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http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=152023
Three announcements regarding North Korea were made by the National Intelligence Service in a briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon.
First, Pyongyang has resumed operations at a five-megawatt reactor in its Yongbyon nuclear complex.
That would seem to confirm a recent report by 38 North, a website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, which said after reviewing recent satellite images that it appeared the North had resumed operations at the plant.
The briefing also said the North recently conducted an engine test for a long-range missile at its Dongchang-ri launch site, the same site from where Pyongyang launched its Unha-3 long-range rocket last December.
And in its third revelation, the nation's intelligence agency said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has declared that he will carry out a forceful unification of the Korean peninsula within three years.
No further details were revealed regarding the statement, but experts say Kim's remarks are aimed at solidifying his leadership and gaining an upper hand in dealings with South Korea and its allies.
The South Korean agency also warned that the South Korean military should stay on alert, as the reclusive state is beefing up its military capabilities by deploying multiple rocket launchers near the West Sea.
Major changes have also occured within Pyongyang's military hierarchy.
The communist leader recently carried out a huge reshuffle of 44 percent of the military's top-ranked officials.
Experts believe the major changes are a strategic move by Kim to gain better control of his forces.
Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.
세 발표가 / 북한에 관련한 / 만들어졌다 / 국가정보원에 의해 / 국회의원들에게 하는 한 브리핑에서 / 화요일 오후에.
우선 / 평양은 재개했다 운영을 / 5 메가와트 원자로에서 / 그것(북한)의 영변 핵단지안에있는.
바로 그것이 확증하는 것처럼 보인다 / 최근의 보도를 / 38North에 의해 / 한 웹사이트인 / 운영되는 / 미-한 기관에 의해 / 존스 홉킨스 대학에서 (말했던 / 검토한 후에 최근의 위성 사진들을 (북한이 재개한 것처럼 보이는 / 운영을 / 그 시설에서).
그 브리핑은 또한 말했다 / 북이 최근에 실시했다고 / 한 엔진 시험을 / 장거리 미사일을 위해 / 그것의 동창리 발사지대에서 / 같은 지대인 (그런데 거기로부터 평양이 발사했었다 / 그것의 은하 3 장거리 로켓을 / 지난 12월.
그리고 그것의 세 번째 폭로에서 / 국정원은 말했다 / 북한의 리더 김정은이 선언했다고 / 그가 실행할 것을 / 무력적 통일을 / 한반도의 / 3년 이내에.
더 깊은 자세한 것들은 폭로되지 않았다 / 그 진술과 관련하여 / 그러나 전문가들은 말했다 / 김의 발언이 조준되었다고 / 공고히 하는데에 / 그의 리더쉽을 / 그리고 주도권을 얻는것에 / 다루는데 있어서 / 남한과 그것(남한)의 동맹들을.
남한의 정보국은 또한 경고했다 / 남한의 군대가 머물러야한다고 / 경계하여 / 그 운둔의 국가가 강화하고 있기 때문에 / 그것의 군사능력을 / 배치함으로써 / 여러대의 로켓 발사대를 / 서해 근처에서.
주요변화들이 또한 일어났다 / 평양의 군사 조직안에서.
그 공산주의 리더는 최근 실행했다 / 거대한 개각을 / 44 퍼센트의 / 군대의 최고 계급 관료들의.
전문가들은 믿는다 / 주요 변화들이 전술적 움직임이라고 / 김에 의한 / 얻기위해 / 더 나은 통제력을 / 그의 힘의.
김현빈 / 아리랑 뉴스.
Hallyu in the Sixties
By Michael Duffy
Long before the current international craze for K-pop, and before Gangnam Style’s 1.7 billion hits on YouTube, there was another Korean act that achieved considerable success in the United States if on a slightly more modest level than Psy.
This was the Kim Sisters —Sook-ja (the eldest), Mi-ja, and Ae-ja. The sisters came from a distinguished musical family; their father, Kim Hae-song, had been a popular singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist from the 1920s, and their mother, Lee Nan-young, recorded one of the most popular songs of Korea’s Japanese colonial period, “Mokpoeui Nunmul” (Tears of Mokpo). Following its release in 1935, the record sold over 50,000 copies, a huge number for the time.
Encouraged by their mother, the sisters started their show business career just after the Korean War. Though they didn’t speak English, they built up a repertoire of popular American songs that they learned phonetically, and performed them at U.S. army camps. Their energetic shows proved a huge hit with the homesick GIs and in 1958, after word got back in the U.S. about the “Korean Andrews Sisters,” they were hired to perform in a Las Vegas hotel.
