The Japundit points out how Korea always criticizes Japan for their educational system. Well this site shows what the Koreans have been teaching their kids. From my perspective, at least their not drawing hate pictures of America, which not to long ago was a common thing to see here.

Just Another Day Of Quality Learning In The Korean Educational System

Why wouldn’t my elementary teachers let me draw things like this about the old Soviet Union? Art class would of been so much funner that way. Obviously the Korean kids are having fun and have become much better drawers than I could ever be.

Army deserter Charles Jenkins is in the US visiting his ederly mother. Judging by this picture his mom doesn’t seem to enthused about all the media attention given to her son. His wife Hitomi Soga on the right of Jenkins, also doesn’t seem to be enjoying the spotlight as well. Jenkins in the picture looks as old as his mom though she is 25 years older than him. I guess that is what living in North Korea for 40 years will do to you.

I’ve been book tagged by the Lost Nomad. I actually had to do a lot of thinking to compile this list because I read so much and have such a wide range of interests. However, here is what I came up with:

How Many Books Have I Owned:

I estimate probably a thousand or more. I got one book shelf here at home plus another in my office plus two more bookcases worth of books in storage back in the states just waiting for me to come home.

The Last Book I Bought:

I recently bought Flags of Our Fathers which is a book about the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. I was inspired to buy the book after reading and seeing the pictures about Iwo Jima on Gardener in Korea’s site. Looking at Mark’s pictures of the terrain those Marines landed on really gave me a renewed appreciation of what those guys had done that month of February 1945. Just think, 110,000 soldiers were involved in the landing operation on an island that was 7.5 square kilometers. That is only 40,000 less soldiers than what we have in all of Iraq which is the size of California. Then 6,800 Americans died to take that island along with 21,000 dead Japanese soldiers. We have lost 1,700 soldiers in just over 2 years of fighting in Iraq. It really puts thing is perspective what these guys had to go through and accomplished for our country in February 1945. So I’m really looking forward to getting started on this book.

The Last Book I Read:

I am currently reading Rogue Regime by Jasper Becker. So far the book has been interesting and definitely has an anti-Kim Jong Il tone to it. Reading the stories in here about Kim Jong Il from defectors and other people who have been to North Korea just causes me to shake my head why some people think Kim Jong Il isn’t so bad. So if you haven’t read much about the North Korean problem this book is a good place to start because it is easy reading mixed with well researched opinions about the North Korean problem.

Five Books That Meant A Lot To Me:

I love to read just about any Ernest Hemingway book. My two favorite Hemingway books are The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell To Arms. The Old Man and the Sea is a fish tale that should be right up Nomdad’s alley. The book focuses on the battle between an old fisherman and a huge marlin he has caught. It is a life and death struggle between both fish and man that ends with no one winning except the nearby sharks. Hemingway draws many parrallels between one’s own struggles through life and even parrallels of Jesus’s struggles through this book. The theme of life being a constant struggle that you can’t always win, but you still need to keep your head up and wake up every morning and keep fishing is something many people can appreciate.

A Farewell to Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own World War I experience. During the Great War Hemingway was excited to see war but was made an ambulance driver due to his poor eye sight. Hemingway ended up being the first American wounded in World War I. Likewise the hero of this book, Lt. Henry is also an ambulance driver and he to was initially excited about fighting a war. He ended up finding out the reality of war and love at the same time which is the true tradgedy of this novel.

Hemingway’s books tended to be loosely based off of events in his own life. He was a decorated war hero, loved hunting, fishing, boating, and he probably liked women more than anything else as he was married numerous times. He also served as a newspaper correspondent during World War II and is rumored to have fought side by side with the US soldiers he was covering. His books also weren’t known for happy endings which also unfortunately parralleled his own life once again as he committed suicide after battling mental illness for many years. But the legacy of his life lives on through his books.

