Idiocy Proven

North Korean officials confirmed Tuesday that they had detained an American citizen who crossed over illegally from China. They didn't give his identification, but I think it's safe to say that Robert Park is currently a North Korean prisoner.

From the story:

'Before leaving Seoul for China on Wednesday to enter North Korea, Mr. Park said he wanted to be arrested to help bring international attention to the North Koreans’ suffering, South Korean activists said. He said he did not want to be released until the North shut down its prison camps, they said.'

Let's hope he said goodbye to his family, because he won't be seeing them for a long time.

This Guy is a Maniac

Robert Park: Loves God and is insane. The two are not related.

A Korean-American crossed the North Korean border Friday saying, "I come here as an American citizen to proclaim God's love."

Faith is important, But Kim Jong-il won't care what you're proclaiming as you're rotting in a political prison.

Robert Park, we hardly knew ye.

Check the story here.

Dokdo -- Now 50% More Annoying!

Recent articles and editorials are stating the case that Japanese officials are once again claiming Takeshima (Dokdo to Koreans) as their territory. And a big pile of worthless rocks being taken from Koreans simply doesn't sit well with them.

The only problem with the huffing and puffing in this article, is that it cites a source that DOES NOT claim Dokdo directly. But Koreans clearly are reading into the inference and getting very angry.

From the story:

'Japan's Education Ministry did not directly mention Dokdo in the guidebook, allegedly taking into account Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's bid to improve relations with South Korea and other Asian neighbors. But the manual reads: ``The territorial issues should be dealt with on the basis of reasoned arguments rightfully advanced by the (Japanese) government and aim to deepen understanding about the issues." The sentence seems to imply that the territorial issues include Dokdo.'

It says that the sentence "seems to imply that the territorial issues include Dokdo." HaHaHaHaHa. Now, I haven't read the entire guidebook, but the editorial admits that Dokdo is never actually mentioned.

Recently, the prime minister even apologized for Japan's occupation-time atrocities so they can improve relations with Korea.

I know Japanese officials have loved rubbing Takeshima/Dokdo in Korea's face for years now, but I'm not so sure they are implying Dokdo in this guidebook. I'm fairly sure (without the desire to research it) that Japan has other disputed territories as well.

Please, Koreans, you're just making yourself look bad. It's time to move on.

Haha ... Cougars

This is an article about the recent trend for older chicks to date younger dudes here. The problem is that it is very difficult to do in Korea.

In fact, it's very difficult for couples of the same age to date. I got to hear about it from one of my Korean friends. The reason is mandatory military service.

Guys generally choose to join the military service right after high school or after their first year or two of college. So as girls are graduating and getting jobs, guys the same age still have a couple more years in university.

The girl working and the guy taking classes? Let's just say that it is a nearly impossible combination here. Sorry, Smith. You'll find someone better, anyway.

South Korean Striker May Get Another Shot

Striker Ahn Jung-hwan, a hero for South Korea in 2002, and midfielder Lee Chun-soo, who was instrumental in 2006, may get another shot at the national team.

Ahn Jung-hwan

Neither man has been included in the country's national squad in recent years, but South Korea's depth is in question before the tournament, and a shot of some old leadership could prove beneficial.

Smugglers Get Sophisticated

While there's still no word on who sent or was supposed to receive the 35 tons of North Korean weapons that were intercepted last month in Thailand, authorities are starting to provide some answers at the complexities required by the smugglers in order to make the whole situation work.

Check the full story here.

Multiple fake companies and addresses from various countries were used, probably to make the shipping as confusing as possible to authorities. Haha.

The crew still claims to know nothing, and I still believe that would've been in their best interest. I don't know that much about shipping. Obviously, most crews can probably guess what they're carrying if they've been doing it long enough, but how many really know?

From the story:

'"We were to fly to Ukraine," the pilot, Ilyas Isakov of Kazakhstan, told Russian news agencies ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti in response to written questions. "I don't know what the cargo owners intended to do next, but we were hired to fly it to Kiev's Borispil airport."

He said the crew was hired by a Ukrainian air freighter called Aviatek to pick up 35.8 tons of cargo in Pyongyang, North Korea — which included 25 tons of oil-drilling equipment and other cargo in sealed wooden boxes. He said the flight path included refueling stops in Bangkok and Sri Lanka.'

I get that I'm naive and still trying to believe that people are sincere, but honestly, how would they know what is in these sealed wooden boxes???

What do you think? Is this crew just trying to scam everyone? Or are they just a bunch of dummies who should've been more aware of who they were working for?

Busan Blast 2009

Busan Blast 2009 group

Well it was quite a weekend in South Korea.

I went to my dance class Thursday and rocked salsa hard. I then went back to Touchdown to meet up with Tim, Colin, Dan and their girlfriends. I have a lot of good memories with those guys, as they were the ones who really introduced me to Korea last year. It was great to all spend a couple hours in the same place again.

On Friday, Barry, Josh and Geoff came to my place around 12:30 p.m., and we headed to Seoul Station to start our Busan trip. At Seoul Station, we grabbed some lunch and last-minute supplies, and we boarded the 3:10 p.m. KTX train toward Busan.

On the way, we decided to so something special and all buy ties to wear on the trip. Make sure you look for them in the pics!

Barry very generously provided us some Johnny Walker for the ride down. We had a great 4-person area that we could face each other and chat the whole time. Unfortunately, old-fashioned racism may have come into play.

On the train

We were being very polite, and mostly studying Korean the whole way down. But twice, stewards came to ask us to be quieter. They said nothing to the two little kids who were SCREAMING their faces off, and nothing to the group of Koreans next to us who were cheering loudly as they played a game.

We certainly weren't the loudest on that train, just the least Korean. Either way, the ride was fun and went smoothly.

We arrived in Busan around 7 p.m. and hopped in a cab toward the Haeundae beach area. Thanks to Johnny C., we had a good list of places to check out. We first got dinner at a place called FN Taco. The tacos were great and the drinks were cheap.

Hanging on the beach

After a couple hours there, we decided to grab some makkoli and hit the beach for an hour or so.

Following the beach excursion, we headed to a bar called Rock 'n Roll, where the owner was a very generous lady. She gave us some free drinks and wasn't shy about chatting with us. It was a nice time. Josh and I even smoked some GIs in beer pong.

After that, we briefly went to a club. I mean briefly because I left after maybe 10 minutes. It wasn't my scene, and I'm a bit bummed that I paid to get in without really realizing where we were going.

We then decided to try to call it a night and find a place to sleep. A lot of places were full, but we found one place with rooms. The lady was overcharging for sure because of Christmas, but I talked her down to 40,000 won. She then showed us the room, which wouldn't have been worth staying in if she paid us.

So we decided to just head back to Busan Station. We got there at 5:20 a.m., and realized a KTX was leaving for Seoul at 5:30 a.m. So I pulled out my Korean and got our tickets changed for that train. We then hopped on it, all chose our own sleeping seat and dozed on the way home.

I slept all day Saturday, and then met Hye Yun for a drink in InHa at Go Bar on Saturday night. I then joined Barry and Josh, as they came in with a few friends.

It was nice to check out the south side of the country, and I'm happy to have ridden the KTX. The only issue I have is that we essentially did very little different than we would have done on any normal night. That was the basic plan, though, and I had a good time regardless.

So check out the pics and let me know what you think!