The Lost Nomad

Even more image stuff

From my favorite publication comes this sparkling gem:

While Japan is known for its sushi, Sony Walkman and Tokyo's Ginza district and China is famous for Kung Fu and the Great Wall, Korea is recognized for - well, it's hard to say.

Killer traffic jams, striking workers, nuclear tension with communist North Korea and fist-fighting politicians are just a few of the first things that spring to mind among many foreigners with some level of interest in the country.

Many people in Europe or South America or countries with little trade or diplomatic relations with Korea would have a hard time just finding the tiny peninsula on the map.

With a lack of any significant brand image, added to a succession of negative representations dominating news from the country, the Korea that prides itself on its high technology and beautiful traditions is starting belatedly to recognize an urgent need to give itself a massive makeover.

Past efforts failed to make any prominent headway. Those included the ambitious project started by former President Kim Dae-jung to make Korea "the hub" of Northeast Asia which soon lost momentum and the "Dynamic Korea" slogan that failed to catch on globally like "Malaysia, truly Asia," or "Amazing Thailand."

If Korea just stopped trying so hard, stopped worrying so much about what the rest of the world thinks, and did what it does best (and I could name a bunch), things would be ok, don't you think?

Dr. Quinones on North Korea

I just love reading articles like this one in the Korea Times because they just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that the solution to the NORK problem is so simple.  Why didn't anyone else think of this?

I respect the fact that Dr. Quinones holds a PhD from Harvard but there are a few things he's overlooked.  First of all, what he's basically proposing has been tried before - i.e. being "nice" to NK.  But look at us today; we're still doing the same dance to the same old sheet of music.  The North Koreans are masters at milking anyone who's willing out of whatever the North can get and then giving nothing, I repeat, nothing in return.  The South either hasn't learned that lesson yet or is unwilling to admit it.

In my opinion, the best way to "fix" the alliance is to completely remove all U.S. military assets out of South Korea.  SK has a strong enough economy and military to fend for itself and it's time it started doing so - it's quite capable.  Also, SK isn't as important geographically as it was 20 years ago and with today's military technology, the U.S. can maintain a strong presence on Guam, Okinawa, and mainland Japan and still offer the same regional security as it's doing by having troops stationed here.

As for North Korea, Bush's current policy is one of the few things I agree with when it comes to Dubya.  Given the North's track record on broken agreements, human rights abuses, weapon production and proliferation, drug manufacturing, counterfeit money production, and just being plain old dickheads, I say the ball is in their court.  Let's leave it there and see what they (and their brothers in the south) do with it.

An easy and quick way to help

Under my Big Hominid designed Lost Nomad Logo®, you'll notice another logo that when clicked, will take you to the Amazon Red Cross Disaster Relief page.  There, you can contribute as little as $5.00 towards helping the people affected by the tsunamis and according to the site, one hundred percent of your donation will go to the American Red Cross.  So far, they've collected $6,722,809.93.  Do what you can.  If you're a blogger, think about putting the logo on your site.  The code can be found here or over at Rokus.net.

Thanks to Steve of Rokus.net for the tip.

Budaechigae

The food this time (courtesy of the Korea Times), not the blog.

Most food we eat doesn’t have noble origins of course, but talking about one with a unique origin, almost nothing matches ``pudaejjige (spicy stew made with Spam, sausages, ramen noodles)’’ among Korean food.

Also known as ``Johnson tang (stew),’’ or army base stew, the origins of the dish can be found in Korea's leaner years in the aftermath of the Korean War, when the poor used to collect discarded food from American military installations for use in stews.

With a little bit of exaggeration, the dish is one of the few relics passed down from the most tragic event of the country’s modern history, as well as a perfect example to show how tradition combines different culture to create a new cultural resource, which later becomes part of the tradition.

Although leftover food is not used for the stew today (not openly at least), as it probably was done after the war, the recipe remains almost the same, in which items of Western food are submerged in the traditional hot and spicy Korean stew to produce a unique flavor not found in other Korean dishes.

Whatever its origin, pudaejjige is now widely loved as a Korean dish, not only by young students with no money, but by just about everyone. Opened this month, restaurant Kwanghwamun Pudaejjige serves high quality pudaejjige (sounds like an oxymoron, but its true).

For you Seoulites, the article has a map to the featured restaurant if you want to give it a try.  FatMan Seoul, sounds like an assignment for you!

The dragon builds a fleet

There's an interesting article in the International Herald Tribune on China's bid to become the naval power in the Pacific, displacing the U.S.  This part of the world should prove to be quite interesting in the next 10 years and beyond. 

Ever since the U.S. Marine Corps defeated Japanese forces here 60 years ago, the Marianas have been widely considered an American lake. Now, the United States may have to get used to sharing the western Pacific with China, the world's rising naval power.

According to military analysts, China is rapidly expanding its submarine force to about 85 by 2010, about one-third more than today.

"They want to become the dominant power in the western Pacific, to displace the United States, to kick us back to Hawaii or beyond," said Richard Fisher Jr., who studies Chinese naval strengths and strategies for the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a Washington research institute.

China is embarking on a $10 billion submarine acquisition and upgrade program and is buying destroyers and frigates and equipping them with modern antiship cruise missiles, according to Eric McVadon, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who served as defense attaché in Beijing in the early 1990s.

"The Chinese are converting their surface navy into a truly modern antiship cruise-missile surface navy," McVadon, now an East Asia security consultant, said after attending a naval review conference in Hawaii. "The modernization of their navy has taken a great leap forward."

Read the entire article here.

See no evil

David Scofield wrote yet another great (and IMHO must-read) article in the Asia Times on the current NK policies, or lack of, by SK and the U.S.  Here's an excerpt:

This "rational" path forward espoused by the task force is constructed by carefully avoiding the grisly truths of North Korea in its analysis. The panel did not emphasize, for example, that 36% of the population, more than 8 million people, in 2000-02 faced hunger, despite the country's running a current account deficit of more than a billion dollars a year at the time - the highest in more than a decade. No mention was made of a leadership that starves its people, not as an unavoidable consequence of state penury, but because it was and is politically expedient to promote privation, pestilence and starvation in a bid to further enrich the elite. And it is with this group we are told more deals should be done.

As Nicholas Eberstadt indicated in a recent article he penned for Policy Review, "The persistence of North Korea", statistical analysis of the nation's current account indicates a very sharp increase in imports over exports beginning in 1998, the same year South Korea president Kim Dae-jung began very generous policies of reconciliation with North Korea predicated on economic inducements that, in his words, were not shackled by the conditions of reciprocity. Financial inducements included the $500 million sent directly to Kim Jong-il to persuade him to agree to the two-day summit with Kim Dae-jung in 2000, economic projects crafted to maximize benefits to North Korea's rulers including the $1 billion paid over the past six years by Hyundai Asan to the North Korean leadership for the privilege of running tours to Kumgang mountain - all while demanding nothing in return.

Indeed, last Thursday Hyundai Merchant Marine, the de facto holding company for the Hyundai group and corporate conduit for at least $200 million of the $500 million that was sent from South Korea to Kim Jong-il before the 2000 summit, was found to have cooked the books in 2000 to the tune of $1.2 billion. This sparked speculation that the company may have sent far more than the $200 million previously proven, supporting rumors that the 2000 payoff was far greater than the $500 million admitted to.

You can read the rest on your own here.

Some local links

Charlie over at Budaechigae II has a list of local organizations along with contact info if you have the desire to donate something toward the tsunami relief effort.

Disaster relief contributions

From Yahoo - A partial list of pledges so far from governments to help victims of last weekend's earthquake and tidal wave.

Spain $68 million
United States $35 million
Japan $30 million
Britain $29 million
Germany $27 million
Australia $27.6 million
France $20.5 million
Denmark $15.5 million
Canada $3.4 million
European Commission $2.8 million
China $2.7 million
Netherlands $2.6 million
Finland $2.5 million
Kuwait $2 million
Ireland $1.3 million
Sweden $724,536
Iran $627,000
New Zealand $358,680
Singapore $304,878
Luxembourg $265,252
Greece $198,000
South Korea $150,000
Estonia $42,373

The SEA-EAT blog

The numbers keep climbing - almost 81,000 confirmed dead.  If you want to help, Rory put up this link to The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog which is a concerted effort by bloggers from the affected regions.  From the blog's banner, it's "News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts."  The site has news, links, and loads of contact info so be sure to check it out and pass on the link to anyone who may need the info or wants to help out.

Pain a cure for smoking habit

Yep, if someone stuck needles into my body, I'd quit smoking too.  Actually, I'm not so sure about the ears though, as they're mostly cartilage.  I'd say better areas are the eyes or balls with the threat of more of the same if the smoker lights up again.

Ok, you heard it here first:  The Nomad is gonna quit smoking as of midnight, 31 December, 2004.  Without needles to the ears, eyes, or testicles, I might add.

Dave, you can even do spot checks on me to keep me honest.  This is the real deal.

No sympathy from me

Gee, as much as I'd like to, at this time I can't squeeze out even one tear for Korea's tourism industry.  There are tens of thousands of people dead and we're worried about tourism?

Nostalgia

Sitting here this evening listening to some of my "older" tunes and I put on the Isley Brothers "Go For Your Guns" which has always been one of my favorite CDs.  Ernie Isley - man did he play some mean guitar.

The Isley Brothers had it all:  Hard rock, funk, and slow ballads, but what I liked most about them was Ernie's guitar playing.  I've always been partial to great guitar, that's why some of my favorite tunes are by artists like Dire Straits, Black Sabbath (Tony Iommi rules), Clapton, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Ted Nugent, Robin Trower, Santana, and who can forget the classic song Maggot Brain by Funkadelic (listening to that mp3 as I type).  Ah, that's music. 

Hmmmmm

What, exactly, does Charlie mean when he says "Should have known.  Frank already posted this one"?

Sorry, Charlie. 

Tsunami updates

To update last night's post, here are some more headlines.  There are areas rescuers haven't been able to get to yet in Sumatra and once they do, the numbers are expected to increase even more.  Remember that they're still in the early stages of identifying the missing/dead and that it'll take a while to sort through everything and that without quick disaster relief, the situation may get a lot worse.

Asian disaster toll surges past 55,000 as relief operations stall

U.S. Adds $20 Million to Earthquake Relief

Asian Disaster May Affect Two Civil Wars

Disease 'could swamp wave zones'

The Marmot has a link to some pics taken by a tourist on Phuket.

Please go check out Kevin's blog as he's put together a great post on this, complete with some good links to follow.  I took the liberty of borrowing a few paragraphs from the Big Ho:

Also, if you're a churchy or temple-y or synagogue-y or gurudwara-y type, check with your local house of worship about other ways you can be of service. Keep in mind that, as time passes, focus will be on things like warding off starvation, providing fresh water, and prevention of the spread of disease.

It's all well and good to be cheerfully introspective bloggers, chatting away in our little echo chambers, but when something of this magnitude happens, I think we'd all be remiss not to get off our asses, drop the politics and artsiness and goofiness, and do something-- anything-- to help out. Every cent, won, yen, and euro counts.

Amen to that, brother, amen to that.

Update: Race to Bury Asia's Dead as Toll Hits 68,000

The above linked article also states this:

UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy said children could account for up to a third of the dead.

Think about that.

Update:  Here's a list of relief agencies accepting contributions for assistance.

A hit from Iran?

Alert reader and fellow blogger Steve pointed out that one of my hits on Hitmaps seems to be coming from Iran.  Huh, could President Mohammad Khatami himself be reading my blog?  And if so, which posts piqued his interest?  I'm thinking he may have been out to get some pointers on drinking or maybe, just maybe, he's looking for some tips on meeting Korean babes...

Who knows?  Either way, he came to the right place!

Mongolia says no to NK refugee resettlement camp

Mongolian President Natsagiin Bagabandi has told Pyongyang officials he would not allow the establishment of a resettlement camp for North Korean defectors in his country, Mongolia's ambassador to Washington said Tuesday.

Bagabandi made the remarks during his two-day visit to North Korea last week, Ravdan Bold said in an interview with the U.S.-based Radio Free Asia.

The Mongolian president was concerned the establishment of the resettlement camp might lead neighboring nations to have misunderstanding on his country and he felt the need to facilitate ties with North Korea, Bold said.

Read the rest here...I'm sure The Marmot will soon give this the coverage and commentary it deserves.

SK man allegedly defects to NK

A South Korean man who had worked for the U.S. military has defected to North Korea, the North's official news agency claimed Wednesday.

Kim Ki-ho, 59, left to the North because he could no longer stand South Korean society where national dignity and human rights are infringed on by the United States, the North's Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim "is now spending happy days amid the hospitality of people in the north," KCNA said without providing details on when Kim went to the North.

The report said Kim was a native of the industrial town of Gumi, and had once worked as an inspector at the 6th Ordnance Battalion, at the U.S. 8th Army Headquarters in South Korea.

The U.S. military couldn't immediately confirm if any person by that name had worked for them.

Although thousands of North Koreans have defected to the South, including more than 1,850 this year, defections of South Koreans to the North are rare.

I pulled this story from Yahoo; if true I'm sure we'll see something in the local papers later on.  "Happy days."  Heh.

Kilgore Trout

One word:  Hilarious (Teaser follows).

I had considered, during the awkward silence while you changed the paper tape in the receipt printer, mentioning that I recognized you as the red-haired girl who lives in 302. But I was pretty sure that would lead to this conversation:

ME: Hey, don't you live on [our street]? Three-oh-two, right?

YOU (totally freaked out): Yeah...

ME: I live there too! In 307!

YOU: Oh, okay. Did you just move in?

