Putin's Legacy

Korean Air Lines Flight 007

Korean Air Lines Flight 902

Orange Caramel - Dashing Through the Snow on High Heels

* Kiss me, Kiss me

Before this winter passes

Love me, love me, as much as I love you

Hey you, can you hear me? What I’m saying?

I don’t want anything else

** When I see you, the bells ring in my heart

I think you will tell me today as well

Like in my dream last night

It’s cold but I wear pretty clothes

It’s snowing but I wear high heels

I want to walk all night with you tonight

Dashing through the snow

I search for you

This feeling of running to you

The cold wind feels so refreshing

You (you) are a bigger present than anything in this world

흰눈 사이로

Today, it feels like everything will go well

I muster up courage and the white snow falls as if to show

* Repeat

** Repeat

Today, it feels like my wishes will come true

I will get a little more excited

Just like this

* Repeat

** Repeat

This merry night (the moment I’ve been waiting for)

When it becomes silent (for all this time)

The things I’ve hidden, I want to tell you it all

Kiss me, Kiss me

A present that’s better than you?

I don’t know what that is

Will the day I’ve been waiting for be today?

Like in my dream last night?

Kiss me on my lips (ha)

Turn on all the lights today (right now)

Before the snow stops falling

You are clearly before my eyes

Here are the confessions, Listen up ma

You can be my boo and I can be your star (HA!)

God please answer my prayers, grant my wish

Girl I’ll always be your Mister,

Will you be my Miss?

Generations of Hate

My yard is bigger than some of these islets

Recent news events between Japan and China fighting over a few islets respectfully called Senkaku and Diaoyu that are barely above the ocean water surface has brought to my attention the continuing story that has been repeating itself over the course of human history. But it is curable.

With the islets in question that is causing the conflict between Japan and China is simply over the untapped oil reserves and fishing rights. The Smallest islet area mass is .037 miles. The largest islet has an area mass of 2.6 miles. Many others are barely above the water. The only life found there are Albatross birds and some goats left behind in 1978. All this hatred has over 5 small islets where an oil reserve was discovered in the late 1960’s.

But listening to the Chinese side is like listening to a call for war. People drag from their Japanese cars and beaten. Japanese factories as well as a Korean factory heavily damaged as Japanese people living in China fearing for their lives.

Chinese protest rallies throughout the world condemning Japanese people and government of stealing lands. Chinese entertainers like Jackie Chan supporting their native countries policies. Many of these Chinese entertainers are at risk of losing their entire fan base and jobs outside of China, if not already, by the comments they have made.

Being a sales vendor I get to meet other vendors and different companies who have really taken an interest in how the Chinese conduct their protest rallies.  A few companies have expressed interest in moving out of China if the Chinese organized protest “riots” continue to get out of hand. Just like when the United States Ambassador to China was in his car when Chinese protestors attacked him while chanting "down with the U.S. imperialists".

All this is due to not letting go of hate that has been passed down for years. Wars have been fought that continues the cycle of hate. In the case of Asia, many countries still look to Japan as the enemy nation that concurred their homeland, killed many people, raped their women and stolen everything of value. That was in the early 20^th century.

In the 19^th century, it was China that was doing all of these things as well. Forcing the Korean people to use their own resources to build an armada of ships to attack Japan. The Korean people were worked to death of starvation and harsh conditions under Chinese rule. Only to be conquered later by the Japanese people until the end of World War 2 and then face a Korean civil war afterwards that furthered the plight of the Korean people.

But there has been a change in the wind so to speak.

With the elder generations still chanting the same tune, many of the younger generations have been listening to a different one. Many musicians and actors have been surprised by the large fan base they have in other countries. One Korean actor, Bae Yong Joon was very surprised that many Japanese women loved him in the Korean drama “Winter Sonata”. Japanese singer Namie Amuro was and still is a huge hit with Koreans as well.

As many inroads are being made to reconnect these countries as allies has motivated others who want to rekindle past hatreds. With the situation now between Japan and China, many Chinese entertainers are risking their entire fan base not only in Japan but other countries as well by showing their support for China. Actress Li Bingbing “requested” that none of her images appear in connection with the movie Resident Evil: Retribution while it is shown in Japan.

