Korea news links for November 9, 2009: Dammed pools and damned fools

There's sixty percent more news than this time 24 hours ago. At this rate, we'll have full news recovery by the end of the fourth quarter. Depending on your perspective, the big news could be that over four thousand Koreans, including the architect of South Korea's economic miracle, are now on a pro-Japanese collaborator sh¡t list that, depending on your point of view, is or is not the agenda-driven work of leftist agitators (oh, I will never tire of using that link). I will have more on that later.

We have Kim Jong-il turning on the television, not liking what he sees, and then firing one of the highest-ranking civilians in his government. And you thought Simon Cowell was scary.

And speaking of scary, if you're an environmentalist you may not be happy that the Four Rivers Project has gotten the green light (ha ha, get it? Green) and construction/deconstruction begins on Tuesday, starting with dammed pools. It's sort of interesting that as great builders of dams like the US are beginning to rethink grand dams of yesteryear — those along the Colorado River, Hetch-Hetchy, etc. — places like South Korea and China (Three Rivers Gorge) are running headlong into a golden era of dam-building. We can expect the Lee Administration to be some busy beavers for the next three years. More on this also in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy the subliminal hint of environmental purity of the birds flying by a space-agey dam in the artist's rendition below.

1. After key environmental hurdle is passed, Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs says "Four Rivers Project" will kick off Tuesday with construction of fifteen dammed pools (Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
2. South Korean scholars release controversial 3000-page volume listing 4389 Koreans considered to be pro-Japanese collaborators, including assassinated former President Park Chunghee (Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
3. An angry Kim Jong-il reportedly fires North Korea's top broadcaster after seeing unprecedented advertisements for beer and other local products (Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
4. South Korean steelmakers plan to spend 18.71 trillion won ($16.02 billion) over next three years in capital investments to reduce greenhouse gases and energy consumption (Reuters)
5. Bipartisan group of US members of Congress urges US President Obama to expedite ROK-US free-trade agreement (Korea Herald, Joongang Daily, Donga Ilbo)
6. South Korean golfer Song Bobae wins US LPGA Tour Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan, with four-under-par 68 (AFP, AP via WaPo, Yonhap)US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves for trip to China, Japan, and South Korea that will include shoring up support in dealing with North Korea (AP via WaPo)
7. About 16,000 FKTU labor unionists continue rally for second day on Sunday (AP via BusinessWeek, Korea Herald)
8. Study finds that 82% of all American police officers are considered obese by Japanese magazine readers (Asahi Shimbun)