Category: Korea-General Topics

The doctor behind the recent stem cell forgery scandal in South Korea has now officially stepped down from his position at Seoul National University after the university released it’s first report confirming the stem cell forgery:

South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk resigned from his university on Friday after the school said he fabricated stem-cell research that had raised hopes of new cures for hard-to-treat diseases.

A university panel, releasing initial findings of a probe, accused Hwang of damaging the scientific community with his deception, while South Korea’s government rued the scandal surrounding the country’s star scientist and said it may pull its funding for his research.

“I sincerely apologize to the people for creating a shock and disappointment,” Hwang told reporters as he was leaving his office at Seoul National University, considered the country’s top institution of higher learning.

“With an apologetic heart … I step down as professor,” he said.

It is really amazing how far this guy has fallen in such a short time. Just two months ago Dr. Hwang was the toast of Korea. He was hyped to demigod status by the Korean media and government for his ground breaking research. Now he is a national shame and dissapointment. This is not stopping him from trying to play the nationalism card though:

However, Hwang still maintained that he had produced the technology to create patient-matched stem cells as he claimed in a May article in the journal Science.

“I emphasize that patient-specific stem cells belong to South Korea and you are going to see this,” said Hwang, a veterinarian.

This guy and Robert Kim can both hang out and share playing to Korean nationalism one liners.

Make sure you check out Marmot’s take on this.

Using a tried and true technique to avoid responsibility for their own criminal activity, the Korean rioters from the Hong Kong WTO riots are now accusing the Hong Kong authorities of police brutality:

Kong have claimed police there fired rubber bullets in the attempt to quell the demonstration. Hong Kong police arrested hundreds of Koreans for staging illegal protests during the WTO Ministerial Meeting there last week. Most have

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Democratic Labor Party lawmaker Kang Ki-kap said Wednesday one of the arrested, Kang Seung-kyu, told him he was hit in the thigh by a round black rubber projectile measuring 4 cm across.

Two other Korean protesters were shot by rubber bullets but kept this quiet for fear of being thought of as hooligans, the opposition lawmaker said.

The Korean Consul-General in Hong Kong Cho Hwan-bok said police there told him they only used tear gas to quell the protests and had no orders to fire rubber bullets, but they promised to check whether rubber bullets were nonetheless used. Hong Kong police is to fire rubber bullets only when protests turn into riots.

I would say assaulting policemen with metal pipes, attacking the US Consulate, and setting cars on fire is enough to be considered a riot. I know in South Korea that is considered a peaceful protest, but in the rest of the world that is considered a riot. They ought to feel lucky that the Chinese authorities didn’t go Tianamen on them and use real bullets.

The Hong Kong authorities have finally decided they have had enough of the Korean protesters disrupting the WTO summit in Hong Kong. Is it any wonder that the Hong Kong police arrested them when they committed actions like this:

Altogether 1,400 South Korean activists took part in the protests against the opening of agricultural markets near Hong Kong’s Wan Chai that turned violent when protesters attempted to overturn police vehicles at around 5:30 p.m. Half an hour later, protesters armed with iron pipes wrested from police barricades faced off with police near the Hong Kong Convention Center, where the WTO meet was held. Seventeen policemen and 67 protesters were injured in the clashes.

Where did they get the iron pipes? Was that part of their carry on luggage? Anyway, destroying property and injuring policemen may be okay in Korea, but Hong Kong has taken a stand against it:

Some 600 Korean farmers and trade union activists were arrested on Sunday after all-night violent protests in Hong Kong during the WTO Ministerial Meeting there. Hong Kong police used tear gas for the first time since anti-British riots in 1967, and used armored vehicles to stop the rioters. It was the first mass arrest of Koreans abroad.

I say good for Hong Kong and hope these protesters meet Chinese justice. However, the Korean Foreign Ministry is trying to get these protesters off the hook:

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said it began contacting the Hong Kong authorities to seek a “smooth” settlement of the case.

“It is very regrettable for the rallies to turn violent and that many were arrested. There are concerns (South Korea’s) image will be tainted worldwide, including in Hong Kong,” a ministry official said, requesting anonymity.

The ministry plans to ask Hong Kong not to refer the detained Korean protesters to a court, he said.

It appears that the Hong Kong police have different ideas:

Hong Kong police officials said they would prosecute the Korean protesters according to Hong Kong’s ordinance. The law hands out prison terms of up to five years to those engaged in unauthorized demonstrations and up to 14 years to those who damage facilities during protests.

I say give them jail time and those responsible for injuring policemen and destroying property should get even more jail time. Just deporting them back to Korea will not stop this activity from happening again. It will only encourage it. Just look at the property damage and serious injuries protesters within South Korea continue to cause.