ME: Well, in June.

YOU: Oh. I guess I just haven't noticed you.

ME: Yeah, I guess not.

[continued awkward silence as paper tape loads]

YOU: Okay, eighty cents is your change, and thanks for giving me the creeps. Don't be surprised to see a moving van in the parking lot later in the week.

ME: No problem. It's nice to have established that we have nothing in common beyond the close proximity of our living spaces.

Read this and this.  But why stop there - why not go read them all?

Korean, another try

I downloaded Pimsleur Korean 1 which consists of 10 lessons -  each 30 minute lesson is a 21 meg mp3 file.  I'll give it a try as I my sorry Korean needs all the help it can get.

As a matter of fact, one of my goals for 2005 is to learn more Korean but I know I'm facing an uphill battle.  I've been there, done that, and have several t-shirts.  Aside from being lazy, there's no real excuse why my Korean is as bad as it is.  I've been over here long enough, I've attended University of Maryland's Korean  110, 111, and 112 classes, and I've even had private tutors at one time.  The problem is that if you don't use it, you lose it, plain and simple.  Most of the people I associate with speak or prefer to speak English.  I've even tried having my wife and daughter speak nothing but Korean but that also fell by the wayside - all you married guys, do you remember what it was like teaching your wife to drive?  The blame, however falls on me.  I admit it - I'm lazy.  I've learned just enough to get by (how many of us are guilty of that?) and so far it's gotten me by except for the occasional and frustrating moment when I get into a situation where the other party doesn't speak any English and I can't make myself understood.

Over the next few days I'm going to try to come up with some kind of outline or plan to get back into learning Korean - something that won't frustrate me or cause me to quit after a few months.  As an aside, one of the barriers I ran into before was learning how to say something, then saying it only to be told I was using the incorrect form for the age group I was addressing.

If anyone has any suggestions or tips (besides getting off my lazy ass and studying), I'd be more than glad to hear them.

Seoul as the new Tokyo?

At least according to the NYT (registration required).  This is taken from the Chosun Ilbo's review of the article:

The New York Times (NYT) actively encouraged tourists to visit Seoul, calling the city "the new Tokyo" and advising, "Think of it as a capital with the culture and excitement of Tokyo, but less hectic and easier on the pocketbook."

[...]

The NYT said, "A quick flip through the Korean versions of GQ and Teen Vogue in any of the scores of Starbucks stores or a stroll down Cheongdam-dong past the fashion boutiques quickly reveal that Seoul is poised for a hipper future... Any of the fashionable enclaves such as Apgujeong, Cheongdam or Itaewon could easily be mistaken for West Hollywood, or the Harajuku."

For specific tourist information, the NYT advised the Seoul-Walkerhill, Shilla Seoul and Coex Intercontinental as good places to stay, and for places to eat, it suggested Jihwaja in Jangchung-dong, Cafe 74 in Cheongdam-dong and Mr. Chow in Nonhyeon-dong.

The NYT also recommended spending the day strolling art galleries in Insa-dong, viewing the city from Seoul Tower on Namsan, or visiting the Samsung Museum of Art in Hannam-dong. It also suggested passing the night at one of Cheongdam-dong's jazz clubs or a night club in Itaewon-dong.

The paper said, however, "Traffic is notoriously bad in Seoul, particularly in rush hour," and advised, "Use the city's subway systems, which are clean and cost around 85 cents (W900) a trip."

As much as I disliked living in Seoul, the only part I don't agree with is telling a tourist to go hit a nightclub in Itaewon...what where they thinking?

Bad (or good?) news for you single guys

Three out of 10 single women in Korea emphasize career over marriage, according to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) Tuesday.

The KIHASA study of 384 single men and 389 single women this year revealed 26.2 percent of single women have no marriage plans because they want to concentrate on their careers.

Asked why they don’t want to marry, 24.4 percent of unmarried women replied they ``don’t feel it is necessary.’’ And 20.1 percent of them cited ``lack of financial stability,’’ followed by ``husband’s preference for wife to stay home’’ with 9.8 percent and ``responsibilities of married life’’ with 9.3 percent. And 4.4 percent of them said marriage is a disadvantage to women.

Read the rest here.

Tsunami aftermath

Here's some news from the local papers:

Seoul sending $600,000 to aid quake victims

3 S.Koreans Dead, 160 Unaccounted for in Tsunami Disaster

And internationally:

Death toll in Asian disaster nears 28,000

Aid Groups Struggle with Tsunami Disaster

And some good news among the bad:

Floating mattress saves baby from Malaysia's tidal waves

Unidentified 2-Year-Old Survives Tsunami

Time off

From work, that is, not from blogging.

Seeing that the little Nomad has some time off from school, I decided to take 4 days vacation this week.  It's actually a pretty good deal. Last weekend was a 3 day weekend and this weekend is a 3 day weekend which means I get a total of 10 straight days off from work for the price of 4 vacation days.  Good deal, eh?

I was hoping to get one day of fishing in there but as fate would have it, the weather's not going to cooperate at all.

Oh well.  I'm sure she-who-must-be-obeyed has alternate plans for me and they probably all involve manual labor or the spending of money.  But most importantly, I'll get a chance to spend some time with the family, finally check out Half Life 2, catch up on some reading, and check out some movies I've been wanting to watch like this one and this one.

Where did he they go?

It looks like Budaechigae either has technical problems or he's decided to pull the plug on blogging.  Charlie, what happened?

Huh.  I can't access Lost Seouls anymore either.

Love can overcome almost everything

And if it can't, a little K-Y jelly is sure to do the trick.  Check out this piece on "weapons of love" over at the Marmot's Hole.

You mean it's not the GI's and ESL teachers?

Investigations by Korean prosecutors have revealed that crime syndicates like the Japanese yakuza and Hong Kong triads have begun directly smuggling drugs into Korea in order to make the country, which used to be regarded as a transit point for narcotics, a major drug market. It was also revealed that local crime organizations have begun full-scale involvement in the drug trade.

In relation to this, the Seoul District Public Prosecutors' Office disclosed Monday that in the past year, it arrested 37 members of 14 local and Japanese organized crime syndicates for drug-related offenses, detaining 24 and booking five people without detention.

Huh.  Had me fooled.  Here I thought drugs in Korea were only brought in by GI's and decadent ESL teachers.  But I guess I was wrong, according to this.

Mr. Cho on weddings

At the risk of being called an ignorant foreigner (not that I give a flying fuck because I'm sure I've been called worse, lol), I bring you a view on Korean weddings by none other than Mr. Cho himself.

And I do feel a bit enlightened.  Not sure if it's the article or the Absolut.

Even more ranking stuff

South Korea Ranked 19th in Potential Competitiveness

It's almost a neurotic obsession, isn't it?

USFK may get tougher on drinking and driving

According to this article in Stars & Stripes, USFK is thinking about lowering the blood alcohol count level from the current .10 percent down to .053 percent, which is lower than what it takes to get gigged for DUI in the states, but more in line with SK DUI laws.

I agree with doing whatever it takes to keep folks who've had a few from getting behind the wheel.  Sorry, but there's absolutely no reason anyone should be drinking and driving, regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed.  There's just too much cheap and/or free public transportation available (on and off base) to risk getting in an accident, or worse, hurting yourself or someone else.

The amount of alcohol it takes to prompt a drunken-driving charge on military bases in South Korea could be halved, according to a policy change U.S. Forces Korea is considering.

The change — if endorsed by USFK Commander Gen. Leon LaPorte — would be stricter than drunken-driving standards in the States. The standard instead would mirror Korean law, according to the provost marshal’s office.

“It’s very restrictive,” said Lt. Col. Chad McRee, USFK’s chief of operations for the Joint Provost Marshal, during an interview in his office last week. “And that’s a good thing.”

Currently, a blood-alcohol count of .10 percent — one part alcohol for every 1,000 parts of blood — is the threshold for drunken driving on U.S. military bases in South Korea. The proposal would change that to .053 percent, McRee said.

Having said that, I can only hope that USFK aproaches this in a sane and rational manner and yeah, I know I'm asking for a lot but one can hope, right?

Pyeongyang crackdown

Pyeongyang has launched a large-scale crackdown on "anti-state activities" along its border with China, targeting not only border crossings by North Koreans, but the smuggling of Chinese goods and South Korean videotapes into the North, South Korean intelligence officials said yesterday.
In late November, the North's governing Workers' Party and law-enforcement authorities jointly dispatched at least four units of 80 investigators each to the border area, a senior South Korean intelligence official said. "The investigation force will stage probes until the end of January," the official said.
Besides North Koreans crossing into China, the units are targeting the smuggling of Chinese goods into the North, particularly mobile phones, the official said. Also targeted are videotapes of South Korean TV shows, as well as pornography from a variety of countries. Pyeongyang revised its criminal code in April to have legal grounds to prosecute such trade.

Read the rest here.

Gender gap shrinking, pecs getting bigger

Times sure are changing. 

Male university students between the ages of 19 and 24: This group forms the prototypical “Mr. Beauty.” Men, too, acknowledge that it’s now a time to be competitive about appearance, and purchase many forms of male-use cosmetics and bright clothing. This group views sexual economic equality as natural, and considers it old fashioned for men to pay for entire dates.

Female university students between the ages of 19 and 24: Female university students who want to be sexy and strong form the mainstream. They are aggressive to the point that they will ask out men they like first and demand physical contact, while at the same time refusing special treatment just because they are women.

Unmarried working men between the ages of 25 and 34: This group isn’t as concerned about “looking good” as the university students, but do worry about their appearances in order to raise their own value. They desire male-female relations where both sides help one another rather than assigning gender roles to one side only.

Unmarried working women between the ages of 24 and 34: This is a generation of women working to become career women recognized for their skills. In order to present a look of femininity and toughness, they thoroughly take care of themselves, and possess feminine delicacy and male tenacity and impulsiveness simultaneously. They look at marriage as a matter of choice.

Married working men between the ages of 28-39: In particular, men in their 30s are working to drop the tough masculine image and become softer, more refined men. Both husbands and wives work and household duties are split. Some want to become “house husbands” or take “paternity leave,” but they worry about what those around them might think.

Married working women between the ages of 28 and 39: This group takes care of themselves and thoroughly manages their time in order to be faithful to both work and family. Sometimes they are envious of their friends who are housewives only, but they take pride in their work and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Then, there's also this.

It's no secret that more men are getting nose jobs and tummy-tucks. But are they also getting something called "chest surgeries" to help them achieve massive, well-defined pecs?

Recent photos circulating the Internet and vernacular tabloids include those of actor Bae Yong-joon and pop-star Rain, shirtless and showing off guns and bazookas that most fans didn't know they had. These photos have left some fans breathless yet puzzled. After all, the Grand Canyon wasn't made in a day.

"I can understand Rain having such a body because he's a dancer. But how did Bae Yong-joon get like that?" wrote one blogger on a celebrity chat site.

Bae, who rose to stardom playing a scarf-clad softy in the popular television drama "Winter Sonata," turned into a chiseled behemoth through, what he claims, was six months of intensive training.

They left out steroids, which is a good possibility.  I've been going to a Korean gym since last April and I see guys of all ages who are in there every night, pumping iron for all it's worth and it just ain't happening.  I'm not sure if it's genetics or what (anyone know for sure?), but you just don't see a lot of really muscular guys over here.

Mother Nature's fury

This is not good news at all and the numbers are climbing.

On the rebound

The NK nuclear crisis is still in full swing, the economy is taking a dump, relations with the U.S. are shaky, and yet da prez's popularity is on the rise.  And how did he manage to do that, you ask?  He left town for a while, that's what!

The North Korean Holocaust

The Chosun Ilbo also had this story about NK refugees and some the tales they told.  Some excerpts for you:

Lee attempted to defect in October 1993, but was arrested by North Korean authorities and subjected to extreme torture. Afterward, he spent four years at Yodeok Political Prison Camp. Discussing life at the camp, Lee said, "We ate an average of 120g of corn gruel a day and had to endure 15 or 16 hours of forced labor. Men and women had to lay face down, wearing only their underwear, and were beaten with ash tree branches until 10 [branches] snapped."

He told of how starving inmates would catch snakes, frogs, and mice, and eat them in their entirety -- snake skin, mice fur, guts and all. He testified that while he was at Yodeok, there was a prisoner who was charged with having salt in his pocket. The guards killed the man by chaining his ankles to a car and dragging him until the flesh from his head and back had been stripped off. Now and then, guards would kill prisoners by beating them with rifle butts or kicking them with their boots until their heads cracked open.

But yet SK wants to "discourage" these people from leaving the worker's paradise.  Amazing, isn't it?

While you're at it, be sure to read this story as well, which tells of NK refugee's ordeal while making the 8,000 kilometer, 26-day journey to escape NK to find a safe refuge.

The dark side of Hallyu

Just when you thought I was going to stick to Christmasy themes, I bring you this, courtesy of the Chosun Ilbo:

A murderer who appears to have played out in real life the grisly denouement of the Korean blockbuster movie "Friends" is being hunted by Japanese police, reported the Tokyo Shimbun on Friday.

The Japanese Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the death by multiple stabbing of a Vietnamese-American that took place on Dec. 2 at a consulting firm in Tokyo. They said the case was similar to the murder scene at the end of Korea's signature hit movie about friendship and betrayal, according to information published by the Japanese newspaper.

The victim was found in a pool of blood after being stabbed over thirty times. The knife had been discarded 200 meters from the crime scene, its handle wrapped in tape and bandages. This form of wrapping is rarely practiced in Japan, and the ferocity of the attack and other details were similar to the well-known movie scene, reported the Tokyo Shimbun.

