Bok-nam Rises Full Movie

[Ailene Goldhirsh]

Longnoodles symbolise happiness and longevity too, so never cut noodles into short strands! They could be served as a side or as a feature on their own in a broth or a stew. Due to their symbolism, they are a popular birthday dish as well.

I live in hope that gathering a number of lucky foods and colours in my Chinese New Year celebratory supper makes up for that. Red, long noodles and tangerine covered. And Nam Yue braised pork is supposed to symbolise joy, renewed life and prosperity. Fingers crossed.

The eggs are optionaI too, but braising eggs in the sauce allows them to absorb the wonderful flavours, which adds yet another dimension to the dish. This technique is often used in Indonesian dishes like Sambal Goreng Telor as well.

Add the spare ribs to a large pan and cover with water, about 500 ml. Bring to the boil over medium high heat, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook the pork for 3-4 minutes, skimming off the rising scum.

Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve lined with a clean j-cloth or kitchen paper. If the strained liquid is quite clear, you can use it in the next cooking stage. If not, discard it.

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over medium high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, spring onion, nutmeg, star anise and cloves. Stir fry the aromatics briefly until they are fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.

Add the cooking wine and the dried peel (if using). Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down. Cover and simmer for 40-50 mins, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing is catching at the bottom. Top up with extra water if and when needed so to the pork remains covered. Skim off any further scum or foam as it rises.

Meantime, mix together both soy sauces, the sugar, the vinegar and the bean curd. I use a mini-food processor for this, but a bowl and a fork or spoon will do. Stir the mixture through the ribs and simmer for another 30 mins.

Simmer for a further 20-30 mins (uncovered if the sauce is too thin), or until the pork is tender. Stir occasionally, carefully so as not to break up the eggs. Turn the eggs over once in a while, so they get an even colour all around.

The situation on the peninsula has thus entered a new and worrying phase. We may hope that this fresh belligerence somehow reflects the delicate process of choosing a successor to Kim Jong-il, reportedly his little-known third son Kim Jong-un. Once that is in place, the DPRK might return to negotiations in some form. But perhaps it will not, defying expectations and creating fresh challenges for the region. At present we can do little more than wait and see.

Hyundai Asan is also involved, with the ROK parastatal Korea Land, in running the KIC. Since late last year the North has harried South Koreans in the KIC by cutting the numbers allowed to stay there and arbitrarily closing or restricting cross-border traffic. Now the harassment has moved to a whole new level.

The DPRK had no right to arrest Yu. KIC regulations stipulate that any ROK citizen there suspected of wrongdoing must be expelled to the South. Yet over three months later he remains detained, wholly incommunicado. No charges have been brought, yet the North has refused to let anyone see him, to accept letters from his family, or even to discuss the matter. By contrast, the two U.S. female journalists arrested in March and sentenced in June to 12 years hard labor have at least been permitted a few consular visits and telephone calls home.

The eventual first meeting on (and at) the KIC, three days later, was farcical. It lasted just 22 minutes, late in the evening, after procedural disputes had delayed the start for over 12 hours. Clearly playing hardball, the North at first unprecedentedly refused even to reveal the names or rank of its own delegates so the South did not know whom they would be meeting.

On May 20, a representative of the 106 mostly small Southern firms operating in the zone warned that they face the risk of bankruptcy as their orders plunge while tension rises. Yoo Chang-geun said the companies would lodge a strong protest with both Korean governments. Much good may it do him, with both in their stubbornly short-sighted states of mind. On June 16, a fur and leather apparel maker, Skinnet, became the first ROK firm to quit the zone since it opened in 2004, citing safety and profitability concerns. It is unlikely to be the last.

Similar claims have been made before, but in early July South Koreans sat up and took note. On July 8, the Communications Commission (KCC) reported that major ROK websites had been inundated by heavy traffic generated by malicious software, starting the night before. As the attacks continued, some 33 sites in total were affected. They included the Blue House, Defense Ministry, and National Assembly; Kookmin, Shinhan and Korea Exchange banks; top Internet portals Daum and Naver; and a leading online shopping mall, Auction.

Whoever did it, this attack has jolted the ROK to move faster in setting up a cyber defense system at public institutions by the end of the year. The MND will bring forward plans to create an agency to protect military information from cyber attacks. The new Information Security Command will be launched next Jan. 1, two years earlier than planned, and become fully operational in July 2010.

April 6, 2009: An opinion poll for the ROK government finds that 51.8 percent of South Koreans want Seoul to address the DPRK rocket issue through international cooperation, while 33.6 percent favor direct inter-Korean talks. Asked with whom the ROK should cooperate for its national security, 60 percent say the U.S., 15.7 percent North Korea, and 10.4 percent China.

April 21, 2009: The two Koreas hold their first official civilian meeting in over a year at the KIC. This lasts just 22 minutes, after procedural disputes delay the start for over 12 hours.

May 4, 2009: The ROK reports that the destroyer Munmu the Great, operating in the Gulf of Aden, escorted a DPRK vessel to safety after is that was attacked by Somali pirates. The vessel thanked its rescuers while Pyongyang was silent.

May 10, 2009: ROK military sources say two major DPRK covert agencies have recently been transferred from party to military control. Room 35 collects intelligence, while the Operations Unit trains and dispatches secret agents as well as exporting arms and engaging in drug trafficking and counterfeiting.

May 14, 2009: Yonhap says North Korea is stepping up military training at its western sea border. It quotes an ROK Marines source as saying the KPA has held 19 live-fire exercises, twice as many as last year. Aircraft sorties are up six-fold from the same period in 2008.

June 5, 2009: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan says the U.S. has agreed to guarantee in writing its nuclear umbrella for South Korea against any Northern attack, when President Lee meets U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on June 16.

June 9, 2009: The (South) Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) admits it has yet to find radioactive traces of xenon or krypton gases in air particles blowing from the North, which would confirm scientifically that North Korea did indeed conduct a nuclear test.

June 11, 2009: At talks in Kaesong on the future of the KIC, the North demands a fourfold wage hike for its workers and a 30-fold increase in rent. They agree to meet again on June 19. MOU denies that the North is in effect telling the South to get out.

June 11, 2009: KCNA says that at the latest inter-Korean meeting on the KIC, the North demanded early construction of a dormitory and childcare facilities as well as a new road for North Koreans working at the joint industrial complex.

June 15, 2009: North Korea marks the ninth anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit by calling on South Koreans to rise against their current regime. South Korea holds no official ceremony, and the government does not participate in events organized by liberal NGOs.

June 15, 2009: 120 of the 611 ROK firms doing business with the DPRK outside Kaesong meet in Seoul to demand that the current crisis be resolved. Since the nuclear test the South has forbidden them to visit the North.

June 19, 2009: Working-level meeting is held in Kaesong to discuss revised contracts at the KIC but again make no progress. The North unexpectedly offers to lift cross-border restrictions.

July 6, 2009: Lee Chan-ho, chief analyst of cross-border ties at MOU, says that as of June 22 DPRK media have denigrated President Lee 1,705 times so far this year: an average of 9.9 times each day, up from 7.6 last year. Other ROK ministers are being similarly insulted.

July 7-9, 2009: Several major public and private ROK websites, including the Blue House, Defense Ministry and National Assembly, are swamped by cyber-attacks; as are a number of official sites in the U.S. The NIS blames North Korea; others are not so sure.

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