Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Long overdue guilty plea by drunk-driving Hyundai executive in Orange County who fled to Korea

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:03:00 +0000

This a follow-up to this story from 2005 (which includes a 2007 update about an arrest warrant and a 2009 update about an extradition). It involves a drunk-driving-related accident perpetrated by a Hyundai America executive in Orange County whose stalled vehicle on the Newport Freeway (State 55) caused the death of a local college student and musician from the OC community of Fountain Valley, Ryan Dallas Cook.

After fleeing and then being extradited back to California, Youn Bum Lee pleaded guilty on Tuesday (California time) to a vehicular-manslaughter charge stemming from the alcohol-related hit-and-run crash.

After a soju binge at a company-sponsored dinner in the "Koreatown" of Garden Grove, a very inebriated Mr Lee (left) got in his car and drove home:

The group drank 14 bottles of soju, a distilled Korean rice wine, before moving on to a nearby karaoke bar where Lee consumed more alcoholic drinks before getting in his company-issued Hyundai sport utility vehicle at about 12:05 a.m., prosecutors said

Lee drove under the influence of alcohol, with his headlights off, along the 22 freeway onto the southbound 55, where he veered into the carpool lane and crashed into the center median, prosecutors said. Lee's SUV rolled backward and came to a stop south of Dyer Road in Santa Ana. Cook, who was riding his motorcycle in the carpool lane on his way home, was unable to stop in time to avoid crashing into Lee's black, unlit vehicle, prosecutors said.

Cook, a Golden West College student who was a trombonist with the ska-rock band Suburban Legends, was thrown onto the freeway, where he was run over by several other vehicles. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The next morning, Hyundai employees helped Lee make his escape:

Later that morning, Lee went to work at Hyundai Motor America's offices in Fountain Valley. A few minutes after arriving, he returned to his vehicle to back it into a parking space in an effort to hide evidence from the crash, including a shattered back windshield and blood, hair and other human tissue, prosecutors said. Lee later consulted with the general counsel of Hyundai Motor America before he was driven by a colleague and a supervisor to Los Angeles International Airport that afternoon. At 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2005, Lee boarded a Korean Air flight to Seoul, South Korea, leaving his wife and young child behind, prosecutors said.

After an investigation by the California Highway Patrol, the District Attorney's office filed charges against Lee in April 2007. In September 2008, the District Attorney's Office submitted a request for extradition. Lee was arrested in Seoul on Dec. 2, 2008, by South Korean authorities. He was returned to Orange County on Jan. 30, 2009.

To its credit, it appears Hyundai America helped make the case against its own:

The District Attorney's Office credited Hyundai Motor America with helping to persuade Ryu, the witness, to return from South Korea to provide testimony in July. Ryu's testimony was critical to establishing that Lee was intoxicated at the time of the crash, Price said.

I'm particular harsh when it comes to drunk driving. If people really feel compelled to drink, they have to make arrangements ahead of time to ensure their own safety and that of others. My heart goes out to Ryan Dallas Cook and his family, but at least now they're getting some justice, not that that will bring back their loved one.

Korea news links for November 11, 2009: Code Red in the Yellow Sea (Or, Commotion in the Ocean)

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:37:00 +0000

What is it with South Korea's neighbors trying to take down its ships? First the Japanese ~~Navy~~ Water Surface-Floating Self-Defense Collection of Boats™ rams a South Korean freighter, and then yesterday a North Korean boat tried to take down a ROK Navy vessel after it provocatively crossed the NLL (insert your own joke about what a DPRK boat provocatively crossing the NLL would look like). Seoul has to be thinking, "Why are these guys gunning for me? I've got to think!"

It's all serious business, at a time when Washington and Seoul are both trying to make nice with Pyongyang. It's so serious, that Getty Images went to the trouble of getting a visual for this very news story. As is typical of much of the Western press, this basically boils down to showing someone reading a newspaper that contains the story.

Lazy journalism at its finest: not only is she reading an English-language newspaper that was probably handed to her as a prop, she is not even reading the correct page for the story. She's probably checking her horoscope, Dear Abby, or the latest volley in the war between yellow journalists and E2 English teachers.

South Korean navy clashes with North Korean ship that crosses Northern Limit Line into ROK territorial waters (links here)
Obama administration warns Pyongyang against escalation of hostilities following Yellow Sea confrontation (BBC, VOA, Yonhap); Seoul and Pyongyang blame each other (WSJ)
State Department announces that Stephen Bosworth, envoy for North Korea, will travel to Pyongyang "at an appropriate time not yet determined," but likely before the end of the year (links here)
Sixteen cities and counties to be merged into six administrative districts (Yonhap, Joongang Daily, Donga Ilbo)
Four more deaths, including a twenty-five-year-old woman not considered high risk, bring total H1N1 "swine flu" fatalities to fifty-two (Yonhap, Xinhua, Korea Times, Korea Herald)
Education Ministry says 100 Indians will be recruited as assistant English teachers by fall 2010 (Joongang Daily)
KRW rises to thirteen-month high as G20 nations agree to maintain economic stimulus measures (Bloomberg)
Korean Air swings back to profit in third quarter thanks to stronger won and lower fuel prices (WSJ, Reuters, Joongang Daily)
South Korean unemployment rises slowest among OECD countries (Yonhap)
Coach of national team says South Korea's prospects look very good for U-5 World Cup (Cheju News)

UPI on Kim Jong-il's assassination fears

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:25:00 +0000

[right: Aim for the hand. I've studied hundreds of pictures of Kim Jong-il in public, and I'm certain he's powerless without his waving hand.]

