It is not often you have porn actresses contributing to an event next door to an elementary school, but that is what is happening in Suwon. However, if the kids cannot see what is going on inside the building during the event, is this really a big deal?:
Members of Suwon Women’s Network, comprised of seven women’s groups, hold a press conference in front of Suwon Station Cultural Plaza, March 12, urging the cancellation of the adult festival “2024 K-XF The Fashion.”
A controversial adult-themed event scheduled to be held in Suwon next month is drawing strong opposition, especially due to its proximity to an elementary school that is just 50 meters away.
The upcoming “2024 K-XF The Fashion ” is scheduled to be held April 20-21 at Suwon Messe in Gwonseon District of Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and is expected to attract around 10,000 visitors, according to organizers.
The event will feature guest appearances from popular Japanese adult film actresses, lingerie fashion shows, and more, marking a significant increase from its predecessor in Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi Province, last December.
Organizers defend the event’s legality and the importance of open discussions on sex in society. After reviewing relevant laws, Suwon City officials found no legal basis to prohibit the event but have requested ID checks to prevent minors from entering and informed local schools.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
In response to North Korea’s recent provocations the ROK military is showcasing its homegrown missile defense system for the first time to the public:
It marked the first time the Air Force has unveiled the battalion’s drill involving the Cheongung-II to the press, although its specific name and location remains undisclosed to the public.
Integral to South Korea’s multilayered missile defense system, the Cheongung-II operates at a mid-tier altitude, complementing the U.S. missile shield. Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles defend against low-tier threats at altitudes of 20 km, and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) intercepts upper-tier threats at altitudes of 40-150 km.
The unit is located within an hour’s drive from Seongju County, which is located about 160 km southeast of Seoul and is home to the THAAD system deployed in 2017.
While the Cheongung-II is designed to counter ballistic missile threats and hostile aircraft, its capability of targeting cruise missiles has drawn new attention amid Pyongyang’s recent spate of cruise missile tests.
“The Cheongung-II represents an advanced homegrown technology in countering both aircraft and ballistic missiles. Our training ensures that our forces are prepared to respond immediately, strongly and until the end,” Park said.
The upgraded M-SAM Block-II comprises four mobile launchers, each loaded with eight missiles, enabling simultaneous engagement of up to 32 interceptors.
A multifunction radar is positioned atop a hill for uninterrupted 360-degree airspace surveillance, remotely sending signals to an engagement control center.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Last year the cherry blossoms festivals were moved up due to warmer winter weather and various cities kept them scheduled for the same time this year. However, this year the weather was colder this spring and thus the trees are blossoming at its normal time:
Cherry blossoms are budding in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Saturday. The annual spring flower festival kicked off, Saturday, with less than 10 percent of flowering rate due to climate change.
Local governments, renowned for hosting iconic flower festivals every spring, find themselves grappling with flowerless venues this year.
The delayed blooming of seasonal flowers, primarily attributed to climate change, has resulted in a significant setback, leaving these venues bereft of their usual vibrant displays.
The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, Korea’s largest cherry blossom festival that is held in the southern port city of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, kicked off on Saturday. However, as of Sunday, the city’s flowering rate stood at only 15 percent, with the full bloom phase anticipated to occur later next week, according to the city government. (…….)
Even a month ago, many anticipated the flowers to bloom earlier than usual, again, as abnormally high temperatures were recorded last winter. The country’s average temperature last month was 4.1 degrees Celsius, registered as the highest in February since 1973.
But the weather changed suddenly in March, with abnormal subzero temperatures and lower precipitation levels, failing to offer the necessary and sufficient conditions for the spring flowers to bloom.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link, but this sounds less like climate change and more like the weather.
Korean doctors are now going to ramp up their use of denying care to patients as leverage against the government:
The monthlong confrontation between the government and doctors was feared to worsen further as medical school professors were to tender mass resignations and cut back on patient care starting this week, while the government was to suspend the licenses of striking trainee doctors, officials said Sunday.
More than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations for about a month to protest the government’s decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 seats from the current 3,058 starting next year to enhance health care services in remote areas, as well as essential but less popular medical disciplines.
Joining the collective action, professors of medical schools nationwide will begin to submit their resignations Monday and will reduce their weekly work hours to 52 hours by adjusting surgeries and other medical treatments, according to the national medical school professors’ council.
Starting April 1, they will also “minimize” medical services for outpatients to focus on seriously ill patients and emergency patient care.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but Korean doctors have to be one of the most selfish groups in South Korea.
I did not even realize the gas station on old Yongsan Garrison was still open:
The gas station at Yongsan, one of the last vestiges of a once-busy headquarters compound, is preparing to turn off its pumps after 32 years of service. The station, on a hill overlooking Seoul, will close May 1 as part of a plan to return sections of the base to the South Korean government, according to an Army and Air Force Exchange Service news release Tuesday. The gas station reported average monthly revenue of $70,000 between 2021 and 2022, AAFES spokesman Chris Ward said in an email Thursday.
The monthly average fell to $50,000 the following year “and has experienced even further significant declines” in 2024, he said. Six of eight pumps still in service sat idle for more than two hours Wednesday afternoon. The only cars in the lot were parked there by drivers who exited the base through a nearby pedestrian gate.
Jerry Chandler, an anti-terrorism program manager at Yongsan and a four-year South Korea resident, said he is disappointed by the station’s looming closure. Chandler — one of the roughly 500 service members, Defense Department civilians and U.S. embassy staff who still live or work at Yongsan — said he and his wife fill up their two cars with premium gas “all the time” at the station.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but I also did not know that about 500 servicemembers and DOD personnel are still working on Yongsan Garrison.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
