Journal #26 – Newsweek and Economist coverage of N. Korea

Read the original articles from Newsweek and The Economist linked in the two posts below. The Economist is the leading international news magazine, and Newsweek is arguably the second most prominent news magazine in the United States.

1. How has the international media responded to North Korea’s missile launch?

The international community has responded in the way North Korea wanted them to act: surprised and fearful. North Korea cannot survive by itself and needs help from countries, and the only way it can recieve any help without a change of regime is by threatening with brinkmanship. Although many people say the missile launch was a failure,  North Korea considered it a success because it raised international awareness of the North’s danger. This has only fueled Kim Jong Il’s ambition to become a more powerful and influencial nation. 

2. In what ways might international perceptions of North Korea impact how the world views South Korea?

The international perceptions of North Korea is important because South and North Korea are very close. The nationality of both nations is the same, Korean, and ignorant or just naive people can forget or get confused with one another. This poses big problems for South Korea because people might think that the South is as dangerous as the North and might possibly avoid doing any trade or business.

3. Has anyone ever asked you “which Korea are you from, North or South?” What does that question reveal on the part of the speaker?

I have been asked several times whether I was from North or South Korea in the U.S.  I do not think it reveals anything about the questioner except that they do not know much about the international community. South Korea is a relatively big country, in economic and social terms, while North Korea is an isolated country known for being unpredictable and threatening. It should be obvious that most if not all Koreans are from South Korea, but that is not the case.

 

North and South Korea

Journal #25

Demilitarized Zone

Field Trip to the DMZ

I thought the kids attending Hangyeore High School were very fortunate in escaping the oppression in the North. The school has a total of 240 students, which is small compared to the total number of defects in South Korea. When I first saw the video, I was surprised at how the students didn’t know simple things such as using a phone or a computer and many other things. It shows how isolated and underdeveloped North Korea is from the rest of the world. Although the students say their life in South Korea is better, they still miss the North. The scene where they were crying for their mothers was very emotional because of how sincere the students were. Their lives were horrible in the North, and yet they call it their homeland.

Journal #24 – Analysis of North Korea’s missile launch

The Editors of the New York Times have chimed in with their piece, How Hard is it to Fire a Rocket? From their point of view, the launch was a “failure” and the discussion of a nuclear-armed North Korea a distraction from the real threat of long-range artillery and rockets. Worth reading in its entirety. Make sure not to miss the video clip from Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

I thought the article in the New York Times was funny because it talks about how old missile technology is and yet North Korea cannot successfully launch one. The missile launch on April 5th was seen as a success to the North Koreans, but the international community said it was a complete flop. In my opinion, the North Korea is trying to look as though they have advance technology, similar to the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War. North Korea blocks foreign aid for its citizens, but still wants to have international ties with the U.S. and other nations.
Although the nuclear launch was a failure to many, it is still a big issue because the they are trying to create a functioning missile even when the international community forbids it.

I thought that the situation in  Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was very satirical because many of the serious situations were not very serious. The credits in the beginning of the movie were done as if by children. The B-52 shown in the movie looks like a toy. The talk between the President and the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union is childish and informal. Dr. Stranglove’s unusual reactions are not natural and seem almost forced. It is obvious that this movie was meant to poke fun at the U.S.’s situation during the Cold War.

Journal #23

Kim’s Nuclear Gamble

Dear Mr. JonesI wrote the chart by hand and handed it in already!

Thank You!

Journal #18

“Up and Coming Schools” and “Narrowing Your Choices.”

When deciding a college to apply to, the most important thing is to know where you want to go to. It can’ t just be any college or university that you have heard about from other people. It should be somewhere you have researched about and know you want to go there genuinely. This doesn’t mean that you should apply to only your “dream” schools; by limiting yourself to only those will greatly hurt your chances to go to a college you want to go to and not regret. Because there are so many schools out there, choosing which one that is better suited for you is better than choosing from a list of the rankings of the school. In “Up and Coming Schools”, it explains about some colleges that are not on the top 50 list of U.S.’s best colleges and universities, but are excelling and the education in those schools are getting better. Although they may not be the top schools, they are still excellent schools and should be considered in application processes.

Journal #20 – Faceless artist from North Korea

The “Faceless” artist from North Korea

Sun-Mu, the "Faceless" artist

Sun-Mu, the “Faceless” artist, hides his identity because he wants to protect his family in North Korea. Because he is creating parodies of the North Korean propaganda, the North Korean regime would not like this; his family could be harmed because of his artworks. He also does not want to show his identity because it could alter the meaning of the artworks. He wants to make his paintings look and protray it in a certain way and maybe his identity could create a biased result.

Sun-Mu’s art is considered to be controversial because the paintings are very similar to the propanganda made in North Korea. Many South Koreans are still frightened by the North Koreans and anything that alarms them would seem unlawful. Although his artworks are parodies of the North Korean propagandas, many Koreans do not look at the hidden message of the paintings, but rather the outer appearance of the painting;  because he had previously been an artist who drew for the North Korean government, he knows how to draw in a socialist realist style, and this makes the paintings more controversial.

His artworks are drawn in a way that depicts life in North Korea, but in a exaggerated or rhetoric style. Children are painted smiling in a creepy way. The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Ill, is drawn wearing  a pink Nike jacket, red Adidas pants, and mismatching shoes. He draws in the socialist realist style, but the result is far from propaganda.

Journal #17 – Inauguration of Barrack Obama

Inauguration of the 44th President of the U.S.

The inauguration of President Barrack Obama was one of the most significant events in the history of the United States of America because it symbolized the equality of all Americans in the U.S. He became the first African American to become the president of the U.S. and will not be the last.
This is very important because the U.S. has a long history of racism, more specifically, towards African Americans. Slavery has been a huge part of American history and has been part of the U.S. since its origins. The Founding Fathers , who created the Constitution of the U.S., owned slaves and did not view African Americans as equals. This has changed dramatically with the Civil War abolishing slavery and afterwards, the civil rights movements.
President Obama has a big role to fill in because of the depression the U.S. is going through and the Irag War. He will have to somehow figure out a plan (Billion Dollar Bailout) to help the millions of Americans struggling to get a job. The U.S. economy is in its worst state since the Great Depression and maybe even  worse. Many people doubt he will be able to get the U.S. out of the recession by the end of his presidential term, but many also believe he will change the government to suit the people’s needs. This can already be seen with the more openness of the government on his White House website.