A good weekend for me.

Well, it seems that the Uri party Leader ship bowed out of the lime light after a crushing defeat in some local elections. Buahahaha. Seriously, did anyone expect any different? The Uri party was NEVER meant to lead and the people of the ROK have been feeling it's ill effects. I must say, I giggled like a school girl when I saw this news on the stands. Heck, I even stooped so low as to buy a Korean Herald edition just to gloat.

Also in the news was a couple of tid-bits on the DPRK. man, I thought that Bush was having a hard week (ok, he is). These guys from the North sound stressed.

First there were some shots fired at the South from the North (quite under-reported)

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- A shot fired from North Korea fell near a South Korean guard post inside the demilitarized zone late Friday, but there were no casualties, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.South Korean soldiers immediately returned several rounds of fire toward the North but received no response, the JCS said in a statement.

Then, a North korean diplomat decided he'd " curse at some guy for bad mouthing his dear leader.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean activist protesting against North Korea said he was called a "son of a -----" after he whispered to a North Korean diplomat that his leader Kim Jong-il must be overthrown.

And now it has been reported that Kim Jong-il is having troubles removing all the mustard stains he got on his nose from kissing Chinese president Hu Jintao's Butt.

Seoul sends regrets after death in North

Well, it seems that Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has sent a letter of condolence to the North in regards to the passing of a DPRK official. Among many nations, this is not really newsworthy, but by many accounts, this is the first time a South Kortean official has done it (in this way?). It seems that someone has forgotten that there is still technically a war on.

Anyway, on to more exciting news. It seems that I was able to get my hands on an actual copy of the letter. Please read it at your own risk. I have no idea how many laws I may be breaking by posting this.

Warming tides?

It seems that the ROK and the US are in the minds of renegotiating the details of their military alliance. There are no real big changes on the table (last year was more about moving the base out of Youngsan) but one issue that sems to be the darling of the Korean media is that of "Control over 'wartime' forces". As it stands right now, the ROK has control over it's forces during peace, but should ar break out on the peninsula, the US gets opperational command.

Personally, I'm glad the ROK is in a position to negotiate important points like this. I would like to have the Korean people more responsible for their own future, and this might just be a step in that direction. I hope though that it can be done with as little "kick out the foreign devils" as possible. The truth is, and this might surpise many of my readers (do I have many?), I think the US should look at a staged withdrawl of the majority of their troops. In the very least, they need to pull the troops out of Youngsan. The ARMY should never be in the heart of a city, it just doesn't fit with their job.

President Noh seems to think though that the Americans are looking at him more fondly. Lets hope that translates into more negotiating power eh.

"The United States appears to be accepting South Korea's changed attitude," Mr. Roh said. "The U.S. must be relieved to find that I am more moderate than they initially thought."

Hankyoreh speaks!

Well some students of mine accused me of being too conservative. Who, me?? Not the Juggster!!

Anyway, they suggested I might do well to read some more "left leaning" papers. I am always up for the chance to broaden my perspectives, so I checked out an article in Hankyoreh

Well, most of their stuff was in Korean but if you look at this editorial (and most are translated thanks to the folks at http://www.seoulselection.com/) you'll be able to slug through "their thoughts".

Let's take a look at some of these thoughts:

There are persistent accusations that permitting a massive delegation to go to North Korea's "Arirang" performance is shaking the state's foundation. It's the same old people and arguments, too. It all got started when the government allowed around 5,000 people to watch an event that is used as propaganda for the North Korean system. Maybe they think that those who have watched the mass games have come to admire North Korean-style socialism.

OK, so the government in the South allows 5,000 people to partake in a admittedly propagandized ceremony and you have no worries?

Card sections and other elements of mass games were rampant under South Korean dictatorship as well.

So, it was bad then but because we've learned from it, it won't affect anyone now?

How could someone think that a person could be moved by such an event and come to sympathize with the North's government? Viewing the Arirang event was probably time in which people reaffirmed the democratic and pluralist nature of Southern society and came to agonize over what the Korean nation has to do in the future.

Well, at least somebody thought so (bah, can't find link for the first "unification baby" that was born in pyongyang this past week).

Currently there is rice, flour, corn, powdered milk, and oil going to the North, while defectors are continuously arriving in the South. Unless you're worried about criminals taking flight, there's no reason to be scared about people traveling to the North.

So, they send propaganda and defectors to the South, while we send food and aid to the North. Sounds like a GREAT trade.

We hope to see the procedures and qualifications for visiting the North changed swiftly to be consistent with changed realities. The principle should be that there is more frequent and freer passage.

Ok but you mean both ways right? Right? When making a statement like that I AM SURE that you mean that travel rights should be "freer" (sic) for ALL koreans right?

