Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

American held in North Korea is identified as kyopo

In a follow-up to this story, we get a report that North Korea has identified the American citizen they are holding.

From the New York Times:

North Korea said Thursday that it had arrested an American citizen, identified as Jun Young Su, in November for an unspecified crime against North Korea and was preparing to indict him, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. North Korea has informed American officials of the arrest, it said.

Earlier I was guessing the detainee, based on past incidents, was a kyopo religious zealot. So now that he's been confirmed to be a kyopo, the question is whether we can check off the religious zealot box.

I can't seem to find it in North Korea's English- or Korean-language news sources, but that may simply be because it hasn't hit their news cycle yet. I'm assuming, for the time being, that "Jun Youn Su" is 전영수. Dang, I hate the space-between-syllables way of writing out Korean names.

Anyway, the China Daily is reporting, through Xinhua, that Mr Jun has "admitted his crime":

The US citizen Jun Young Su detained in Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) recently admitted his crime against DPRK after entering it, the official news agency KCNA reported on Thursday.

Jun Young Su has admitted his crime in the course of investigation conducted by a relevant organ, according to KCNA.

The US side was informed of this through a relevant channel and necessary humanitarian conveniences including consular contact are being provided to him through the Swedish embassy here which looks after US interests, said the report.

The relevant organ is making arrangements to indict him according to the confirmation of the charges against him, the report added.

Jun Young Su was arrested in November 2010.

Reading comprehension question: Did you catch what his crime was? It seems this Xinhua release was penned by the same person at the National Museum of China who explained in detail all about the Cultural Revolution. I'm guessing the crime might be entering the DPRK itself (North Korea is a bit like Norteamérica that way).

The guy issuing a confession must mean Carter is already on his way.

1 comment:

AnonymousThursday, April 14, 2011 7:25:00 PM
Check that box!

http://www.kforcegov.com/NightWatch/NightWatch_11000080.aspx
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Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.