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On the other hand, "youth unemployment" (age range not defined) in South Korea is now at a whopping 40%. Major hard times ahead.

From a previous post: "First names are almost always two syllables in Korean, and are hyphenated." - Yes and no - see below.

"One nitpick: The hyphenation thing is a Westernism and somewhat antiquated at that. None of the Chinese I know (including my wife and her relatives) use it when writing their names in Latin characters or Hanzi. Generally they just write their given name as one word."

That's true (but see below) for Chinese names, but for Korean names using or not using hyphens seems to vary. For example, on London's Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) website none of the given names of the staff have hyphens, and none are separated. But on the current front page a film director is "Bong Joon-ho" and the violinist is "Kyung Wha Chung" (surname Chung). The Korean newspaper Chosun website uses hyphened given names in its English pages, as does the Korean Film Archive (based in Seoul) database. Note that in my experience typically a hyphenated Korean given name is like this BAE Doo-na" and MOON So-ri (two rather good Korean actors): that is the second part of the given name is not capitalised.

That said, to "confirm" all this I just looked at two calling cards I have in my wallet. The Korean one (from a KCC staff member) does not have the given name hyphenated, but the card from a Chinese-American assistant professor at a major London university *does* have a hyphenated given name, with both parts of the given capitalised.

So the polite thing to do is use a name as a person themselves uses it, no matter how you or I consider it should be spelled.

Millions of people stand to get killed - Seoul is targetted by a *huge* collection of conventional artillery...

The incoming artillery would have maybe an hour or two to do its evil until silenced by B1s and South Korea's not insignificant anti-artillary resources. This fact is well understood by North Korea's planners. North Korea's only realistic mass murder option is nuclear, with the certainty of an immediate and overwhelming response, including from China which is no more comfortable than anyone else having a nuclear armed madman on its doorstep.

Last week South Korea believes North Korea was testing their new GPS jammer from Russia.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/03/07/2011030700567.html

The parent was modded a troll because the comment is a troll.

The car didn't die "due to libertarians". The car died because it cost too much, drove too slow, and was determined by apparently every car manufacturer in the world to be roughly the equivalent of the Nissan Shitbox.

What has happened is that as manufacturers have found ways to squeeze more power out of their engines, some of that power has been siphoned off to haul around the kinds of safety features this car had. A lot of these kinds of features went into the high-end, super expensive cars much earlier than mainstream vehicles because when you add $3,000 to a $70,000 car, it stings a lot less than when you add it to a $9,000 car. When the cost of safety feature X went from the $3k cost at inception to a mature product's cost of $300, it found its way into that $9,000 car.

The only conspiracy here is the conspiracy of consumers who want bigger, faster, and more powerful 90% of the time. When times are tough, some of them start to value efficiency. When you look at most of the market (especially the market 20 and 30 years ago), safety doesn't generally rank very high. It's more of an "oh look, it even got 4 stars on some safety thing, that's cool too!". People seem to forget that Toyota only managed to get the Prius R&D'd with the huge profits coming from their trucks. They correctly realized that fuel efficiency actually does pop up on the radar every so often and so they didn't sink every dime they had into making bigger and more badass looking trucks like certain other manufacturers. And even then, if Toyota had been pushing the 2010 Prius in 1980 or 1990 instead of the vehicles they had at the time, they'd be just another footnote in the history of failed vehicle manufacturers.

Each kind of car has its own time and this car was a solid 30 years too early. It does nobody any good if nobody can mass produce it without going bankrupt. It's easy to look back now and say "you people were stupid for not buying them like crazy", but people in 2030 will be looking back at us saying the same thing about something we, today, consider ridiculous.

Test Picture of Subject A...

Sorry if there any errors, or omissions, I am trying to be accurate. A lot has happend in a little over a week.

