Category: Korea-General Topics

I have been over the Unification Bridge more times than I can remember and this guy never had a chance of succeeding to defect this way. This likely more a call for mental help which is likely why he wasn’t jailed:

A South Korean court on Monday handed a suspended sentence to a North Korean defector who attempted to cross the border back into the North last year using a stolen bus, according to local media. The defector, who was not publicly identified, received a two-year prison sentence suspended for three years from the Goyang Branch of Uijeongbu District Court, the Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.

The ruling means he will avoid jail time if he does not commit further offenses during that period. The incident occurred on Oct. 1, when the man stole a shuttle bus from a garage in Paju, about five miles south of the heavily fortified border, and drove it approximately three miles toward the Unification Bridge, which spans the Imjin River and connects the two Koreas.

He was apprehended by South Korean soldiers after crashing into a checkpoint barricade, Gyeonggi Provincial Police said at the time. The court stated in its ruling that the defector did not appear motivated by support for or loyalty to North Korea, according to Yonhap.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The easy access to various mountain trails is something very unique to Seoul that the government has done a better job of promoting and maintaining hiking trails. This has led to a large increase in foreigners hiking these trails:

Wearing hanbok (Korean traditional attire) and walking around Gyeongbok Palace, eating street food and shopping for K-pop merchandise and cosmetics used to top to-do lists for people traveling to Korea. 

Now, a new experience is climbing in popularity — literally. Hiking Korea’s urban mountains, often dubbed “K-hiking,” has quickly become one of the most unexpected yet popular activities among international tourists. 

Searching hashtags like #seoulhiking, #hikingtourism or #hikinginseoul on Instagram now turns up over 10,000 posts. No matter which mountain in downtown Seoul, it is now common to see foreign tourists exploring mountain paths or taking photos at the summits.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but K-hiking has definitely become popular with foreign tourists. I have seen way more foreigners on Korean trails today compared to 20 years ago.

This year is the 45th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising and an American who played a role in this important event in Korea’s history was recently recognized for it:

On May 14, the city of Gwangju conferred honorary citizenship on David Dolinger (Im Dae-eun), a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer who played a critical role during the Gwangju Uprising that began on May 18, 1980. The recognition is one of the highest civic honors Gwangju can bestow, and it is an exceedingly rare one for a foreign national who directly participated in the city’s darkest and most defiant chapter, one that led the way to democratic freedom.

“I have been applauded for what I did in May of 1980 and in subsequent years concerning 5.18, Korean human rights and Korean democracy,” Dolinger told the audience at the ceremony. “But I have not done enough and I will never be able to do enough. I wish I had been smarter, braver, more aware and a little more of everything.” (………..)

In 1978, Dolinger, then in his 20s, was stationed in Yeongam County, South Jeolla Province, as a Peace Corps volunteer. “Forty-five years ago, I was working in the health center as a TB control worker,” he reflected in his lecture. “My biggest concern was traveling to a wedding the coming weekend, and I had no idea how within a few days my life was going to change.”

As the situation escalated, he chose to return to Gwangju, not knowing that some 20,000 martial law troops were flooding into the city. Inside the South Jeolla Provincial Hall, he assisted in monitoring martial law radio transmissions in case attack orders were made in English. He also served as an interpreter, mediating between the militia and the foreign press, helping convey the words of movement leaders, such as Yoon Sang-won, to an international audience.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The article doesn’t say, but how did these two guys secretly enter Osan Airbase?:

South Korean police arrested two Taiwanese men over the weekend for allegedly entering Osan Air Base without authorization during a U.S.-South Korean military open house and filming the event, according to local media.

The pair, identified as being in their 40s and 60s, were taken into custody Sunday after attending the Air Power Days event on Saturday, Yonhap News reported Monday, citing the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency.

The air base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force and the South Korean air force’s operations command. Security procedures for the event required all visitors to bring a form of government identification and check in at the base’s front gate. South Korean visitors were required to have a driver’s license or student ID; foreigners unaffiliated with the U.S. military needed to have a passport.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were forbidden from entering the airbase and some how these two still got in.

Here is an apology letter that is making the rounds on the Korean Internet as an example of good parenting:

A handwritten apology by a child and a formal statement from the parents were posted in their apartment complex after the child failed to clean up after the family’s dog. The gesture has drawn widespread praise online for the parents’ responsible approach to parenting.

A post titled “Apology letter spotted at an apartment complex” began spreading rapidly on online forums such as FM Korea on Monday. The post included photos of a neatly written apology from the parents, identified only as A, along with a handwritten note by their youngest child.

