According to the Xinhua (Chinese media) Kim Jong-il, the big man up north – who, incidentally, isn’t looking that big – “reiterated on Monday the country’s persistent stance to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” It further went on add: “The sincerity of relevant parties to resume the six-party talks is very important, Kim said during a meeting with Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.”
Photo credit: The photo is from Xinhua’s article.
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It almost sounds like a drinking binge at Debut in Itaewon – a man “drinks too much, falls in with other wanderers, crosses paths too many times with the wrong people, and ends up waking up in the snow by the highway, without his pants,” but it’s not – it is part of Machael Atkinson’s review of the Korean movie “Daytime Drinking.” The movie, which Atkinson describes “as eventless, but as seductive and wistful, as a real afternoon boozing spree,” has won several awards and was released in Canada several months ago on DVD. According to Atkinson:
“The cultural context, provided neatly on the Canadian DVD notes by Asian film obsessive Grady Hendrix, is simply that Koreans drink a lot, and they drink a lot of soju (a cheap, low-amp, sweetened vodka potion, consumed at the rate of almost seven gallons per adult per year), and so movies like Noh’s (and Hong Sang-soo’s, among others) express a reality all Koreans can relate to — the lost comedy of waking up in strange places, of losing time, or forgetting why you are where you are, and just letting life carry you forward.”
Even Rotten tomatoes seems to like it with one critic/commenter noting: “Daytime Drinking is proof that a good script and simpatico direction and performances can overcome budgetary restrictions.”
For those of you with an interest, here is a trailer of the movie on Youtube.
I am sure there are more than a few Expats in Korea who can relate to the Soju Experience. Anyone remember “Jungle Juice?”
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“Times change,” declared Alex Sceberras Trigona, the reconfirmed International Secretary of the Labour Party in Malta. He was referring to the secret treaty between Malta and North Korea in 1982 in which North Korea would “donate” weapons to the government of Malta “with a view to further strengthening and developing the friendship and solidarity established between the peoples and armies of the two countries in the common struggle against imperialism and safeguarding the independence.”
“North Korea was responsible for the transportation of weapons and ammunition, and dispatched military instructors to train and teach local military personnel. Four instructors were sent for three months and were paid according to their military rank equivalent to those of Maltese officers. The agreement stipulated that the Maltese government had to provide a one way ticket from Malta to Pyongyang to the instructors and ’subsistence expenditure during the flight and expenses for lodging, meals, medical treatment, transport means (including the driver) and salaries during their stay in Malta, and training equipment needed in the education of the Maltese military personnel.’ The Maltese government had also agreed to ‘protect’ the Korean instructors and ‘ensure their safety, and exempt them from Customs duties and taxes.’ Both sides also agreed to ‘observe strict secrecy in respect of all transaction made pursuant to this agreement and shall not disclose any matter hereof to any third country.’”
It may be worth noting that these four instructors are alleged to have been martial arts experts (see comment #3)
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Though my shots are somewhat hampered by my ancient pin-hole Olympus D-100, I thought some might enjoy pictures of some of the neat winter foods that I am enjoying now. First, this is a great bean-paste (된장) soup with mushroom, little clams, tofu and Shepard’s Purse (냉이), a plant that few in the U.S. seem to eat though it is everywhere. 냉이 really makes bean-paste soup come alive, IMHO. Next, there is the curious case of this persimmon, which seems to be quite unique to Korea. I’m not sure if this persimmon is NSFW or not.
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Here’s one flight attendant you don’t want to screw with:
A San Francisco man, accused of forcing a flight to divert because he was high on medical marijuana, picked the wrong flight attendant to freak out on.
51-year-old Lorin Gorman of Chula Vista is a fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Those skills may have averted a serious situation in the air.
US-Air flight 1447 was on its way from Philadelphia to San Francisco, but ended up in Pittsburgh.
“He was looking back at me, waving hi,” Gorman said.
Sitting in seat 17-C was Kinman Chan, 30, on his way home.
“He’s banging around, screaming in the back bathroom, he’s opened all the compartments,” Gorman said.
According to a criminal complaint, Chan walked out of the bathroom with his pants down.
“I said, ‘you need to sit down now’,” Gorman said.
He did not sit.
He may now wish he had.
All you need to know is it ends in a choke hold.
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KT columnist Mike Breen writes about the massacre of civilians during the Korean War:
The admission in November last year by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a governmental body, that South Korea had murdered thousands of its own citizens in the opening weeks of the 1950-53 Korean War, marked a landmark moment in the painful journey to historical truth.
Through methodical excavation of burial sites, forensic examinations, and interviews with eyewitnesses, the commission verified 4,934 of what some researchers suspect may have been tens of thousands of unlawful executions without trial.
