Happy New Year from Jeongdongin Beach, South Korea
The Chosun Ilbo is running an article listing their top stories of 2005. Here they are with my comments of course:
1. The Hwang Woo-suk Debacle – (Definitely the biggest story for Korea this year.)
2. North Korea Admits to Nuclear Arms; Six-Party Talks Resume – (Yawn)
3. Killing Spree at Guard Post – (Big wake up call for the ROK Army and the government)
4. Sixth Consecutive World Cup Qualification – (No mention of the coaching change?)
5. The Secret-Service Bugging Scandal – (Korea’s own wiretapping scandal.)
6. Constitutional Court Rules for Administrative City – (Residents in Jonju are being relocated for national security reasons and no one is complaining, USFK relocates to Pyoengtaek for national security reasons and the activist groups come out in force to protest.)
7. The Cheonggye Stream Restored – (May seem like a small thing in western country, but a big deal here.)
8. Three Divisive Laws – (I think the melee in the legislature made more news than the laws themselves.)
9. Stock Prices Hit the Roof – (Yet everyone is pessimistic about the economy.)
10. The Ruling Party in Crisis – (Thank God!)
North Korea Renegs On 6 Way Talks Deal (1): A day after issuing a joint statement, North Korea changes their mind and demands light water reactors again. US officials are angered, while I don’t think anyone in the K-blogosphere was surprised.
Charles Jenkins Speaks Out (1): The world learned about life inside North Korea through former US Army deserter Charles Jenkins who returned from 35 years of living in the North. He also dropped a bombshell by claiming that North Korea still had captives from other countries while simultaneously showing the world his farmer tan.
Campaign Against North Korean Defectors (1)(2): It is bad enough the Chinese and the North Koreans are trying to stop defectors from the North but now the South Korean government is also actively trying to stop defectors. With all the challenges the defectors keep coming.
Human Rights Summit In Seoul (1): This summit has begun to lay the groundwork for holding North Korea accountable for their deplorable human rights situation.
Food Aid Stops To North Korea (1): The US and the World Food Program stop all food aid to North Korea due to the North Koreans not allowing proper monitoring of the aid.
Ric Flair On North Korea (1): The famous wrestler has a lot of interesting things to say about a wrestling trip to North Korea.
Unification Minister Needs a Muzzle (1): Chung once again blames the US for all of Korea’s woes. I wish this guy would shut up, I’d rather listen to Ric Flair.
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I hope everyone enjoyed this look back at 2005. I expect an eventful year next year as well. Once again Happy New Year!
Dokto Madness (1)(2)(3): The madness over Dokto continued in full force in 2005. It continued enough that even I got in on it as well.
Yasukuni Nonsense Continues (1)(2): Prime Minister Koizumi continues to aggravate his childish neighbors by visiting the highly biased memorial that honors war criminals and white washes history. How do I know this? I visited the shrine myself.
International Tug of War (1): The dispute over an illegal Korean fishing vessel shows how childish Korean and Japanese relations have become.
Remembering Hiroshima (1)(2): This year was the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan.
Textbook Flap (): The controversy over Japanese textbooks whitewashing history continued.
Daniel Hong Controversy (1)(2): An article in the Korea Times from Daniel Hong brought out much debate about expats and Korean-Americans.
Hollywood Bar Incident (1): The denial of service at the Hollywood bar to an African person created good debate about denying service to soldiers and people of different races in Itaewon.
Canadians On The Run (1): Attention for once shifted from GI’s to illegal Canadian English teachers. I offer advice of how to blend in as a GI.
Top 10 Gecko’s Pickup Lines (1): If you have been there you will find these funny.
Cheju’s Loveland (1): This tourist attraction on Cheju Island proved to be a hit in the K-blogosphere.
DMZ Shooting Rampage (1): A South Korean soldier goes on a rampage killing a number of his fellow soldiers. The rampage causes the Korean government to issue a huge cultural shift in the ROK Army.
South Korea Cuts Troops in Iraq (1): The Korean government decides to cut the Iraq troop deployment by a 1/3.