"Friends," which opened in theaters in 2001, was a huge box-office hit in Korea and was also aired in Japan.

Sometimes Santa doesn't come

On the lighter side, this is what can happen when you've been naughty. 

The season of giving

I  don't mean to ruin anyone's festive holiday spirits, but as you all sit in your warm, cozy apartments, or spend some time with your friends and families, I want you to give some thought to those who aren't as fortunate as we are.  And realize that when you drop a few hundred won into some beggar's can - yeah, you may be helping his drinking habit - but you may also be helping his son stay sheltered, clothed, and fed.  Give this story a read and think about it. 

My wife does a lot of volunteer work through our church helping the needy - from foreign laborers in need of clothing and food to providing clothing, food, haircuts, and baths to the elderly and poor here in town.  The desire to help those in need is just one of the many qualities I've always admired and loved in my wife - and envied at the same time - because I wished I could be a little more like her in that regard.  I don't know how many times we've walked past a beggar and I said something to her for putting money in their cans or baskets.  After reading that story, I doubt that I'll ever complain about a few hundred won again.  You just never know where it'll end up, do you.

Merry Christmas

Mrs. Nomad, the little Nomad, and myself are off to a Christmas potluck dinner at a friends house (I made Lasagna).  Then we'll be attending Christmas Eve mass at our church, which will be followed by the opening of presents - I was born in Germany and opening the presents on Christmas Eve is one tradition I've kept, much to the little Nomad's delight.

Unless the NORKs invade or Bush is impeached, expect little or no blogging from me till tomorrow night.

Merry Christmas to all.

Party Pooper, this one's for you

Update: The Party Pooper hath spoken.

I had started a rather scathing reply to this letter in the Korea Herald written by one David S. Olivera but since it's the season, I thought I'd let the Party Pooper have first dibs, since he's so much better at fisking (and so much funnier) than I ever will be.  I figure since he hasn't pooped on anything since 11 December, he should be ready for a good bowel movement about now.

Can KJI stop the Korean Wave?

In what figures to be Despot vs. Hallyu, KJI is winning a few battles but may slowly be losing the war.  Because according to this article in the Chosun Ilbo: "although young North Koreans were physically situated north of the demilitarized zone, their hearts were increasingly migrating South." 

How long before NK women leave in droves for SK in search of an imagined past and an emotional connection?

With the "[South] Korean Wave" sweeping its way through North Korean youth, leader Kim Jong-il is said to have issued a directive in early November demanding that the phenomenon be pulled out by the roots. A joint task force composed of party members, officials from the State Safety & Security Agency, the Ministry of Public Security and prosecutorial personnel were reportedly dispatched to crackdown on the trend.

A former regional party executive who recently defected said vans with loudspeakers could be found all across the nation blaring street propaganda such as, "We must uproot vulgar acts like watching South Korean films or dramas, imitating [their] speech or singing [their] songs."

House raids and crackdowns by a mobile censorship team have also been strengthened. Those selling South Korean goods at markets are fined W100,000, while those found to be watching South Korean videos are subject to forced exile, including hard labor at one of the North's infamous modern gulags.

Citizens who distribute such material receive severe punishments corresponding to those meted out for acts of treason, the defector said.

He added that residents are resorting to subterfuge to avoid being penalized, bundling their VCRs in vinyl and burying them underground while erasing the South Korean trademarks.

Zaytun unit on alert

From the Chosun Ilbo:

Korea's Zaytun Unit, based in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, have gone on high alert after receiving intelligence that an Iraqi resistance group has ordered terrorist strikes on the unit.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday that the military received intelligence that the leadership of the Sunni resistance group Ansar al-Sunna had recently ordered its operatives to carry out car bomb attacks on the Zaytun Unit.

The JCS explained that according to the intelligence, the timing of the attack is set for around Christmas or the New Year, and Ansar al-Sunna agents appear to have infiltrated Irbil by passing through Iran.

Along with the planned attacks on the Zaytun Unit, the Ansar al-Sunna leadership has also ordered incursions on a Kurdish special forces unit in Dahuk, located along the Turkish border.

In response to the latest intelligence, the Korean unit of peacekeeping forces, mostly engineers and medics, have heightened their level of force protection, suspending off-base activities unrelated to peace and reconstruction activities and unit defense, and strictly controlling outside access to the unit.

This is why soap operas should be banned

  Are Japanese women really this naive?  From the 4 years I spent in Japan, I didn't think so but now I'm beginning to wonder.

To quote Judas Priest:  "You've got another thing coming."

Way to go, Leon!

Well look at that, will ya?  It's Leon, out there meeting the people.  It's nice to see he could take some time to get out there to mingle and hobnob, isn't it?  I'm kind of curious though why he's so happy.  The last time I had a shit-eating grin on my face like that was when I retired from the Air Force.  But that's just me.

General Leon LaPorte, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said yesterday in a meeting with Lee Bu-young, chairman of the governing Uri Party, and 10 Uri Party lawmakers that anti-U.S. sentiment in Korea did not bother him because he was proud defending a democracy where such freedom of expression is possible.
The general made his remarks as the governing party lawmakers paid a courtesy visit to the U.S. 8th Army's 2nd Infantry Division located in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi province. The visiting lawmakers were briefed on operations of the unit while General LaPorte expressed his gratitude on the recent passage of the Yongsan Garrison relocation accord.
Addressing the causes of anti-Americanism in Korea, the Uri Party chairman claimed that an accident in June 2002, in which two girls were killed by a U.S.-armored vehicle participating in a training exercise in Uijeongbu City, could have been prevented with more caution.
General LaPorte replied that U.S. forces stationed on the peninsula are investing millions of dollars in simulations to replace actual live exercises so that the risk of accidents is reduced. In addition, the general said the approach is also helping to limit noise and traffic jams.
The U.S. commander said Korea's economic expansion had changed much of the landscape on the peninsula and reduced the available training grounds compared to the past.
General LaPorte presented a tiny ax, the symbol of the unit, to the visiting lawmakers, joking that he hoped lawmakers would not use it on opposing party members.
The visit marked the first time Uri Party representatives have visited a U.S. Army base. "Since last summer we have been trying to have a chance to meet with U.S. military officials but could not do so," said Yoo Jay-kun, a Uri Party lawmaker. "We are planning to discuss the possibility of meeting with U.S. military officials about four times per year."

The Big Ho on the silver screen

Kevin does it again (check out the hilarious pic at the end of his post)...humor is a good thing and he just keeps it coming.

Japan, the Barry Bonds of Asia

Not only has Japan been getting pumped by hitting the gym lately, but I suspect some steroid usage as well, after reading articles like this one.

Caveat Emptor

From Stars & Stripes online:

97 percent of Yongsan Garrison will be turned over to South Korea 'as is'

YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The main U.S. military base here in Korea would shrink from 635 acres to a mere 20 acres — a 97 percent decrease — as a part of the effort to centralize U.S. forces southward on the peninsula.

The commissary, the 121st General Hospital, the driving range, even the post exchange and bowling alley all would go back to the South Koreans.

The shrunken U.S. post would include a 20-acre plot with a small office for the commander of U.S. Forces Korea and the Dragon Hill hotel, according to Col. Dan Wilson, a USFK engineer who is a key participant in the developing the relocation plans.

The United States and South Korea finalized the agreement to close Yongsan Garrison in late October. Earlier this month, the South Korean National Assembly passed a bill that would allow its government to spend between $3 billion to $4 billion to fund the movement of U.S. troops from Yongsan to Pyongtaek, an area that takes in the U.S. installations at Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base.

The move is scheduled to be completed by 2008.

What becomes of Yongsan — a swath of land three quarters the size of New York’s Central Park — remains unclear, Wilson and his Korean counterpart, Kim Dong-ghi, said this week. Some ideas have included a huge park, an underground mall or additional commercial space, but nothing has been decided, officials said this week.

I'm not going to get into the money the Army has spent recently building new infrastructure at Yongsan (like a brand new movie theater, new housing units, and a renovation of the 121st hospital) because then this post will turn into another rant and it's the season, don't you know.  But as for what happens to Yongsan after the move, I'm betting on more high-rise apartments because Seoul doesn't have enough of those just yet.  Any takers? You can read the rest of the article by following the above link.

Good medicine

I'm not sure what the big hangup is back home about stem cell research.  It holds a lot of promise and if cures can be found for diseases like cancer, AIDS, and diabetes as well as other things like paralysis, I say let's go for it.  I'm glad to see Korea going ahead with this important research.

It's about time

I just hope that this isn't another fly-by-night band aid but a real, honest, and concerted effort to do something about the atrocious driving habits here in Korea.

But it has to go one step further - past catching and punishing speeders and drunk drivers.  People have to learn that laws and regulations are in place for a reason. Red lights mean STOP - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where they are and where you're going.  Same for stop signs.  Until  the laws are strictly enforced, people are going to keep breaking them and you're also going to keep seeing death and injury statistics like the ones mentioned in the article.  I say give the police the authority they should have - let them start wearing pants again and all will be well.

Robotic powerhouse Japan startled!

Hey, if the Chosun Ilbo says it's true, then it must be so.

HUBO, a Korean "humanoid robot," has been born. HUBO follows Japan's ASIMO as the second such robot in the world.

HUBO, which waits its official unveiling on Jan. 6 following a year of work by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is a robot model representing a continuation of the KHR-1 and KHR-2 models developed since 2002. The birth of HUBO is viewed as a brilliant achievement demonstrating that Korean robot technology has approached world standards.

50-year-old KAIST mechanical engineering professor Oh Jun-ho, who developed HUBO, said his latest creation's capabilities were expanded and greatly stabilized. He said the robot has voice recognition and synthesis faculties, as well as perfect vision in which its two eyes move independently of one another.

HUBO's birth, coming less than a year after the start of development, has startled robotic powerhouses like Japan.

This month, Honda released photos of its humanoid robot ASIMO running at a speed of 3km per hour and golf putting, ostentatiously displaying its leading-edge robotics technology. The birth of HUBO, however, demonstrated that Korean robotic technology is developing so rapidly that it may soon equal or exceed Japan's.

The Beloved Leader on snow sculptures

Who says the Beloved Leader has no taste?  Anyone who likes Akira Fubuki (Not work safe!) is ok in my book!

Rap redux

Not surprisingly, I received a couple of e-mails about my It's official: Rap sucks post.  The main theme was: What do I have against Rap and why do I think it sucks?  Well I'm more than happy to pop a cap all over that one, yo.

First of all - except for a few exceptions, rap is unoriginal.  It's poetry (and I use the term loosely) with a beat. Get a 5 second sound clip, loop it continuously and add words.  Duh. There's not a lot of musical talent involved here.  Question:  How many rappers play instruments?  Oh that's right, they don't have to have any talent because they can rip off Ozzy, Aerosmith, or Lynyrd Skynyrd (just to name a few) and add their own words.  How lame can you get?  Then you have the content of the songs.  Rap glorifies violence and drugs, is racist, and worst of all, degrades women.

"But Nomad!  Rap is all about the turmoil of inner-city youth and embodies the struggle against the man."

No, it sucks.  Now shut up and sit back down.

"But Nomad!  Rap is melodic, has it's own unique beat and tempo, and delivers a powerful message."

No, it sucks.  Now shut up and sit back down.

And while I'm at it, a word to the white boys with their Eminem caps - you know the ones: With the crotch of their pants hanging to their knees, the gold and titanium necklaces/medallions, baseball caps tilted to the side, FUBU outfits - Hahahahahahahah.  The closest you're ever going to get to a hood is while changing the oil in your Dodge Neon.  And if by chance you ever did find yourself in the "wrong part of town" (as you call it from the safety of white suburbia), would you really stop and mingle with the homeys?  Maybe a little friendly basketball game? Huh?  Hell no you wouldn't.  You'd lock the doors, and peel rubber in your haste to get back to the security of your 2 story house with the white picket fence to watch a Simpsons rerun.

Yo.

And I'm not even going to start in on the Korean rappers.  This time.

Now I have seen it all

Hey all you single, lonely guys (you know who you are), listen up!  Your Uncle Nomad's come through again.  No more lonely nights staring at your monitor or sorting your socks.  No more choking the chicken while watching those vids you downloaded from Emule. Now you too can be all you can be! "Whatever do you mean, Uncle Nomad?" you ask.  "How can I, an ordinary guy be saved from a life of solitude and sock sorting?"  Hah!

I bring you...Korean Seduction Science!

The most powerful, One Of A Kind, Time-tested, Unique and Proven System That Guarantees To Give You The Most Success With Beautiful Korean Women Whether You Are A Novice or Experienced, or It’s FREE

• Six things you must to do to get a Korean girl to go out with you
• What makes a man sexy to a Korean woman
• How to attract and flatter beautiful Korean women
• How to meet Korean girls on the internet
• 10 things you must NEVER say to a Korean girl
• Why men prefer Korean women
• What Korean women think of non-Koreans
• Why do Korean women find non-Korean men attractive

Ok, I've done my part and the rest is up to you.  Happy holidays.

Regime transformation means what?

I bet Saddam is friggin pissed about this one, eh?  Now, all of a sudden, regime transformation means "bringing about a change in behavior."  Hmmm.  Let me think about that one for a few - oops, didn't take that long after all.  KJI changing his behavior is about as likely to happen as the Cleveland Browns winning the Superbowl.  It ain't gonna happen without some serious personnel changes...know what I mean, Vern?

