Currently, Laos is in a situation where it's essentially "sucking its thumbs" (left empty-handed/helpless) due to many unfortunate events. With the peak tourist season over, things have gone from bad to worse. Adding to that, the oil crisis caused by the Iran-U.S. war has led to brigades of motorcycles waiting for hours in front of gas stations. The cars that have sprouted like weeds over the past few years are no exception. I heard that Korea has stockpiled oil in preparation for war, but it seems Laos couldn't even dream of that due to a lack of funds.

Yesterday, I had a long hour-long phone call with my eldest brother for the first time in a while. Since he lives in Bangkok and works with Korea, he visits often, and I hear Korean news through him. Because we lived in the U.S. together, our perspectives and feelings are similar. We talked about the rapidly changing neighborhoods of Seoul, the world’s highest taxes, the real estate dilemma, the aging and stupidity of the wealthy, and the incompetence of their second-generation heirs.

He mentioned that a friend’s 30-pyeong (approx. 1,000 sq. ft.) apartment was redeveloped and is now worth 6 billion won. It’s like winning the lottery. However, it’s practically useless. You can’t sell it; if you do, half goes to taxes. After capital gains taxes and the rest of the "tax party," how much is actually left? If you keep living there, you have to pay enormous property taxes. The math shows that once you sell it, you can't afford to buy an equivalent home. It’s a system where the rich become commoners. Still, Koreans are smart, so they find their own ways to survive. As tax revenue piles up, politicians commit all sorts of corruption just to get a taste of that money.

The whole world is caught in a power struggle, like a shrimp with a broken back in a fight between whales. Trump criticizes America’s foolishness and tries to seize power again to regain hegemony, but over the last 30 to 40 years, the public has become so foolish they don't even care how the world works. The math skills of American college students have plummeted to the point where YouTubers use them as a laughingstock. They don't even know which countries are their neighbor, so there's nothing more to say. Common sense has vanished, and "Racism" and "Hate" have become the primary vocabulary. In New York, a socialist Muslim was elected mayor. In Minnesota, Somalis have committed massive fraud to drain taxpayer money and even produced a member of Congress who goes around criticizing the U.S. Truly, America is a "free" country.

March 2026. This is the reality we are living in.

As for me, I’ll just live saying "Bo Pen Nyang" (No problem/It’s okay)!