This week's demonstrations were in remembrance of Jung Won, the Buddhist monk who immolated himself last week in protest and died a few days later, and Park Jong-cheol, a student who died while being water boarded to give up the whereabouts of a student protest leader 30 years ago on January 14, 1987. His death started nationwide protests which ended the reign of military generals posing as Korean Presidents.
TV news and other media are only giving airtime to pro-Park protests. There were almost no coverage of the anti-Park demonstrators, but there were a lot of coverage of the pro-Park protesters. Due to minus 10 degrees Celsius temperatures, both groups had much smaller numbers of protesters.
CBS News: Monk burns to death protesting deal on WWII sex slaves
New York Times: SEOUL STUDENT'S TORTURE DEATH CHANGES POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
Joongang Daily News: Eye witness speaks on Park Jong-cheol case
Korea Times: Protesters demand President's ouster in 12th weekly anti-president rally
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Updated - List Of Arrested In President Park Scandal
Those arrested so far in the scandal are listed below;
Ms. Choi Soon-sil (President Park's confidante)
Mr. Cha Eun-taek (former Director of Creative Convergence Center)
Mr. An Chong-bum (former Senior Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Jeong Ho-seong (former Presidential Secretary)
Ms. Choi Si-ho (niece of Ms. Choi Soon-sil)
Mr Kim Jong (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Cho Won-dong (former Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs)
Ms. Choi Soon-sil (President Park's confidante)
Mr. Cha Eun-taek (former Director of Creative Convergence Center)
Mr. An Chong-bum (former Senior Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Jeong Ho-seong (former Presidential Secretary)
Ms. Choi Si-ho (niece of Ms. Choi Soon-sil)
Mr Kim Jong (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Cho Won-dong (former Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs)
Mr. Moon Hyung-pyo (former Minister of Health)
Mr. Kim Jin-soo (former Presidential Secretary for Health)
Mr. Kim Jong-deok (former Minister of Culture)
Mr. Chung Gwang-ju (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Shin Dong-chul (former Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Song Sung-gak (former Head of Korea Creative Content Agency)
Mr Ryu Cheol-gyun (Ewha University Professor)
Mr. Nam Gung-gon (former Ewha University Admissions Dept. Head))
Mr. Kim Jin-soo (former Presidential Secretary for Health)
Mr. Kim Jong-deok (former Minister of Culture)
Mr. Chung Gwang-ju (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Shin Dong-chul (former Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Song Sung-gak (former Head of Korea Creative Content Agency)
Mr Ryu Cheol-gyun (Ewha University Professor)
Mr. Nam Gung-gon (former Ewha University Admissions Dept. Head))
For details on some of their crimes, please read the following articles.
Joongang Daily News: Kim blacklisted liberal artists
The Hankyoreh: Prosecutors say there are “reams of evidence”
Many more arrests are expected in the coming weeks!
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Dissonance Therapy For Eating Disorders
Stress and pain can cause eating disorders. So can cognitive dissonance about beauty and health. Now, they are successfully treating people with dissonance therapy!
Science Daily: Research reveals help for eating disorder patients
Science Daily: Research reveals help for eating disorder patients
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Korea Protests - Week 11
The slogan for this week's demonstrations is "Come down Park. Come up Sewol Ferry".
January 10 will mark the 1,000th day of the Sewol Ferry sinking and the ship has yet to be salvaged from the bottom of the ocean.
The weather is very mild. There should be a big crowd tonight.
Protest organizers say around 500,000 have participated in Seoul. There should be a few hundred thousand more people before it ends.
January 10 will mark the 1,000th day of the Sewol Ferry sinking and the ship has yet to be salvaged from the bottom of the ocean.
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| Gwanghwamun Plaza at 6:00 pm |
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| Gwanghwamun Plaza at 7:00 pm |
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Post Truth Politics
Koreans are appalled at all the lying being done by President Park and her associates. Some of the lying is to avoid jail and delay the court process, but most seem to be post truths trying to rally her supporters.
