North Korea : Best of Pyongyang's architecture

How much do we know about The North Korea except their aloofness ?


Since the Korean War, North Korean leaders have used architecture to express the national character of the state. Standing at right is the 170-meter Juche Tower completed in 1982 on the eastern bank of the Taedong River to commemorate founding leader Kim Il-Sung’s 70th birthday.



/ Korea Times file
Book offers virtual tour of North Korea's isolated capital
As a general rule, dictators like to use architecture to demonstrate their power and express aspects of national character. North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il (1942-2011) was no exception.




Kim even authored a treatise called “On Architecture (1991),” in which he extols the virtues of “Juche” architecture, that is, works that symbolize and represent the state doctrine of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Situated about 240 km from Seoul, Pyongyang is actually closer to Seoul than Busan.

But most people in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula have only a vague idea about what the North Korean capital looks like, as visiting North Korea is strictly prohibited. For those who are interested in Pyongyang, German architect Philip Meuser’s latest book “Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang” offers a visual guide.

Containing fantastic photos and meticulous essays, the book offers a rare glimpse into one of the most isolated states in the world. The Korean version hit bookstores last week.




“Part of my motivation for this book was to do a guide book to a place that you can’t even visit,” Meuser said in an interview with Dwell, a U.S. magazine devoted to modern architecture and design, in February.

Meuser is an architect and general planner for several German embassies. He’s also head of Dom Publishers.
“Setting aside the glaring issues of human rights and social self-determination, Pyongyang is arguably the world’s best preserved open-air museum of socialist architecture,” Meuser said. He visited the country three times while researching for this book. He labeled Pyongyang “a cabinet of architectural curiosities.”
Pyongyang’s architecture largely falls in to two categories. These are: functional (e. g., apartment buildings, government buildings) or monumental (e. g., statues, commemorative or symbolic structures).
The author also pointed out that because Pyongyang was almost completely destroyed after the Korean War (1950-1953), most buildings were built in the last 60 years.

The general tone of Pyongyang’s architecture is authoritarian. Large monuments dot the cityscape embodying Kim’s cult of personality, linked by absurdly wide boulevards and colossal public squares devoid of people.

The book is divided into two volumes.

The first part is a photographic gallery of Pyongyang buildings divided into major architectural categories — urban planning, residential buildings, cultural venues, education and sport, hotels/department stores, transport infrastructure, and monuments. Building exteriors are shown, with occasional photos of parts of their interiors. The photographs of the many buildings in volume I have brief captions or annotations containing facts about construction or features (e. g., capacity) or historical notes.

Volume 2 contains illustrated essays on varied facets of Pyongyang architecture. In this volume, one finds photographs of buildings under construction, photos of North Koreans in other social settings, pictures of leaders and government officials, and posters on the sides of urban buildings or monuments representing the strength of social unity, the relationship between leaders and the population, and other principles of the nation’s ideology.

'Comfort women' to sue Japan’s ultra-right activist

Japanese supporters of former “comfort women,” who were coerced into providing sexual services to Japanese soldiers during World War II, protest next to a statue representing the women’s struggle in front of Japan’s embassy in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Survivors plan to take legal action against a Japanese activist who recently tied a wooden stake to the statue.
/ Yonhap

The last-remaining “comfort women,” who were forced to serve as sex slaves under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), plan to take legal action against Japanese right-wing activist Nobuyuki Suzuki.

Suzuki last week provoked public anger here by tying a wooden stake to the statue of a young comfort woman erected in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul. The stake had a written claim about Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets.

“The victims of wartime sexual slavery are extremely angry about the latest incident,” said Ahn Shin-kweon, director of the House of Sharing, a Gwang-ju based organization, Wednesday. “Together with former sex slave Lee Yong-soo and other private organizations, we are considering legal steps.”

Ahn added that undertaking no countermeasures against the incident could send the wrong message to Japanese right-wing groups that it was okay to conduct such defamatory acts against the women.