Piggybacking on a story a few days ago about Kim Jong-il's entourage of trains, UPI is reporting that his handlers have stepped up security on fears that someone might be trying to kill the Dear Leader:

North Korea has intensified the personal security of Kim Jong Il in an apparent bid to prevent a possible attack when he travels around the country as public discontent is mounting following tougher social crackdowns.

The article lays out a case that the 2004 explosion at Ryongchŏn (see train link above) may very well have been an assassination attempt. It then goes on to regurgitate the stuff on the trains and the special stations less than twenty miles from his various villas before it gets back into the stuff about fears of unrest:

Tighter security on Kim's trips comes as he is making brisk public activities this year in an apparent bid to quell rumors about his health. He is widely thought to have suffered a stroke in August last year.

Kim made 129 "on-spot" guidance tours this year, matching the total from 2005, when the previous high was set, and will probably exceed that record by the end of the year. In his latest reported inspection tour, state media said on Sunday that he traveled to the military's unit No. 1224 and urged the troops to improve their combat capabilities.

State media usually don't disclose details of Kim's public activities to ensure his safety, though "on-spot" guidance tours are at the center of the reclusive leader's ruling formula.

Sources in Seoul say the Kim Jong Il regime is concerned about mounting public discontent after it recently imposed tougher crackdowns on street markets it had tolerated for years. The ban on market activities was depriving families of a vital source of food and income at a time of growing food shortages.

In June the North shut its largest wholesale market, apparently out of concern that big markets spread capitalist influence, Seoul's Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights said.

The North has also take a series of measures to block an influx of outside information for fear it could damage the decades-long cult worship that has played a key role in keeping the troubled country afloat despite the global collapse of communism.

The North has also staged mass campaigns, mobilizing its famine-hit citizens for public works to tighten social control, as many North Koreans are drifting through the countryside in search of food or engaged in market trading.

"North Koreans no longer entirely depend on state food rationing, which has been irregular. They get all of their food and basic necessities from markets," a North Korean defector said.

Lee Seung-yong, director of Good Friends, a research and aid group in Seoul with extensive contacts in the North, said the crackdowns on markets have sparked widespread discontent among North Koreans.

Not a few North Korea watchers said the public outcry could lead to revolt in the country. The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, in a report this year called Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea, said a military coup was possible.

"Unconfirmed reports of past assassination attempts and military purges, not to mention the apparent precautions Kim takes to ensure his personal security when traveling around the country, all suggest that a military-led coup is quite plausible," the report said.

I'm all for a coup, but healthy skepticism of what defector's tell us is a good idea (there's always the risk that they might unconsciously be telling their new handlers what they think they want to hear, they themselves might be outliers who are not describing the norm, or their own intense hatred of the Pyongyang regime may cloud their narrative).

Nevertheless, if we can glean from those escaping North Korea something of an emerging picture of discontent and outright fear of this discontent by DPRK authorities, how should we proceed with this information? Is flooding the North with radios effective? How about South Korean pop culture goods? Maybe do-it-yourself guides on local governance.

LAT on the monk trying to save (a small part of) the world

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:49:00 +0000

I haven't been able to see any actual story to go along with it, but the Los Angeles Times has a small photo essay on Jiyul, the monk who was behind the effort to block a tunnel going beneath Puk'ansan National Park [북한산, aka Bukhansan].

The captions with the photos tell a bit of a story, including how this "polarizing monk" has now set her sights on blocking the government's efforts to turn South Korea's waterways, like the Naktong River pictured above, into superhighways of commerce through "restoration" and canal-building.

Washington and Pyongyang are gonna do it!

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:23:00 +0000

After weeks of will-they-or-won't-they, Washington and Pyongyang have decided to go all the way. The date hasn't been decided, but Washington yesterday told everyone that Bosworth will visit Pyongyang for "some one-on-one action."

This comes after some very bitter drama involving broken promises, storming out of the room, lack of trust, and other relationship issues.

One of the biggest sources of friction between these two is that Washington keeps trying to get Pyongyang to join a six-way.

Anyway, we'll have to wait and see what happens when Washington and Pyongyang finally get each other alone. The results could be explosive.

[above: Happier times for the star-crossed couple. Since this photo was taken, the relationship has been taken on a ride with soap opera-like twists and turns. Is Pyongyang really portrayed by an evil twin? Will Pyongyang notice that the lovely Ms Albright has been replaced by a man? (Maybe not) Has the Dear Leader fully recovered from the elevator shoe accident? Why is Kushibo stretching this one-off gag to the point of it snapping back in his face?]

Worst superhero concept ... ever!

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Not sure what kind of superpowers Toilet Man would have. Traveling through the sewer? Flying in an arc-like trajectory? Sanitizing the city for our protection?

[photo taken outside men's restroom at temple in Sŏraksan National Park]

Death of a Muslim shooter

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:23:00 +0000

What an eerie coincidence that John Allen Muhammed, the infamous "DC Sniper," had been scheduled to be put to death just days after a shooting spree by another Muslim — another case where Islam has reared its head as a possible driving motivation — that had yet to occur.

If his lawyer's appeals fail, the man who terrorized the capital region for weeks and killed sixteen people will himself be put to death on Tuesday night, local time.