The following takes place between July 29th and August 7th:

August 07, 2008:
Judge rejects student visa injunction sought by H-1B opponents
Tech workers don't have standing to fight Bush administration visa move
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9111963

August 07, 2008:
Jobless claims surge to highest level in 6 years
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/07/news/economy/jobless_benefits.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

August 06, 2008:
Bureau of Labor Statistics reports big drop in tech jobs
Almost 50,000 IT positions lost in last 12 months
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/07/news/economy/jobless_benefits.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

Aug 06,2008:
Yet another visa, this one allows 5000 Koreans to work in the USA each year
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200808/200808060014.html

August 06, 2008:
Apple sued over treatment of it's tech workers
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/06/apple-gets-sued-indentured

August 05, 2008:
Bogus diploma ring busted
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-diploma-mill-04-aug04,0,2164133.story

August 03, 2008:
July marks seventh consecutive month of job loses
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/46146.html

August 02, 2008:
Sun to cut between 1000 to 2500 jobs
http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/08/01/sun-us-tech-market-wont-shine-soon/

August 01, 2008:
Gartner's grim IT hiring outlook
http://blogs.zdnet.com/careers/?p=140

August 01, 2008:
Feds charges man for H1-B fraud
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_visa01.47edb3e.html#

Jul 31, 2008:
More than 3.7 million Americans had full-time jobs chopped to part time
the largest figure since the government began tracking such data more than half a century ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/business/economy/31jobs.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

July 31, 2008:
Layoffs set for 22,000 California state workers
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10046324

July 30, 2008:
WTO Doha talks collapse
India's backdoor attempt to allow more H-1Bs into the USA failed, for now
http://www.economicpopulist.org/?q=content/why-you-should-be-thrilled-wto-doha-talks-collapsed

July 30, 2008:
NY gov slashes spending; state said in "recession"
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN3032764920080730?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

July 30, 2008:
China trade has cost 2.3 million U.S. jobs
http://www.reuters.com/article/politic

This is just downright INFURIATING that Kyocera is so blind and pliant to mshaft.

Sometimes, retribution just takes too damn long. Life would be so nice if corruption and racketeering were smacked hard and fast more often than few an far in between /far/few in between.

If I were Korean, I'd start (like in the movies) wielding some baseball bats in the mshaft boardroom -- AND waking up the Korean staff that they are being screwed by ms tactics. Sometimes, you just sniff the money and pass, not take. Dammit! Makes me wonder if when it comes to occupation and software if Korean government and business are wusses or like the dollar. Just tell ms to go to hell, Kyocera. Show your balls!

Tony Leung did in Lust Caution. Don't you businessmen have balls?

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200711/200711150007.html

I don't think the PDF covered that point. A quick search shows that most wouldn't like to be reborn as Korean, though.

From what I've . heard, those south koreans need an thical code relating to inflatable sex dolls.

From what I've . heard, those south koreans need an thical code relating to inflatable sex dolls.

More Windows Vista Problems for Korean Firms

Korean MP3 players were also found to be incompatible with Vista. A Samsung Electronics spokesman said that the company's new music devices are compatible with Vista, but that older models like the YP-20S don't function well. ReignCom said that its H10 and an MP3-playing electronic dictionary are incompatible with Vista. A ReignCom spokesman said that the firm is developing a program to resolve the problem and that it should be ready this month. Facing a similar problem, other MP3 player maker like COWON are also testing to find out if their products work with Vista.

I think the fact that South Korea has something like 99% of connected computers running windows makes them an easy target for infectable machines just based on sheer volume. Combine that with the outstanding penetration of very high-speed internet connectivity and just about everything in the country is running an OS with a poor history of security on a very fast connection..

In order to make a secure transaction over the internet in South Korea you have to be able to run IE, and ActiveX controls to establish your secure link as the result of a deal with M$ in '97 to provide an encryption and authentication mechanism for internet based transactions using the web iirc.. (OpenSSL wasn't a standard yet - that was '98)

This is the same reason the the Ministry of Information and Communication of South Korea urged its citizens not to upgrade to Vista.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701 /200701240013.html

Recently (I don't quite remember when) there was an SSN related forgery (I don't know the details) in Korea because the actual transaction was taking place on the client side. I guess this is the reason they do alomost everything on the server side. well my 2 cents. oh i just found it http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200509 /200509230032.html

Whupps.. Yep, you now remind me that I have seen numeric sites. I sit corrected. I guess I'd gotten too much of Sina and Baidu...

