Tag: New Year’s

ROK Drop’s Top 10 Most Read Articles of 2018

| January 2, 2019

With the completion of the 14th year of ROK Drop, here are the most read articles from 2018:

Top 10 Articles Published in 2018

  1. South Korean Defense Ministry Wants to Demolish the Dragon Hill Lodge: The future of the Dragon Hill Lodge on Yongsan Garrison was a top topic of discussion this year on the ROK Drop.
  2. KBS Show Criticized for Using Biracial Children for “Lookism”: KBS received criticism for highlighting the looks of biracial children on a popular television show.
  3. USFK Releases Revised 2018 Yongsan Garrison to Camp Humphreys Bus Schedule: People looking for the 2018 USFK bus schedule found the ROK Drop to be a good place to get this information.
  4. American Family Driving to Graduation Ceremony Involved In Deadly Accident Outside of Yongsan Garrison: Outside of Yongsan Garrison this year a tragic traffic accident happened.
  5. ROK Presidential Advisor Speculates that President Moon May Ask US Forces to Leave Korea: President Moon’s aide and trial balloon expert, Moon Jung-in threw out a trial balloon this year about requesting the withdrawal of USFK.
  6. Former 8th Army Commander Lieutenant General Thomas Vandal Passes Away from Cancer: It was sad new this past October when former 8th Army commander Lieutenant General Vandal passed away.
  7. Moon Administration’s $315 Million Railroad Upgrade in North Korea Blocked By the United Nations Command: The possibility of the ROK government violating sanctions to fund major infrastructure improvements in North Korea has been hot topics this year.
  8. 51st Mission Support Group Commander Relieved at Osan Airbase: A support group commander was removed at Osan Airbase for an odd reason.
  9. Will Gunsan Become the Detroit of South Korea?: The closure of a GM plant in Gunsan has people speculating that Gunsan will become hollowed out like Detroit.
  10. THAAD Site in South Korea Continues to Be Blockaded While ROK Government Does Nothing to Stop It: Throughout 2018 the THAAD site in Seongju has continued to be blockaded by protesters.

Top 10 Articles Viewed Overall in 2018

  1. Korean Teacher Receives Six Year Jail Sentence for Sexual Harassment of Student
  2. South Korean Defense Ministry Wants to Demolish the Dragon Hill Lodge
  3. KBS Show Criticized for Using Biracial Children for “Lookism”
  4. Air Force Personnel Records Show that Alicia Watkins Lied About Her Background
  5. South Korea to “Toughen” Sex Crime Penalties
  6. USFK Releases Revised 2018 Yongsan Garrison to Camp Humphreys Bus Schedule
  7. North Korea Once Offered to Sell Nancy Pelosi Ballistic Missiles
  8. Picture of the Day: The Dictator’s Sister, Kim Yo-jong
  9. A Profile of the Bosan-dong Ville In Dongducheon, Korea
  10. GI Flashbacks: The 1992 Private Kenneth Markle Murder Case

Kim Jong-un Releases New Year Message Where He Says He Wants Sanctions Dropped for Little to Nothing in Return

| January 2, 2019

Just more of the same from the Kim regime:

This photo, captured from North Korean state TV, shows leader Kim Jong-un delivering a New Year’s address on Jan. 1, 2019. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday he is firmly committed to denuclearization and ready to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at any time, but warned he could seek an alternative course if the U.S. misjudges his patience and sticks to sanctions.
Kim made the remarks during his New Year’s speech broadcast by the country’s state television, also urging the U.S. to take corresponding measures in exchange for denuclearization steps the communist nation has taken so far.
Kim also said he is willing to reopen the now shuttered inter-Korean industrial park in the North’s border city of Kaesong and resume a suspended tour program to Mount Kumgang on the North’s east coast “without any preconditions.”
That could suggest Kim wants the resumption of the two projects as sanctions relief from the U.S.
“I am always ready to sit down again with the U.S. president at any time and will make efforts to produce an outcome that the international community would welcome,” Kim said. 
“(But) we could be left with no choice but to seek a new way if the U.S. does not make good on its promises, misjudges our patience, while seeking to force things unilaterally and clinging to sanctions and pressure,” he said. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime is hoping they can get the second meeting with President Trump where Kim Jong-un can convince him to drop the sanctions on the Kaesong Industrial Park and the Mt. Kumgang Resort for superficial and easily reversible concessions that we have seen before.

Dropping of sanctions would allow a surge of investment in North Korea that will line the pockets of the Kim regime that they can then use to further develop their nuclear and other weapons programs. The only real concessions from North Korea that I believe would warrant dropping of any sanctions is when they release a complete list of their nuclear sites, allow inspections, and begin shipping nuclear material out of the country. I have seen no indications the Kim regime is even considering this.

We will see what happens this year.

Anti-Park Protesters to Hold Rally In Seoul This New Year’s Eve

| December 31, 2016

For anyone thinking of ringing in the New Year in downtown Seoul just be warned that there will be a huge crowd of protesters to contend with.  If you are in the US military I highly recommend keeping away from these protest activities:

The last anti-Park Geun-hye rally of the year will be held today, overlapping with New Year’s Eve celebrations, according to rally organizers.

“We expect to break through the 10 million people mark in the accumulated number of protesters in the 10th weekly rally on Saturday,” said a spokesman for rally organizers, which are comprised of some 1,500 civic groups. “The rally will seek to not only send the old year out, but send Park out as well, and let the new year in.”

According to rally organizers, some 8.9 million have gathered throughout the country in the weekly rallies from Oct. 29, the first.

A New Year’s Eve concert for protesters is planned from 8 p.m., with singers including Jeon In-kwon and Shin Dae-chul. Shin is the son of popular Korean singer Shin Joong-hyun, called the godfather of Korean rock ‘n’ roll. Shin took issue with the fact that his father’s song “Beautiful Rivers and Mountains” was often sung by Park’s supporters in rallies.

“These Park supporters have no right to sing [my father’s] song,” Shin posted on Facebook this month. “The anti-Park rally organizers had better recruit me. I will sing it right for them all.”

President Park, impeached by the National Assembly earlier this month, faces the judgment of the Constitutional Court over a corruption and abuse of power scandal.

The candlelight vigils are held to urge Park to quit even before the verdict by the court. Protesters have said they will rally until Park is completely removed from office.

After the performances, protesters will march toward the Blue House, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Constitutional Court. Marching toward a point some 100 meters (328 feet) from the Blue House will be permitted from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to the Seoul Administrative Court.

Marching to some 100 meters from the Prime Minister’s Office, and some 200 meters from the Constitutional Court will be allowed until 10:30 p.m.

Protesters will likely join the crowd in front of the Bosingak Belfry in Jongno District to celebrate the bell-ringing ceremony at midnight.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]