(Machine translation + slight editing)

The first rally in support of Palestine is held in Korea... The debate over the 'Israeli-Palestinian War' ignites

October 11, 2023

Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Palestine (Israeli-Palestinian War), rallies in support of both sides have been held all over the world. Even in Korea, demonstrations in support of Palestine are being held led by civic groups, and related debates are heating up.

Workers' Solidarity and Korea Islam (Kore de Islam) held an emergency rally and march in solidarity with Palestine near Gwanghwamun, Jung-gu, Seoul around 12:30 pm on the 11th.

A total of 200 participants from Egypt, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, including Koreans and Palestinians, participated in the rally. They held posters such as 'Israel must stop bombing the Gaza Strip' and 'We support the Palestinian resistance' and continuously shouted slogans such as 'Free Palestine'.

!Crowd of people with banner that says "Stop Israeli bombing of Gaza! Victory to Palestinian Resistance! Solidarity with Palestine!"

Palestinians and members of social civic groups are holding a rally in support of Palestine in relation to the Israel-Hamas war in front of the Seoul Finance Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th. 2023.10.11

The organizers claimed, “Ethnic cleansing and discriminatory oppression by the State of Israel against Palestinians have continued for decades since the founding of the State of Israel,” and “Israel is massacring innocent people.”

At the ensuing rally, Korean Islamic officials, including Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, gave speeches. In the speech, Mr. Amer, a Palestinian, was interviewed over the phone by an acquaintance in the Gaza Strip and said, "Food has been cut off, so there is a huge shortage, and even the means to provide treatment, such as water, electricity, and medicine, are now extremely lacking," he appealed.

The interview was interrupted due to poor connectivity due to the air raid.

Akela, an Egyptian who participated in the rally, unfolded a piece of paper with pictures of Palestinian children listed like a checkerboard in both hands and said, "It seems like the only language Israel uses is terror and oppression. Are the children in these pictures even the youngest terrorists?" raising their voice.

When the speech ended, these groups held a march around the Israeli Embassy from the steps of the Seoul Finance Center, where the rally took place, to Cheonggyecheon Buk-ro.

Initially, they planned to approach the Israeli embassy and deliver a letter of protest, but due to opposition from the police, they had to return to Musan and stop at reciting the contents of the letter near Cheonggyecheon-ro.

Those who participated in the rally appealed for recognition of the Palestinian people, but also appeared to support the airstrikes carried out by the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas against Israeli residents on the 7th.

Karim Hussein (31), an Egyptian who participated in the rally with his family that day, said, "As Muslims and human beings, we participated in the rally regardless of nationality." He added, "This Hamas airstrike is a 'reaction' to the long history that Palestine has experienced so far," he said.

Jeong Dong-seok (61), a member of the Workers' Solidarity Party, also argued that the cause of the war was, "I think the problem is that Israel has been expelling and massacring the native Palestinians for about 70 years."

The group plans to continue supporting Palestine by holding an additional rally in Incheon on the 13th.

Meanwhile, as the war between Palestine and Israel unfolds, rallies in support of Palestine and Israel are being held all over the world.

According to Reuters, on the 9th (local time), citizens in solidarity with Israel held a march in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Additionally, on the 10th (local time), a rally supporting Israel and Palestine was simultaneously held near the Israeli consulate in New York.

At the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA, thousands of pro-Israel protesters gathered to condemn the surprise attack by Hamas, while in Chicago, Illinois, on the 8th (local time), Palestinian Americans, mainly, showed solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Street protests were also held.

In addition, 4,000 citizens demonstrated in support of Palestine in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and movements in support of Palestine are seen in the Arab world, from Ramallah in the West Bank to Beirut in Lebanon, Damascus in Syria, and Cairo in Egypt.

However, some Western countries are wary of the spread of anti-Semitism and attempts at terrorism.

Three protesters were arrested at a demonstration in support of Palestine held in front of the Israeli Embassy in London on the 9th (local time). British Home Secretary Suela Braverman called for a strong response, saying, "Waving the Palestinian flag may not be lawful if the intention is to glorify terrorism."

In Marseille, France, about 200 Palestinian supporters protested despite a police ban, and some protestors were fined.

After a rally in support of Palestine was held in front of the Sydney Opera House on the 9th (local time) and an Israeli flag was burned, Australian police warned citizens not to attend the pro-Palestinian rally planned in Sydney this weekend, saying it had not been approved.

