north korea

Pictures of fleeing Hyundais strapped down with merchandise at the Kaesong Industrial Complex may be more exciting than old pictures of Kenneth Bae, but we should take a minute to think about the reality he’s now up against.

In November of last year, while leading a tour group in North Korea, Bae was detained, found guilty of an unknown crime, and has now been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in a N. Korean gulag. The North Korean government hasn’t said what the alleged crime was, and probably won’t.

Without the recent nuclear threats, would Bae’s story be making headlines? He’s been there for a while now…

Maybe we can send Dennis Rodman back to talk to his buddy Kim Jong Un, and explain that detaining people isn’t good for his public image. I guess threatening to launch missiles at people isn’t either though.

Take a minute to read about Kenneth Bae’s story. A Facebook page has been created to share updates and news about his detainment.

Maybe also take a few minutes out of your day to contact your representative in Congress and ask them what they’re doing to help free Kenneth Bae. All the Facebook likes in the world won’t get through to North Korea, but maybe letting our representatives know what’s at stake to their constituents, will help.

Taken by a Swedish Photographer here’s some images that you might haven’t seen before. People look normal for once. Girls giving the peace sign (yes those must be Kim Jong Un pins affixed to their outfits, people picnicking, but there’s plenty of struggle as well. (expressen – North Korea)

What can you say about a person who has experienced North Korean hell. It’s probably about the same as someone who escaped Vietnam, Pol Pot, WWII, Hitler, and the list goes on to the current day.

After a spirited PR stunt that landed Dennis Rodman on some basketball diplomacy that made great headlines, a few days later, it’s North Korea threatening more nukes, etc. “North Korea threatened Tuesday to nullify the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, citing U.S.-led international moves to impose new sanctions against it over its recent nuclear test, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.” (CNN – Armistice)

An unlikely pair, or maybe most likely. The game? Who cares, but it somehow ended at 110-110. Of course both teams had North Korean players on it along with some Americans, so of course North Korea can’t beat North Korea. All are the greatest.

Call of Duty graphics used in strange North Korean video. It’s strange and illustrates the point that the video makers for North Korea need some training. Activision gets trolled.

Kim Jong Il accomplished many incredible feats. Minah Kim (no relation) celebrates them with this hilarious animated video. Will there are more? Perhaps so says Minah Kim, “I actually am considering making a follow up video since there are so many more amazing things the Dear Leader has done during his reign. And this video should include his adorable son and current North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un.”

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Within just a few weeks of Google CEO, Eric Schmidt’s North Korea visit, Google Maps updated its eye on the DPRK. Schmidt’s daughter traveled with him, on the “humanitarian” mission and blogged about it. CNN Money scoops her story.

Cities, and the famous Bukchang Gulag can now be viewed in detail, thanks to the work of crowdsourced Google Earth  and other satellite images.

This image (courtesy of CNN) shows a Guard’s Restroom with a Google restaurant icon. I hope that’s just some weird iOS 6 type glitch, and not another chapter in the story of recently reported North Korean cannibalism…

North Korean leaders are having too much fun. They can easily threaten and then play games with it. Now it’s nuclear testing with the US as a target. Why is it that, I doubt people will create a frenzy and overbuy water, gas, and gas masks? (NY Times – North Korea Threat)

Google is a household name around the globe – at least in households with regular internet access. It’s even a verb in foreign languages. Now, Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt is in North Korea to… well, no one really knows. Maybe he’s there to get the Google Maps car better access to the driveway of this “Covert Runway“.  He might be there to try the North Korean style nang-myun he’s heard so much about from his Bay Area foodie friends, but a few days into his visit and it’s still a mystery.

The “official” story is that he’s accompanying former New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, on a humanitarian mission to negotiate the release of a Korean American hostage. CEOs are the new influential world leaders, so I suppose it’s possible, but somehow I think Schmidt lacks that Clinton charm that helped to free Laura Ling and Euna Lee.

Some believe that Schmidt is there to urge Kim Jong Un to ease restrictions on internet and data access. Others believe there’s a different agenda. North Korea is a new frontier when it comes to Google style information sharing. Schmidt will likely learn at least a tiny bit about the future of digital media in the new regime, and he may be looking for a foothold. Five years of Google in communist China didn’t pan out quite the way everyone had hoped though. How will North Korea handle the world’s largest search engine? Will Google+ and its Google Hangouts help re-unite the peninsula? All I know is that if any of the Kim boys want to add me to their circles, I’m SO adding them back.

