The DPRK (North Korea) has stepped up its rhetoric against South Korean president Lee Myung-bak following allegedly derogatory marks during the North’s April 15th celebrations of Kim Il-sung’s Birthday. According to the official North Korean state media outlet KCNA [The Korean Central News Agency]:
A Pyongyang city army-people rally was held at Kim Il Sung Square Friday to vow to wipe out the Lee Myung Bak group, the sworn enemy, in this land and sky.
Attending the rally were senior party, state and army officials, officials of the party, the armed forces and power bodies, social organizations, ministries and national institutions, officers and men of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces, officials in the fields of science, education, literature and arts, public health and media and working people and youth and students as well as overseas Koreans and the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front.
In the below YouTube video, taken from North Korea’s official YouTube channel ‘uriminzokkiri‘, there is a closeup of one of the signs being held by People’s Army soliders in Kim Il-sung Square. Those familiar with koreaBANG’s glossary may be proud to notice the textbook use of ‘2MB‘ at 2:20, a reference that one of the newsreaders goes on to explain in the video. Lee Myung-bak is also regularly referred to in the North as a “Chae-saekki” [derogatory way of saying ‘rat’] –– a term that crops up in many South Korean netizen comments on koreaBANG.
From YouTube:
The below video is also from North Korea’s official YouTube channel and features interviews with participants in the ‘People/Army Rally’.
A word of warning to our readers in South Korea: viewing North Korean materials in the South is illegal and, in some cases, an imprisonable offense. Most North Korean websites are blocked but the YouTube channel remains open and is therefore a bit of a grey area.
From YouTube:
The North has also stepped up its production of political cartoons of Lee Myung-bak, again seemingly echoing South Korean netizens by representing him as a rat. Below is a small selection taken from official North Korean news channels.
From KCNA:
The above images are not currently circulating particularly prevalently in South Korean media but news of the rally is still reverbarting around the major news portals. Below is a selection of top-rated responses, translated by koreaBANG’s Janice:
Comments from Daum:
김순옥:
Assholes are doing that again ke ke ke They’ve been on it for 60 years now it bores me… They poured 1 billion into the missile which was an international shame. As a result America stopped helping them and its blood-ally China scolded it. It’s too scary to go at the US… so South Korea might look manageable. Looks like they are aiming at begging for more rice or something by poking us, but we should beat them up to death this time if they actually attack us. They can’t tell soy bean paste from shit, because we’ve been so nice and accepting with them. Our military force wouldn’t give way to North Korea easily, so this time I hope our forces show those bastards [what we can do].
백덕현:
Someone who really attacks does it without allowing the other to prepare for it. They can’t attack us, so they are just threatening to.
임상우:
If those fucking bastards attempt to use something like biochemical weapons, don’t hesitate to blast them including Pyongyang, by combining forces with the American military.
김용규:
The nicknames of the past presidents: Seung-man Lee: traitor of the race Jeong-hee Park: sworn enemy Jeong-hee Park Dae-jung Kim: Fighter of the Leader [of North Korea] Mu-hyun Noh: a nice president Myung-bak Lee: Traitor Myung-bak Lee What a striking similarity between leftists of North and South Korea… But people with senses know that the people you guys blame are actually beneficial to Korea. And North Korea please… Attempt attack on the mainland Korea rather than a petty one in the West Sea. I want to see you burning to the ground with attack from Korea and America, even just for the sake of North Korean people in pain.
김다정:
Isn’t North Korea a fool? It means they are going to attack the conservative mass media (KBS, MBC, YTN and Dong-a). So the progressive media (Han gyeo rae, Gyeon-hyang, Oh My News, MoneyToday, etc) are doing fine following the North Korean principles? ke ke ke ke ke ke Okay then I will not read the spy papers from now on.
전영수:
Ah I should vote for the Saenuri Party [prominent South Korean conservative party] again… How much will they offer [North Korea] if Moon Jae-in makes it this time.
송권민:
I don’t know much about progressive or what-not, but I sincerely want to cut the throat of people of Republic of Korea – if there are any – who exhibit nonsensical pity towards North Korea saying they are the Korean race, and speak nonsense like “we should help North Korea now that we are well off and our tummies are freaking full”.
김경열:
Fuck, if another incident like the one in Yeon-pyeong do happens again, the Democratic Union Party and United Progressive Party are going to make rumours saying it’s all government’s plot. If that sort of incident occurs again, this time the President is surely going to be from Saenuri Party.
이혜인:
Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun [progressive former presidents], your idiotic thoughts are getting at least one more shot of missile on your descendants.
이유철:
I’ve done my national service in an artillery unit for two years. North Korea has an overwhelming military and plenty of equipment. But the modern war is that of money. Money allows for modernization of the forces, along with the provision of food and cutting edge weapons. The Republic of Korea is not so much of a weak and frail country. There are about 600,000 officers and men who left home to serve the country. We won’t be beaten by North Korea because we have a combination of will to protect the country and a state-of-the-art modernized military.
김하람:
We should start by executing the spies like Jeong-hee Lee [prominent left-wing politician (link in Korean)]
이종섭:
Some earlier comment said that dogs bark when they are scared~
김현민:
Where is the party that pushed for the elimination of the reserve forces? Where are they all, huh? [using a phrase made popular by a comedian]
허원영:
Block all the Chinese IP’s from now until the Presidential election. And block tweets from China on top of that.
석윤경:
These sons of bitches…. You have forgotten all about what we let you have to keep the peace, huh? Mess up with any bit of our country, and we are not going to let you run like the incident on Yeonpyeong island.
김현빈:
‘Democratic Party’ LIKES this. [Facebook style]
김진경:
The press companies that call themselves progressive would be safe… These guys wouldn’t have to be scared at all… ke ke ke So this is how they are proven to be press at the beck and call of North Korea, then?
신명철:
Some good beating would knock some sense into you lot wouldn’t it?
양승원:
Those sons of bitches who said we should get rid of the reserve forces, get down on your face in the Seoul Plaza. [military style]
권영기:
So the Northern commies call President Lee a rat?? That means they secretly communicate with the Southern commies.
방정현:
Dare provoke us… I will also participate in the war as a reserve force, and the national army plus the allied forces will erase you from the history…