Another author I really like is Jack London. The first book I read from Jack London was Call of the Wild. This book chronicles the life of a dog named Buck living the easy life with his master when one day he is dognapped to be sold as a sled dog during the Alaskan Gold Rush. Buck goes through much brutality and many changes in owners and environments before finally meeting the right owner that could bring out his inner wolf. People are the same way, put people in the right environment with the right leadership and great things will happen.

Being an avid outdoorsman I can really appreciate London’s use of animals and the frontier environment to tell a story.

Another book I like is Travels in the Orient which is a book about Marco Polo’s journey across the Middle East, through central Asia, and on to China. I have always been fascinated with the story of Marco Polo. It is amazing to think that a common Venician merchant was able to become a confidant of the great Mongol leader Kublai Khan who was then ruling most of the known world. The book also includes great photography along the modern day Silk Road and other areas that Marco Polo traveled through. I still like to thumb through the book and look at the pictures.

Also the book by Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness, is a book I will not soon forget. This book chronicles one man’s journey up an African river to find a man named Kurtz. The further up the river he goes the more tragic things become until he finally finds the mysterious Kurtz. If this tale sounds familiar it should because this book is what the movie, Apocalypse Now! is based on except the movie is set in Vietnam with Martin Sheen traveling up a river in Vietnam into Cambodia looking for a mysterious Colonel Kurtz played by Marlon Brando. After reading the book and seeing the movie you really get a renewed appreciation for both works.

Finally I cannot leave out the books by Carl Sagan. Most notably, Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot, and Billions and Billions. Sagan is probably still the world’s most famous scientist as his books and movies had a way of making science enjoyable and understandable for kids and common people.

Some other authors I enjoy are Michael Crichton, Clive Clussler, and Ralph Peters. I also enjoy reading classical Greek & Roman history plus books about Korea, China, and Japan, not to mention my collection of Star Wars books as well.

The Next Victims:

If they want to participate I tag Brian at Gangwon Notes and the Japundit next.

Three North Koreans have infiltrated the DMZ to seek asylum in South Korea.

Three apparent defectors from North Korea were found on Friday morning, two in the West Sea and one in Gangwon Province, a day after a show of inter-Korean unity marking the fifth anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration came to an end in Pyongyang. Police and military officials are investigating how the three crossed the DMZ and whether they intended to defect.

I wonder if this isn’t the beginning of new trend for defections. With the crackdown in China and South Korea doing everything possible to stop defections at foreign embassies the defectors may now be trying to go straight to South Korea. Once in South Korea the government cannot kick them out.

I’m also concerned about the security of the DMZ if people are getting through like this. In addition I’m kind of concerned what would happen if the ROK Army did see some defectors trying to penetrate the DMZ. Would they shoot them to prevent future defections? I hope not. What would they do if North Korean soldiers were shooting at defectors trying to cross? Would they fire back at the North Koreans or let the Norks cross and grab the defectors? If this is a building trend this could lead to some real potential border problems in the future.

The Second Infantry Division has further completed more steps towards it’s transformation into a UEX. The transformation is difficult to explain unless you are in the army, but the bottom line is that the 2nd Infantry Division is more deployable than before the transformation.

The ROK Army’s Zaytun Unit has finally found something to do in Iraq. It took a year to find something for them to do but at least 40 of the 3,200 soldiers will be guarding a UN office building in Irbil the Kurdish capital city.

U.S. and South Korean defense officials from Washington and Seoul said yesterday they expect Korean troops in Iraq to assume guard duties for a UN relief agency office in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, starting in September.
The United Nations asked Korea’s Zaytun unit, which has been stationed in Irbil since last year, for a protection force.

The UN’s office is situated near the Zaytun base. Officials from Korea and the United States confirmed the UN request and expect Seoul to approve the step. “We believe the mission fits the troops’ peace and reconstruction activities,” said Yoon Kwang-ung, Korea’s defense minister. “We believe the operation is possible without any additional [troop] deployment.”

