More South Korean single women freeze their eggs https://t.co/fAHNhyoL3g … #fertility #eggfreezing #Korea pic.twitter.com/Ai0rAOP8Hx
— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) March 2, 2016
I think there is some truth to the above Korean saying:
More and more young men and women of Korea find life in their motherland so painfully tough that they literally call it hell, some even plotting to pick up and leave for another country.
But what happens when you really take off?
The Korea Times talked to 10 men and women from different walks of life who’ve immigrated to the U.S. within the past decade and here’s what they had to say about the reality of departing “Hell Joseon, a viral term that embodies young people’s sense of hopelessness in Korea.
“I’ll be honest,” said Kim Ga-young, 38, who left Korea for Atlanta two years ago after leaving her job in the customer service industry. “I don’t have to put up with nonsense brought on by all kinds of snobby people. But I’m facing a whole new set of problems here, too.”
Language and cultural barriers are the biggest trouble for her.
“I had never been overseas past Japan. The U.S. and the Western world is completely new to me, so it’s definitely going to take some time to find my place here,” says Kim, who works part-time at a Korean-owned beauty supply store.
Park Jung-hyun, 55, who made the big move almost 10 years ago, is happy to say that most of the language and cultural barriers are a thing of the past now.
“The first three years was difficult and sad,” she says, “but once I understood the true American life, I realized that I don’t have to be ashamed about not speaking the language and knowing the culture. In a way, many of us are foreigners here.”
Park, who owns and runs a coin laundry shop in Los Angeles with her husband, finds her new life satisfying, both financially and emotionally.
“My husband and I both worked long hours back in Korea,” she said, “and we still work long hours now, but interestingly, there’s a much better work-life balance here.”
Many Koreans who live in the U.S. generally have access to more family time throughout the week and during the weekend, but for some, family time isn’t the only thing they want.
“There’s a saying that Korea is a fun hell and the U.S. is a boring heaven,” says Kim, 41, a hairdresser in Dallas, who didn’t want to be fully named. “I miss being able to just walk out late at night, meeting up with old friends and getting a drink without the hassle of driving on the freeway for 30 minutes to get somewhere.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
It looks like that Korean kids will be seeing less English teaching in their early elementary school years:
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the government’s order to ban English immersion programs for first and second graders in private elementary schools is constitutional.
The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that the ban could be seen as the proper means of preventing the negative impact of excessive private tutoring.
Parents of students at Younghoon Elementary School, a high-profile private school, filed a petition in December 2013 asking the court to review the constitutionality of the ban.
Under the English immersion curriculum, the school taught most subjects, such as mathematics and science, in English.
“The government’s instruction was designed to prevent parents’ excessive zeal over private education for English so that young children could grow as well-rounded people,” the court said. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/701431273726877696
https://twitter.com/John_F_Power/status/701431757074210818
It seems racist to me to have an anchor baby system for one race of migrant workers to South Korea, but not others. It would be interesting to see if other migrant workers could challenge such a system in court if it ever was implemented:
The tragedy reminded me of a controversial remark made by Kim Moo-sung, leader of the ruling Saenuri Party. At the seventh meeting of the party’s Special Committee on Low Birth on Jan. 29, Kim mentioned Germany’s acceptance of four million immigrants from Turkey. He said, “Korea has a great way to minimize culture shock. We can bring in ethnic Koreans from China.” He proposed that Chinese nationals of Korean descent could raise our plunging birth rate.
His remark was met with revulsion. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung criticized Kim, saying, “The Korean-Chinese are not machines for giving birth.” The National Women’s Committee of the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea pointed out that “Kim’s comment is disparaging to the Korean-Chinese people and Korean citizens, and that shows his wrong view on women.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link.
Culture: ‘Red money’ from China flowing into Korea's content industry-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily https://t.co/qK12gGZThF
— The Korea JoongAng Daily (@JoongAngDaily) February 11, 2016
The President of the Korean state run English channel Arirang TV appears to have been enjoying some lavish meals on the Korean taxpayer’s dime:
The president of the state-run English broadcaster Arirang TV was accused Monday of fiddling his expenses on an overseas trip, including a lavish caviar meal.