Cellphone Spam

I don't know about you, but I get a few of these text and voice Spam calls during the week and I do the same thing with them that I do with the Spam I receive via e-mail - I delete them.  I recently installed a program called Mailwasher Pro (If anyone would like to check it out, let me know) on my computer - it's pretty cool.  It "learns" as it goes as to which of your e-mails are junk and which are legit and then sorts the wheat from the chaff for you.  Hopefully they'll develop something like that for cell phones pretty soon.

The number of unwanted text messages and phone calls via mobile phone surpasses that of desktop spam mail by a big margin, according to the Korea Information Security Agency (KISA).

The KISA said Tuesday mobile spam reported to the state-owned institute numbered 244,151 during the first 10 months of this year, in comparison to 78,063 of unsolicited e-mail messages during the same span.

``Junk mail sent to mobile phones has started to outnumber e-mail spam this year and the trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future,’’ a KISA official projected.

The number of mobile spam reports stood at a paltry 4,864 cases in 2002, but the figure ballooned more than seven-fold a year later to 36,013.

By contrast, the conventional headache of bulk messages sent to computers was dominant in 2002 at 24,241 but its explosive growth rate was tamed last year at 42,123.

The bad breath solution

I'll let you guys read this article on bad breath - its causes and possible solutions and after you do, tell me what's missing. (Hint: It involves a toothbrush and toothpaste).

Female boxing

I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I like boxing, especially when I get to see Oscar de la Hoya get clocked - but I'm not so sure that watching 2 women beating the snot out of each other is my cup of tea.  More power to them though, because the training is extremely physical and demanding, not to mention the punishment the body takes during fights.  And Kim Ju-hee is only 18 years old!  I wonder whatever made her decide to go into boxing?  That's not something a lot of young girls aspire to be - a world boxing champion. All I know is the little Nomad will never be stepping into the ring - and that's a fact.

She had to postpone the world junior championship because she could not find a sponsor, and because there were not enough spectators, many matches had to be open to the public free of charge.

She had to delay her collegiate studies in order to become the world champion. She had run relentlessly and was beaten up so many times. Her body was full of bruises after 300 rounds of sparring and 1,500 kilometers of roadwork. It was a life completely different from any girl at her age would have led.

And she sent all those hardships away with one big punch.

Kim Ju-hee, an 18-year-old boxer who was rather known for her girlish look, became the youngest female boxer ever to become world’s boxing champion on Sunday. In a match up held on Sunday at Shingu College Stadium, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Kim outlasted U.S. champion Melissa Shaffer, 26, on points to win the International Female Boxers Association (IFBA) flyweight title. All three judges gave points in favor of Kim: 100-90, 99-91, and 100-89.

With this victory, Kim became the second South Korean female world champion boxer, and first teenage world champion. Her lifetime record is seven wins, including three knockdown wins, one tie, and one loss in nine bouts. Her lone loss came when she was in her second year of high school on November 2002 when she was playing against Lee in the flyweight Korean championship. Shaffer, who had been unbeaten, now has eight wins, including five KOs and one loss.

Kim, who was four centimeters taller than Shaffer, took advantage of her height, long arms, and speedy footwork and jabbed at Shaffer’s face with her left hand from the beginning of the game. Shaffer’s concentration was shaken after she had a nosebleed in the third round, and Kim managed the game with ease to grab the champion’s belt.

Kim, shedding tears after the match, said that she is so happy to have achieved her goal of becoming the world champion before reaching the age of 20. She said that she wants to be recognized for her ability rather than her good looks from now on.

Kim Messer, former IFBA world boxing titleholder and currently Shaffer’s trainer, who was adopted to an American family after being born between a Korean mother and a former USFK soldier father, said that Kim is a great boxer, and with her speed and power, she can compete at the World Championship level.

You go girl!

It's official: Rap sucks

If I hear Snoop Dogg's "Drop it like it's hot" one more time on AFN radio, I'm going to pop it like it's hot, alright.  Crimony, how many times a day do they have to play crap like that anyway?  Are people requesting this song or is the DJ a sadistic sort who couldn't make it in dental school?

I mean, check out some of the lyrics to this masterpiece:

When the pimp's in the crib ma
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
When the pigs try to get at ya
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
And if a nigga get a attitude
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
I got the rolly on my arm and I'm pouring Chandon
And I roll the best weed cause I got it going on

????????????????????????????????????

Our grass may be greener, but eat your own

According to this article in the Chosun Ilbo, it looks like the SK government is doing more to kiss NORK ass avoid any friction with North Korea by putting into place measures to discourage defectors refugees.

It was confirmed Monday that the government is devising plans to plug the drain of defectors fleeing the famine-riddled North, including placing a travel ban on so-called "defection brokers" who are paid to help the asylum-seekers complete their passage to South Korea.

The Unification Ministry said in material on North Korea policy that was distributed to participants in a unification advisory council meeting Monday morning that the government was devising measures to remove vital links in the chain facilitating planned defections.

The ministry delved into specifics by mentioning plans to strengthen entry screenings for defectors who reside overseas, reducing re-settlement funds for defectors and cracking down on "defection brokers," including slapping travel bans on them.

The government has been saying that it opposed planned defections and had absolutely no intention of undermining the North Korean system by encouraging them, but this is the first time it has revealed concrete measures aimed at blocking them.

Commenting on this, a government official said there had been no changes in the government's principle of accepting defectors, but premeditated defections carried out with political objectives rather than because of human rights abuses were on the rise, and there was also concern that such defections would cause diplomatic friction.

The Unification Ministry, concerned that its crackdown would cause controversy, initially distributed materials with the proposed regulations, then later recalled them and redistributed edited versions in which the section on planned defections had been deleted.

Winter Sonata

I wonder if this is related to this?

Yeah I know it's freezing out

This should warm you up just a little.

Soldier spots dead whale, gets 5 million won reward

Wow.  I spotted a couple of dead whales while I was in the military and I never got a dime for it.  Well - back then, I couldn't call the lazy lardasses "a dead whale" or the PC powers that rule our once-fine institution these days would have taken a stripe from me instead of rewarding me.

But this lucky guy got himself a cool 5 million won.  Don't spend it all in one place!

What he's really thinking

The original pic can be found at the Chosun Ilbo...

President Roh Moo-hyun marvels at ceramic ware made by Shim Soo-kwan, who has carried on a tradition of ceramics-making for 15 generations, in Kagoshima, Japan on Saturday. Roh toured there on the sidelines of his state visit to Japan. The founder of the Shim family, Shim Dang-kil, was abducted by Japanese troops with 80 other Korean ceramists in 1598 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Chosun in 1592-93. After arriving in Japan, Shim Dang-kil set up a kiln that later become one of Japan’s three most famous ceramics-making houses.

No skillz

It amazes me how much money Koreans spend on learning English, yet a lot of them still can't make it in the international labor market.  Maybe the government ought to get rid of all these hagwons and set up a new system with pre-defined and monitored standards - or at least start taking a hard look at who's doing the "teaching".  I know some expats would be out of cushy, easy jobs, but in the long run, it would benefit Koreans overall.  Not to rag on any ESL teachers, but I've met a few that I wouldn't trust to teach my dogs to sit, let alone teach a second language to anyone.

All in the family

This is what happens when the son of the Dear Leader tries to sneak into Japan to visit Disneyland, and then later emails Japanese reporters. 

The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il faced an assassination attempt last month amid disputes over the communist state's power succession, a government source said Sunday.

When Kim Jong-nam was visiting Austria last month, those close to his younger brothers set up a plot to kill him, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The plot, however, was not implemented, as the Austrian intelligence agency detected it and kept Kim under close guard, the source said.

The Austrian intelligence office also notified the North Korean ambassador in Austria, Kim Kwang-sup, of its detection, the source said.

"The Austrian authorities appeared to want to avoid the North Korean power struggle erupting in its territory, so it informed Ambassador Kim of the assassination attempt," the source said.

Keep in mind that this is coming from an anonymous source, which may be the same one that's been giving us the "defecting generals" and missing portrait" tales as of late.

Last dance in Japan looms

I've read something very similar to this before, only it wasn't pertaining to Japan.  The only thing I didn't come across in this article was how the U.S. military is supposedly directly responsible for any (or all) of this, as you would in certain other countries.

After years of handing out "entertainer" visas liberally, Tokyo is taking a tough new line that would drastically narrow a well-trodden path out of poverty - and sometimes into abuse - for thousands of Filipino women.

Japanese media have said the number of visas for Filipino entertainers will be cut to 8,000 from 80,000 next year, dismaying some Manila officials after they took months to persuade Japan to accept just 100 nurses under a new trade deal.

The problem is that Filipino entertainers don't seem to do much entertaining when they arrive in Japan's nightclubs and "hostess" bars, at least not in the traditional sense of dancing and singing that Filipinos are world famous for.

[...]

The majority end up catering to the drunken whims of Japanese "salarymen," sitting on laps, lighting cigarettes and pouring beer, and making far more money than they could at home.

The joke in the Philippines is that they are less OPA (overseas performing artists) than "upo" (the Filipino verb for "sit").

But by entering the loosely regulated and crime-connected world of Japanese clubland, activists say the women become acutely vulnerable to abuse such as being pressured into prostitution or having their wages withheld.

Sound a little familiar?  The bottom line is that it's the lure of making a lot more money than they ever could back home and as long as countries like Japan and Korea make it relatively easy for these girls to come over to do this kind of work, they will. 

You can read the entire article here.

He can't be serious

My favorite prez with another notable quote in this BBC news article (hat tip to Duophony).

Concerning this:

North Korea last month returned the ashes of what it said were two of the missing Japanese, abducted more than two decades ago.

But DNA tests showed the remains belonged to other people.

Da prez offered his input:

President Roh suggested the mix-up could have been an honest mistake, but he did express some understanding for Japanese anger.

An honest mistake?  I wonder if he was able to maintain a straight face when he said that...

2004 Asia Blog awards

Just in case you forget, I added a link to my sidebar for the 2004 Asia Blog awards.  So click on it and vote for the best blog in each of the various categories.  You can vote once in each category per 24 hour period and on top of that, you may even discover some pretty cool blogs you didn't know about!

Are you still here?  Get over there and vote!

Yep, you can learn something new every day

Do yourself a favor and go read Jeff's latest post: The Harmful Things of the Youth and The Youth Harmful Area.  Not only is it...umm...informative, but hilarious as well.

Life is good

Just when you thought you've seen enough trout, I bring you more.  Today was another stellar day and I can only hope for a few more like it.  It was a bit on the chilly side, but the fishing action sure made up for the cold.  Today we started using some blue and silver spinners that I'd bought a few weeks ago and the trout went crazy over them.  I'd say we were getting hits on every fourth cast.

It's kind of hard to see exactly what the spinner looks like, but this is what we caught most of our fish on today.

Here's a pic of the lake:

And here are the goods:

We came home with 40 fish today and the only reason we didn't bring more was that we started thinking about the fact that someone was going to have to clean all these once we got home...plus, we were getting the "looks" again so we started throwing fish back towards the end.  These and a few other pics I took have been added to my Fishing Korea photo album located on my sidebar.

Life is good.  I don't see how it can possibly get any better.

El Nino

This is great news for yours truly because warm weather = fishing and fishing = a happy Nomad.  Heck, I'm so happy I think I'll have a few drinks tonight to celebrate.

Isn't capitalism great?

Just think, steel pots that probably would have cost 5,000 won to make in the South were manufactured for 500 won (250 won of that being pay to North Korean cheap laborers workers) in the North and then sold in Seoul for 19,800 won.  And how long before we hear how the food cooked in these pots tastes better than food cooked in regular pots?  Shall we call them "Unification pots?" (Kinda like "freedom fries", only different).  Maybe some doctor or scientist will regale us with a study how food cooked in these pots leads to longer lives, increased libido, stamina, and an overall sense of well-being.  I can hardly wait.

I changed my mind

This is what I want for Christmas. 

Wow.  I'd love to watch my Japanese porn collection some of my favorite DVDs on that beauty!

Daily reminder

Are you all casting your votes?  Take a few minutes and reward your favorite blogger with a click of the mouse...

Japan goes to the gym

Is it me, or has Japan been flexing a little muscle here lately?

Tokyo to Likely Slap Sanctions on N. Korea

Taiwan sparks Japan-China row

Japan seeks bigger Middle East role

A Lawyers Holiday Greeting, (Politically Correct)

The below was sent to me by alert reader Bill, who also mentioned in passing that my blog would be more interesting and probably get a few more hits if I posted some "better" pics.  Maybe there are only so many trout a person can look at week after week.  Well Bill, this one's for you.  Now that we have that out of the way, here's Bill's contribution:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within
the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or
secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular
persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice
religious or secular traditions at all . . .

.. . . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar
year 2005, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other
cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not
to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is
the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the
race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of
computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is
subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no
alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void
where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the
wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual
application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance
of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole
discretion of the wisher.)

You don't understand the culture

Bribes?  Corruption?  Disregard for rules, regulations, and laws?  All here in Korea?  I'm shocked!  But these folks seem to think it's so.

"Koreans always seem prepared to give out bribes. I was shocked by the culture and attitude of Koreans who feel no guilt despite breaking the law."

Foreigners who participated in the Personal Essay and Proposal Contest for Corruption Prevention, organized by the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC), took shots at the wide-spread nature of corruption in Korean society, claiming they had personally witnessed it in foreign language institutes and at companies, and lamenting Korea's culture of tolerance.

One Canadian woman working as an instructor in a private institute said her employer had threatened to report her as an illegal resident while refusing to provide her with housing (as originally contracted) and cut her salary. She said she was going to get a new work visa in order to obtain employment at another workplace, but her current boss is refusing to write a letter of release, and is demanding she continue to work.