Funny how this article did it's best to lambaste the "conservative side" in the South while totally letting the North off the hook for any responsibility. Wow, am I ever glad I found this paper to add to my collection.

Confused?

Well, I'm not really sure if I should be happy or sad. Kind of a mixed message here, all within the nice time frame of 24 hours.

China Deports N.Koreans Sheltering at Int'l School

Seven North Korean defectors who entered the compound of a Korean international school in the Northwestern Chinese city of Yantai, Shandong Province, on Aug. 29 and requested safe passage to South Korea have been returned to the North. The group consisted of two men and five women, four of them from the same family.

China Softens on N.Korean Defectors

Chinese authorities have agreed to let eight North Korean women who made their way into a Korean international school in Qingdao, China on Tuesday seek shelter at the South Korean Consulate. "After negotiations with the Chinese government, the entire group was moved today at around 2:50 p.m. to Korean consular buildings, where they are safe and being looked after,” Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said.

Now, I'm not one for conspiracy theories but I have to wonder at the timing. All to often of late the North has tried to "respond" to possibly bad press in the South. This seems a little too smooth for that but it makes you wonder. With China being in the picture on all this, it makes me wonder too how close the two counties coordinate all/any of this.

Who will foot the bill?

Well, it seems my buddy Chung is at it again, laying down promises that in my opinion he has no right to. First he said that the South would provide energy to the North (I suppose he got approval for that one from Noh but I'm still waiting for the public referendum) and now he is making blanket statements of a massive commitment of aid to the North.

He addressed lawmakers and said "I believe we should shoulder at least 2 trillion won to 5 trillion won (US$1.92 billion-$4.82 billion) a year to save our reputation in the international community as a civilized nation," Wow, is that all? All for the sake of saving your reputation? I hate to tell you this Chung, but you don't really have one and you've apparently done your best to drag the South's through the international mud.

If you truly are concerned with keeping pace with the international community, why not try to actually support human rights initiatives in the UN. Or better yet, why not (as Kang mentioned below) monitor all of the South's aid to the North and make sure that it is going to the right recipients?

Oh, wait, I know why you don't do it...

You're too busy styling your hair with the sweat off of Kim's butt cheeks.



EDIT: It seems that this money will go to a good cause

North Korea spent an estimated $10 million in 2004 to purchase Chinese and Russian defense products, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Kang Chol-hwan (Aquariums of Pyongyang)

Well this evening was an exciting one. I went to the Seoul club to listen to, and hopefully meet the author of one of my favorite books on North Korea. Kang Chol-hwan was giving a talk at the joint invitation of the Democrats and Republicans abroad.

Before tonight though, I re-read his book. I had been a few years since I last looked at it (actually I had to go and actually buy a copy) and I felt I had better brush up. The book itself is a facinating glimpse of life in a North Korean labour camp. Of Kang's life and death struggles to survive in the tyranical DPRK regime.

"The sweatbox is one of the harshest punishments imaginable, and since it could be used as retribution for the most trifling of offenses - offenses that would seem downright ridiculous on the outside - it was perpetually dangled over our heads. I exagerate when I say "our heads": it wasn't used on kids. But when a relative was sent to the sweatbox the whole family was scared, not knowing whether the loved one would make it out alive. Stealing three ears of corn, responding to a guard's command with insufficient zeal, missing a role call, even if the absence clearly had no wrongful intent - any of these was reason enough for being sent to the sweatbox. Yet all were "faults" that anyone could commit - and often had to commit - to survive."

Kang made mention during the talks that "one of the biggest pillars supporting the regime were the labour camps" and that "South Korean students are facinated by an illusion... (where as this) sentiment is affecting the DPRK and extending it's tyranny."

I took a number of notes but i do not have the time to put them down here tonight. Basically, he held a lot of my views on aid to the North, that it should be monitored and measured against a backdrop of concessions from both sides. He seemed like a level headed guy and impressed me as a survivor. I wish him the best and hope that his nightmares are behind him.

Are you watching Chung??

I really hope that Chung Dong Young has these pictures shoved down his throat some time. The NKZone has a few wise words on the subject. How legit is it? I'm not sure. Some may doubt, but to me the important point is that this type of thing is acknowledged to happen regularly. Real or not, I truly think that even the possibility of truth in this should send a reminding shiver down our souls.

President Lee Myung-bak?

Well, with the water flowing in Cheonggye stream it seems that Seoul's Mayor Lee Myung-bak is riding the crest of the wave. While some say the water will die down quickly, others hope that he rides it all the way into the presidency.

The Chosun put out a small interview in English with the Mayor. I think it deservers a read in it's entirety:

It seems not a day goes by without an article about the Cheonggye Stream. Why do you think the restoration project has been such a hit?