But, when I use Google to search for a Chinese Character and get pages back, they have English URLs, true.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%8A%A9&ie=UTF-8& oe=UTF-8

http://www.dongailbo.co.kr/docs/magazine/weekly/20 05/01/03/200501030500036/200501030500036_2.html

http://www.91985.com/
http://www.chosun.com/

and I realize now that I'd forgotten that english is STILL in thees sites' names.

But, honestly, I could swear that in Mozilla I'd seen Asian or Korean fonts in the URL/location bar only a few weeks ago. I'd been playing around with explicitly searching for information using Korean fonts in the URL at:

http://bemil.chosun.com/

I'll have to reinstall Mozilla and recreate my steps.

Whupps.. Yep, you now remind me that I have seen numeric sites. I sit corrected. I guess I'd gotten too much of Sina and Baidu...

But, when I use Google to search for a Chinese Character and get pages back, they have English URLs, true.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%8A%A9&ie=UTF-8& oe=UTF-8

http://www.dongailbo.co.kr/docs/magazine/weekly/20 05/01/03/200501030500036/200501030500036_2.html

http://www.91985.com/
http://www.chosun.com/

and I realize now that I'd forgotten that english is STILL in thees sites' names.

But, honestly, I could swear that in Mozilla I'd seen Asian or Korean fonts in the URL/location bar only a few weeks ago. I'd been playing around with explicitly searching for information using Korean fonts in the URL at:

http://bemil.chosun.com/

I'll have to reinstall Mozilla and recreate my steps.

Actually a few analysts believe that that explosion was an assassination attempt. Kim's train passed through the area a few hours earlier - apparently he had changed his schedule otherwise he would have been blown up.

Unfortunately a few hundred innocents died instead.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s113 1470.htm

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200405 /200405240030.html

Okay this is off topic but did anyone else notice the link to the upper right of the story, "Murderous Dog Stew Lover Undone by Telltale Collar?" I always thought that Koreans eating dogs was a myth. Any slashdotters want to confess to trying it?

What about Samsumg?

Lets not jump to too many conclusions here! One stupid fossil and the worlds belief system is supposed to be forever changed? Here is the image (in Jap but you get the idea) http://www.chosun.com/economy/news/200604/20060406 0131.html Lets face it, ID was a nice try but its a joke even to creationist. Look here for some more scientific evidence. http://www.answersingenesis.org/

probably a bit late too post as a separate news item... "The popular online game Lineage has led to the online theft of no fewer than 1 million identities, a police investigation has revealed. The police's Cyber Terror Response Center said Monday its analysis of Lineage accounts created between October 2005 and Feb.14 this year revealed that anywhere between 980,000 and 1.22 million of them were set up in the name of Internet users who never signed up to play the game. Most of them were created in China" from this article http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603 /200603130026.html

Hear me out on this. The new boom will be automation.

Cars that drive themselves, house hold robots, robotic lawnmowers, expert systems, and better search engines etc etc.

Put your stocks into these areas... Its the next big hype because VCs will see these things and be mystified and start hurling wads of cash at the next roomba.

The broadcaster tried to settle all disputes by terminating the investigative program. But public anger is reaching the point where some Internet users are now threatening suicide unless MBC's management resigns. A boycott of the flagship "News Desk' is almost a minor problem compared to that. Could there really be a curse on MBC?

Other sources state that seven Samsung executives may still face criminal prosecution.

This man actually QUIT HIS JOB so that he could spend more time gaming. Perhaps some better health management could be desired, but the man was the epitome of a GAMER.

OR.... not. Somebody's story is wrong, because this one, which seems to be a Korean news source, says:

Since being fired early last month over his frequent absences due to his game addiction, Lee had been coming to the PC café every day to play

He was a slacker. He actually died of slacking off too much.

