Author: GIKorea

It is hard to believe that it has already been 10 years since this attack happened:

South Korea will memorialize a site on Yeonpyeong Island shelled by North Korean forces in an unprovoked attack a decade ago, according to Seoul’s military.  

A Marine Corps official told the JoongAng Ilbo Sunday that an area used to station field artillery on the island that was bombarded by North Korean artillery on Nov. 23, 2010, would be turned into a memorial.    

The memorial will stand at the “gun platform where, amid the flames of the North Korean military’s bombardment, we pulled out our K-9 [howitzers] and immediately returned fire,” the official said.  

Construction on a memorial that tourists can visit on Yeonpyeong Island, located around 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the western coast, will be complete around mid-December, the official added.  

Currently, the main reminder of the bombardment of the island is the rubble of a house torn apart by the North’s shelling.  

The North Koreans are believed to have fired around 170 rounds from a multiple-rocket launcher, hitting various spots on the larger of the two Yeonpyeong islands including a village and South Korean military installations.   

The shelling killed two South Korean civilians — both construction workers — as well as two Marines stationed on the island. Around 30 more people were injured, while most of the island’s 1,780 civilian residents were evacuated on government vessels to Incheon. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here we go again with tougher restrictions on gatherings and businesses in Seoul:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday it was instituting its own emergency measures to curtail an alarming spread of Covid-19 in recent weeks, including cutting back on late-night public transportation.  

To enforce the central government’s Level 2 social distancing recommendation across the greater Seoul area announced a day earlier, the capital city will be cutting down on the bus and train services after 10 p.m. by 20 percent, said Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jung-hyup in an online briefing.  

The measures will be enforced on buses starting Tuesday, while subway operation hours will be reduced starting Friday after public announcements are made.  

All public rallies of 10 or more people will be banned starting Tuesday midnight until further notice, the city announced.  

“Due to the high chain infection risks posed by Seoul’s endemic high population density and heavy foot traffic, we have resolved to put in place pre-emptive measures comparable to Level 3 social distancing,” Seo said.  

Should these measures fail to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the near term, the city plans to stop subways at 11 p.m. Subway times were shortened in April, to midnight from 1 a.m.  

Seoul officials said they plan special measures to ensure the safety of the upcoming national university entrance exam, which takes place on Dec. 3.  

Seo urged churches and other religious institutions across the city to carry services online and prevent large gatherings. That recommendation was a step up from Level 2 social distancing measures, which require reducing the number of people at services by 20 percent.  

At Level 2 social distancing — the third highest level of the government’s five-tier system — any event involving 100 people or more will be prohibited, while nightclubs and bars that allow dancing will be forced to shut down. Restaurants won’t be allowed to serve customers after 9 p.m., but takeout will be allowed. Cafes can operate normal hours but only serve takeout.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I feel bad for the small business owners trying to deal with the ever changing restrictions. This pandemic is going to wipeout so many of them by the time it is over.

The South Korea economy ever before the coronavirus pandemic was tough for young Koreans and it is only getting worse, especially for women:

By gender, a 30.5 percent (65,000) increase was reported among women, while the growth for men stood at 18.5 percent (53,000).

The 2020 situation has been much affected by the novel coronavirus. Nevertheless, similar state figures on employment or unemployment for the past three years indicate that there was little apparent improvement in the hiring index, despite a series of extra budget allocations and cash support for young job seekers.

While the nation’s employment rate was 61.5 percent in May 2017, the figure de facto unchanged to 61.3 in May 2018 and 61.5 percent in May 2019. It had recovered slightly to 60.4 percent in October 2020 after sliding to 59.4 percent in April 2020.

In May 2017, when President Moon pledged to actively increase jobs for the young generation particularly, the de facto jobless rate among those aged between 15-29 was 22.9 percent, according to the Supplementary Index III for Employment compiled by Statistics Korea.

Index III provides a relatively new method of calculating unemployment, counting underemployed people among the de facto unemployed. This category, also called “extended-based” jobless, includes those who work fewer than 36 hours a week and want to work more, as well as seasonal workers who are out of work for part of the year.