The right to protest is a right of all people. The right to express their free will on issue’s that affects them the most. But with China’s history of human rights issues, are Li Bingbing and other Chinese entertainers’ comments that are being reported of their own free will or are they being forced to by government officials?

China is still a communist country that is operating a very successful commercial trade with many countries around the world. But never-the-less a country that still controls the military, media, banking system and one’s right to work and have a life in that country.

Speaking out against or failing to support one’s own country can and has been hazardous to Chinese citizens. Just ask 2010 Nobel Peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo who spent three years in a labor camp followed by an eleven year prison sentence for “spreading messages to subvert the country and authority”.

In time all of this will pass. In time all these countries will be one big happy family. I say this not out of wishful hope but from many examples of human history where enemies have forged bond of friendship after years of war. England and France, Germany and Europe, England and Scotland, Tom and Jerry, American Southerners and American Northerners are few examples of different people and countries have overcome their differences and hatred of one another.

The most famous and tragic story of overcoming hatred is the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites spending 40 years in the desert before entering their promised land. The Israelites wanted so badly to go back to their old lives as slaves to the Egyptians. Their resentment and hatred for Moses kept them in the desert for 40 years. Everyone who left Egypt, including Moses, never entered “the promised land”.  

All that hatred died out in the desert. Those who were born in the desert had no connection to that hatred. The only connection they had was to their faith, religion and the promise of a better life ahead. In time, as other countries have shown; Japan, China and Korea will be as a family much like the countries in Europe or U.S.A and Canada. In time the generation of hate will die out as new generations discover a better life instead. 

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE

A pop star whose song "Gangnam Style" became the first Korean hit to top Apple's music download charts has also worked his magic on his father's software firm, helping it double in value since singer and dancer Psy burst onto the global scene in July.

Psy's father, Park Won-ho, is the chairman and controlling shareholder of South Korean semiconductor company D I Corp and its market capitalisation has surged to 113.5 billion won (62.4 million pounds) on the main Seoul bourse, making it as of Tuesday the 459th most valuable stock measured by size.

Psy's "Gangnam Style", which mocks the rampant consumerism of a rich Seoul suburb, went viral on video-sharing website Youtube. The video has been viewed more than 267 million times on Youtube since it was released in mid-July.

"The positive sentiment from 'Gangnam Style' has attracted investors just because of the fact that the company is owned by Psy's father and uncle," said Lee Sun-tae, a researcher at NH Investment and Securities, who added Psy is not a shareholder in the company.

Results Of War

I wrote this rather quickly so please excuse the grammar errors.

The negative parts of war being death, dismemberment, loss of love ones and property is the most that everyone can agree with. Hollywood has promoted it, rap music glorified it as reporters use it as a stepping stone for their career. But the positive parts of war are often missed until enough time has passed to see the results of it.

As with the traditions of warfare in Europe and Asia, the victory takes everything as the loser becomes subject to a new ruler. As the Kingdom of Israel was conquered and absorbed into the Babylonian Empire. Even as the Roman Empire conquered other nations they set up puppet governments to handle the local subjects. Much like how Communist Russia controlled the bordering communist countries.

Many kingdoms have been absorbed into another country. China is one example of this as small kingdoms were combined into one nation through war. Even Great Britain and Japan are another examples of small kingdoms united into one Nation.

But that changed in the 20^th century as the major countries involved were powerless to stop it. Not even 170 years old as America changed the course of warfare and forgiveness in Europe and Asia. Long ago in Europe, England and France were always at war with each other for centuries. Each new ruler of these countries would plan out warfare that went on for over a hundred years. Or they would trade relatives off in marriage to ease tensions between one another.

In Asia, Japan and China/Mongolian would always rage war with each other. Majority of the time Korea would be caught in the middle of it. The last time China tried to evade Japan, they used Korean slave labor to build the Chinese sailing fleet using Korean natural resources. With the trade routes opened with America, Japan began to embrace Western technology. The main reason was to be better prepared for the next Chinese invasion.  

