Category: Uncategorized

Korea is planning on becoming a player in the space industry.

South Korea officials vowed March 4, 2005 to make space exploration a priority this year by pushing for the creation of an aerospace authority in Seoul and safety guidelines for future forays into orbit.

Aerospace industry analysts said a domestic program could fuel a mini-boom in South Korea’s aerospace and electronics industry if the government opts to build a rocket from the ground up instead of buying the technology from nations with existing launch programs.

This announcement may actually only be a warning to the North Koreans.

John Pike, a space industry analyst in Washington, D.C., said he was skeptical about South Korea’s ability to keep pace with Japan and China, and said the announcement may be aimed at North Korea. South Korea’s space talk follows speculation this week that Pyongyang is poised to resume testing its missile program.

I doubt the Koreans would use their space program as a cover to build missiles to attack North Korea with because Korea can already rely on the US military to use their air capabilities to bomb North Korea, if hostilities were ever to break out. I also doubt that this is a legitimate business venture that South Korea hopes to make money with. I don’t thik Korea will do much with their program besides launching a satellite into orbit. Korea can feel some national pride however if they launch a satellite into orbit. This is probably what all this is about, national pride of being able to launch a satellite into space. I for one doubt Korea will ever put their own ajushi in space but I can see them maybe sending someone up to space on a NASA or Russian flight in the future. But who knows maybe one day we will see ajushi flying in the Hyundai1000 rocket into space.

Just got out of the field and once again I always find it amusing how different going to the field and training in Korea is compared to be stationed back in the US. It really is a cultural shock for soldiers who have spent the majority of their careers in the US and have never been stationed in Korea.

The first big difference is the lack of training land in Korea. This is something that can’t be helped due to the size of the country. Then there are the convoys on public roads to get from one place to another. In the states you would never have a tank driving through the middle of a densely populated city. Here it is common place. The training areas in the US are located adjacent to the army post. Here the training areas are miles away. It literally takes an hour or more to do a convoy brief here before you roll out due to the strict safety requirements. There are no safer convoys than 2ID convoys.

Then there are the civilians that just walking around the training lands picking vegetables or fishing or whatever else they are doing. Training lands in the US are strictly off limits to civilians where here it is not as tightly controlled. Because of this units at night wire themselves in triple strand concertina wire to keep “slicky boy” out which is the common GI slang term for a thief. “Slicky Boy” usually tries to steal Night Vision Goggles and soldiers gear. Especially sleeping bags and Gortex jackets because they get the most money for them. In the states you don’t have to worry about even bringing concertina wire.

Then the most notable and most welcome difference between going to the field in Korea compared to the US is “Ajumma’s Tent.” Ajumma’s Tent is always an old army tent that houses an older Korean woman that cooks food such as ramyon, fried rice, and bulgoki for the soldiers for a price. The price is usually pretty expensive. For example a bowl of bulgoki is $5 and then throw in a soda for another $1 and that is a $6 meal. Plus ajumma sells other things like phone cards and snacks for the soldiers which brings in more revenue. It is safe to say that ajumma makes a fortune in the field here. I don’t know if ajumma has a union or what but all the tents serve the same thing for the same price to ensure there is no competition for cheaper prices. Additionally ma’s tent serves as a place for soldiers to get warm and sit down and play cards and relax for a little while. Ajumma’s Tent is definitely a phenomenom unique to Korea. But I’m not complaining.

It looks like things may be getting stinky in Yongsan.

Tuition assistance money has dried up, and garbage is still piled up here as military officials face depleted accounts before the budget year is halfway over, according to the peninsula?s top enlisted soldier.

?Right now, funding is tight because of the global war on terrorism,? U.S. Forces Korea Command Sgt. Maj. Troy Welch said Friday morning during his monthly radio call-in show. Tuition money ?for the second quarter has been exhausted,? he said.

I understand budget cuts but I wouldn’t think stopping trash pickup would be one of them.

The city of Pyongtaek located near Camp Humphrey’s is now preparing for the new 2ID soldiers that will arrive at the camp in the next three years.

Last week, city officials kicked off the early development phases of “Peace City,” a massive complex that will eventually include schools for foreigners, hospitals, entertainment centers and administrative buildings.

Under deals reached between the U.S. and South Korean governments, American military bases will be consolidated into two hubs — one in Pyongtaek, the other further south in the Taegu area.

Korean developers and civic leaders are fleshing out plans on how to ensure this relatively rural city keeps pace with an expanded U.S. military hub at nearby Camp Humphreys.

Hopefully this move will be planned out well before the soldiers begin moving south.

I have been in the field for the past week for the major 2ID training exercise currently going on. I got some momentary access to the internet to update you on the Apache crash. Unfortunately the one survivor from the crash, CW2 Cowan has past away. The first casualty CPT Burmaz I actually met a few months back at a division function. He seemed to be a really good guy. I’m sorry to see this happen. Here is an update on the crash from the Stars and Stripes.

