North Korea and Losing my Weight (Konglish)

I was reading a post on the Korea Forum of Asia-ExpatsForum and thought I'd respond to it. Next thing I know, I'm the moderator. Ay-carumba. Anyways, it asked:

Whats the real scoop on North vs South?
Should we believe CNN? Is the threat of war exaggerated? How does the average South Korean citizen view his northern neighbor?

My response:

I've been thinking about this a long time...not least because my wife's family is Korean and I'm living here in Seoul. They remember the day the North came over the hills (they literally did so in plain view from my wife's grandfather's home in northern Seoul) so the emotions are high for some. They also remember the 'people sleeping by the side of the road' and the strafing from the air. For others (those born after the war) this is ancient history and they want Korea to be united and strong...forgetting that the North is pure Communist/Stalinist/Socialist or whatever you want to call it. The North is not about compromise (little in Korea is based on this as it is) but these younger folks have little inkling of that.

That having been said, the North really is running on fumes, if we're to believe the accounts of many. Think of the end of "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand...it's not really running on two good rails now. So, to unite Korea could be a viable (last resort) option for ol' "Dear Leader".

At the end of the day, though, both countries need oil, food and (more generally) trade to survive. South Korea imports food now and will be importing a lot more as time goes on. If the North took the Peninsula there would be, what, 2..3...4 years of food? Not to mention the riots, mass exodus of talent/brains and whatever else would follow.

In the end, I think it's best for the North simply to stick to holding the US at nuke-point to get some oil and try to keep their regime intact (which seems to be all they are interested in) and worry about things when Jung-Il kicks the bucket.

Could it happen...sure. Will it? I sure hope not.

Heck, even when Koreans do get together they usually find a reason to split up again later.

On a lighter note, I actually lost 0.5kg/1 lb (Koreans call this 500 grams, which is much to exact for my liking) over Choo-seok. Unreal. In the gym yesterday and used the shoulder exercise Rodgers showed me...real good stuff. Now my belt is down to the last hole so I figured it was time...time to cut some off (pic below). I waited just in case I put some weight back on, but I think it's going to stay off for a while. My trousers are now pretty loose around my waist so the next step is buying new suits and/or taking in my current ones. Wow...can hardly believe it. I know you're eagerly anticipating my book "The Yeouido Diet". It'll be in bookstores soon.


The cutting of the belt...the most un-cruelest cut of all.