Post truths are opinions that are aimed at emotion (which is the main factor in decision making), even though they may be false or untrue.
The Saenuri Party has done this for decades. Trump did it. To these people, if lying is beneficial to them, they will lie.
I hope the everyone reads up on post truths and how emotions influence voter decisions more than facts.
Wikipedia: Post-truth politics
The Guardian: Broadcast news is losing its balance in the post-truth era
President Park's post truths are detailed in this next article;
Joongang Daily News: Some serious self-deception
By stating that North Korea was behind the candlelight demonstrations and other lies, President Park is trying to stir up the fear of North Korea and communism. This works well with Koreans in their 60s and above who lived through the Korean War and military dictator Park's propoganda. That is why President Park's approval rating has risen to 10%. Remember the days of dictatorship? Time and Newsweek with sections blacked out. Long hair was illegal as were mini-skirts. People were framed as spies. Curfew. Martial law. Torture. The good ole days.
There are even TV commentators raging about the opposition trying to stir up indignation and other emotions. Nowadays, they are lying low, but elections are coming up and they will be out in full force. I used to get very frustrated watching all this and knowing, but now, it is starting to get interesting.
The following is a very informative article on President Park and corruption in Korea.
New York Times: As Scandal Roils South Korea, Fingers Point to Mixing of Politics and Business
Post truths are opinions that are aimed at emotion (which is the main factor in decision making), even though they may be false or untrue.
The Saenuri Party has done this for decades. Trump did it. To these people, if lying is beneficial to them, they will lie.
I hope the everyone reads up on post truths and how emotions influence voter decisions more than facts.
Wikipedia: Post-truth politics
The Guardian: Broadcast news is losing its balance in the post-truth era
President Park's post truths are detailed in this next article;
Joongang Daily News: Some serious self-deception
By stating that North Korea was behind the candlelight demonstrations and other lies, President Park is trying to stir up the fear of North Korea and communism. This works well with Koreans in their 60s and above who lived through the Korean War and military dictator Park's propoganda. That is why President Park's approval rating has risen to 10%. Remember the days of dictatorship? Time and Newsweek with sections blacked out. Long hair was illegal as were mini-skirts. People were framed as spies. Curfew. Martial law. Torture. The good ole days.
There are even TV commentators raging about the opposition trying to stir up indignation and other emotions. Nowadays, they are lying low, but elections are coming up and they will be out in full force. I used to get very frustrated watching all this and knowing, but now, it is starting to get interesting.
The following is a very informative article on President Park and corruption in Korea.
New York Times: As Scandal Roils South Korea, Fingers Point to Mixing of Politics and Business
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Korean Intelligence Implicated Again In Domestic Espionage
The most interesting piece of news on TV was that the Special Independent Prosecutor carried out search warrants and from the phones that were confiscated, they managed to find out that people in the Ministry of Culture worked together with the Korean intelligence in making and updating the blacklist. Korean intelligence agency caught red handed again! They have been doing this for decades and still get away with it.
There is evidence that Korean intelligence spied on the head of the Supreme Court, a judge or prosecutor (I forget), and now the entire cultural and arts industries (movies, writers, TV, cable, theater, artists, dancers, musicians, etc.).
Another news flash. The Special Independent Prosecutor just announced that they have evidence that Korean intelligence spied on the National Pension Service to find out committee meeting results, political preferences, and how they would vote on the Samsung merger. The Special Prosecutor said that they found instant phone messages with Korean intelligence officials on ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn Jong-bom's phone and related notes in his notebook. They had this information for a couple of weeks. I think they are releasing this information now in retaliation for President Park's statements to the press, yesterday, claiming innocence. The Special Prosecutor also stated that ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn's notes also show that President Park asked Samsung's Lee Jae-yong, and the chairmen of Hanhwa and SK to donate money to various foundations under Choi Soon-sil's control. There is testimony that President Park raged at Samsung's Lee Jae-yong during a meeting for not donating to the foundations as he had promised ten months earlier, and asked that he donate about $8 million. In the same meeting, President Park said that she hoped that Samsung's merger would be completed during her term in office. Samsung paid $9 million promptly.