One of his victims, Hong Im Ballenger, was a Korean immigrant, married to a US serviceman.

As in virtually all cases, I am opposed to carrying out this punishment. My reasons are here.

UPDATE:

John Allen Muhammad has been executed in Virginia.

Eight people in Orange County died from H1N1 last week

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:19:00 +0000

The Orange County Register is reporting that eight people died of "swine flu" last week, bringing the total number of H1N1-related fatalities to thirty-four. In South Korea, with fifteen times the population of OC, the number stands at forty-eight. The dead included a pregnant woman, the third pregnant woman to die; four children have also died.

Meanwhile, authorities are desperately trying to get vaccinations out to as many people as possible. With H1N1 more virulent than typical seasonal flu, and with every new infection providing a chance for this unusual strain to mutate into something far deadlier, there is a push to get as many people protected as possible.

The goal had been to prevent new infections as much as possible before the vaccine was ready, and now that it is, the goal is to get it out there to as many people as possible as quickly as possible, starting with the most vulnerable.

Ironically, high anticipated demand for H1N1 vaccination has meant that supply will not meet demand even for seasonal flu vaccination, which has spiked in part because of increased awareness, though there's still some time before seasonal flu season begins. (Those who will tell you that "regular flu" has killed more people in the same period of time probably don't know what they're talking about, since the thirty thousand or so deaths attributed to seasonal flu each year are not uniformly spread throughout the year. In fact, the 2009-10 seasonal flu pattern has yet to emerge, but we're seeing a lot of off-season deaths due to H1N1, despite strenuous efforts to control it, which is troubling.)

Hopefully we can end up moving toward a best-case scenario (at this point) where vaccinations stop H1N1 in its tracks and the stricter controls and increased public awareness has a spillover effect on seasonal flu as well. Frankly, it's appalling that we allow thirty thousand people to die each year from something that is largely preventable.

Does one of the B's stand for "botched"?

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Last March I noted, in reference to a story on the bad joojoo between Seoul and Pyongyang, that the BBC was using a botched map to show where the Northern Limit Line (NLL) is.

Well apparently nobody who is anybody at the British Broadcasting Corporation reads Monster Island, because in their story today on the naval clash in the Yellow Sea, they used the same stinkin' map.

Doesn't anyone there realize that the three islands to the east of the BBC line are within South Korea's declared maritime borders, not outside of them? (The link above explains in a little more detail what's wrong with the map.)

Geez, fire that drunken Mancunian already! Is the BBC that hard up for fact-checkers on Korea, because I'd be more than happy to take on the work.

Seriously, I expect better from the likes of the BBC (or NPR, PBS, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, etc.).

UPDATE:

I just noticed one other problem, not with the map above, but with the New York Times map that I used in my first link: Paengnyŏngdo [백령도, aka Baengnyeongdo] and Taech'ŏngdo [대청도, aka Daecheongdo] are both colored light beige, indicating they are North Korean islands when in fact they are South Korean islands.

Really, this is very sloppy for "the newspaper of record."

Metrotextual

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Okay, this is a bit weird. According to research by cellular provider T-Mobile, some twenty-two percent of men "regularly include a kiss on texts to their male mates." A kiss being a letter x.

Huh?

The numbers are especially high (seventy-five percent) among males eighteen to twenty-four.

Wow.

I blame the Korea Wave.

North Korean naval ship badly damaged after clash with ROK vessel

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:44:00 +0000

There are reports that at 11:28 a.m., Korea time, a North Korean ship crossed the NLL (Northern Limit Line/황해 북방한계선) in the Yellow Sea (황해, Hwanghae; aka 서해, Sŏhae), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, prompting the ROK Navy to fire at it, after which the DPRK boat fired back. [UPDATE 4: Reuters is saying that the vehicles actually collided, causing damage to both.]

[UPDATE 1: The New York Times is reporting that the incident occurred near Taech'ŏng-do Island (대청도/大靑島, aka Daecheong-do), which is surrounded by the disputed waters (from the top it's the second in the cluster of three islands at the upper left portion of the map). The NYT is also saying that warning broadcasts were given before "warning shots" were fired, after which the North Koreans fired at the ROK speedboats and the South returned fire. Nine fishing boats in the area were safely evacuated.]

[UPDATE 2: According to The Marmot, KBS is reporting that the North Korean boat itself may have been chasing away a Chinese boat that was illegally fishing in "Korean waters." Ah, the Chinese... Is there anything we can't blame you for? The Marmot also notes that the South Korean boat followed the rules of engagement, and this is "the first inter-Korean naval incident in seven years."]

[UPDATE 3: Other media are carrying the story now, including the Christian Science Monitor and the BBC, which has some serious problems with its maps. Yonhap is reporting that North Korea is demanding an apology for sending warships into DPRK waters and shooting at its boat as it was returning to port after a routine patrol. Bad joojoo. It's Yonhap's picture below, a rare occasion when they don't emblazon "Yonhap News" across the front; maybe the letters were lost at sea... heh heh heh.]

Unlike past incidents such as a deadly confrontation in 2002, there were no South Korean casualties, and reports indicate that the North Korean boat has returned to its side of the NLL. North Korea, it bears noting, does not recognize the legitimacy of the NLL as a border between the DPRK and the ROK, and it occasionally pushes the envelope with ROK ships as a result.

