Former presidential candidate Huh Kyung-young is now a rapper. I’m neither kidding nor on crack

Do you remember Huh Kyung-young? He claims to have an I.Q. of 430, be able to see the future, to heal arthritis by touch, and to have been chosen to lead Korea by its mythical founder, Dangun. If elected, he promised to give couples 100 million won for getting married, move the U.N. headquarters to Panmunjom, and unite with Mongolia and, later, China.
He’s just finished an 18-month stint in jail for breaking election laws by spreading false information, such as the notion that after the campaign, he would marry Park Geun-hye. No sooner was he out of the clink than he resumed his eccentric behavior by claiming that the spirit of Michael Jackson visited him in prison, his body pierced with nails like Christ.
Now, Mr. Huh has released his first rap song. I’m not kidding. Thanks to Indieful ROK we can listen to this masterpiece, “Call Me.” Mad props also go out to Nude Viking for translating some of the lyrics:

Look in my eyes/
You will be happy/
Call “Huh Kyung-young”/
You will be healthy/
If you shout “Huh Kyung-young,” you’ll pass your tests/
Look in my eyes/
You’ll lose weight

I know that you will join me in waiting on pins and needles for his follow-up song, “Light of the East (Dongbangui Deungbul).”

(Updated) Japanese claim ownership of the Liancourt Dok-shimas

According to Yonhap News, the Japanese cabinet, in their annual defense white paper, has claimed the Liancourt Dok-shimas as part of Japanese territory.
Hopefully, it won’t cause a repeat of these kinds of behaviors.

Overwhelmed by fury, protesters have sliced off fingers, set themselves on fire, and in one case committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.

Edit/Update:

Seoul is not amused.

“The government will deal sternly with any attempts to infringe upon our sovereignty over Dokdo,” ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.

The defense ministry issued a statement, saying, “We sternly oppose Japan’s description of Dokdo as part of Japanese territory and demand an immediate correction by the Japanese government.”

“We stress once again that we won’t accept Japan’s claim to Dokdo, which is clearly Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international laws,” the ministry said.

It urged Tokyo to clearly recognize that the repeated claims would only get in the way of the two countries’ bid to develop their relationship into that of a future-oriented partnership.

One has to wonder why neither Tokyo nor Seoul have decided to take this to a third party, such as international tribunal, to settle.

Yonsei University professor wants another ex-president to commit suicide

Kim Dong-gil, a professor at Yonsei University, is evidently going two-for-two, as far as progressive ex-presidents go. Earlier, he wrote that Roh Moo-hyun should commit suicide over a bribery investigation. Days later, ex-president Roh jumped off a cliff to his death.
Now professor Kim want Kim Dae-jung to kill himself because he believes that it’s the ex-president’s failed Sunshine Policy that has enabled North Korea to arm itself with nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The cherry on top of the icing on the cake is the way he phrased it: He told Kim Dae-jung “to throw himself off from the nearest cliff.” Very sensitive and empathetic.
I guess he doesn’t like progressives. One down (no pun intended), one to go, I suppose.

Marrying a Korean might soon require criminal background check & medical exam

Thinking about marrying a Korean? In the near future, that might require a criminal background check and medical exam.

In which parallel universe is the Hankyoreh reporting from?

As in many other countries, some newspapers in Korea are lean towards the political left, and others, to the right. South Korea’s left wing is known for, among other things, being sympathetic to North Korea. The Hankyoreh, a South Korean newspaper, is sometimes astounding in the creativity it displays in weaving excuses for the North’s behavior. When a South Korean tourist was murdered on North Korea’s Mount Geumgang, it was almost an entire day before it put the news on its web-site.
As you are probably already aware, two American journalists were sentenced by North Korea to twelve years in prison. While many other Korean newspapers reported the news online almost as soon as it broke, the Hankyoreh took its sweet time, taking at least half-a-day to post the news. And when they finally did, it was with this headline: “N. Korea’s sentencing of two U.S. journalists may signal the possibility of talks.” The Hankyoreh has really outdone itself with the apologetic gymnastics they’ve displayed here. What’s next?
“Yodok Prison offers families the chance to be together”?
“Widespread famines mean that next year’s crops will probably be better”?
“Mass starvation helps solve the problem of overpopulation”?

Police to reinvestigate Roh Moo-hyun’s death

According to the Chosun Ilbo, there are growing calls for the reinvestigation of ex-President Roh Moo-hyun’s death, after it was revealed that a bodyguard, Lee, who had claimed earlier to have been with Roh just before his final minutes, actually was not at the scene at the time of his death.

Based on the bodyguard’s initial testimony, a 94-man investigative team at South Gyeongsang Province police announced Sunday that Roh arrived at Owl Rock around 6:20 a.m., talked with Lee Byung-choon, the head of his security detail, for about 20 minutes, and jumped off the cliff at around 6:45 a.m.

But an official at a nearby temple where the memorial tablets of Roh’s parents are enshrined on Tuesday said someone who appeared to be Lee visited the temple at the time of Roh’s suicide. The temple is 200 m from Owl Rock.

Questioned again Monday, Lee reversed his initial testimony and said Roh told him to go to the temple. And under fresh questioning Tuesday night, Lee said he could not find Roh after sending away a mountain climber who approached the two.

From a high-profile suicide, to nuclear tests, to missile launches, to swine flu quarantines, to this, it’s never a dull moment here on the Korean Peninsula.

Edit/Update:

Yonhap News reports that there will, in fact, be a reinvestigation, seeing as how the bodyguard has changed his story at least twice (“I saw him jump,” “He sent me to the temple,” “I was escorting this other hiker away, and when I came back, he was gone.”).
This item caught my eye.

