403개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Two weeks ago Scott Burgeson has published his entire - remarkable but (IMHO) diversive - essay on the 2008 "Beef Protests" in Seoul...
Few days later he wrote (as a reply on his freeboard): "It's good to know that some intellectuals in South Korea are finally starting to take seriously my essay on the mad-cow candlelight protests of 2008, or to even acknowledge it. As you can see here, when '더 발칙한 한국학' came out last year, the essay was essentially ignored by the mainstream South Korean media, although one or two reviews briefly and vaguely mentioned it being 'dangerous and provocative.' If it was so 'dangerous and provocative,' why was it so uninteresting that most South Korean reviewers felt that it wasn't worth even discussing?"
Here you can read the essay's English complete (4 pages, f... long^^) version:
☞ "A Stranger in Chongno"
Finally, if you still feel bored, here you can read at least 60 comments (on Marmot's Hole) related to Scott's essay!
Enjoy your weekend (reading)!!
Last month Chicago Indymedia predicted in connection to the coming G-20 Summit in Seoul (Nov. 11/12) that "There will be a storm"...
Well, until now it's not really sure if there will be a "storm" or not... But it seems as if the S.K. gov't already prepares for a kind of mass uprising/civil war, according to today's Yonhap report:
Military sets up security command center for G-20 summit
South Korea's military on Wednesday launched a "G-20 command center" to coordinate the government's security planning and operations in preparation for the G-20 summit in early November.
Tasked with protecting the world's leaders and ensuring the hosting of a successful summit set for Nov. 11-12, the command center would serve as a central part of security operations with some 10,000 troops from various military branches taking part, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
"The military has elaborate action plans and firm determination to counter any possible enemy threat," the statement said. "We will make utmost efforts to make the G-20 summit in Seoul safer than any in the past."
The command center also coordinates coverage with other relevant security agencies, including the Presidential Security Service, the National Police Agency and the National Intelligence Service.
Police are mainly in charge of security on streets and at the convention venue in Seoul, while the military provides policing for the skies and seas, JCS officials said.
Navy ships will conduct underwater searches and patrol ports around the country, while fighter jets will monitor the skies when the world's leaders arrive, they said...
Last month, some 400,000 government officials, police and security personnel staged days of anti-terrorism drills, including mock hostage situations and other attacks, as part of preparations for the November summit:
Already one month ago the Korea Times reported that the National Police Agency will be mobilizing more than 400,000 police around the G-20 Summit in Seoul...
In the context of the coming G-20 Summit in Seoul the S.K. gov't is preparing (starting from tomorrow) new, 'sophisticated' measures to discriminate against visitors from abroad (i.e. "third world" foreigners/potential migrant workers)...
For more please "enjoy" the following piece, published in yesterday's (bourgeois) Korea Times:
Suspicious visitors to be fingerprinted from Wed.
Starting Wednesday, foreign nationals suspected of using fake identities to enter the country or whose purpose of visiting Korea is suspicious will have their fingerprints(*) scanned and face photographed at all 22 international airports and harbors in the country.
The move is intended to tighten security ahead of the G20 summit to be held in Seoul in November.
This is the first in a three-phased initiative to screen for “suspicious” foreign visitors by matching their biometric information with that of “blacklisted” people, the Ministry of Justice said Monday...
The legal grounds were reinstated early this month ― the law was scrapped in 2003 over fears of human rights infringement.
Those affected by the lowest level of screening are people whose identity is similar to that of an international terrorist...
For instance, those who transit other cities before coming to Korea or who buy a one-way ticket to Korea in cash are among those deemed suspicious.
“Cash is hardly ever used to buy flight tickets,” said Ahn Gyu-seok, a spokesman for the Korea Immigration Service. “We suspect that those who do so are attempting to prevent the authorities from tracking cash flows.”
Those who are not proficient in the language of the state of origin stipulated in their passport, and who lack basic knowledge about the country will also be questioned, the ministry said...
Officials did not elaborate on the guidelines for security concerns...
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/117_72265.html
* In another blog someone added: "Nothing says ‘Welcome to my country you filthy foreign scum’ quite like being fingerprinted at customs..."