Sovereignty Research Institute is a south Korean site which publishes articles about geopolitical and current events analysis and articles about DPRK. Over time I have been archiving some of their articles via archive.org or partially translating some, also during this time their URL has changed (archive version). I just want to create a list to keep track of some of their sections and series, for myself and also in case anyone is interested.

Quote from their about section:

> The Sovereignty Research Institute conducts research to realize the sovereignty of the country and the sovereignty of the people. The Sovereign Research Institute was created as an affiliated research institute of Sovereign Broadcasting in 2016 and became independent in 2023.

Note that this list is incomplete as it's a reference for myself that I am just sharing. I may edit or remove/replace it in the future.

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Morning Sunshine

Series:

"Changes in North Korea-China, North Korea-Russia relations and our tasks" part 1

"About North Korea's Juche Idea" part 1

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North Korea Viewed Through the Constitution

Note: As the title suggests, this section quotes different sections of DPRK's constitution and explains them, also giving historical context.

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DPRK-Russia Summit

Series:

"Significance, prospects, and points of note of the North Korea-Russia Summit" part 1

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Special Series

Series:

"Palestine Series" part 1

"Anatomy of Chosun Ilbo" part 1

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Column

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Summary: PDP gave a speech in front of US embassy in Seoul and a speech in front of the White House in Washington DC. The speech expressed that only when Palestine is liberated can the conflict be resolved, and that the "US and Israel are one body and it is public knowledge in the whole world that the US aggression forces are behind the indiscriminate bombing and aggression of the Palestinians" and "the imperialist powers led by the United States have turned the world into a powder keg of war" using Zionism in the Middle East, NATO in Europe, Japanese militarism and the formation of an "Asian version of NATO" in Asia, strengthening the war alliance against DPRK and plotting a war in East Asia.

The speech concludes: "the deeper imperialist aggression becomes, the stronger a unity of anti-US independent forces become. The Palestinian people, who seek independence and justice, will defeat the aggressive US imperialist and win their liberation. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!"

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Link to English statement

〈US troops must leave the Korean Peninsula immediately〉 … September World Anti-Imperialist Simultaneous Struggle, Pyeongtaek

Original article in Korean: 〈미군은 당장 코리아반도에서 떠나야〉 … 9월 세계반제동시투쟁 평택

"As anti-North Korea, anti-China, and anti-Russian actions intensify, a war in East Asia following the war in Eastern Europe will inevitably break out"

"Just as the imperialist aggressor forces centered on the United States are spreading the war in Eastern Europe by using Ukraine as a battlefield and using neo-Nazi forces as war agents, they are turning the Korean Peninsula into a battleground in Asia and advancing Japan with Yoon Seok-yeol's fascist forces as the US imperialists. They plan to use it as a base to start the Korean War and the Taiwan War."

(Above quotes from a statement included below)

Article via machine translation and slight editing and links added by me:

> The September World Anti-Imperialist Struggle, hosted by The World Anti-imperialist Platform and Anti-American Struggle Headquarters, is vigorously underway in South Korea.

> On September 9, in front of the Camp Humphreys US military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, the People's Democratic Party (People's Party), Gyeonggi-do Party and local activists posted a slogan in Korean and English, “Oppose US imperialist war maneuvers!” Demolition of US military bases around the world! They vigorously carried out the global anti-imperialist struggle under the slogan, “A united people will always win!”

> First, a moment of silence was held in memory of the martyrs who died fighting for independent unification and democracy, and then the March for Beloved was sung.

> The Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Party Organizing Committee of the People's Democratic Party, who presided over the event, said, "US-Japanese imperialism and its leader Yoon Seok-yeol are strengthening the and plotting the while also triggering the Taiwan War." With the slogan, he said, “We will put an end to the American imperialist invasion force, the cause of the world war, and overthrow its henchman Yoon Seok-yeol, hastening the true liberation of this land and the decisive victory of the anti-imperialist and independent forces.”

> Participants chanted slogans such as “We oppose the U.S. imperialist war maneuver!”, “We condemn the trilateral military alliance between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea!”, “Down with Yoon Seok-yeol, who supports nuclear contamination!”, and “Let’s crush the Asian Pan-NATO North Korean invasion war alliance!” They shouted,

> Pastor Jang Chang-won of the Osan Migrant Workers Center said, “I would like to emphasize that geopolitically, this is the center of East Asia’s connection and the center of solidarity is also on the Korean Peninsula.” “The U.S. military is conducting biochemical experiments all over the world, including the Korean Peninsula.” We continue to protest against biological weapons testing. “American soldiers who do not treat people like humans should leave the Korean Peninsula immediately,” he said.