Although it has been 60 years since the horrific events, this first ever admission by a South Korean government did not rest easily.
Indeed, the commission, which was established when Kim Dae-jung was president, is viewed with suspicion by the present government, ruling party, and dominant media, which are more conservative on such matters and see leftist mischief rather than national truth and reconciliation in the commission’s work.
In part, this reaction is fueled by ignorance. The war crimes by the Syngman Rhee government against its own citizenry are little known in Korea because they were covered up, and not only by the perpetrators.
Breen dealt with the issue of Korean War massacres in December of last year, too.
In fairness to the “present government, ruling party, and dominant media,” though, there’s real reason to be suspicious about both the work the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has done AND its agenda over the years (be sure to see also this and this, and the links within). God knows I don’t trust them, even though I think the work they do is very important.
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An interesting article in the JoongAng, mentions recent data from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office says that there is a trend in crimes committed by middle-class youth in Korea (think most average kids that you see walking around). This, in turn, has lead to a government initiative to protect young Koreans from violence by creating counselors to handle reports of violence and would allow parents to locate their kids by cell phones (When students pass by a device, upon entering their school, it would automatically send a message to their parents’ mobile phones).
Considering the causes of rising violent crime amongst kids, will closed-circut TV in schools really and electronic gate-keepers help? Will “the Education Ministry’s plans to offer lectures and training sessions on school violence” help?
Returning to the original article, consider the opinions that were offered about the trend in violent youth crime. First, Professor Kim Mi-ra (Sungkyunkwan University) says:
If someone (kids) habitually starts to break small rules, it can lead to a bigger crime later on . . .
While, reflecting the more popular opinion that media, such as TV, celebrities, games or the internet is the cause of such trends, Oh Hye-yeong of the National Youth Policy Institute says:
When children look at celebrities who commit crimes, including taking drugs or being violent, only to return to work after a short while, they might think that it is okay to break the law . . .
and lastly Kim Seong-gon of the Ministry of Justice is quoted as placing emphasis upon the role of parents and their interaction with their kids:
Spoiling them (kids) is a problem but being too strict and harsh on them will only lead to children who are obedient to the strong and violent to the weak . . . Parents must try to communicate with their children from an early age and open their hearts.
Which brings me to a recent story told told to me by a woman that teaches English privately in Seoul. One student she has is a young boy who looks nice and comes from a well-to-do background, with educated parents, yet something is profoundly wrong with this student. When my friend talked with the student, his language was filled with violence and the sort of things that would raise many eyebrows and prompt a call to a school counselor back in the US, where memories of Columbine High School haunt most school administrators. When the teacher asked the young man about if his mom kissed or hugged him, he said she never did, that his mother thought such was repulsive.
I wonder how different this kid would be if his parents actually hugged him and spent time with him and if this trend in violence is not wholly fueled by legions of parents who have lost touch with their children. The lack of personal involvement is something that no amount of policy or technology can cure, IMHO.
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OK, the only reason I found the Scott Fujita video was because this aatheory post got cited in a Chosun Ilbo story (OK, actually a series to help Korean learn English via English news) on how Paris Hilton burglar Rachel Lee is disgracing Korea.
Note to Chosun: The “an incredibly odd story involving a Korean-American living in Las Vegas” line appears not to have come from “현지 언론들,” but an American blogger living in Korea.
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Aatheory posts a NYT video interview with New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, who was transracially abducted adopted by a Japanese-American dad and white mom. Hence, the name. And apparent fondness for mochi ice cream.
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So much for the whole “until the concentration camps are liberated, I do not want to come out. If I have to die with them, I will” thing:
North Korea said on Friday it will release U.S. religious activist Robert Park, arrested in December for illegally entering the country in a journey to raise awareness about Pyongyang’s human rights abuses.
“The relevant organ of the DPRK (North Korea) decided to leniently forgive and release him, taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration,” the state KCNA news agency said.
Said Bob:
“What I have seen and heard in the DPRK convinced me that I misunderstood it. So I seriously repented of the wrong I committed, taken in by the West’s false propaganda,” KCNA quoted Park as saying.
I wonder if he actually said that, or if the North Koreans are just making stuff up so they can get rid of him without looking like complete tools. Of course, I wouldn’t blame Park even if he did say those things — I’d join the Workers Party of Korea just to get the hell out of North Korea. Which is why, children, the lesson of this story should be, “Don’t sneak into North Korea into the first place.”
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Well, this is f*cked up.
The things you learn from John & Ken…
PS: Anyone else know that Brentwood started as an individualist anarchist, utopian colony? All I knew it was where Pilgrim State was.
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(Photo from GoldSea)
Note: Whitney Houston arrives in Seoul to kick off her global tour earlier this week.
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Korea News via Google Korea News via Google Korea