In the Asia Times, Dr. Lankov has penned one of the best pieces on Korean reunification I’ve ever read. Period.
Be sure to read it. Be sure to read it NOW.
Among the points:
Don’t hold you’re breath for “Chinese-style” economic reform in the North. It won’t happen.
Despite resistance to reform, North Korea is crumbling from below. The [...]
The Blue House has expressed its opposition to the Samsung Special Investigation Bill that is being proposed by the National Assembly.
The presidential office Wednesday urged the three political parties to reconsider the bill for a special prosecutor to investigate the Samsung lobby scandal because it covers too broad an area and would take about 200 [...]
Picked up Sierra’s World in Conflict this weekend. Very righteous it is, but it may prompt me to upgrade my computer hardware.
AleniaAermacchi of Italy and Korean Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin are apparently trading barbs as the two compete to secure an order from the UAE for fighter trainers. (HT to reader)
The four Korean crewmen who were held hostage by Somali pirates for 174 days say they were treated harshly by their captors.
One of my favorite blogs used to be Tacitus, which not only had great posts but also had perhaps the best comment section in the blogosphere.
Unfortunately, the blog is no longer around, but the man behind it, Joshua Trevino, runs his own blog and publishes a very good podcast.
Be sure to check both out.
It’s official — Roy Pearson, the jackass administrative law judge that tried to sue a family of Korean immigrants for $67 million over a lost pair of pants, has lost his job.
Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving asshole.
On a positive note for Pearson, though, Korea is always looking for more English teachers.
(HT to hoju_saram)
Looking to see the ginkgo trees? Try Buseok-sa or Sosu Sowon in Yeongju, or Hyeonchung-sa in Asan.
Democratic Labor Party presidential candidate Kwon Young-ghil (a.k.a. Mr. I-Will-Make-the-US-Tremble-like-Hugo Chavez) has pledged an end to the Korea-US Mutual Defense Pact should he get elected. His plan called for a three-staged withdrawal of US forces from South Korea.
Jason Lim discusses singer Steve Yoo, uh, Yoo Seung-joon and the complexities of being a Korean-American. As he concludes, “Korean Americans are only wholly empowered when they are allowed to be both Korean and American. In short, Korean American should not be forced to become an oxymoron.” A controversial subject to be sure, and one [...]
This is just sick… although I’m debating whether it’s as sick as the dude who had sex with a dead deer. (Oh, the news you learn from SModcast)
Fake art degrees? Government officials calling themselves national heroes to cash in? Chairman of the Independent Commission Against Corruption taking bribes from the sad clown? Just to show things can get sillier, check out the fake belly-dancer in Kwangju.
Over at Nate, a poster looks at the before-and-after shots of actresses who have bolstered their careers by bolstering their bust size. Two notes. a) I don’t see Kim Hye-soo. Could that be because they’re real? Maybe? b) I’m not so sure Yun Eun-hye got her boobs done, either. I think she’s just filled out. [...]
The Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice (CPAJ) released the names of three former and incumbent prosecutors who have allegedly received bribes from Samsung.
The three named were Lim Chai-jin, prosecutor general nominee; Lee Jong-baek, chairman of the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption; and Lee Kwi-nam, head of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
They [...]
Tonight! 7:30 pm, in the 2nd-floor Resident’s Lounge of the Somerset Palace, downtown Seoul – Prof. David A. Mason (me) and Roger Shepherd will speak on “The 2007 Baekdu-daegan Expedition”. I will quickly intoduce what the Baekdu-daegan is – its features, cultural history and significance for Koreans, then turn it over to Roger who will show great photos and [...]
Discussing the Iraq War in a radio interview, President Roh pulled off the nearly impossible feat of making Paris Hilton look smart. (HT to Lost Nomad)
Considering that the 1871 conflict between Korea and the United States has become such a popular posting here, I thought I would add my own.
The word Choson is said to mean “land of the morning calm,” but in the eyes of many Westerners, especially in the 1800s, Choson Korea was viewed as an almost mystical land [...]
