers wallets will only serve to keep the crappy Korean films around.

US is apparently moving ahead with a plan to enforce further financial penalties on the North Koreans because of their illegal counterfeiting and financial activities:

But under the draft order, almost all finance companies would be effectively prohibited from doing business with North Korea. That would also affect international financial institutions outside the U.S. and thus deal a heavy blow to North Korea’s overseas trade.

In Perl’s reading, financial institutions would have a choice whether they are with or against the U.S., but given the importance of their U.S. interests, it would in effect force most major international firms to stop dealing with the North.

The South Korean government is of course upset that the US would enforce their own laws and levy penalties against the North Koreans for violating them. The financial sanctions plan will have an affect on the North Koreans, but I don’t see it causing the regime to collapse. The regime will not collapse until the South Koreans and Chinese stop given them continuous free hand outs. Whatever amount of money they lose from the financial sanctions the North Koreans will just demand an equable amount of aid from the South Koreans to make up for the short fall.

It appears that Koreans will be able to enter the US Visa free by 2008:

Michael Kirby, U.S. consul-general to South Korea, said on Thursday that it will be possible for Seoul to join Washington’s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as early as 2008 if it shows a visa refusal rate below 3 percent for two years.

“I am very optimistic that, if everything works out, it will be possible perhaps for (South) Korea to join the program as early as 2008,” Kirby told YTN, a 24-hour cable news channel.

I think it is great if South Korea becomes part of the Visa Waiver Program because it has been a sore point for Koreans traveling to the US for a long time, plus the US Embassy in Seoul would be greatly relieved because they currently process more visa applications than any other US Embassy in the world. I just think that it is important that the VWP rules not be bent to allow the Koreans to join. There are set rules that must be met and if Korea meets them by 2008, than they should be allowed to join the program.