Actually, according to this article (http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/20050 8/200508080012.html), he didn't quit his job so much as he was fired.

--AC

Yup, Starcraft.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200508 /200508080012.html

m00

Yup sure sounds sounds like the appropriate people to bash. Who says there is no bias here?

There is the mystery of the "Ryanggang explosion", also documented in Wikipedia.

I assume the screen is 16x9

There's no need to assume that:

Picture of display as linked in the article

P.S. does anyone else think op is trying to bring that forum down...

origin of the news, have no idea how trustworthy it is: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200412 /200412300018.html

From the same news source, there may be other reasons for IM's popularity. . . .

Too bad, 'cause it would help keep these koreans in miniskirts warm in winter.

...they'd better send us this fad as well.

Mal-2

If this link is even remotely accurate, I think I'd love Korea too. Where do I sign up for a citizenship? :P

SPH 2000 That's a picture that comes from theis link: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200407 /200407110024.html Design is not the greatest (though personally, I still like it better than Nokia's phones) but it's an interesting approach to the idea. PS yes I am aware that this phone's camera is only 3.2 MP, but it's the 3xOptical zoom plus the size of the lens that interests me.

I think you're the doofus here.

Yes, the internet can route around specific failures, but it still has to go over some kind of physical link, and there are only a limited number of those going to North Korea. The internet is not some magical data genie that can take your bits anywhere, it requires a lot of infrastructure to get those bits from your house to Slashdot or China. We might like to think of the internet as a land of pure data and information, but it cannot exist without the physical layer.

Granted, it would require cooperation from China and Russia, but they could definitely be cut off it they pissed off the world too much with their 'hackers'. They definitely don't have links with South Korea or Japan. And the ability of the internet to route around failures is limited if everyone you network with wants to drop you off the network...

Perhaps you're used to a western country like the U.S. or Europe, where you can get a net connection anywhere and it has multiple redundant paths, but that is not what North Korea is like. North Korea probobly has less bandwidth going in and out than most major universities in the west. Also, you must realize that the NK gov't severely restricts their own networks, because they don't want their citizens to be 'contaminated' with foreign ideas and media.

From Wikipedia:
Telephones - mobile cellular: In November 2002, cell phones were introduced to North Korea and by November 2003, 20000 North Koreans had bought cell phones. On May 24. 2004 cell phones were banned. North Korea supposingly still have a mobile network in Pyongyang which is open for government officials and maybe foreigner, but not locals.

Telephone system: international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean Region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA. North Korea has been testing its first Web portal http://www.kcckp.net/external_e/ (see also [1]).

In 2002 the first Internet cafe has opened ([2], [3], [4] ). It is connected via a line to China. Also, foreign visitors can link their computers to the Internet through international phone lines available in a few hotels in Pyongyang.

Because the North Korean government does things like kidnap citizens from other countries, conducts experiments on human subjects, and starves their population.

All in all, since the North Korean really can't build nukes without China's tacit acquiescence, I'd say we should go to the Chinese and say "If North Korea doesn't give up its nukes now, we'll support the nuclear arming of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan."

That'd go over well with the Commies in Peking.

Oh, and you should see from both game theory and the results of Jimmy Carter's previous negotiations during the Clinton administration with North Korea why negotiating directly with North Korea only is a bad idea. Not that being a bad idea ever stopped John Kerry from opening his yap.

Did you also know that a few days after Kerry went off about North Korea in the first debate, the North Koreans pulled out of negotiations and want to wait until after the US elections? I guess they think they can get a better deal from Kerry.

This South Korean article has a better low res map showing boundaries. article here

I forgot to mention the reports of NK appreaing to prepare for a nuclear test before the cloud.

But another poster posted a link to this story which says "The [South Korean high-ranking] government official said, 'If a nuclear test causes an explosion, we can detect it by reading satellite data. Thus, the recent explosion in North Korea was not caused by a nuclear test.'" That's the kind of hard info I want to hear, assuming it's correct.

