afellowkid

(Note that Hankyoreh is a liberal paper with a generally center-left view)

After being rushed to a hospital on Monday due to his deteriorating health, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has decided to continue his hunger strike from his hospital bed.

Lee has already been fasting for 19 days to demand that the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol completely overhaul its administration of state affairs.

Since being admitted to the hospital, Lee is reportedly out of the woods, but has not yet regained his strength. Despite this, Lee has refused to take any food or drink other than fluids administered by a drip.

The most prominent Korean politician to continue a hunger strike in the hospital is former President Kim Young-sam. Kim began fasting in 1983 to protest the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan after Chun banned Kim from participating in political activities and placed him under house arrest.

Kim demanded five measures for democratization, including the release of detainees and the reinstatement of fired professors and workers. On the eighth day of his hunger strike, the government forcibly hospitalized Kim in a special room at Seoul National University Hospital, but Kim continued his hunger strike for a total of 23 days while being treated with an intravenous line.

Kim’s house arrest was eventually lifted, and his hunger strike was an important catalyst in bringing about reforms to Korea’s Constitution that instituted a direct democratic system.

Former President Kim Dae-jung was also sent to Severance Hospital for dehydration on the eighth day of his hunger strike in 1990, when he was leader of the New United Democratic Party, but continued his strike from the hospital. Kim was on strike for the full implementation of local self-government, and he broke his fast on the 13th day only after receiving a promise from the government and ruling party that his demands would be implemented.

The hunger strikes by the two former presidents, widely considered “eternal rivals,” were well-received by the public and are credited as achieving meaningful results.

From the video description:

Ganggangsullae [강강술래] is a seasonal harvest and fertility ritual popular in the south-western part of the Republic of Korea, performed primarily on Korea’s Thanksgiving [Chuseok] in the eighth lunar month. Under a bright full moon, dozens of young, unmarried village women gather in a circle, join hands and sing and dance all night under the direction of a lead singer. During interludes, the women playfully mime vignettes reflecting life in a farm or fishing village, including treading on roof tiles, unrolling a mat, catching a mouse or tying herrings. The dance takes its name from the refrain repeated after each verse, although the exact meaning of the word is unknown. Once a rare break from restrictive rules governing the behaviour of rural young women who were not allowed to sing aloud or go out at night, except during the Chuseok Thanksgiving celebration, the ritual is mostly preserved today by middle-aged women in cities and taught as part of the music curriculum of elementary schools. Now practised as a performing art throughout Korea, it can be seen as a representative Korean folk art. It is an important hereditary custom drawn from the rice culture that pervaded daily life in the countryside. The easy tunes and movements can be learned quickly for this communal practice that contributes to harmony, equality and friendship among the women dancers.

These articles are in Korean. I'm just going to share small portions of them (mainly the inaugural declaration) with machine translation + my slight editing. Please let me know if you spot translation errors. Additional links added to text by me for additional context.

July 17, 2023: Inaugural declaration of the People's Sovereignty Party (tentative name)

Let us impeach Yoon Seok-yeol with the power of a sovereign and open a new world

Towards ordinary people becoming the masters of politics

Today we are founding the People's Sovereignty Party for the direct politics of the sovereign people who realize the people's sovereignty. The People's Sovereignty Party will create a political party run by ordinary workers, farmers, self-employed people, small business owners, part-time workers, youth, and students through direct democracy in order to promote the sovereign people as the leading figures in politics.

People's Sovereign Democracy and Humanitarianism (홍익인간) (t/n: "홍익인간" "To broadly benefit the human world"; "Humanistic ideology, altruistic ethics, and worldly thinking"):

A country where the people are the masters and where the people live happily and prosperously is the aspiration of all of us.

Donghak revolutionaries who fought with the idea that people are heaven, ancestors who escaped Japanese colonial rule and fought for independence, people who dreamed of democracy and fought against military dictatorship, and people who held candles to correct injustice and create a proper country. The flow of history toward a new society continues today. What our people all unanimously desire is a people-sovereign democratic society where the people are truly the masters, and a humanitarian community society where everyone works for everyone.

There were people who claimed to be an alternative force and tried to create a new political party, but in the end [...] they disappointed the people time and time again.

Direct democratic politics led by the people is the most obvious alternative and the path to political reform.

The reason that established political forces are unable to push through reform to the end is partly because they prioritize their own vested interests and security, but also because they do not believe in the power of the people. Because they do not believe in the power of the people as sovereign, they become pro-Japanese, become flunkeys dependent on powerful countries, defect during the democratization movement, and become helpless politicians.

The People's Sovereignty Party will thoroughly realize the people's sovereignty and create a humanitarian community. We will liquidate pro-Japanese forces and conservative vested interests and thoroughly complete democratic reforms, including prosecution reform, media reform, and abolition of the National Security Act. We will also overcome extreme inequality and neoliberalism, and create a democratic community.