“I think it’s people’s interest in seeing something they thought was impossible come to fruition. It’s a positive response to seeing something unexpected accomplished in an age when ‘nothing is being accomplished even as nothing fails.’”

There also appears to be some jealousy from those who say you are over-praised for doing something that wasn’t all that spectacular, while others say you’ve spent tons of money on nothing more than sprucing up a canal.

“That’s because they don’t know its history. The Cheonggye Stream is an artificial waterway that differs from a natural stream flowing through the fields. It was built during the reign of King Taejong of the Chosun Dynasty to stop flooding, and during the reign of King Yeongjo, 200,000 men from around the country were mobilized to build the embankments. The stream has been restored to how it looked back then.”

Have you had difficulties being Seoul mayor as a member of the opposition party?

“There were major traffic problems with construction going on in the heart of the city. Authority over traffic rests with the central government and police, but there were difficulties owing to poor cooperation. When we had to remove 1,500 stalls, not one policeman helped. The authority over cultural properties, too, rests with the central government’s committee, but although the city carried out its construction according to the decision of the committee, there were many instances where it tried to find fault, saying Seoul was building things and ignoring the city’s historic sites.”

The covering of City Hall with Korean flags on Liberation Day was a hot topic. Was there a think-tank that gave the city this idea?

“There’s no think tank, but there are people I consult about personal life and politics. It’s not an organized thing. This Liberation Day was the 60th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, so we pondered what we could do. We wondered how we could peacefully make Japan aware, inspire patriotism in the people, and give courage to the young. So we drew up the Korean flag idea in outline and debated it in several departments, but some thought it might be impossible because of the wind. Seoul officials were added to the meeting, and in the end, some young artists said it was possible, and it was done.”

You’re making a people-centered city, building many crosswalks downtown and planting grass in Seoul Plaza and Sungnyemun Plaza. Is this the result of a consistent plan?

“Actually, I made my own preparations for it before becoming mayor. I made a list of 20 things. The Cheonggye Steam restoration, public transport reform and the New Town construction were carried out according to the order of the list. Welfare and cultural projects are now being carried out in the second half of my term. The group that gave me the most help prior to my inauguration was a Seoul metropolitan government advisory team composed of foreigners. It was made up of foreign CEOs, academics and diplomats and their families who have lived in Seoul for more than five years.”

You’re believed to be a major contender for the next presidential election. Many people are saying you’ll carry out a major national project of a vast scale dissimilar to the Cheonggye Stream restoration. Is there some project you are thinking of should you become a presidential candidate? Some are talking about the construction of a “Seoul-Busan Canal” linking the Han and Nakdong rivers.

“The biggest problem facing out society at the moment is employment; the most basic thing to make the people happy is to create jobs. One cannot create jobs through cutting-edge IT and BT industries alone. In a country of 50 million people, you can create jobs only by appropriately endowing the country with high-tech industries, financial services and manufacturing. In order to foster national competitiveness, we must cut prime costs by decreasing distribution costs. Transport costs from Seoul to Busan are similar or greater than those between Busan and Los Angeles. The Seoul-Busan Canal plan I announced during the 14th National Assembly is a comprehensive plan to foster national competitiveness and create jobs. A leader is someone who endlessly gives the people vision and hope.”

Is your wealth, which some say is excessive for a man even with a past in a white-collar job, perhaps a weak point?

“I’m proud of the fact that I have a lot of property. I think it gives hope that a poor person can become rich. My total current wealth isn’t even the annual salary of a CEO of a leading global firm. I went into a firm with 100 employees (Hyundai Construction) and made it into one with 160,000, so I think I had the right to be sufficiently compensated. I’ve lived by saving. If I had spent money I didn’t have to spend, I wouldn’t have become rich.”

There are some who expect that you’ll return your wealth to society one day.

“This is usually said by people who’ve made their money unjustly or those with an interest in other people’s money. I won’t bequeath all my money to my children, but I won’t say I’ll give it back. This is a political statement. I’ve made plans on how I’ll use my wealth in the future. I will do it according to those plans.”

Your supporters are calling for an early party convention. Do you agree with this?

“That should be left to Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye. Whether someone retires should be left to them; it’s not desirable to create an overheated atmosphere by calling a party convention and fight. I will take a step back and follow the party’s decision. I won’t differentiate between what is advantageous and disadvantageous to me.”

What do you think makes you different from Park Geun-hye?

“There’s no need to ask that. Everyone knows. We’re completely different. The lives we’ve lived are completely different, and our administration styles are different. But only when two very different people come together can they become powerful and cooperate. If Park and I combine our strength, it could produce a great synergistic effect. People see us as rivals, but I think of us as collaborators. I will join hands with Park to cooperate and take back the government.”