Is China secretly punishing Kim Jong Un for his nuclear mischief? https://t.co/rdtpljd8bH by me @PostOpinions

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) July 1, 2016

Soldiers from the 35th Infantry Division help old farmers harvest onions at fields in Imsil, 300 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 28, 2016. Many rural areas in the country are suffering from severe labor shortages as youths there leave their hometowns to find jobs in cities. Imsil County provided this photo. (Yonhap)

A stream cutting through the central city of Cheongju overflows its banks on July 4, 2016, as the city was hit by downpours with the onslaught of the annual rainy season. Weathermen have posted a heavy rain warning for the region. (Yonhap)

If restaurants are lowering prices as well as closing down due to the new anti-corruption law just how many public servants are being bought off each day with free meals in Seoul?:

The implementation of a controversial anti-corruption law is scaring the retail and restaurant industries, who fear that gifts and free meals will become illegal.

The so-called Kim Young-ran law, named for a former Supreme Court Justice and Chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission who inspired it, was promulgated and signed by President Park Geun-hye in March 2015 and will be implemented from September 28. It forbids people in a range of professions from accepting meals that cost over 30,000 won ($26), gifts valued over 50,000 won and cash payments over 100,000 won.

Public officials fall under the law but also teachers, professors and even journalists. They are considered “public” professions by the lawmakers who passed the bill.

“A lunch menu at our Chinese restaurant is priced at 39,500 won,” said Oh Hee-jin, a manger at the Ritz-Carlton Seoul. “We are looking into lowering this to 30,000 won.”

Lotte Department Store is looking at reducing the size of gift sets to get their price tags below 50,000 won each.

But lowering prices is not a viable option for everyone.

“Hotels are supposed to take pride in providing the best services and food,” said a manager at the Shilla Hotel. “We can’t do that anymore if we start lowering prices on everything.”

Some restaurant owners are closing stores altogether. Some 30 vacant sites in Insa-dong, central Seoul, were once restaurants.

“Since April, restaurants have been closing one after another,” said a real estate agent near Insa-dong. “Restaurant owners used to rent space and pay a 200 million won premium. Now they won’t sign a deal even when I’ve lowered the premium to just 100 million won.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that a private sector employee like a journalist is able to fall under this bill and be considered a public profession.  I am surprised no one in the media has challenged this law yet.

What is it with South Korea and horrible slogans?:

The government on Monday officially adopted “Creative Korea” as South Korea’s new national slogan and promote it internationally to highlight the importance the country places on fostering creativity.

The country had used “Dynamic Korea,” as its official slogan ahead of the 2002 South Korea-Japan World Cup.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chose the new slogan based on public polls that singled out “creativity,” “passion and “harmony” as the three main keywords that can best identify Korea, and listened to opinions from local and foreign experts.

The ministry said while “passion” was the driving force of building today’s Korea from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, “creativity” is a value that the country should pursue to move itself forward to cope with changing demands of the time.

To promote the image, the government will launch a national brand campaign on foreign news media outlets such as CNN and BBC and its overseas missions and relevant organizations, including Korean cultural centers and the Korea Tourism Organization.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but at least this slogan is not as bad as Seoul’s new slogan.

How every country in the world celebrates Independence Day https://t.co/oOBsKgfYxt pic.twitter.com/ghN0zgtvEk

— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 2, 2016

I would not be surprised at all if hundreds of North Korean spies are active in South Korea, heck some of them operate right out in the open:

South Korea’s military counterintelligence agency arrested eight civilians suspected of passing military secrets to North Korea.

The suspects were under investigation, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Wan-young, who attended a closed-door parliamentary briefing on Friday, Newsis reported.

The first four defendants were arrested more than a year ago in May 2015 on charges of espionage and sharing South Korean military intelligence with contacts in the North.

The suspects were found guilty of spying and are “all civilians who made contact with South Korean military personnel for the purposes of extracting army secrets, and to deliver them to North Korea,” Lee said.

Another four suspects arrested in 2016 are under separate investigations on similar charges, local news service News 1 reported.

The most recent round of arrests also involved suspects who attempted to win the trust of military officers to procure classified information, Lee said.

The information that was passed to the North include details on military facilities and “other data,” according to the South Korean lawmaker.

Cases of espionage among South Koreans are rare, but according to a former spy and defector in 2015, North Korean spies are operating in the “hundreds.”

Pyongyang has previously used spies to infiltrate the South and instruct them to commit suicide if caught.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.  I hope for everyone that is celebrating it that they have a great 4th of July weekend!

Thank you @mwlippert @LRobynDC for great US Indepence Day party in Seoul. #Denmark proud of strong alliance with USA pic.twitter.com/ukiHkOcAoD

— Svend Olling (@DKAMBinKorea) July 1, 2016

Reed Hastings (L), CEO of Netflix, and the company’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos speak at a media event in Seoul on June 30, 2016. They said Netflix will provide more South Korean content, targeting the large following in China of K-dramas. The company has invested US$50 million in the new film “Okja” with South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, scheduled for release next year. (Yonhap)