North Korea Shelling South Korea

In what is being characterized as the worst incident in decades, North Korea has begun shelling a disputed South Korean island.

The South Korean military went to “crisis status,” and fighter planes were put on alert but did not take off. South Korean artillery units returned fire after the North’s shells struck South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island at 2:34 p.m., said Mr. Kwon, adding that the North also fired numerous rounds into the Yellow Sea. Television footage showed large plumes of black smoke spiraling from the island, and news reports said dozens of houses were on fire. The official North Korean news agency said in a brief statement Tuesday night that the South had started the fight when it “recklessly fired into our sea area.”

The United States and Japan have condemned the attack as a "deliberate provocation." U.S. military forces in the region are at a heightened level of alert. Millions of North Koreans are facing starvation in the face of trade sanctions imposed by the United States and South Korea.

South Korea May Allow Gays In Military

We may be soon adding South Korea to the long list of nations that allow gays to serve openly in their military.

Clause No. 92 in the code, established in 1962, stipulates that those who are engaged in “sodomy or other acts of molestation” are to be given a jail sentence of up to one year. The NHRC has been reviewing the constitutionality of the clause, which is currently pending at the Constitutional Court, since May when a civic group, supportive of sexual minorities in the military, filed a petition to the commission. “We have determined that homosexuality does not directly affect military combat power, moral fiber and unity. Criminal punishment according to the penal code infringes on their rights to equality and runs counter to the trend of the times,” the commission said during its committee meeting. “We found that there are no cases overseas in which soldiers were punished for homosexuality. Militaries in Canada, Australia and Israel allow homosexuals to join them even after they came out of the closet.”

Christian groups are, of course, opposed to the change as are some military leaders. The word used to define homosexual acts in the South Korean military is "gyegan," which is a derogatory slang term meaning "sex between chickens."

Narsha - Bi-Ri-Bop-A

Feel the Gaga.

Black Pearl - Go Go Ssing

A very old school Eurovision sound. K-Pop!

Wonder Girls - 2 Different Tears

More K-pop, this time with an Italo feel and a cameo from Mad TV's Bobby Lee. The song doesn't really start until 1:30.

4Minute - I My Me Mine

Continuing my K-pop fascination...

Miss A - Bad Girl, Good Girl

I seem to be undergoing a (probably fleeting) fascination with Korean pop music, although two of these girls are actually from China.

Torture By Girl Group

South Korea has ended its six year suspension of state-sponsored propaganda by broadcasting the below pop song across the North Korean border.

Before airing a rebuke from South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the broadcast features K-pop girl group 4minute singing their song "HuH (Hit Your Heart).” The song was specifically chosen to irk the repressive regime with its liberating lyrics: "Baby, you're kidding me? I do what I want and I do it my way.” The two countries, officially still at war, are divided by a 155-mile Korean Demilitarized Zone. The South set up speakers to blast the propaganda across the DMZ. In a move reminiscent of the 1984 movie "Footloose," the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has vowed to destroy any speakers set up along the border.

We surrender!