Category: Korea-General Topics

I would think he understood the ramifications of giving the blessing prior to the festival, so his suspension shouldn’t be too surprising:

“A hundred years from now, the church will have changed. And when that time comes, I want you to be sure that you won’t be embarrassed of your own decisions. Don’t be a sinner in the face of history.”  
   
When Pastor Lee Dong-hwan began to doubt his decision to give a blessing at the second Incheon Queer Culture Festival last year, his wife was the one who encouraged him to stand strong not only in the face of history, but also God.  
   
On Aug. 31, 2019, Lee, who is part of the Korean Methodist Church, took to the stage of the queer festival, clad in a white robe to bless those in attendance, throwing flower petals and offering a prayer. Just three days afterward, he was required to attend a meeting at a gathering in Suwon, Gyeonggi, where his church is located.  
   
A day later on Sept. 4, he was reported by the Incheon Pastor’s Gathering for Healthy Society (represented by Pastor Seong Jung-kyeong) and the Chungcheong Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church (represented by Pastor Lee Gu-il) to the Gyeonggi Annual Conference for violating the Book of Doctrines and Discipline by advocating and agreeing with homosexuality.  
   
On Oct. 15 this year, he was sentenced to two years of suspension of duty by the Korean Methodist Church. He appealed that decision but a retrial date has yet to be set, leaving Lee in limbo as he cannot preach.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

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.

I wonder what the male Korean college students that have to do their mandatory service think of the special treatment given to K-Pop stars? To be fair athletes have been getting special treatment in the past as well:

The National Assembly’s defense committee on Friday approved a bill that would allow distinguished male pop culture artists to postpone their mandatory military duties.

The committee gave its nod to the bill to revise the Military Service Act to grant an exceptional right to defer military duties of acclaimed pop artists, such as BTS, who are recognized to have contributed to the elevation of the country’s global reputation. 

The bill must pass parliament’s plenary session for final approval. 

The revision was proposed by Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the ruling Democratic Party in September after BTS became the first South Korean pop artist to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with its song “Dynamite.”

“BTS members will be able to put off their enlistments until the age of 30 if this bill passes through a plenary session and a related enforcement decree is revised as well,” the lawmaker said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

With the weather getting colder these spikes in cases are occurring all over the northern hemisphere, but South Korea’s spike is way smaller than others:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hovered above 300 on Wednesday to reach the highest level since late August, setting alarm bells ringing over another potential wave of the pandemic.

The country added 313 more COVID-19 cases, including 245 local infections, raising the total caseload to 29,311, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The daily figure exceeded 300 for the first time since Aug. 29, with the daily caseload hovering over 200 in the last four days.

Cluster infections from private gatherings, public facilities and hospitals continued to occur in several parts of the nation, making it harder for health authorities to pin down potential cases and curb the spread of the virus.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like you can expect even more of the e-scooters zipping around Korean cities with the lowering of regulations that will put more of them on the streets and sidewalks:

Under the current law, e-scooters have been classified as a type of motorbike; so those having a motorbike or other vehicle license were allowed to use them, with the age limit being 16 and over.

But under revisions to this law, which will take effect Dec. 10, e-scooters will be classified as a type of bicycle, allowing people to ride them on cycling paths, and without the need for a driver’s license. The age limit will also be lowered to 13, meaning even middle school students will be allowed to ride them. However, riding the scooters on sidewalks will still be illegal.

It has been mandatory for e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, with violators of the law facing a 20,000 won ($18) fine, but most users do not abide by the regulation. Under the new law, there will be no penalty for not wearing a helmet or any other protective gear.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The COVID issue continues to expand in South Korea:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases exceeded 200 for a second straight day on Sunday due to cluster infections, with health authorities considering raising the social distancing scheme by a notch in the five-tier system.

The country added 208 more COVID-19 cases, including 176 local infections, raising the total caseload to 28,546, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The daily new cases stayed in the triple digits for the eighth consecutive day. The cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 73 days with a mark of 205 on Saturday. 

KDCA reported one additional death, raising the total to 493. The fatality rate came to 1.73 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but once again context is important. 200+ daily coronavirus infections in a country of 51 million people is extremely low. For example the city of El Paso, Texas which is a coronavirus hotbed right now, had 981 new cases and 762 deaths. El Paso has a population of 682,000 people.