I've been planning this for sometime, but in terms of international law, Pyongyang may have something of a case. ROK has determined territorial waters on the west coast, essentially, to favor a pre-war configuration (see blue line above). But on the east coast, such a configuration would lop off a huge chunk of H2O and hand it to the Dear Leader, so a post-war configuration is recognized. Essentially, the ROK is having its cake on the west coast, and eating it on the east coast. [To be fair to the South, the North proposal (above in red) does not exactly follow conventions of equidistance, but it deviates less than the NLL does.]

But since North Korea started a fratricidal war that devastated the South and killed millions, I say fu¢k 'em. That's what they get. I know that ain't particularly diplomatic, but did I mention the war? Sign a friggin' peace treaty if you don't like it.

Korea news links for November 10, 2009: Lang goes long

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:08:00 +0000

I guess those who feel that South Korea doesn't really believe in free trade and a truly open economy will not be happy with the news that Seoul is trying to allow for a "poison pill" option to prevent hostile M&As. By the way, the poison pill is not a literal, tangible pill, despite my little graphic just below, which I suspect may be drug-related. I snagged it from this conservative, anti-Obama site, and after reading some of their stuff, I'm pretty sure they're on something.

The other big story is that French envoy Jack Lane has arrived in Pyongyang. He surrendered as soon as he set foot on the tarmac (I know, I know, that's the second time today I used that joke, but I find it oh-so amusing). The question is what, if anything, will come of it. France hasn't exactly been a cheerleader for US interests, and they may see merit in undermining Washington's anti-proliferation efforts with Pyongyang, as if it's some sort of Iraq War 2 (or three, depending on how you're counting these things).

South Korea seeks to introduce poison pill scheme to protect local companies from hostile takeover (Reuters, Yonhap)
French special envoy arrives in North Korea to discuss Paris-Pyongyang relations and DPRK's nuclear weapons program (links here)
Blue House says it expects progress on ROK-US free-trade agreement during Lee-Obama summit later this week (Xinhua)
Lawmakers plan bill requiring multilingual services at public institutions and hospitals (Korea Times)
US Present Barack Hussein Obama delays trip to East Asia by one day in order to attend Fort Hood ceremony (Reuters via WaPo)
Seoul to step up efforts to bail out the slumping shipbuilding and shipping industries (Korea Times)
Yonsei University to open two science departments in Inchon's newly constructed Songdo international business zone (Joongang Daily)
GM Daewoo recalling 32,000 compact vehicles over defective seatbelts (Korea Herald)
Korea out of the U-17 World Cup after 3-1 loss to Nigeria (Goal.com)
Teenager arrested for having his mother and sister killed in arson fire (Korea Herald)
International Atomic Energy Agency get green light to set up shop in Pyongyang after disguising itself as an Ikea (NYT)

NYT on identity issues among Korean (and other) adoptees

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:15:00 +0000

The New York Times is on a roll today with stories on Korea and racial identity. This piece (actually from Sunday's paper) explores a perennial favorite of journalists: the personal journey of American adoptees from South Korea. This is occasioned by the release of a study on this issue by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

From the article:

As a child, Kim Eun Mi Young hated being different.

When her father brought home toys, a record and a picture book on South Korea, the country from which she was adopted in 1961, she ignored them.

Growing up in Georgia, Kansas and Hawaii, in a military family, she would date only white teenagers, even when Asian boys were around.

“At no time did I consider myself anything other than white,” said Ms. Young, 48, who lives in San Antonio. “I had no sense of any identity as a Korean woman. Dating an Asian man would have forced me to accept who I was.”

It was not until she was in her 30s that she began to explore her Korean heritage. One night, after going out to celebrate with her husband at the time, she says she broke down and began crying uncontrollably.

“I remember sitting there thinking, where is my mother? Why did she leave me? Why couldn’t she struggle to keep me?” she said. “That was the beginning of my journey to find out who I am.”

Of course, her story is just a hook to talk about a wider phenomenon:

The experiences of Ms. Young are common among adopted children from Korea, according to one of the largest studies of transracial adoptions, which is to be released on Monday. The report, which focuses on the first generation of children adopted from South Korea, found that 78 percent of those who responded had considered themselves to be white or had wanted to be white when they were children. Sixty percent indicated their racial identity had become important by the time they were in middle school, and, as adults, nearly 61 percent said they had traveled to Korea both to learn more about the culture and to find their birth parents.

Like Ms. Young, most Korean adoptees were raised in predominantly white neighborhoods and saw few, if any, people who looked like them. The report also found that the children were teased and experienced racial discrimination, often from teachers. And only a minority of the respondents said they felt welcomed by members of their own ethnic group.

As a result, many of them have had trouble coming to terms with their racial and ethnic identities.

As The Marmot was once fond of saying, read the rest on your own. This is certainly an issue near and dear to my heart.

For those of you living in South Korea, one of the most valuable things you can do with your time is volunteering to teach English or just play with kids in an orphanage there. Those I know who have done so have found it to be a rewarding experience, and you end up doing so much good. I really ought to put together a list of such venues. I wonder if anyone out there can help me with that.

French envoy arrives in Pyongyang, surrenders immediately

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:59:00 +0000

No, seriously, Jack Lang is in North Korea to discuss possible Pyongyang-Paris diplomatic relations and to provide another voice against nuclear proliferation (AP story here; Yonhap story here).