1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment commander Lt. Col. Chandler Sherrell spoke Wednesday at Yongsan?s South Post Chapel during a memorial for Cowan and fellow pilot Capt. Dion J. Burmaz, who died Saturday after their helicopter crashed at Twin Bridges Training Area near the Demilitarized Zone.

The fallen aviators, who served with 1-2?s Company A, the ?Razorbacks,? gave their lives ?so our children can grow up in a free country,? Sherrell said.

The Twin Bridges training area is one of the most heavily used training areas in 2ID located about 8km south of the DMZ. It is a valley with rugged mountains on each side. It is not the first time an accident has happened here. The army and especially being a helicopter pilot, is definitely a dangerous business.

I will blog more when I back from the field next week.

I thought this was pretty cool that the Kangnam district of Seoul is dedicating Daemo Mountain in honor of 8th Army and planting trees to commemorate the combat fatalities that the 2BCT has taken in Iraq.

A city district here plans to rename a section of parkland near Daemo Mountain after the U.S. 8th Army and to plant 1,000 trees to honor the relationship between Koreans and Americans, according to officials from the Army and Gangnam District.

The April 1 ceremony also will honor the American servicemembers who have died in Iraq after deploying from South Korea last year, according to Maj. Iris Cowher, who heads the Good Neighbor Program for 8th Army.

Make sure to check out this month’s Ulsan Pear. This month’s issue focuses on love in Korea. If you have ever wondered about those Korean tea girls and barber shops well this month’s issue is your chance to find out what they do.

More good stuff from Dr. Andrei Lankov in the Asia Times. His latest article focuses on who is being kidnapped and why by the North Koreans over the years.

The first known interception of a fishing ship took place in May 1955. The most recent incident happened in 1987, when 12 South Koreans became prisoners in the North. During subsequent interceptions the crews were always repatriated.

Generally North Korean authorities wanted to utilize the knowledge and skills of their abductees. Of course, the fishermen hardly had access to valuable intelligence, but they still could be trained as spies and sent back to the South. They were also used for training North Korean intelligence operatives. Better-educated people could be employed by the institutions responsible for waging propaganda campaigns against the South in, say, their broadcast facilities.

The article concludes by explaining why the South Korean government cares little about the abductees.

But one cannot help but wonder why not much is heard about the abduction issue in Seoul. After all, there have been fewer than 60 Japanese abductees – even if one believes the highest available estimate. Nonetheless, the issue is central to Japanese politics and stirs high emotions in Tokyo. Meanwhile, only family members and some right-wing groups seem to care about South Koreans who disappeared in Pyongyang. What’s the matter?

This reflects the general approach to the North in present-day South Korea. The abduction issue used to be much cited by the official propaganda of the military regimes in the 1960s and 1970s, but middle-aged Koreans are seriously (and, one suspects, incurably) allergic to anything that reminds them of this propaganda. The political left, which increasingly dominates South Korean internal discourse, is remarkably positive toward the North. The logic is simple: if one raises uncomfortable issues with the North, this is unlikely to help, but will make things more complicated instead.

Interesting reading that is worth checking out.

A US Apache helicopter went down Friday night during a training exercise. Here is the report from Yonhap News.

U.S. Apache helicopter crashed into a hill in northern South Korea Saturday, killing one crewmember and critically injuring another, a spokesperson for the U.S. military said.

The two soldiers belong to the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Aviation Brigade of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division which is deployed just south of the heavily-armed border with North Korea. Seoul is only 50 kilometers away from the border.

Helicopter crashes are not all that uncommon here in South Korea partly due to the rugged geography. I’ll keep everyone informed as details become available on this.

The teacher that allowed these anti-American letter from sixth graders to be sent to a US Army private stationed at Camp Casey should be held accountable.

A New York City school official, red-faced over Brooklyn sixth-graders who slammed a GI with anti-Iraq-war letters, said Tuesday they are sending the 20-year-old private a letter of apology.

He declined to comment on whether he read the rants before passing them along, but said he planned to contact Jacobs soon to explain.

Before sending off letters like this the teacher should read them to ensure they are tasteful. Here is an excerpt from one of the letters, I don’t think this is to tasteful:

In an accompanying letter to Jacobs, Kunhardt said the students “come from a variety of backgrounds and political beliefs, but unanimously support the bravery and sacrifice of American soldiers around the world.”

One girl wrote that she believes Jacobs is “being forced to kill innocent people” and challenged him to name an Iraqi terrorist, concluding, “I know I can’t.”

With a passage like that it is clear somebody has been coaching these kids and they didn’t just come up with this crap themselves. If you don’t like the US military that is your right but don’t go and send mass mailings especially from sixth graders to bash a soldier with. A soldier has nothing to do with creating policy. Send your hate mail to policy makers in Washington DC if you don’t like the Iraq War or whatever other gripes you got. A private at Camp Casey, Korea cannot do anything to influence government policy. So leave the soldiers out of it.