> Also, military training is taking place every day on the Korean Peninsula. There are bombs all around us that should not be used. The underlings of American imperialism include the Yoon Seok-yeol government. Since the Yoon Seok-yeol government came into power, the public security administration has become more vicious and the war atmosphere is intensifying.” “We do not want division, but we want to live proudly as one nation,” and “The United States must stop atrocities that turn other countries into battlefields.” “It will have to be done,” he said.

> Hyun Pil-kyung, director of the U.S. Military Base Recovery Research Institute, said, “At the two U.S. military bases in Pyeongtaek, where the 2023 Ulchi Freedom Shield war exercise is in progress, different aspects from previous war exercises and the mobilization of new weapon systems were witnessed.” Training, so-called CBRN training to respond to chemical weapons, biological weapons, and nuclear materials, and gunnery practice at the Songtan U.S. Air Force Base were conducted, and CH-53 large transport helicopters and Boeing 707-based reconnaissance aircraft, which are rarely seen, were seen. They recently took off from Okinawa and flew to the Korean Peninsula. It is believed to be a reconnaissance aircraft of the RC-135 family, known for reconnaissance in and around the area.

> He continued, “It has nothing to do with the interests of any working people in the world, and is an alliance solely for the comfort of the United States and its followers, which threatens their lives and plunges them into political powerlessness and economic poverty.” He emphasized, “Complete peace will be realized only when Taiwan is unified and the Okinawan people achieve the withdrawal of U.S. forces.”

> Finally, the participants read the global anti-imperialist struggle statement, “Let us rise up in the anti-American, anti-fascist movement, remove the U.S. military and overthrow Yoon Seok-yeol!” and then sang the “Internationale.”

The following is the full statement:

This is a book review in Hankyoreh, south Korea's top center-left liberal paper.

Excerpts:

> The book is “The Naked ROK-US Alliance,” written by Daegu University professor Kim Sung-hae, who completed a master’s in international affairs at the University of Georgia and a doctorate in journalism at the University of Pennsylvania.

> As the book’s subtitle suggests, this book lists the “reasons for resolving to break up with America”

> The first reason the author provides is the cost of the alliance. To maintain the alliance with the US, Korea must lend military bases free of charge, foot part of the bill for stationing US troops on the peninsula and be a major buyer of US-made weapons.

> On top of these financial expenses are opportunity costs — the potential value of the numerous options Korea has had to forgo because of the alliance. Perhaps best-known was Korea’s decision to let the US deploy the THAAD missile-defense battery in 2016. That turned China, which had been Korea’s biggest trade surplus country since the two countries normalized their relations 30 years earlier, into a major trade deficit country.

> Another reason cited by the author is that Korea’s duties as an ally could entangle it in an undesired conflict. There’s a growing danger of Korea being dragged into a war in Taiwan, should such a war occur.

> The most serious issue, however, is that as Korea strengthens its alliance with the US, its enemies are growing more numerous, and stronger, too. It’s the US that defines those enemies, and Korea is left to passively follow its will.

> The US may well view its rivals China and Russia as enemies, but Korea’s national interest is different from that of the US. There’s no inherent reason why Korea should be an enemy of China or Russia.

> The author goes on to argue that Koreans are misguided in their belief that they owe the US gratitude for its role in defending them during the Korean War. While it’s true that the war began with North Korea’s invasion of the South, US actions strongly suggest it had been quietly hoping a war would break out, too.

> In the first phase of the war, the US ignored a UN resolution by pushing north of the 38th parallel, which brought Communist China into the war with devastating consequences for the Korean Peninsula. The US also bears responsibility, either directly or indirectly, for the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people slaughtered in countless massacres, including the Bodo League massacre, the No Gun Ri massacre, and the Sinchon massacre.

> And the Korean War’s impact on the US was not wholly negative. For example, the production of large amounts of military armaments throughout the war enabled the US to overcome the difficulties of an economic recession.

> The author also asserts that the US was not the patron of Korean democracy and economic development that many Koreans believe it to have been. All the US wanted from Korea was a low level of modernization. Furthermore, the US was also happy to support dictatorial governments in Korea that butchered their own people so long as they helped block the communist threat. It’s a myth, the author says, that the US paved the way for Korea’s democratization and industrialization.