Since last week a kind of "game of chicken" between the South and North Korean "propaganda departments" is taking place and amuses the int'l internet community...
Last Saturday's Hankyoreh reported the following:
Inter-Korean hide and seek takes place on Twitter
S.Korean authorities have attempted to block N.Korea’s newly-created Twitter account
North Korea and South Korea are playing a fierce game of “hide and seek” on Twitter. The South Korean government blocked the Twitter site supposedly run by North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
North Korea has responded by using a variety of techniques to get around this.
The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KOCSC), in accordance with requests from relevant agencies, blocked access by local users to the site twitter.com/uriminzok on Thursday, applying the National Security Law.
Accordingly, the site has been officially blocked since Thursday evening. Users of Twitter applications such as Parangsae and Seesmic, could still read it even after the measure. Since 75 percent of Twitter users access Twitter through these programs, the KCSC measure is having little effect. In fact, even after the authorities officially blocked access to the site, the number of followers continued to increase. As of Friday afternoon, they were more than 9,200. Most were Koreans.
Particularly noteworthy is that North Korea’s methods are growing more sophisticated. In fact, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland used the URLs from Uriminzokkiri just as they were when it first opened the Twitter account on Aug. 12, but from Aug. 18 it began using Twitter-use TinyURLs, and since the site was blocked, it has connected its posts to Facebook.
Its Facebook page has yet to be blocked. In particular, North Korea has been syndicating its Facebook content via RSS since Friday. It is also sharing videos via its Youtube account, which likewise has yet to be blocked.
The authorities are also showing more concern. The emergency blocking measure taken by the KCSC targets only the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http). It does not close off new paths set up by North Korea. As it is possible for users to access the blocked Twitter site via HTTP Secure (https), the authorities have become even more agonized.
Meanwhile, in an article published by the Christian Science Monitor, Michael Breen, who has written a biography of Kim Jong-il, said, “It shows they do not trust their own people.” Breen also said, “Citizens should be allowed to make up their minds about dictatorship.”
Andrew Salmon, a Korea expert who has written a book on the British soldiers who fought during the Korean War, remarked that it was “ridiculous” that the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland’s Twitter site was blocked.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/436131.html
Related articles:
☞ North Korea reportedly joins Facebook (AP, 8.22)
☞ Just how concerning are NK tweets? (K. Times, 8.20)
☞ A ‘tweet’ from Pyongyang could land you in jail (JoongAng Ilbo, 8.19)
☞ ROK set to counter NK Twitter offensive (K. Times, 8.18)
☞ North Korea says it has joined Twitter, YouTube (AP, 8.17)
Lee Myung-bak(MB) in his yesterday's speech(*) marking the 65th anniversary of Korea's liberation(**) from the Japanese colonial rule proposed a "three-staged method of reunification with North Korea".
The three-stage plan would start with a "peace community" that assures security on the peninsula including a denuclearized North, followed by the creation of an "economic community" developing the North's economy through exchanges, and eventually "a community of the Korean Nation that will ensure dignity, freedom and basic rights of all individuals".
Although MB's "reunification proposal" is nothing more than balderdash regarding the current N-S "relationship"(or rather open hostility!!) the MB administration is planning the first "confidence-building measures"(***): A presidential committee on military reforms plans to propose to President Lee Myung-bak that the military adopt an operational plan that allows its forces to preemptively strike North Korean bases if they see any sign of impending aggression, according to yesterday's Korea Herald.
* "Marching together toward a Greater Republic of Korea!"
** "August 15 when President Kim Il Sung liberated Korea by leading the arduous anti-Japanese war to a victory", according to N.K.'s Rodong Shinmun(8.15)
*** Posting NK-friendly material ruled illegal (K. Times, 8.16)
Related articles:
☞ MB’s unification plan will only heighten tensions (Hankyoreh, 8.16)
☞ Lee orders thorough military drills to counter N. Korea threats (Yonhap, 8.16)
☞ Panel to urge ‘active deterrence’ on N.K. (K. Herald, 8.15)
Last week it has been reported in the S. Korean media that the cops "arrested pro-Pyongyang activists on charges of starting a campaign to remove a statue of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur from a park in Incheon under orders from North Korea"(*).