Rep. Choi Min-hee of the main opposition Minjoo Party said Bang Suk-ho, president of Arirang TV, used a corporate credit card to pay for personal expenses during a business trip to New York City last September. Bang traveled to the United States to cover President Park Geun-hye’s address at the United Nations General Assembly, which Arirang aired live.
According to Choi’s office, Bang spent $930 at a restaurant specializing in caviar in New York City on Sept. 24, the first day of his trip, and later expensed the meal, saying it was a meeting with the head of the Korean Cultural Service in New York City.
On Sept. 27, 2015, Bang visited the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets shopping mall in Central Valley, New York, and used his corporate credit card for food. He expensed that meal saying that it was a meeting with Seo Sok-min, an official at the United Nations headquarters.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper, both officials denied sharing meals with Bang or even meeting him.
Arirang TV said Monday that Bang did not misappropriate corporate money during his New York City trip, but mistakes were made when the expenses were filed. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link.
Reading the details of this bomb found at Incheon International Airport makes it sound like this may have been more of a hoax then some warning from a Islamic extremist group. I am sure the ROK authorities are scouring over video footage to try and pin point who left the device and hopefully we will get answer soon:
Police said Saturday that they have found a warning message written in Arabic inside a box recently discovered at South Korea’s main airport that raised terror alarms in the country.
The message, which was written in Arabic on a sheet of paper half the size of A4, reads, “This is the last warning to you. God will punish.”
It was not a handwritten but a printed sentence with some grammatical errors, according to the police, who suspected that it could have been translated by a computer program or by a person whose Arabic skill is not that good.
The discovery was announced a day after the police found a box suspected to contain explosive devices in a men’s bathroom in Incheon International Airport.
The area was cordoned off, but no explosives or detonators were found, just with two butane canisters and one bottled water taped to it.
Also found inside the box, along with the warning message, were guitar strings, electric cords, batteries and some pieces of vegetables, the police said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
Marmot's Hole Podcast: South Korea World #1 For Innovation https://t.co/WIIgxKEXme
— koreabridge (@koreabridge) January 28, 2016
It will be interesting to see who Korean-Americans support in this year’s Presidential election. Hopefully it is now for someone who wants the tried and failed policy of engaging North Korea and receiving little to nothing in return:
The U.S. presidential election in November is expected to be like no other. As the flamboyant candidates are currently challenging one another on a range of issues from immigration to foreign policy, many say that this year’s race is expected to be pivotal not only for Americans, but also for Koreans as well.
A prominent Korean-American political activist says it will also be significant for Koreans in Korea.
“Eligible Korean voters living in the U.S. have the capacity to have an influence on Washington’s various policies that directly affect Korea,” said Kim Dong-suk, founder and chairman of New York-based Korean American Civic Empowerment (KACE), in an interview. “In that sense, this year will be a turning point for all of us.”
He said that the ethnic minority vote will become an increasingly decisive factor in changing the outcome of U.S. elections, which means American politicians must appeal to people in all Asian communities, including Koreans. [Korea Times]
I would hope the majority of Korean-Americans are not thinking like this:
Paul Lee, chairman of the Bergen County Republican Committee (KARC), based in New Jersey, agrees that the election should be an opportunity for the Korean Peninsula to get the “fair analysis it deserves.”
“The U.S. is now talking to Cuba and Iran,” said Lee, who heads the committee that is under the umbrella of a local Republican party organization. “Is North Korea that much more crazy? Have we really made an effort to end the war in Korea? Whoever wins the White House, whether they’re a Republican or Democrat, they need to tackle the North Korea issue.”
North Korea is not crazy, but the Kim regime is definitely more oppressive and dangerous than the Iranians or Cubans. Also has Mr. Lee not been paying attention to all the overture to North Korea that have gone no where other then providing free goodies to the Kim regime to allow them to further their nuclear and ballistic missile programs?