> Another argument made in the book is that Koreans’ experience serving as “loyal subjects” of the Japanese empire during the colonial period prepared them for revering the US after Korea’s liberation.

> In other words, Korea is honoring and obeying the US, just as it once did with the Japanese Empire. The fact that Korea has still not regained wartime operational control, or OPCON, of its own military illustrates its lack of autonomy.

> While the US would only have control of 40,000 troops in NATO (as of February 2022), US Forces Korea with OPCON would be able to direct the 600,000 troops in the Korean military in the event of a war. Korea can hardly be regarded as having autonomy when it has put its entire military under American control.

> For such reasons, the author asserts that Korea would be best served by dismantling its alliance with the US.

> What alternatives are there? The author says the best option would be for South and North Korea to jointly adopt neutrality. Cracks in the US-led unipolar order, the international shift toward a multipolar system, and the international financial system’s move away from the US dollar are creating conditions favorable for such a change.

> But setting aside the feasibility of that proposal, it’s worth pondering the author’s argument that if Korea is to achieve true autonomy, it must first wake from the stupor of blind obedience to the US.

This article is originally in Korean. These are some excerpts with machine translation and my slight additions:

> Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Jeju April 3rd Peace Foundation announced that the identity of the missing April 3rd victim, whose fate was unknown, was confirmed in Golnyeonggol, Daejeon [Note: Several photos of violence and human remains are in that link], after 74 years.

> The victims identified this time are 70 of the 1,441 remains excavated in Golnyeonggol through the first pilot project of 'Genetic identification of 4/3 victims from excavated remains from outside the province' conducted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Jeju 4/3 Peace Foundation.

> The person whose identity was confirmed was the late Kim Han-hong, from Bukchon-ri, Jocheon-myeon, Jeju-si. During the April 3 Incident, he was hiding in a field away from the village to avoid punitive forces and armed forces. He came to the military at the end of January 1949 and surrendered himself on the rumor that he would be set free if he surrendered. The bereaved family said that after being detained in the distillery camp, no news was heard.

> The list of prisoners shows that the victim was sentenced to seven years in prison on July 4, 1949 and served his sentence at Daejeon Prison.

> On October 4, the remains of the victims went through a handover process with the bereaved families, the Jeju April 3 Victims' Families Association, the Sanae Incident Victims' Families Association, and officials from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in attendance, and a ritual was held at Sejong Eunhasu Park under the auspices of the bereaved families, and then cremated in October. They are scheduled to be repatriated to Jeju by plane on the 5th.

> At the site where the remains of the victims are returned to their hometown, the bereaved families and officials, including Governor Oh Young-hoon, will greet them in person, and a ceremony to return the remains will be held afterwards. Subsequently, an identification briefing session will be held on the same day to commemorate the victims and comfort their bereaved families.

> The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is in the process of collecting remains from 2,000 of the 3,900 remains temporarily enshrined in the Sejong Memorial House, including the remains of the Daejeon Golryeonggol victims, and is conducting genetic tests on bereaved families. is planned to be carried out.

> Chairman [of the Daejeon Mountain Incident Victims' Families Associatio] Jeon Mi-kyung said, “How good would it have been if something like this had happened to the families of the massacred people while they were still alive?” and “It breaks my heart that many family members of the massacred people are still passing away while the genetic identification is delayed.”

> The son of the late Kim Han-hong, whose identity was recently confirmed through genetic identification, died in 2020 without being able to identify his father's remains. However, fortunately, he was able to confirm his identity because he left behind DNA data through blood collection while he was still alive.___

Excerpts:

> Fifty-nine years ago, on Sept. 11, 1964, Korea sent 140 soldiers belonging to the medical corps to Vietnam as part of the war effort. Over the nine years that followed, South Korea would end up sending a total of 346,393 troops to fight in Vietnam in its Blue Dragon, Fierce Tiger, and White Horse divisions.

> In 1999, Hankyoreh 21 broke the story that South Korean troops had massacred civilians in Vietnam with in-depth reporting. More than 20 years later, in February of this year, a South Korean court ruled that the country bears a legal liability to those victimized by these massacres. However, the South Korean government still insists that no such slaughter occurred.

> This is the first time that Bình Thanh is being named in the history of Korea’s involvement in the Vietnam War that began in 1964. Bình Thanh is not mentioned in the official “War History of ROK Forces to Vietnam” published by Korea’s Department of Defense in 1979.

