Monday, April 16, 2012 18:19
Strangely enough, for the first few decades of North Korea’s history, Pyongyang was not officially considered the capital of the country. The regime in the North positioned itself as the sole legitimate government of the entire Korean peninsula, so until 1972, the North Korean Constitution designated Seoul as the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s official name). According to the official discourse of the time, Seoul was considered to be under the occupation of the American imperialists and their South Korean stooges. Pyongyang, in this scheme of things, was merely the provisional headquarters of the peninsula’s sole government, to be used only until the eventual liberation of Seoul.
Only in 1972 was Pyongyang officially promoted to the status of national capital. However by that time, it had long been the focal point of an intensive propaganda campaign. From the late 1950s, the North Korean media described Pyongyang as the "Capital of the Revolution" and extolled its beauty and alleged "historical significance."
Of course, Pyongyang does have some interesting historical heritage. In the middle of the first millennia AD it was the capital of the kingdom of Koguryo kingdom, one of the three kingdoms which fought for supremacy on the Korean peninsula in the 4th-7th centuries AD. In subsequent centuries, it was an important administrative and economic centre.
The difference this time is the un-Kimian style of maneuvering and calculation. Earlier this year news came out that North Korean and American officials had agreed on a food-for-denuclearization deal whereby the U.S. would ship 240,000 metric tons of food aid in exchange for the North allowing IAEA inspectors back into the country, ceasing all enrichment activities and not engaging in missile tests. Yet, in mid-March, the deal went up in smoke when the North announced it would be sending a satellite into orbit on a long-range missile, something that went not only against the verbal agreement (no, the U.S. did not make the North sign a document), but--according to those who follow UN code-- also against resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009).
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The slight man with peppered hair didn’t break his stare, so I changed machines. After my 50 minute workout, I headed off into the shower room and locker area to shower and change back into my street clothes. After having showered I sat on the bench getting dressed. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I instantly knew who it was going to be. I turned around to find the middle aged man standing completely naked about 12 inches from me with a large smile on his face. Being that I was sitting down and he was standing, my head was actually about 12 inches from his penis when I turned around. I immediately stood up, re-shuffling my mental deck of cards and deciding how I would politely but quickly escape from the current situation.
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Now it’s time to turn the clocks back to 1962 and go to Detroit, Michigan,USA. Dee Edwards, born Doris Jones, records her first single as a solo artist, “You Say You Love Me,” at the young age of seventeen. It would be the only single she records for Tuba, just one of the many Detroit record labels at the time; and like many of the local labels, Tuba managed to survive for just a short time, releasing about a dozen 45s in its lifespan.
The kickoff will be an OPEN STAGE special anniversary edition on Thursday, April 19th with all the live music related friends jamming in, followed by their DJ NIGHT on Friday, April 20th where resident DJs plus some surprise guests will spice things up a little further and Platoon happily welcome the POJANG MACHA PROJECT on Saturday, April 21st, taking Korean street food to the next level. Check their Web site for more information as the event nears.
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By Andrei Lankov for 3WM Stalinist regimes love their capitals. A capital is usually a very special place. It is extolled by court poets in their lengthy odes. Its cityscapes (well, what is supposed to be their cityscape in the ideal world, imagined in the works of propaganda arts) are depicted by the nation’s best [...]
Toon by Lee Scott, words by Iwazaru After the embarrassing failure of North Korea’s Unha (the galaxy) 3 missile last Friday morning, officials in the North waited four hours to inform the journalists inside the country to cover the event, and others surrounding the 100th anniversary of founder Kim Il-sung’s birth, that the reports they’d [...]
By The Expat at Expat Hell I recently changed gyms. The gym that I used to frequent was fairly close to my house so it was quite convenient. Due to the relatively small size of the gym, I had to plan my workout times carefully to avoid the morning, noon and evening rushes. I also [...]
By Scott Freeman Now it’s time to turn the clocks back to 1962 and go to Detroit, Michigan,USA. Dee Edwards, born Doris Jones, records her first single as a solo artist, “You Say You Love Me,” at the young age of seventeen. It would be the only single she records for Tuba, just one of [...]
By Iwazaru
According to developing reports, the man, Wu Yuanchun, 42, an ethnic Korean from China, was on his way home from a store when the 28-year-old woman bumped into him. He responded by threatening her life and forcing her back to his home where he intended to rape her. Reports say that when he entered the bathroom, the woman locked the door of the room she was in and called the police number, 112. Initially, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency–and this article in the JoongAng Daily–the call only lasted a minute and 50 seconds during which the woman provided information about her location and, reportedly, allowed for GPS tracking. Yet the police did not locate the scene until 13 hours later at which time they found Wu cutting the woman’s body into pieces. One report cites the mortician:
“A forensic expert who conducted an autopsy on the woman described the condition of her body as ‘too horrific for words.’ The National Forensic Service received 14 plastic bags filled with altogether 280 body parts. ‘He butchered her,’ the official added.”
By Ben Cowles
After canning it up the hill at what must have been record speed, I couldn’t get off the mini bus fast enough. The nausea eventually subsided as I peered down at the sloping, vibrant neighborhood of Taeguk Village*(태국마을). The colors and short stature of the buildings were a stark contrast to the grey tides of the city we left behind. The necessitous of the town only added to its charisma. Wandering the narrow alleys between the brightly colored, tightly packed shabby homes of the hillside village, I felt as though my girlfriend and I had been transported to the third world.
The brochure/map for Taeguk village likened itself to the picturesque Greek island of Santorini. However the sloping view of the sea was where the similarities ended for me. I thought it typical of Korea to big up this village by comparing it to the exclusivity, luxury and pretensions of Santorini. I reckoned a more honest comparison would be with the slight less marketable favelas of Rio. But then, who’s going to slam “Shanty town” on their tourist paraphernalia?
By Tom McGregor at China Daily
Some Westerners incorrectly assume that China should only be viewed according to its political doctrine. They raise fears over its rapid economic development by claiming Beijing is pursuing sinister motives. China seeks peace, not war; alliances, not enemies; so it seems apparent that the nation must promote “soft power” to overcome commonly held misperceptions.
The four great classics of Chinese literature – Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai’an, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en and A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin – hold the key to a more comprehensive understanding of the Chinese mindset. The characters and plot-settings were written centuries ago, but the themes of love, conflict, family, crime, business, justice and politics remain relevant even today.
By Lee Scott
As many of you may know, a major election is coming up on Wednesday, April 11. Not only is it a day off for many of us, the election itself is something that the often-times frenetic campaigning makes us aware of even if we don’t care about the vote. How does Korean style election campaigning differ from the style you are accustomed to in your own home country? What do you think of the early-morning speaker trucks blaring music and campaign slogans in your neighborhoods, or the mobile stages parked at major intersections with rival candidates’ platforms being presented simultaneously, often accompanied by middle-aged (and sometimes older) ladies, decked out in their candidate’s colors and doing “that dance” that they all seem to know? How about those same women parading around the sidewalks in packs?
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