Considering all the black face and big nose caricatures used in the Korean media, South Koreans really do not have much of a moral high ground to stand on with this issue:
South Korean football fans became upset when a spectator allegedly abusing Asians was shown on TV as South Korea beat Fiji.
At the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, Brazil, on Aug. 5, a man made “slanted eyes,” a Western gesture to make fun of Asians’ eyes.
Some regard the act as racially offensive.
South Koreans were even more embarrassed when they learned that the man was cheering for South Korea.
He was holding a national flag and wearing a red T-shirt just like South Korean fans. [Korea Times]
This is pretty significant if the South Korean government moves forward with this suggestion:
North Korea provocations are making Seoul reconsider intelligence sharing strategies with Tokyo.
Seoul’s defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun told reporters Thursday the radar information from the U.S. anti-missile defense system THAAD could be shared with Japan, local news service Newsis reported.
That response was a departure from a previous statement issued July 19, when Defense Minister Han Min-koo told parliamentarians the information from the THAAD radar would not be shared with Japan. [UPI]
You can read more at the link, but keep in mind that the South Koreans do not need THAAD to share data with Japan. That is because the ROK already has their Israeli bought Green Pine radars installed with coverage of North Korea that could also share the data with Japan if the ROK wanted to.
Even in Korea winning the lottery turns into a curse for some people:
When Mr. Kim won the lottery late last month and instantly went from rags to riches with nearly 3 billion won ($2.7 million), his life-changing story was told by none other than his own mother. Unlike most other winners who wish to keep their profile as low-key as possible, and who often urge their close family members to do the same, the 79-year-old woman refused to follow the norm and is now gaining media attention for the “tragedy” that has unfolded ever since.
She held a demonstration last Friday in front of the Yangsan City Hall in South Gyeongsang, holding a large picket sign describing how her own son became her worst enemy.
She wrote that her son “abandoned” her after winning the lottery, and that she felt betrayed because she had raised his children. Last week, when she knocked on the door of his house, he refused to meet her and called the cops to force her away.
A picture of her solo rally has gone viral online over the weekend. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
It looks like the student protesters won their argument to keep Ewha University as an elitist institution plus they will face no punishment for detaining professors for 46 hours. Despite this they are still not happy:
Ewha Womans University President Choi Kyung-hee has filed a petition calling on authorities not to punish students who blocked four professors and a school worker from leaving a school building for 46 hours during a sit-in protest against the school’s plan to set up a night college for workers.
Choi visited Seodaemun Police Station in central Seoul Friday morning to submit the petition, which read that the professors and the worker do not want the students to face action.
Hundreds of Ewha students began the sit-in on July 28 and prevented the five people from leaving. School officials asked police to intervene and some 1,600 officers were mobilized to remove the protesters on July 30.
Police are identifying the students by reviewing video footage. A police officer said, “The petition will not affect the ongoing investigation. It may affect the level of punishment if they are indicted, but it’s up to the court.”
Following the protest, Choi said the school would scrap the night college plan. But students are still staging the sit-in, demanding Choi’s resignation. [Korea Times]
Another example of someone using their position of authority to take advantage of young people:
Pastor Lee Dong-hyun, head of popular Christian teenage evangelical community “Rise Up Movement,” has admitted sexually molesting a female follower for years.
Lee, 48, harassed the high school girl ― who was 17 ― from 2005 until 2008, consistently demanding her to have sex with him, according to NewsNJoy, an online news outlet, Tuesday. When the victim refused, he threatened her, saying: “Your life will be ruined once our relationship is known among Korean society” and “How will you manage to get married after you had sex with me?” the report said, citing the victim, now 28.
NewsNJoy said Lee preferred female followers as his aides and when he took a small group of teenagers to Europe, he often slept in the girls’ room.
With the scandal becoming viral, Lee said on the “Rise Up Movement” web page Tuesday he will no longer chair the group. The site said the community will cancel a mass Christian gathering planned for Aug 7. The group, established in 1999, has been holding an annual mass gathering at Seoul Plaza, drawing about 30,000 teenagers and parents.