In an era of global crisis and extreme confrontation, we will boldly pursue independent diplomacy to protect the dignity of the people and national interests. We will engage in truly patriotic politics that will open the path to new hope and prosperity through peaceful unification that will end the era of division that has bound us. Additionally, as a member of the world, we will contribute to overcoming the climate crisis and creating a peaceful and democratic international order.

The People's Sovereignty Party will strengthen its members' meetings in every way possible, both online and offline, to make our party a party that studies, a party that discusses, a party that takes action, and a community that does good things, thereby creating a party that constantly innovates and develops.

August 17, 2023: The direction and founding plan of the People’s Sovereignty Party (tentative name)

[The party's proposed name] expresses the basic spirit that the people are the masters of the country and the masters of power. The official name of the party will be decided through all-party discussion at the founding committee stage.

Breaking away from the four major diplomacy centered on the United States and Japan, diversification of diplomacy in line with the multipolar era

Humanitarianism (홍익인간): ‘All for all’ (모든 사람이 모든 사람을 위하여). Humanitarianism, the spirit of our people, is an ideology that values ​​humanity and community. Throughout its long history, it has been passed down as the root of our nation's democratic spirit, penetrating throughout history, including Silhak, the Donghak Revolution (Innaecheon) (t/n: 인내천 (人 乃 天) "The people are heaven"), and the history of the independence movement. It is a mental asset that must be paid attention to in order to overcome today's extreme individual egoism and the law of the jungle society.

Succession and faithful implementation of inter-Korean agreements such as the 7.4 Joint Statement, 6.15 Joint Declaration, 10.4 Declaration, 4.27 Panmunjom Declaration, and 9.19 Pyongyang Declaration.

September 15, 2023: Establishing ‘people’s sovereignty’, the most important and urgent task

The Yoon Seok-yeol regime ignores the National Assembly, the institution that represents the people, and suppresses the opposition party, such as the invasion of the Democratic Party. [...] It is a dictatorship that views the people not as sovereign but as objects of domination.

In order for the people to fully exercise their sovereignty, the sovereignty of the country must be secured above all else. [...] Even today, popular sovereignty is being undermined as the Yoon Seok-yeol regime blindly follows the United States and Japan.

Korean politics has been dominated by vested interests rooted in the United States and Japan. This is a tragedy that began with the failure to liquidate pro-Japanese groups after liberation. The pro-Japanese faction, with the United States on its back, took advantage of the division to resurrect and seize power.

Popular sovereignty must be realized by the people themselves. Popular sovereignty means that the people have the rights as owners, but they also have the power to change and lead the country.

Reconciliation and unification of North and South Korea can create a significantly favorable environment for realizing popular sovereignty.

People's sovereignty can only be established by principled and consistent pursuit of peace, prosperity, and unification and by developing inter-Korean relations.

English subs and full video of concert uploaded by Phuong DPRK Daily.

In the first song, "Dear House in My Hometown", the singer refers to sowing seeds on the land given to them by the leader--this is in reference to the period immediately after Korea's liberation (1945) and prior to the war's escalation (1950), in which land reforms and various other reforms were carried out in Korea, through the People's Committees. This happened in the south as well, until the U.S. showed up, and reinstated many colonial-era authorities who set about overthrowing (and imprisoning and murdering) People's Committee members and replacing them with committees made of landlords, police, and businessmen, which eventually resulted in a near famine in the south and reinstitution of colonial-era grain collection policies, leading to peasants being beaten by cops for not meeting quotas. (More info here and here). In contrast, the northern People's Committees were able to continue with land reforms and other popular reforms without hinderance.

Quotes about the Korean War

We killed civilians, friendly civilians, and bombed their homes; fired whole villages with the occupants--women and children and ten times as many hidden Communist soldiers--under showers of napalm, and the pilots came back to their ships stinking of vomit twisted from their vitals by the shock of what they had to do. -- U.S. Naval Captain Walter Karig, "Battle Report: The War in Korea"

We went over there and fought the war and eventually burned down every town in North Korea ... some way or another, and some in south Korea, too. We even burned down Pusan—an accident, but we burned it down anyway. The Marines started a battle down there with no enemy in sight. Over a period of three years or so, we killed off—what—twenty percent of the population of Korea as direct casualties of war, or from starvation and exposure? -- U.S. Air Force General Curtis LeMay, "Strategic Air Warfare"