I live here, so I pray to God it wasn't a nuke.

Gov't Confirms 'Non-Nuclear' N. Korean Explosion

It was reported that there was a massive explosion Thursday around the town of Yongjo-ri, Kim Hyong-jik County, Ryanggang Province. U.S. Department of State, sources familiar with North Korea and the Korean government all confirmed the explosion. A high-ranking government official said Sunday, It is true that a large mushroom cloud about 3.5 to 4 km in diameter was observed by a satellite at around 11:00 a.m. Thursday. It was not a nuclear test, but the explosion seemed to be three times bigger than the one that took place during the Ryongchon Station accident,± and added, Both U.S. and Korean intelligence authorities are investigating what caused the explosion.±

Chong Wa Dae Spokesman Kim Jong-min said, We noticed the explosion right after it took place and reported it to the president in writing during a National Security Council meeting. But we cannot decide the nature of the accident yet.±

The accident took place in a mountainous region 1,500 meter above sea level around Yongjo-ri, where it is known that there were many munitions factories nearby. In particular, the exact spot of explosion is only 10km away southwest from the Yongjo-ri base for Rodong 1 and 2 missiles and some 30km away from the Sino-Korean border.

There is much talk about the cause of the explosion. The government official said, If a nuclear test causes an explosion, we can detect it by reading satellite data. Thus, the recent explosion in North Korea was not caused by a nuclear test.± The intelligence authorities assume that an ammunition depot with over 1,000 tons of dynamite or an ammunition car may have exploded, or there may have been a chain explosion of chemical material or a big fire. Some Chinese sources argue that a massive explosion took pace in a munitions factory. Hong Sun-jik, director at the Hyundai Economic Institute said, Other than the assumption that it may be a simple accident that took place due to old facilities, we cannot exclude the possibility that the explosion may have taken place due to the lack of control of the Kim Jong-il regime, or it may have been connected to a secret feud over the successor of Kim Jong-il following the rumor of death of Kims wife, Ko Young-hee.±

Also, some strongly argue that it is not a simple accident because it took place on Sept.9, the Norths foundation day, which is considered a very important national holiday. Others argue that with Koreas nuclear experiments in the past at issue in the international community, it could be a false explosion by North Korea to intensify the Koreas nuclear issue. In other words, the North intentionally caused the explosion to deliver a message to the international community.

The government official said, We will be able to know the exact cause only after North Korea makes an official statement or intelligence authorities announces the results of their analysis.±

(Choi Byung-mook, bmchoi@chosun.com )

Location of Mushroom - - Map Here - probably better than what CNN can tell you.

My guess is that it isn't a forest fire.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409 /200409120002.html

Old Sat pictures - not really of the explosion site.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/facility/nodong .htm/

Here is a map showing the location:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409 /200409120002.html/

Massive Explosion Takes Place Near Sino-Korean Border

A Chinese source familiar with North Korea revealed Sunday that a major explosion took place Thursday in Kim Hyong-jik County, Ryanggang Province.

The source said, "I know there was an extremely large explosion in Kim Hyong-jik County, which is near the Sino-Korean border, on Sept. 9, North Korea's foundation day."

He added, "I heard talk that the explosion was even bigger than the one that took place during the Ryongchon Station accident... Evidence of the explosion was detected by satellite, and I understand the U.S. and other surrounding nations are paying attention to the incident."

In relation to this, another source connected to North Korea said, "I heard rumors of a large explosion taking place in North Korea's Ryanggang Province, which is close to the border with China."

An official from a certain surrounding nation who resides in Beijing said, "There is a rumor that a large explosion took place in Ryanggang Province, and interested nations are working to uncover the exact scale and cause of the explosion."