Monsieur Lang says he is there "to listen," which makes me a tad nervous. At best, the Sarkozy-sent diplomat and former culture minister may be able to play good cop to the US's bad cop in terms of getting Kim Jong-il to do something about those pesky nukes.

But at worst, this member of the French Socialist Party could undermine — inadvertently or deliberately — American efforts to stop the Dear Leader's nuclear program by offering another patron patsy to play off of its opponents. After all, there are some people who think that if the US is against something — even if it is Obama — then it must actually be good.

Despite French intentions, though, I'm not sure how well a Lang visit will play with the North Koreans. First of all, Lang's not a head-of-state or anything. Kim Jong-il likes pretending he's receiving adulation from heads-of-state, or at least foreign ministers or secretaries of state. Second, Jack Lang is tall, and that makes the Dear Leader very uncomfortable. At 5'7", I would make a far better envoy.

And just wait until Kim Jong-il finds out that his handlers had confused this guy with Jack LaLanne. The ailing Dear Leader had really been hoping for some health tips.

NYT on Hines Ward and the problems of growing up biracial (and poor) in South Korea

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

The New York Times has another piece focusing on the racial problems in South Korea, this one focusing on the difficulties and barriers faced by those who grow up biracial in the ROK. Well, I would amend that to biracial and poor. From the article:

Steelers receiver Hines Ward surrounded himself with old friends at the dinner table on a recent Saturday night. The bond was as obvious as the look on everyone’s faces — half Korean, half something else. The shared experience was far more than skin deep.

There was a boy who was bullied into depression and tried to commit suicide. There was a girl ordered by a teacher to keep her hair pulled back tight, to straighten the natural curls she inherited from her black father. There was another too intimidated by her taunting classmates to board the bus, choosing instead the humiliating and lonely walk to school. There were the boys who were beaten regularly and teased mercilessly. There were college-age girls who broke into tears when telling their stories of growing up biracial in South Korea.

But when they looked around the table, they saw familiarity. And a future.

“It is so special that no one is staring at me, and no one is asking me about my hair,” Lisa So, 20, said. “It gives me hope.”

The eight boys and girls, between 16 and 21, were visiting Ward from South Korea, where people of mixed races are considered everything from a curiosity to an abomination. What starts with teasing from childhood peers often turns to widespread ostracism and discrimination. It eventually leads to higher dropout, poverty and suicide rates.

The rise of Hines Ward in American football in 2006 put him on Korea radar. And that put biracial Koreans on Korean radar as well (though not for the first time).

To their credit, at least a few in South Korea noted that nobody would be talking about this half-Black and half-Korean dude unless he was an NFL star so maybe we should be paying more attention to those of a similar background in South Korea who aren't so lucky.

Hines Ward himself has been very savvy about this, and has been walking through this potential minefield quite adeptly:

“It’s a great culture,” said Ward, who was born in Seoul to a Korean mother and an African-American soldier father, and was raised mainly in Georgia by his mother. “I love everything about it. But there’s a dark side to that culture. And me, I’m just trying to shed a light on that dark side and make Korea a better place than it already is.”

The plight of biracial children in South Korea was largely ignored until 2006, when Ward was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XL. Koreans were quick to make the link to his Korean heritage.

That spring, Ward and his mother, Young He Ward, visited South Korea for the first time since Ward was a baby nearly 30 years earlier. They were mobbed by television cameras and gawking fans. They were honored by the South Korean president.

“I got more love there than I did in the States,” Ward said.

Ward was only starting to understand the underlying hypocrisy. Biracial children in South Korea recognized it instantly.

“They liked someone because he is famous,” So said. “If you are not famous, they are very cold. So I was happy, but also bitter.”

It represented, however, a slow turn toward tolerance.

I'm really not sure how "slow" this change is. In fact, like many other types of change in Korea, it has been seismic: change that was so little it was unrecognizable, followed by a dramatic shift due to a singular event. But the timing of that event works as Korean officialdom has been going through a pro-multiculturalism phase which has seen many of the legal barriers faced by biracial children and foreign residents dismantled.

That shouldn't be seen as the end of it, of course, and I would dare say that South Korea may require some affirmative action for a while to help some biracial Koreans get on their feet. But even if that doesn't happen, demographics marches on. There will always be those who

This is why I stopped refereeing soccer

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Man, it doesn't get any nastier than this. Except for the K-leagues (that's, um, the Orange County AYSO lingo for the kindergarten league, not the Korean leagues)... those kids would kick for no reason, feed their opponents boogers, and slap you if you took the ball. I had to tell the kids, "I'm the ref! It's my job to take the ball!"

Seriously, though, that ponytail head snap was just over the top. There's no reason to grab someone's long hair and pull their head back with that kind of force. Unless it's Michael Bolton and he's doing something annoying, like singing.

You call it corn, we call it "amazing you're still alive."

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:47:00 +0000

The Korea Central News Agency is determined to make us believe that the Dear Leader is not only not ailing, but that he's up and around and moving about. In other words, the sexy sexagenarian is alive, kicking, and virile.

And who am I to deny their efforts? In that spirit, I will post every single picture they release of the parka'ed one, but it will come with a cost: Kim Jong-il will have to suffer the indignity of being routinely turned into a caption contest. I'll start:

"While touring the dildo factory, Kim Jong-il remarked how textures and sizes had indeed evolved since he was a young man sexually manipulating the housekeeping staff."

All right. It's late, I'm groggy, and that's all I've got. I was going to say something about microphones and testing one, two, three, but it's just stupid.