What I saw Americans doing in Korea shook me to my heels. I suppose all my life I’ve been listening to propaganda about America being a civilised nation and some of this must have sunk in. Somehow, I never quite thought of Americans doing exactly what the Nazis did until I saw it with my own eyes. ... A thousand tons of bombs; a town obliterated; over 4,000 casualties in all; tens of thousands made homeless and bereaved—all to damage a rail-track. Does it make sense? This is bombing in the fashion that no British town ever met. I saw Coventry and I was in London all through the ‘blitz and I saw Wonsan after these raids. It was far worse than the worst the Nazis ever did. -- British journalist Alan Winnington, "I Saw the Truth in Korea"

As Winnington describes, U.S. recruits in the Korean war were, in large part, apparently clueless teens and young men who had joined up after the end of WWII to "see the world" and could not provide straight answers for why exactly they were bombing north Korea's villages and turning the country into a smoldering wasteland. As Winnington reported, after interviewing U.S. soldiers captured by the north and asking them why they were in Korea: "Most said: 'I don’t know.' Some said: 'It’s something to do with the United Nations, they told us.'"

In contrast, Koreans across the whole country understood deeply and personally what they were fighting for:

The ghastly destruction of homes and lives that has gone with it has made the whole nation furious. Even former apologists of America are now their bitter enemies. On roads you can meet men by the hundred who tell you: “My home was bombed in . . . so I sent my wife and children to relatives in the country and I’m oil to volunteer.” In Wonsan, the wife and children of a worker, Wan Wun Chu, were killed in a raid while he was at work. “They are dead and I cannot call them back,” he said. “If I die it is little now. But I would give my last drop of blood to get revenge and drive those murdering dogs from our country. They tell me my place is in production and I will work my fingers to the bone to produce more for the army.”

As another U.S. soldier interviewed by Winnington said: "The civilian population hate us and they are ready to go with the North."

This observation lines up with what the CIA commented in 1950, when the north's army took control in Seoul: "Over 50% of Seoul's students are actively aiding the Communist invaders, with many voluntarily enlisting in the Northern Army" and that among Seoul's population, "the working class generally supports the Northern Koreans, while merchants are neutral and the intelligentsia continue to be pro-Southern," adding that the streets of Seoul were "crowded, especially with youths engaging in Communist demonstrations."

I think the songs at this concert give a good look into DPRK's view of the events and how this history is perceived there. Many musical performances in DPRK cover this historical timeline, depicting the liberation struggle, the post-liberation reforms, the wartime period, and the post-war reconstruction period. Other concerts often depict the strengthening of their defense capabilities and the advancing of socialism and making Korea strong and prosperous. Other songs tend to focus on their friendly relations with other countries, including songs about shared history and hopes with the south (this concert is an example of that).

This is a documentary showing a school for Zainichi Koreans as well as following the students when they visit DPRK (@30:53 if you want to see that part). This 45min video is an abridged version of the full documentary which came out in 2006.

The Japanese word Zainichi (在日) means "residing in (zai) Japan (nichi)". The Korean equivalent is 재일, which has the same meaning.

South Korea's Arirang news teaches about Korea's traditional underfloor heating system, which originated in the north and spread to all of Korea in the Joseon period, and is still used today in both traditional and modernized forms. The documentaries visit rural areas to show the traditional smoke-based ondol system in use, and also show the uses of modernized water-based ondol system.

"Embodiment of Green Energy, Ondol under the Global Spotlight"

Ondol is a heating system that uses a humble furnace to warm the entire house. Considered one of the 3 great inventions of Korea, along with Hangeul and movable metal type, the ondol system has grabbed the world's attention.

[Visitor to ondol house] "The fire is very pretty when lit up, and the sweet potatoes that are baked in the live embers taste so good."

For Korean people, stones are very useful tools for overcoming the freezing winter. Heated pebbles can serve as pocket heaters, while wide stone slabs are sometimes used as cooking utensils. In this village in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do Province, the neighbors have gathered around a large stone slab over a fire to warm up. There is something special about this stone slab that is acting like a grill -- it's none other than a geudeljang [stone for making ondol floor]. They are cooking meat on a heated geudeljang.

Ondol also enabled traditional greenhouses, using the underfloor heating of the smoke to control temperature combined with steam from cooking pots to control humidity (@25:17)

Joseon's greenhouse came 170 years ahead of Europe's first heated greenhouse ... The greenhouse was built to cultivate various crops and vegetables even during the winter. Its special feature is the ondol system ... The technology can easily pass as something used in today's world ... Thanks to this greenhouse, people were able to eat fresh vegetables in the middle of winter.

[Resident of traditional house] "Living in an ondol room is good for your health. Your heart becomes warm and opens up more easily. All your troubles just melt away." [Other interviewees] "It's very warm. I remember how, as a child, I used to sit in an ondol room, where the air was cool while the floor was warm." "This ambiance of hanok [traditional house] is something that you can't experience in even the most luxurious hotels."

@38:22 you can see a train which has ondol floor in its cabins, people sit on the train floor to feel the ondol heating

[Discussing modernized ondol which uses heated water instead of smoke] What will happen if the ondol heating system, considered clean, green energy, meets solar power? The result could be a perfect zero energy building.