Care to see Kim Jong Il’s body embalmed? It’s happening soon and you can see him as soon as in January. He’ll be placed next to his father, Kim Il Sung. (Stripes – Kim Jong Il)

Amazing how powerful the internet can be. Troll voters from 4Chan stuff the ballot boxes. He’s so far ahead of the others, it’s a runaway landslide, but in the end, that’s not how the winner gets picked. The people have spoken in a funny way. How will Time respond? (Time)

Unfortunately, there are no photos of the unicorn, or unicorn horn, or the ancient King who rode the unicorn. Fortunately, you can still purchase a Unicorno in commemoration of this find! (GR store)

“According to the Korean Central News Agency, the lair of the mythical creature is located 200 meters (about 219 yards) from the Yongmyong Temple in Pyongyang. A rock that sits in front of the lair contains carvings that some believe date back to the period of the Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), the outlet notes.” (Huffpo – Unicorn Lair)

Park Jae-Sang, better known as Psy, and his hit song “Oppa Gangnam Style”has taken the world by storm without any sign of slowing down. As the newly deemed King of Kpop joyously revels in his newfound fame, it might come as a surprise to some that he wasn’t always so congenial towards America. A video surfaced from a concert in 2004 where he smashed a miniature model of a tank on stage while the crowd raucously cheers, coupled with the lyrics:

싸이 rap : 이라크 포로를 고문해 댄 씨발양년놈들과
고문 하라고 시킨 개 씨발 양년놈들에
딸래미 애미 며느리 애비 코쟁이 모두 죽여
아주 천천히 죽여 고통스럽게 죽여

Translation:
Kill those fucking Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives
Kill those fucking Yankees who ordered them to torture
Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers
Kill them all slowly and painfully.

This song may have come around the time of the U.S.’s internationally maligned invasion of Iraq, but there’s an older context beneath all this. South Korea adhered to the Sunshine Policy towards North Korea up until Lee Myung-Bak’s presidency. The policy was intended to improve relations between the North and South with the (partial) aim of (eventual) reunification. Critics say that the downside of such a fool’s crusade is that the South opted for the North’s interests over the former’s closest ally, the United States. This included, as B.R. Myers alleges in his book The Cleanest Race, “encouraging an anti-American line in education and urging the media to ‘finlandize’ their coverage of the DPRK.”

It doesn’t stop there. On June 13th, 2002, a military vehicle accidentally killed two teenage girls in what would later be deemed the “Yangju Highway Incident.” The tragedy sparked a greater wave of anti-American sentiment along with Apolo Ohno 2002 Winter Olympics controversy.

The Korea Herald ran a story in Dec. 2002, on “Socially Active Celebrities” supporting the ROK’s Anti-American ’cause.’ Guess which celebrity’s name pops up? Flight of the Kiwi posted more excerpts from the article. 

This is all the more reason why its so curious that he’s beaming with America’s affection towards him. As of right now, the best defense on his end is that he was merely pandering to popular sentiments of the time. Either that or he could just be an opportunist as this one CNN iReport suggests. Nevertheless, the important question is how Americans will receive it if news of his previous opinions go viral.

“North Korea’s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.”

Either the have the greatest sense of humor of all time, or they just don’t know how to research. Yet, to his defense, he is looking dapper on his horse. (People’s Daily – Sexy Kim Jong Un)

We’re glad it’s not a Flesh Light gun. Either way, no one is safe.

That’s what the balloons look like, and they were launched by North Korea defectors. The article makes mention to say that if the military in South Korea really wanted them not to launch the balloons, they could have done better. (CSMonitor – Balloons)

His English is perfect, he’s young and sporting two earrings, and this is the most we’ve ever heard from him directly. He has dreams to go back and make life better in North Korea. His father is Kim Jong Nam who was to be the heir apparent but fell out of favor. The kid seems like a smart one and he’s just a freshman who has a Libyan roommate.

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Part 2

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Not a complete new experience in North Korea and the geographical information doesn’t have enough meaning, but it’s a solid trip and nearly fun narrative about a trip to North Korea. It’s not filled with glamour or ridiculousness, it just tells a tale, which might make it more accurate.

(Huffpo – North Korea)

Laura Ling related Gangnam Style to North Korea and the tiny, tiny changes that are happening. (LA Times – Laura Ling)