Loose change for October 12, 2011

 Economic and business news 

• The director of the acclaimed and wildly popular Korean War pic Taegǔkki Hwinallimyŏ (Brotherhood) is finishing up a $24 million Korean-Chinese co-production on World War II that will be shown at Cannes in May. I guess Kang Jekyu couldn't work with the Chinese on making another Korean War film: while they might have agreed on the ending, they wouldn't have agreed on the beginning.

 North Korea news and stuff 

• They hate us, they really hate us: North Korea is threatening to launch "direct fire" over anti-Pyongyang leaflets being sent northward. Having lived in Seoul off and on since I was a teenager, I got used to North Korean bluster, but after the murderous attack on Yŏnpyŏng-do late last year, I'd take it a bit more seriously. Trying to draw attention away from President Lee's visit to the US as the KORUS FTA is signed would be just the kind of thing they'd pull. 

• South Korea is going to allow 120 firms to restart building five factories in North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Park, just north of the DMZ. This is seen as a sign of easing tensions, but you'll be forgiven if you start thinking, in light of the previous news item, "Whiskey tango foxtrot?!" I know Joshua at One Free Korea does.

• Writing in the Washington Post, Victor Cha (whose name sounds like the kind of tea they would drink in a Korean-language version of 1984) talks about how denuclearization of North Korea can be achieved, with incentives for good behavior and serious consequences for bad. It is definitely worth a read but I, on the other hand, am not so optimistic, believing we are fooling ourselves into thinking we can effectively shape North Korean policy as long as China is in control and is only interested in keeping North Korea as a buffer zone. But I would love to be proven wrong on that one.

• Japanese doctors have arrived in North Korea to examine those who were affected by the atomic bombings at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Those who have read this post may recall why there were North Koreans (formerly just Koreans from the northern part of Korea) in blast zone in the first place.

 Other Korea-related stuff 

• Wildly popular pop star Rain, the undisputed most influential celebrity in the world, is joining the ROK Army for his two-year stint of mandatory military service, possibly as a KATUSA. How long before the K-blog commentariat point out that the 29-year-old sensation finally got around to joining just weeks after Don't Ask, Don't Tell was lifted? 

 Americana and miscellany 

• The Washington Post notes that ROK President Lee Myungbak will be visiting while the Obama administration's nominee for US Ambassador is being held up. Sung Kim would replace Kathleen Stevens, who remains in Seoul in the meantime. Perhaps Senator Kyl of Arizona thinks that it's not a good idea to have a Korean-born Korean-American representing US interests in Korea? Asking, not saying, but it's not as if kyopo loyalty or the lack thereof has never been raised on the Interwebs before. 

... 

Stop me if you've heard this one

It seems that Rain is the most influential person in the world. Again. Who saw that coming?

For entertainment value, read Time's description of this man whose far-reaching influence they don't actually seem to grasp:

This South Korean sensation has been making waves in his native country for years, but his catchy beats and hot dance moves have made his popularity soar internationally. Who can forget that dance-off with Stephen Colbert, or his parts in the movies Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin? His army of fans helped him stay on top of this poll last year; let's see if there's still enough love to keep him on top today.

There is nothing left to say I didn't already say... back in 2006.

Geez, man. Buy a shirt already.

From the "Too Much Free Time on Their Hands" department

South Korean pop singer Rain (at left with "Star") was ranked the second most influential figure in the global entertainment industry, according to a poll by Time.

Rain followed director Ang Lee, winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Director for "Brokeback Mountain," who received 34 percent of public support.

The 23-year-old heartthrob often labeled as the Korean Justin Timberlake, garnered 28 percent of public support in an annual poll conducted by the weekly magazine. No word from Time on whether that equates to three rabid Netizens in a basement PC-bang or four.

UPDATE (4/29/2007):
Oh, dear G-d, it's happening again! Time Magazine has again put Mr. Rain on the list of candidates for their Top-100 issue, and fans of Rain have again voted (early and often?) to thrust him up to the dizzying upper echelons of popularity on that list.

As of today, April 29, 2007, Mr. Rain is at #2 with 385,467 votes, just behind Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert and his 235,147 votes (apparently Time's ballots are tallied in Florida).

Now, one might reasonably guess that nationalistic Korean fans may be behind this wild popularity among Time readers (especially if one reads nothing but the Marmot's Hole comment section), but if you take a look at Time's comments section, it would appear that most of Rain's superfan base is made up of people who are not in Korea (and I'm not referring just to Korean-Americans). They are names of people from places around Asia.

Okay, so he's popular across the continent. Still not sure that makes him influential, and one can still ask, "Is he worthy?"