http://www.fuse.tv/2012/07/kim-jong-un-mystery-lady-is-a-north-korean-pop-star
QuoteThe Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un (son and successor to the late Kim Jong-Il), has been spotted at several official gatherings in recent weeks with a mystery lady. And now, according to the Daily Mail, she's been identified as Hyon Song-wol, a North Korean pop star!
And it gets way juicier: Jong-un and Song-wol—who reportedly was once married to (and had a baby with) an officer in the North Korean Army—allegedly started a relationship over a decade ago. But the late Jong-Il forbade his son from seeing her!
A South Korean intelligence official said, "The two have known each other since they were in their teens and rumors about the two having an affair have been circulating among Pyongyang's top elite."
Hyon Song-wol enjoyed chart success as the frontwoman in an outfit called Bochonobo Electronic Music Band. Their songs include (seriously) "Excellent Horse-Like Lady," "Footsteps of Soldiers," "I Love Pyongyang," "She is a Discharged Soldier" and "We are Troops of the Party." And those might be the best song titles in the history of pop music.
Listen to Song-wol sing Bochonobo's killer hit single "Excellent Horse-Like Lady" below, and then let us know what you think in the comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5tkXgw2OMY (vid of "Excellet Horse-Like Lady")
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/07/woman-seen-with-kim-jong-un-identified/
QuoteHyon then wed a member of the North Korean army and had a child. The circumstances of her marriage and her child were not known.
:ph34r:
One of her hit songs is named "Excellent Horse-Like Lady".
Quote from: PRC on July 11, 2012, 01:48:08 PM
One of her hit songs is named "Excellent Horse-Like Lady".
You must've read the article!
Oh yeah sorry for not calling it out - that's what the youtube link is to. Amazing. :D
Sarah Jessica Parker. :lol:
As to the video - who knew that working in a North Korean factory was so much fun? :D
More Kim Jong-un wackiness.
QuoteOn North Korean TV, a Dash of (Unapproved) Disney Magic
Korea Central News Agency, via Reuters
TOKYO — After a failed missile launching, aborted diplomacy with Washington, and continuing international pressure over the country's nuclear program, North Korea's untested young leader has tried once again to take a dramatic step with his isolated, impoverished nation, this time with a bit of unapproved help from Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.
North Korean state-run television on Monday showed footage of costumed versions of Tigger, Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters prancing in front of the leader, Kim Jong-un, and an entourage of clapping generals.
The footage also showed Mr. Kim in a black Mao suit watching as Mickey Mouse conducted a group of young women playing violins in skimpy black dresses. At times, scenes from the animated Disney movies "Dumbo" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" were projected on a multipanel screen behind the entertainers; an article in the state-run press said unnamed foreign songs were on the bill.
The appearance of the characters from the United States, North Korea's mortal enemy, was remarkable fare on tightly controlled North Korean television, which usually shows more somber and overtly political programs. A Disney spokeswoman, Zenia Mucha, had no comment Monday beyond a statement: "This was not licensed or authorized by the Walt Disney Company."
As with many things in the North's bellicose and reclusive Stalinist government, Mr. Kim's rationale was a mystery, but there was a hint that the performance might be significant. An article about the performance by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that Mr. Kim, who took over after the death in December of his father, Kim Jong-il, had a "grandiose plan to bring a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year."
The footage included a segment with a broadly smiling Mr. Kim — with his marked resemblance to his revered grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the nation's founder — gesturing like a symphony conductor as he gave guidance on music and art to what appeared to be a half-dozen North Korean reporters busily scribbling in notebooks, one of them in a military uniform. The article on the performance said it featured a band organized by Mr. Kim himself.
Adding to the enigma offered, an unnamed young woman was seated next to Mr. Kim. Speculation about her identity ranged from sister to love interest.
There have been expectations that Mr. Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s and to have been educated in Switzerland, might try to take his nation in a new direction with some sort of opening to the West. However, he has also at times shown the same rigid defiance as his father.
This mix of opening and confrontation was apparent in April, when Mr. Kim's government ignored international condemnation to launch a multistage rocket it said carried a satellite. The United States said it was a ballistic missile test. The launching, which was uncharacteristically opened to select overseas media organizations, proved a humiliating setback when the vehicle exploded minutes after liftoff. It prompted the Obama administration to scuttle a month-old deal that had briefly raised hopes of reducing tensions by allowing inspections of the North Korean nuclear weapons program to be resumed.
The performance was not the first time the Kim dynasty's fate had been entwined with Disney. In 2001, the current leader's older brother, Kim Jong-nam, was apparently banished from the line of succession after being detained by the Japanese authorities while trying to enter Japan on a Dominican Republic passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/world/asia/kim-jong-un-appears-with-mickey-mouse-and-other-disney-characters-on-north-korean-tv.html?_r=1
QuoteA Disney spokeswoman, Zenia Mucha, had no comment Monday beyond a statement: "This was not licensed or authorized by the Walt Disney Company."
LOL, I suppose it wasn't.