And the conservative (i.e. reactionary!!) JoongAng Ilbo(editorial, 8.06) got a f*cking great idea how to teach them (and possibly all the other anti-LMB activists??) a lesson: "It would be better if people like them could be deported to the North Korea they like so much, rather than sending them to prison at the cost of taxpayers’ money."
* For more please "enjoy":
☞ Rallies over MacArthur statue were North plot (JoongAng Ilbo, 8.06)
Related stuff:
☞ Demonstration against MacArthur’s statue at Inchon (KIO, 2005.7.17)
Yesterday's Hankyoreh reported the following about the latest (unpleasant) developments connected with the Duriban Sit-in Struggle:
Electricity cut off at Hongdae redevelopment protest site
The redevelopment company targeted the building for demolishment and cut the building’s electricity cable
Today's (protest) press conference in front of Duriban sit-in struggle/squat site
“Cutting off someone’s electricity in the middle of summer is a death sentence. We have lit dozens of candles, but it leaves us worrying about fire, and the corners that the candlelight cannot reach smell.”
It is July 28, and the kalguksu noodle restaurant “Duriban,” in the Hongik University (Hongdae) neighborhood, has gone without electricity for eight consecutive days. Its struggle with heat and darkness continues. As the site of a sit-in by local artists and civic activists opposing redevelopment in the Hongdae area that has been going for 210 days so far, Duriban has become known as “Little Yongsan,” an allusion to the disaster involving people made homeless by redevelopment in the Yongsan area last year.
On July 21 Namjeon D&C, the company carrying out the redevelopment in the area, cut the electricity cable leading to Duriban, saying that it was “stealing electricity from the neighboring construction site.”
Duriban had been temporarily using an electricity cable from a nearby subway construction site, with consent, after the redevelopment company removed electrical wiring in order to demolish the building.
The electricity was forcibly cut off, while Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (KEPCO) attitude was that forcible execution had taken place and that it was therefore unable to restore the supply.
As a result, more than 10 activists have been holding an indefinite sit-in protest at Mapo District Office since July 26. Ahn Jong-nyeo, owner of Duriban and head of a task force for victims of home demolition in the Donggyo neighborhood, urged the local ward office to solve the problem. Ahn said that when the electricity was cut off to an inhabited place, the people there should be designated as eligible to be provided with electricity as a basic living necessity, even if they had no money.
In response, Mapo District Office sent an official document to KEPCO demanding cooperation, while KEPCO stated that the electricity meter had been removed from the building last year following a legal request from the construction company and that the issue of restoring the electricity supply was a complicated one. It said it would conduct a legal examination and reach a quick decision.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/432649.html
For more detailed info (sorry, only in Korean!) please check out:
Today's Hankyoreh published the following report:
Environmental activists begin sit-in at Four Rivers sites
The Lee administration has forged ahead with the project during the rainy season despite widespread opposition and safety concerns
Calling for an end to the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, major leaders from local chapters of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) carried out a surprise occupation Thursday morning of the Ipo Weir site on the Han River and the Haman Weir site on the Nakdong River.
At around 5 a.m. Thursday, Busan KFEM Secretary General Choi Soo-young and Jinju KFEM Secretary General Lee Hwan-moon used a rubber boat to enter the Haman Weir construction site in Gilgok Township, Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang Province.
They subsequently took over a 40-meter crane installed at the site. The Korea Water Resources Corporation had dismantled most of the equipment in anticipation of heavy rains on July 16 and 17, but the crane was not taken down because it was deemed to present no safety issues.
Meanwhile, at around 3:25 a.m. the same morning, Seoul KFEM Secretary General Yum Hyung-cheol, Suwon KFEM Secretary General Jang Dong-bin, and Goyang KFEM Executive Committee Chairman Park Pyeong-su began an occupation atop the skirt board of the 30-meter fifth column of Ipo Weir in Daesin Township, Yeoju County, located in Han River Zone 3.
During a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh, Yeom, who had brought food, water, and gasoline for a generator to the indefinite occupation, said that the KFEM “opted for an occupation because we could no longer sit by and watch the irrational and anti-ecological destruction of life.”
