This means no more K-Drama for Hmong folks due to Trump's scam war with Iran?

[theking]

South Korea braces for an end to modern life as we know it
State employees hit with driving ban as households limit electricity use to battle energy crisis

The demilitarised zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea is heavy on reminders of the Cold War conflict between the two countries more than 70 years ago.

Memorials to the millions killed in the Korean War punctuate the landscape of wooded hills and barbed-wire fencing, while tourists are encouraged to explore tunnels used by Communist insurgents and clamber over preserved US army tanks.

Visitors to the area are also bombarded with testimony of how far the North and South have split since the 1953 ceasefire was signed.

One much-displayed image of the Korean peninsula by night encapsulates the contrast between the South’s transformation into a technological, manufacturing and cultural power and a North that remains in the grip of a despotic, backward dictatorship.

Satellite photographs reveal a brightly illuminated South Korea – dominated by its sprawling capital Seoul, home to 26 million people – while to the north, a sea of blackness stretches for 250 miles to the Chinese border, interrupted only by a smudge of light from Pyongyang.

South Koreans have long regarded the image as evidence of their ultimate victory over the North and its belligerent leadership, and of the wider triumph of capitalism and democracy.

However, in a matter of weeks, the lights may also begin to go out in Seoul, Busan and other towns and cities across South Korea as a result of the Iran war.

The world’s 12th-largest economy has emerged as the frontline of the global energy crisis triggered by the conflict, with its oil reserves at risk of running dry even if Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz to tankers with immediate effect.

Among developed countries, South Korea is almost uniquely lacking in natural resources including coal, oil and gas, relying on imports to meet 90pc of its energy needs.

About 70pc of its crude oil shipments and 20pc of liquefied natural gas usually come from the Gulf, along with large quantities of naphtha broken down into petrochemicals to be used in the production of plastics.

Lee Jae Myung, the South Korean president, warned this month that the conflict between the US and Iran also represented a “war-like situation” for Koreans.

He said that even if the Strait of Hormuz were to reopen, it would take a long time for supplies to be restored to previous levels. That is even with 26tn South Korean won (£13bn) set aside to ensure that South Korea is first in line for deliveries once the oil begins flowing again.

Drive the 40 miles from Incheon Airport, an international hub four times the size of Heathrow, to downtown Seoul and life nevertheless appears to be continuing much as usual.

Streets are thronged with people, billboards that would put Piccadilly Circus or Times Square to shame shine out from every junction and the city’s 16,000 high-rises remain brightly lit.

Seoul
Life appears to be continuing much as usual in brightly lit Seoul – but for how much longer? - fotoVoyager/E+
But with the last shipments of oil to leave the Gulf before the war having now been delivered and little long-term certainty around Tehran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, authorities are preparing for the worst.

Driving bans and bin bag rationing
State employees have been banned from driving one weekday out of five in an effort to preserve petrol supplies – though with pump prices up more than 20pc, the move may be academic.

Seoul residents have taken to the subway in their millions and three taxi drivers separately told The Telegraph they were thinking of quitting after fuel costs had hammered their earnings.

Meanwhile, oil-based products are being rationed, leading to a shortage of items such as bin bags. People have also been asked to charge electric cars and mobile phones only in the daytime and consider shortening their daily shower to reduce pressure on the national grid.

A 12-point plan released by Mr Lee also says that appliances such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines should be run only at the weekend and that people should cycle rather than drive where possible....