Oh, and in case you're treating this as some sort of "Where's Waldo?" adventure and you're trying to keep score, the KCNA says that this is a visit to a cooperative farm in South Hamgyŏng-do Province. It's not clear if he offered any on-the-spot guidance. But if he had, I'm sure the corn would have dutifully listened. They're all ears.

Did I mention I'm really, really groggy right now?

If a train leaves Kaesŏng at 60 mph, and another train leaves Wonsan at 80 mph, where the fu¢k is Kim Jong-il?!

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:34:00 +0000

I'm not sure if this style of urban renewal will ever catch on outside North Korea, but apparently the best way to get your 'ville rebuilt into the latest Soviet-style apartment blocks is to have a massive terrorist bombing aimed at taking out one of the most vile dictators of all time detonated right in your own neighborhood.

Much of Ryongchŏn [룡천/龍川], a county-level municipality near the PRC-DPRK border, was flattened in April 2004 when, it is believed, a train full of something really, really, really explosive was set off near Ryongchŏn Station. The number of dead and injured was estimated by South Korea to be around 3000.

Well, this week we get news that the area has been completely rebuilt, with brand-new structures that hearken back to the Soviet era. Well, I guess that description isn't all that different from half of the apartment blocks built in South Korea in the last decade or so, so who are we to mock or complain?

Anyhoo, this bit of news comes just before another item about the Dear Leader's fleet of trains that ferry him around the DPRK (story also here).

Here's a description of Rail Force One:

Leader Kim Jong-Il has six special luxury trains at his disposal for travel around North Korea plus 19 stations built for his exclusive use, a South Korean newspaper reported Monday.

The trains with a total of 90 carriages are armoured and contain conference rooms, an audience chamber and bedrooms, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing information from US and South Korean intelligence authorities.

It was not possible to confirm the report. But Kim is said to have a fear of flying and to prefer rail travel at home and abroad. He travelled by train on his last known trip to China in January 2006.

Satellite phone connections and flat-screen TVs are installed so the leader can be briefed and issue orders, the newspaper said. The special stations are no more than 30 kilometres (18 miles) from his private retreats, it added.

I don't know why, but that description has me imagining the luxurious caboose in which Jim West lived on the show ancient TV show, "Wild, Wild West."

Now lest someone gets the idea that blowing up the pimped-out Sŏn•gun Express while Marshal Fat & Shady is in it would be a good idea, be warned that the DPRK is on to you. There are back-up systems as well as back-up systems for the back-up systems. For starters, you don't know which of the six trains the Dear Rider is in. You might be expending all your efforts chasing down the railway equivalent of a royal food taster, carrying one of his Doppelgängers.

And even if you did figure out which train carries the Real Dear, well, they come packin':

The train carrying the leader of the impoverished nation is preceded by an advance train to ensure the tracks are safe and followed by another one carrying bodyguards and support personnel, the newspaper said.

About 100 security agents are sent in advance to stations to sweep the area for bombs, and shut off the power on other tracks so that no other trains can move, the paper said.

North Korean military planes and helicopters provide security support, it said.

The Dear Leader's fear of flying is notorious, but if I were Kim Jong-il, I'd be rethinking that whole notion. After all, no one has ever tried to blow up the sky while I was in it.

On the other hand, it's hard to hijack a train and divert it somewhere else. But after that assassination attempt five years ago (and that's what I think it is; the coincidence of that much explosives just hours after he'd passed by is just too great), he's got to be thinking it's best to just stay home.

Nevertheless, he's likely to keep riding the rails because he has to keep making appearances to prove he's not a vegetable. Look, there he is (in a photo released today)! And there's that guy with the kabuki eyebrows, General whats-his-name.

Korea news links for November 9, 2009: Dammed pools and damned fools

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:22:00 +0000

There's sixty percent more news than this time 24 hours ago. At this rate, we'll have full news recovery by the end of the fourth quarter. Depending on your perspective, the big news could be that over four thousand Koreans, including the architect of South Korea's economic miracle, are now on a pro-Japanese collaborator sh¡t list that, depending on your point of view, is or is not the agenda-driven work of leftist agitators (oh, I will never tire of using that link). I will have more on that later.

We have Kim Jong-il turning on the television, not liking what he sees, and then firing one of the highest-ranking civilians in his government. And you thought Simon Cowell was scary.

And speaking of scary, if you're an environmentalist you may not be happy that the Four Rivers Project has gotten the green light (ha ha, get it? Green) and construction/deconstruction begins on Tuesday, starting with dammed pools. It's sort of interesting that as great builders of dams like the US are beginning to rethink grand dams of yesteryear — those along the Colorado River, Hetch-Hetchy, etc. — places like South Korea and China (Three Rivers Gorge) are running headlong into a golden era of dam-building. We can expect the Lee Administration to be some busy beavers for the next three years. More on this also in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy the subliminal hint of environmental purity of the birds flying by a space-agey dam in the artist's rendition below.