Zaytun Unit Reconstruction In Iraq (1): The ROK Army begins their great reconstruction project in Iraq, introducing modern toilets.
Soldiers Ambushed (1): Thugs ambushed two ROK Army soldiers and stole their weapons which led to a nation wide man hunt. The perpetrators were eventually arrested weeks later.
Korean Government Continues To Ignore Victims Families (1): The Korean government continues to neglect the families of the sailors killed in a pre-meditated 2002 attack on South Korean naval ships by the North Korean navy in an effort to create tensions during the 2002 World Cup.
KATUSA’s Allowed To Wear Taeguki (1): KATUSA soldiers serving with US soldiers were allowed to wear the Korean flag on their uniforms after a decision was made to have American soldiers wear the US flag on their uniforms.
Relocation Protests and Violence (1): Violent protests against relocating US forces to Camp Humphreys creates Braveheart style battles between protesters and Korean riot police.
Taxi Cab Related Incidents (1)(2)(2): A scourge of taxi cab related incidents and other acts of indiscipline plague USFK all year.
Osan Shakedown Scandal (1): An Air Force lieutenant in charge of the town patrol is convicted for corruption and a host of other crimes involving the shakedown of local bar owners for money and sex.
Human Trafficking Campaign (1)(2)(3): USFK and Korean police campaign against prostitution has mixed results and much controversy. Would families curve prostitution and what about the economic damage?
Fatal Vehicle Accident (1)(2): This had the potential of blowing up on USFK but the fatal accident was well handled and the family accepted the soldiers apology. This didn’t stop anti-US protesters from taking advantage of the situation to push their own causes though.
USFK To Become USFJ? (1): Rumors continue to swirl about USFK being pulled off the peninsula to Japan.
Black Marketing Campaign(1): USFK started an agressive campaign this year to curb black marketing which included a number of arrests with mixed results.
Camp Closure (1): Some look at it as a sign of USFK transformation and others as the beginning of a pullout. Either way USFK saw camps Page, Essayons, Sears, Falling Water, and Kyle all close this year.
Tsunami Relief Deployment (1): USFK soldier deployed to Indonesia to help with tsunami relief in the disaster stricken region.
Pro-US Rallies On The Rise (1): Many pro-American groups fed up with the violent protests from Korea’s far left have begun mobilizing to counter the communist sympathizers.
War Time Command Issue (1): The US and Korea agree to explore giving the ROK Army war time command of US forces. Yeah, right.
Army Officer Raped (1): A Korean man robbed and raped a female US Army officer in Daegu at her off post apartment. The perpetrator is still at large.
Anjung-ri Business Owners Square Off Against Camp Humphreys’ Officials (1): A number of business owners outside of Camp Humphreys raised a banner demanding that the camp commander go back to Afghanistan after a number of establishments were put off limits.
USFK Crime Rape Drops (1): You wouldn’t know it due to the bias media in Korea but the USFK crime rate has drop significantly.
Apache Helicopter Crash (1): An apache helicopter went down during a training exercise killing one soldier.
Yongsan Garrison Scam (1): A scam by a Korean woman signing people onto Yongsan Garrison to gamble netted this woman $1.2 Million before getting caught. How many have been doing this that haven’t been caught?
USFK Will Not Deploy Regionally (1): The US put to rest any concerns from Seoul that USFK would be used in regional conflicts without Korea’s permission.
UN Cemetery In Pusan Vandalized (1): Anti-US scumbags spray vandalize the graves of US soldiers killed during the Korean War buried in Pusan.
False Marriage Proposal (1): CRC soldier makes headlines with his false marriage proposal to Korean woman.
Asking The US To Leave (1): Is it time for the US to get out of Korea with activists blaming the US for everything wrong in the country?
Camp Kwangsa-ri Man Swindle US for Thousands (1): A Korean worker on camp Kwangsa-ri embezzled hundred of thousands of dollars from the ammunition depot.
Stem Cell Controversy (1): Dr. Hwang was turned into a legendary hero and a international disgrace over the course of the last year. The country is still reeling from the aftershocks of this scandal.
