Great Post from GI KOREA.................

7 Reasons Why North Korea’s Missile Test Was Not A Failure

There has been an on going narrative being created in the media that North Korea’s missile test was a failure because the North Koreans did not put a satellite into orbit.

North Korea failed in its highly vaunted effort to fire a satellite into orbit, military and private experts said Sunday after reviewing detailed tracking data that showed the missile and payload fell into the sea. Some said the failure undercut the North Korean campaign to come across as a fearsome adversary able to hurl deadly warheads halfway around the globe. [NY Times]

This narrative completely misses the fact that the North Koreans probably had no intention of putting a satellite into orbit in the first place and used it as cover to complete a long range missile test of the Taepodong-2 missile. Additionally the North Koreans fired the missile for more then just missile test reasons, it also had much domestic as well as political reasons to fire the missile as well.

#1 The Missile Landed Near Where North Korea Said It Would

Via Arms Control Wonk comes this Google Earth image that shows where the two boosters of the Taepodong-2 landed as well as the area expected to have been the impact area of the missile’s payload:

If you go on Google Earth and check the distance of this launch you will see the impact area is roughly 2,000 - 2,300 miles from the launch site. This impact area is exactly where North Korea said debris would fall to prior to the test. Here is the Google Earth image from NK Econ Watch that I posted two weeks ago that shows where North Korea said the debris would fall:

This is evidence that the North Koreans had already had a pre-planned range limit for the test and never intended to fire the missile any further then this impact point. The fact that the pre-planned and actual impact points are in the same general area could mean that the North Koreans were testing the accuracy of the Taepodong-2 instead of trying to see how far they could fire it.

#2 This was North Korea’s Longest Range Missile Test Yet

According to South Korean authorities this test of the Taepodong-2 was North Korea’s longest missile test yet:

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service described it as a successful rocket test but a failed satellite launch, according to lawmakers who attended a closed-door briefing of parliament’s intelligence committee.

Chae Yeon-Seok of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said that while the rocket apparently failed, it flew much farther than in 1998.

He called it “a big step forward in the North’s rocket technology.” [AFP]

The South Koreans are not the only ones saying that this was a successful missile test:

But U.S. and South Korean officials claim the entire rocket, including whatever payload it carried, ended up in the ocean after Sunday’s launch. South Korean officials said the rocket’s second stage landed in waters about 1,900 miles (3,100 kilometers) from the northeastern North Korean launch site.

That is double the distance a rocket managed in 1998 and far better than a 2006 launch of a long-range missile that fizzled just 42 seconds after liftoff. Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Mongolia and many parts of China now are within striking range, but Anchorage, Alaska, is roughly 3,500 miles (6,000 kilometers) from the launch site and the U.S. mainland much farther away. [Associated Press]

This missile cannot reach Alaska or Hawaii, but it can reach or a least come very close to Guam now. If you load up Google Earth you can measure the distance between Guam and the missile test site. The distance between these two locations is roughly 2,100 miles. Being able to range Guam is significant because of the number of US military bases already on the island and the fact that even more servicemembers are being relocated there, which will make Guam our major military staging area in the western Pacific.

#3 The North Koreans Had Success In Testing Their Multi-Stage Missile Capabilities

Experts are all in agreement that the North Koreans failed to put a satellite in space, but they are also in agreement that North Korea made progress in their multi-stage rocket capability:

Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, said that while the rocket’s first stage successfully broke away, it appears the second and third stages failed to separate or had difficulty doing so. (…….)

But Kim Tae-woo, an analyst at Seoul’s state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said the launch raises the stakes at stalled disarmament talks because Pyongyang now has more to bargain away.

“Militarily and politically, it’s not a failure” because “North Korea demonstrated a greatly enhanced range,” Kim said. “North Korea is playing a game of trying to manipulate the U.S. by getting it within range, which is the so-called pressure card.” [Associated Press]

There may have been issues with the pay load separating from the second booster, but the advancement in their multi-stage rocket capability is quite evident considering just two years ago their missile blew up shortly after lift off and that this test was by far the longest range missile test they have ever done. With the knowledge gained from this test they will be able to further improve their capabilities.

#4 The North Koreans Have Successfully Put Themselves Back On the US’s Agenda

The Obama administration has been trying to keep the North Korea issue on the back burner due to all the other problems they are currently dealing with. Well Kim Jong-il wasn’t about to wait for President Obama to complete his agenda before getting to his:

American Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice (c.) and Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu spoke to reporters regarding North Korea's launch of a test missile Sunday, April 5, 2009 at U.N. headquarters. Mary Altaffer/AP

The UN Security Council’s inability to take harsh action against North Korea in an emergency session Sunday – the first such gathering of the Obama presidency – leaves the challenge posed by Pyongyang’s launch of a long-range missile in Washington’s lap.

That is just where North Korea’s attention-starved leader, Kim Jong Il, wants it.

“North Korea was way down on the list of priorities for Obama, but with this one test firing, they have put themselves at the top of his list of things to do,” says Chaibong Hahm, a Northeast Asia expert at RAND Corp., in Santa Monica, Calif. [Christian Science Monitor]

This missile test has obviously been successful in getting North Korea back into the national spotlight and Obama officials are already lining up to appease the Dear Leader.

As I have stated over and over again, North Korea has no plans to dismantle their nuclear weapons, but now this latest missile test has given them something that they can use to extort more money out of the US without negotiating over their nuclear program.

#5 Kim Jong-il Further Solidified His Domestic Standing Within North Korea

With the opeing of this week’s North Korea’s parliamentary session this missile test has showed the North Korean elite that Kim Jong-il is still in charge and willing to continue to use brinkmanship to get his way.

Thus, with the announcement of the imminent missile launching, the dictator is not trying to get Mr. Obama’s attention so much as his own people’s. It is not merely a question of carrying out the threats of the anti-Lee rhetoric, rich in allusions to a pending comeuppance, that have filled the party newspapers since last fall. The now-familiar cycle of North Korean provocation, American warnings, North Korean follow-through and American calls for more peace talks — calls that are always mocked as an abject surrender — must turn every few years if the “military first” regime is to justify its existence and give heroic meaning to the people’s hardship.

Were the North to exchange its nuclear program for an aid package and an American Embassy it would quite literally become a poor man’s version of South Korea. Mr. Kim is realistic enough to know how long such a state would last. [B.R. Myers - NY Times]

#6 Further Showed the Weakness of UN Sanctions

Despite a variety of sanctions already on North Korea, the Security Council was not even able to agree to issue Kim Jong-il an angry letter. Despite tough sanctions that were passed on North Korea in 2006 by then UN Ambassador John Bolton, the international community to include eventually the US ignored them. Now this latest brinkmanship has once again shown the uselessness of these sanctions and ultimately doesn’t just aid North Korea, but Iran as well as they move forward on their nuclear program despite threats of further UN resolutions and international sanctions against them.

This incident also allowed Russia and China to flex their muscles in the UN and take a position that they can use later on as bargaining chips in negotiations with the US. The Russians for example can say, if you want help with the North Korea issue, then end all US support for the Central Asian nation of Georgia.

#7 Gave Critics Reason to Denounce US Missile Defense

There has long been a chorus of people who denounce missile defense with much of it being for ideological reasons more so then any technical reasons. However, since the military did not shoot down the North Korean missile these same critics have been going around saying missile defense doesn’t work:

However, noting that missile shield advocates will use this launch to push missile defense technology, Wright told CNN, it would not be the answer since North Korea, and any other country could easily use decoys and other counter-measures to thwart the anti-missile technology. [CNN]

Here is more from David Wright:

Wright, a physicist, pointed out that government and independent technical studies have concluded that decoys and other countermeasures can defeat anti-missile systems. These analyses show that any country that is capable of developing and building a long-range missile and nuclear weapon also would have the technologies to deploy effective countermeasures.

Moreover, he added, a September 1999 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on foreign missile developments noted that “Russia and China each have developed numerous countermeasures and probably are willing to sell the requisite technologies.”

“Given the U.S. missile defense system’s high profile, any country developing missiles to fire at the United States would incorporate decoys in its missile design,” Wright said. “And it is highly unlikely the United States would know details about the decoys before an attack, giving any attacker the advantage of surprise.”