Lawyers associated with the organization plan to meet with Japanese lawyers next month to discuss how to pursue legal action against Suzuki and where to file the lawsuit.



The comfort women issue remains a bone of contention between the two nations as, despite mounting calls from within to make a breakthrough, Seoul and Tokyo adhere to the position that all matters including individual compensation for the victims who suffered during the colonial era were settled through the 1965 Korea-Japan basic treaty.
Meanwhile, the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, a Seoul-based council which has organized weekly protests every Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy since 1992, gave a different perspective in dealing with the issue.

“We are just fooling around if we take action against a (Japanese) individual,” said council members during the weekly rally, Wednesday. “The ones who deserve criticism are Japanese politicians who distort the truth and the Japanese government’s history and education policies that nurture ignorant citizen.”

Concerning President Lee Myung-bak’s comment earlier this month urging Tokyo for “humanitarian measures” for the wartime victims, council members said the government should seek “legal compensation” instead.
The rally this week was the 1,028th.
On the same day, Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the council will receive the grand prize of the 9th Seoul Metropolitan City Women Award for promoting the rights of women through activities such as holding the weekly rallies and opening a Women’s Human Rights Museum last month.

“I hope winning the prize can help us gain momentum in resolving the comfort women issue,” said Yoon Mee-hyang, a co-representative of the council

Japanese film to make in land of Manipur

This is something very new to us as our land is a small as well as quite aloof from the mainland of India , although we have flourish in digital films. This is about a Japanese girl’s search in the remote villages of Manipur for her uncle, who was a soldier during World War II, and many more stories that unfold during her journey will be shot on big screen.

To be directed by Mohen Naorem, My Japanese Niece will see Japanese model Yu Asada essaying the role of the girl, also named Asada. It is based on the story of the Japanese soldier who was left behind in Manipur after the war and people still believe he exists.
The film will be in Manipuri with English subtitles and later dubbed in Japanese for a release in Japan. The entire shoot will be in Manipur.


Asada Yu






“Down the memory lane, she heard about a Japanese old man who was living in that village for a long time. He died a few months ago. But Asada finds many secrets, memories and belongings of her uncle as well as documents, unposted letters, artifacts and dairies of soldiers who were lost.”
Mohen says 23-year-old Asada from Osaka was excited when she first heard about the project.

According to Mohen who is going to direct the film, “our forefathers and those who witnessed the Second World War will never forget the courage of Japanese soldiers. Our grandfathers called the War as Japan War, showing how popular” is Japan in this state.
“After the recent earthquake in Japan, people from Manipur voluntarily came out to donate and the sympathy was also pouring from every Manipuri living abroad. The Japanese government is also helping Manipur in many ways like offering hospitals and sericulture projects from time to time. It is time to show our love to them.”

Mohen said Manipuri filmmakers have been talking with Japanese, Korean and Russian partners for a joint venture project of popularizing regional talents and cinema.
“We realized the possibility of strengthening such bonding between Japanese and Manipuris through films and choose the subject of the My Japanese Niece hence,” he said.

Source: Kanglaonline.net

Making Seoul Safer for Women Lauded as Most Popular Policy

I know South Korea specially the Seoul city as I have stayed there for a year. Korea is quite safe for women in compare with most of the other countries.And recently, the Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced the 10 most popular policies as chosen by local citizens from a list of 99 implemented by the current municipal government in line with people’s recommendations and requests.

A 10-day online survey aimed at gauging how satisfied people are with the city's projects attracted 27,946 citizens, with 708 posting their opinions.

The most popular policy was making the city safer for women by preempting crimes through careful urban design, such as by installing glass elevators in buildings, as well as mirrors in residential areas, parks, parking lots and on school premises.

Seoul City will announce its guidelines for more buildings and facilities to be built in line with the policy by the end of this year.

Drought sparks Korea

Korea is experiencing a drought, with Seoul seeing the least rainfall over the last 49 days since the Korean Meteorological Administration began compiling statistics in 1908.

