I wish you all a happy and safe New Year’s holiday and all the best in 2012.
I would also like to thank my cobloggers for help keeping this blog alive this year.
In this open thread, it would be nice if readers could make suggestions on how to improve things at this blog, going on it’s ninth year, in the coming year. Constructive criticism especially welcomed.
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I hope Aidan Foster-Carter’s right about North Koreans wanting change:
More of the same is not really an option if [Kim Jong-un] is to lift national morale and address the concerns of ordinary Koreans, a third of whom are said to suffer from food shortages. And an anxious, only thinly united elite must decide if they are really ready to entrust the continuation of their privileged status to this whippersnapper. Pyongyang’s perfect choreography may not last.
We can only hope that once the choreography ends, the stage—and the audience—isn’t a complete wreck.
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- Different leader, same shit from North Korea:
North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission issued a hard-line statement on Friday, ruling out any policy changes and threatening not to deal with South Korea’s Lee Myung-bak government.
The warning, issued after the North’s new leader Kim Jong-un took power from his deceased father Kim Jong-il during the communist nation’s mourning period, seems to represent Pyongyang’s future policy stance towards the South.
Just for clarification, they didn’t threaten this as much as say outright they would never deal with the Lee administration, which, for good measure, they referred to as the “traitorous Lee Myung-bak gang.”
Oh, and by “never deal” with the Lee administration, they mean “we’ll still take South Korean money and aid, though.”
UPDATE: I like the “bloody tears” reference:
“On this occasion, we solemnly declare with confidence that foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet forces in South Korea, should not expect any changes from us,” a broadcaster on state television said on Friday.
[...]
“The sea of bloody tears from our military and people will follow the puppet regime until the end. The tears will turn into a sea of revengeful fire that burns everything.”
- In case you wanted to learn more about North Korea’s doctoring of its funeral photos, I direct you to here and here. I have no idea what it all means—I’m still learning how to process RAW files.
- So… who is the 8-foot-tall mofo in the back line at KJI’s funeral? Could it be former NBA hopeful Ri Myung Hun? (HT to gmm)
- Yankee fans representing at Kim’s funeral, too:
By now you’ve probably seen all the people in North Korea crying over the death of Kim Jong-il. But amidst all the sobbing and somber reminiscences, there’s something you might have missed. To see what it is, skip ahead to to 5:04 and 6:47 marks of the video shown above.
That’s right: A little boy attended the funeral procession in a Yankees hat. That’s even crazier than when a guy wearing a Yankees cap captured Moammar Gadhafi two months ago.
Not that it’s anywhere near as crazy, but I once spotted a guy wearing an Islanders jersey in a market in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
- Man, I hate this f*cking song, but the video is still cute (HT to Apodyopsis Gymnophoria):
- Turning to domestic news, thanks be to God, the Constitutional Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban SNS campaigning though services like Twitter in the 180 days prior to an election:
“The Internet is open to everyone and electioneering in cyberspace is virtually costless. So, restricting online campaigning does not serve the purpose of the Election Law, which is supposed to bridge the gap in election campaigns between rich and poor candidates,” the court said in its ruling.
It also said the law overly restricts fundamental human rights.
There’s still a problem, though. From the editorial of the Kyunghyang Shinmun:
Article 254 of the Public Official Election Act still limits online campaigning prior to the election period. As long as this article has not been properly dealt with, the debate surrounding SNS campaigning is destined to be repeated. In handing down its ruling, the Constitutional Court said the desirable approach would be to permit online campaigning at all times. The National Election Commission, too, has consistently voiced the position that online campaigning should be allowed on a continued basis, offering opinions to this effect five times since 2003. The National Assembly should quickly amend the election laws to reflect these positions from the Constitutional Court and National Election Commission. This is the way to realize the greater election principle of “tying up money and opening mouths.” A forward-looking decision by the National Assembly to reflect the currents of the age must follow.
- I don’t agree with everything the kid says (or Tweets, as it were), but I confess, I like the cut of his jib.
- Kim Moon-soo is a good man, but did he ever step in it here. Some of the parodies are quite funny, too.
- Do you hear their cry? Do you hear my cry? Please stop putting ads in American newspapers. You’re not helping.
To be fair, at least the copy is better. For comparison’s sake, see his previous efforts here. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2012 is to be less of an arrogant prick, but really if that’s what it takes to become a 한국홍보전문가, I should be head of KOCIS by now…
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Kim Geun-Tae, a progressive politician and one of the most respected pro-democratization fighters, has passed away from Parkinson’s Disease cerebral thrombosis at age 64. His resume as a politician included three-time National Assemblyman and Minister of Health and Welfare under Roh Moo-Hyun administration. He was also a prominent potential candidate for the presidency. But Kim was best known for having endured one of the worst tortures by the Korea’s dictatorial regimes, only to emerge as arguably the most principled progressive politician.
Kim became involved in democratization movement during his time at Seoul National University in mid-1960s. He was on the wanted list for nearly 20 years under Park Chung-Hee regime, for leading democratization movements. After the Park regime fell, Kim organized the Youth Alliance for Democratization Movement in 1983, the first democratization organization that operated openly. Two years later, he was arrested and would undergo 22 days of continuous torture — including beating, waterboarding and electrocution — by the infamous “torture technician” Lee Geun-An. (Lee Geun-An, who is now a pastor, served seven years in prison for torturing democratization activists. As recently as last year, Lee denied that he tortured anyone, and claimed that his interrogation techniques were “a type of art.”)
