I would think the Chinese would not be too happy with the North Koreans trying to draw attention away from the G-20 Summit they are currently hosting, but obviously the Kim regime cares little about what the Chinese think:

North Korea on Monday fired three medium-range missiles that traveled about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to coincide with the Group of 20 economic summit in China, South Korean officials said.

North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia, and this one came as world leaders gathered in eastern China for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies. China is North Korea’s only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the three ballistic missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing into the sea.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but all these missile launches do is further justify South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to the ROK against Chinese objections.

It sounds like the critics of the Hanjin bankruptcy think the Korean government should have bailed them out like the US did the too big to fail banks in 2008:

Hanjin Shipping’s filing for court receivership is inflicting far larger-than-expected negative impacts both at home and abroad as major routes for trade are being suspended.

The government and creditors are facing growing criticism that they are responsible for having thrown global ports and traders into confusion.

About half of Hanjin’s fleet is stuck in ports around the world as the authorities there fear the shipper whose assets have been frozen is unable to pay fees.

The government will not be able to avoid criticism for underestimating the fallout of the bankruptcy of the world’s seventh largest shipper.

It is still pondering over contingency plans to contain the backlash, creating a task force to ensure there are no delays in the flow of cargo.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will lead the task force along made up of ranking officials from nine related ministries and agencies.

“The government will make sure that the fallout from Hanjin Shipping doesn’t lead to chaos in logistics or a transmission to the real economy including exports,” said Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young-suk, after an emergency meeting held Sunday.

“We will closely cooperate to support damaged industries, taking all possible policy measures,” he said.

However, officials from the shipping industry criticize the government for allowing the shipper to go bankrupt without having drawn up proper countermeasures.

The most urgent problem is that exports may fail to arrive at their final destination on time as 68 of Hanjin Shipping’s vessels are stranded at sea worldwide as of Sunday. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it is pretty amazing that a huge company like Hanjin has gone into bankruptcy.  It seems like the simple answer is that another company buys Hanjin and then restarts operations with a fresh cash flow to pay the various port fees that are currently delaying shipping.

Has any ROK Heads seen this movie yet and can testify how good it really is?:

Korean disaster flick “Tunnel” has claimed the top spot at the box office for the fourth weekend in a row, data showed Monday.

According to the official box office tally from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), a state agency for promoting homegrown films, the movie added 344,332 to its domestic total of 6,942,566 over Sept. 2-4.

Starring Ha Jung-woo, Bae Doona and Oh Dal-su, the film has topped the daily box office chart for 26 straight days, the longest period for any film that opened this year.

It surpassed the 6 million mark on Aug. 27, the 18th day of running, becoming the sixth film that reached the milestone this year in the country. The film is soon expected to hit the 7 million barrier.

Directed by Kim Seong-hun, the film portrays the desperate struggle of a car salesman who accidentally gets trapped inside a collapsed tunnel on his way home from work. His wife and the rescue team captain make every effort to save him but are confronted with politicians and people who do not want a development plan to be delayed to rescue a single person who may have already died.   [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

https://twitter.com/StevenWard/status/771352547873337344

A customer looks at a “Mudeungsan” watermelon (R) and an ordinary one at the Daegu Department Store in the name sake city on Aug. 26, 2016. Mudeungsan watermelon, which was an offering to the king during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), sells for 200,000 won (US$180). Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, is the origin of the watermelon. The department store provided this photo) (Yonhap)

A Korean golden frog is seen at a watercourse in Dangjin, a city in the central province of South Chungcheong, in this undated photo released by the Dangjin municipality on Sept. 2, 2016. The endangered species is indigenous to the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)

A former Washington Post journalist has released a new book that details his experiences living and working in South Korea:

In his new memoir, Ahrens, a former Washington Post journalist, tells of the three years he spent in Seoul working for Hyundai and his rough adjustment adapting to a culture that is, in many ways, the polar opposite of how we live in America.

When Ahrens’ wife, who worked for the Foreign Service, received a posting in Seoul, Ahrens was hired by Hyundai to head up their global p.r. effort. But almost two decades in a Washington, DC, newsroom hadn’t prepared him for his new home.

For one thing, Korea’s culture of personal improvement would make a Kardashian blush, as plastic surgery is far more pervasive than in the US. This obsession with appearance is known there as “lookism.”

“South Korean women use on average three times as many daily skin-care products as Western women,” Ahrens writes, noting that plastic surgery is so common, it’s regarded as a major economic engine.

“There is a medical-tourism booth in Incheon International Airport. Korea has the highest number of plastic surgeons per capita and the world’s highest rate of cosmetic surgery. Buses and subway ads all over Seoul show highly graphic, often gruesome before-and-after photos.” [New York Post]

You can read more at the link, but the article describes many things most readers here would probably not be surprised by such as Koreans drink a lot of soju.

As North Korea continues to develop its Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) capability South Korea is definitely going to need to acquire this technology in response:

The South Korean military may buy four cutting-edge antisubmarine patrol aircraft in the wake of the successful test-firing of a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea last week, a senior government official told the JoongAng Ilbo Tuesday.

The advanced maritime surveillance aircraft being considered by the military is a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, which costs between 250 billion and 300 billion won ($223 – 268 million) per jet. The U.S. Navy has such aircraft, as do the Indian and Australian navies.

“North Korea is preparing a number of strategic ways to attack the South using its submarine fleet on top of the SLBM development,” said the official, “We are discussing whether to purchase the latest maritime patrol aircraft to detect North Korean submarines to prevent surprise attacks from under water.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

For those who celebrate it, I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!

https://twitter.com/AskAKorean/status/771973042385944576