North Korea

[Alf Bentley]

1 minute ago, Buce said:

 

Cool. 

 

Are you planning to stay in accomodation or are you camping?

 

Bunkhouses booked along the route. I do have a tent but reckon I'd be too knackered to be bothering with putting it up, given my lack of fitness.

[Buce]

13 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

Bunkhouses booked along the route. I do have a tent but reckon I'd be too knackered to be bothering with putting it up, given my lack of fitness.

 

That’s the sensible way to do it if you have questions over your fitness. Nothing ruins a hike like being over-burdened with a heavy pack. 

 

If you have ambitions to make a regular thing of it, or if you plan to hike any trails where accomodation isn’t an option, there is some fabulous ultra-light gear on the market now. 

 

I hope you’ll be posting some pics?

Edited 27 April 2018 by Buce

[Guest FriendlyRam]

8 hours ago, Rogstanley said:

 

They're buttering him up obviously. Trump is a global laughing stock but these people have got their own interests in mind first and foremost. Trump is easy to butter up so that's what they do.

Trump couldn't be a bigger laughing stock if he tried, although he did try when he phoned up Fox news. listening to him in that phone call it was obvious the idiot had nothing to do with getting North and South Korea to the table, I love how his base are giving Trump all the credit, but all he did was threaten to wipe NK off the map, got into a tit for tat with King Jong Un etc, Trump is a moron of the highest order. 

 

But his rant on Fox News just shows how big a clown he is, incriminated himself multiple times and yet the media aren't really reporting about it. 

[leicsmac]

4 hours ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

Thanks for that, Mac. t's mainly down to me to read a book - or visit one day - I know. 

 

Brief supplementaries, if you don't mind my cheek....

- What differences do Koreans tend to point out: i.e. what do they view as important Korean characteristics?

- In what ways would you say they differ from Chinese or Japanese (I'm aware that there'll be a big range in all those countries - and don't know how well you know the Chinese or Japanese)?

- Are there major cultural variations between regions, as there are with a lot of other countries?

- Would you say Koreans are more or less conservative/traditional, modern/outgoing or family/socially-oriented, compared to Chinese/Japanese/West....or is there a big variation between urban/rural and young/old?

 

Feel free to tell me I'm being cheeky and should find out for myself! 

No problem!

 

- Koreans like to point out their unique food and there is also a kind of spirit of national identity which is colloquially known as "Hallyu" that is something that is important to them too.

 

- they differ on account of their own identity, really - as well as the way they view the world. They've been through a lot historically and as such through that they've developed their own sense of culture that they're eager to share with the world, which makes them different from Chinese or Japanese in that way. They're also less prone to groupthink than the Chinese (though the Confucian respect for family etc is still there) and are more gregarious (as a rule) than the Japanese, but again these are generalisations.

 

- the big city areas (Seoul in particular) tend to be more business-oriented and conservative politically than the more rural areas (reverse of the UK, really) - Jeolla, the most southwestern district, is very liberal and arty (and also has the best food in Korea IMO). There's also big difference in dialects between regions, but that's something I've only really scratched the surface of.

 

- As alluded to above, there is a big difference between urban and rural thinking, and an even bigger one between young and old - there's a whole generation coming into work now who have grown up entirely in a liberal democracy and as such have no time for the conservatism of those older than they who experienced military dictatorships and famine, which is resulting in something of a political sea change. The Confucian culture is still pretty ingrained and as such being loyal to your family is still a big thing, but at the same time that is being combined with a wave of social progressivism which is...interesting to see.

[Ronish Baxter]

Keeping diplomatic developments coming at a head-snapping pace, the South Korean government said on Sunday that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had told President Moon Jae-in that he would abandon his nuclear weapons if the United States agreed to formally end the Korean War and promise not to invade his country.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/world/asia/north-korea-trump-nuclear.html

[Guest MattP]

On 27/04/2018 at 21:41, FriendlyRam said:

Trump couldn't be a bigger laughing stock if he tried, although he did try when he phoned up Fox news. listening to him in that phone call it was obvious the idiot had nothing to do with getting North and South Korea to the table, I love how his base are giving Trump all the credit, but all he did was threaten to wipe NK off the map, got into a tit for tat with King Jong Un etc, Trump is a moron of the highest order. 