After key environmental hurdle is passed, Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs says "Four Rivers Project" will kick off Tuesday with construction of fifteen dammed pools (Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
South Korean scholars release controversial 3000-page volume listing 4389 Koreans considered to be pro-Japanese collaborators, including assassinated former President Park Chunghee (Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
An angry Kim Jong-il reportedly fires North Korea's top broadcaster after seeing unprecedented advertisements for beer and other local products (Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
South Korean steelmakers plan to spend 18.71 trillion won ($16.02 billion) over next three years in capital investments to reduce greenhouse gases and energy consumption (Reuters)
Bipartisan group of US members of Congress urges US President Obama to expedite ROK-US free-trade agreement (Korea Herald, Joongang Daily, Donga Ilbo)
South Korean golfer Song Bobae wins US LPGA Tour Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan, with four-under-par 68 (AFP, AP via WaPo, Yonhap)US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves for trip to China, Japan, and South Korea that will include shoring up support in dealing with North Korea (AP via WaPo)
About 16,000 FKTU labor unionists continue rally for second day on Sunday (AP via BusinessWeek, Korea Herald)
Study finds that 82% of all American police officers are considered obese by Japanese magazine readers (Asahi Shimbun)

Korea news links for November 8, 2009: demos, downers, and Dear Leader

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Well, thank you, Federation of Korean Trade Unions, for making this Sunday edition of KNL not a complete disaster (five stories in one edition is a record low). Is everybody home watching "Boys Before Flowers"... or whatever the hell is on in Korea nowadays? (Ah, maybe that's it... all the FKTU members protesting near the capitol meant they weren't committing crimes somewhere else. Just a theory.)

A lack of news stories partially explains why Kim Jong-il visiting a power plant (story #4) would even make the KNL. Yes, I realize that reporting that at all makes the list sounds all KCNA-ish, but in light of rumors that the Dear Leader is really a Dear Misleader, this is actually newsworthy, sort of.

The other noteworthy story is the banning of "downer" cows from slaughterhouses. A cow that is not able to walk on its own may in fact be suffering from BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, aka Mad Cow Disease) or some other ailment. It's really a wonder that this was not made illegal earlier (though the lack of homegrown BSE cases could explain it). It's also a bit of a wonder that protesters last year didn't speak up about it. Well, not that much of a wonder.

And now my news explanation is longer than the news, so I'll just get right into it.

Tens of thousands of FKTU unionists gather for massive rally near National Assembly on Yŏŭido to protest new laws seen as an attempt by the Blue House to weaken labor organizations (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
South Korea bans "downer" cows from meat supply (Yonhap, Korea Times)
World's largest producer of copper raises 2010 prices for South Korea and Japan due to increasing demand from China (Bloomberg)
Kim Jong-il, accompanied by senior Workers' Party officials, visits newly constructed power plant and farm in southern DPRK (Yonhap, Korea Times)
Parker Brothers™ releases Seoul-inspired commemorative edition of popular board game Monopoly™ (USA Today)

Rikidōzan

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:51:00 +0000

Did you know the father of pro wrestling in Japan was a Korean? Something I discovered when trying to find out if restrictions on foreign participants were still common in Japan (apparently, they still are), for this comment at Brian's.

That heya (stables) in Japan are limited to two foreigners is akin to, say, Korean basketball's restriction of two foreign players to each team. Although the KBA's limits should have no bearing on, say, ladies golf (LPGA-related stuff), since women golfers in Korea have no control whatsoever over what the basketball people do.

Archives: The Big Switch at "Freedom Gate" in Panmunjom

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:38:00 +0000

From the August 17, 1953, edition of Time, a description of the repatriation process at the end of the Korean War:

At 8:56 one cool, grey morning last week, a drab Molotov truck pulled up with a growl in front of the triple-arched "Freedom Gate" at Panmunjom. Pale hands and paler faces appeared from behind the grey canvas that covered the van.

One by one, U.S., Turkish and South Korean soldiers leaped from the tailgate or climbed down a blue ladder to freedom.

Some grinned, some wept, some stared.

A major shouted his name to correspondents. "Operation Big Switch'' had begun.

Every day last week, approximately 400 U.N. prisoners arrived at Panmun jom and, by helicopter, truck and ambulance, were sped back to Freedom Village near Munsan. Some of the survivors of Communist prison camps were healthy, robust men, who grinned, waved and danced on the gravel path to the receiving tents. Some could not dance, because they were emaciated or had only one leg. Others were litter cases, undernourished or sick with tuberculosis or dysentery.

"They Laugh More." Almost without exception, the men who came back last week were in better spirits than the sick, wounded and dull-eyed wrecks who were exchanged in "Little Switch" last spring.

Said a U.S. doctor: "These boys are more alive. They laugh more. They seem more aware of everything that is going on around them." An Army psychiatrist thought he knew why: prisoners learn to dull their hopes, accept their lot, and live only for the day; the men of Little Switch, abruptly given freedom, were still in that mood. But this week's prisoners, knowing of the truce, have had a chance to stir memories and anticipations.

At a much faster rate, because the U.N. holds many more prisoners, the U.N. handed over some 2,700 Communists daily. Some of them were litter cases, too. Obviously under orders. Chinese returnees solemnly ripped up their newly issued uniforms and rolled in the dirt, to present as dismal a picture as possible for their propaganda photographers. The North Koreans threw canteens, shoes, crutches and clothing at U.N. roster officers.

Such planned nonsense, docilely executed, had an eerie sadness all its own: a strange contrast to the scenes in the big receiving shed in Munsan. There, returning U.N. soldiers found it hard to remember what freedom was like. They laughed and cried, swallowed great quantities of ice cream, milk and boiled steaks, but asked timidly whether they could write more than one letter home.