“The government needs to halt the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project before it is too late, and establish a pan-societal discussion body to find alternatives and solutions,” Yeom said.
Following the occupation Thursday morning, the KFEM formally called upon the Lee Myung-bak administration to immediately halt the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, establish a body for citizen dialogue, and form a special committee within the National Assembly to examine the project.
“The government has merely been entrusted with authority, yet it is disregarding the objections of a majority of South Koreans and pushing forward with the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project,” said KFEM Secretary General Kim Jong-nam, visiting the site of occupation at Ipo Weir. “As the representative public servant, Mr. Lee Myung-bak needs to pursue true dialogue with the people, the ones who hold real sovereignty.”
An advertisement installed at the top of Ipo Weir bearing the words “Yeoju’s Landmark Weir” was covered up Thursday with a large banner reading “Leave the Four Rivers Alone,” and the occupiers also put up a banner reading “SOS 4 RIVERS” in English. The occupiers on Ipo Weir cut off a makeshift path connecting with the weir in order to prevent others from entering. About 50 civic group members from the Busan and South Gyeongsang area held a candlelight demonstration at 7:30 Thursday evening in front of the Haman Weir construction site, where they called for a halt to the Four Major Rivers Project.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/431769.html
The following is the full text of the joint statement issued today by the foreign and "defense" ministers of S.Korea(ROK) and the United States (source: Yonhap):
ROK Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan and Minister of National Defense Kim Tae-young, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates met in Seoul on July 21, 2010, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, which gave birth to the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
The Ministers reflected on the shared sacrifice and dedication to defend freedom and democracy during the Korean War, and acknowledged that the ROK-U.S. Alliance has promoted peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in Northeast Asia, and has evolved into a strong, successful and enduring alliance.
They also noted the historic significance of the Joint Vision for the Alliance of the Republic of Korea and the United States of America adopted by the two leaders in June 2009 and pledged to continue to advance alliance cooperation bilaterally, regionally, and globally.
The Ministers reaffirmed the mutual responsibilities and steadfast commitments of the two countries founded on the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, which has served as the bedrock of the allied partnership. They committed to maintain a robust combined defense posture capable of deterring and defeating any and all North Korean threats, including through recently announced bilateral plans to conduct a series of joint military exercises over the coming months in the ROK and off the east and west coasts of the Korean Peninsula. They also pledged to develop the alliance's vision for future defense cooperation.
In support of their Presidents' recent decision, the Ministers also decided to complete a new plan, Strategic Alliance 2015, by this year's Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), including the transition of wartime Operational Control (OPCON) to the ROK military in December 2015. The transition of wartime OPCON is to proceed through close coordination between the two countries to sustain and enhance the Alliance's combined defense posture and capabilities.
The Ministers welcomed the UN Security Council Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2010/13) on July 9, 2010 condemning the attack by North Korea, which led to the sinking of the Cheonan. They shared the view that such an irresponsible military provocation poses a grave threat to peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the region. The Ministers urged North Korea to take responsibility for the attack. They also called upon North Korea to refrain from further attacks or hostilities against the ROK and underscored that there would be serious consequences for any such irresponsible behavior.
The Ministers urged North Korea to abandon all its nuclear programs and its pursuit of nuclear weapons in a complete and verifiable manner, and to demonstrate its genuine will for denuclearization with concrete actions. They also urged North Korea to improve human rights conditions and living standards for its people in cooperation with the international community.
Building on the June 2009 Joint Vision, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to broaden and deepen the scope of Alliance cooperation. They shared the view that growing political, economic, social, scientific, technological, and cultural bilateral cooperation will increase the mutual understanding and respect between our citizens on the basis of common values and trust. They also committed to work together more closely and comprehensively at the regional and global levels.
Reaffirming the utmost importance of the KORUS FTA, they pledged to work towards ratification as discussed by the two Presidents in Toronto last month. They also pledged to work towards a new ROK-U.S. Agreement for Cooperation on Civil Uses of Atomic Energy in a mutually beneficial way in order to meet the challenges of climate change and energy security in the future.