 

But his rant on Fox News just shows how big a clown he is, incriminated himself multiple times and yet the media aren't really reporting about it. 

This is exactly what I'm talking about

[Countryfox]

Whats happening over there is quite amazing but people on here seem to want to debate whether Trump should get all or no credit, and mainly its no credit.  What has made an evil little despot whose ambition in life was to have a nuclear capability that could reach the US suddenly change his mind ...     Trump.  If Kim finally got that capability (or very close to it), he knew there was a very strong chance that Trump would have reacted ..  whether that was an invasion, heavy bombing, cyber war, or ...   and thats what really worried him ...  Kim himself being killed.  All this he's very clever, he's playing for time, he has a cunning plan is a load of crap ...    he was scared !!   Hopefully, all this will create lasting peace in the region and in time really help the North Korean people.    Only time will tell.    But please ...  even though the guy quite often acts like a buffoon, give Trump the credit he deserves.  When he eventually leaves office and someone else takes over ..  well, maybe Kim will revert back ...   hopefully though he will have tasted Western life and not want to do that ..  but that would then show even more clearly that it was Trump and Trump alone that brought this about in the first place.

[Wymsey]

Kim Jong-Un and Trump (or Tweedledum and Tweedledee..) are set to meet in Singapore on 12th June.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44074257

[leicsmac]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44092623

 

More interesting stuff. Additionally, the US has offered to help the NK's develop further should they denuclearise. I guess we'll see how the summit goes and go on from there.

[Innovindil]

53 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44092623

 

More interesting stuff. Additionally, the US has offered to help the NK's develop further should they denuclearise. I guess we'll see how the summit goes and go on from there.

Hope it all pans out. What an achievement it would be for everyone involved if they could get the North even a little bit closer to the south. 

 

Hope Kim doesn't slap away a helping hand for the sake of weapons he could never realistically use. 

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

Hope it all pans out. What an achievement it would be for everyone involved if they could get the North even a little bit closer to the south. 

 

Hope Kim doesn't slap away a helping hand for the sake of weapons he could never realistically use. 

Agreed. There's a lot of economic and social benefit available.

 

And I don't think that he will - not when the NK's appear to be further down the path than ever before. I do wonder, however, if there is something forcing his hand behind the scenes here; perhaps the rumoured damage to the nuclear facilities caused by that earthquake was terminal?

[Guest FriendlyRam]

They've soon found another boogie man for us all to fear though 

 

From North Korea to Iran

[Dr The Singh]

North Korea will be the next top place for stag doos, you just watch

[Innovindil]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

Agreed. There's a lot of economic and social benefit available.

 

And I don't think that he will - not when the NK's appear to be further down the path than ever before. I do wonder, however, if there is something forcing his hand behind the scenes here; perhaps the rumoured damage to the nuclear facilities caused by that earthquake was terminal?

Possibly. We'll know soon enough since he's said he'll let inspectors have a look. 

 

In the end the point is moot. Doesn't matter whether he's doing it because he has to, or the economic sanctions are biting, or he's sick of seeing his people suffer. If "ours" is the best way, you've got to hope that he'll stick with it if he gets a taste of it. If he sees his people eating decent food, getting decent medical treatments and decent technological advances, all without the USA rocking up warships to his door, then it's hard to imagine him going back to being a bell. 

[leicsmac]

19 minutes ago, Innovindil said:

Possibly. We'll know soon enough since he's said he'll let inspectors have a look. 

 

In the end the point is moot. Doesn't matter whether he's doing it because he has to, or the economic sanctions are biting, or he's sick of seeing his people suffer. If "ours" is the best way, you've got to hope that he'll stick with it if he gets a taste of it. If he sees his people eating decent food, getting decent medical treatments and decent technological advances, all without the USA rocking up warships to his door, then it's hard to imagine him going back to being a bell. 

Yeah, agree totally and have said all along, it's the result that matters.