For the remainder of his life, Kim Geun-Tae suffered from degenerative Parkinson’s Disease, which was believed to be caused by the lingering after-effects of the tortures. (Other progressive figures who were tortured, such as Kim Dae-Jung’s oldest son Kim Hong-Il, also suffer from Parkinson’s Disease.) Reportedly, he could not even go to the dentist because sitting in the dentist’s chair gave him flashbacks of the torture.
In 1987, Kim published a book detailing his ordeal, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Center Human Rights Award in the same year. The room in which he was tortured, a government office in Yongsan, is now a museum dedicated for human rights. Kim would be imprisoned again for three years, from 1989 to 1992, under Roh Tae-Woo administration.
Even after he entered party politics in 1994, Kim Geun-Tae also did much to modernize and further democratize Korean politics. Kim Geun-Tae challenged Kim Dae-Jung to drop his closest advisors because Kim Geun-Tae believed that they were incompatible with transparent democracy. On several occasions under Roh Moo-Hyun administration, Kim Geun-Tae publicly challenged Roh to “drop the ranks and fiercely debate” on the issues that they disagreed. In the last presidential election, Kim pushed for open primary system to select the presidential candidate — and open primary system will likely be implemented in the upcoming National Assembly election.
Along with Kim Dae-Jung, Kim Geun-Tae was my favorite Korean politician. He was the moral conscience of the progressives, by all accounts the most sincere, gentle yet fearless man. In the truest sense of the words, he lived and died for democracy. He will be missed.
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Enough tomfoolery with Kim Jong-Il’s death. Politics don’t stop!
In an attempt to reinvent the party’s image, GNP formed an emergency response committee that would handle the party’s rejiggering. The ERC has 11 members, including the chairwoman Park Geun-Hye. Five of the members were not previously affiliated with the GNP.
Probably the most interesting member of the ERC is Lee Joon-Seok, a 26-year-old CEO of an IT start-up — an obvious attempt at bringing in “Ahn Cheol-Soo Lite”. For his part, Lee Joon-Seok already made news by recommending that the ERC invite Kim Eo-Joon of Naneun Kkomsuda to investigate the cyber attack on the Elections Commission committed by a GNP staffer. (Kim Eo-Joon refused.)
But apparently, the practical effect of having the ERC is for Park Geun-Hye to distance herself from the very-unpopular Lee Myeong-Bak administration. Lee Sang-Don, a Chung-Ang University professor and ERC member, called out four major pro-Lee leaders (Lee Sang-Deuk, Hong Joon-Pyo, Lee Jae-Oh, Ahn Sang-Su) to resign from their posts. Another ERC member Kim Jong-In also said: ”The elements that burden the party must be eliminated as soon as possible.” Unsurprisingly, pro-Lee GNP members are not taking this very kindly. It will be interesting to see if GNP could survive this.
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So a former gangster was fined 50,000 won for revealing his tattoos in a public bathhouse in Incheon on Christmas. The guy who tipped off the popo, meanwhile, received a reward of 250,000 won, five times the amount of the fine.
Naturally enough, some people find the reward a bit excessive.
What I find interesting is that showing off one’s tattoos in a public bathhouse does, in fact, violate the Minor Offenses Act, which you can read here. Note the part on “Causing Unease” in Section 1, Article 1, Paragraph 24.
Funny story—A long, long time ago, when I was living in Mungyeong, I was in a local bathhouse sauna when a young man with a back full of tattoos comes in. Needless to say, it made me feel very uncomfortable (little did I know at the time I could have made a quick 250,000 won). Holy crap, it’s a gangster, I though. As I leave the sauna, I look over at the end of the bench, and I can see he is just as uncomfortable as I am. He’s thinking, holy crap, it’s a foreigner.
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- If this kid’s still running the country in 40 years, feel perfectly free to beat me up on this, but frankly, when I look at this picture, I get a feeling that Kim Jong-un, as a leader, is not long for this world:
It’s just that he’s so young. Even North Koreans have to look at “the Supreme Commander” and ask, “You’re taking the piss, right?”
Before you write in, yes, I know the Joseon Dynasty had several kings who ascended the throne as minors.
- In the Guardian, David Cohen says Kim Jong-il’s funeral was a lesson in epic film-making.
- Oddly enough, I was thinking Kim Jong-nam might defect South, too.
- Some netizens in Singapore are having fun with the KJI death report. (HT to Nomad)
- Here’s some concept art of Seoul in 2144 from the upcoming film “Cloud Atlas.”
As you can see, in the future, not much has changed.
- And for something completely different (and very NSFW), Twitch reports that Japan has produced a low-budget spin on “Species” (a film, I wish to point out, actually had a decent cast). This version stars MH favorite Maria Ozawa, who like Natasha Henstridge, is of Canadian heritage. (HT to reader who, oddly enough, requested anonymity)
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Seems car people are taking note that Kim Jong-il’s casket was carried by a Lincoln Continental, which just goes to show you that regardless of where you are, old folk and gangsters love Lincolns.
Disappointed they didn’t pimp it up, though.
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Kim Jong-Un is walking with the hearse. If you are interested in watching the procession, you can watch it live at this link.
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Korea News via Yahoo Korea News via Daum