The security guard belatedly looked for the missing former president and spotted him at 6:45 a.m. The guard then carried Roh on his back to a car at the residence before rushing him to a nearby hospital,” said the commissioner.

Good Lord. When someone has fallen or been in a car wreck, you call 911 (or 119, in this case) and don’t move the person, or you might aggravate their injuries, especially neck injuries. Unfortunately, this kind of ignorance is the norm here. I’m very disappointed to see this lack of common sense even from a bodyguard to an ex-head-of-state. Such basic first aid should have been a required part of his training. And he carried him piggy-back, instead of with a fireman’s carry. Unbelievable. Actually, not really. This is Korea. T.I.K.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun dead, left suicide note

According to Yonhap News Agency, the former president of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun (Noh Moo-hyun), is dead.

Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has died after falling down a mountain while hiking with an aide, police here said Saturday.
Police are trying to confirm whether the former president, recently involved in a corruption scandal, fell by accident or committed suicide.

Edit/Update:

The Korea Herald and Korea Times now have articles, but they don’t have much additional information.

Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun died after falling down a mountain while hiking near his home with an aide, police in Gimhae, South Gyongsang Province said Saturday.

[ snip ]

The former president was immediately sent to Pusan National University Hospital at 7:05.
But he failed to recover from cerebral hemorrhage, Korea Broadcasting System said, quoting hospital sources.

Further Update:

According to Yonhap News, Roh left a suicide note.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun died after falling from a mountainside behind his residence early Saturday morning and left behind a brief suicide note, his lawyer said.

[ snip ]

“Roh left his home at 5:45 a.m. to go hiking. He appears to have jumped from a mountain rock at 6:40 a.m. He was accompanied by a bodyguard at that time,” said Moon Jae-in, who had served as presidential chief of staff during the Roh presidency.

“He left behind a brief suicide note,” Moon told reporters at the hospital.

China to intervene if North Korea collapses

According to a recent report by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, which is America’s most senior military school, China will attempt to prevent any collapse of North Korea, and will intervene if it does. Also, any military action against North Korea will be answered by China due to the fact that it “must observe” its formal bilateral security treaty with North Korea.

According to the report, Shen Dingli of the Institute for International Studies at Fudan University has told observers that policymakers in the PRC prefer a buffer in North Korea between South Korea and the U.S. forces there.

Dingli also said that rather than let North Korea collapse, China will provide basic subsistence.

The report also quoted China’s defense minister and high-ranking military officials as saying that “China will not let North Korea collapse.”

The reported also noted that Beijing has been the donor of last resort that kept North Korea in food and fuel through famine and energy crises for decades.

“In official statements, books and state-controlled media, the Chinese leadership provides support for the DPRK and takes no position advocating regime change,” the report said.

“Even in China’s closed forums, there is almost a taboo on discussing “regime change” in North Korea.”

Given that China has a formal commitment in its bilateral security treaty with North Korea that it “must observe” in the event of a conflict on the Korean peninsula, any military action against the North would inevitably face Chinese intervention, according to the report.

The Return of Mad-Cow Beef

American beef suspected of being unsafe is back in the news.

About 13 tons of American beef were falsely sold as Australian products five years ago in defiance of a disposal order issued after a case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was reported in the United States.

[ snip ]

In December 2003, when cows suspected of having the disease were found in the U.S. and Seon’s company was ordered to dispose of all American beef, he allegedly destroyed seven tons and falsely reported to the company that he had destroyed the entire 29 tons in the store.

Among the remaining 22 tons, Seon delivered 12.7 tons to discount stores and department stores between August and December 2004. The two fabricated expiration dates of the products and labeled them as “Australian beef,” raking in 280 million won in revenue. The products sold out.

(source)

As frustrating as it was to watch the Mad Cow Madness incite violent protests that caused 3.75 trillion won of damage (about 3.75 million dollars, before the current economic turbulence), I have to say that what these guys did was wrong, and that they do deserve to be punished.

Edit/Update:

Via the Marmot’s Hole, we learn that South Korea is, once again, the third-largest market of U.S. beef.

Singer Shin Hae-chul praises North Korea’s launch

If I were to have a category called “Douche of the Week,” this guy might be the first candidate.

Shin congratulated the North, saying, “As a member of the same ethnic group, I congratulate the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on its successful launch of a rocket (I wouldn’t call it an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)) in line with its sovereignty and appropriate international laws.” He posted the statement on his official Web site (www.shinhaechul.com) Wednesday.

“I also hope the Republic of Korea will have nuclear and long distance missiles, as nuclear weapons are the most effective and only way to resist foreign powers,” he added.

(source)

What an idiot. Nuclear arms on the Korean peninsula might jolt Japan out of its over-60-year-old pacifist slumber. Japan has the best technology in the world, and could have nuclear missiles tomorrow if it wanted. It doesn’t because it feels safe.

I bet this guy is one of the 57% who don’t know when the Korean War broke out as well as one of the 51% who don’t know who started it. Like these students, he probably would have failed a test of his country’s own history. For example, does he know how many Korean soldiers and civilians were killed during the Korean War? The answer, which he surely doesn’t know (nor care about) is approximately 273,000 and two million, respectively. Being “of the same ethnic group” didn’t stop the North Koreans from killing scores of South Koreans with bombs, bullets, and bayonets.

Edit/Update:

I’ve decided to go ahead and make this ignoramus my inaugural Douche of the Week. Shin Hae-chul, do all of us a favor and go and live in North Korea, you washed-up old has-been/never-was. I’m sure that Kim Jong-il would love to have you, you ricetard.