North Korea winds back its clocks to make 'Pyongyang time'

[BabuK]

North Korea has announced that it is winding its clocks back by 30 minutes to create a new "Pyongyang Time" - breaking from a time standard imposed by what it called "wicked Japanese imperialists" more than a century ago.

The change will put the standard time in North Korea at GMT 8:30, 30 minutes behind South Korea which, like Japan, is at GMT 9:00.

North Korea said the time change, approved on Wednesday by its rubber-stamp parliament and announced on Friday, would come into effect from August 15, which this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

"The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time while mercilessly trampling down its land," the North's official KCNA news agency said.

Standard time in pre-colonial Korea had run at GMT 8:30 but was changed to Japan standard time in 1912.

KCNA said the parliamentary decree reflected "the unshakable faith and will of the service personnel and people on the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation."

Seoul's Unification Ministry, which deals with cross-border affairs, said the time difference may cause "inconveniences" in the relationship between the two countries.

"Immediate effect would be that [the decision] would cause a bit of inconvenience when it comes to inter-Korean exchange such as entry/exit in and out of [the inter-Korean joined] Keasong Industrial Complex [on the northern side of the border]", Jeong Joon-Hee, the ministry's spokesperson, said.

"In the long-term it would cause inconvenience in inter-Korean integration, unifying standards, and restoring homogeneity between North Korea and South Korea."

South Korea had similarly changed its standard time in 1954 - again to reflect the break from Japanese rule - but reverted to Japan standard time in 1961 after Park Chung-Hee came to power in a military coup.

Park's rationale was partly that the two major US allies in the region - South Korea and Japan - should operate on the same time to facilitate operational planning.


Source: AFP

 

[Said S Yande]

haya bwana wakorea

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Teh teh teh teh.....

 

[Prince k]

Hii nchi ina vituko

 

[Bongolander]

Teh teh teh teh.....

Maajabu zaidi yako China. Nchi nzima one time zone despite Geography saying it has four time zones.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Maajabu zaidi yako China. Nchi nzima one time zone despite Geography saying it has four time zones.

Mi huwa nafurahia mno vituko vya North Korea.

Le tamkoz lao la kwa nini wameamua kurudisha muda nyuma limenichekesha sana.

 

[Bongolander]

Mi huwa nafurahia mno vituko vya North Korea.

Le tamkoz lao la kwa nini wameamua kurudisha muda nyuma limenichekesha sana.

It is interesting country, worthy visiting before it becomes normal.

 

[Francis Johnson]

Napenda siku south na north ziungane na ziangalie maendeleo zaidi sio kutishiana

 

[Kituko]

Mi huwa nafurahia mno vituko vya North Korea.Le tamkoz lao la kwa nini wameamua kurudisha muda nyuma limenichekesha sana.

Mi nadhani wako sahihi sana,issue ni kuwa hao Wakorea walikuwa kwenye GMT+8.30 kabla ya kuvamiwa na kutawaliwa na wajapani, hivyo wajapani walipoichukua Korea walibadirisha majira kutoka 8.39 na kwenda 9.00 kuwa sawa na ule wa kwao Japan ili isiwachanganye kwenye utawala wao, nadhani wameamua kurudi kwenye muda wao sahihi

Hilo tatizo hata Tanzania lipo, kiukweli kabisa Kigoma haiko kwenye GMT+3.00, bali iko kwenye GMT+2.00 sawa na East DRC, Rwanda na Burundi, ingekuwa Busara pia kwa Tanzania kuirudisha Kigoma kwenye muda wake sahihi

 

[Prince Nadheem]

Mi nadhani wako sahihi sana,issue ni kuwa hao Wakorea walikuwa kwenye GMT+8.30 kabla ya kuvamiwa na kutawaliwa na wajapani, hivyo wajapani walipoichukua Korea walibadirisha majira kutoka 8.39 na kwenda 9.00 kuwa sawa na ule wa kwao Japan ili isiwachanganye kwenye utawala wao, nadhani wameamua kurudi kwenye muda wao sahihi

Hilo tatizo hata Tanzania lipo, kiukweli kabisa Kigoma haiko kwenye GMT+3.00, bali iko kwenye GMT+2.00 sawa na East DRC, Rwanda na Burundi, ingekuwa Busara pia kwa Tanzania kuirudisha Kigoma kwenye muda wake sahihi

ya kweli hayo mkuu??

 

[Kituko]

ya kweli hayo mkuu??

Kaka wewe huamini?, sehemu kama Dar ikiwa saa moja na jua limeshazama kabisa, basi Kigoma ni jua la saa kumi na mbili, kuna tofauti ya almost saa moja kati ya Dar na Kigoma

 

[Bavaria]

Napenda siku south na north ziungane na ziangalie maendeleo zaidi sio kutishiana

Labda viongozi wa sasa waondoke.
Vizazi vya sasa vipotee, waje wastaarabu.

 

[Che Guevara]

Mi huwa nafurahia mno vituko vya North Korea.

Le tamkoz lao la kwa nini wameamua kurudisha muda nyuma limenichekesha sana.

Korea Kaskazini wameamua kurudi kwenye utaratibu wa time-zone moja ya Korea iliyokuwa nchi moja kabla haijatawaliwa kwa mabavu na Japan. Ilibidi wafuate time-zone ya mkoloni Japan.

Ukisoma hata Korea Kusini walitumia Korean time zone baada ya ukoloni kuisha ila dikteta kibaraka Park Chung Hee alifuta na kuitaka Korea Kusini kufuata muda wa Japan.

Korea Kusini wanaweza kuendelea kufuata muda wa Japan kwani rais wao wa sasa ni binti wa yule dikteta Park Chung Hee.