“I committed a mistake when I was still a neophyte as a Christian leader,” Lee said, according to Hankook Ilbo. “I admit the whole wrongdoing. I am sorry to all the students who followed my leadership.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but this has nothing to do with being a neophyte as a Christian leader. This guy knew exactly what he was doing just like policeman, school teachers, military leaders, etc. that have been caught before doing the same thing.
I hope this one western trend that some Koreans will not think is cool to take up:
On June 26, a vending machine inside the Express Bus Terminal Station on subway line No. 3 was found defaced with graffiti. [SEOUL METRO]Graffiti has been spotted in at least 20 subway stations over the past two weeks. Unlike the elaborate work of graffiti artists – with a distinct aesthetic or message – the recent graffiti were mere scribbles done in less than a minute.
Stations with graffiti problems include Jamsil, Gangnam, Konkuk University, Hapjeong, and Sangsu.
There’s a history to Korea’s subway graffiti problem. In May 2016, a subway car idled in a garage in Incheon was found with two drawings spraypainted on it.
In May 2015, a Latvian graffiti artist and three others were arrested for defacing Seoul Metro subway cars. In February 2015, a group of four Australians fled Korea after covering subway cars in Wangsimni, Anam, and Sinnonhyeon stations in graffiti.
The Korea Railway Police feared that foreign graffiti artists were targeting its cars – and circulating information on how to penetrate certain stations with lax security.
Current law states that graffiti corresponds to property damage described in Article 336 of the criminal code. Guilty parties can be imprisoned for a maximum of three years or fined up to 7 million won ($6,290).
Additional punishment is possible if multiple people were involved, according to the Law on Punishment of Violent Acts.
However, it is not easy to track down graffiti aficionados, since they work stealthily.
“We have found through CCTV footage that there was one culprit involved, but it is difficult to detect the identity of the suspect,” said a police official in charge of a recent graffiti case at Jamsil Station on subway line No. 2. “The person in question committed the crime and fled within a minute. Obscure scribbles 30 cm (1 foot) wide and 50 cm (1.6 feet) tall were written in marker on the walls of a passageway.
“Foreign culprits are more difficult to arrest since many have left the nation when investigations have started,” said Kim Hyeon-mo, an investigator of the Korea Railway Police. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
What a horrible tragedy in Busan. If this guy has such a bad neurological disorder why was he even allowed to drive?:
A Peugeot crashes into cars at the intersection of Haeundae Cultural Center in Haeundae District, Busan, on Sunday. The accident, which involved seven cars in total, killed three and injured 14, including the driver. [BLACK BOX SCREEN CAPTURE]A Peugeot traveling at more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour ignored traffic lights at a crossroad in Haeundae District in Busan on Sunday and crashed into six other cars, killing three and injuring 14, including the driver.The driver, a 53-year-old man surnamed Kim, was traveling between 100 and 120 kilometers per hour and allegedly did not hit the brakes even when he neared the crosswalk at the intersection of Haeundae Cultural Center, according to police.
The Peugeot hit a Hyundai Accent waiting at a red light, skidded and hit four people crossing the street, including a woman in her 40s, her teenage son and a middle school student. The mother and her 18-year-old son were visiting Busan on a family vacation. All three died. The Peugeot hit five more cars that were passing the intersection before stopping. The accident occurred at 5:18 p.m. Sunday.
Police said Kim was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident. “I don’t remember why the accident happened,” Kim reportedly told police. “I woke up and I was at the hospital.”
Kim testified to police that he is suffering from a neurological disorder and did not take his medication on the day of the accident. Kim’s doctor in Ulsan told police that Kim was diagnosed with epilepsy last September, and that he was on medication from November. The doctor said patients suffering epilepsy can lose consciousness sporadically if they stop taking medication, even for a day. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but this wasn’t his first accident caused by his condition according to the article.
