Category: Uncategorized

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.

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.

The Marine Corps is usually a step ahead of the Army and their recent decision to suspend their weight control program during combat is another example of this:

A recent order from headquarters at Quantico, Va., says overweight Marines sent to Iraq can be exempt from the Corps’ rigid weight-loss program, which requires frequent weigh-ins, extra physical training and “Semper Fit” lectures about nutrition.

Under an order issued before Christmas, commanders are allowed to exempt their troops in Iraq from what is usually a six-month program.

What else I like about the Marines’ weight control program is that soldiers that score well on their physical fitness test can get an increased body fat percentage. The Army does not take Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores into consideration with the current weight control program. I have seen many good soldiers in the Army get administratively seperated from the military even though they scored well on the APFT. In today’s military I think it is better to have a good chunky soldier than no soldier at all.

Plus in a combat situation often times you do not have time to do physical training or on a camp that you cannot do physical training anyway if you had the time because you have to constantly carry your weapon and wear body armor. So the Marines have definitely made a common sense decision. The Army is usually 6 months to a year behind the Marines Corps so I’m sure policies will eventually change in the Army to.

So which of my readers can pass the Marine Corps height/weight standards? I’m 6’3 and 213 pounds so I would be alright in the Marine Corps.

Not to be out done by the Marine Corps in taxi cab related incidents, 2ID has stepped up to the plate again and executed the mother of all taxi cab related incidents:

Kim said he agreed to let five men squeeze into his cab about 11 p.m. Sunday. They said they’d give a good tip for a ride to Stanley, the driver said Tuesday.

Kim agreed to take the men for 15,000 won, or about $15; the metered fare for that ride usually is about 6,000 won, he said. As Kim got close to a turnoff for Camp Stanley, the passengers, saying they had a Christmas party to attend, told him to stay on his current route. As they got further from town, Kim said, he began to worry.

“But it was Christmas,” he remembered thinking, and he kept following their directions. Then some of the passengers asked him to pull over so they could urinate, Kim said. When three left the car, the two others put him in a headlock and began to beat him with a bottle and their fists, he said.

The passengers took Kim’s cell phone and 180,000 won — about $180 — from his wallet and taxi, then put him in the trunk, he said. When one of the passengers began to drive, Kim said, he decided to run. His Hyundai Sonata taxi has a release lever inside the trunk, he said. While the cab was moving, he opened the trunk, leapt out and began to run. “I just ran and ran until I felt like dying,” he said through a translator.

He ran until he got to a Korean police office near Camp Stanley. He told the police what happened and described the five suspects. The passengers continued to drive for about half a mile, then got out and hailed another cab, said Kwon O-hyun, the detective in charge of violent crimes for Uijeongbu police. That taxi took them back to the Uijeongbu station, Kwon said.

Korean police throughout Uijeongbu were looking for five men. Police spotted the men at the station, Kwon said. By 11:40 p.m., the Korean police had apprehended one man. Kim, who had gone to a nearby hospital to be examined, went to the police station to identify the man, he said.

This is by far the most outrageous taxi cab related incident yet. Let’s go through this story step by step. He is one of the taxi cab drivers that wait for soldiers at the bottom steps of Uijongbu station and the extra $9 is not a tip but the typical extortion of GI’s by the cab drivers in Uijongbu. If you don’t believe go to the steps at Uijongbu station and try to get a ride by the metered fair.

The units these guys belong to are based on Camp Casey which leads me to believe they were not familar with the area because they could have walked over to the taxi stand area across from the station and the cab drivers there will usually give you the metered fair if you can speak a little Korean.

These guys probably were down in Itaewon partying because no train from Dongducheon runs at 11PM. Now what would lead these five soldiers to rob the cab driver? Maybe they ran out of money to get to Camp Casey and didn’t want to be late for curfew, so they rob the cabbie.

Now the next question that needs to be determined is why did these soldiers go back to the Uijongbu train station after committing the crime? They know he got out of the trunk and ran away, so obviously he would have gone straight to the police. So why go to the most visible place in all of Uijongbu, the train station, after committing the crime knowing that there are cops all around the train station and they are probably looking for you?

Maybe you can blame it on being drunk, but usually committing a crime sobers you up really quick. Maybe since they are from Camp Casey they went to the train station to get a train to Dongducheon because they were not on pass. However, the last train to Dongducheon leaves at 9:45PM. You would think they would have checked the schedule before leaving the station the first time. If they took this guy’s money; why didn’t they just pay another taxi cab driver to take them back to Dongducheon instead?

If these soldiers did in fact commit the crime as described by the cab driver they are by far one of the stupidest criminals in 2ID history. Maybe 2ID needs to create a Hall of Shame at the 2ID musuem on CRC to recognize 2ID stupidest criminals.

This whole story is just extremely strange even by 2ID standards, so I’m going to hold judgement until more facts come out. If people know more facts about this from the Korean media please feel free to comment on it.

One thing is for sure though; the cab driver is going to play this one out for all it’s worth:

Kim, who is 42 and has driven a taxi for seven years in Uijeongbu, was being treated at the hospital Tuesday afternoon. He said he has fatigue and headaches and his neck is swollen. He also said he’s afraid to sleep at night.

He is supposed to meet with a counselor within the next week, he said, and on Wednesday he was to meet with the military’s Criminal Investigation Division.

He said he didn’t know when he would return to work but when he did he would think twice before picking up U.S. soldiers. But, he acknowledged, he needs the American customers — typically big tippers — to make ends meet.

I don’t think he means Americans are big tippers, but big suckers. I have no doubt Mr. Kim will be back working the steps of Uijongbu Station in no time at all.

Some people may be getting some unwanted text messages real soon as Korea decides to send indictment messages through cell phone text messaging:

In a country where about 75 percent of the population carries mobile phones, prosecutors felt it was time to move away from sending legal notices on paper and send them electronically instead, said Lee Young-pyo, an administrative official.

Other notices that will be sent by text messages include information on fines and penalties.

This is a great innovation because this means the authorities can just text message Dr. Hwang with indictment messages the next time he goes into hiding at a mental hospital or Buddhist temple.

Via the Japundit, here is how Nomad may finally be able to get those abs at 45 courtesy of Korea’s very own Dancing UFO:

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