The technical reality is that missile defense is not an effective way to stop a missile attack once an attack has been launched, Wright said. “If U.S. policymakers believe a missile attack is a significant security threat, it is irresponsible for them to advocate missile defense as a realistic response. Doing so could create a false sense of security, divert defense dollars from more important uses, and reduce any incentive to develop more effective measures to reduce a missile threat.” [Union of Concern Scientists]

He makes one large flawed assumption and that is that missile defense is being developed to counter Russian and Chinese stockpiles of missiles. It has been pretty clear from the beginning that missile defense is being developed to counter missile threats from rogue states not from large military powers like Russia and China that could overwhelm any missile shield with sheer numbers.

The reason for not shooting down the missile was political and not technical as both the US and Japanese navies equipped AEGIS SM-3 missiles were prepared to shoot it down if ordered to do so, which they were not. The SM-3 has undergone more rigorous flight testing then what shooting down this North Korean missile would have been.

Ultimately by bringing down US missile defense efforts the payment the North Koreans would expect from any agreement to scrap their missile program would only be higher while other rogue nations would have the green light to further develop their own ballistic missile programs. Fortunately I seriously doubt this is going to happen.

Conclusion

So ultimatley in conclusion the reason for creating the perception of a North Korean launch failure has more to do with political realities instead of technical ones. As far as the Obama administation is concerned it would be in their best interest to play down the North Korean missile test as a failure in order to save face because of the fact that trying to punish them through the United Nations will not work.

So expect the chorus of a North Korean missile test failure to continue with calls for more international cooperation until something else comes up and the 24 hour news cycle moves on and everyone forgets about North Korea like they usually do until something else happens. While this is going on better options that don’t rely on the UN are more then likely going to be ignored.

KBO Resumes Kissing its Sister

AND I WAS AT THIS GAME.

From eastwestchronicle.com

I happened to be watching the Doosan/Hanwha game fairly closely yesterday, so I become more engrossed than I ought to have. Well, my perseverance paid off and I got to see a 4 1/2 hour 7-7 tie. Fun.

The KBO abolished the “play until it ends no curfew” rule implemented just last season and it only took three games to find a tie in the standings. What I’m about to say will surprise some, but I think in the face of having a bunch of ties, the KBO should consider implementing the Unicorn Rule, known amongst scouts as “PK,” or “penalty kicks.”

I’ve been very critical of the Unicorn Rule, and I still don’t like it for international play or big games, but I can tell you, after scouting four Korean high school games in a single day there’s no more welcome sight than seeing two runners trot out to first and second in the top of the 10th.

From a selfish fan’s perspective, I would hate it if MLB decided to bring in the rule, but with the KBO, I could live with it. Especially en leu of a tie. It’s a little amusing the league went back on it’s new/old rule so quickly, but it seems games like last year’s five hour and seven minute playoff tilt between Samsung and Doosan forced the league’s hand. My guess is that for playoff games there will be no 12 inning rule........................................................................................

WELL IT WAS A GREAT OPENING NIGHT IN DAEJEON. I got lucky because a friend was able to get their early and get some tickets for us. I was right about the game being sold out. I was so ready to see a Hanwha win. But no..we get this stoopid 12 inning tie rule and the game ends 7-7. Hanwha tied the game at 7-7 on the bottom of the 9th inning but just couldn't get the final run in. The crowd was going nuts during the bottom of the 9th, I was yelling and going crazy and cheering for the Eagles. It was just so anti-fun with the game being ended in a tie. I was so glad that i went but I really hate ties.

So for the season of Hanwha home game so far 0 Wins 0 losses and 1 frackin tie...

Korean Rankings: The Boys Are Back in Town

FROM eastwindupchronicle.com A LOOK AT THE 2009 KBO....

I could see the KBO stating it’s season with a highlight reel backed by “The Boys Are Back in Town.” Maybe some closeups of the players pointing bats at the cameras, a few goofy smiles from some of the funnier looking players in the league, maybe some cartoon characters running into the frame. That said, it’s nice to have the league back — for me, nothing says spring/summer in Korea like warm weather, samgyupsal and beer, and a big screen TV showing the Lotte Giants.

This is the first edition of my KBO rankings. In the past I’ve tried to do them every week, but I’m much busier now and won’t attempt to hang that over my head. Let’s call them periodic. For this first edition I’m going to make it something of a combination rankings/2009 preview, meaning I’ll be including some thoughts about where teams might end up at the end of the year. For example, I can’t very well knock the back-to-back champs from the No. 1 slot as the season begins, but I do not think SK will make it a three-peat.

1. SK Wyverns (1): Even though the Asia Series is an exhibition, watching the games in Tokyo last November made me wonder if SK had finally peaked and was due for a bit of a dip in 2009. The Wyvrens are still arguably the best run organization in Korean baseball, but their winning has always had more to do with attitude than pure talent. This year the talent took another hit with the departure of WBC member Lee Jin-yeong to LG, and I think the attitude takes a hit in the form of being Korea-beaters two years running. I still see this team going to the playoffs, but I don’t see them winning it all.

2. Doosan Bears (3): And for those who expect me to make a homer pick and have Lotte winning it all, think again. Doosan is the team to beat in 2009 and I expect the Bears to win the KBO championship this year. Despite the recent loss of pitcher Matt Randell, who was injured in a Seoul subway and subsequently cut from the team, Doosan has superb young pitching that will keep the team competitive for years to come. The bullpen, which turned into a big strength last year with 2007 rookie of the year Lim Tae-hoon, WBC member Lee Jae-woo, and closer Lee Yeong-chan. I suspect 2007 top pick Jin Ya-gop will emerge this season, and the team is also adding Song Yeong-hoon, it’s top pick in 2008, and one of the most exciting talents entering the KBO this season. Couple the young pitching with the same offensive core that reached the KBO final two years running and you have a team primed to take it all the way.

3. Lotte Giants (2): Lotte could win it all in 2009, but will need a few things to happen. It will need Karim Garcia to replicate his fantastic 2009, it will need Doosan transplant DH Hong Sung-hoon to replicate his career-best 2009, and it will need a starting pitcher to step up and become what Son Min-han was during the first half of 2008, since I don’t think Son himself will (he won’t even make his first start until the end of the month). I see one of those things happening, and possibly two, but in no way no how do I see all three happening. The Giants should spend most of the year in the top half of the standings, but I still see this being an up and down team who can beat or lose to anyone on any given night. That just doesn’t work during playoff time.

4. Samsung Lions (4): The Lions squeezed into the playoffs last year and then thumped Lotte before losing to Doosan. I’d love to write this team off, but the fact is the Lions may have added exactly what the team needs — pitching and a legitimate lead-off hitter in rookie Kim Sang-soo, a great fielder with speed to burn, who should compete with Doosan’s Sung for rookie-of-the-year. I’m less convinced on the pitching because 2/5 of the rotation will be new foreign arms in Runelvys Hernandez and Francisco Cruceta. On paper both should throw well in Korea, but in 2008 foreign arms let Samsung down big time. If they do pitch well, this team can make the playoffs again.

5. Kia Tigers (6): I recently got an email from someone asking me to name the Top 3 Korean baseball players in the world right now. No. 1 is Choo Shin-soo, who I give a bump due to the competition he plays against in MLB. No. 2 is reigning MVP Kim Kwang-hyun. Fair enough. But number three had me thinking. I finally had to say Yoon Suk-min, who has electric stuff and was the single most consistent player for both the Olympic and the WBC team. In the KBO, a true ace can take your team a long way and I expect Kia to outperform expectations in 2009 and end up as the second or third best team in the league. Crazy talk? Roar. Of course there’s still the brain of Choi Hee-seop and there’s no telling where that’ll be in 2009, but so long as he isn’t terrible, I see the offense being enough to make both Yoon and Seo Jae-weong good bets to win every time they pitch.

6. Hanwha Eagles (5): When the Eagles had Doug Clark rolling, plus Kim Tae-keun and Lee Bum-ho, they were capable of outscoring any team on any given night. Clark plays for Woori now, but Victor Diaz, who could challenge for the HR title playing in the Eagles band box, is an interesting addition with both Tae-keun and Bum-ho auditioning for big contracts in MLB or Japan. Still, I have to wonder where the starting pitching outside of Ryu Hyun-jin will come from. Fans in Daejeon have a lot of 10-9 games with 12 pitching changes to look forward to.