An American man working for a Korean company said he witnessed bribes openly being given and received. He said he saw his boss hand over an envelope full of money -- quite naturally and in a public place -- to an immigration officer cracking down on hiring illegal immigrants.

Another instructor at a Canadian institute recounted observing countless scenes of bribe taking. He mentioned seeing a bar owner, who was earlier busted for selling alcohol to minors, passing on a money envelope to a police official, as well as street-side peddlers paying off the police who are supposed to crack down on them.

Another American teaching in a provincial collage said that while he was participating in a teacher re-training program held by his school's college of education, he was forced by the college to pull up the grades of teachers who had graduated from that particular college. He said college corruption seemed very natural and commonplace.

Christopher Hill on North Korea

I just read this in the Korea Times and particularly liked this:

Hill also said the U.S. will continue raising the issue of North Korea’s human rights abuse, something that Seoul worries could disrupt the nuclear talks and trigger instability.

``The notion that human rights can be sort of kept away from the issue… or not factored in, I think is fairly unrealistic,’’ Hill said.

I also liked this gem from National Security Adviser Kwon Chin-ho:

"President Roh should be the one the United States pays more attention to than any other Korean president, although it is true that the U.S. tended to disregard former South Korean presidents,"

I have to think about that one for a while before...on second thought, why bother?

PC bang, NORK style

Well you won't find them playing Starcraft, Half Life 2, Doom, or surfing for the latest racing girl pics, but apparently people can do things like read online books and study - if they live in Pyongyang and go to the People's Study Hall in Kim Il-sung Square.

Look!  It's Windows 2000 - and in English.  I wonder if they left games like minesweeper and solitaire on there?  And how do they get those never-ending windows updates?

This does not look like the kind of place I'd want to hang out in on a regular basis.  I bet they don't even serve coffee.

You can read the article and see some more pics here.

It's not always curiosity that kills the cat

NK warns Japan over sanctions

Is anyone taking the NORKS seriously?  What are they going to do, invade Japan with their navy?  Launch an amphibious assault?  Commit suicide by lobbing a few scuds?  We've all heard this or similar swaggering a thousand times (ok, maybe not a thousand, but a lot anyway) before. 

North Korea warned that it would regard any sanctions imposed on it by Japan as a declaration of war and would hit back with an "effective physical" response.

It also said it would reconsider its participation in six-nation talks aimed at ending the nuclear stand-off if a "provocative campaign" under way in Japan against the country continued, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

[...]

"If sanctions are applied against the DPRK (North Korea)..., we will regard it as a declaration of war against our country and promptly react to the action by an effective physical method," the unidentified spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Koran Central News Agency news agency.

But - could you imagine?  The NORKS launch scuds, the U.S. comes to Japan's aid (if necessary) and then what, oh what, would or allies in Seoul be doing?  Hehe.  Anyway, you can read the entire article here.

Important reminder

Get ye over to Simon's World to cast your vote(s) in this year's Asia Blog Awards.

Buried alive

I hope he wasn't claustrophobic.

This is a step in the right direction

From my favorite rag paper:

Under heavy fire over its handling of a gang-rape case involving 40 high-school students, the National Police Agency announced yesterday that from now on only female police officers will investigate victims of sexual violence to prevent possible human rights violations.

The authorities also said investigators would use interrogation rooms with video recorders during questioning of victims in police stations.

The NPA unveiled its new rules and other measures after it came under fire from the public for local police mishandling of a rape case involving two sisters last week in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province.

CSAT score results

Sometimes you feel like a nut.

Sometimes you don't.

Debunking the myth of Juche

Here's a good article from the Asia Times which takes a hard look at how North Korea's touted ideology of Juche, i.e. self reliance, has been anything but.  An interesting and informative read.

A creeping revolution, both social and economic, is under way in North Korea and it seems there's no turning back. For decades, the country served as the closest possible approximation of an ideal Stalinist state. But the changes in its economy that have taken place after 1990 have transformed the country completely and, perhaps, irreversibly.

For decades, Pyongyang propaganda presented North Korea as an embodiment of economic self-sufficiency, completely independent from any other country. This image sold well, especially in the more credulous part of the Third World and among the ever-credulous leftist academics. The secret of its supposed self-sufficiency was simple: the country received large amounts of direct and indirect aid from the Soviet Union and China, but never admitted this in public. Though frequently annoyed by such "ingratitude", neither Moscow nor Beijing made much noise since both communist giants wanted to maintain, at least superficially, friendly relations with their small, capricious ally.

But collapse of the Soviet Union made clear that claims of self-sufficiency were unfounded. From 1991, the North Korean economy went into free fall. Throughout 1991-99, the gross national product (GNP) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nearly halved. The situation became unbearable in 1996, when the country was struck by a famine that took, by the best available estimates, about 600,000 lives. The famine could have been prevented by a Chinese-style agricultural reform, but this option was politically impossible: such a reform would undermine the government's ability to control the populace.

You can read the entire article here.

Hitmaps

I've decided to give Hitmaps another try as they've migrated to a faster server which should allow for faster page loads.  I added it to my sidebar; if anyone starts noticing longer than usual page loading times, please let me know.

It's a cool concept - you can click the small map on my sidebar to see a larger map of the world along with red dots which represent where folks who read this blog are from.

Budaechigae

For those of you who've been wondering what's up with Charlie's blog, all is well.  He told me that he was busy with work and is currently enjoying some sunshine in warmer climes (yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't ya).  The reason his blog is blank except for his sidebar is because he has it set to auto-archive every week.  So if he doesn't put up a new post within a certain time-frame, you'll see a blank page devoid of posts since everything has been moved to the archives.

Hope to see you back soon, Charlie!

Cage on kimchi

You do learn something new every day!

According to Nicolas Cage, if there's one thing the Hollywood actor has gained from South Korea, it's respect _ for family, for ancestors and for vegetables.

"I really wasn't unable to enjoy vegetables until I discovered Korean vegetables,'' Cage said during a news conference in Seoul on Monday. "Kimchi is good for my spirit and my mind, keeps me balanced. Good for the soul.''

LOL.  There you have it.  I don't know about all that - I just love eating it because it tastes good.  I've never contemplated the spritual side of kimchi before this but maybe I've been missing the true path to nirvana all this time...

Determination

Just think - some day, somewhere, you may meet this guy on the road. [Emphasis mine]

A 70-year-old farmer passed the written part of his driving license test Monday on his 194th attempt, thus ending one man's personal odyssey to get behind the steering wheel - before coming unstuck in the practical part of the exam.

Oh Sang-baek from Uiseong County in Gyeongbuk Province scored 60 points in the written examination to edge him closer to a Class 2 driver's license last Thursday at the Mungyeong Driver's License Examination Office. In a nod to his success, the office gave him a Christmas card and a small gift.

Oh took, and failed, his first written examination in December 2002. The next day, he repeated the exercise, and the day after that.

In a fierce display of Korean resilience, he re-took the test almost daily at Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency and Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency's examination offices, only pausing when the demands of a busy farming season interrupted his studies. He finally scored enough points to apply for the course-driving test after two years of written-paper trial and error.

But he wasn't quite ready to hit the roads just yet.

After scoring more minuses than pluses on his first practical driving test, which took place at 3 p.m. Monday, Oh was undaunted.

"Rome wasn't built in a day," he said.

"I really need a driver's license for my work. I will come back everyday and take the test until the day I pass."

Scary, isn't it?

Eberstadt pops a cap on the Sunshine policy

Oh yeah, baby.  Our buddy Nicholas Eberstadt had an interview with the Chosun Ilbo and let it all hang out.  No holding back, no sugar coating - just the way I like it.  I'll let you read the article for yourself, but here are two questions/answers I felt were worth posting:

In contrast to your position, President Roh Moo-hyun said during a recent tour of Europe that he opposed any form of pressure or sanctions on North Korea.
"Seoul's North Korea policy is mistaken. The strangest thing is that the hopes and goals of the policy are completely disjointed. While 'hoping' for a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, it had claimed we mustn't use military or economic pressure as a means to denuclearize North Korea. If that is the case, what diplomatic means do you intend to use to attain your 'goal' of a denuclearized North Korea? Is there a reason that the North Korean regime, which has violated all its international agreements and pursued nuclear weapons development for the last 15 years, will now suddenly change its behavior and point of view? What's even more distressing is that the South Korean government is talking as if the North Koreans have real security reasons for possessing nuclear weapons. If the South Korean government believes this, while at the same time saying we mustn't use any pressure on North Korea, personally, I don't know how we'll make progress in getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear program."

You've called South Korea a "prodigal ally." What is your basis for that?
"South Korea believes military tension on the Korean Peninsula no longer exists. It's even going to erase reference to North Korea as the 'main enemy.' Does this mean that the South Korean military of several hundreds of thousands of men exists because of Russia and China? This brings about a serious self-contradiction in the alliance, because while South Korea behaves as if North Korea is no longer a threat, at the same time, it is preserving its alliance with the U.S. premised on the current North Korean threat. This is the 'prodigal ally' about whom I talk."

Game, set, match.  End of discussion.  Any questions?

The high-tech traffic solution

I just read this in the JoongAng Daily:

The Korean government, eager to do something about the country's often appalling traffic congestion, says it is expanding a high-tech effort to alleviate road conditions nationwide.

I already don't like the way this is headed just by reading the first paragraph.  There's no "high-tech effort" that'll be able to alleviate the parking lot syndrome many of us face day in and day out.

The Construction Ministry said yesterday that it will spend 242 billion won ($226.6 million) through the end of the decade to install various monitoring devices on all state roads. Until now, only major highways had the automated traffic assessment and alert system for drivers.
The main functions of the system involve tracking the average speed of vehicles and travel time between designated road segments. These will be measured by cameras that read license plates, closed-circuit TVs, and ultrasonic vehicle detectors, among others.
Electronic signs on the road will provide updates and suggest alternate routes in case of congestion. Information can also accessed by mobile phone or the Internet.
"We have to increase efficiency. There are many smaller state roads that run almost parallel to the highways that people don't know about," a ministry official said.

Nope, nope, nope, not gonna cut it.  Now I don't know about you, but I drive on many of these smaller state roads they're talking about and I'm seeing more and more cars every day.  The back road between Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys is a prime example.  Just a year or so ago, it was clear sailing back and forth except for the occasional car.  Now it's slowly starting to resemble traffic in other large metropolitan areas throughout Korea.  The problem is that there's X amount of real estate, ergo X amount of roads but on the other hand we have who-knows-how-many new cars added to the roads every single day.  Unless people stop buying cars all of a sudden, the problem's only going to get worse.

The only real solution as I see it is to push awareness of public transportation, which is plentiful and cheap here in Korea.  The price of gasoline and diesel sure isn't putting a damper in people's driving habits so the government needs to somehow convince people to utilize the numerous trains, buses, and taxis -then and only then will traffic ease up. 

N.Korea Says Reconsidering Place at Nuclear Talks

"And why would that be?", you ask.  Well, I'll tell you.

North Korea is seriously considering its role in talks on its nuclear plans because of what it sees as a concerted campaign to topple the North's ruling system, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The United States had launched a psychological campaign to persuade people there was a crisis in the North, including mass defections by generals to China, said a lengthy statement published by the official KCNA news agency.

"Under this situation the DPRK is compelled to seriously reconsider its participation in the talks with the U.S., a party extremely disgusting and hateful," it said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"A party extremely disgusting and hateful."  I love it.

In recent weeks there have been persistent rumors in financial markets and diplomatic circles about possible political changes in the North, one of the world's most secretive countries.

Stories ranged from portraits and lapel badges of leader Kim Jong-il disappearing to the defection of more than 130 generals to China.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry said Washington had let "reptile media and riff-raffs" spread reports about the portraits and had then floated the story about the generals.

"The U.S. false propaganda and psychological operation aimed to slander the DPRK and finally realize a regime change there have, in actuality, gone beyond the tolerance limit," it said, using some of the toughest rhetoric in recent months.

"Quite contrary to what the U.S. claimed, not even a button of a general officer's uniform, to say nothing of more than a hundred of general officers, has ever been found across the border," it said. "We do not know such a word as defection."

Huh.  Could be, could be.  They almost had me going there.  Almost.  The last sentence is a little iffy but I'll give them credit, maybe they really don't know the word for defection. Now - I said they almost had me until they threw this little nugget in at the end:

It said people who had fled to China -- aid workers say there are as many as 100,000 -- were not political refugees but people who could no longer live in the North because of "their illicit acts and crimes."

Hahahaha.  Now I had 2 laughs today, and you can read the entire article over at Yahoo News.

Here's my laugh of the day

Let me see if I can get this straight:

Kobe Bryant is upset because someone allegedly came on to his wife.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Japan to liberate NK?

Speaking of the Japanese, it seems they're a bit miffed with NK these days.

A high-ranking figure in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drawn attention for saying Japan's future relations with North Korea should be determined with the oppressed state's "liberation" in mind, as the political circle remains enraged at Pyongyang's decision to return false remains of Japanese abductees.

Words that are sure to raise a few eyebrows in the region, don't you think?

Takebe Tsutomu, secretary general of Japan's ruling party and the man perceived to be second-in-command, appeared on Nippon TV on Saturday asserting that, "Our goals are to resolve the kidnapping, nuclear and missile issues. To put it boldly, we must think about how to confront these issues while keeping the prospect of liberating North Korea in mind."

Boldly put, indeed.  It'll be worth watching how this unfolds.  Stay tuned, and read the entire article here.

Go North, young man

Fuck it.  Let's clear all the mines from the DMZ, tear down the fences, build campfires, hold hands, drink some soju, light some candles, and sing kum bay ya while praising the virtues of Juche.