Once in America, a combination of talent and hard work (and just a little luck) launched the sisters on a career which lasted two decades. The lucky break came in 1959, when they made a favorable impression on the host of America’s foremost TV variety show, Ed Sullivan.
His show, which ran weekly on CBS TV from 1948 to 1971, was enormously influential: Elvis Presley, Itzhak Perlman and the Beatles were among those who made famous appearances. Following their debut, the Kims became regular guests on the show throughout the ’60s, finally clocking up no less than 22 appearances, joined in later years by their mother and their three brothers.
Apart from their TV appearances, they played Las Vegas nightclubs and toured nationwide, earning up to $13,000 a week, singing a mixture of Western pop, show songs and Korean tunes. To stand out in the competitive field of sister acts — apart from the Andrews, the Maguire Sisters were a big attraction at the time — they worked on their dancing and instrumental skills, learning to play the sax, drums and vibes as well as Korean instruments like gayageum and janggu.
Much of our knowledge of the sisters’ story comes from an oral history interview given by Sook-ja in 1996. Disappointingly, the interviewer did not ask anything about their recording career. Somewhat surprisingly for a Las Vegas club act, the sisters were signed to Monument Records, a Nashville-based label specializing in rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music.
The company’s founder and president, Fred Foster was, and remains, a revered figure in the music industry. He produced hit records like “Pretty Woman” for Roy Orbison, discovered Dolly Parton, and co-authored Kris Kristofferson’s signature song “Me and Bobby McGee.”
The Kims remained with Monument for three years, from 1964 to 1967, producing an LP and several singles. They were supported by Nashville’s top session musicians, and were able to record material by some of the leading country music writers of the day, sharing their songs with the likes of Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline and the Everly Brothers, but perhaps their standout track was a lively cover version of the Coasters’ rock and roll hit “Yakety-yak,” which they can be seen singing live on YouTube.
The sisters stopped performing as an act in the 1970s. Ae-ja died of lung cancer in 1978, and Mi-ja eventually moved to Budapest with her percussionist husband Tommy Vig. Sook-ja became a real estate agent, but continued to perform occasionally into the new millennium.
The author is retired, and lives in Euiwang, Gyeonggi Province. He can be reached at mgduffy@outlook.com.
Proactive and reactive parenting
By Oliver Geronilla
Never did it cross my mind that there’s such a thing as “weaning” parents from their children until the time came for me to answer this: “How involved do you think should parents be in the education of their school-age children?”
Education, as they say, begins at home. However, we all know that it doesn’t “remain” there, nor does it end there. Children need to undergo formal education to further mold their character, to nurture their skills and talents, and ultimately to prepare them for their future.
For most parents, being involved in this process is a must. That, I think, is highly commendable when done properly. Unfortunately, many parents overdo it or ― God forbid ― rarely do it. As such, we see “stage parents,” especially moms, who are excessively concerned about their children’s growth and development. This worry goes even more pronounced when their children begin formal education. Doing so, however, is seeing no further than their noses.
Parents, of course, want nothing but the best for their children — that’s understandable, and it holds true almost everywhere. In fact, parents are encouraged (or is it enjoined?) by school administrators, from kindergarten until high school, to join parents and teachers associations in order to maximize their children’s learning opportunities. But are there hard-and-fast rules as to how and to what extent parents should be involved? None, I think, for the nonce.
More often than not, parents play it by ear. At times, they tend to be reactive instead of being proactive — that’s where the confusion begins. To avoid this, parents need to know and understand their children’s cognitive, affective and psychomotor development in close coordination with their children’s homeroom teacher. A scheduled visit to discuss this matter, to come up with action plans, and follow them can spell a big difference between children who are fish out of water, helpless and clueless and children who are well-adjusted, confident and smart.
At home, parents should devote quality time for and with their children. This can be spent not only by helping their kids with their homework and other curricular requirements, but also by engaging them in extracurricular activities that can help their children reach their full potential. Parents, I opine, should regularly do this until their children are ready to stand on their own feet.
I believe that schools are the best places for parents to start making their children realize that after six or more years of being in their comfort zone, it’s time for them to come out of their shells. Parents can, to a great extent, help their children do this by making it smooth and enjoyable. Tagging along with them, or bringing them to school and fetching them for a few days won’t do any harm. In fact, it’s part of the transition process. But going beyond that period, in my view, is not helpful in making their children adjust to the new environment.
Thus, as much as possible, parents should show their children that they trust the faculty and staff, the administrators, and the rest of the people that make their children’s school an extension of their home where love, fun, respect, and learning abound.
The writer, a language instructor at Han Maum Academy, Philippines, went back to the University of the Philippines to pursue education studies. He can be reached at oliver.geronilla@upou.edu.ph