Mr. Yoon estimated up to 40 soldiers would be assigned to guard the relief agency’s office.
Lee Jong-seok, deputy head of the National Security Council, also informed the National Assembly on Tuesday that the Blue House was considering a plan to assign Korean soldiers to guard the UN mission in the Kurdish region. The UN has made numerous requests for protection for its new building and staff in Irbil where the international body opened a new office in April. However, the Korean government was hesitant to accept the request citing the potential for an increase in threats against Korean troops.

I have been critical of this deployment from the start due to my concerns that Korea isn’t doing enough for reconstruction and also that if Korea loses a few soldiers in Iraq the anti-American Hatefest will begin again here blaming the US for the attack just like the US was blamed by many for the Kim Sun Il beheading last June, when they should of having been going after the terrorists that did it.

However, this is at least a start and I’m confident the ROK Army will carry out the mission well. Now somebody just got to find something for the remaining 3,160 other soldiers to do.

Korea Sojourner has a great post about inaccuracies in the Korean media regarding USFK accidents. The Korea Sojourner is right on the money with everything he says. Definitely check it out.

The Marmot linked to this story in the Honolulu Advertiser that talks about the possible reshuffling of US forces in the Pacific. This is what the article had to say about the Army:

The Army headquarters at Fort Shafter would become a war-fighting command to devise and execute operations rather than to train and provide troops to other commands as it does now. The U.S. four-star general’s post in Korea would be transferred to Hawai’i.

I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash., would move to Camp Zama, Japan, to forge ties with Japan’s ground force. Japan would organize a similar unit, perhaps called the Central Readiness Command, to prepare and conduct operations with the U.S. Army.

Japanese officials are considering elevating the Self-Defense Agency to a ministry and renaming Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force as the Japanese Army and the same for the navy and air force. Shedding those postwar names would reflect Japan’s emergence from its pacifist cocoon.

In South Korea, the U.S. plans to disband the Eighth Army that has been there since the Korean War of 1950-53, to relinquish command of South Korean troops to the South Koreans, and to minimize or eliminate the United Nations Command set up during the Korean War.

A smaller tactical command would oversee U.S. forces that remain in South Korea, which would be down to 25,000 from 37,000 in 2008. That may be cut further since Seoul has denied the U.S. the “strategic flexibility” to dispatch U.S. forces from South Korea to contingencies elsewhere.

I have heard about transformation concepts in the Pacific similar to this, but people need to realize that this is just a draft. What you are reading here I doubt will actually happen. It may make great strategic sense but you have to think about the political factors involved in this.

The Koreans are already draggging their feet on the relocation of US forces within Korea due to monetary and local economic issues. These issues have already delayed the Yongsan Garrison move which is something just about every Korean tells you they want but when you get down to making it happen the domestic concerns keeping delaying it from becoming a reality. The Koreans would probably similarly drag their feet on a massive withdrawal of forces and the dismantlement of the 8th Army command here.

Then in Japan how eager is the Japanese public to having more US GI’s in country plus having to change their pacifist constitution to allow the Japanese SDF to become a joint offensive force with the US I Corps. Then imagine the protests from countries in the region if Japan does do away with its pacifist constitution.

Don’t go bet the farm yet on this happening. Some of this may happen but I believe some of it also won’t happen. The article is a lot of speculation and more of a reflection of what Rumsfeld would ideally like to see happen but probably not what is going to happen.

According to the Stars and Stripes a group of local protestors will continue to sit at the site of last Friday’s traffic accident. This group feels USFK doesn’t do enough to prevent traffic accidents:

Kang said he’s tired of U.S. military promises that officials will work to avoid accidents. He wants U.S. leaders to “take substantial measures” and “stick to them.”

One idea, he said, is to restrict the movement of bigger military vehicles during peak traffic times.

I can guarantee that 2ID’s traffic accident rate is well below the Korean average. I have seen all kinds of accidents on these roads up here including one just yesterday I saw where a car took out a moped. 2ID puts a lot of emphasis in driver’s training. You have to go through a full week 40 hour block of instruction before being allowed to even take the driver’s test. When the soldiers take the driver’s test guess who tests them? A Korean official. The Korean official is the one that grades the tests and decides who passes and receives a learners permit. The US Army does not pass people on driver’s test the Koreans do.

