Via a reader tip comes the latest slogan disaster from South Korea, this time from the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics:

“It’s you, PyeongChang.”

It makes sense grammatically, but what does it mean?

Many foreigners scratched their heads after reading the sentence featuring in an advertisement in major newspapers on Monday meant to promote the nation’s first winter Olympics in the mountain city of PyeongChang in February 2018.

The Gangwon Province government that created the ad said “It’s you, PyeongChang” was intended to promote that every member of the global village, Koreans and non-Koreans alike, has a role to make the event a success.

Yet few seemed to have found the message from it.

“The phrase doesn’t reach me in anyway,” said Celeste Kriel, a South African living in Seoul. “It can be interpreted in so many ways that it’s hard to grasp the message.”

An American teacher in Seoul said, “It sounds like they are really missing PyongChang… Maybe PyongChang is their long lost lover?”

Several other foreigners told The Korea Times that the message “unclear” and bewildering.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder how much money they paid for some PR firm to come up with this slogan.  Should have just asked us here at the ROK Drop to come up with slogans.  Does anyone have any slogan suggestions they want to share?

I have always thought that South Korea is an ideal location for electric cars to be sold considering the short distances that are driven in the country:

GM Korea, poised to launch the fully electric car Chevrolet Bolt EV early next year in Korea, confirmed Tuesday with the Ministry of Environment that its vehicle can travel 383 kilometers (239 miles) per charge.

It can now drive the longest distance with one full charge among the vehicles set to debut next year.

“Bolt EV is able to travel from Seoul to Busan with one charge,” said James Kim, president and CEO of GM Korea. “It is going to change the paradigm of Korea’s EV market.”

The retail price has not been revealed. Its U.S. price is an estimated $37,500 before tax incentives. [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

I am always careful to caveat these type of stories coming out of North Korea because there is no way to confirm whether they are true or not.  They could just be a random rumor that a newspaper editor saw an opportunity for a sensational headline to publish:

Kim Jong Un got drunk and ordered military leaders to write statements about their failures while visiting his summer villa, according to a Japanese press report published Tuesday. The punishment also required the military veterans to write an apology.

“That none of you were able to produce not even one military satellite is a misconduct that is commensurate to treason,” Kim allegedly told senior officials at the time. The veterans were required to stay up all night writing the letters, but when Kim found them in the morning, he was allegedly confused about why there were gathered at his vacation home. “Why are you gathered here?” Kim allegedly said, before adding: “Be careful about your health because you are all old.”

Some of the military leaders began crying, fearful that Kim would order their executions or forced deportations from North Korea, as he has done in the past to other North Korean leaders who were faced with his reportedly hot temper.  [International Business Times]

You can read more at the link.

Here’s why so many Chinese tourists are vacationing in North Korea https://t.co/4ihb7qwhSn by @SurekhaRagavan

— Adam Cathcart (@adamcathcart) December 12, 2016

These photos from North Korea’s daily Rodong Sinmun on Dec. 13, 2016, features the country’s top leader Kim Jong-un visiting the Wonsan Army-People Power Station in southeastern Kangwon Province. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The USFK commander is saying there will not be a delay in the deployment of THAAD to Korea, but the ROK opposition parties are using the current Presidential political crisis as an opportunity to stop the deployment:

The commander of the U.S. Forces Korea said Tuesday there will be no delay in the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile shield in South Korea next year.

Opposition parties have stepped up their objection to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system since the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye last Friday, demanding the decision to introduce THAAD be delayed to the next administration.

“I don’t expect any delays,” Gen. Vincent K. Brooks told Yonhap News Agency when asked if he expected the political crisis to affect the deployment.

He made the remark after a meeting with Defense Minister Han Min-koo at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

I guess this guy figures he can ride out the ROK presidential scandal to its conclusion by remaining in hiding:

The National Assembly is getting close to tracking down Woo Byung-woo, the former presidential secretary for civil affairs who has been on the run to avoid questioning over his role in the abuse of power scandal that led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.

Its uncommon allies in the hunt: average angry Koreans.

Several people, including Woo and the presidential friend at the center of the scandal, Choi Soon-sil, did not obey summonses by a bipartisan special legislative committee that held a series of public hearings last week to grill key suspects in the scandal.

Former and current lawmakers have come together to offer a nearly 15 million won ($12,855) bounty for details on the whereabouts of Woo, who has earned the nickname “mikkuraji” (loach) in local media, a Korean term for someone hard to catch.

A personal aide of Rep. Sohn Hye-won from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, who is one of the committee’s 18 members, said on a CBS radio show Tuesday morning that ordinary Koreans were eagerly hunting Woo down.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but the summons papers has to be handed to him in person to be legally binding.  This is why he is remaining in hiding so no one can hand him the papers that would legally force him to appear in public for questioning about the scandal.

According to the article the ROK has bought these missiles for the explicit purpose of targeting North Korean regime leadership:

South Korea is a step closer to being the first Asian country to deploy air-to-surface missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers.

The Air Force said Monday some 40 German-made Taurus missiles have arrived in South Korea and are being inspected at the K2 Air Base in Daegu.

Once they pass inspections, the missiles are set to be deployed on F-15K fighter jets within the year.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

1/6: Once again, Pyongyang does not want peace or even a peace treaty. It wants an endless peace treaty negotiation. https://t.co/e5nKmlJxkj

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) December 12, 2016

Pregnancy test kits are displayed on the shelf of a Seoul convenience store on Dec. 13, 2016, when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety allowed such kits to be sold at convenience stores nationwide. (Yonhap)