Perfect Crime

An AP article is describing the sinking of the South Korean warship as the "perfect crime" by North Korea. Now, it doesn't come right out and say North Korea did it, but the headline and story certainly lead readers to believe that the North is having a party and taking credit for it.

The article says that it's the perfect crome for two big reasons. One is that the South probably can never prove it. The second reason is that even if it were proven, then the South can't afford to get into another war with the North. Of course, the Korean War is still on, but they just don't want to get into a fight.

This article has a lot of information, but it's all just jumbled together with no real central point. I can't imagine how hard it was for the editor to even come up with a headline for this.

Soccer and Politics: Never Far Apart

The Zimbabwe African People's Union is planning to protest the North Korean team in Africa because of something that happenen 30 years ago.

From the story:

'The Zimbabwe African People’s Union party said Thursday some in Zimbabwe’s western Matabeleland province have not forgiven North Korea for training troops who crushed an armed rebellion in the 1980s.

Tens of thousands of civilians in western Zimbabwe died during the five-year Matabeleland uprising.'

I certainly can understand people being upset about something like that, but there are two issues here. One is that this was 30 yeas ago.

More importantly, the North Korean players didn't ask to be born in one of the biggest toilets in the world. Protesting an athletic team isn't going to even make Kim Jong-il blink (if he's still capable of blinking). This seems like a waste of everyone's time and isn't fair to some athletes who just happen to be respresenting a terrible country.

Climbing Controversy Continues

I wrote in my last post that even though Oh reached the summit og her latest mountain, there was some controversy about whether she reached the peak of all the others.

A story today from ABC News casts a lot of doubt by offering some evidence that is clearly NOT in her favor. The evidence includes a picture taken from below the peak, two accompanying sherpas who won't support her and the Korean flag found some 200 feet below the tp of the mountain.

We'll see how this all goes. I was trying to offer a positive view about Koreans, which is something I rarely do on her. I mostly vent about frustrating things. I hope this works out for Oh, but I don't think there's a strong chance of that happening.

Oh Beats Number 14!

Big news today from the climbing world. Oh Eun-sun became the first woman to climb all 14 of the highest peaks in the world.

From the story:

'Oh Eun-sun, 44, arrived at the final, steep stretch of Annapurna in the Himalayas 13 hours after she left the last camp to beat a Spanish rival to the record. Her feat was broadcast live in South Korea by KBS television.

At the top, she pulled out a South Korean flag, waved, and then wept before throwing up her arms and shouting, "Victory!"

Officials said Annapurna was the last of the 14 peaks above 26,247 feet (8,000 meters) Oh needed to climb to set the mark. She reached the summit — 26,545 feet (8,091 meters) above sea level — 13 years after she scaled her first Himalayan mountain, Gasherbrum II, in 1997. She scaled Everest in 2004.'

The story goes on to say that Oh's rival questioned if she actually climbed all 14. Don't worry, jealous Spanish lady, I also don't trust Koreans. But this time she's backed up by an internationally recognized mountaineering organization.

Congratulations to Oh!

A Sad Note For Asian Pop Stars

The Onion is reporting that because of the economic downturn, Asian countries have been forced to lay off about 700,000 pop stars. This is devastating news for the "Korean Wave." Also, suicide watch!!!

The brief, as it appears in The Onion:

'SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA—In what is being called the worst development to hit the Asian pop star industry in years, the floundering economy forced several Pacific Rim nations to lay off some 700,000 pop stars this week, sources close to the young, perky entertainers reported. "Although we still have more than 2 million pop stars left working, this is a devastating blow," entertainment industry analyst Bak Jae-bok said. "Sadly, the space-age Korean teenybopper and Japanese cowboy sectors were hit the hardest, and may take many months to recover." Bak went on to say that several Asian entertainment corporations are now looking to outsource their red-haired, leather-jacket-wearing teenage boy workforce overseas.'

Classic World Cup Pics

Here's an entire sticker collection with pictures of the teams involved in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Check out those haircuts. Is it weird that Korean haircuts haven't changed at all??? Does that mean they're always in style? Or never???

Still Preparing For The G20

It's coming to Seoul/Incheon area this summer, and I HATE protestors.

But here's an intersting quote from the column:

'"As a country that is located between developed and developing countries and that suffered poverty and also remarkable economic growth in short period of time, South Korea appears to be a right nation to play such a mediating role," a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity. "We believe it has played the role quite well this time."'