Comments on: Meet the New Boss: Kim Jong Il Reportedly Names Kim Jong Un as Successor

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:19:00 +0000

I think the missile threat to Europe is still Russia, and increasingly Iran, but not North Korea.

By: Mareike

Mareike — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:24:32 +0000

USINKOREA – Your points make a lot of sense. It’s true that this is no newspaper — so expectations one would have on a paper are irrelevant. For an American to analyse something from an American standpoint is also reasonable. I didn’t consider these things!

A pity there is no European based DPRK watch site – the Swedish guy who was running one dropped it, I think. I suppose most people in Europe are quite indifferent to Korea either way.. (Which is why it was a real surprise when the US wanted to put air defense missiles in Poland to protect from DPRK missiles aimed at Europe… Nobody had ever imagined that there was a threat… Oh well, that’s another story

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:45:56 +0000

I don’t expect Joshua to be objective either, especially when writing about a regime as despicable as what is currently in place in North Korea. Joshua’s sense of humor combined with his analysis is what makes this site much better then reading some dry straight news site that has no personality and little analysis.

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:33:49 +0000

Arguing for high tone is one thing – the term “objectivity” is quite another.

If this were a “straight news” site and One Free Korea were a journalist, then using phrases like the one you pointed out would be something I’d strike out as an editor — but this is not a news site. It’s a personal subject-oriented informational site by a private citizen — and I’d rather see author(s) on such sites “let their hair down” rather than try to mimic some PBS News Hour “high tone” and (fained) objectivity.

Which brings me to that term —- striving for “objectivity” with something like North Korea’s regime is — immoral/unethical.

For other cases, objectivity on a site like this is nonsense anyway. You would expect Joshua, as an American, to analyze things from an American perspective – and talk about what would be better/best for America. The same with any Citizen X from whatever country.

Of course, in international relations and global policy, you have to factor in what is good for other nations as well – and what is good for the region/group/whole…

But, there is no true “objectivity” when discussing these issues, and trying to force it is just trying to hide a natural, reasonable bias. (Which is exactly what we get from the news media itself – like PBS’ News Hour).

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:12:50 +0000

Right. And as an American, I realize that “we sometimes consider Europeans” to be dour, humorless, sanctimonious, and fundamentally unserious about dealing with evil, but rather than let us go down that path, try to see things from my perspective. This can be pretty depressing subject matter. I doubt I’d have the stomach to write about it every day if I couldn’t leaven it with satire. It wasn’t a gratuitous epithet. There’s much absurdity in the contrast between the eating habits of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Nam on one hand, and their subjects. This goes beyond one individual’s lifestyle choice. The self-evident gluttony of these two men is made possible by stealing from the bowls of starving children.

By: Mareike

Mareike — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:44:04 +0000

1) No I don’t know exactly what you mean by softball in this context.
2) Doesn’t bother me how anybody refers to Hitler, it’s all in the past – Europe learnt from the experience, implemented the lessons and it won’t happen again as long as the EU exists.

Hitler was an aggressive war-mongering dictator. The one thing that set him apart from other leaders who have set out to dominate Europe by means of war (JuliusCeasar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Stalin etc) is his despicable genocide of the European Jews. “Maniacal” – I don’t know, “Bastard” – depends on how you define it.

By: Mareike

Mareike — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:27:46 +0000

1) I think you are doing a fantastic job covering North Korean news – sorry I didn’t mention it! I will of course continue visiting the site regardless and it is up to you what language you choose to use…
2) I wasn’t saying that I think KJI is a good leader of his country, clearly he and his government have failed miserably.
3) Yes, I am European and we sometimes consider US attitudes to be a bit too aggressive, subjective and uncompromising + twisting the truth for own purposes. Sometimes we also think that the US takes the rhetoric a bit too far.
4) I like objectivity and a high tone. Likening somebody to a pig and critisizing their looks strikes me as irrelevant criticism unworthy of a great website with the mission of spreading important information. It’s not like there aren’t enough real , objective negatives to mention about North Korea!

Sorry I “barged in” with harsh criticism – I REALLY appreciate the site and I should have started off by saying that, instead of criticising!

By: Ditto81

Ditto81 — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:13:12 +0000

Mareike, do you also get offended when a person refers to Adolf Hitler as a maniacal bastard?

By: Richardson

Richardson — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:18:35 +0000

Mareike;
Do you know what a “softball” is?
Probably not.

By: Tukhachevsky

Tukhachevsky — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:56:04 +0000

In my very humble opinion, Jang Song-taek will have a role in the next Great/Dear Leader’s government.