America was still young. So young in fact that a civil war broke out. Two different forms of thinking of leadership and respect of human life were played out as being declared the bloodiest war ever recorded in human history. The winner of this war decided the course of thinking and lifestyle of America. The Northern side won leading to a huge expansion as a nation and people. The country grew even larger as the Industrial Revolution fully embraced the nation in creating a huge economic boost.

The 20^th Century

At the beginning of the 20^th century two nations continued the age old quest of warfare. Germany and Japan. Germany basically tricked two other countries into the 1^st world war just to claim land and resources for their own. Japan, having learned Western warfare tactics, began subjugating weaker countries like Korea to build up Japans military forces. Eventually both nations joined together to combine their strengths and intelligence.

The lessons learned from battles between England and Germany help Japan prepare for their 1^st battle with America at Pearl Harbor. This battle took America truly by surprise as years before Japan gave America many Cherry Blossom trees that were planted throughout Washington DC. A thriving trade route between both nations leading many politicians, military officials and people well educated to considered Japan an ally of America.

Japan’s military leaders were trained and well prepared. They planned their battle with America as they have with other wars in the past. A hit and run attack thinking America would be too afraid to counter it or attack back at them. But the ruling Japanese leaders didn’t count of two things. One, they could have been half way to the Mississippi River before the U.S. government could counter an attack. American was an agrarian nation transitioning to an industrial production nation.  American didn’t have a strong military force nor wanted one.

Second, America became extremely pissed. Japan was viewed as a friendly nation to America. Doing what has been called a cheap shot, a hit and run tactic. An act of vandalism looked upon as a sick joke. At least when Germany attacked America they stayed around. Honor in wartime is important and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was viewed as dishonorable.

America was at war. An unproven nation of cocky people experiencing war, outside of their borders. England had to help the American forces at first. But as time went on the American military grew up very quickly. To the point the United States were leading other nations. In providing soldiers, money, mass production of food, weapons and war supplies while housing prisoners of war. And as the war in Europe and Asia both came to an end America stood as a super power nation.

Civil War  

With the victor goes the spoil. Unlike many other nations in history past, America didn’t do what was expected to happened Germany and Japan. Germany was broken into four different sections with each section controlled by America, England, France and Russia. America made it clear that Germany would stay as one country as it was being rebuilt. Only Russia refused and kept control of their section of Germany. Their rule over what became known as East Germany ended when the Berlin Wall came down in 1990.

Japan was to have a similar fate as well. China was to get Hokkaido. Korea was to get everything from Kyushu to the Okinawan Islands as America acquired the middle section of what was left of Japan. General MacArthur went against having a trial for war crimes on the Emperor of Japan and his family and instead used the Emperor to rebuild Japan into a nation that would never repeat those crimes again. The Emperor went along with this not only for the future of a better Japan but because the Japanese military were months, if not days, from transitioning over to a communist form of leadership with plans to kill the Japanese Royal family.

The reason America went this way towards two nation that were killing millions of people, conquering so many weaker nations was due to the lessons America learned from the Civil War. A time that the American people were killing fellow Americans, neighbor’s even family members for what they believed was right for the nation. Americans on both sides of the Civil War were very religious. The Southerners that lost the war were told by General Grant to go home and care for their families. Even allowing them to take their weapons with them. And when President Lincoln was killed, many Southerners who considered him an enemy mourned his death as a great tragedy to the nation. The Christian values that were very strong then were still present after World War Two.  

America still looked towards these two nations as friends. Making sure that each nation could stand on their own, even improving their way of life. Japanese girls could finally go to school for the first time. America sent plane after plane into Berlin during the Berlin Blockade making sure the people there were well supplied with food and other provisions.

Even during the Korean War after the cease fire was proclaimed, America stayed and helped to rebuild the Korean society. After years of Chinese and Japanese occupation the American Government could have easily taken over the southern part of Korea as a military position towards communist China and Russia but they didn’t. They gave everything they could to help the Koreans to stand back on their feet stronger than ever.

These three nations; Germany, Japan and Korea became Superpower Nations. Leading the whole world with new technologies that we take for granted now. Cars, electronic gadgets, medicines; the list is a mile long. But they would never be able to achieve any of this without the support and love of a nation that went against the established norms. America viewed the people of these countries as equals.