> 57 years ago, as a 10-year-old girl, Tống Thị Kim Loan said she picked peppers in the fields with her grandfather, Tống Mai. [...] the villagers had heard that South Korean soldiers couldn’t get enough of them. The young girl and her grandfather packed the peppers in small bags and took them to the Korean soldiers at the Go Cot base.

> When Tống Thị Kim Loan’s grandfather, Tống Mai, arrived at a South Korean military post, he had Vietnamese peppers and a letter in his hand. He was accompanied by Cao Phó and Mai Cắt, who lived in his same village. The three of them represented the village and faced the South Koreans for the first time. All three were born in the 1890s and were over 70 years old at the time. Their letter to the South Koreans was written in Chinese characters. Having learned to read and write Chinese characters from a young age, they assumed that the Koreans would be able to read it as well.

> The South Korean soldiers based in Bình Thanh did not have interpreters. The letter contained a heartfelt plea from the village elders: “The villagers are all innocent civilians. Please do not harm them.”

> A young Tống Thị Kim Loan was holding her grandfather’s hand when he presented the Korean soldiers with the letter and his gift of peppers.

> A month after Tống Thị Kim Loan and her grandfather offered the chilis to the soldiers, the South Korean soldiers paid a visit to Tống Thị Kim Loan’s neighborhood. Instead of gifts, they brought guns.

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> “All the village elders who visited the soldiers with the chilis died,” said Le Van Hien, 76. Presenting a list he wrote on the computer, Le Van Hien pointed at the three names at the top of the list: Tống Mai, Cao Phó and Mai Cắt. These were the names of the village elders who had visited the South Korean soldiers with the bag of chili peppers and a letter written in Chinese characters.

> Le Van Hien has been recording the history of how the people of Bình Thanh fought against outside forces. His records from 1930 to 1975 have already been published into a book, which contains stories of people who died at the hands of South Korean soldiers.

> Following the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, memorial monuments were erected in villages where residents were lost at the hands of South Korean soldiers. Monuments of “hate” were built in places such as Bình Hòa and Phú Yên. In some regions, monuments were erected 50 years after the war.

> “I will propose the erection of a monument of hate rather than a memorial monument,” said Le Van Hien, explaining that this is because all the victims were helpless elders, women and children. Referencing the Vietnamese government’s slogan of overcoming the past and moving toward the future, Le Van Hien wordlessly shook his head.

>“Still, I can’t help but hate. Incidents like this should be abhorred forever,” he said.

> North Korean athletes were officially welcomed at their living quarters in the Chinese city of Hangzhou for the 19th Asian Games on Friday, the eve of the opening ceremony of the quadrennial continental competition.

> After official welcoming messages and gifts from host China, the North Korean delegation chanted rallying slogans and posed for a photo.

> Most of them did not answer reporters on their way back to the residence, but a man who appeared to be a coach said their goal is to win and hoped for a good performance at the competition.

> According to the organizers, North Korea has registered 185 athletes in 17 sports for the Asiad, the reclusive country's first appearance at an international multisport competition since the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

> North Korea finished 10th at the previous Asiad five years ago, with 12 golds, 12 silvers and 13 bronzes.

Article is from Sept. 14, 2023.

Excerpts:

>News outlet Newstapa and broadcaster Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC) have been raided by South Korean authorities after reporting in 2022 on an allegedly fake interview claimed to discredit then-Presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK), condemn the intimidation and legal harassment of media workers and news outlets and urge the authorities to cease all investigations immediately.

> On September 14, investigators and prosecutors with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office were dispatched to the offices of online news outlets Newstapa and broadcaster Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC), seizing materials related to a 2021 interview between trade union leader and former journalist Shin Hak-lim and Kim Man-bae, a key figure in a land development scandal.

> Announced on September 7, the decision by authorities to prosecute media professionals and outlets marks the first actioned prosecution related to press coverage since 2008. However, since his election in 2022, President Yoon has been at the centre of several attacks on press freedom. In October 2022, the MBC was targeted through legal action and protests led by PPP lawmakers, after the broadcaster allegedly misrepresented comments made by the President in a hot mic incident. President Yoon later excluded journalists and media workers with the outlet from a presidential envoy to the G20 in November.