7. Woori Seoul Heroes (7): I think things are getting better in, um, the south west part of Seoul. The Heroes brought back their old Unicorns manager, Lee Gwang-hwan, who’d been more or less tossed to the curb when the team was sold during spring training, setting a bad tone for all of 2008. I like the addition of Doug Clark, IF it’s the Clark from the first half of 2008. Outside of him, WBC member Lee Tae-keun, and Cliff Brumbaugh, who is now the foreigner with the longest tenure in the KBO, this lineup doesn’t have much going for it. The starting pitching is still solid with Ma Il-yeong, Jang Won-sam and Kim Su-kyeong, but I’m not sure everything comes together. At best this is a team with a outside chance at the playoffs. Hey wait. That’s not so bad.

8. LG Twins (8) – Still the worst team in Korea, and the news that Chris Oxspring is having serious elbow trouble (already being refuted) isn’t going to help anything. The team will move the fences is during home games at Jamsil, which, coupled with the additions of Lee Jin-yeong from SK (who will hit No. 2) and Jung Sung-hoon from Woori (who will hit No. 6), should make for some great four hour 13-11 games with Hanwha in August. Wake me up in October please. But outside of Bong Jung-keun, the pitching is terrible and the Twins should find themselves in last for all of 2009.

A GREAT POST FROM GIKOREA....

North Korea Conducts Missile Test, Now What?

in: North Korea

As expected the North Korean missile test has occurred this weekend and no one took any attempt to shoot it down:

American officials condemned the North Korean launch of a long-range rocket Sunday, with President Obama calling it a “provocative act.”

The rocket, a Taepodong 2, was launched at around 11:30 a.m. local time Sunday (2:30 a.m. GMT) at a base in the northeastern part of the country. Officials in Washington, D.C., confirmed early Sunday that the rocket cleared Japan.

Preliminary data show that two objects, likely boosters from the rocket, apparently fell around Japan — one in the Sea of Japan and one in the Pacific Ocean. [CNN]

Here is the breaking news video from CNN:

It is humorous to see CNN’s Mike Chinoy already on the airwaves blaming the Bush Administration for the launch when the Bush administration did everything possible to appease Kim Jong-il to include laundering counterfeit money for them. It was also interesting that Chinoy does not mention why the Bush administration drop Agreed Framework 1.0, which is because of North Korea’s secret uranium program which Chinoy it is now proven was greatly wrong about in his book Meltdown.

Anyway as I expected no one made any attempt to shoot the missile down and the Japanese are saying no debris from the rocket landed in their territory:

Japan says no debris has apparently fallen on its territory after what it calls a provocative rocket launch. Japan has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council later in the day to discuss the event, which it and others say violates a U.N. resolution.

The Japanese government, which had gone on high alert in case any debris fell on its territory, says the first stage of the rocket fell into the Sea of Japan 13 minutes after the launch at 11:30 a.m. local time about 280 kilometers off Japan’s western shore. The booster stage dropped in the western Pacific Ocean nearly 1,300 miles east of Japan. Japan’s Defense Ministry says its forces made no attempt to shoot down the rocket as it flew over two northern prefectures — Akita and Iwate. [Chosun Ilbo]

Here is a graphic via the Marmot’s Hole that shows the trajectory of the rocket and where the boosters landed:

The North Koreans for their part are claiming that their “satellite” is now successfully in orbit though no one has been able to confirm this yet:

North Korea confirmed its rocket launch on Sunday, saying that “communications satellite Kwangmyongsong-2″ has successfully entered into orbit.

But neighboring countries monitoring the launch have found “no evidence yet” to prove North Korea’s claim, a senior Seoul official said on condition of anonymity.

“Scientists and technicians of the DPRK (North Korea) have succeeded in putting satellite Kwangmyongsong-2, an experimental communications satellite, into orbit by means of carrier rocket Unha-2 under the state long-term plan for the development of outer space,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The three-stage rocket Unha-2 blasted off from a launch pad on the country’s northeast coast at 11:20 a.m. and put the satellite safely into orbit 2 seconds past 11:29 a.m., the report claimed.

The Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite is now following an “elliptic orbit, at the angle of inclination of 40.6 degrees at 490 km perigee and 1 426 km apogee,” it said, adding its cycle is 104 minutes and 12 seconds.

“The satellite is going round its routine orbit,” the KCNA said.

“The carrier rocket and the satellite developed through our indigenous wisdom and technology are the shining result of efforts to develop the nation’s space science and technology on a higher level,” it added. [Yonhap]

South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan

I think there is a good chance the missile was a success because as Bruce Klingner reports, the Iranians have been using the same technology:

“When Iran launched their long-rang Safir missile in February, they used North Korean missile components and technical support,” Bruce Klingner, senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said. “And Pakistan’s mid-range Ghauri missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead, is actually a renamed North Korean Nodong.” [Yonhap]

The reaction to the launch from Seoul has been quite subdued with the government’s official position right now that the launch was of a satellite and not a missile. However, the South Korean government has so far have not been able to confirm that a satellite is in orbit. This launch could end up being similar to the one in 1998 where the North Koreans claimed that the Kwangmyongsong-1 satellite was a success yet no one could find any trace of it in the Earth’s orbit and the launch has long been considered a failure.

I thought the South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan made a good point when he said that Seoul and the international community are greatly disappointed over Pyongyang’s heavy spending on the long-range rocket when the money could have been used to help relieve its chronic food shortages.

The ROK Army for their part are standing ready to deal with any other North Korean provocations:

The Defense Ministry has convened a crisis management committee meeting on how to respond to a rocket launched by North Korea.

The meeting was held soon after the launch was confirmed, and top military officials discussed measures on the launch and ordered troops to stand by for provocations at the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea and the inter-Korean border.

The meeting was presided over by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-young.

JCS operations chief Kim Jong-bae also told reporters that the South Korean military and U.S. forces in the South are beefing up a joint defense posture to deter further provocations. He said they are prepared for any move the North might pursue. [KBS Global]

The Japanese government did not issue much of a response either to the North Korean missile test:

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Nakamura calls North Korea’s action “extremely regrettable.” Nakamura says whether North Korea was placing a satellite into space, as it claimed, or was indeed testing a missile, the launch violates a United Nations Security Council resolution forbidding Pyongyang from further ballistic missile development.

Nakamura, the top government spokesman, says Japan is prepared to extend economic sanctions by one year against North Korea. The sanctions, which are due to expire next week, followed a previous North Korean ballistic missile firing and a nuclear test, both in 2006. [Chosun Ilbo]

The United States government’s reaction on the other hand is a bit more stern towards North Korea, but still consistent with everyone else:

In a statement, Obama said the launch was “a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind.”

“With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations,” Obama said. “We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and (South Korea), and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council,” Obama added. “I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions.” [CNN]

You can read President Obama’s full statement here.

Well good luck President Obama getting anything of any substance to punish North Korea with in the UN with likely Chinese and Russian blocking of any serious sanctions:

Revere predicted difficulties in gaining support from China and Russia — who hold veto powers in the U.N. Security Council — for further sanctioning of North Korea.

“Obtaining Chinese, and perhaps Russian, agreement for a new UNSC resolution containing additional measures against North Korea will be very difficult,” he said. “Perhaps it will be possible to get a UNSC President’s statement, including a call for the enforcement of existing sanctions deriving from UNSC Resolution 1718.”

Resolution 1718, adopted after North Korea’s nuclear test in 2006, bans any ballistic missile activity by North Korea and imposes a trade embargo for North Korea on missile parts and other weapons-related products as well as luxury goods. Its enforcement, however, is believed to have been largely neglected by member states due to a lack of strong implementation measures. [Yonhap]

When you read stuff like this, it makes the fact that demonized US diplomat John Bolton remains the only American United Nation’s ambassador to get real sanctions passed against North Korea even that more incredible.

So when you get passed all the diplomatic posturing the US and the United Nations are going to write Kim Jong-il a angry letter. As Kim Jong-il surely expected, big deal.

This thing is fully playing out as I expected. The North Koreans conducted their missile test and disguised it as a satellite launch to allow their defenders cover to moderate any possible sanctions against them.

