Category: Korea-General Topics

South Korea’s test of its anticipated space launch vehicle was a success:

South Korea successfully tested its locally developed rocket engine on Wednesday, officials said, taking a step closer to the full-fledged development of the country’s first space launch vehicle.

The test of the 75-ton thrust engine was conducted using a single-stage rocket that was launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4:00 p.m.

The rocket engine, designed and developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), will be used on the three-stage Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2) currently under development.

The 75-ton thrust engine is considered a core technology behind the KSLV-2, which would make South Korea the seventh country in the world to build a space launch vehicle with homegrown technology.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and KARI said the critical rocket motor combustion time was maintained for 151 seconds, surpassing an initial goal of 140 seconds.

KARI said evaluating the performance of a liquid propellant rocket engine is determined by the length of the total combustion time.

To be fair this is nothing new in modern societies with politicians using welfare handouts to get votes:

The government’s cash handouts as part of welfare benefits will reach a record W33 trillion next year (US$1=W1,130). The cash handouts for people in need have increased by W10 trillion in the two years since President Moon Jae-in came into office, with the total number of recipients reaching 10 million or one out of five citizens.

There are no fewer than 50 different types of welfare benefits ranging from basic pension payments for the 5.39 million elderly people to child benefits for 2.3 million people, living cost subsidies for 1.58 million low-income households and financial support for some 100,000 young jobseekers. Of course the government should provide for the needy, but the current administration’s cash welfare programs are like showering gifts of money on all comers.

In reality they are money for votes. Opposition parties do not want to sit idle and take the blows, and the Liberty Korea Party has already promised to boost next year’s proposed budget by W7 trillion to expand childcare support and others to keep up.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

So many people said the police was investigating their bank accounts for donations, and here's one. This is so illegal, yet the police is told to do this & they comply. #MoonJaein -Im Jong-seok admin of #SouthKorea is suppressing the freedom of assembly. https://t.co/Fc5K7fK56C

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 23, 2018

It seems that taxi drivers going on strike actually encourages people to use carpooling apps even more:

Taxi drivers from four interest groups gathered outside the National Assembly Thursday to protest Kakao’s move to introduce a carpooling service.

The drivers are demanding legislators make the proposed business illegal, claiming that the service will threaten their livelihoods.

The collective move came after a 24-hour strike on Oct. 18. The strike itself was called two days after Kakao made public on Oct. 16 its plans to introduce the Kakao T carpooling service and began recruiting drivers.

Kakao has not been dissuaded. After the strike, it released an app for carpooling drivers and added a tab for the carpooling service to its existing Kakao T taxi app.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but instead of trying to get the government to give them special treatment, it seems the taxi cab drivers should improve their business model to compete with the ride sharing apps instead.

I would love to see someone in the media interview a victim’s family member from the Cheonan attack about this protest in support of Kim Jong-un in downtown Seoul:

A pro-North Korean group staged a rally praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, on Sunday, despite being reported multiple times for violating the National Security Act.

The rally was organized by the Paektu Praise Committee, a radical activist group. It was not stopped by police even after conservative groups filed complaints against the organization for praising the North Korean leader, which is a violation of South Korea’s National Security Law.

About 50 members of the Paektu Praise Committee participated in Sunday’s rally. During the protest, members praised Kim in speeches and dedicated a dance performance in his name. Some of the speakers were children and teenagers.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but what a disgrace the Korean far left is praising a ruthless killer like Kim Jong-un.

That is the question a KBS World Radio host asked random foreigners recently in Itaewon:

For military personnel, what I recommend is to get to know the KATUSA personnel in your unit.  This will often lead to invites to go out or even visits their homes on the weekend.

Anyone have any tips on making Korean friends to share?

When the "revolution" didn't occur although pro-Kim Il-sung socialists dominated universities in the 80s/90s, they targeted younger students too and created Korean Teachers & Education Workers' Union under Kim Dae-jung admin. They teach false history & drag students to protests. https://t.co/HvKgNBSdge

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 13, 2018

If Putin wants reciprocal measures how about he tell Kim Jong-un to start shipping out nuclear material from North Korea?  Whenever the apologists talk about reciprocal measures they always demand that the US drop sanctions for little to nothing in return from North Korea:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, talked about easing sanctions on North Korea in their talks Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Moon’s office said.

Moon requested Moscow’s active role in efforts to persuade Pyongyang to take denuclearization steps in a “bolder manner,” according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

They had “comprehensive” discussions on the terms and conditions of easing sanctions on the North, he added.

In the 58-minute meeting, Putin was quoted as telling Moon that there should be reciprocal measures if there is progress in denuclearization.

The meeting, their fourth since Moon took office last year, came days after high-level denuclearization negotiations between the United States and the North were abruptly called off last week.

In Wednesday’s meeting, Moon and Putin were expected to discuss ways to get the denuclearization talks restarted at an early date, as well as measures to further strengthen relations between the two countries.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

At least Angelina Jolie knows what good Korean barbecue to order:

What is Angelina Jolie doing in Seoul?

American actress Angelina Jolie has been spotted in a restaurant in Samcheong-dong, a traditional area in central Seoul, by a number of people who shared her photos on social media on Friday.

According to the witnesses, the mega star was having samgyeopsal, the famous Korean style grilled pork dish, inside the restaurant at about 10 p.m.

“I just bumped into Angelina Jolie. She was eating Samgyepsal,” a Korean shared on her Instagram, with a photo of Jolie.

Sitting across from Jolie was Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, the Hollywood actress’s 14-year-old son.

To the post, people responded by saying, “Oh my God, what is she doing here?” and “I can’t believe she and I are under the same sky (in Seoul).”

Jolie was last in Seoul officially for premiere of movie “Salt” in 2010, in which she starred as the heroine. [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link, but it is thought she may be in town to advocate for the Yemeni refugees in South Korea in her role as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)’s Special Envoy.

English teachers in Korea got to experience recently “Don’t Molest Students” training and they did not like it:

Foreign English teachers across Gyeonggi Province woke up extra early on Saturday, Oct. 20, many before sunrise, to attend a seminar they were told was mandatory. The seminar, held in the remote provincial town Icheon, started at 8:30 a.m., requiring many teachers from the far-flung corners of the province to find their own way there, as they had to leave before public transportation opened.

Joe McPherson, a longtime resident of Korea on an F-5 permanent resident visa, was up at 6 a.m., leaving behind his Korean wife and children in Gimpo and driving his car to what he called the “Dirty Foreigner Seminar.”

“This isn’t about career enrichment,” said McPherson, a restaurateur and owner of a successful tourism company who teaches on the side to make ends meet. “It’s because of the stereotype that we’re all sexual deviants.”  (…………………..)

Throughout the talks, attendees were reminded numerous times not to sexually harass students, although little instruction was given on what sexual harassment was and how to avoid it.

“This reinforces the stereotype that foreigners are by nature potential sexual predators and drug fiends,” McPherson said. “Do teachers really need to be told that molesting children is wrong?”  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link if you want a good laugh for the day.