[eXpat]

Ho, shit~! This story has been so far buried this is the first I've heard of it. Thanks for the heads-up

My pleasure!

[FloridaGirl]

I saw a mention of the Korean bank runs on CCTV (China TV) tonight. They said 8 banks have been suspended.

I haven't seen anything about it in the US mainstream media.

[Xenophobe]

If it spreads to the States, Cid will be in as big a bind as us regular schmucks! At least this looks like a cool topic to discuss...I wonder if it is also on the censors list?

[Outcast_Searcher]

They mentioned the S. Korean bank runs once or twice on CNBC.

Normally this would be news people would pay attention to, but with what is happening in North Africa, and the resulting oil shock -- I just don't think this will hit most folk's "short attention span" radar unless it spreads dramatically in S. Korea.

[Adelaidewonderer]

How can american banks ever run out of money? Oh, the printing presses must be starting to wear out.

[stephankrasner]

When I first started looking into places to start farming after the oil crash, at first I considered a temperate climate someplace in the United States, possibly the Pacific Northwest. But because of how much oil per capita the United States uses and the 'take everything you can get while it's there' mentality, I am now thinking that despite the considerable differences in population and geopolitics between Japan and China; South Korea might be a very good place to settle.

After touring the SK countryside I was amazed to see droves of organic farming communities, doing work similar to how it was done when their grandparents were farming. No big machinery, natural pesticides and almost no genetically modified crop proliferation. Because the majority of jobs are in or around Seoul and Busan, land in sub-rural SK is relatively cheap compared with sub-rural land in the US. The other factor about South Korea that is a big motivator is that they have an 'all for one' idea about community. Whole families still live together for the most part, even most restaurants even have a two or more group policy. They also know how to tighten their belts when necessary. In terms of public transportation and infrastructure, South Korea has invested a heck of a lot of money in the last ten years. Everything from roads to trains look brand spanking new.

I will be making my final decision about six months from now. Any opinions?

[cephalotus]

the biocapacity for South Korea is 0,3 gha/person, this is one of the lowest in the world.

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/inde ... r_nations/

(see xls table at the bottom of the page)

[Pretorian]

yes it is one of the most overpopulated places on Earth. If you want cheap land go to Paraguay

[Fishman]

Um Steph, did you miss that little problem just north of the border while you were in Korea? Do you think that starving mass in NK might come over if the US leaves? Or perhaps you are a follower of the idiot Jimmy Carter who blames NKs problems on the US? Check out the "farming haven" based north of the 38th. I hear they already use minimal oil in food production, course, they have minimal food production also.

[stephankrasner]

Cephalotus: Thanks for the info! I haven't seen that site before. Before I was only looking at the total amount of arable land per person which seems grossly inaccurate compared with actual biocapacity. That whole world footprint PDF was extremely interesting.

Petorian: The population in South Korea seems tight, especially when you go to the big cities. 1/3 of the entire population lives in Seoul, another 1/3 lives in Busan and the surrounding suburbs of Seoul. The rest of Korea is pretty sparsely populated. Paraguay seems nice, and according to the information on the footprint network PDF it has a large biocapacity, but it also has one of the highest footprints in South America and most of it is forest land. Actual Crop and Grazing land is comparable to the United States.

Fishman: It's true, North Korea is an awful s***-hole. But I don't believe that China would allow them to attack. If you remember the Wikileaks memo from the Chinese prime minister, he said that "North Korea is like a spoiled child" and "we wouldn't mind if South Korea ruled over North Korea as it's financial center". I am more concerned about Japan getting desperate and putting Korea in the middle. Nothing is really for sure. As I mentioned, the geopolitics are not as stable as they are in the United States. It's one of the main downsides to settling there...

Thanks for the responses! It's great to get some clear roadblocks in the way before I decide anything.

[Pretorian]

Petorian: The population in South Korea seems tight, especially when you go to the big cities. 1/3 of the entire population lives in Seoul, another 1/3 lives in Busan and the surrounding suburbs of Seoul. The rest of Korea is pretty sparsely populated. Paraguay seems nice, and according to the information on the footprint network PDF it has a large biocapacity, but it also has one of the highest footprints in South America and most of it is forest land. Actual Crop and Grazing land is comparable to the United States.

Well what is your main aim ? To survive, to prosper, to retire? Having 50 million people within 1-2 hours from my farm is not my idea of sparse population. Mind reminding you that if you are not Korean you will be a white crow for good no matter how well you'll speak the language, and that its damn hard to immigrate to SK legally unless you are super-special.
I remember peddling here my friend's place in Argentina, something like 50 acres in a wine country, half empty and another half with almost mature plum trees, it was $20k or something like that. Water rights, subsidized NG and all that. What can you buy for $20k in SK?