Simultaneously the North Koreans have for weeks been grabbing the international spotlight with this test even while the G20 and NATO summits were going on in Europe. This will surely move North Korea up the international agenda and has given Kim Jong-il a big facing saving lift domestically with this test proving he is still in charge despite his failing health and still willing to take provocative actions to further his country’s interests.

With this apparently successful launch North Korea can now demand more for any US efforts to halt their missile programs and has probably forced the US administration to move them further up their agenda. So I expect that in the coming months negotiations with North Korea will probably restart with first working out the release of the two reporters that were detained/kidnapped? by the North Koreans last month and everyone will claim it is some great diplomatic break through and that North Korea is coming around.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in return for their release a top level US leader is sent to North Korea to negotiate directly with the North Koreans. Mike Chinoy from CNN is his interview was already advocating for this and the US’s North Korean nuclear envoy Stephen Bosworth is already saying he is ready to go to North Korea and appease them as soon as possible:

Stephen Bosworth

Bosworth said the U.S. stands ready — after a launch — to participate in United Nations deliberations on new sanctions against North Korea, and will be “working very closely with our partners to ensure that after the dust of the missiles settles a bit, we get back to the longer-term priority of the missile — of the Six-Party Talks.”

And, he said, he was prepared to go to Pyongyang after a launch, if invited.

“In my experience in dealing with North Koreans, pressure is not the most productive line of approach,” he said. “You have to combine pressure with incentives and I think we are in a position to begin talking about things that we can provide and do what the North Koreans would find positive,” which included talking about normalizing the relationship between North Korea and the United States. [CNN]

You mean laundering counterfeit money, turning a blind eye to nuclear proliferation to Syria, and even taking them off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list among a host of other Bush administration appeasements, isn’t incentive enough?

So basically this rocket launch has given the North Korean appeasement crowd the opportunity they have been looking for to appease Kim Jong-il, but don’t expect him to give up his nuclear program in return for a variety of reasons I have listed before. So if people like Bosworth have their way, Agreed Framework 3.0 will even be worse then its last two deals.

It is sad to see when such better options are available.

Fast & Furious

Well it is once time again for the new Hollywood film that shows us fast cars, beautiful women, thumping jams and no plot nor sense of reality, what so ever. If this kind of a films makes you want to go to the movies, then please go see the new film "Fast & Furious"

Taking place between 2 Fast 2 Furious and (THE SO CALLED #3 FILM IN THE SERIES)Tokyo Drift, In the film, "Fast & Furious" we find Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew of drivers now hijacking oil trucks in the Dominican Republic for easy money. Fearing the repercussions for his friends and his lover Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) upon his inevitable capture by the police, Dom leaves for Panama. But when tragedy strikes Letty, Dominic finds himself back in Los Angeles where he must team up with former rival Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)once again for revenge for the murder, of the woman that he loved.

The film is basically a no brainier action film with CGI added to the cars to make the driving more insane. I saw this film with 4 boys and 2 girls, the boys seemed to get it and the girls hated it. If you want to see action in a film then you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for some real acting or anything resembling a real plot, then please pass on this film at all cost.

GRADE C-

How I saw it: RodeoTown Cinus Digital theater.

Opened in Korea: 2 April 2009.

Antonio Braga: So, you know each other?
Dominic Toretto: He used to date my sister.
Antonio Braga: You're a lucky man.
Brian O'Conner: How's that?
Antonio Braga: You're still breathing.

Baseball season gets underway. From the JoonAng Daily

Baseball season gets underway


A successful 2008 Korea Baseball Organization season and 2009 World Baseball Classic have many fans anxiously awaiting the start of the new baseball season, set to kick off this Saturday at 2 p.m.

The JoonAng Ilbo baseball reporters’ predictions for the 2009 season don’t reveal any drastic changes from last year.

As expected, the SK Wyverns, coming off back-to-back Korea Series wins, are projected to top the standings again. The only team in the history of the KBO to have won three straight titles were the Gwangju-based Haitai Tigers, now the Kia Tigers.

“SK is the only sure bet to make the playoffs this season. Other than SK, the Lotte Giants look good but it’s anyone’s guess from there,” said MBC commentator Huh Ku-yeon.

The Doosan Bears, who have come up short against the Wyverns for the past two seasons, will depend on their youth and speed to try to overtake SK once again. Starting pitcher Matt Randall, however, has been lost to injury.

In choosing the Wyverns and the Lotte Giants to make it to the Korea Series, KBS commentator Lee Yong-cheol relegated the Bears to the middle of the pack with the loss of Randall.

“All clubs have improved their lineup during the offseason. Look for the Kia Tigers with Seo Jae and Choi Hee-seop to be playing good baseball in the spring,” said Lee.

The Lotte Giants, who won the spring exhibition season with 11 wins and a loss, are hoping to repeat the third-place finish they achieved under the leadership of manager Jerry Royster. The Giants have a potent batting lineup featuring Karim Garcia and Lee Dae-ho. Their pitching is projected as second best in the league.

While the Giants are being lauded as winners by many insiders, manager Royster thinks the season will be a tight race. “The playoffs are as unpredictable as the Korean weather,” stated Royster.

The Hanhwa Eagles, Samsung Lions and the LG Twins are predicted to battle it out in the middle of the pack in the eight-team league.

The LG Twins, who finished at the bottom of the standings last season, signed a few big free agents in the offseason with the goal of reaching the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Lee Jin-young, Jeong Sung-hun and Park Byung-ho are just some of the additions to a team that already includes Bong Jung-keun.

The Samsung Lions, who lost to the Giants in the first round of the playoffs last season, is another solid contender to make the final playoff spot. With manager Seon entering the final year of his contract, he will try to live up to his promise of delivering the fans three titles in his five year tenure. The Lions won the title in 2005 and 2006.

Anything less than a playoffs season from the Hanhwa Eagles would be a big disappointment for fans. WBC members Kim Tae-kyun, Lee Bum-ho and manager Kim In-sik are all entering the final year of their contracts and should be motivated to produce. The starting rotation is lead by Ryu Hyun-jin and former New York Met Ku Dae-sung is the reliable lefty in the bullpen.

The Kia Tigers, who finished sixth last season, are looking to bounce back with improved play from former major leaguers and hometown players Seo Jae-woong and Choi Hee-seop. Starting pitcher Yoon Seok-min, who had a solid showing at the WBC, is the ace.

The Heroes will have Kim Si-jin return to the bench as the manager after a year. The improved team chemistry and new leadership could lead to a competitive season.


By Jason Kim, Kim Seek [jason@joongang.co.kr]

2009 KBO Season Primer: Lotte Giants

Matt's KBO Baseball Preview 2009

With the 2009 season literally right around the corner and tens of new readers descending upon my little blog, the time has come for a KBO season preview.

I personally detest power rankings and lazy writers that pass them off as an actual column, but four our purposes, power rankings are the best way to structure this post.

2009 KBO Season Primer: Lotte Giants

2. Lotte Giants

In 2007, the Giants were essentially a laughingstock. They had talent on the roster, but the team lacked direction and wandered to a 7th place finish. That winter, they replaced their manager with the first foreign manager in the KBO, Jerry Royster. Things changed right away. The Giants started winning. Royster managed to instill a positive attitude in this talented roster and it paid off. The Giants finished 3rd last year, but sputtered in the opening round of the playoffs against an over-achieving Samsung Lions team.

This team probably has the best 1-2-3 starters in the KBO. 34-year old ace, Son Min-han started with Lotte in 1997. He finished last year with a 12-4 record in 26 starts. He worked 179 innings with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Son struck out 80 and walked 40. #2 starter Song Seung-jun finished 12-7 over 26 starts. Song threw 153 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He struck out a team best 114 and walked 70. #3 Jang Won-jun finished 12-10 over 26 starts. In Jang's 155 2/3 innings, he posted a career best 3.53 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. He struck out 102 and walked 54. Lotte has added American Jon Adkins to shore up a bullpen that struggled all year. Not a single Lotte reliever recorded double-digit saves last year. 37-year old Choi Hyang-nam posted 9 and he was last seen in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league camp. Kang Yeong-sik was one of the more reliable bullpen arms last year. Kang lead the Giants with 16 holds, but he had problems with keeping the ball in the park. He surrendered 6 homers in only 56 innings.

