Category: Korea-General Topics

It looks like the ROK will not be selling its Surion helicopter to the Philippines:

Korea’s prospects of selling its first homegrown helicopter, the Surion, to the Philippines are dimming as the island country inclines toward buying a tried-and-tested U.S. model instead. 
A high-ranking military officer here said Tuesday, “The Philippine government gave higher grades to the U.S.’ UH-60 Blackhawk than the Surion in fuselage evaluations. We’re trying hard to sweeten the deal by adding more incentives, but it looks like everything is pretty much set.”
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country concluded that purchasing Blackhawks is the “best option.”

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is an unusual story of a Cambodian woman who entered into an arranged marriage with a South Korean man 29 years old than her.  The man taught her how to play billiards and now she is a champion player:

When the daughter of a potato farmer came to Korea from Cambodia in 2010 to start the second chapter of her life as the wife of a Korean man 36 years older, Srong Pheavy, like any other marriage migrant woman here, had no idea what was coming.

She did not know back then that she had a knack for carom ― with the potential to play for international titles. She also did not know that she would be Cambodia’s heroine to whom building a school for children would not be a far-fetched lifetime goal.

Pheavy, 29, who lives in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is now in hot demand. After winning the women’s tournament at the 2018 ZANCA-Championship Asia 3-Cushion Open, Nov. 26, she extended further her already established reputation inside Korea. She was invited to appear on “Sugeun Lee’s Channel” on YouTube in November, run by one of the country’s top comedians Lee Su-geun, and played a friendly scotch double match with Korean celebrities where she wowed male players. 

In Cambodia, she is “received as highly as Korean figure skating queen Kim Yuna,” according to the JoongAng Ilbo.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This leaflet is being put up all over in Seoul, and being distributed to citizens indiscriminately by "Baekdu Guards," a pro-North Korean leftist group. The targets are freedom fighters including Taegukgi rally participants. pic.twitter.com/KXhI9a7Whn

— 인지연 Jiyeon Ihn (@JiyeonIhn) December 11, 2018

After the suicide of a taxi driver who set himself on fire to protest the introduction of a ride sharing app in South Korea, 100,000 taxi drivers will surround the National Assembly on Thursday.  I was pleasantly surprised that someone in the media is actually reporting on what I believe these taxi drivers should be doing instead, evolving with the times: 

But taxi drivers say Kakao’s planned ridesharing app steps outside legal boundaries. The app allows users to hail rides at any time of day, rather than being limited to rush hour. 

The app would also charge around 70 percent to 80 percent of the normal taxi fare, which means it could easily take customers away from taxi drivers who are already facing long work hours and small incomes. 

“I’m sacrificing my life in the hopes taxi drivers can earn livable wages one day,” Choi wrote in a suicide note. 

Despite such strong protest from taxi drivers, public sentiment has mostly been in favor of the ridesharing app due to dissatisfaction with the availability and quality of taxi services. It is common for taxi drivers to refuse passengers going short distances late at night, especially in crowded areas of Seoul like Hongdae, Gangnam and Itaewon. 

But the problem can be solved within the taxi business itself, Lee said. 

“We actually have too many idle taxis, so the number of operating taxis in the country is virtually 200,000, not the registered 250,000,” Lee said. “We are working to resolve this by creating our own cab-hailing app that sends taxis to where they are most needed. The app will also hide the intended destination of passengers from the driver, so they can’t pick and choose between passengers.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but there is nothing hard about making a rival app for taxi drivers, the hard part is changing the taxi driver culture which is causing the demand for a ride sharing app in the first place.

Yes, but is this the #SouthKorea that is doing its best to undermine sanctions on #NorthKorea and is absolutely determined to support #KimJongUn? President #MoonJaein is no friend of the US. Trade breaks for him should be out of question. https://t.co/wR4Zmilz5c

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) December 7, 2018

A suicide note was found at the scene. Lee’s body has been transferred to a hospital morgue.

Lee, 60, was being probed by the prosecution over his alleged involvement in the illegal surveilling of bereaved families of victims from a 2014 deadly ferry sinking that took more than 300 lives.

Prosecutors accused him of ordering his officers to collect information about any possible misconduct by the families to adversely affect the public’s sympathetic sentiment toward them.

I've been called a free speech "absolutist" & I embrace the label. But no society can remain free if it allows some people to threaten violence against others for the peaceful expression of their views. A society that does so selectively commits censorship by proxy. #juchejugend https://t.co/ZETAzwrTzB

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) December 3, 2018

Probably not the best venue to let his views on radical feminists be known:

Rapper San E’s explosive remarks against online radical feminist communities during a concert have stirred up yet another controversy.

Hip-hop label Brand New Music held its year-end “Brand New Year 2018” concert at Jamil Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

There, San E offended females by saying in English, “Are there any WOMADs or Megalians (referring to online communities for radical groups that support misandry and female chauvinism) out there?

“One thing I want to say to you is that I don’t give a xxxx. Feminist NO, that’s mental sickness. WOMADs and Megalians are social evil.” After his remarks, the angry crowd shouted for an apology and the concert was interrupted for several minutes.

His appearance on stage had met with a chilly reception ― he recently came under fire for posting on YouTube a controversial song targeting feminists.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

In a city filled with riot police, why can't (or won't) the South Korean government protect the safety & freedom to speak of its most prominent dissident in exile? https://t.co/znChDnwAzT

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) December 1, 2018

Metal workers union members (under the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) beat company exec b/c the firm was negotiating w another labor union. Police blocked by 30 or so unionists, waits while beating occurs for 40 minutes. Beaters threaten exec's family too. https://t.co/nZDGXZP5W9

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 28, 2018