[Sharpe's Fox]

1 hour ago, FriendlyRam said:

They've soon found another boogie man for us all to fear though 

 

From North Korea to Iran

The so called axis of evil. Iran, DPRK, Russia, Syria meeting in secret in some sort of league of bastards all trying to bring down The West. At least thats what i’m told 

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

On ‎27‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 21:04, Alf Bentley said:

 

Bunkhouses booked along the route. I do have a tent but reckon I'd be too knackered to be bothering with putting it up, given my lack of fitness.

I bought a tent three years ago, and the instructions said it only took five minutes to put. We decided to have a trial in the back garden, After over an hour and a half or so, the two of us gave up. Fuming, I returned to the shop, where upon it was discovered that the instructions belonged to a different tent! We haven't tried it again though, and used a hotel that  Not in North Korea though!

 

[Buce]

12 hours ago, DANGEROUS TIGER said:

I bought a tent three years ago, and the instructions said it only took five minutes to put. We decided to have a trial in the back garden, After over an hour and a half or so, the two of us gave up. Fuming, I returned to the shop, where upon it was discovered that the instructions belonged to a different tent! We haven't tried it again though, and used a hotel that  Not in North Korea though!

 

 

Am I right in thinking you have hiked the Hadrian's Wall footpath, as Alf plans to, DT?

 

Perhaps you might have some useful tips for him.

[Guest FriendlyRam]

They've cancelled talks with the South and are threatening to call off the US meeting  

 

They've defiantly been playing that fat idiot in the white house, and some wanted to give the clueless sh** a peace prize despite him being a massive contributing factor to the recent slaughter of Palestinians, he's very much on the Israel payroll is Donald 

 

Out thought by a little crack pot dictator  

[Guest MattP]

4 minutes ago, FriendlyRam said:

They've cancelled talks with the South and are threatening to call off the US meeting  

 

They've defiantly been playing that fat idiot in the white house, and some wanted to give the clueless sh** a peace prize despite him being a massive contributing factor to the recent slaughter of Palestinians, he's very much on the Israel payroll is Donald 

 

Out thought by a little crack pot dictator  

Link? This isn't on the news.

 

Baffled, makes no sense for Kim to do this at all, he should be carrying on talking and waiting for another Obama type President in the Whitehouse. 

[Guest MattP]

11 minutes ago, FriendlyRam said:

They've cancelled talks with the South and are threatening to call off the US meeting  

 

They've defiantly been playing that fat idiot in the white house, and some wanted to give the clueless sh** a peace prize despite him being a massive contributing factor to the recent slaughter of Palestinians, he's very much on the Israel payroll is Donald 

 

Out thought by a little crack pot dictator  

Just read it, only rumour but doesn't sound good.

 

Real shame for the region, prospect of peace must have been wonderful, war again looks possible and that has to be bad news for ordinary folk.

 

Great news for you though, you get to criticise Trump. 

Edited 15 May 2018 by MattP

[Webbo]

12 minutes ago, FriendlyRam said:

They've cancelled talks with the South and are threatening to call off the US meeting  

 

They've defiantly been playing that fat idiot in the white house, and some wanted to give the clueless sh** a peace prize despite him being a massive contributing factor to the recent slaughter of Palestinians, he's very much on the Israel payroll is Donald 

 

Out thought by a little crack pot dictator  

In what way has he been out thought? What has KJU gained?

[Guest MattP]

Just now, Webbo said:

In what way has he been out thought? What has he gained?

You aren't surely expecting a logical response? 

 

There are some people (very small minority obviously) that would genuinely rather see war on the Korean peninsula that Donald Trump get any credit in playing a part in stopping it.

 

That's how mental this has all got.

[Webbo]

Just now, MattP said:

You aren't surely expecting a logical response? 

 

There are some people (very small minority obviously) that would genuinely rather see war on the Korean peninsula that Donald Trump get any credit in playing a part in stopping it.

 

That's how mental this has all got.

It's amazing how mean spirited our moral superiors can be.

[leicsmac]

I'll wait until it's reported officially, but yes, this doesn't sound great.

 

Also I can only speak for myself but AFAIC I don't give a flying whatever about who is responsible for peace there so long as it happens with a minimal body count...so I'm not sure the generalisations are called for?