Last year, Lotte finished second in the league with 93 homers. Mexican national, Karim Garcia lead the team with 30. He also lead the team in RBI(111) and OPS (.894). He was a legitimate MVP candidate last season. Garcia was everything Lotte needed. His outgoing personality and strong hitting endeared him to the fan base. At most Lotte home games Mexican flags would be waived alongside Korean flags. Garcia's bat was a big reason for the Lotte turnaround. Infielder, Cho Seong-hwan also posted a career year last season. Cho lead the team in batting average by posting a .327 BA in 423 AB's. He led the team in doubles(27) and runs scored(81). He also came in 4th on the team in OPS with an .845 mark. Cho was also successful in 31 of 34 stolen base attempts. Lee Dae-ho had a monster season hitting next to Garcia. The large third baseman clubbed 18 homers, drove in 94 RBI and posted a .879 OPS. Catcher Kang Min-ho also came into his own last season. Kang finished 2nd on the team with 19 homers and 3rd with 82 RBI. This team was an offensive juggernaut.

In the off season, the Lotte Giants made the only real splash in the free agent market. They added Doosan catcher, Hong Seong-heun. Hong posted a .331 batting average and .812 OPS over 423 AB's last year. He figures to see more time at DH with the Giants. The Giants should post an everyday line up of 1. Cho, 2. Kang, 3. Lee, 4. Garcia, 5. Hong. That's probably the best 1-5 in the KBO.

This year, I think with more consistent effort out of the back end of the Lotte bullpen and EVEN MORE offense, this team could slug its way to a 2nd place finish.

2009 Season Primer: Doosan Bears

3. Doosan Bears

Last season the Doosan Bears clawed their way to a 2nd place finish despite not having a single starting pitcher reach double digit wins. 16 different pitchers started for Doosan last year. Foreign ringer, Matt Randel finished the year with a 9-9 record in 29 starts. Randel wasn't spectacular or pretty, but he got th job done. Randel ground his way through 150 2/3 innings last year. His ERA ended at 4.48 and his WHIP was a robust 1.46. He struck out 101 while walking 49 batters. Randel is the de facto ace for this Doosan Bears team. Lee Hye-chan started 22 games and relieved in 15 others. He finished the year with a 7-3 record. His ERA was 4.69 and his WHIP was at 1.40 in 109 1/3 innings. Kim Myeong-jae figures to have a larger role in the '09 Bears pitching staff. In 2008, Kim made 17 starts and 5 relief appearances. He posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 111 innings. Former Boston Red Sox, Kim Sun-woo spent most of 2008 moving between the rotation and the disabled list. Kim finished with a 6-7 record in 21 starts. He had a 4.25 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 101 2/3 innings. He'll probably be the #3 or #4 starter this season.

The Doosan bullpen is possibly the deepest in the league. Lee Jae-woo and Lim Tae-hoon both finished with double digit holds. Lee managed a 1.55 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 85 innings. He also lead the team with 11 wins. Lee struck out 68 and walked 27. Lim worked 86 2/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He posted 83 K's and 28 walks. Jeong Jae-hoon spent most of the year as the Doosan closer. Jeong nailed down 18 saves in 41 appearances( 3 of which were starts, WTF?!?!). He posted a 3.25 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 52 2/3 innings. Jeong has been used as a starter during the exhibition games so far. He'll probably be used as the #2 starter behind Randel.

In 2008, Kim Dong-ju had a solid season at third base for the Bears. Kim lead the team with 19 homers and 104 RBI. Kim posted a .916 OPS in 363 at bats. For the second consecutive season Kim tried and failed to make the jump to the NPB. As good as Kim is at the plate, he's not quick enough in the field to play third base everyday in the NPB. Doosan lost catcher/DH Hong Seong-heun to Lotte in free agency. They received a pair of warm bodies in exchange. I'm not expected much from pitcher Lee Seok-man, but infielder Lee Won-seok could have a role in the 2009 Doosan infield.

The only other new addition that should have any impact on the 2009 season is foreign ringer, Matt Watson. Matt figures to play right field and provide some protection for the big bats in the Doosan lineup.

Left fielder, Lee Hyeon-su lead the KBO in hitting last year with a .357 batting average. Lee drove in 89 runs and scored 83 runs. He also completely choked in the Korean Series. In Doosan's last two losses to SK, Kim grounded into game ending double plays in both. To be fair, Kim is still only 21 years old and this was his first full season in a run producing role. It's too early to tell and I don't want to base this on one post season(and one WBC), but he could become the KBO's answer to ARod. However, I don't think we'll be seeing him in any creepy photo shoots or giving bizarre interviews. I'm not labeling Kim a choker yet, but the evidence is starting to mount.

2009 Season Primer: Hanwha Eagles

4. Hanwha Eagles

I really wish this team had more pitching than Ryu Hyeon-jin and Brad Thomas. If this team could find anyone else to throw the ball, they could compete with SK for the top spot in the league. Ryu is a legit ace and Australian national, Brad Thomas, is one of the top relievers in the KBO, but there isn't much after them. This team's pitching reminds me a lot of the Chinese National team. They were competent enough to keep things close and make the game competitive, but every so often they would bring in some zombie who would just get lit up. Hanhwa had last year's TSOKB Cy Yuck Award Winner, Mr. Yang Hoon. Yang worked 65 1/3 innings for Hanhwa last year. He allowed 81 hits and 34 walks. His ERA was 7.71 and his WHIP was 1.73.

Ryu Hyeon-jin is one of the guys worth knowing in the KBO. Ryu finished last year with a 14-7 record in 26 starts. He struck out 143 batters in 165 2/3 innings. He walked only 67 hitters last year. He posted a 3.31 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP. He's left-handed and he just celebrated his 22nd birthday. Last year was his 3rd KBO season, so only 6 more until free agency! The clock is ticking!

Brad Thomas finished 2nd in the league with 31 saves last season. He was the one reliever that manager Kim In-sik could always count on. He threw 63 1/3 innings in 59 games last year. In those 63 1/3 innings, he struck out exactly 63 batters. Hanwha has to be thrilled that he's returning for another season. Hanwha has a few okay relievers to bridge to Thomas, but the staff is fairly thin. Yoon Gyu-jin and Koo Dae-seong are a nice righty, lefty combo, but they're not exactly shut down relievers.

Hanwha spent most of the season looking for a #2 and #3 starter behind Ryu. They would have settled for a #4 or #5. They usually found pitching machines. Actually, scratch that. Pitching machines can be programmed to throw strikes. Ooooooohhh! Song Jin-woo and Yu Won-sang had moments of competence, but they were never reliable. Hanwha added Choi Sang-deok from SK, but his best days are very far behind him. The last time the 38-year old righty was KBO relevant was 2003. Kim Hui-kwon was signed from LG. He's only 23. At least he has some upside.

As lacking as Hanwha is in the pitching department, they try to make up for it by hitting baseballs really, really hard. WBC star Kim Tae-kyun lead the KBO in homers(31) and OPS(1.039). If Hanwha had qualified for the playoffs, the slugging first baseman would have been in the mix for the MVP award. Protecting Kim this year will be foreign ringer Victor Diaz. Diaz should man right field for the Eagles and bat behind Kim in the lineup. Diaz is really intriguing as a middle of the order prescence in the KBO. In just under 500 career MLB AB's, Diaz has 24 homers. He's coming off a 24 homer, 100 RBI season at AAA. I think he has a chance to out-produce Doug Clark and at the very least he'll fill the void created by Clark's departure. Third baseman Lee Beom-ho is a nice power/speed guy. He finished last year with double-digit homers and stolen bases with an .844 OPS in 434 AB's. DH Kim Tae-won also posted a solid season last year. He clubbed 23 homers with 73 RBI and a .850 OPS.

One guy to watch out for is Song Kwang-min. I'm not sure where he's going to play, but if he does he could be another thumper for this lineup. He posted an .805 OPS in 140 AB's with 7 homers. He's also had a nice exhibition season. He's leading all batters with 5 homers and 15 RBI. He still strikes out a ton. He struck out 44 times last year. He could be the KBO's answer to Pablo Sandoval.

