Author: GIKorea

Here is some more blowback from the group of Americans acting like idiots this past weekend in Busan:

The American consul in Busan was called in by city authorities Wednesday over the firework mayhem caused by a group of Americans, including soldiers, on the Fourth of July.  
   
The Busan Metropolitan Government said in a statement Thursday that Woo Kyoung-ha, the city’s ambassador for international relations, summoned U.S. Consul Aaron Tiffany on the order of Acting Busan Mayor Byeon Sung-wan to express “strong regret” about the incident last Saturday and ask the U.S. Consulate that it doesn’t happen again.  
   
“Many Americans, including U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea, caused public anxiety on July 4 by shooting firecrackers in Haeundae and roaming around the streets without wearing face masks,” Woo was quoted by the city government as telling the consul.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on USFK coronavirus cases:

Nine people with U.S. Forces Korea tested positive for the coronavirus after traveling to South Korea from the United States, pushing the total number of confirmed cases in isolation to 21, the military said Friday.

Concern about a spillover effect has prompted USFK to follow the South Korean government’s lead in requiring coronavirus tests for all passengers from abroad upon arrival and before they are allowed to exit a mandatory two-week quarantine.

Seven of the service members tested positive after arriving on two separate government-chartered flights known as the Patriot Express, which land at Osan Air Base, USFK said in a statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, the recent positive tests from arriving personnel has pushed the USFK total to 63. However, the last local transmission of the coronavirus occurred all the way back on April 14th.

A true hero of the Korean War who has dedicated his life to serving his nation has passed away. Condolences to all his friends and family:

Paik Sun-yup, a South Korean military officer and a Korean War hero, died Friday at the age of 100.

Born in North Korea’s South Pyongan Province in 1920, he began his military career as an officer in the Manchukuo Imperial Army during the Japanese colonial era. Manchukuo was a puppet state established by Japan in Manchuria in northeastern China.

Paik went on to serve as a commander during the Korean War as well as Army Chief of Staff and South Korean representative during ceasefire talks.

During the Korean War, he commanded key battles including the Nakdong River Battle and in recognition of his service, he became South Korea’s first four-star general at age 33 in 1953.

After retiring as a general in 1960, he went on to become a diplomat and while serving as transport minister, he oversaw the construction of Seoul subway line one.

But due to his two-year service in the Gando Special Force, an independent battalion within the Manchukuo Imperial Army, he has been criticized as being pro-Japan.

U.S. Forces Korea Eighth Army Command in 2013 appointed him honorary commander for his service in the defense of South Korea during the Korean War.

Paik received many other honors and awards and also published several books.

KBS World Radio

I had the chance to talk to General Paik many years ago and got him to sign a copy of his book, From Pusan to Panmunjon (Memories of War).  He was fascinating to talk to because his great memory of events that occurred and people he met during the Korean War.  If you haven’t read his book I highly recommend reading it because of the ROK perspective it provides in regards to events during the Korean War.

General Paik will be buried at the National Cemetery in Daejeon instead of the National Cemetery in Seoul. This is because the newly elected National Assembly dominated by the Korean left, is planning to change the National Cemetery Act to remove the graves of “pro-Japan, anti-minjok [Korean] figures interred in the National Cemetery and install tombstones describing their pro-Japan activities.” This would effectively prevent him from being buried in the Seoul National Cemetery if passed. If General Paik was to pass away before this Act was changed he would face having his body removed from the cemetery.

So even in death General Paik cannot escape the hatred the Korean left has for him so vigorously serving his country.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section:

For readers in the Osan AB area, be on the lookout for this missing airman:

Search crews fanned out across Osan Air Base to look for a missing U.S. airman on Friday, a day after he was reported absent from his unit, officials said.

Staff Sgt. Tristin Blake Jarvis, 26, of the 51st Force Support Squadron was last seen in the vicinity of the Osan Fitness Center on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release.

However, security forces searched his room and determined he had been there before changing and leaving, said 1st Lt. Daniel de la Fe, a spokesman for the 51st Fighter Wing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.