South Korean farmers have rioted today in Hong Kong in response to the WTO meeting there. The farmers are rioting because of the WTO attempt to open the South Korean rice market:

Many South Korean farmers are desperate to have their view against globalization and imports heard at the WTO.

They are opposed lower trade barriers for agricultural imports, which they claim would flood the South Korean market with cheap rice and force many of the country’s farmers out of business. It is a view shared by many anti-globalization groups in other countries.

South Korean demonstrators in Hong Kong attempted to break through a barrier marking the designated protest zone, CNN Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy reported.

When they failed, the group of about 1,000 to 1,500 split into smaller groups of about a dozen and spread out over several square blocks in a cat-and-mouse game with police, then reassembled closer to the exhibition center where talks are being held and began to push forward.

Police holding riot shields and wearing gas masks tried pepper spray and fire hoses to keep the demonstrators back, then fired tear-gas canisters — a nearly unheard-of tactic in normally civilized Hong Kong.

These tactics should be very familiar for people who follow events in Korea. However, according Hong Kong based blog Simon World that has been providing great coverage of the WTO protests these tactics are being criticized by other peaceful protesters in Hong Kong:

Protesters are complaining of being upstaged by South Korean demonstrators, a leading international activist says. Protesters who had not taken part in demonstrations with the Koreans had complained of “grandstanding” to the detriment of other causes, she said.

I am all for freedom of speech and the right to protest, but I strongly believe that protesters do not have the right to harm policemen or destroy property. This tactic is commonly used here in Korea and now is being exported to Hong Kong.

I have to question why Hong Kong authorities do not arrest the South Korean protesters? Here is a hint when a South Korean shows up at the airport with his red bandanna and flags I would assume he is not on a business trip. At least I haven’t seen any bamboo poles yet.

Just for the record I actually support the rice farmers but not their tactics. IMHO I think that every WTO country should be able to protect two industries vital to national security which for South Korea the rice industry would be one.

I haven’t said anything about the whole Dr. Hwang stem cell mess that has brewing the last few weeks in Korea because I figured I would wait until the whole truth comes out before commenting on it. Finally it appears the truth has come out and Dr. Hwang has in fact faked his stem cell research:

New allegations of fabricated research by Korean scientist and national icon Dr. Hwang Woo Suk broadcast in the last hour on Korean nightly news have sent shock waves through the nation.

Hwang’s research team member Dr. Roh Sung Il told Korean broadcaster MBC, “No embryonic stem cells exist” in the research that was later published in the journal Science in June, 2005.

Roh told an MBC reporter that Kim Sun Jong, one of the team researchers dispatched to the University of Pittsburgh to work with U.S. scientist and paper co-author Prof. Gerald Schatten, said in a telephone conversation recently, “Dr. Hwang and Dr. Gang Sung Keun ordered me to fake the stem cell data.”

This is a huge blow to the morale of the entire Korean nation because so many people hyped Dr. Hwang’s research under the banner of nationalism and continued to defend him and demonize those who initially criticized his work.

When the first reports came out about him faking the data I always wondered why he didn’t let independent scientists validate his work to prove the detractors wrong. He never did and hid behind the banner of Korean nationalism by accusing foreign countries of trying to steal Korea’s stem cell technology. Now it turns out there was nothing to steal.

I can’t help but wonder why Dr. Hwang faked his research to begin with? It seems like it would be tough to maintain this lie indefinitely. Is this lie a product of the internationally low regard of Korean universities where officials were maybe eager for a ground breaking scientific achievement and may not have done enough to verify Hwang’s research? I’m sure there will be plenty of theories in the coming days and I’m sure the Marmot and Oranckay will be all over it.

What is really sad about this is that this whole situation is going to further create a negative stereotype on other stem cell scientists who are doing legitimate research in order to save and improve people’s lives.

I wonder when Koreans will learn there is plenty to be proud of in Korea and don’t need to always look for the next person who will bring glory to the Korean nation. The media built Dr. Hwang up just like they do everyone else that is some how connected to Korea and the public fell for the propaganda that Hwang was going to bring great glory finally to Korea. If this guy wasn’t so propagandized by the media and in turn the government the aftermath of this whole mess would not have been as ugly as this is turning out to be.

That’s right she is back, Nomad’s favorite, Christina Cho. Only this time she decided to take her show to Tokyo instead of Seoul:

Bikini-clad animal rights activists stand in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Tokyo on Thursday to protest against the treatment of chickens.

Activists protested against KFC suppliers’ “abusive treatment of chickens in factory farms and slaughterhouses”.