If England and France had their say, Germany would be nonexistent with Great Britain having lands bordering France. The Japanese language would be a dead language as the people there would all be speaking Chinese now. As well as Korea would be a lost nation where China rules completely there now. That is the established norm of warfare when the victor goes the spoils.

Unlike World War 1 &2 and the Korean War, Vietnam was a political war controlled by Congressional politicians to abandon it later by taking away all the money going to the war.  Leaving nothing to save the missing and dead servicemen still held prisoner there.

The Gulf War was simply liberating a country that was taken over by its neighbor. The Afghan and Iraq War is still being fought out even though it’s officially over but America is doing what it has done so in the past; rebuilding those countries so they can stand on their own. Even against the wishes of those like the Taliban that want to continue to dominate and oppress the people there.

What came out of these nations so far has spread to other countries in that region. People now have a voice and a vote in their political process. Countries like Egypt, Libya and Syria are fighting against their oppressed government to have the freedoms that they never had before.

In all these wars people have died and sacrificed a lot. But where America was able to truly do what it has done so in the past has created new Nations stronger and better than ever before. Mistakes were made as that is part of being human. But never giving up until the job is done is what America has done best. In time if that influence was to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan like it had in Germany, Japan and Korea then in years’ time these two nations could be the next super power nations of the world with a government, religion and lifestyle of their own choosing. 

After School - Fan Made intro

I made this in my spare time.

After School Diva PV + new Tap Dance Routine

Boryeong Mud Festival 2011

The Boryeong Mud Festival is an annual festival which takes place during the summer in Boryeong, a town around 200 km south of Seoul, South Korea. The first Mud Festival was staged in 1998 and by now the festival attracts over 3 million visitors to Boryeong.

The mud is taken from the Boryeong mud flats, and trucked to the Daecheon beach area, where it is used as the centerpiece of the 'Mud Experience Land'. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics. The festival was originally conceived as a marketing vehicle for Boryeong mud cosmetics.

Although the festival takes place over a period of around two weeks, it is most famous for its final weekend, which is popular with Korea's western population. The final weekend of the festival usually falls on the second weekend in July.

In 1996 a range of cosmetics was produced using mud from the Boryeong mud flats. The cosmetics were said to be full of minerals, bentonites, and germaniums, all of which occur naturally in the mud from the area.

In order to promote these cosmetics, the Boryeong Mud Festival was conceived. Through this festival, it was hoped people would learn more about the mud and the cosmetics. The festival has become popular with Koreans and western tourists, as well as American Military personnel stationed in the country, and foreign English teachers working in Korea.

For the period of the festival several large attractions are erected in the seafront area of Daecheon. These include a mud pool, mud slides, mud prison and mud skiing competitions. Colored mud is also produced for body painting. A large stage is erected on the beach, which is used for live music, competitions and various other visual attractions.

A small market runs along the seafront selling cosmetics made using the mud from Boryeong. Various health and beauty clinics offer massages, acupuncture and other treatments utilizing the medicinal qualities of the mud.

The festival closes with a large firework display.

After School - Diva [Japanese ver.]

AFTER SCHOOL - DIVA ( JAPANESE VER. ) Teaser

Unified Korea 2012

A couple of days ago I chatted with a few friends from Korea who informed me of a few things taking place in Korea. Behind the scenes sort of thing. Normally if someone else had told me this I would have seriously doubted them but seeing as the type of job position they hold and the people they meet everyday, I knew it to be true.

Sometime in 2012, a date is yet to be set, the proverbial wall that separates North and South Korea will be torn down. The Korean War that has not officially ended since it began in 1950 will finally come to an end allowing governments on either sides to officially begin working together to unite the country.

Much the same way that happened in Berlin, Germany in 1989. Once the wall came down, both governments began to reunify the country. And events are in preparation to take place in Korea for 2012.