In South Chungcheong, North Jeolla and Gyeonggi provinces, the unseasonably high temperatures are crippling farming, and it is uncertain whether the situation will improve.

A KMA official said southern areas will come under the influence of a seasonal rain front around June 23 and the central areas around June 27, but since pressure systems around the Korean Peninsula are very unstable it is not certain when the rainy season will really start.

The KMA predicted the country would see no rainfall soon except for Jeju, which is expected to be hit by a monsoon next Monday.

The KMA said Seoul had only 10.6 mm of rain from May 1 to June 18, a mere 6.2 percent of the 30-year average of 171 mm between 1982 and 2011 and the lowest in 105 years. Other areas including Suwon, Daejeon and Jeonju got 17-46 mm of rain over the same period, 11-28 percent of the average in previous years and a 45-year low. Average precipitation for the whole country was 58.8 mm, 36 percent of the 169.5 mm average in previous years.

Some 72 percent of the nation was rated as experiencing severe drought. The weather agency announces a four-level index on a daily basis taking into consideration factors like rainfall and humidity. The extreme dryness has wrought havoc with 3,686 ha of rice paddies and 4,667 ha of fields, leading to a 15-20 percent rise in agricultural produce prices in the past month.

Along with drought, a heat wave also affected the country.  The mercury in Seoul climbed to 33.5 degrees Celsius, a 12-year high for June.

Foreigners Fall Prey to Korea's Heavy Drinking Culture very fast

Most expats think Koreans drink a lot, and half say they imbibe more than when they first came to the country, a recent straw poll by the Chosun Ilbo suggests.

The poll was conducted in the streets of Seoul on 100 foreigners who have been in Korea for at least three months. The respondents came from 26 countries including Ecuador, France, Mexico, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S.

Some 77 percent of respondents thought that Koreans drink a lot of alcohol, and 48 percent said their alcohol consumption has increased since coming to Korea. Interestingly, 40 percent said their alcohol intake had doubled since they arrived in the country, and six percent said it had quadrupled.

In terms of how often they drink with friends and colleagues, 58 percent said the frequency has risen. Some 25 percent said they drink at least 10 times a month on average.

When asked about their thoughts on Korea's drinking culture, 33 percent described it as "irrational," while 14 percent said it "must be changed." Nine percent thought it was "excellent."

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Why People in N.Korea's 'Rice Bowl' Are Starving ?

Thousands of people are starving to death in North Korea's South Hwanghae Province even though it is the country's rice bowl, according to a defector.

"Villages in remote mountains can resort to slash-and-burn farming to survive, but in lowland areas where there are only cooperative farms, 30 to 40 people in each village starve to death every year," said Choi Myong-chol (not his real name), who used to handle crop harvests in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province. "The reason is that their entire harvest is confiscated," he told the activist website NK Reform.

The Tokyo Shimbun reported in April that 20,000 North Koreans starved to death in South Hwanghae Province after Kim Jong-il's death. "The reality there is that farmers have no choice but to hide rice during the harvest to survive," Choi said. This has happened every year. "This year, authorities appear to have taken extra measures to seek out rice the farmers had hidden," he added.

Choi said the reason for the starvation is the unrealistic crop output goals set by the regime every spring. Cooperative farms in South Hwanghae Province are ordered to produce six tons of rice per 10,000 sq. m, of which the farmers are promised two tons. But the actual amount that is harvested is only two to four tons, which leaves nothing for the farmers.

Harvested rice is distributed first to elite security and intelligence forces and then to ordinary soldiers. Farmers steal rice even under close watch because they would starve otherwise. They apparently steal between 1.5 to 2 tons per 10,000 sq. m of farmland, or about half of the crop. The regime is aware of the practice and sniffs out and confiscates around 30 percent of the stolen rice, leaving some 5,000-7,000 people to starve to death every year in the region.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo