South Korea Experiencing Soaring Recruitment of R.O.K. Marines After N. Korean Shelling Attack

Chosun Ilbo News (in Korean) ^ | 2 December 2010 | Kim Hyong Won, Journalist

[AmericanInTokyo]

The link is to this evening's top Korean-language Chosun Ilbo story in Seoul, South (Good) Korea. It states that after the Communist North under Kim Jong il had attacked the South at Yeongpyungdo (island) with rockets and howitzers last Tuesday, the patriotic ferver and anger has increased greatly in the South, and the most immediate manifestation is the soaring young recruits signing up to join the South Korean (R.O.K.) Marines, since it was two Marines who had been killed in the North shelling.

[AmericanInTokyo]

No English translation to the article yet, but I am sure it is in the pipeline. Original title: 연평도 도발 이후 해병대 지원자 더 몰려

[AmericanInTokyo]

Ping!

[2ndDivisionVet]

Tungil! [Reunification]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Some people still appreciate freedom enough to fight for it.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

What's Semper Fidelis in Korean?

[Islander7]

Looks like the R.O.K. knows for sure who their friends are.

[2ndDivisionVet]

My grasp of Hangul is very limited. I can buy a drink, a meal and get other (ahem) needs taken care of. I know the word for reunification because that's what my ROK Army co-workers said when they saluted an officer or an officer salutes a superior. Someone here probably knows, though. According to Babelfish, Always Faithful is written so: 항상 충실한

[Old Teufel Hunden]

From the halls of 38th parallel
To the shores of the yellow sea...

[luvbach1]

I’m reminded of the eagerness of many young Southern men to join the fray against the North early on in our (the US) Civil War, an eagerness that was soon tempered by the horrors of war.

Please excuse this digression: I don’t mean to denigrate confederate soldiers by recitation of the above facts which, of course, apply to those Northern men who were similarly inclined. I honor the sacrifice of both sides in that unfortunate conflict of brothers against brothers.

[NavyCanDo]

For those with NETFLIX instant streaming, last night I saw an excellent documentary having an inside view of what it is like in North Korea. The oppressive dictatorship of Kim Jong-il makes Hitler look like just a tough schoolmarm.

National Geographic - Inside North Korea

“Join National Geographic’s Lisa Ling as she captures a rare look inside North Korea - something few Americans have ever been able to do. Posing as an undercover medical coordinator and closely guarded throughout her trip, Lisa moves inside the most isolated nation in the world, encountering a society completely dominated by government and dictatorship. Glimpse life inside North Korea as you’ve never seen before with personal accounts and powerful footage. Witness first-hand efforts by humanitarians and the challenges they face from the rogue regime.”

[AmericanInTokyo]

Yep, they are bad, up there in NK. What is horrifying is what the smuggled-in Western cameras could NOT film! Defectors have told harrowing tales, and those dictators, the Kim Family, are still in power and grooming Junior!!!

Doug MacArthur would have an absolute cow.

[GeronL]

Are a lot of them re-upping after their mandatory 2 year stint too?

[AmericanInTokyo]

Good question, I will have to read the article in detail for that.

[NavyCanDo]

Lisa Ling made a comment about the absolute adoration the people have for Kim Jong. “You look at the people bowing down, lifting hands and praising photographs of him, and wonder who is doing this with all sincerity, and who is doing it out of absolute fear.”

[Joe 6-pack]

"...who is doing this with all sincerity, and who is doing it out of absolute fear.”

Yep...kind of like all the mourning of the passing of Kim Il Sung. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zYsUqAYg6c

It's pretty obvious that nobody wanted to be seen crying or wailing less than the person next to them.

[PGalt]

(Thread and) Forces of freedom BUMP!

[bvw]

Amazing timing as the generation of Korvets are leaving the scene. Great guys, even Rangel. (Although I think Rangel should be expelled from the House.)

[Lurker]

Trust me on this, the ROK Marines are about the 2nd to the last people on Earth you want pissed off at you.

[AlanGreenSpam]

In a sense, the shelling is a good turn of events because now the S.K. youth won’t be protesting the U.S. so much anymore.

They realize who their true enemy is and the U.S. is a benign, stabilizing force — rather than an object of protest.

[LibertyRocks]

God bless and protect each and every one of them.