Unless Ryu Hyeon-jin is starting, this team is going to play a lot of 10-8, 9-6, 11-7 ballgames. This is a lineup of thumpers. They'll live and die with the long ball. I think they can bash their way to a 4th place finish. If it weren't for a late season swoon, they probably would have edged out Samsung for the 4th playoff spot. They should be able to get there this season. Even if the KBO has to rig the league, NBA style. The KBO needs Kim Tae-gyun and Ryu Hyeon-jin in the playoffs.

2009 KBO Season Primer: The Rest

I'm sick and lazy. That's a deadly combination when it comes to blogging. So, before I go home and build a fort out of my pillows and blankets, I'm going to run down the last 4 teams in my projected order of finish.

5. Samsung Lions

My beloved Samsung Lions could be completely awful this year. A 5th place finish is actually a little optomistic. They've got serious holes in their lineup and even more serious holes in their pitching staff. They tried and failed to acquire(buy) lefty Jeong Won-sam from the Seoul Heroes. He could have been the ace that this team is missing. Yoon Seong-hwan could emerge as a potential ace this season. After completing his military service in 2007, Yoon returned to the Lions as a reliever and did a servicable job. In 2008, he went back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Somehow, he ended the year with a 10-11 record in 35 appearances. He lead the Lions with 135 2/3 innings last year. He posted a respectable 3.92 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. After Yoon, the Lions will use their 2 new foreign arms, Runelvys(Run! Elvis! Run!) Hernandez and Francisco Cruceta. The rest of the rotation is anyone's guess. Most likely Bae Yong-su's rotting corpse and Lee Sang-mok's rotting corpse will be propped up and forced to throw pitches. Personally, I'd like to see Ahn Ji-man turned into a starter. He looked strong working long relief in last year's playoffs.

The Samsung bullpen should be strong again. Oh Seung-hwan looked awful in the WBC, but he should make a run at another 40 save season. Kwon Hyeok should continue in his role as top set up man. Oh and Kwon were a deadly 1-2 punch in 2008. Both posted ERA's under 2.00.

The biggest story for Samsung is ageless DH Yang Jun-hyeok's run at the KBO homerun record. With any luck, he should have the record wrapped up by mid-April. I believe he needs 2 more homers for the record(He currently sits at 339). Rightfielder Choi Hyeong-woo was the 2008 KBO Rookie of the Year. That sounds more impressive than it is. He was the best of a mediocre crop of rookies last year. He's also 26 years old. I'm looking forward to watching Park Seok-min handle the everyday 3rd base job and I can't help but wonder what Park Han-yi would look like patrolling centerfield for the White Sox. He can't be worse than this guy. Other than that things look bleak for the Lions in the field. Shortstop Park Jin-man and catcher Jin Kab-yong are really starting to show their age.

6. Seoul Heroes

For a team without a sponsor, they're not that bad. Really, they're not. Assuming they can complete the season without folding(they should, the worst thing that happens is they get taken over by the league office again), they could hang around and possibly post a winning record. The middle of their order should be stronger. Cliff Brumbaugh will be back for another season(his 5th!) and Doug Clark was signed away from Hanwha. I like a #3/#4 combo of Clark and Brumbaugh. Leftfielder, Lee Taek-geun was a catalyst for this team last year and he should continue in his role as a leadoff hitter. He posted a .398 OBP in 2008 with 59 runs scored and 18 SB's. Veteran KBO infielder, Song Ji-man is returning for his 14th KBO season. He's spent every year with Hyundai/Woori/The Heroes. He should provide some protection for Clark and Brumbaugh. He can still hit.

On the mound, the Heroes have the best 1-2 combo in the league. Ace Ma Il-yeong and Jeong Won-sam combined for 23 of the team's 50 wins. Ma Il-yeong finished 11-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 173 KBO innings, he struck out 83 and walked 69. Jeong finished the year with a 12-8 record in 27 starts. He worked 167 1/3 innings last year. In those innings, he struck out 126 and walked 59. These two could pitch the Heroes into contention....if the Heroes bullpen wasn't completely awful. Only The Great Shingo Takatsu could stabalize the backend of the Heroes bullpen. Shingo joined the Heroes in mid-June and started putting zeroes on the scoreboard. He posted a 0.86 ERA and 8 saves over the last 3 months of the season. He also won the heart of this poor, bitter White Sox fan all over again. (swoon) Sadly, he wasn't brought back and this bullpen is a mess again. I guess Hwang Doo-seong is the de facto closer, but he was the reason Shingo was signed in the first place.

7. KIA Tigers

The highest OPS on this team was a 242-year old catcher that had posted solid #'s exactly once in his 203-year career in Korean baseball. Actually, Lee Jin-ju is only 36, but he was still the best hitter on this team last year. He LEAD the team with 58 RBI's. It was that kind of year for KIA. Supposedly former mediocre MLB slugger, Choi Hee-seop slimmed down in the off season. I'll believe it when I see it. He was eating his way out of the league last year. This team has a little speed on offense(5 Tigers registered double digit steals last year), but not much else. I don't see how this team is going to score any runs.

On the mound, things aren't nearly as bad. Staff ace/WBC hero Yoon Seok-min turned in an excellent 2008 season. Yoon finished the year 14-5 in 24 starts. In his 154 2/3 innings, he struck out 119 and walked 46. His ERA ended at 2.05 and his WHIP was a solid 1.05. If he pitched for any other team(except LG) he would have been in contention for the MVP award. Lee Beom-seok was a solid #2 starter. Lee ended the season with a 7-10 record in 28 starts. He worked 119 2/3 innings with a 3.08 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Former Tampa Bay Devil Ray, Seo Jae-weong was a disappointment. He spent the year moving between the rotation and the DL. In 16 starts, Seo was 5-5 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Somehow, closer Han Ki-joo saved 26 games last year. He struck out 46 batters in 58 innings and finished with a 1.71 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Yoon Dong-hoon and Son Yeong-min were solid in middle relief. Both posted sub 3.50 ERA's. Lacking an semblence of an offense, KIA of course chose to bring in two foreign pitchers to bolster their staff. Rick Guttormson and "Senor Smoke", Aquilino Lopez, will likely fill out the KIA rotation.

8. LG Twins

This team was among the more active in the offseason. At least they realized that sticking with the same group of corpses was a bad idea. Roberto Petagine will be asked to be the only middle of the order prescence on this roster. Big Bobby delivered a .984 OPS in 216 AB's last year, but if LG can't find someone to protect him, he's not going to see a pitch all year. Lee Jin-yeong was signed from SK to bolster the outfield and provide some punch near the top of the order. The 29-year old vet has a .301 career batting average over 10 KBO seasons. Mediocre slugger Choi Dong-su figures to bat behind Petagine. Choi lead the team in homers(16) and RBI(62) last year. Center fielder Lee Dae-hyeong's .598 OPS will likely be back at the top of the LG batting order next year. (But he stole 63 bases! He drives in runs with his legs!).

LG is solid at the top of the rotation with Bong Jung-geun and Austrialian hero, Chris Oxspring. Dr. Bong pitched magnificently for this motley crew. In 28 starts, Bong finished with a 11-8 record. In his league best 186 1/3 innings, he struck out 140 and walked 80. He ended the year with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Oxspring is essentially a foreign innings eater, but he finished with a .500 record and a sub 4.00 ERA last year. The LG bullpen is absolutely rotten. 34-year old Kim Kyung-tae was brought in to help stabilize the middle relief. He wasn't that bad with SK. He posted a sub 3.00 ERA in 24 1/3 innings with 6 holds. Jeong Jae-bok's 3.89 ERA and double-digit holds and saves don't sound that bad, but he managed to be responsible for 10 LG losses last year.

Daejeon: Korea’s Railway Town

Roberts tale of Daejeon

NOTE: See the Flickr slideshow here.

Just a little over a century ago, Daejeon — then called Hanbat — was nothing more than a small village in the middle of nowhere.

Then came the railroad.