"100 Icons of Korean History, ep. 35: Ondol"

The Korean traditional floor heating system "ondol" dates back to the Gogureo era. It originated in cold northern regions and spread to all southern areas during the Joseon period. It still remains the indispensable part of Koreans' everyday lives. That's why many idioms in Korean are about the heated floor "ondol" or "gudeuljang."

[Visiting Jeong-eup, North Jeolla Province] People here still use firewood to heat their houses and cook. Mothers cook for their families to the alluring scent of burning wood in the kitchen during cold winters and warm the rooms. When the family members come home, they snuggle under the covers and chat on the warm floor.

Ondol is nostalgia. Smoke rising from a house's chimney evokes nostalgia in Koreans, who cherish even the familiar scent. Ondol brings people together and helps them forget about the cold.

[Resident of Gunsan interviewed] "It's a good experience for foreigners as well. I'm proud to say Korean ondol is the best."

"Asian Schindler" Under Investigation for Molestation

Pastor Chun Ki-won 천기원 목사, founder of Durihana 두리하나, a Christian aid organization known for helping North Koreans defect. Chun’s work helping over 1,000 defectors reach Seoul since 1999 has won him glowing coverage from CNN and the New York Times, including anointment as “the Asian Schindler.”

Perhaps they spoke too soon. On August 2 and 3, KBS News reported that a police investigation revealed that Chun had been sexually molesting teenage girls at the boarding school he established for North Korean defectors. Dozens of girls reported that the pastor routinely groped them over a period of several years, to the point that several girls dropped out of the school and students who stayed would lock their doors if they saw the pastor coming to the dormitory.

Chun, who had been scheduled to appear at an event in the United States, was banned from leaving the country.

South Korean pastor arrested for sexually harassing young North Korean defectors

The 67-year-old pastor, identified only by his family name Chun, was the boarding school’s principal, reported Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday, citing the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The news outlet also said Chun is accused of having sexually molested young defectors since 2018.

In July, eight North Koreans, who studied at the boarding school, filed a complaint against Chun, reported KBS World. They alleged that Chun had sexually molested them for years, said the report.

KBS report (in Korean), another KBS report

“Boneless Condos” Spark Fears of Collapse

On April 29, the underground parking structure for a new luxury condo under construction in the Geomdan 검단 area of Incheon 인천 collapsed, leaving a crater two stories deep. Nobody was injured in the collapse, which occurred around 11:30 p.m. after the construction crew had left the site. Had the timing been slightly different, the collapse could have been far deadlier: residents were scheduled to move into the development by October, and the collapsed parking structure sat directly beneath a children's playground.

The subsequent investigation led to the shocking revelation that the parking structure had little to no steel rebar reinforcement. Eight of the parking structure’s 32 structural columns remained standing after the collapse, fully half of which had no rebar despite construction blueprints specifically calling for reinforcement. The investigation also found that the concrete used for the column was weak after being improperly cured.

But after the collapse prompted other construction companies to inspect the safety of their own buildings, GS Construction turned out not to be the only company with shoddy construction. The LH Corporation LH공사, a publicly owned company responsible for building subsidized housing, found missing steel beams and weak concrete in 21 of its 92 projects. The soaring cost of raw materials is pushing construction companies to skimp on materials, while a lack of skilled workers has resulted in mishaps like concrete being improperly cured or blueprint instructions being misread.

Major Korean builders face credibility crisis in wake of accidents

Public distrust of domestic builders has been growing recently, as faulty construction methods have caused repeated collapses in apartment construction sites

A government investigation revealed that GS E&C's omission of rebar in multiple pillars was the main reason behind a collapse in an underground parking garage of an apartment complex under construction in Incheon, April 29. HDC Hyundai Development Company has also faced criticism, since it was found that its negligence in safety measures resulted in a collapse at its apartment construction site in Gwangju in January last year, which killed six workers.

To protect their apartment brands, Xi and iPark, both companies decided to tear down and rebuild the entire problematic apartment complexes, despite the significant costs they would have to bear.

Documentary about Jeju folk songs (in Korean)

Version of Odolttogi by singer 송소희

More info about the song (in Korean)

(Machine translation)「Odoldtogi」is a folk song commonly sung by the public, with a melody that evokes the fragrant atmosphere of Jeju and a lyric that lists scenic spots. [...]「Odoldtogi」In the editorial of Mt. Hanlla, the beautiful natural scenery of Jeju Island appears, including Seogwipo female divers (Haenyeo), Sanpo sea fish, Seongsan sunrise, and Sabong sunset. It contains content such as love, separation, and loneliness.

Full video is mainly in Korean, but in this portion, they are interviewing students during English class.