Then after receiving the learners permit the soldier still has to receive 8 hours of road testing from the unit’s Master Driver before becoming officially licensed. It is by no means an easy process to get a license. Then just to dispatch a truck to drive off post there is a whole other set of procedures you have to go through that is not easy.

Then there are the procedures you have to go through for convoy operations. I once sat in a 4 hour convoy briefing with the Assistant Division Commander. Every driver and passenger in the convoy had to brief the General on his or her’s duties during the convoy. You really have to see one of these convoy briefings to realize how elaborate they are.

Then Mr. Kang’s idea to restrict 2ID vehicle movements during peak traffic times is not a good idea either. The traffic stays congested up here from eight in the morning till about seven at night. That would mean the military would have to work at night. I’m sure all the business and club owners in Dongducheon would love that. Anyway, at night accidents will still occur because of the number of drunk drivers on the road. In my unit there was a HMMWV that was hit by a drunk driver early one morning during a convoy movement when the drunk driver crossed the median. The drunk driver died in the wreck and seriously injured some soldiers. No headline news on that wreck.

I’m of the opinion that if military traffic is banned during the day then all the big trucks on the road should be banned during the day. I have seen numerous accidents involving the big Korean trucks but they don’t get put on the front page of the paper.

Here is something else I disagree with the protestors on:

Kang also blasted the process that South Koreans must use to request compensation from the U.S. military after an accident. Many South Koreans become frustrated, he said, because it’s too difficult — and takes too long — to fill out and submit paperwork for a claim he said usually doesn’t result in enough compensation. “The Korean victims cannot be compensated properly for all the damages,” Kang said.

Having worked a manuever damage control position here in Korea I can tell you we pay out big bucks to people for any property damage they receive due to 2ID vehicle accidents. It is by no means a difficult process. This is just propaganda Mr. Kang is throwing out there to smear the Army with.

What is interesting about this group of protestors is that there is only 2-4 of them out there when I drove by the other day. Not exactly a big following. In fact this whole thing has amazingly not been blown up out of proportion compared to 2002. Probably the fact she was an old ajumma in the highway where there is no crosswalk has something to do with it compared to two girls going to a birthday party getting crushed by a tracked vehicle in 2002. Though they to were walking on the highway.

I think a big factor that has prevented this from getting blown out of proportion was the quick action by the Army to show regret for what happened. Even President Bush gave his condolescences to President Roh the next day.

Also in 2002, it was only two years since the historic North and South summit in Pyongyang and many South Koreans began to feel the North really wasn’t that bad and that the US was the primary cause of tension on the peninsula.

Plus in 2002 you had the World Cup going on that drove nationalism to never before seen levels. This all combined into the xenophobic anti-American Hatefest that was 2002.

Now three years later it is obvious that North Korea is not a misunderstood cousin but a gangster state with their constant brinkmanship, defector testimonies, and lack of reciprocal benefits for all the aid that South Korea gives them.

Also the US is serious about removing troops from Korea. Many Koreans will say they want to troops to leave Korea but when it begins to happen people begin to drag their feet because the reality of no USFK begins to sink in. Even if they don’t want to admit it many people here in Korea still want us around.

Finally Korea’s xenophobia has been focused more on Japan than the US anymore due to the Dokdo and history textbook disputes. All of these things combined is what I believe has led to just 4 people protesting instead of the ten of thousands in 2002. Then again it is still only a week after the accident. Still plenty of time to begin a US Hatefest 2005.

Charles Jenkins is back in the US, to see his 91 year old mother in North Carolina. I have talked about it before that I have no respect for Jenkins for what he did, but he has been tried by military court and paid his debt to society so he should be allowed to visit his mother. I’m sure looking back he probably wishes he would of done that tour in Vietnam instead of defecting to North Korea.