News from Korea

[Alucard Tobor]

고성군, Kosong - A large crowd gathered today at the newly-opened Kosong Space Launch Center to observe the first satellite launch by the recently-organized Federal Air and Space Agency. The rocket, dubbed Raven I by the engineers who constructed it, made its rather deafening departure from Pad 2 of the space center on January 12th.

The payload, a small communications satellite, was successfully placed in orbit, and has already begun its work, shifting communications back and forth between the space center and a radio facility near Busan.

Unfortunately, not all of the launches of the nation's fledgling space program have been successful, with Raven III and IV suffering explosive failures early in flight...

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - The 1960 federal election results have been announced by the Elections Commission. The results are;

Social Democratic Party - 77 seats
Progress Party - 65 seats
Korean Federal Party - 52 seats
Communist Party of Korea - 8 seats
Social Credit Party - 5 seats
Independent - 5 seats

No commentary is yet available from analysts regarding the election. The first act of Prime Minister James Mills-Seong after post-election affairs was to formally introduce the winning flag of the National Flag Act, pictured below...

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - United Nations forces have recently withdrawn from Kazakhstan, drawing a close to the peacekeeping mission there. Parliament has issued a statement indicating the mission was "reasonably successful," though noted "the United Nations Defence Force was not entirely effective and will require a more comprehensive structure and training".

More scathing commentary has come from a number of analysts and political commentators, noting that a criminal gang - nominally converted into a legal humanitarian organization and political party through Victorian efforts - has seen great success in the Kazakh elections, and questioning the validity of the election as a whole. The recent Adler-Pande Report has also raised accusations of corruption, conspiracy, and resulted in a number of sources openly questioning the veracity of the Parliamentary statements regarding the UN mission.

Anonymous sources within the Prime Minister's office declined to comment in such accusations, but did indicate that there were plans to raise the question of a more comprehensive UNDF structure within the General Assembly.

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - The 1965 election has concluded, and the final tallies released. With a remarkable upswing, the Progress Party has taken a minority, securing 81 seats; with promises including reforming the healthcare system, expansions to labour unions and workers' rights, and a number of statements regarding curtailing profiteering, the Progressives have re-confirmed James Mills-Seong as their leader, and as such, also as Prime Minister.

The Federal Party has dropped off somewhat, down to 72 seats of their previous 80, taking the position of the Opposition. Now-Opposition Leader Ji-ho Rho has indicated his intent to remain with the party for the time being, though has noted this is likely to be his last term.

The Heritage Alliance, perhaps unsurprisingly, has been a fall of 14 seats - from 40 to 26 - though polling pre-election suggested they would fare somewhat worse. The Communist Party of Korea has taken up the slack, moving up to 41 seats from their previous 32.

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - Mild controversy has stirred up recently, when the Federal Trade Commission banned the import of the much-famed Zanzibar-brand Chili Hot Sauce. A statement released with the notice of restriction indicated the item in question lacked sufficient content of chili powder to be dubbed as 'Chili' Hot Sauce; as such, the company would be required to re-brand the product to resume sales.

Foodies across the country have expressed disappointment with the decision, noting that such a minor problem shouldn't require an import ban. Despite calls for other branches of government, including Parliament, to take action or release a statement, no further word has been forthcoming on the matter.

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - The Progress government today announced a pilot program to assess the viability of the 'Universal Citizen Stipend' concept recently put forth by the University of Busan. All residents of an as-yet unspecified town will, over the course of two years, receive a monthly stipend equivalent to the pay of a low-to-medium wage job, free of any obligation or other criteria.

The University of Busan has indicates its own studies of the matter show that such a program, if implemented, would gradually improve both standard of living and the overall economic prosperity of the nation. Already, business owners and a number of research groups have called the findings into question, citing a number of arguments regarding productivity...

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - A report has been released by Parliament recently, detailing a counter-intelligence operation that has swept a significant Soviet spy ring from many government departments. Though details are vague, the Director of the Korean Federal Intelligence Agency has indicated security has been heightened and new procedures developed following the Soviet infiltration. While speculation runs rampant, no statement or official speculation on the motives of the Soviet Union in this act have been forthcoming.

[Alucard Tobor]

1970 - 01 - 14

서울, Seoul - Finalised plans were released today by the Ministry of Energy for the construction of two nuclear power stations, intended to supplant the majority of the country's coal- and oil-fired generator facilities. The first plant is to be sited near Yeosu, in the south of the country; the second in Haeju, to power the more sparsely-populated northern regions and the capital. Additional plants are detailed but not slated for construction until both initial plants have begun normal operations.

Though exact timeframes are not provided in the public documentation, the Yeosu facility is scheduled to begin operations next year, and reach full operating status in mid-1974; the Haeju plant is intended to reach initial generating status in early 1972, and go online in its entirety by 1975. The Yeosu plant is expected by some commentators to be record-breaking in size and output, with a full 8 reactors specified on the design, though the Haeju plant will not be much smaller, at 6 reactors of identical design...

[Alucard Tobor]

서울, Seoul - Prime Minister Mills-Seong and Minister for Infrastructure Sim Hyun-Moon today unveiled the 'Marshall Plan' - a vast infrastructure expansion, intended to establish high-speed rail lines linking the major cities of Korea. The plan calls for extensive use of tunnels and bridges through the country's rougher terrain, even with detours and routing intended to minimize the amount of tunnelling required.

Skepticism has come from the Opposition, calling the plan's estimated price tag of $325,000,000 and planned completion date of late 1977 "a fantasy" and "improbable at best". Criticism has also come from other sources, with a number of municipal governments claiming the line would be "exclusionary" to smaller centers.

The Prime Minister has indicated the details of the plan should assuage many concerns, citing the intended expansion of standard rail networks linking smaller centers and claiming the increased flow of goods and individuals along the network will offset the initial expense. To be put into effect in November of this year, the Minister for Infrastructure had said, "It is my hope that this rail network will serve to not only increase the prosperity of the people of this nation, but also bring them closer together."

[Alucard Tobor]

고성군, Kosong - With the launch of the Mang-wongyeong 1 & 2 orbital laboratories, the Federal AeroSpace Agency has formally announced the activation first semi-permanent manned facilities in outer space. Though Mang-wongyeong 2 is currently unmanned, Mang-wongyeong 1 has a two-man crew aboard, bringing the station to life and even now beginning observations of Earth and experiments in free-fall.

Oft-derided throughout the 1960s due to frequent failures and cancellations, the FASA Human Space Exploration program nonetheless has now succeeded in one of its long-standing goals. Already, a number of factions in Parliament and assorted press outlets are hailing the achievement, calling for increased funding to the Agency for future endeavours...