He has a blog? I can only see his mail-adress sometimes, when he comments here at Marmot?쨈s. But I can imagine what kinda slur-stuff he is presenting…

In fact, he is the one who also calls himself “seaofjapan” and has been sending me viruses.

He has also posted on my comments many times.

After Noh was elected and started stumbling right from the beginning, I thought he could still be a good president for Korean society —- in that I think it could help if Korea sees that it can survive well enough with a bad president. I’ve heard some older Korean adults tell me Park Chung Hee had to lead the way he did, because he was the only man who could hold the nation togther —- and such which I don’t believe, but that is often how authoritarian leaders cement their rule.

I still think this could be the end result after Noh leaves office.

But, it depends on how much the Korean people follow him. I guess it would help if another party had its act together, but it worries me that if the new Uri Party wins big gains in the next election, it could mean Noh is starting to convince people his whacky way is right….

Hopefully by the time of the next presidential election, one or two adequate to good candidates will run and lead Korea in a better direction…

He has a blog? I can only see his mail-adress sometimes, when he comments here at Marmot?쨈s. But I can imagine what kinda slur-stuff he is presenting…

Not necesarily a reference to you … I was thinking more of the idiots that Kimchipig is having pissing matches with on his blog. They are trying to send him viruses or something or other. Unless you’re one of those people, I’m not talking about you.

Anyway I stopped going to the site b/c the tone is too hostile to Koreans even for me and, more importantly, at some point Kimchi stop posting any content … other than the the derogatory names he’s calling the people sending him viruses or nasty messages or something.

“I think you actually enjoy the fights that you have with certain idiot Korean posters ignoring Ben Franklin’s advice that you should never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference”

This was probably a reference to me,
Mr. ari(w)rong, thank you for the flowers. Yeah, I was such a fool to try to interact with Mr. Kimchipig on a reasonable way. I?쨈ll never do it again…

Korea has the 13th largest (or so) economy in the world with a GDP of $931 billion (per CIA Factbook link below) so if Korea is determined to get the U.S. military out, the total spending needed to replace the U.S. presence would only amount to about $3 billion (see KT link below) or a mere .3% (less than 1%) of GDP … (This probably overstates the cost since $1.7 billion of the USFK’s annual expenditures is for salaries and the Korean soldiers who would replace the American ones would make ALOT less in salary but off-setting that is that fact that the GDP is stated in PPP terms so ???). In any case, the cost would be a burden but certainly not that big of one.

The Koreans aren’t rich but they ain’t that poor either. I understand that this is probably hard for you to admit considering how much you like to look down on Koreans (as far as I can tell, it??р꽓s only reason you maintain an interest in Korea even though you are back home in Canada (well that and I think you actually enjoy the fights that you have with certain idiot Korean posters ignoring Ben Franklin’s advice that you should never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference.)

The real issue isn??р꽓t the government budget but the wider political/economic fall-out from an American troop withdrawal. In other words, S&P may downgrade Korea??р꽓s sovereign debt rating; the U.S. may start hammering Korea alot more about its protectionist trade policies, etc.

Comrade Noh can certainly talk the talk.

That comment reminds me alot of the comments I hear from the conservative Koreans that you hate so much. My conservative Korean acquaintances are always calling Noh (and DJ before him) a “bbal-geng-ee” (Red/Communist). Neither wants to collectivize farms, turn the chaebol into state-owned industries but no matter Koreans don’t like complexity so taggin people with simple labels is right up their alley (not that Americans don’t do this alot as well). I??р꽓ve said it more than once but the fact that Noh is an appeaser to the North makes him no more a Communist than N/ Chamberlain was a Nazi for appeasing Hitler (and Noh isn??р꽓t handing Austria and Czechoslovakia to Kim Jong Il just some petty cash and sacks of rice).

CIA World Factbook:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publica.....os/ks.html

Korea Times:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpag.....511980.htm

GDP Rankings:
http://www.photius.com/rankings/gdp_2003_0.html

I translate this as, “Don’t pay attention to the anti-US nature of our thoughts and plans yet. Wait until we have the infrastucture to put it into full effect.”

But where is the spending needed to replace USFK’s role?