Does it get any better than this?

Who's your pal?

In case of a war on the peninsula, it's good to know we can count on the Japanese because our SK allies are kind of doubtful.

Is that totally screwed up, or what?

Times are a changing

This is sad all the way through from the acts themselves to the police handling of the case.  But what the hell - if the article is correct, we're talking about 41 boys that were involved in this.  41.  Not one or two kids gone bad, but 41.

Police have arrested 12 high school boys and booked 29 other students from Miryang, South Kyongsang Province, on charges of sexual assaults on five middle school girls.

Investigators at a police station in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan said over the weekend that the 41 suspects were found to have gang raped three middle school girls from the city and two others from the industrial town of Changwon on several occasions since January.

Public anger is growing over police mishandling of the case. Human rights activists and the public have called for reform of investigations into sexual assault cases, which they claim have often infringed on the privacy of victims.

On Tuesday, 41 high school students in Miryang were caught by the police after beating and raping three middle school girls several times since January in Ulsan.

The boys allegedly met one of the victims, identified as Choi, 14, through chatting on cell phones, and sexually assaulted her when she visited them in Miryang in January.

They then threatened to upload the scene of the assault on the Internet, and lured Choi's sister and a cousin then raped them as well.

The boys also allegedly raped two other middle school girls in Changwon in November. The assault suspects are allegedly members of a juvenile gang composed of high school students in Miryang, some 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

[...]

In the course of investigation, the girls were also able to hear abuse from one of the attackers. Police also made the victims point out their assailants in front of them, leading the girls to worry about the possibility of revenge.

One police officer was also found to have insulted the victims, saying: ``My hometown is Miryang, and you girls have brought disgrace on the city.''

                                                       ???

I hope this asshole is in the unemployment line by the time you read this, but I somehow doubt it.  And sorry folks, candle light vigils aren't going to reform those 41 boys or those police officers (and I use the term loosely), nor will it make those girls feel any better.  Every one of those boys that's found guilty needs to be punished - severely, at that.  Put them in jail so they can find out what rape feels like, from another perspective altogether.

And where are the girl's fathers in all this?  Speaking for myself as a father, those little fuckers would be lucky to make it to jail.

Fear of flying?

Either that or they really love riding in trains...

N. Korean Economic Delegation Departs for China

And even more trout

Today was one of the best days we've had in a while.  It could have been just a few degrees warmer, but as long as the sun was shining directly on us, it wasn't too bad.  We could do no wrong as far as the fishing was concerned...at one point it was almost funny because we were starting to get a lot of dirty looks from the other folks who weren't doing so good.

We brought 24 fish home today but had we had a bigger cooler, the number would have been a lot higher.  Plus, once the sun dipped behind the hills, the wind picked up and it got real cold so we called it a day.  I hope we get just a few more weekends like this before the big freeze hits.

Toys for Tots

For those of you affiliated with the military here in Korea, here's another good program to help those who need a little cheer around the holidays.  You'll see the collection barrels at various points around Yongsan and here at Osan, there are 2 Marines standing right outside the Main Exchange.  While you're doing your last minute Christmas shopping, pick up a few toys and drop them off.  For the price of that Charlie's Steakery sandwich (do you really need it?), you can help brighten someone's holidays this year.

More "Rankings"

I keep seeing stuff like this almost every day in various papers.  Today we're told that Korea is ranked 49th on the world's "happiness scale", whatever that means.

How about this:  Korea is ranked 1st when it comes to countries obsessed with worrying how the rest of the world views them.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

I bet Kim Jong Il loves reading articles like this.  But hey, who knows - maybe the sunshine policy has brought about a kinder, gentler, North Korea (snicker) and there really is no need to worry about spies anymore. 

The number of suspected North Korean spies caught by South Korean counterespionage agents has dropped significantly since the landmark summit meeting in 2000 between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Intelligence officials say the reason is they no longer receive sufficient government support to do their job.
According to the National Assembly's intelligence committee records, 20 spies were caught in 1998 and 15 in 1999. Since 2000, that number has dropped to between two to four cases a year.
"Honestly, at a point when discussions are held regarding the very existence of the department, the atmosphere is getting worse," said an official of the National Intelligence Service working for a special section dealing with counterespionage. "Gone are the days when one could be proud of having caught a spy."
The official said that the higher echelons of the service are putting more emphasis on combating industrial espionage. Especially, among young counterespionage personnel the lack of support is taking its toll on the morale.
"Some of us are worried that if we keep working in this department we could be end up nowhere," said an intelligence official, who asked not to be identified.
The government's approach is reflected in the changes it has made in its counterespionage organization.
Last year in May, a special section whose task was to identify North Korean spies was dissolved. Meanwhile, the police and prosecution have taken over the role of dealing with suspected North Korean sympathizers, a role once held by the intelligence service.
Officials point to the current climate of counterespionage to point up how the government has reduced its emphasis on catching spies.
"Until the 1990s, briefings regarding spy cases might include an organizational chart, communications gear, and the occasional pistol. Now, you have press conferences held by suspects who proclaim their innocence," said an intelligence official. He said that in the past confessions were enough to convict a suspect but nowadays because of stricter court procedures, collecting evidence takes up as much as a whole year.
Some experts think that the change could endanger the security of the nation. "We have to change the current atmosphere where if someone talks about security he is regarded as someone who opposes reconciliation with North Korea," said Jae Seong-ho, a professor of law at Chung-Ang University.

There goes the neighborhood

Crap.  This is the last thing we need in this neck of the woods.  What does this mean?  More people moving down here since it'll be easier and faster to commute back and forth to Seoul,  more cars on the roads, more high-rise apartments, and, of course, even higher real estate prices.  Crap.

Here's a surprise for you

Or maybe not.

Bush manipulated NKorea intelligence like he did in Iraq: US expert

Huh.  Next they'll be telling us there's no Santa Claus (sorry, Virginia).

High ranking military leaving NK?

According to this article in the Chosun Ilbo, high ranking military may be leaving NK.  Not sure if this is more misinformation, rumor, or outright speculation.  Anyone have the Dear Leader's phone number so I can call him and get the scoop?  Or his son's email address?  I hear he likes to write emails so we may be able to find out what's going on that way.

BEIJING -- Professor Zhao Huji, a North Korea specialist at the Central Party School in Beijing, said Thursday that North Korean generals and high-ranking officials are deserting the crisis-plagued state as a mirror of growing instability and its leader's waning authority.

"These high-ranking defectors aren't leaving because of material want, but because these feel chaos within the Kim Jong-il regime... High-ranking administrators like military officials have visited China several times and are well connected there, and because they have money, they have many chances to defect to China," said Zhao.

North Korea experts calculate that 130 North Korean generals have defected to China, some of whom may have entered the Chinese military, as reported in a recent edition of the International Herald Tribune.

However opinion is divided, with other specialists arguing that the removal of Kim Jong-il's portraits from public buildings in Pyongyang and the continuing exodus of defectors does not signify a loosening grip on power by the North Korean leader.

Peking University professor Cui Yingjiu, who studied with Kim Jong-il at Kim Il-sung University and had until recently kept in contact with the North Korean leader, said, "Kim Jong-il has a stronger grip on power than Mao Zedong in China during the 1960s ... In North Korea, there are no people like Liu Shaoqi or Deng Xiaoping [who challenged Mao] to compromise Kim Jong-il's authority."

Cui added that China has less influence over North Korea than is widely believed.

EZ Widers at your local 7-11?

I seriously doubt we'll ever see that, but what's next, a chapter of NORML in Korea?  The Marmot commented on this recently, and today's Chosun Ilbo has an article on actress Kim Bu-sun's (and other celebrities) drive to legalize marijuana in Korea.

A group of celebrities in conjunction with Cultural Action, a civic group for cultural diversity, called for the legalization of marijuana at Cafe Neutinamu in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Thursday. The declaration aims to endorse a petition questioning the constitutionality of banning marijuana, which was filed by actress Kim Bu-sun.

Artists including actress Kim Bu-sun (first from left) hold a press conference at a cafe in Ahnguk-dong, Seoul on Thursday, calling for the legalization of marijuana.

Heh, judging from some of the expressions in the above pic, a bag of Doritos and some Twinkies may be in order. (Editor's note:  For those unfortunate enough to not have grown up in the 60's and 70's, munchies is the term).

Calling to abolish all legal and social restrictions on the drug, the participants said in their declaration that overseas studies showed that marijuana was less harmful than other narcotics and was known to have medicinal properties. The celebrities included professors Kang Nae-hee and Wone Yong-jin, movie directors Kim Ki-deok, Park Chan-wook, Song-hae-seong and Jang Sun-woo, actors Ji Jin-hee and Hong Seok-cheon, and singer Shin Hae-cheol.

Prior to the declaration, actress Kim Bu-sun filed a lawsuit with a court to question the constitutionality of prohibiting marijuana after being sentenced to eight months in prison (with two-years probation) at her first trial in August after being charged with smoking marijuana.

In contrast to the Netherlands, where marijuana can be legally purchased and smoked indoors with the owners' permission, prohibitions in Korea are strict.

Random fellow blogger stuff

GI Korea has an excellent post on KATUSAs and some of the problems and positive things he's seeing.  Give it a read.

Michael Hurt over at Scribblings of the Metropolitician continues his series with a post titled "Fetish" which takes a look at the image some Korean women display.  What interested me, however, was a comment left on the post with the following statement:

"Now, even the most handsome foreign man doesn't stand a chance with the majority of Korean women, if you ask me. Yet, I believe that for the same reason, the same foreign man has an increased likelihood of "successfully hooking up with" a smaller and specific subset of Korean women." 

I asked the comment's author to elaborate and he did; read the comment section for his reply.  Before commenting, I want to think about his original statement and his reply a bit.  Feel free to jump into the fray with your thoughts/opinions.

Oranckay and the Marmot both cover the surprise visit to the Zaytun unit by our favorite prez.  Is it me, or does Roh look a little too cheery in all those pics?

Jeff's latest post is a bit disturbing...I didn't click on the additional picture links.

Oh, and one last thing; Don't forget to nominate (and later vote for) your favorite Korean Blog over at Simon's World!

Fool me once, shame on you

Looks like the NORKs are still up to their old tricks.  This kind of behavior isn't going to make the Japanese very happy.

Buy our products, but not our stocks

Sometimes I can't understand Korean logic.  Take this article in the Chosun Ilbo about foreign investment.  It's the last paragraph that gets me.

Despite the fact that increased foreign capital inflows are saving companies from collapse and creating jobs, the phenomenon is connected with feelings of insecurity that the Korean economy may fall into the hands of foreigners, said the paper.

I'm no economics major, but isn't foreign investment a good thing?  Doesn't that indicate that foreign companies see a possibility of further economic growth and therefore profit and that they have a confidence in Korean companies and the Korean economy that Koreans themselves don't seem to have? (I've read several articles lately that the rich are moving their assets overseas).  If foreigners buy stocks and the stocks rise in value because of that, isn't everyone involved making out in the end?

Here there be tigers

Or at least he thinks so.

Why it's hard to shop overseas

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Another presidential quote

In France, no less.

Roh gave a speech at the University of Paris IV, La Sorbonne, on Monday afternoon. When asked by a student, “Isn’t Korea under an immense American influence?” Roh answered that some Americans might be disappointed, but he said that nobody should try to monopolize friends. He received a round of applause after he said, “The reason why we are fascinated by France is that the values that French strive for are different from those of the United States.”

Don't stop Mr. President, you're on a roll!

Fred on war

I don't agree with everything Fred writes, but from time to time he hits the nail on the head, at least from where I'm sitting.  His latest column is one of those - check it out.  You may disagree with it.  You may even get hot under the collar and say "It's just not so!"  But it is so.  They won't even allow America to see the dead arriving back home.  What's wrong with that picture?

The observant will have noticed that we hear little from the troops in Iraq and see almost nothing of the wounded. Why, one might wonder, does not CNN put an enlisted Marine before a camera and, for fifteen minutes without editing, let him say what he thinks? Is he not an adult and a citizen? Is he not engaged in important events on our behalf?

Sound political reasons exist. Soldiers are a risk PR-wise, the wounded a liability. No one can tell what they might say, and conspicuous dismemberment is bad for recruiting. An enlisted man in front of a camera is dangerous. He could wreck the governmental spin apparatus in five minutes. It is better to keep soldiers discreetly out of sight.

So we do not see much of the casualties, ours or theirs. Yet they are there, are somewhere, with missing legs, blind, becoming accustomed to groping at things in their new darkness, learning to use the wheelchairs that will be theirs for fifty years. Some face worse fates than others. Quadriplegics will be warehoused in VA hospitals where nurses will turn them at intervals, like hamburgers, to prevent bedsores. Friends and relatives will soon forget them. Suicide will be a frequent thought. The less damaged will get around.

[...]

People say that this war isn’t like Viet Nam. They are correct. Washington fights its war in Iraq with no better understanding of Iraq than it had of Viet Nam, but with much better understanding of the United States. The Pentagon learned from Asia. This time around it has controlled the press well. Here is the great lesson of Southeast Asia: The press is dangerous, not because it is inaccurate, which it often is, but because it often isn’t.

So we don’t much see the caskets—for reasons of privacy, you understand.

The war in Iraq is fought by volunteers, which means people that no one in power cares about. No one in the mysteriously named “elite” gives a damn about some kid from a town in Tennessee that has one gas station and a beer hall with a stuffed buck’s head. Such a kid is a redneck at best, pretty much from another planet, and certainly not someone you would let your daughter date. If conscription came back, and college students with rich parents learned to live in fear of The Envelope, riots would blossom as before. Now Yale can rest easy. Thank God for throwaway people.

