Flat Earth: Blast from the past

WHEN they can spare the time from worrying about North Korea starting a nuclear war, the South Koreans have been thinking about how to commemorate next year the 50th anniversary of their liberation from the Japanese. Bitter memories of 35 years of occupation linger on, kept alive by Japan's former headquarters, a huge domed structure in the heart of Seoul. So the Koreans, with typical exuberance, are proposing to celebrate by blowing up the building while playing a recording of Emperor Hirohito's surrender. It makes a change from all that talk about reconciliation during the D-Day anniversary ceremonies.