North Korea Officially Declares It Has Nukes (1): North Korea put all the guessing to rest about their nuclear program by officially coming clean and declaring themselves a nuclear state.
South Korean Human Rights Vote (1): South Korea abstains from UN vote to condemn North Korea’s human rights conditions while previously condemning other countries. Belarus challenges Korea’s hippocrisy.
South Korean Aid to North Korea Continues (1): South Korea continues to give ridiculous amounts of aid to North Korea. The North’s military needs to get their food and clothing from somewhere I guess.
Cheongyecheon Steam Opens (1)(2): The brain child of Seoul’s Mayor Lee Myung-bak becomes an extremely popular attraction in Seoul and catapults Lee to presidential front runner.
Hong Kong Riots (1): South Korean farmers are arrested for rioting during a protest against the WTO at Hong Kong.
Typhoon Nabi (1): Typhoon primarily hit Japan and Southeastern Korea the hardest before making land fall on Korea’s isolated Ullong-do Island one of my favorite places in all of Korea.
Robert Kim Returns to Korea (1): The Korean-American scumbag that spied for the Korean government returns to a heros’ welcome in Korea.
Korean Press Secretary Puts Foot In Her Mouth (1): The Korean Press Secretary suggests that there is little anti-Americanism in Korea.
PETA Protesters (1): Now these are protests that I can get into. Bikini clad activists protest for animal rights in Seoul.
Ms. Asia Contest (1): Korea finishes second at the Ms. Asia contest. The Chinese winner is absolutely gorgeous.
Koreans Married To Foreigners (1): In a shocker it was discovered that 10% of Koreans were married to a foreigner.
Korean Gas Crisis (1): Studies show that Korea has a farting problem.
Elephants Run Wild In Seoul (1): A stampede of elephants that escaped from a zoo causes property damage and injuries in Seoul.
The Ugly Korean? (1): A Hong Kong airport disturbance tarnishes Korea’s image abroad.
With the New Year just around the corner I have decided to do a look back at the news stories that mattered enough in Korea in 2005 for me to blog about them right here on GI Korea. It was an eventful year with the Stem Cell controversy highlighting a year, featuring many violent riots and protests, USFK transformation and tsunami relief operations, plus a host of other happenings that make Korea the land of endless blogging material. So enjoy this look back and feel free to comment on something you think I should have included or not. Happy New Years!
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US-Korea Postings That Mattered:
MacArthur Statue Controversy (1)(2)(3): Communist rioters try to tear down MacArthur statue in Inchon while veterans defend the statue. Korean government fails to condemn rioters while US Congressmen and the British Embassy condemn the protests.
The Falling US Dollar (1): The falling US dollar earlier this year was putting a lot less Korean Won for beer drinking in soldiers and expats pockets.
President Bush Attends APEC Meeting (1): President Bush attended the APEC meeting in Pusan admit tight Korean security. APEC meeting executed smoothly by Korean government.
Korean Visa Waiver Issue (1): An important issue with Koreans is trying to get the US government to implement the Visa waiver program for Korean nationals.
Microsoft Anti-trust Case in Korea (1): US software maker agrees to settlement in anti-trust suit.
Here is another indication that relations between Washington and Beijing continue to improve:
Chinese officials have agreed to consider a U.S. request to search military archives that could yield clues to the fate of missing Korean War servicemen possibly held by China, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.
Beijing was “optimistic that a way could be found to access the documents,†the embassy said in a statement.
China also will help organize local support for U.S. investigations at sites where the remains of U.S. airmen from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War might be found, it said. The probes should take place next year, it said.
The Chinese military ran prisoner-of-war camps in North Korea after intervening in the war in October 1950 to push U.S.-led United Nations forces back from the Yalu River separating China and North Korea. The Pentagon has said it has information that China took some U.S. POWs into China during the war.
Relatives of missing servicemen welcomed the news of China’s decision with wary optimism.
This is really good news that Beijing is going to allow US investigator to tap their archives to look for missing US POW’s. Hopefully, cooperation like this between the US and China can help find out what happened to the missing Korean War POW’s to finally give these families closure on what happened to their loved one over 50 years ago.