After School- Bang! at MTV ZUSHI FES (Live)

After School - BANG! (Extended Japanese Version)

After School "BANG!" Japanese teaser

http://www.after--school.jp/top.html

Over 50,000 people attempted to purchase the tickets for their Japanese performance at Akasaka BLITZ, but with a 3,000 ticket capacity (for two stages), all of the tickets were sold out in one minute! After School has collaborated with Amuro Namie for her collaboration album, “Checkmate!” and have even sang at ‘Tokyo Girls Collection by girlswalker.com 2011 SUMMER/SPRING’ despite not having made their debut in Japan yet.

The group will make their debut with their new single, “Bang!”, which is set for release on August 17th. Their debut single is a Japanese remake of their song that is already popular in Korea. With Japanese promotions nearing, Avex has just released a teaser for After School's debut Japanese single, "Bang!".

The one-minute long teaser starts with individual shots of the members in both new and familiar outfits. Throughout the teaser, dance and individual shots can be seen, as well as scenes showing off the girls' drum skills. The first verse and first chorus of the song are also previewed. The Japanese version has a different arrangement compared to the earlier-released Korean version, giving this version a newer, fresher sound.


Click here for complete Japanese version

After School

After School is a South Korean girl group under the label of Pledis Entertainment. The group had their first performance alongside label mate Son Dam Bi in 2008 and their official debut occurred on January 2009 with the song "AH!". The group became popular with the release of their hit single, "Because of You", which attained #1 and a triple crown on SBS's Inkigayo. After School went on to win various awards at the Billboard Japan Music Awards and the Seoul Music Awards. Recently they kicked off their Japanese activities by collaborating with Japanese singer Namie Amuro; featuring in the song 'Make It Happen' for her collaboration album.

Namie Amuro - Make It Happen (feat. After School) (2011)

Second Home in the Country

Located in Gyeonggi-do province in Korea around the 38 degree latitude along the Cheongpyeong river is a place I use to stay at for a while. I always had many opportunities to witness military equipment and personnel patrolling the area as they defend and protect the border from attacks.

My Sassy Girl

I just finished watching a Korean movie called 'My Sassy Girl'. It was actually based on a true story which makes it even more enjoyable. Especially with the happy tear jerker ending.

Korean Adventure

So there I was minding my own business when I encountered a sight like no other. I was in a grocery store around Apex, NC on a Friday before Labor Day. As many people were preparing to leave for the beach or mountain theme park s the day was going by rather peacefully. As I was finishing up for the day I noticed this Korean lady doing some grocery shopping. I knew she was Korean because of her cell phone conversation plus the fact, contrary to stereo types; Koreans have a certain aura about them that is different from other Asian people. It’s hard to explain so let’s move on with the story shall we?

As she ended her phone conversation she continued her shopping while dressed in a most beautiful dress outfit. It looked similar to a spring time dress with lots of flower designs imprinted on it and a long slit going up the side of the dress. She looked somewhere in her late 30’s, early 40’s with a slender built, average chest size with long clean shaven legs and other body parts going with her 5.5 foot height built. With her long hair going well pass the waist line and wearing two inch high heel shoes. I was only able to get a quick glance at her before she had to leave the store to change her clothes.

It seems that while she was doing her shopping she didn’t take into account the dress of hers kind of lifted itself up a bit more than she knew whenever she squatted down to look at an item. It was evident later on that she was going commando or to be more precise, no underwear. But being the gentleman that I am I continued to carry on with my job until I became involved in helping her in a small crisis she was having by now.

She had bent down to pick up a rather large item and while trying to mange it and safely place it into her shopping cart, her dress became entrapped with the item. So as she was able to get the item in her shopping cart, so did she also get part of her dress in it as well. She quietly called out to me for assistance as I quickly came to her aid especially since she was standing naked from the waist down while her torn dress was lying under a very heavy grocery item. Lifting the item she retrieved she dress and tried to see how badly her dress was ripped.

As she asked for my advice, it became apparent that her dress was seriously ripped. I also noticed her private area very clearly from front and back as we tried to adjust her dress so she could leave the store with some dignity. Before she left she did apologize for creating a scene given that if someone had come around to the grocery isle we were on, it would look like I was sexually attacking her or that she was nudist exhibitionists. But as luck would have it for the both of us, the store was particularly slow seeing as many people had already or were getting ready to leave for the holiday weekend.

