This year's decennial event is especially meaningful for Jeju residents, since it could be the last one for most of the aging survivors. #Jeju#70th_anniversaryhttps://t.co/RiozYQ2IpR
This sounds like another ploy to smear people connected to the Park administration disliked by the South Korean left:
Top military officials seriously considered suppressing a nationwide candlelight vigil by force after former President Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly in late 2016, the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) claimed Thursday.
Citing sources in the military, the CMHRK said senior officials, including Major General Koo Hong-mo, discussed in detail scenarios of quelling millions of street protesters across the nation.
“It is very shocking that they considered using military forces to quell the peaceful protest,” the center said. “The military mapped out a plan to trample on citizens with guns and swords in order to suck up to those in power like they did 40 years ago in Gwangju. It is tantamount to a rebellion conspiracy.”
If the Constitutional Court had dismissed the Assembly’s impeachment motion, the officials would have put that plan into action, according to the center. But in March 2017, the court ruled unanimously to remove the former president from office. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but does anyone really think the ROK Army was going to attack candlelight protesters with swords? Only a leftist living in a fantasy land would think that. If anything there was probably plans being made to assist the riot police with crowd control not a Gwangju style military action that this is being made out to be.
Via a reader tip comes this news of how drinking is being banned in designated areas in South Korea’s mountain parks:
Trekkers at Daedunsan Provincial Park line up to buy liquor from vendors on Mt. Daedun. Provincial watchdogs have been reluctant to shut down the illegal traders, allowing the business to go on for years. / Korea Times file
Laws banning drinking on mountain tops and in other designated natural areas start this month.
The National Assembly passed the revised anti-drinking laws on Tuesday that affect visitors to mountains and parks under national, city or provincial management, the environment ministry said Wednesday. The laws begin on Mar. 13.
They include fines of 50,000 won ($46) for a first offence and 100,000 won for subsequent violations for people caught drinking in the designated areas.
The ministry’s latest bid reflects its intention to lower accidents in the regions. From 2012 until 2017, 64 of over 1,300 accidents on mountains and in parks were due to alcohol intoxication. Ten accidents were fatal. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the ban includes smoking as well. It seems like this is going to be incredibly difficult to enforce unless they plan to have police patrol every mountain.
This sounds more like an attempt to get more teaching jobs for Koreans instead of to native English teachers:
Most English teachers in primary and secondary schools do not believe that having native-speaking assistants is beneficial in cost-effective terms, a recent survey shows.
Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education surveyed 312 teachers ― 212 elementary school teachers and 100 middle school teachers ― who have been partnered with native English-speaking instructors.
More than half of those surveyed cited the native speakers’ low competence, poor attitude, lack of experience and mediocre education benefit. They said the number should be reduced or the program should be abolished.
They said it would be better to train more Koreans to teach English. [Korea Times]
Ivanka’s nickname in South Korea = “방카” or “Bang-ka.” In full, her name is “I-bang-ka” but because “I” is a Korean surname, they just call her “Bang-ka.” pic.twitter.com/w3KibdzeYP
For every asshole taxi driver that refused a ride, refused to stop, drove away as I was opening a door, tried to cheat me, or even stopped to argue with a bus driver while the fare was running–Karma's a bitch, huh? https://t.co/1hbt3sWiL7
Here we go again with the media and activists bashing South Korea over dog meat restaurants:
Canadian figure skater Meagan Duhamel poses with her dog she saved from the South Korean dog meat trade. (AP).
As the planet sets its eyes on PyeongChang, South Korea, for the next two weeks to watch world-class grace and athleticism, an ugly subset of the country’s culture is seeing increased exposure from the Olympic spotlight.
The dog meat trade.
Around 2 million dogs each year are bred on dog meat farms for human consumption in South Korea, according to the Associated Press. They are often raised in cruel conditions, beaten or left without food before they are slaughtered. It’s a practice deeply ingrained in South Korean culture, with many believing that eating dog meat increases virility and energy.
It has become more taboo as younger generations have come to view dogs as pets rather than food. The AP reports that one in five households in South Korea keep a dog or cat as a pet.
With the arrival of the Olympics, pressure on the dog meat industry in PyeongChang has mounted. There are 12 dog meat restaurants in the city, and the local government has asked them to shutter or change their menus during the Games, even offering subsidies. [Yahoo Sports]
You can read more at the link, but eating dog meat is not “deeply ingrained in South Korean culture”. Hardly anyone eats dog meat anymore in South Korea. With that said if someone wants to eat dog why should the fact that Westerners think they are cute and cuddly matter? My biggest problem with dog farming in South Korea is that some of these farmers are very inhumane with dogs raised in small cages and then beaten to death to better tenderize the meat.
I think no matter what the evidence says this was something that was going to happen regardless because this is more about politics than fact finding:
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo reads out a statement on Feb. 9, 2018, offering an apology for the military’s use of force against pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju in 1980. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s defense minister offered an official apology Friday for the military’s brutal use of force against pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju in 1980.
“As the minister of national defense, I offer a sincere apology and (words of) comfort to Gwangju citizens that our military has left suffering in the process of the May 18 Democratization Movement 38 years ago,” Song Young-moo said in a statement.
It came two days after the ministry’s special fact-finding team announced the results of five months of investigation into suspicions about the military’s role in the suppression of those protesting against the junta of Chun Doo-hwan.
The civilian-government panel said the Army launched helicopter gunship attacks on citizens in the southwestern city, with fighter jets armed with bombs on standby as a backup. The findings were based on the review of documents and interviews on witnesses. [Yonhap]
