I’ll show you ‘abnormal’

by Robert Koehler on April 17, 2007

in Asides, East and Central Asia, Japan, ROK-US Issues, South Korea

GI Korea pointedly asks who is calling whom an “abnormal country.” [ROK Drop]

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 michael April 17, 2007 at 9:39 am

Japan is taking measures against a military dictatorship that has kidnapped its citizens and launched a missile over its territory. South Korea gives hundreds of millions of dollars and unmonitored food aid to a country it is technically at war with. Which is abnormal?

2 kimchi2000 April 17, 2007 at 10:31 am

sk government is doing whatever it takes to avoide any kind of war with nk. nk is just too dangerous. if there is a war, then millions will die in matter of hours. sk government is really paying nk government to maintain peace. if there is a war and sk and nk destroy each other, im sure US and Japan will not provide economic aide just like they did after korean war to rebuild the nation. but i believe china will do something and korea will be tibet of east asia. it’s unfortunate bc many “norks” are suffering in china right now and there isnt a thing sk could do about it.

3 michael April 17, 2007 at 10:42 am

You would think a country trying to avoid war with its hostile neighbor would not provide that country with unmonitored funds and aid that allow it to develop missiles and nuclear weapons.

S.K. can engage N.K. without stupidly funding the latter’s military. Also, there is plenty S.K. can and should do for N. Korean refugees in China, but the gov’t here is abnegating its responsibilities.

4 kimchi2000 April 17, 2007 at 10:57 am

i dont think nk wants to engage. all they want to do is to recieve money and that is what they are getting. i dont think many korean people care too much about this nuclear weapon that nk probably cant launch. they do not care bc they know that nuke is not for sk but for japan and US. nk have many missiles aimed at sk so if nk want to destroy sk, then they could so do without using nuclear weapon. if they use it on sk then it’s just another way for sk to die.
i do feel bad for nk in china but what can sk governmnet do? will china allow sk to help nk in china? i doubt it. i do feel that sk should grow some bu ral and stand up to china but it will not happen.

5 michael April 17, 2007 at 11:05 am

You’re probably right about NK not wanting to engage, and the general Korean apathy (or collective war weariness). I just hope the next S.K. gov’t has a spine.

6 kimchi2000 April 17, 2007 at 11:12 am

i agree that sk should grow some bu ral but i think sk government’s bu ral will remain small for many years. it drives me crazy whenever i see anti japanese or anti american in sk. if they have bu ral to go against japan and USA then they should have enough bu ral to go against their real threat (china and nk)

7 michael April 17, 2007 at 11:49 am

I totally agree.

8 mins0306 April 17, 2007 at 12:04 pm

I’ve never met a Japanese, except for some Japanese female tourists in HK who thought I was Japanese, so no comment on whether they are “abnormal” or not, although by looking at Japanese NSFW material, one does…well you get the idea.

As for Koreans being “abnormal”, well I agree with GI Korea. I know, have talked, and worked with a lot of Koreans and although some are calm and logical, these are in the minority. A majority, on the other hand, do and say things that defy logic. One wonders what is going through their brains.

As for SK sending money to NK, well if this is what it takes to keep NK in line, fine. But I don’t like the idea of my tax Won being poured into a black hole. If the SK government wants to bribe the NKs into behaving, fine, but as is common with bribes get something in return. The SK government should be demanding a set of solid objectives in return, instead of cowering everytime the NK reps make an offhand threatening remark and letting them get away with blackmail.

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