Most of them said "sir," even to enlisted attendants. A few, glancing through new magazines, asked: "Who's this Marilyn Monroe dame?" A Turk spotted the Turkish flag hanging among others, buried his face in it, and cried, when an officer took it down and gave it to him. One prisoner walked all around a room, sticking close to the wall, when he might have strolled right across. A 50-year-old U.S. warrant officer bounced on an air mattress in the Freedom Village Red Cross lounge, drawled: "I just love to sit here and look at those capitalistic lamps built by you American warmongers." A moment later, after mention of his wife, he was weeping.

The Missing. The Communists said they were returning 12,763 prisoners, including 3,313 Americans. Were they holding out on others? Major John Daujat, the officer who had shouted out his identity to reporters from the truck, said that the Communists, since the truce, had sentenced an American officer to a year in prison for "instigating against the peace." Other returning prisoners said that a few of their fellow Americans had refused repatriation. Others were being held for "war crimes" trials. At week's end, the State Department said it was "gravely concerned" at these reports, and announced that it expects all prisoners in Communist hands to be repatriated or turned over to the neutral repatriation commission, where they will have a chance to tell their own story. "If those prisoners don't get back," said John Foster Dulles, who watched the repatriates arrive at Freedom Village, the U.S. will "adopt reciprocal measures."

The Pentagon lists 8,705 servicemen missing in action. No one yet knows how many of them died anonymously on the battlefield, their bodies never found; how many died of cold, disease, neglect or ill treatment in Communist camps; or how many may still be held by the Communists alive and unlisted. General Mark Clark said he does not know for sure, but information "leads us to believe they have more."

It's odd to think that some fifty-six years later, some of those missing are still unaccounted for.

Korea news links for November 7, 2009: The biggest thing to happen between Korea and India since Akom Studios created Apu

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:21:00 +0000

I've already gone into considerable detail about the Korindo FTA (that's, um, Korea-India Free-Trade Agreement) yesterday and in August, so I'll just reiterate that it's a pretty big deal. It's not a perfect deal (as in the sense that it's not 100% free trade), but I think it goes hella far toward removing barriers.

Frankly, I've always thought that it's not a bad idea in places like, say, the WTO, to give each country one "gimme" area where they can impose all the tariffs they want (and expect them imposed back). South Korea and Japan could have rice, America could have automobiles, etc., etc. It seems to me that would help grease the wheels of productive free trade without leaving vulnerable groups, well, vulnerable.

I'm not sure if that's a workable solution, though. After all, I'm not a trained economist with the skills and know-how to successfully tank the world economy by avarice and a lack of ethics.

South Korea ratifies free-trade agreement with India (links here)
Stephen Bosworth, US envoy on North Korea, says he will visit North Korea by year's end (Yonhap, Korea Herald)
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk says passage of ROK-US free-trade agreement requires a new deal on automobiles that will "level the playing field" (Bloomberg, Reuters via WaPo, Yonhap, Donga Ilbo)
ROK Foreign Minister says South Korea's obligations as a responsible member of the international community necessitate playing a bigger role in Afghanistan (Yonhap)
Deaths of a two-year-old boy, a 29-year-old woman, and a 54-year-old woman bring H1N1 toll to forty-eight (Yonhap, Xinhua, Korea Times)
Seoul selected as venue for next year's G20 summit (Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
Samsung Electronics makes fifteen-year licensing deal, worth $1.3 billion, to renew its contract with Qualcomm for use of Qualcomm patents (Chosun Ilbo)
Growth in mortgage lending slows for third consecutive month (Reuters via Forbes)
Heads of Korean Air and Delta see recovery for airline industry but note uncertainties due to H1N1 (Reuters)
South Korea advances to quarter finals at U17 (under-17) World Cup in Canada (Korea Times)
An embarrassed Chongno-gu administration announces contest for a new design after yesterday's discovery that the ward's current logo is actually a smiling condom; highly paid foreign graphics designer is reportedly on the lam (Yonhap)

And speaking of LOTD posts...

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:48:00 +0000

... there's this classic video of Orson Wells, selling no wine before its time:

Word is that, right after this, he left for Korea and became an English teacher (I kid! I kid! I kid because I love... to kid!).

And speaking of a need for English teachers, LOTD has a nice selection of the top "Engrish" pics of the month. Among my favorites:

Of course, by putting up the "skipping rape" pic (and really, it is a good idea to skip all forms of rape, just so we're clear), I know I'm tempting blogger YouSeok to blow in with a comment that Korea is the rape capital of Asia and a link to his blog. At least this time it would be the one time in the K-blogosphere where the reference is actually relevant.

Putting the ROK in "rockin' out"

kushibo@gmail.com (kushibo) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:18:00 +0000

No, I couldn't think of an even dumber title than that. Below is something I had seen before, but when it was featured yesterday at List of the Day, it had me laughing all over again.

I'm guessing the enthusiastic drummer is someone who would have preferred to get involved in some more lively music (back in the Park Chunghee era, from which I believe this comes, musical adventurism was heavily frowned upon), but he was stuck playing back-up for a mediocre trot singer*.

Back when Brian in Chŏllanam-do brought this clip to the attention of The Marmot's Hole commentariat, no one offered any explanation as to who it was, but I'm hoping someone will this time. One almost wonders if it was meant, even then, as a gag, but there's no canned laugh track.

* Actually, I don't know if she's mediocre or not, since I am unable to discern the difference between good, bad, and lousy "trot music."