With this entry, posting at OneFreeKorea comes to an end. But this marks less of an end than a new beginning. I have joined forces with two of the very best Korea blogs, DPRK Studies and The Asianist, to form a new group blog, The Korea Liberator. Click the image to have your first look. Don’t mind the sawdust and the bits of sheetrock and insulation. We’re still cleaning up the construction debris. Please update your bookmarks and sidebars accordingly....

Judge Advocate Officer, U.S. Army, Korea, 1998-2002.  Left active duty, 2003.  Currently an attorney practicing in Washington, DC.  Webmaster of  OneFreeKorea–read daily in the U.S. Congress, major newsrooms, and other government agencies–from 2004 to 2006.   Volunteer writer, thinker, and organizer on behalf of human rights for the North Korean people; have argued their case directly to congressmen, senators, and ambassadors.  Use the comments section  to contact me.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are those of the post’s author alone. Everything you read here is based on open sources or sources we know through our private associations. The views expressed on this blog are not the views of any other organization, entity, agency, or company. In fact, we don’t even necessarily speak for each other, although we do generally agree on a few fundamentals. Our Agenda Is a Free and United Korea On Diplomacy: The most...

I first blogged this story here. According to this report from the Donga Ilbo, he was released the following day to avoid provoking the North Korean government. According to a number of sources familiar with North Korea on Wednesday, shortly before Kim Jong Il visited China (from January 10 to 18), Kang was arrested by the police after it was revealed that he had illegally transferred ownership of a patch of land he owned there three or four years before....

So much for President Roh’s opposition to U.S. sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s favorite money laundry. Three major South Korean banks have now joined in: Shinhan Bank, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, and the Korea Exchange Bank.

Yes, we’re talking about South Korea, where thankfully, the courts still stop obvious government efforts to smother the free press. The Supreme Court ruled that journalistic opinions or criticism cannot be considered malicious reporting, and that they are exempt from being subjected to malicious reporting lawsuits. Through this ruling, the Supreme Court suggested detailed standards of differentiating an “actual report” from “expression of opinion or criticism” for the first time. This judgment will set a precedent for indiscriminate lawsuits filed...

This could be serious: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drawn up a draft bill tentatively named: “The North Korea Human Rights Bill” which calls for Japanese economic sanctions on Pyongyang if it fails to acknowledge its abduction of Japanese nationals and improve its human rights record. I’ve been wrong before when I’ve predicted that the United States and Japan were finally ready to put real pressure on North Korea, and I’m getting ready to stick my neck out...

I first blogged this story here. According to this report from the Donga Ilbo, he was released the following day to avoid provoking the North Korean government. According to a number of sources familiar with North Korea on Wednesday, shortly before Kim Jong Il visited China (from January 10 to 18), Kang was arrested by the police after it was revealed that he had illegally transferred ownership of a patch of land he owned there three or four years before....

So much for President Roh’s opposition to U.S. sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s favorite money laundry. Three major South Korean banks have now joined in: Shinhan Bank, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, and the Korea Exchange Bank.

The New York Times doesn’t think China’s internet censorship schemes are going to work, thanks, in part, to bloggers. Microsoft alone carries an estimated 3.3 million blogs in China. Add to that the estimated 10 million blogs on other Internet services, and it becomes clear what a censor’s nightmare China has become. What is more, not a single blog existed in China a little more than three years ago, and thousands upon thousands are being born every day — some...

I must say that things like this give me grave doubts about the idea of democratizing the Middle East. ht The Volokh Conspiracy.

South Korea is about to miss another excellent opportunity to enforce the rule of law against an expected violent protest at Camp Humphreys. This report isn’t terribly encouraging, however. The Korean government not only seems more interested in protecting the instigators of violence than the law, it is bringing along the Human Rights Commission(!) to police the police: The National Police Agency said yesterday it would limit contact between activists and riot police at a rally scheduled for Sunday to...

The Chosun Ilbo does a (nearly) serious and scholarly examination of Korean erotic art.

It’s a widely known fact that Chung Dong-Young, the ex-anti-Unification Minister, has a legally binding contract assigning all rights to his immortal soul to Satan: A smooth talker, former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has taken the lead from his chief rival Rep. Kim Geun-tae and six other contenders with a week to go before the ruling Uri Party’s national convention. According to a recent nationwide survey of 1,000 party members, the former MBC anchorman topped the list with 51.7 percent,...