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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Mystery surrounds reports of the death of Kim's mistress |
| 2004-08-27 |
| South Korean government officials are struggling to confirm persistent reports from North Korea of the recent death of its leader Kim Jong Il's favorite mistress, a former dancer who was elevated in the Communist state's pantheon to the status of "respected mother." The woman, Koh Young Hee, a Japanese-born Korean dancer, was treated in Paris last spring for advanced cancer. Over the summer, Ms. Koh, the 51-year-old mother of two of Mr. Kim's sons, was flown back to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, where she fell into a coma. The Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported recently that North Korean diplomats in Paris bought an "extremely expensive" coffin and shipped it to Pyongyang by charter flight. Emblematic of a people who revere the turtle as a national symbol, North Korea two weeks ago unexpectedly closed its northern border to foreign tourists, a major source of foreign exchange. Then on Sunday, Mr. Kim's National Defense Commission severely restricted the number of Pyongyang telephones that could be used to call foreign residents and embassies. The Russian news agency Tass said these restrictions were intended to prevent "possible leaks of information.'' |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #9 SDB: I thought you were on a break? :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-27 9:19:18 PM |
| #8 Koreans use the same name system as the Chinese. The surname comes first, the "given" name comes second, and what we think of as the "middle name" comes last. Taking a hypothetical American named John Gerald Smith, then if his name was given in the Chinese/Korean order it would be "Smith John Gerald". There are always three names, and each is always a single syllable. (The Japanese have multi-syllable names, always two, with the surname first and the given name second.) It's common for a son to be given part of his father's name, which is why "Il Sung" and "Jong Il". But it doesn't have to be first->second, and that's why "Jong Il" has sons named "Jong Nam", "Jong Chul" and "Jong Woon". |
| Posted by: Steven Den Beste 2004-08-27 9:17:16 PM |
| #7 How much did she weigh? Is/was she tender? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-27 4:57:07 PM |
| #6 She get a nine iron wrapped around her head? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-27 3:49:27 PM |
| #5 Three words: rotten kim chee. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-27 2:48:16 PM |
| #4 "Koh Young Hee was cutting his should've gone for his throat... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-27 1:43:31 PM |
| #3 Emblematic of a people who revere the turtle as a national symbol, Go Terrapins! |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-08-27 1:39:52 PM |
| #2 I can't figure out how these Korean names work. I'm really confused. Like Kim Jong Nam. If you refer to him in the third person then he's Mr. Kim. So the last name is first. Now here's where I'm really confused: If Kim Il Sung is the father of Kim Jong Il, and Kim is the last name, and Kim Jong Nam is the son of Kim Jong Il & his mother is Sung Hye Lim and he has two other sons named Kim Jong Chul & Kim Jong Woon, then how to Korean people determine their kid's names? Like in Hispanic people your name is First name, middle name, father's last name, dash mother's maiden last name. If you're a woman you lose your mother's maiden last name when you marry & that name becomes your husband's paternal last name. So, with that as a guide, how the hell does one make sense out of this Korean mess? They must not have a naming system. It must just be random. |
| Posted by: Kentucky Beef 2004-08-27 1:07:49 PM |
| #1 Some say this death would have serious psychological effects on Kim. Kim, who has heart problems, had been refraining from drinking on Koh’s advice. What happens if a psychopathic Stalinist god-king with nukes goes on a grief-stricken drinking binge? Let's hope we don't find out. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-08-27 12:45:05 PM |