In the letter, A details the incident and expresses regret: “On the evening of May 8, our youngest child took our dog for a walk. On the way back, the dog defecated in front of the elevator on the first floor, and the child failed to clean it up. We were informed of the situation through the apartment management office.”

The parent continued, “We sincerely apologize to all residents who use the elevator and were made uncomfortable by this incident. As parents, we take full responsibility for not properly teaching our child the basic etiquette of communal living.”

The letter also noted that the child was instructed to always carry waste bags during walks and was told to write a personal apology to reflect on the incident.

Beneath the parent’s statement was a handwritten note believed to be from the child, which read, in misspelled but sincere language: “I did not clean up my dog’s poop in front of the elevator. I’m really sorry. My parents scolded me a lot, and I truly regret it. From now on, I will clean it up right away.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Now even in South Korea teachers are being treated very poorly and thus leading to less college students wanting to become one:

“Teachers can no longer teach in the way they used to,” Choi said. “They are constantly challenged, monitored, and disrespected. Classrooms have become increasingly difficult environments to manage. Teachers face verbal and even legal confrontations from students and parents.”

Choi’s doubts echo those of many young Koreans. Once considered a prestigious calling, the teaching profession in South Korea is losing both its appeal and its authority.

This erosion of teachers’ authority in classrooms has driven young people away from teaching and dragged down the competitiveness of education universities nationwide.

According to recent data released by Jongro Academy, the admission thresholds for education colleges in the 2025 academic year have plunged to record lows. In some special admission tracks, students with high school grades as low as 7 were accepted. Korean high schools rank students according to a nine-level relative evaluation system. Even in general admission rounds, which typically draw top-performing students, some candidates with GPAs in the 6th-grade range made the cut.

“Seeing a GPA of 6 in general admission is extremely rare and suggests a sharp decline in interest even among mid-performing students,” said Im Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy.

The drop comes despite a reduction in the admission quota at these institutions, which under normal conditions, would push scores higher. Instead, both early and regular admission scores declined — an indication that fewer students with high GPAs are applying to become teachers.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the disrespect of teachers in Korea is different from the United States. In the U.S. the teachers are treated liked they are overpaid babysitters for many disinterested parents. In Korea the disrespect comes from overinterested parents who get upset if their child didn’t get the grade they think they deserved or if their kids are disciplined in any way. I think I would rather have the Korea problem of overinterested parents instead of the U.S. problem where many parents just don’t care.

It is amazing to think it has been 16 years since South Korea conducted a nuclear power project. This really should be a growth industry for them considering their expertise, but domestic politics has held back this industry. Pushing for nuclear power projects is one good thing the impeached President Yoon did do while in office:

South Korea has won a multibillion-dollar project to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic, its first overseas nuclear power plant project in 16 years, according to a news report and officials on Wednesday.

A South Korean consortium, led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), will sign a final agreement on the project with the Czech Republic’s Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II) next Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing the Czech government.

The South Korean government immediately welcomed the Czech government’s announcement. 

“The two countries are discussing the details of the planned contract signing ceremony,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.

The deal, estimated to be worth 26 trillion won (US$18.2 billion), marks South Korea’s first overseas nuclear power plant project win since 2009, when the KHNP won the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant contract in the United Arab Emirates.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

According to the article the documentary does a good job chronicling the botched rescue operation, but does not offer any reasons why it was so poor to begin with:

Director-producer Min Bae’s documentary film “Reset” primarily traces the emotional journey, over nine years since the tragedy’s outset, of Moon Jong-taek, father of Moon Ji-sung, one of the 250 student victims.

During the painstaking years, Moon emerged as both a fierce advocate and a meticulous documentarian, capturing every thread of the Sewol ferry tragedy in his search for the elusive truth behind its sinking. 

Lost in the enduring sorrows, he built invisible walls around himself. His all-consuming obsession over the long painful years left the rest of his family feeling forgotten.

He and others have focused especially on the rescue operation, examining not only its shortcomings but also the potential for a deliberate failure to act. 

They were also consumed by the crucial question of why students were repeatedly instructed to “stay still,” while some of the crew members, including the captain, rapidly evacuated to the upper decks of the sinking ship and were rescued.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Hopefully this fire can be contained before it spreads into the city:

A fire on a mountain in Daegu began spreading toward nearby villages Monday, triggering the second-highest firefighting response.

The blaze began around 2 p.m. on Mount Hamji in the city some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, prompting forest authorities to issue a Level 1 wildfire response involving 19 helicopters, 38 pieces of equipment and 165 personnel.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.