Furthermore, the Ministers welcomed the close mutual cooperation on a wide range of issues within regional frameworks including the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and committed to work closely together to further promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region. They also discussed the Northeast Asia regional security environment and ways the Alliance can evolve to address new challenges in this dynamic region.
Meanwhile, the Ministers exchanged ideas about ways to meet the global challenges of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, financial crisis, transnational crimes, climate change, epidemic disease, energy security, and promotion of green growth, and decided to continue joint efforts in this regard. They also exchanged views about how development assistance can increase stability and security, and decided to increase coordination of development assistance programs around the world to help achieve our shared goals.
The Ministers shared the view that they would draw on the lessons learned through the rebuilding of the ROK in the decades following the devastating Korean War to strengthen cooperative efforts for stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and around the world. The U.S. side welcomed the ROK's sending of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to Afghanistan, and the ROK side reaffirmed its determination to support security, governance, and development in Afghanistan. They also welcomed ROK-U.S. coordination and cooperation in other areas including the efforts to combat piracy near the Horn of Africa and peacekeeping efforts in Haiti.
The Ministers noted the two countries share mutual views on how to face global challenges, as evidenced by the United States previously hosting the Nuclear Security Summit and the G20 summit, and the ROK hosting these events in the future.
The Ministers concurred that today's Foreign and Defense Ministers' Meeting was very productive and useful, and decided to hold foreign and defense officials' meetings at the deputy minister/assistant secretary level. They also pledged to continue to develop the existing ministerial consultations of Strategic Consultation for Allied Partnership (SCAP) and Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and to consider holding further Foreign and Defense Ministers' meetings, as necessary.
Related articles:
☞ US announces fresh North Korea sanctions (Guardian, 7.21)
☞ Korea, US vow combined defense (Korea Times, 7.21)
☞ US imposes new sanctions on N. Korea (al-Jazeera, 7.21)
Yesterday's Hankyoreh 'editorial' proves once again that the so-called "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project" is nothing more than an ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME!!
Four Rivers restoration through
asbestos-contaminated stones
An environmental group has confirmed that stones contaminated with asbestos, a Group 1 carcinogen, have been used in the creation of an ecological stream as part of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province. The stones stacked on both sides of the stream as part of levee construction are caked in white clumps of asbestos, and nearby, there were fragments of broken-off stone and asbestos powder scattered around.
As is widely known, asbestos is a Group 1 carcinogen whose production and use has been completely banned since last year. It is shocking in itself that asbestos would be used in an unrestricted manner for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. In particular, in the 15th district of the Han River, where the stone coated with asbestos was used, is where an ecological stream will be created with insects, a lotus pond and walking paths so that locals can engage in recreation and relaxation. If construction continues as is, it may become not an ecological stream, but a stream of death.
The polluted rocks were produced at a quarry in nearby Jeongok Village, Susan Township, Jecheon, the location of a closed asbestos mine. People have pushed several times for the quarry’s close because of the possibility of asbestos contamination. Workers at the quarry have reportedly continued to produce rocks with clumps of asbestos while wearing no protective gear, including masks. It is an immediate certainty that the workers at the quarry will suffer fatal damage to their health. Beyond that, it is clear there will be secondary contamination in locations where the rocks are placed.
Asbestos is designated a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) by the World Health Organization (WHO) through the International Agency for Research on Cancer, since it leads to lung cancer and malignant tumors if it becomes airborne and is breathed into the lungs. Its use is banned, and materials with more than 1 percent asbestos, when thrown away, must be separated and processed separately. It is outrageous that despite this, the quarry continues to operate without any control and the rocks mixed with asbestos coming from it have been used in an array of construction projects, including the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. The quarry must be shut down immediately and the construction area where the polluted rocks used restored completely. Going further, the construction sites that used the rocks must be found and all the rocks removed.
This episode illustrates the extent of the negligence with which the current Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is being conducted, with no regard for the environment or for safety. The Lee Myung-bak administration must fully understand that the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project construction, with which it is pushing ahead despite the opposition of the majority of the public, may bring about a huge disaster instead of saving rivers.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/430108.html
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