[stephankrasner]

Sorry for the wait Petorian...

I'm still in my 20's, so of course my aim is to both survive and prosper by getting things together and forming the local relationships necessary before the word disaster ever crosses the minds of the majority of people.

I understand that as a white person living in South Korea there are limits and many people have biases that will only worsen with a national disaster. If anything I would be more worried about government oppression, a historic problem in Korea. However, I can't say much more for the rest of the worlds governments either, especially if money is tight. I won't go into the details of how, but legal status is not a problem, you can assume in my case that I'm one of the "super special" ones.

Because I have special status in South Korea, I am more inclined to think about that country or the US before investigating other possible promising countries that are also (as far as I know) just as difficult to gain legal status in. Also, how much land do you really need? I would be satisfied with 5 acres. An acre for my family's food, and acre for crop rotation, and the other 3 for livestock/pasture and food for sale/trade.

Another thing to consider is the prison population South Korea has 99 people per 100,000 the United States has 750+ people per 100,000. I wonder what happens when the state can't afford to keep 2,500,000 people who are cash and skill poor.

[Pretorian]

I wonder what happens when the state can't afford to keep 2,500,000 people who are cash and skill poor.

Wonder no more. They will be put to... no, not that, they will be put to work. But anyway, Russians were burning their prisoners alive when they had to, so no biggie here.

[lowem]

english.yonhapnews.co.kr :

The South Korean economy grew at the slowest pace in more than three years in the third quarter on faltering facility investment, the central bank said Thursday, raising chances that the full-year growth will likely miss the bank's 2.4 percent estimate. South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) grew a revised 0.1 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier. The third-quarter growth marked the slowest gain since the first quarter of 2009 when Korea was in the midst of the 2008 global financial crisis.

South Korea's economy seems to be slowing down in conjunction with the rest of Asia including China. With exports being among the most dominant factors in the Asian economies, the drag-down effect of the slowdowns elsewhere are starting to be felt more keenly in Asia these past months. Watch out for signs of classic stagflation taking hold if inflation continues its forward momentum and yet the economy stagnates with no-growth or slow-growth pace below 2-3% in the region.

[dissident]

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/08/shocki ... camps.html

Ignore the slant of the source. It seems the 1970s dirty wars were everywhere including Latin America. George Bush Sr. was in charge of the CIA right after William Colby during that time which saw the installation of many of these butcher juntas into power supposedly to stop the commies. "To save the village, you have to destroy it".

PS. The alleged tactics of the enemy do not justify moral degradation and brutality against civilians.

[Subjectivist]

(CNN)Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has reaffirmed the US' commitment to defend South Korea "against the evolving North Korean threat".

Mattis spoke with the South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo Tuesday ahead of his inaugural trip as secretary of defense to visit Japan and South Korea, the US' closest Asian allies.

Han and Mattis expressed their commitment to proceed with the THAAD missile defense system deployment and the need for closer co-operation on policies on North Korea, according to a statement released by the South Korean Ministry of Defense.
The THAAD system is designed to take down incoming projectiles and has been cited as a way to potentially stop a nuclear attack from North Korea.

The visit comes after Donald Trump, when campaigning for the US presidency, caused concern in Asia by suggesting Seoul and Tokyo develop their own nuclear weapons. Trump also suggested the two countries either pay more for their own defense, or the US provide them with less security support.

The phone call between Mattis and Han comes amid analysis of new satellite imagery that suggests North Korea is restarting a plutonium reactor.
Tensions are already high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said his country was close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) -- the type of projectile that would be used to deliver a nuclear warhead -- in a televised New Year's Day address.

In the speech, Kim referred to North Korea as a "nuclear and military power in the east" and warned the US and its "vassal forces to stop nuclear threat and blackmail," according to state news agency KCNA.
In 2016 North Korea backed up its fiery rhetoric with two nuclear tests -- the country had only conducted three before in 2006, 2009 and 2013 -- and a handful of land and sea-based missile tests.
China trying to stop THAAD
China is concerned about THAAD at the strategic level, analysts suggest, with the country viewing the defense system as part of a broader US strategy to extend its military alliance network from Japan all the way down to the South China Sea.
"The Chinese see THAAD as part of a containment network that's not directed at North Korea, but them," John Delury, associate professor of international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, told CNN.
Beijing is doing "everything in its power to prevent the deployment of the defense system," Delury added, including punitive measures on South Korean celebrities and companies.

Amid heightened tensions
North Korea: The biggest issue for the next US president?