For those of you that just can’t get enough of Christina Cho she even has her own website, where you can buy her latest CD. That is right folks are PETA fanatic is also a wannabe diva. Nothing like a little publicity to sell some CD’s. I wonder if Nomad is getting his reserved right now?

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has caused a stir by by visiting the Yasukuni War Shrine in Tokyo yesterday:

China and South Korea protested angrily on Monday after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid homage at a Tokyo shrine for war dead that its neighbours consider a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past.

There were small demonstrations in Beijing, Hong Kong and Seoul, and Kyodo news agency reported that a meeting tentatively planned for later this week in Beijing between the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers would not take place.

Japan’s relations with Beijing and Seoul had already chilled because of the annual visits by Koizumi to Yasukuni shrine, where war criminals are honoured along with 2.5 million war dead.

The reaction from the Korean and Chinese governments were as expected:

But Chinese ambassador to Japan Wang Yi branded the visit a “grave provocation to the Chinese people”.

“There is no doubt that (the visit) will damage Japan-China relations,” Wang was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying after meeting with Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing called in Japan’s ambassador to China to express Beijing’s “strong indignation”, China’s Foreign Ministry said on its Web site.

Japan’s embassy in Beijing advised Japanese nationals to stay away from areas where there was potential for anti-Japan demonstrations, such as those that swept China earlier this year.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon summoned Japanese ambassador Shotaro Oshima to complain, and a presidential aide said President Roh Moo-hyun was unlikely to meet Koizumi for their semi-annual summit meeting this year.

“We strongly protest the visit to Yasukuni shrine despite our request and strongly urge that it is not repeated,” Ban said.

This whole Yasukuni BS is all about these politicians playing to nationalism to draw support. Chinese government deflects opposition to their own authoritarian rule by building up anti-Japanese sentiment while the ruling Korean government draws attention away from thier own unpopularity by playing to anti-Japanese sentiment. While Koizumi does the shrine visits to show his people that Japan will not be pushed around by whining neighbors. This is all politics, unless Koizumi did this to free up some time on his schedule by having the Koreans cancel the summit so he can play golf?

We learned before that using Korean chopsticks is great for improving your golf swing, making pottery, playing handball, and even doing a little embryonic stem cell cloning on the side. Well now we have also learned that another staple of Korean culture kimchi is also the cure for the current bird flu crisis:

Among the many miraculous properties attributed to the Korean staple side dish kimchi may be the ability to cure bird flu, Seoul National University scientists say. A research team lead by Prof. Kang Sa-ouk said Tuesday they created a food mixture containing a lactic ferment from kimchi that is effective against the avian flu and sent it to Indonesia, where the virus is rampant.

I willing to bet that only Korean made kimchi can cure the bird flu as well because Chinese kimchi has to much lead. Just like only Korean chopsticks can be used to improve your golf swing.

Mike Weisbart in the Korea Times has a good column on what VANK should be doing besides harrassing foreigners with their views of history:

I used to think the people from VANK had nothing better to do with their time. As you may know, VANK is the Volunteer Agency Network of Korea, the organization endearingly dedicated to promoting a positive image of the country. They’re the ones who started up that big sleuth campaign on the internet, asking people to hunt around looking for mistakes that foreigners make when referring to Korea

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A better priority would be to convince your lawmakers to stop acting like a bunch of Neanderthals. Few things hurt the reputation of this country more than images beamed around the world of legislators slugging it out at the National Assembly.

Yes, that’s right, there was yet another nasty incident in the National Assembly the other day. This time it was the would-be champions of a closed rice market who did their best to make Korea look bad.

He is absolutely right. I talk to people back in the US and they don’t ask me about the East Sea or Dokto; they ask me about the fist fight in the Korean parliament or the violent anti-American riots they saw on the news. This is what is killing the country’s image, not someone calling the East Sea the Sea of Japan.

Oh My News’ latest article from Hong Euntaek who travels around America and writes stories about what a bad place America is has chosen now to write about America’s casinos. He doesn’t like the casino culture in America and is also concerned about the amount of Asians that gamble at these establishments. However, when I read this paragraph I had to laugh:

Casinos in Korea have been available solely for foreign tourists or American military personnel. Korean celebrities who sneak into casinos in American military compounds are often caught by photographers and subject to public humiliation. So they would rather head for a safe casino in the U.S. if they have time. At a glance, I’d say that more than half the patrons in the Pechanga casino hall were Asians. It was strange to hear people speaking in Korean, like “The cards are not good,” or “Give it up.”

Why should the celebrities feel shamed? Regular Koreans are doing the same thing. Go to any American military base and the areas set a side for gambling are filled with Korean nationals, not mention the golf courses as well.