Today, Daejeon is Korea’s fifth largest city, a bustling political, economic and cultural hub of 1.42 million people as of 2005. It’s also home to one of Korea’s best collections of colonial and early modern architecture, although sadly, much has been sacrificed in the name of economic development. I spent Saturday running around Daejeon’s old downtown snapping away — sites we’ll see here include:

• Daejeon’s old railway warehouses (1956)
• Former Daejeon branch of Korea Development Bank (1939)
• Former Daejeon branch of Chohung Bank (1957)
• Former Daejeon branch of the Oriental Development Company (1921)
• Chungcheongnamdo Provincial Hall (1932)
• Officials’ Village (1930s and 40s)
• Chungcheongnamdo Governor’s Residence (1932)
• Former Chungcheong Regional Office of National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (1958)
• Daeheung-dong Pointy Roof House (1929)
• Congregation of the Sacred Word Convent Chapel (Mokdong Catholic Church) (1921)
• Old school house of Samseong Elementary School (1938)
• Old classroom of Daejeon Girls Middle School (1937)
• Seonhwa-dong War Memorial (1958?)
• Former Teacher’s College School headmaster’s residence (1930s)

Due to lack of time or unfortunate circumstances, I was unable to see certain sites, including an old red-brick power plant from 1930 (locked on weekends, although KEPCO did try to help me get in) and the old American missionary homes on the campus of Hannam University (which I blogged about in 2006).

Old Railway Warehouses

Any photo essay about Daejeon should begin with the railroad.

For all practical purposes, Daejeon did not exist prior to 1905. A small, remote village of a few dozen households called Hanbat (the pure Korean term for Daejeon, or “Big Field”) was located here, but that was it. In January of 1905, however, the Seoul-Busan railroad was completed, and Japanese settlers began flooding into the region. In 1914, the Honam Line — with Daejeon as its terminus — opened, turning the Hanbat area into a booming transportation hub. In the same year, the Japanese imperial authorities merged Hoedeok-gun, Jinjam-gun and parts of Gongju to form Daejeon.

The city expanded throughout the colonial period, both in size and population — by 1940, it was home to nearly 70,000 people. In 1932, the Japanese moved the provincial capital from Gongju to Daejeon (much to the chagrin of Gongju’s residents), cementing Daejeon’s place as the political, economic and cultural center of the Chungcheong provinces.

Daejeon today plays much the same role it did in the colonial era — it’s a major transportation hub with not just one but two KTX stations. In fact, the headquarters of KORAIL, Korea’s national railroad corporation, is located in the city. Unfortunately, not a lot of Daejeon’s railroad history remains — its beautiful old station was rebuilt in 1958, and as a major railway junction, the city — including the all-important transportation facilities — took a major beating in the Korean War, particularly during the bitter Battle of Daejeon.

One remaining part of the city railway history is three old wooden warehouses near Daejeon Station (Registered Cultural Property No. 168), maintained by KORAIL’s Daejeon regional office. Built in 1956, the railway warehouses utilize Japanese-colonial era construction techniques. Wooden railway warehouses such as these are hard to find nowadays, and give us an idea of what post-Liberation warehouse architecture was like. In the third photo, you can see the monster skyscrapers of KORAIL’s new corporate headquarters, completion of which seems to be imminent.

A word of thanks should go out to KORAIL — on weekends, the old warehouse area is usually locked up, but the guys at the Daejeon office actually called in someone on his day off to open it up so I could snoop around.

Old Banks of Daejeon

It’s said that the Chungcheong provinces are the birthplace of Korean finance, so it should come as no surprise that in Daejeon, the Queen of Chungcheong-do, we can find a number of old bank buildings in the area around Daejeon Station.

Completed in 1937, the former Korea Development Bank Building (Registered Cultural Property No. 19) is a rather typical Renaissance-style colonial bank. It’s ornately decorated with terracotta molding. As you can no doubt make out from the signboards, it’s now used as an eyeglass shop.

The former Chohung Bank (CHB) Building (Registered Cultural Property No. 20) — actually, it’s still a CHB building, CHB having merged with Shinhan in 2006 — was built in 1957, although the Daejeon branch of CHB goes back to 1912. Chohung Bank, originally Hanseong Bank, was founded in 1897 as the first commercial bank in Korea founded with Korean capital. This would sound a lot more patriotic if it weren’t founded by Kim Jong-han (1844—1932), whom the Japanese made a baron for his efforts on behalf of Japan’s annexation of Korea.

The bank building above, designed by a Korean architect after the Korean War, departs dramatically from the so-called “colonial style” banks, usually built in Renaissance-style. Instead, we have a very modern, very simple structure built on a reinforced concrete structure, with some granite adornments thrown in for good measure. As you can see above, it’s also near Jungang Market.

Just some-colonial era shop structures I passed along the way.

This is not an old bank, per se, but rather the former Daejeon branch of the Oriental Development Company (Registered Cultural Property No. 98), the Japanese answer to the British East India Company. This is a very colonial-style building for a very colonial-style company, built in Renaissance-style with some very ornate masonry.

The building is now home to, among other things, a big tile and bathroom fixtures store. If you’d like one of those heated bidet toilets, this might be a good place to come.

It’s also home, apparently, to an, ahem, “sports massage” joint. Not sure what this says about the maintenance of registered cultural properties, exactly, but some might say there’s justice in such a powerful symbol of colonial exploitation degraded so.

Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Hall

Completed in 1932, when the provincial capital was transferred to Daejeon from Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Hall (Registered Cultural Property No. 18) is one of the best-preserved colonial-era provincial halls in Korea. It’s a massive, imposing structure that screams, “I am the Colonial Yellow Man, and you will respect my Authoritah!” Built of concrete and brick, it is covered in scratch tiles — an architectural legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s sojourn in Japan. Another Wright influence is the emphasis on horizontal lines. The hall was designed by the Government-General’s building department.

Here are some wonderful old photos of the Provincial Hall.

Oh, did I mention it served as a temporary home for the government during the Korean War?

As you can see, it’s an amazingly well-preserved building, including its beautiful period interior. Got to love that staircase. There was some controversy surrounding the flower designs on the exterior before a panel of experts announced that they were not symbols of the colonial regime.

With the provincial capital moving to Hongseong-Yesan, the building will soon be vacated, and authorities are still deciding how to use the stately old structure. The Korea branch of Docomomo recently held a workshop attended by a veritable who’s who of modern architecture scholars. They’re also holding a design contest as well. When I visited, there were a ton of students there on tour as part of another contest. A 2007 piece in the Daejeon Ilbo suggested the government benchmark the example of the former Hokkaido Government Buiding in Sapporo, Japan, which was restored and turned into an archive/history museum.

Sounds good to me.

So, Where Be All The Colonial Officals At?

About a 15 minute walk from the Provincial Hall, around the Taemi Pass neighborhood of Daeheung-dong, is Korea’s only remaining colonial-era gwansachon (Registered Cultural Property No. 101), a village of official residences. Basically, it’s a street lined with very similar Japanese-style homes that were built in the 1930s and 40s as residences for high-ranking Japanese officials. Oddly, though, the home they show on the Cultural Heritage Administration homepage, doesn’t seem very Japanese at all, but rather Frank Lloyd Wright/Art Deco-esque.

Where Art Deco Meets SOFA

At the head of the gwansachon, however, is the Chungcheongnam-do Governor’s Residence (Daejeon Cultural Property No. 49), built in 1932 as the residence for the colonial provincial governor. For me, this was a real treat, since the residence is, as far as I know, the only protected Art Deco building in Korea:

설계는 일본풍이지만 전통적인 한옥의 장점을 도입하고 거실·식당·방 등의 공간배치는 동선의 흐름을 중시하는 서양식이어서 전체적인 건물양식은 아르데코풍 (자연의 선을 중시한 장식미술의 한 형식으로)을 따르고 있다.

Oh yeah!

In addition to being a rare example of Art Deco in Korea, it’s also an extremely historic building. During the Korean War, it served as a temporary residence to President Syngman Rhee before he was forced to flee again to Busan. It was here that Rhee officially requested the intervention of UN forces to help repel the North Korean invasion. It was also here that on July 12, 1950 he agreed to — in the form of an exchange of diplomatic notes — the “Agreement Relating to Jurisdiction over Criminal Offenses Committed by the United States Forces in Korea Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America,” or Daejeon Agreement. which gave US court martials exclusive jurisdiction over members of the US military. In 1966, this agreement was replaced by the ever-popular Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA.