The de facto jobless rate rose to 23.2 percent in May 2018, to 24.2 percent in May 2019, and to 26.3 percent in May 2020. It had eased to 24.4 percent in October.

Korea Herald

You can read the whole thing at the link, but it might be time for President Moon to get a new head for Statistics Korea again.

The Korea Herald has an article about a ethnic Filipina from Hawaii who was bashed on social media for a tattoo resembling the rising sun flag:

A brutal war of words erupted on social media from what started as a mistake by a Filipino American TikTok personality.

Over the past few days, ethnic Koreans and Filipinos have been exchanging derogatory and discriminatory insults over social media, with the Filipino side sharing posts with hashtags like #CancelKorea. An air of reconciliation was looming just as the weekend arrived.

It all comes down to a dance video posted on TikTok on Sept. 5. A Filipino American TikTok personality in Hawaii named Bella Poarch posted a video of herself dancing on the social media platform with a tattoo resembling the Rising Sun design.

The sunburst symbol with 16 rays is regarded as offensive by some, especially among Koreans and Chinese, for its association with Japanese imperialism and war crimes in the early 20th century, similar to the Nazi swastika. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the woman apologized and said she would cover up her tattoo or even get it removed. However, she and Filipinos in general were further attacked by racist comments by Korean social media users. This caused a back and forth of racist comments.

At Gusts of Popular Feeling he has a good posting up about this incident that discusses how little many Koreans know about their own colonial and World War II history with Japan:

What amazes me about this story is the way in which Koreans felt the need to explain that the rising sun flag has negative connotations for Koreans due to the actions of the Japanese military… to people from a country that was invaded by Imperial Japan and whose citizens resisted the invasion. Korea, it should be remembered, never fought a war with Japan. Japanese troops landed in Korea in February 1904 and Emperor Gojong quickly signed a treaty of alliance with Japan. Yes, from 1906 to 1909 the Righteous Armies waged a guerrilla war against the Japanese, and tens of thousands of people rose up against Japanese rule in 1919, and there were sporadic acts of resistance in the following years, but Korea never fought a war against the Japanese in 1904 or any time after. The same can’t be said for the Philippines, where hundreds of thousands died (particularly during the Manila massacre in 1945). The time period when Koreans suffered the most under Japan was during WWII when they were forced to toil or fight for the Japanese war machine that oppressed the Philippines. The number of Koreans who died during the entire colonial period is almost certainly less than the number of Filipinos who died during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. 

Another uncomfortable fact is that the theater with the largest number of deaths of Korean soldiers serving in the Japanese army during WWII was… the Philippines (according to the Japanese records quoted in Brandon Palmer’s book, Fighting for the Enemy: Koreans in Japan’s War, 1937-1945, 2,156 of 5,870 Korean soldiers recorded as having died during WWII fell in the Philippines). Needless to say, these soldiers certainly didn’t die fighting on behalf of Filipinos (as Filipinos did fighting on behalf of Koreans during the Korean War).

That Korean netizens feel the need to explain to Filipinos the nature of the brutality of Imperial Japan just goes to show how narrowly Korean textbooks and popular culture depict colonial era history, with, for example, high school textbooks spending only two pages on World War II. 

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link because plenty of more good points are made. With that all said, I see this stuff and it just makes me wonder how much of this online racist back and forth is being fueled by the 50 Cent Army to raise tensions between Filipinos and Koreans?

Here is the Korean government’s latest initiative to drive down housing prices:

The government will increase supplies of residences by 114,000 units over the next two years, including repurposing hotel rooms and office space.    
   
This is the 24th set of real estate measures introduced by the Moon Jae-in government, which has been trying to drive down real estate prices since its first day in office in May 2017.    
   
The units promised Thursday will be let on jeonse, or lump-sum deposit, contracts to attempt to bring down skyrocketing jeonse prices.   
   
According to the Land Ministry on Thursday, 61 percent, or 71,400 units, will be supplied in the greater Seoul area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi.    
   
In Seoul alone, 35,300 units will be supplied.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

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