Kim Hyong-jik Country, where the explosion is known to have taken place. is across the Yalu River from Jilin Province, China, and South Korean intelligence authorities understand that a base for Daepodong 1 and 2 missiles was located at the town of Yongjo-ri, in a mountainous region of the province.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Map of the region is here:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409 /200409120002.html/

Quoted from their website:

Massive Explosion Takes Place Near Sino-Korean Border

A Chinese source familiar with North Korea revealed Sunday that a major explosion took place Thursday in Kim Hyong-jik County, Ryanggang Province.

The source said, "I know there was an extremely large explosion in Kim Hyong-jik County, which is near the Sino-Korean border, on Sept. 9, North Korea's foundation day."

He added, "I heard talk that the explosion was even bigger than the one that took place during the Ryongchon Station accident... Evidence of the explosion was detected by satellite, and I understand the U.S. and other surrounding nations are paying attention to the incident."

In relation to this, another source connected to North Korea said, "I heard rumors of a large explosion taking place in North Korea's Ryanggang Province, which is close to the border with China."

An official from a certain surrounding nation who resides in Beijing said, "There is a rumor that a large explosion took place in Ryanggang Province, and interested nations are working to uncover the exact scale and cause of the explosion."

Kim Hyong-jik Country, where the explosion is known to have taken place. is across the Yalu River from Jilin Province, China, and South Korean intelligence authorities understand that a base for Daepodong 1 and 2 missiles was located at the town of Yongjo-ri, in a mountainous region of the province.

Problem is (seems to be?) that because Japan is a strong country, anything they say or write is more likely to be taken for granted overseas. Korea can shout all they want, they wont be heard.

For example, should I say east sea or sea of japan? Well, It's pretty much always been east sea. Korea and China use the term, but guess which one the rest of the world is using?

There are also some diputed teritories and signs of american involvment in the dispute... (the bastards ;)

Add to the history rewrite some fake archaeological discoveries and you end-up with Korean people being very angry not just about what Japan did but about what Japan is doing now.

It really is fascinating to be living here in Korea. It is a country still strongly affected by its past history. For instance, they have programs on TV about people looking for their displaced relatives in kazakhstan or uzbekistan (Blame Stalin) and when you go to Ansan, the Koreans who returned from Sakhalin and live there speak better russian than I do...

But from what you wrote, I guess you don't have to go very far to see signs of history being rewritten. In France, anybody who dares say concentration camps never existed or that gas was never used for killing Jews, ends-up in Prison. I don't like my country much but some things they do right. No use hiding behind some ammendment to try and spew crap: if you do, you know the risks...

Maybe they were made by Hyundai.

Nope, it's just the truth.

Dude, I just can't get that picture out of my head, make it stop.

I apologize if I've caused you any discomfort. Just forget that this stuff is going on over there and go do something else.

Yep. And there is *nothing* going on here that needs to be dealt with. Meanwhile, there is a lot of stuff that needs to be fixed elsewhere. Not that you give a damn. You just want to spew a load of bullshit and then get defensive when somebody calls you on it. Hypocrite.

And, in any case, what kind of argumentation is that supposed to be anyway? You seem to be saying that US can be racist

Nope, we're not racist.

and destroy its environment

No, we're not doing that either. But feel free to live in your fantasy world.

because North Korea is even worse

North Korea is a lot worse. As are most of the rest of the world. Again, not that you care.

If you want to engage in international comparisons at all

I do. Most everywhere on earth is engaged in rampant human rights abuses and life is disgusting. It isn't in the U.S. There's nothing more to say.

then the US should compare itself to the best nations in these areas, not to the worst, and in all the areas you mention, the US is in pretty bad shape in international comparisons.

Well, that's a crock too. But that's irrelevant. There's a line between good and evil. We're on one side of it. Nations like North Korea and Iran are on the other side of it. You hate to hear it but it's true. Sorry about that.

You may now return to your self-imposed deception. Have fun.

You've gotta love our fellow /.'ers who are still that naive. We've got to put them in a jar and keep them in a museum for future generations to look at - it would be a shame if we loose you guys for good...

No, I didn't mean to insult you, skyshadow (sorry if I did), but seriously,