Nice Sat image of Korea

[n2doc]

The Korean Peninsula hangs down from northeastern China, dividing the murkier waters of Korea Bay (upper left) and the Yellow Sea (lower left) from the clearer, deeper waters of the Sea of Japan. Because the geography of the peninsula is so mountainous, growing crops is an important and challenging endeavor. Over half of the flat lands are planted with rice, and crops like barley, wheat, and bulgur are grown on whatever surfaces that can support them. Since grazing land is almost nonexistent, most animals are used for labor rather than food. Fish, not red meat, is the prevalent source of meat in Korea. The waters around Korea are some of the best fishing waters in the world, supplementing Korean diet as well as forming a major part of the economy.

North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang sits to the west on the Taedong River. South Korea occupies the southern edge of the peninsula. While just as mountainous as North Korea, its climate is more temperate, which serves to keep its landscape almost completely snow-free. South Korea's capital, Seoul, is in the north, on the Namhan River.

There are several fires (marked in red) in North Korea, and more near the top left in China. This picture was captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on April 3, 2010.

higher res at link

http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2010-04-12

[Warpy]

1. Somebody needed a dictionary

because bulgur is cracked wheat. What they're more likely growing is sorghum, an important grain staple for both the few meat animals and the poorer humans who can't afford rice.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Nope.

It NOT just "cracked wheat".

Bulgur for human consumption is usually sold parboiled, dried and partially de-branned. Bulgur is a whole grain. Bulgur is sometimes confused with cracked wheat, which is crushed wheat grain that has not been parboiled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgur

[Canuckistanian]

2. Very interesting

But why all the fires in North Korea?

[Posteritatis]

4. Maybe they don't have the resources to deal with them (nt)

[virgogal]

5. Dear Leader is probably drinking champagne and has no time to

get the resources.

[Jkid]

6. Dear Leader is probably drinking champagne and does not care about his own subjects.

Fixed.

[virgogal]

7. Thanks !!!! :-)

[NeedleCast]

8. Lack of Resources

Outside Pyongyang and a few other major cities there's almost no support infastructure or basic services in North Korea. There are also night-time curfews for all but military traffic and many regions lack 24-hour electricity and only get a few hours of juice per day.

[daleo]

9. Why no fires in South Korea? n/t