> JAK President Kim Dong-hoon said: “We express concern about the increasing intensity of the government's media suppression as we approach next year's general elections. The ruling party in South Korea, the People Power Party(PPP), has not only taken legal actions against media outlets and journalists who reported on the dialogue records of our fellow journalists, Shin Hak-lim and Kim Man-bae, both of whom have a journalism background but also against journalists who quoted and covered these records. Moreover, they have even targeted political commentators who wrote articles about the related content. Furthermore, they have filed defamation complaints against radio hosts who reported on the incident. […] The JAK, along with other major media organizations, is committed to staunchly opposing the ruling party's endeavours to manipulate the media and will dedicate their collective efforts to safeguarding press freedom.”

> The IFJ said: “These raids and investigations against media outlets are the latest in a concerning trend of media rights violations led by the incumbent government in the Republic of Korea. The IFJ urges the prosecutors’ offices to withdraw all investigations against Newstapa, JTBC, and the outlets’ journalists, and calls on the People’s Power Party to ensure that press freedom is upheld and protected.”

"The combined number of those seeking to stay in China and those wanting to return to the North is actually greater than those hoping to reach South Korea."

"The more South Korea and the international community get involved in defector issues with their own political agenda, the more likely it is to end up further cementing our national division."

Lee Sung-hwan (pseudonym): "I hate being called a ‘defector.’ I didn’t leave because I’m opposed to the politics in North Korea. I’m just someone who left to earn money, and I plan to return once I’ve made some."

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Note: Hankyoreh is a center-left liberal newspaper from South Korea.

Excerpts:

> Since 1997, Cho has met with North Korean defectors primarily in China’s Yanbian prefecture and the North Korean-Chinese border region. Other than last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to visit China, he has met with defectors virtually every year for the past two decades or so. Based on his meetings, they presented quite a different image from the one commonly perceived in South Korea, he said.

> For example, Cho administered a survey to 100 female North Korean defectors whom he had met with three or more times between August 2001 and October 2003. Forty-one of them said they wanted to travel to the South, while the other 59 did not: 34 wanted to return to North Korea, 21 hoped to remain in China, and four wanted none of the above. Indeed, Kim Ryon-hui, the so-called “Pyongyangite in Daegu,” has demanded repatriation ever since she arrived in the South in 2011, insisting that she only came because she had been “deceived by a broker.”

> Lee Sung-hwan (pseudonym), one of the defectors who hoped to return to the North, is quoted as saying, “I hate being called a ‘defector.’ I didn’t leave because I’m opposed to the politics in North Korea. I’m just someone who left to earn money, and I plan to return once I’ve made some.”

> Pak Kyong-hwa (pseudonym) is a native of Onsong, North Hamgyong Province, whom Cho met in the Chinese city of Yanji in 2014. “If it’s someone who left after committing a crime, someone who’ll be punished if they go back, you’ll never hear them talk about going back to North Korea. But people like us just quickly earn money and go back,” she explained.

> “Certain brokers, NGOs and missionary groups have been orchestrating and expanding North Korean defections to South Korea for political purposes. And as certain far-right and conservative media in South Korea and Japan have either parroted the things they say or actively orchestrated things themselves, things have really crossed the line,” Cho said. > > The primary victims of actions like these are the defectors themselves. Orchestrated defections lead to intensified controls on the North Korean-Chinese border, leaving far fewer options available to those who seek to remain in China or return to the North. > > Some defectors, NGOs and missionary groups have also taken advantage of this “defector myth” to perpetrate fraud. As a representative example, Cho mentioned the Yerang Mission incident, which the Supreme Court declared a case of fraud in 2008. Beginning in the early 2000s, the mission appropriated over 2 billion won (US$1.8 million) in donations raised through internet posts about “risking death to evangelize in North Korea” and the “martyrdom and defections of North Koreans.” In 2006, the church was tried amid accusations by congregation members, and most of the messages it posted were found to have been false.

> “The more South Korea and the international community get involved in defector issues with their own political agenda, the more likely it is to end up further cementing our national division,” he warned.

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Related:

• Nearly 1 in 5 North Korean defectors say they regret coming to South Korea
• Interview: A North Korean mother’s quest to return home to Pyongyang
• [CW: Child abuse, SA] S. Korean pastor under investigation for molestation at the boarding school he established for N. Korean defectors
• "Spy Nation" (2016): Film Shines Light on South Korean Spy Agency’s Fabrication of Enemies
• Unreliable witnesses: The challenge of separating truth from fiction when it comes to North Korea
• The insidious threat of fake news surrounding North Korea

(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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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."