She left the store with no one noticing her ripped dress being held by one hand while the other hand keep it from opening up from the side and giving everyone a view to remember. About 30 minutes later I was heading home for the day. And about an hour and ½ later after making it through holiday traffic I made it home. I was so tired of working many deliveries and stocking up many stores that I had a quick dinner and went to bed that night. I drifted off to sleep remembering my Korean sightseeing adventure.

Going by the Book (2007) Movie Review

here for article

With Korean crime and detective dramas of late having been a fairly straight-faced and generic bunch, rarely diverting too far from the given formula, the determinedly off beat “Going by the Book” comes as a breath of fresh air. Directed by first time helmer Ra Hee Chan and written by award winning scribe Jang Jin, who was responsible for the 2005 hit “Welcome to Dongmakgol”, the film cleverly subverts the conventions of the form by turning the traditional bank heist premise on its head, whilst at the same time managing to work in elements of satire and social criticism.

Set in the small Korean town of Sampo, whose citizens are apparently all quite well off, meaning that there are plenty of banks just begging to be robbed, the film begins as the new police chief (played by Son Byung Ho, also in “Running Wild” and “Vampire Cop Ricky”) decides that the best response to a recent crime wave is to instigate a new and radical training method. This odd scheme revolves around a mass role-playing exercise, in which some policemen are given the task of pretending to be criminals. Unfortunately for the chief, his fine plans blow up in his face after a particularly anal and rule abiding officer called Jung Do Man (Jung Jae Young, “Welcome to Dongmakgol”), who had recently been demoted from detective to traffic warden, takes things a little too far, turning a fake bank raid into a hostage crisis which threatens to humiliate the law on a national level.

“Going by the Book” certainly has an interesting and refreshingly original concept, which director Ra makes the most of, though a fair amount of the credit goes to writer Jang, whose script is creative and witty throughout. Despite the fact that the plot basically does play out along the given lines of the genre, from the bank robbery gradually turning sour and the police laying siege to the building, right through to the inevitable twists and turns of the final act bus escape, the film amusingly subverts and deconstructs virtually every cliché and motif of the form. Although there is a dash of the expected slapstick, for the most part the humour is of a far more subtle kind, with Jang bringing out and ridiculing the underlying social conventions and moral hypocrisy inherent in the situation. The main conceit tackled here is the way in which the innocent and those who follow the rules of society are often punished, and the film takes this to a farcically literal extreme, making for plenty of dryly ironic laughs.

Although the bank robbery and the hostage crisis are obviously fake, a situation from which the film similarly manages to wring plenty of wry humour, Ra is still able to achieve a fair amount of tension, not so much as to whether or not anyone is likely to die or go down in a hail of bullets (something which is established early on in suitably droll fashion, bravely deflecting viewer expectations) but as to just how far the game of cat and mouse is going to go. The fact that the entertainingly stoic Jung Do Man is simply doing as he is told adds a definite satirical edge to the proceedings, and there is a certain sense of growing injustice which works well in the context.

Jung Jae Young does a good job in the role, managing bring a vital touch of sympathetic humanity to a character who could easily have remained little more than a distant cipher. As a result, the viewer is gradually drawn into the plot, and the film works well both as an intellectual exercise and as athriller in its own right. This in itself is a very difficult balancing act, and the film is one of the few that manages to pull it off effectively and, more importantly, without sacrificing enjoyment value.

“Going by the Book” isn’t quite flawless, with Ra overplaying his hand somewhat at times, and repeating a few of the gags a little too often, though these are minor complaints and do not prevent the film from being a genuine success. Quietly gripping and thought provoking, whilst packing in plenty of laughs and excitement, the film proves that the cinematic form is perfectly capable of being both entertaining and challenging at the same time.

Before we say 'I Do'

We found a picture of us the day before we were blessed together in marriage on August 25, 1995 in Korea. An American Southern Redneck and an Okinawan Redneck who met, got married and fell in love. Yes, in that order.

And before you ask if we were in the North or South part of Korea, we learned that to Koreans, there is only one Korea. Just part of it is under different management.