North Korea: The biggest issue for the next US president? 00:38
The phone call between Mattis and Han comes amid analysis of new satellite imagery that suggests North Korea is restarting a plutonium reactor.
Tensions are already high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said his country was close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) -- the type of projectile that would be used to deliver a nuclear warhead -- in a televised New Year's Day address.
In the speech, Kim referred to North Korea as a "nuclear and military power in the east" and warned the US and its "vassal forces to stop nuclear threat and blackmail," according to state news agency KCNA.
In 2016 North Korea backed up its fiery rhetoric with two nuclear tests -- the country had only conducted three before in 2006, 2009 and 2013 -- and a handful of land and sea-based missile tests.
China trying to stop THAAD
China is concerned about THAAD at the strategic level, analysts suggest, with the country viewing the defense system as part of a broader US strategy to extend its military alliance network from Japan all the way down to the South China Sea.
"The Chinese see THAAD as part of a containment network that's not directed at North Korea, but them," John Delury, associate professor of international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, told CNN.
Beijing is doing "everything in its power to prevent the deployment of the defense system," Delury added, including punitive measures on South Korean celebrities and companies.
Earlier in January, local Korean media reports suggested that everything from cosmetics to K-Pop stars had been hit hard by the South Korea-US alliance over THAAD.
When asked whether the cancellation of a concert by Korean musicians Sumi Jo and Kwun-woo Paik was owing to THAAD, during a press conference in January, Chinese government spokeswoman, Hua Chunying denied the claims.
But Kim Hankwon, a national diplomatic academy professor in South Korea, told CNN that it was likely that the import ban on certain Korean products and cultural exports was related to THAAD.
He said that in the long term, however, China would avoid going overboard with their warning messages.
"If China implements stronger punitive measures towards South Korea, South Koreans will look more towards the US and show hostility to China," said Hankwon.
CNN's Stella Ko in Seoul, Michael Callahan in Washington DC and Serenitie Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/asia/matt ... rip-thaad/

[Tanada]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister arrived in South Korea on Friday to begin an unprecedented three-day visit that started with her attendance at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

She also plans to sit down with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a luncheon at the presidential Blue House in Seoul.

Kim Yo-jong, who is probably her brother's closest confidant and is a senior cadre in North Korea's ruling party, is the first member of the family dynasty to visit South Korea. However, her grandfather, Kim Il-sung, travelled to areas occupied by his troops south of what is now the Demilitarized Zone during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The trip has the potential to become something of a coming out party — certainly for Kim Yo-jong, but also for her deeply isolated country.

Kim Jong-un hasn't set foot outside North Korea or met a head of state since assuming power upon the death of their father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011. His pursuit of a nuclear arsenal to counter what he sees as the threat of invasion by the United States has ratcheted up tensions not only with his rivals, but also with primary trading partner China and Russia, once a key benefactor.

Kim Yo-jong's arrival was broadcast live on South Korean television. Looking confident and relaxed, she had a brief meeting with South Korean officials, including Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, before being whisked away in a black limousine and catching the high-speed train to Pyeongchang.
Rising political figure

At 30, she is probably the most powerful woman in North Korea.

She has been rapidly rising within the North's power structure and is believed to be in charge of shaping her brother's public persona. But she has generally remained safely cloaked in her brother's shadow. This is her first high-profile international appearance at centre stage, though she is technically just a member of a delegation headed by the North's senior statesman, 90-year-old Kim Yong-nam.

Just before the opening ceremony, Kim Yong-nam, the highest-ranking North Korean official to travel to the South, attended a dinner for visiting foreign dignitaries hosted by Moon. U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence was at the dinner and also attended the opening ceremony. Pence did not meet with the North Korean delegates, spokesperson Alyssa Farah said.

However, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did meet briefly with Kim Yong-nam while attending the opening ceremony, a UN spokesperson said Friday.

"He did have a brief exchange with President Kim in which he once more reiterated... that his expectation and hope is that all parties will use dialogue to achieve a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Farhan Haq told reporters.

CBC News

[dissident]

China is placing enormous pressure on NK. It has deployed 300,000 troops to its border and is showing strong displeasure with NK behaviour. China is the key NK backer. Russia has been pressing NK to open up to establish railway links between Russia and South Korea. It does not want a lunatic policy in NK that invites more US meddling in the region.

After the Ukraine experience, I am expecting Russia and China to coordinate on some sort of regime change in NK to prevent America getting the opportunity.

[onlooker]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nort ... SKBN1HX2I6

The leaders of North and South Korea embraced on Friday and pledged to work for the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”

[Cog]

Like any other deal, the terms must be verified. The history of North Korea of keeping its end of a deal are not good. I'm hopeful but not very optimistic.