Joongang Daily News: Spy agency’s endless abuse of power
There is evidence that Korean intelligence spied on the head of the Supreme Court, a judge or prosecutor (I forget), and now the entire cultural and arts industries (movies, writers, TV, cable, theater, artists, dancers, musicians, etc.).
Another news flash. The Special Independent Prosecutor just announced that they have evidence that Korean intelligence spied on the National Pension Service to find out committee meeting results, political preferences, and how they would vote on the Samsung merger. The Special Prosecutor said that they found instant phone messages with Korean intelligence officials on ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn Jong-bom's phone and related notes in his notebook. They had this information for a couple of weeks. I think they are releasing this information now in retaliation for President Park's statements to the press, yesterday, claiming innocence. The Special Prosecutor also stated that ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn's notes also show that President Park asked Samsung's Lee Jae-yong, and the chairmen of Hanhwa and SK to donate money to various foundations under Choi Soon-sil's control. There is testimony that President Park raged at Samsung's Lee Jae-yong during a meeting for not donating to the foundations as he had promised ten months earlier, and asked that he donate about $8 million. In the same meeting, President Park said that she hoped that Samsung's merger would be completed during her term in office. Samsung paid $9 million promptly.
Joongang Daily News: Spy agency’s endless abuse of power
Monday, January 2, 2017
Finland Giving Away Free Money Emulating Seoul Mayor Park Won-sun
Finland is giving about $500 a month to 2,000 unemployed as an experiment into Universal Basic Income. Seoul Mayor Park Won-sun introduced a watered downed version where they give a few hundred dollars a month for a few months to young unemployed, so that they can use the money to find jobs or get training. He tried to do more, but the Park administration opposed him, took him to court and other things.
Mayor Park has tried many other good solutions to solve many problems. All the time, the ruling party and President Park have attacked his policies and character. Why? The ruling Saenuri Party seems to prefer the cognitively dissonant and Mayor Park is certainly not one of those.
Very few articles in the media have been favorable to any of Mayor Park's policies and all have repeated the Saenuri Party's criticism of his policies as leftist and populist. His popularity rating for Presidential candidate is down there at 4% with Ahn Chul-soo, another good person. In my opinion, they receive a lot of bad press and flak, so the polls are sort of biased. They both led the polls at times in years past, but then were blasted by the media.
Business Insider: Finland just launched an experiment giving 2,000 people free money until 2019
Mayor Park has managed to pay off 6-7 billion dollars of debt incurred by the previous mayor's foolish construction projects and disastrous policies. President Park's administration managed to rack up the fastest rate of debt among developed countries. Where did all the money go? To big business? To President Park's associates?
Korea Herald: South Korea has fastest growing government debt in G-20
Mayor Park has tried many other good solutions to solve many problems. All the time, the ruling party and President Park have attacked his policies and character. Why? The ruling Saenuri Party seems to prefer the cognitively dissonant and Mayor Park is certainly not one of those.
Very few articles in the media have been favorable to any of Mayor Park's policies and all have repeated the Saenuri Party's criticism of his policies as leftist and populist. His popularity rating for Presidential candidate is down there at 4% with Ahn Chul-soo, another good person. In my opinion, they receive a lot of bad press and flak, so the polls are sort of biased. They both led the polls at times in years past, but then were blasted by the media.
Business Insider: Finland just launched an experiment giving 2,000 people free money until 2019
Mayor Park has managed to pay off 6-7 billion dollars of debt incurred by the previous mayor's foolish construction projects and disastrous policies. President Park's administration managed to rack up the fastest rate of debt among developed countries. Where did all the money go? To big business? To President Park's associates?
Korea Herald: South Korea has fastest growing government debt in G-20