Like the Provincial Hall, the Governor’s Residence will soon be vacant, too — which is just as well, probably, since some local civic groups had been wondering why the governor was still living in a big colonial mansion, maintained by taxpayer money. The linked article isn’t particularly interesting, and probably reveals wrong thinking on the issue of preservation, but through it I did learn that the city halls of Geoje and Jinhae are apparently sitting on monuments to Russo-Japanese war hero Admiral Togo Heihachiro, which is both interesting and surprising.

Oh, and thanks go to the security guard who let me past the front gate for a couple of minutes to snap some shots.

Former Chungcheong Regional Office of National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service

A nice example of the proper utilization of modern cultural properties is the former Chungcheong Regional Office of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (Registered Cultural Property No. 100), a striking functionalist building completed in 1958. It was designed by Bae Han-gu, the first architect to set up shop in Daejeon. It utilizes reinforced concrete slabs (a new construction technique at the time) and a series of louvers to control the sunlight. Although you can’t see it here, the roof is covered in Korean-style giwa tiles.

Built at a time when Korea was still rebuilding after the Korean War, this was an amazing piece of architecture.

In 2006, the building was renovated for use as an art gallery, a role it serves admirably. It’s a lot better than letting these historic builds rot or, even worse, tearing them down.

Daeheung-dong Pointy Roof House

This lunar landscape is what a protected modern cultural property standing in the middle of a redevelopment zone looks like.

Built in 1921, this fantastic residence — called the Daeheung-dong Ppyojok-jip or “Pointy Roof House” (Registered Cultural Property No. 377) — is mostly Japanese in design, although it includes some obviously Western elements, including the conical roof above the living room, which faces south in medieval Western fashion. It has six rooms in total, including two on the second floor, one of which is a Japanese-style tatami room. All the materials used in construction were brought over from Japan.

The interior has reportedly been perfectly preserved, down to the light switches.

Preservation of the home has not been easy. Some local residents were concerned that plans to register the building as a cultural property, announced in December 2007, would hold up the planned redevelopment of the neighborhood. This, in turn, concerned the building’s owner, the elderly Lee Dae-gil, who withdrew his initial request for registration and threatened to knock the home down himself if the Cultural Heritage Administration went ahead and registered it anyway. It’s unlikely he would have done so — Mr. Lee has obviously worked hard to preserve the historic home since he acquired it in 1958 — but to make sure things didn’t get out of hand, Daejeon City stepped in on Jan 7, 2008 and provisionally designated it a city cultural property, making it a crime to damage or destroy it. This bought time for the city and Cultural Heritage Administration to discuss a possible plan to purchase the property from Mr. Lee. Where those negotiations are currently, I don’t know, but there’s a big sign on both sides of the home, dated May 2008 and “signed” by Daejeon City, warning that the property was a cultural property and damaging it could earn you a 5 million won fine.

Congregation of the Sacred Word Convent Chapel (Mokdong Catholic Church)

What’s this? Colonial architecture AND Catholic churches? In the same post?

The chapel of the Congregation of the Sacred Word Convent (Daejeon Cultural Property Material No. 45), originally Daejeon Catholic Church, was built in 1921 as Daejeon’s first Catholic Church. This was rather late compared to other cities in Korea, but then again, Daejeon was rather late in becoming a city, so it probably makes sense.

Like most other Catholic churches built at the time, it’s a simple Gothic structure built in the shape of a cross. The cross atop the steeple was imported from Germany. The wooden interior is quite lovely and immaculately maintained — the nuns obviously run a tight ship.

When the North Koreans occupied Daejeon, security forces used the church as a headquarters. After their retreat, the ROK Army moved in, likewise using it as a headquarters. Hundred of innocents — including an Irish missionary — were massacred here. While the information board doesn’t say by whom, one would imagine it was by the North Koreans, although with this sort of thing, you never quite know.

At any rate, the church, which took a beating during the war, was restored in 1955 thanks to the efforts of a Rev. Williams, then-president of Seoul’s Methodist Theological University. The church’s name was also changed to Mok-dong Catholic Church — it’s by this name that most people (including taxi drivers) will probably know it. Later, Daejeon Catholic Church moved to a new facility, and in 1969, the old church was taken over by the Congregation of the Sacred Word, which had moved into the Franciscan monastery next to the church.

Old School House, Samseong Elementary School

Samseong Elementary School was Daejeon’s first elementary school, established soon after the Government-General’s promulgation of the “Choson Education Decree” in 1911. The school was opened primarily to educate the children of Japanese settlers who began flocking to the Daejeon area with the opening of the railroad.

The old school house (Daejeon Cultural Property Material No. 50) was completed in 1938. It’s a long, two-story red-brick school house with lots of windows. Or, in other words, it’s a typical colonial school house.

It’s now used as a museum dedicated to Daejeon’s educational history.

Old Classroom, Daejeon Girls Middle School

The old classroom of Daejeon Girls Middle School (Daejeon Cultural Property Material No. 46) is a beautiful Art Nouveau structure whose roof is said to resemble the lines of a Korean traditional chogajip, or thatched-roof house. Completed in 1937, it’s the only remaining historic building on the campus of Daejeon Girls Middle School, which until recently had quite a few, I’ve read. The big, square windows let in plenty of natural light and reduce the stuffiness that often accompanies brick buildings.

War Memorial, Seonhwa-dong

Officially speaking, the stone tower atop this hill in Seonhwa-dong was built in 1958, making it one of the oldest war memorials in Korea. A book I own, however, says it was really built in 1942 as a memorial to Japanese troops killed in the Pacific War, and simply renovated and rededicated after the Korean War. I can’t find anything to corroborate this, but it’s certainly possible.

Unfortunately, the memorial was locked, so I was unable to photograph it any closer. As Korean war memorials go, it’s quite impressive.

Old Teacher’s College School Headmaster’s Residence

This beautiful home, the former residence of the headmaster of a school attached to the Teachers College (Registered Cultural Property No. 169), was built in the 1930s, and is a pleasing combination of Japanese and Western styles. The unique roof design is most striking. Fortunately, the home — which now serves as the pastor’s residence of nearby Seongsan Church — has been well-preserved.

The home was a real bitch to find — most taxi drivers will know the War Memorial (Yeongyeol-tap), and the home is a short walk from there. Just ask a local for directions to Seongsan Church, which is at the top of a hill.

Seongsan Church, meanwhile, was built in 1989, and has been recognized by Daejeon for its architectural excellence.

Along the way back down from the church, I passed this beautiful Japanese-style home, which is in pretty good condition.

Also in Seonhwa-dong was this well-preserved red-brick building, which is now used as a gymnasium. I have no idea what it was originally used for, nor did the guys having a smoke out back.

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I REALLY HAVE TO THANK ROBERT FOR THIS PHOTO SERIES. THIS WAS SOME GREAT WORK DONE HERE. I HAVE SEEN A FEW OF THESE BUILDINGS MANY TIMES IN OLD DOWNTOWN AND NEVER THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE BUILT BY THE JAPANESE. I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THE KOREANS HAD TORN DOWN THE BUILDINGS. WHAT IS FUNNY IS THAT I HAVE WALKED PAST THAT ONE BUILDING FEW TIMES AND WONDER WHY IT WAS STILL UP WHEN THE REST WAS ALL TORN DOWN.

I HAVE YET TO GO TO THE WAR MEMORIAL AND AS AN US ARMY VET, THAT IS A COMPLETE SHAME. LOOKS LIKE I WILL PLAIN TO VISIT IT ON SATURDAY.

ROBERT ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT WHY THEIR IS NOT A SUBWAY STOP AT SEODAEJEON KTX STATION AND SAD TO SAY I HAVE NO IDEA EITHER. ALL I KNOWS THAT THE IDEA IS THAT DAEJEON WILL HAVE 5 SUBWAY LINES BUT FOR NOW ALL THAT IS COMPLETED IS LINE 1. THEY WERE GOING TO START WORK ON LINE 2 LAST YEAR BUT ALL OF THE $ WAS TAKEN AWAY BY THE GOVT. I HAVE NO IDEA IF, OR WHEN , LINE 2 WILL EVER GET STARTED.

I HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT SMAL BUILDING BY DAEJEONS GIRL MIDDLE SCHOOL, NEXT TIME I AM OUT THEIR I WILL HAVE TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT IT.