Well, to be honest, it is kinda hard to tell the difference between Disneyworld and North Korea ... :D
From watching that video I get the impression North Korea is a really happy, fun place. :)
I happened upon a dude's blog a while back that chronicled his visit to a North Korean amusement park. It didn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would, though apparently the Great Successor toured the park and gave the management a rare public ass-chewing over some of the rides not working.
What a waste of talent.
Is this a spoof or actual reporting? I dont know the site.
And that video is such a karaoke video....
QuoteIn 2001, the current leader's older brother, Kim Jong-nam, was apparently banished from the line of succession after being detained by the Japanese authorities while trying to enter Japan on a Dominican Republic passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
:lol:
Yeah, pretty famous event that, it always struck me as odd why he claimed to be from the Dominican Republic of all places. I wonder what the fake name was, Raul Santos?
He really should have just got a fake Chinese or Vietnamese or some other country where he could pass for one of its people, passports.
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2012, 02:53:55 AM
Yeah, pretty famous event that, it always struck me as odd why he claimed to be from the Dominican Republic of all places. I wonder what the fake name was, Raul Santos?
He really should have just got a fake Chinese or Vietnamese or some other country where he could pass for one of its people, passports.
Apparently a fair number of Asians settled in the Dominican Republic. A guy I work with is from there and has a Chinese grandfather.
Quote from: derspiess on July 12, 2012, 10:07:27 AM
Apparently a fair number of Asians settled in the Dominican Republic. A guy I work with is from there and has a Chinese grandfather.
A lot of Caribbean nations saw substantial Asian immigration after WW2. Jamaica's got a tremendously influential Chinese immigrant population. They own all the gambling houses.
I believe there are fairly significant Chinese minorities throughout central and south america.
Remember it wasn't that long ago when places like the Dominican Republic were richer than almost anywhere in asia (as odd as that now sounds).
In Latin America the generic word for Asian is chino. In Jamaica the generic word for Asian is Chinaman.
Quote from: Tyr on July 12, 2012, 12:22:35 AM
Is this a spoof or actual reporting? I dont know the site.
Fuse is a music site (/tv channel with website). If you look this up though many sources are reporting it. 2nd link in first post is to ABC.
Kim Jong-un is now the Marshal of the Army! :lol:
link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48220001/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/?__utma=14933801.134201884.1342394983.1342568437.1342587274.8&__utmb=14933801.1.10.1342587274&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1342394983.1.1.utmcsr=(direct))
He's consolidating his power. It's become "international playboyland". Or "about to be overthrownland".
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2012, 10:16:00 AM
I believe there are fairly significant Chinese minorities throughout central and south america.
Remember it wasn't that long ago when places like the Dominican Republic were richer than almost anywhere in asia (as odd as that now sounds).
Some of the best Chinese food I've had was in Tijuana.
Quote from: katmai on July 18, 2012, 12:10:00 AM
Some of the best Chinese food I've had was in Tijuana.
Next time you're in town, we'll have you over for dinner.
I'm not sure Tijuana has the best of anything positive.
Woah! :o
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/07/20/2012072000583.html
QuoteN.Korean Army Chief 'Refused to Go Quietly'
A gunbattle broke out when the North Korean regime removed army chief Ri Yong-ho from office, leaving 20 to 30 soldiers dead, according to unconfirmed intelligence reports. Some intelligence analysts believe Ri, who has not been seen since his abrupt sacking earlier this week, was injured or killed in the confrontation.
According to government officials here, the gunbattle erupted when Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the People's Army General Political Bureau, tried to detain Ri in the process of carrying out leader Kim Jong-un's order to sack him. Guards protecting Ri, who is a vice marshal, apparently opened fire. "We cannot rule out the possibility that Ri was injured or even killed in the firefight," said one source.
Choe is believed to be the right-hand man of Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of the young North Korean leader. He made his career in the Workers Party rather than the army. After being appointed director of the bureau, Choe repeatedly clashed with Ri, who came up as a field commander, prompting Choe to keep Ri under close watch and apparently triggering an internal probe targeting the army chief.
The military had grown tremendously in power under former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's "songun" or military-first doctrine, and military heavyweights like Ri who grew in stature during this period were considered threats to the young North Korean leader.
"The firefight has still not been 100 percent confirmed," said a government official here. "It may take some time for us to gain a clearer picture of what happened."
I am STUNNED!!
So Ri really got fired, it seems.
Quote from: Jacob on July 20, 2012, 09:19:24 AM
So Ri really got fired, it seems.
Ri fired first :contract:
Married. :)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/world/asia/north-korean-leader-marries-reports-say.html
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgraphics8.nytimes.com%2Fimages%2F2012%2F07%2F26%2Fworld%2F26kim%2F26kim-popup.jpg&hash=473229623a63929151f1ac2ced817db05d25aa83)
May they make many beautiful....err..... pudgy babies together.
Somewhat related; I've read that Kimmy 3 has had plastic surgery to make him look more like Kimmy 1. Wonder if thats true.... If so; ouch, the things you do for power...