North Korea

South Korea's relaitonship with North Korea seems to be rather complicated. but it can maybe be explained by a little instance in one of my classes today.

This was my final class of the day which is always fun because its the older kids who I can joke around with a little. Today, I was having a problem with Robin (again). He and his friends talk too much, but I have found that if I remove Robin from the equation, the rest of them are good. So, I exiled Robin to the girl's side of the table which Karl promptly told me was 'North Korea'. The girls didn't seem too thrilled about this and responded with the ever eloquent "no, you!"

But karl makes a good point. The people of South Korea see themselves the same as North Korea in the same way that boys see themselves the same as girls. They just happen to be raised differently and have different geography. They aren't enemies and in the end they have to work together for the same goal (i.e.: to get the teacher to let them play scrabble).

Kim Jong-il and his governement are viewed as the problem, especailly now that U.S. experts have confirmed that the navy battle ship that was sunk in late March was, indeed, sunk by the North Koreans. Probably. They found a torpedo propeller and, really, who else is there to shoot at South Korean boats but North Koreans?

The official results come out tomorrow which will be followed, if the North is blamed, by politial and economic sanctions.

There has actually been a couple of warning shots fired at some North Korean patrol ships that crossed the Northern Limit Line which is a disputed part of the martime boarder between the two states.

Karl served to give me another international relations example that day even though he didn't know it. At the end of the class, Karl was still arguing with a girl across from him named Sally (Karl and Sally are always arguing) about the whole North/South Korea thing. Finally, Karl got frustrated and stabbed an accusing finger at Sally. "Teacher, Sally no North Korea, Sally JAPAN."

UPDATE: Uh-oh.... looks like we have ourselves a smoking gun. And Obama's getting involved. Seems I have a front row seat for a good old fashioned Korean drama.