Imagine that

More Students Would Like to be Reborn in U.S. than Korea

Small survey but still interesting.

Supersize me

This is certainly good news.

Tuesday funny and zen

With or without his lab coat, The Big Hominid just keeps cracking me up.

Speaking of the Big Ho, after my dental wimp post, he told me to check into one-pointed-mind meditation, thinking it might help.  I had no clue what that was, so I asked him for some details, which he gladly provided:

One-pointed mind is a state of hgh focus-- i.e., you're focusing on a
single meditative "point"-- or maybe even a physical point.  Many will
associate this with some styles of Buddhist meditation, but  the
notion of one-pointed mind comes from Hinduism, if I'm not mistaken.

Zen meditation is occasionally described as one-pointed mind, but I
think this is a misnomer.  A Korean master based in Germantown, MD,
Master Shin Go Seong, says that, when you meditate, "your  mind has no
address."  This is different from the intense focus of the one-pointed
technique, in my opinion.

In Zen meditation, it's better to think of your mind as being like a
mirror.  A mirror retains nothing; if something red passes in front of
it, then the mirror shows red.  Once the red thing is gone, it leaves
the mirror, too.  In the same way, your mind is a field of  constant
perceptual input, but it shouldn't be attaching to any of these
stimuli.  Hearing a sound and then fixating on it is a big no-no.
Instead, the mind "has no address"-- i.e., the sound occurs, creates
eddies and ripples in your consciousness, and then those eddies and
ripples will die down.  Zen meditation is striving for a state of
setlledness, called samadhi (also variously translated as
"concentration" and "absorption").

A good example of one-pointed mind in action can be found in Joe
Hyams's great little book, "Zen in the Martial Arts."  He tells the
story of a martial arts master who went to the dentist for some cavity
work and refused the painkiller, preferring simply to use the
one-pointed technique (he focused on a spot on the wall, or on the
ceiling; I don't remember) to deal with the pain.  Never moved a
muscle during the whole procedure.

Well yesterday was THE DAY and I knew Dr. Kim was intent on yanking that bad boy out no matter what so I decided to give the Big Ho's suggestion a try (One difference - I sure as hell didn't refuse the pain killer).  I won't go into too many details on what I did fantasize about concentrate on, but let's juts say it involved Dr. Kim's lovely dental assistant, Frederick's of Hollywood, and yours truly.  I don't know if that was quite zen-like or not, but it sure did the trick.  Hey wait, doc, I'm not finish yet, would you like to pull another tooth? Thanks, Kevin!

Today's class: Drinking 101

From the Dong-A Ilbo comes this comprehensive tutorial for those who like to get shit-faced consume alcohol - and just in time for the holidays!  I hope some of you are paying attention.

Relieve Thirst and Hunger First -

It is easy to over drink when you mistake thirst and hunger in the evening as “thirst for alcohol.” Any food tastes good in a state of hunger. So is the “taste of the first glass.” Before you pour alcohol into an empty stomach and shout “My body wants alcohol today,” have a meal and drink water first.

What?  Eat before drinking?  Isn't that like taking a nap right before bedtime? Like going to Burger King before you hit the all-you-can-eat-buffet?

How much alcohol should one drink for it to not become poison to the body? Doctors advise a daily dose of less than 50g regardless of a person’s drinking ability. If you drink three to five glasses of alcohol in a glass fit for the particular type of alcohol, you would be drinking approximately 50g. Such an amount will not greatly harm the body.

What, exactly, is a glass fit for the particular type alcohol?  I know people who think a glass fit for whiskey is a 16 ounce tumbler so...

Drinking slowly is also important. The body’s ability to dissolve alcohol per hour is limited. Drinking too much alcohol at once will cause more alcohol to be absorbed than is dissolved. If so, one’s alcohol level will rise suddenly and cause intoxication in a short period of time.

Isn't that the whole point?  To become falling-down drunk as fast as possible? (especially since USFK has blessed us with a curfew).

Is Overdrinking Okay if I Have a Lot of Appetizers? -

Some people advise others to eat greasy food such as pork before drinking, saying, “Fat slows down the stomach’s ability to absorb alcohol.” However there are no safety devices in alcohol. Greasy garnishes will only lead to abdominal obesity.

You have to each a lot of garnishes in order to help the liver’s activities in dissolving alcohol. High-protein, high-fat food lingers in the stomach, delaying the absorption of alcohol. However, since it is absorbed directly in the stomach without dissolving, there are little results.

No matter how many side dishes you have, the body absorbs most of the alcohol one drinks within 30 minutes. Eating garnishes will not delay the absorption of alcohol, it will only decrease the number of times you hold up the glass to drink.

Avoid salty garnishes. They will cause thirst and make you drink even more. Hot garnishes give more stress to an already stressed-out stomach. Non-greasy meat and fiber-rich vegetables are the best snacks to go with alcohol.

Conclusion:  Stick to the booze.

Mixing Drinks is a Regrettable Act –

If you want to drink without having hangovers, stick to one type of alcohol. “Bomb alcohol” is the worst choice, because the carbon dioxide in the beer accelerates the body’s absorption of the soju or whiskey that is dropped in the beer glass as the “core of the bomb.” The liver’s ability to dissolve alcohol soon extends its limit as well.

Mixing drinks will cause headaches long after alcohol is completely dissolved. Hangovers are caused by additives that enhance the color and smell of alcohol. The mixture of various additives leads to several chemical reactions, making headaches even worse.

Now this is stating the obvious, isn't it?  But once you get hammered in the zone, you're sucking down anything that even remotely looks alcoholic, right? 

Will Singing and Vomiting Quicken Recovery from Drunkenness? -

There are no special ways to recover from a hangover. Alcohol will only be dissolved with time. Some foods are claimed to accelerate the dissolving of alcohol, but doctors warn against trusting what uncertain effects they may have, and continuing to drink excessively because of this.

You do not have refrain from wanting to throw up. However, since alcohol is quickly absorbed, most of the substance let out will be the food you ate. Waking up from a state of intoxication after vomiting is only a psychological effect. Forcing yourself to vomit in order to wake up will tear the blood vessels between the esophagus and stomach or make stomach acid come up, leading to esophagitis.

Singing and dancing can help discharge alcohol from the body through respiration and sweat. However their greater merit is in the fact that less alcohol is drunk while doing so.

There you have it.  Armed with this knowledge, you too can party the night(s) away.  Once again, to sum it up: Only drink alcohol out of the glass it's intended for (choose your glass wisely), keep it down to 3-5 glasses and you're ok.  Stick to one type of booze, eat some food before drinking, and it's ok to throw up except all you're going to expel is the food you ate in the first place to keep from getting too drunk, which you knew you were going to end up doing anyway so why spend the money on food when you can use it later to buy more booze?  If you're already too drunk to drink any more (is that possible?), no matter where you are - sing and dance till you drip sweat because then you can use the money you didn't spend on food to buy yet more alcohol and party on!

Roh Hoe-chan speaks

I think I've already read more than I want about this Roh Hoe-chan person but this was too good to pass up.

In this interview with the Korea Times, he made these 2 statements:

"We are a small and weak country, and cannot compete militarily in this region no matter how much we try,’’ he continued, ``So having military conflicts with neighboring countries by maintaining a too close military relationship with the U.S. is not desirable at all for national security.’’

Ok, if you really feel that way, fine.

``I think the U.S. can be welcomed in East Asia and I hope that it will,’’ he concluded. ``But in order to achieve that, we should be able to respect one other as equal partners. The U.S. should not only think of its own interests, as South Korea has its own, too.’’

Oooooooooookay.  Surely there's no need for me to point out the obvious here, is there?

Update:  GI Korea also has something to say about this article.

U.S. Drama Sets Negative Stereotype of Korean Men

"I don't know what it's like where you live in Iraq, but where I live in the United States, Koreans hate black people." This is a line from the popular ABC drama, "Lost," which tells the story of 14 people marooned on a desert island.

Staring actress Kim Yoon-jin, who has gained popularity for her role in the blockbuster movie "Shiri," the drama is being criticized for painting a hugely distorted picture of Koreans. There is concern that the erratic behavior of Jin (played by Daniel Dae Kim), who plays the husband of Sun (played by Kim Yu-jin), may become a universal stereotype of Korean men for American viewers.

Jin, a Korean who cannot speak any English, is painted as a patriarchal and conservative character. Most Korean viewers who have seen the show reject the two-dimensional characterization as either ridiculous or mammothly anachronistic.

In one scene, as soon as another foreign survivor speaks to his wife, who has opened the last button on her sweater, Jin points to her cardigan and yells at her to button it up. When his wife wears a sleeveless T-shirt, Jin tells her it is too conspicuous. Speaking no English at all, Jin goes throughout the drama cursing to everyone in Korea.

I'm pretty sure they meant to write "Jin goes throughout the drama cursing to everyone in Korean", although one never knows.  When I was here the first time in the 80's, I witnessed this type of behavior from time to time (and to be fair, you can find this type of relationship in any culture) and although I haven't seen the series, this does sound like a bad case of stereotyping.  However, I seriously doubt that this "may become a universal stereotype of Korean men for American viewers."  Read the rest over at the Chosun Ilbo.

Well there you have it

This should put a lot of worries and speculation to rest.

On a state visit to Poland, President Roh Moo-hyun, discussing the issue of North Korea’s regime stability, said Saturday (local time), “Up till now, people have been saying that North Korea would collapse, but it hasn’t... It appears there’s almost no possibility of North Korea collapsing.”

Maybe he's got the inside scoop...

Quote(s) of the week

Oh my, so much to blog about but Mrs. Nomad commands my attention tonight so I leave you with this classic quote by our favorite prez:

"Koreans love and greatly respect Polish heroes like Copernicus, Chopin and Pope John Paul II."

Oh wait, here's another:

"I, like most Koreans, was brought up regaled with the stories of great Poles like Madame Curie and the music of Chopin."

Read more here, if you dare.

Excellent movie

I just got done watching My Love Ssagajy : 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant and it's one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time...if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you go rent it. 

Sidebar maintenance and other stuff

Did a little sidebar maintenance over the weekend - removed a couple of blogs that weren't being updated anymore, and added a few that I somehow missed or didn't know about (LOL, thanks the The Marmot, I always stay up on new blogs).

One blog of note that you should check out is Yeohaeng Ilgi. I found the link (where else) on the Marmot's sidebar, followed it and ended up reading almost everything posted there so far.  Check it out and leave comments if you wish, I'm sure they'll be appreciated.

Ah, the humanity.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous all week, only to turn crappy (no pun intended) on the one and only day of the week (Saturday) I can go fishing this time of year.  And oddly enough, it'll be nice for the next 5 days again...hope this isn't a trend in the making.

Huh.  I kind of mentioned my Christmas wish to Mrs. Nomad, you know - nothing concrete, just threw it out there to test the waters and I got "The Look".  I saw there was no point in continuing that conversation but all's not lost yet.  Remember that old saying, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission." Hehe.

Gun Control

Hooded winter jacket with large inside pocket to conceal identity & carry gun: $65

9mm Handgun purchased from Ray-Jay up the block: $150

Failure to master proper weapon retention during your planned armed robbery:
PRICELESS!

Shattered dreams

I found an excellent article in the International Herald Tribune about the disappointments, obstacles, and discrimination North Korean refugees face after their arrival in the South.  I'll let you read the article yourself and then you can draw your own conclusion as to where the problem lies.  Here are a few samples:

Defectors themselves said they had been stunned upon arrival. "We think of China as a capitalist society," said Kim, a former accountant who now works as a counselor to fellow defectors, "so my first impression here was that the economic development was incredible."

Upon landing, the defectors are debriefed by South Korean intelligence and are required to attend a two-month adjustment course at one of two government-run Hanawon, or "oneness," centers. Here they receive education in the basics of capitalism, such as how to use a bank or shop in a market, but alumni say the course content is inappropriate.

"It doesn't teach what we need," said Kim, who also declined to give her full name. "They teach us etiquette - how to set a table, how to receive business cards - and how to vote, but we can learn this naturally. The key is job skills. For example, we know nothing about computers, and in North Korea we never use Chinese characters," which are used in the South.

[...]

Those lucky enough to land reasonable jobs face social prejudice in an environment in which a North Korean accent can raise eyebrows.

"I lost my job at a car center because of my accent," said Kim, the former accountant. "Whenever I spoke on the phone, my heart pounded. A customer complained that I didn't know the names of car parts - all foreign words."

The result is high unemployment rates among North Koreans. A report by the Ministry of Unification to the National Assembly in October showed that 70 percent of defectors rely on government handouts.

Discrimination also arises in the social sphere.

"It's difficult to make friends here," said Meng, a student who arrived in South Korea in 2003 and asked not to be identified by her full name. "All my friends are North Koreans," she said. "When I meet young South Koreans in my computer class, they don't even make eye contact."

Negative Southern stereotypes of defectors are reflected in the media.

"The first time a North Korean defector was featured in a TV drama here," said the Reverend Douglas Shin, a human rights advocate from Los Angeles, "he was portrayed as a barbarian: He didn't use shampoo, couldn't use a toilet and so on."

Meanwhile, fears of a potential mass influx of North Koreans are growing in the South. "When I was in a taxi just after 468 refugees arrived this year," Oh said, "the driver asked me 'Why do you all keep coming?"'

Read the entire article here.

Bribery

What, do they think Bill Clinton is still in da house?

SPAM

And no, not the type you eat.

