News from North Korea and two special words

    ABDUCT

    May 28, 2004 - the big news story in Japan last week was about 5 young people from the Chimura and Hasuike families who flew from North Korea to Japan to be reunited with their families. Their parents had been abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and taken to North Korea.

    Let's take a closer look at the word, ABDUCT:

    • ABDUCT is a verb. It means rachi suru (f’v‚ท‚้).
    • The victims (”ํŠQŽา) like the Chimura and Hasuike couples are ABDUCTEES.
    • The North Korean agents who took them to North Korea are the ABDUCTORS.
    • The act of abducting someone is called ABDUCTION.

    *Note:
    The underlined letters in purple, indicate the part of the word which should be stressed

    DESERT

    While Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was in North Korea, he tried to persuade the family of another abductee, Ms. Hitomi Soga, to fly to Japan. Ms. Soga's husband and her two daughters refused. Why? Her husband, Charles Robert Jenkins, is originally from North America. He was a soldier stationed in South Korea but, according to reports, deserted from the U.S. Army in 1965 and moved to North Korea. He married Ms. Soga in 1980.

    Let's take a closer look at the word, DESERT:

    • DESERT is a verb. When a soldier deserts, it means that s/he leaves his/her post without permission - dassou i’E‘–‚ท‚้jin Japanese.
    • A soldier who leaves his/her post without permission is called a DESERTER.
    • The act of a soldier leaving his/her post without permission is called DESERTION.

    *Note:
    Please be careful about the pronunciation of desert. When this word refers to a soldier leaving his post, we say deSERT. However, desert can also mean sabaku (ป”™) as in the SAHARA DESERT. When desert has this meaning, we say DEsert

    Exercise 1

    Use an appropriate word from the ABDUCT / ABDUCTION etc. group to fill in the blanks below:

    1. Several Japanese citizens were _____________ to North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s..
    2. There are still many unanswered questions concerning the ______________ of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents.
    3. Five of the ____________ returned to Japan in 2002. Several others are said to have died in North Korea.
    4. Many people in Japan want King Jong Il to punish the _________________.

    Exercise 2

    Use an appropriate word from the DESERT / DESERTER etc. group to fill in the
    blanks below:

    1. According to U.S. military reports, Charles Robert Jenkins ____________ in 1965 and started a new life in North Korea.
    2. Some people believe that Jenkins is an abductee, not a ____________ .
    3. The United States considers ____________ to be a serious crime.

    Click here to check your answers.

    Click here if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2004