Balloon Man Rises Again

Park Sang-Hak, who has been sending balloons stuffed with leaflets to North Korea until “peace” activists were physically stopping him from doing so. After a couple weeks, he’s back (Via. ROK Drop)

Despite a government request, a South Korean civic group said on Thursday that it will resume sending anti-communist leaflets across the inter-Korean border in January.

The group consists of activists of whom many are North Korean defectors or family members of South Koreans who were abducted by the North. They had been flying balloons regularly across the border that dropped leaflets over North Korea, denouncing Pyongyang’s regime.

Earlier this month, most groups suspended leafleting after the ruling Grand National Party requested they stop the activity for the sake of inter-Korean relations.

Also earlier this month, Pyongyang, in reaction to the continuation of leaflet distribution, expelled hundreds of South Koreans from the joint South-North Gaesong Industrial Complex.

According to Yonhap News, Choi Seong-yong, head of the civic group Families of Abducted and Detained in North Korea, said that about 300,000 leaflets have been printed and are ready to be sent out early next month.

If I were Park, I would skip all the press releases and do it without telling anyone. Obviously, this would not raise any awareness to the cause but at least the Pro-North Activists won’t be able to cause another mess.