My Mother has an AOL account in the states and we've been emailing each other without a problem for the last couple of years so imagine my surprise when I went to send her an email yesterday and got this in reply:

FAILURE NOTICE: RE: (no subject)

receiver: Name@aol.com

SERVER REPLY: 554- (RTR:DU)

http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554rtrdu.html

If you follow that link, you get this:

AOL works with http://mail-abuse.org to maintain lists of dynamic and residential IP addresses. Per our E-mail Guidelines, we do not accept mail from these addresses, as it is difficult to determine who is responsible for mail being generated by these IP's.

I've run into this problem emailing some of my friends in the states who have Cox, Verizon and Bell-South - and now AOL, because they block entire ranges of IP addresses when SPAM originates from a certain location.

And can you really blame them?

I  got the above pic from Spamhaus.  Isn't it nice to know that my ISP (Kornet) was the 2nd highest SPAM ISP for November 2004?  And what are the odds of someone at Kornet contacting AOL to have the IP block removed?  Looks like I'll have to start relying on my Yahoo account more and more.

Seoul Town meeting

I guess it's the thought that counts.  And don't forget the free cookies and fruit.

This is what I call optimistic

This from Yonhap News.  Hopefully there'll be a more detailed report on this sometime soon because I'd like to see what criteria they're basing this on.

Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said Friday that the South Korea military is capable of engaging the North's long range artillery within 6-7 minute of hostile action being initiated.

Speaking at the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee, the policymaker said the North's military capabilities posed a serious risk to the Seoul area.

"If a war were to break out, our forces can respond quickly and should be able to subdue the threat posed by these weapons within an hour or an hour-and-a-half," the minister told lawmakers.

Pyongyang possesses 170-millimeter "Koksan" self-propelled long range artillery and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers that have a reported range greater than 50-kilometers.

Although South Korean artillery pieces have a shorter range, the combined use of counter-battery fire using radar and air power is expected would effectively neutralize the threat posed by the North's weapons systems.

6-7 minutes?  Hell, it'll take them longer than that to change from their slippers to their combat boots!  That's a joke, by the way - well, sort of.  By the time da prez and his sunshine band get through with the military, it'll be a surprise if they can figure out which side they're on in 6-7 minutes, let alone repulse any hostile attack.

The leak keeps leaking

What the heck is with this guy Roh Hoe-chan and his leaking of allegedly classified materials?  The Marmot just covered this earlier this week, and Roh was true to form again yesterday, at least according to this article in the Korea Times.  They can block entire domains for months to keep anyone from seeing the beheading video (which everyone who wanted to see it got anyway) but they can't keep this one man under control?

Busted! Part 4

When and where will it end?  First students, now parents, who's next? Does this go all the way to the top?

A substitute exam case involving a parent was detected in Pusan, while about 80 students who had been suspected of being involved in cheating through cell phones admitted their wrongdoing, according to the police Friday.

Pusan police booked a 21-year-old applicant, identified as Park, and his mother, 48, on suspicion of asking a 22-year-old medical college student, identified as Kim, to take the test in place of Park in exchange for money. Kim was also booked.

Park and the mother, identified as Son, allegedly requested Kim to take the test instead of Park in February, promising to pay him 5-10 million won afterward. Park submitted the exam ID to the local educational authority after posting Kim’s picture on it.

More unbelievable than a UFO sighting

Something happened to me on the way home from work today that had I not seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe it. Heck, I bet none of you will  believe a word I'm about to tell you.

I usually get home right around the time the local middle school lets out and let me tell you, it seems like there's a bajillion kids all over the streets. And they always, and I mean always, walk where they want and cross where they want to cross, without any regard for the cars in the road.  Today, as I was approaching the entrance to my apartment complex, there were 4 teenage schoolgirls walking towards me on the right-hand side of the street, about to walk across the entrance I was going to make a right into.  I slowed, turned on my right-turn signal, they looked at my car, saw the turn signal and...

THEY STOPPED!!!

Can you believe it?  Instead of blindly ignoring my vehicle and assuming I'd let them cross, these girls did something I've never seen in all the years I've been here.  I was in such a state of confusion and shock over this unexpected turn of events that it took me several seconds to recover, and only then did I get enough wits about me to wave them across.

THEY STOPPED!!!

I feel like I should alert the media or something, I dunno.  Do you reckon this has happened to anyone else?  I mean here, in Korea.

The Nomad's Christmas wish

If anyone's been agonizing and losing sleep over what one should give a Lost Nomad for Christmas, agonize no more!

In case you're interested in more details, here's the website.

This is one of the few times I do hope Mrs. Nomad reads this blog

David Scofield on the NORKs

Speaking of the Asia Times, David Scofield also had an article, this one on the ongoing plight of the average North Korean.  Here are a few choice samples:

The political nature of the incessant North Korean famine is something many from the "pro-North Korea engagement" camp like to ignore. But the numbers clearly indicate that North Koreans have starved and continue to die due in great measure to the callous disregard among North Korea's supreme leader to the lives of those he rules. The WFP says $1.5 billion has been spent on food aid to North Korea since 1995. Yet missile sales in 2001 alone amounted to $560 million, according to US military officials. In 1998 North Korea's then vice foreign minister Kim Kay-gwan estimated income from missile exports at $500 million a year. Indeed, North Korean defector testimony has put the worth of missile sales and conventional arms exports at 40% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Then of course there are the hundreds of millions gleaned through illicit drug exports and counterfeit-currency proliferation. Missile, drug and currency exports amount to many times the funds the WFP mobilized to help feed those North Koreans unlucky enough to have been born outside the loyal "core class".

But few are talking about that.

Instead, in the spirit of reconciliation and rapprochement, South Korea is readying an import license for a small South Korean firm to begin importing duck and chicken meat from North Korea - 100 tons initially. So while the UN's WFP and FAO scramble to find the aid to feed the millions of North Korea's starving urban poor, one South Korean importer will be able to reap the immediate economic benefits of cheap meat from the North. It's little wonder many of South Korea's younger generation are increasingly convinced that stories of famine in the North are nothing more than US propaganda.

Read the entire article here.

The Chopstick scandal

Forget this and this, because here's the real scandal.

Only Four In Ten Korean Adults Can Use Chopsticks

Blasphemy!

Professor Kim Phil-soo at Daelim College claims that 80 percent of elementary schoolchildren around the nation are inarticulate when it comes to putting two chopsticks together.

With the growing popularity of Western culinary culture's use of the knife and fork, manifested in the rise of U.S. food outlets like Bennigans and Outback Steak from Myung-dong to Kangnam, six in ten Korean adults are now unable to use chopsticks correctly, according to a recent study.

Professor Kim Phil-soo at Daelim College conducted a survey on the use of chopsticks on 252 adults aged 21-40 in November. Results showed that only 38 percent of the adults, split almost evenly between male and female, were able to use chopsticks in the correct manner.

A separate survey conducted on fifty fifth-grade elementary school students yielded a much higher rate of failure, with Kim discovering that 80 percent came unstuck when presented with two chopsticks.

Professor Kim blamed the new phenomenon on the rising influence of Western culinary culture.

He said that chopsticks require a person to use 64 muscles and 30 articulate movements simultaneously, which also acts in developing brain potential. He recommended that elementary school students be urged to master chopsticks.

This is a little odd, because my wife's been using a fork and knife for the last 18 years that we've been together and she can still use chopsticks just fine.  Well, at least it seems that way to me although it has been pointed out that I'm an ignorant foreigner, so what do I know, right?

So this survey concluded that roughly (hey it's 5:30 so roughly will have to do for now) 150 out of 252 adults can't use chopsticks correctly and it's due to culture killers like Bennigans and Outback.  I'll let you read and ponder that for a while.

And  what do they mean by "correctly"?  To me, correctly means being able to hold the chopsticks,  pick up food and transport said food to mouth without dropping most of it back onto the plate, table, or floor.

In the Navy

Found this over at Rokus.net.

A Korean Messenger in Europe

Aidan Foster-Carter wrote a piece for the Asia Times called A Korean Messenger in Europe which makes for a good read, especially for those who aren't that familiar with Roh Moo-Hyun's history.

Anybody drop some money?

Because if you did, it was found and you have 10 months to claim it.  I can't say that I would have been that honest...if that was me that found all that cash the Nomad Christmas would be looking a lot brighter about now.

Busted, part 3

I'm shocked!  The CSAT cheating scandal is nationwide! Actually, with the pressure these kids are put under to succeed, and the total disregard this society has for rules and regulations from the top down, is this truly a surprise and as shocking as everyone is making it out to be?  They're just following the example, folks.  Do anything to get ahead - be it run a red light, ignore a stop sign, take a bribe, a little nepotism, elbow and bump your way to the front of the line - any of this sound familiar?

It's Rubber Man

LOL, maybe I was wrong about the worst job for a foreigner in Korea. It could be a lot worse, as I found this in the JoongAng Daily.

A person dressed as a condom handing out samples yesterday to passers-by in Myeong-dong, Seoul, as part of an AIDS prevention campaign.

Now, we don't know if this poor guy/gal is a foreigner, but could you imagine having to put this down on a resume?  Or telling your significant other what you do for a living?

Why didn't I think of that?

I'm not sure Mrs. Nomad would have approved, especially since I've never picked up a golf club in my life (unless you count miniature golf) but Grace for dinner?  I'd give thanks for that.

Birdie Queen Grace Park has been nominated as America's golfing sweetheart, if the results of a Thanksgiving Day poll by the LPGA are anything to go by.

Over the Thanksgiving period that stretches from Nov. 26-29, the women's pro-golf organization opened an eye-catching poll on its website (http://lpga.com) asking voters which female golfer they would most like to invite to Thanksgiving dinner.

Grace Park topped the list with 44 percent of respondents naming her, followed by Sweden's empress of golf Annika Sorenstam with 22 percent and U.S.' Cristie Kerr with 9 percent. The poll result lends strong weight to arguments that Grace Park is now the most popular female golfer in the U.S. after she pipped Annika Sorenstam, considered the LPGA's best player, for top slot.

Sorenstam has eight wins this year alone, amassing a total of 56 since her LPGA debut in 1995. Her name has been considered synonymous with the golfing body. Grace Park's record tends to pale in comparison to Sorenstam's consistent track record. This year, Park only managed to clinch two wins to make an aggregate of six since 2000. So how has she captured Americans' hearts on and off the green?

Local golf experts suggested that Park always displays good manners and a positive attitude toward her fans, not to mention her sense of fashion, attractive looks and tendency to flash a friendly smile. Her impressive amateur records also gave her high points.

Korea - then and now

I stumbled across a great site which has pictures taken of Korea in 1968 & 1969.  Most of the pics are of the Anyang area, but the site also has some excellent Seoul - then and now pics and it's amazing to see the changes that have taken place.  Towards the bottom of the page you'll also find some pics taken of the Songhwan-Ni area all the way back in 1954 and also pictures taken in and around Seoul in 1958.

The site is run by Neil Mishalov, who arrived in Korea in 1968.  This from his site:

I arrived in South Korea on 10 March 1968, and was assigned to the 7th Ordnance Company (Special Ammo), which was part of the 83rd Ordnance Battalion of the 8th Army. We were headquartered in Seoksu-dong, a small village near Anyang, about 25 miles south of Seoul; our mission was to store and maintain tactical nuclear warheads and rockets. The storage facility was located within a high security area about 5 miles up a dirt mountain road from the living area. The weapons were stored in tunnels dug into the surrounding mountains. The MSA (maximum security area) had an infantry company from the 7th Infantry Division living on-site and performing perimeter guard duty, the 260th Military Police Company was doing interior guard duty with guard dogs, and the 7th Ordnance Company (SA), was doing the ammo humping.

Shortly after I arrived at my Korean duty station, the Command Sergeant Major of the 83rd Ordnance Battalion, CSM Daniel Nifong, chose me to become the 83rd Ordnance Battalion mailman. I was a very fortunate trooper; I got my own jeep, a Colt 45 pistol, and was told to go to 8th Army headquarters in Yongsan, near Seoul, twice a day, six days a week, to get the mail. No one hassled me as long as I delivered the mail correctly and promptly.

Photography was a hobby of mine prior to being drafted into the U.S. Army, and I brought my cameras and lenses with me to Korea. The pictures in this collection were taken with one of two Nikon F bodies, and either a 50mm f1.4 lens or a 200mm f3.5 lens. All of the images are from 35 mm color slides; most of the film I used was Agfachrome slide film shot at ASA 50. Almost all of the film was purchased with photo processing included. So, after a roll of film was exposed, I sent the film back to the States for processing.

After returning from Korea, I was discharged from active military duty at Fort Lewis, Washington, on 12 April 1969. I probably viewed and showed the Korean and Japanese 35mm slides 2 or 3 times after I returned home. Then, for the next 33 years, the pictures were stored away unseen, but not forgotten.

In early 2002, Jerry Kotler, a long-lost classmate from Levittown Memorial High School, class of 1960, was sending me digital e-mail attachments of 35mm slide photos he had taken during the 1970's. I was curious how he was converting his old 35mm slides to digital images. He told me he was using an Epson 1250 Photo scanner, and so, the next day I purchased one. All of these Korean and Japanese color digital images have been scanned from the original 35mm slide format using the Epson 1250 Photo scanner, a Macintosh G4 733mhz computer running OS X 10.2 and Adobe Photoshop 7.0.

Below are the links to my Korean and Japanese photo collections. I hope you enjoy them.

Neil Mishalov
Berkeley, California

Do yourself a favor and check out his site.  I'm sure you'll enjoy the many pics he has (with promises of more to come).