UPDATE: The Chosun Ilbo and the Marmot are now all over the recent success and coverage of Lee Seung Yeop.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Japundit has a really good profile of Korean baseball slugger Seung Yeop Lee. Lee was the hero of the World Baseball Classic for the Korean squad and helped the Chiba Lotte Marines win the Japanese World Series Championship last year. He is off to hot start this year in the Japanese league and is reportedly interested in joining the New York Yankees.
Check out the profile link to learn more.
I wonder if there is a CIA black helicopter conspiracy theory to explain this:
A South Korean astronaut was planned to hitch a ride on a Russian spacecraft in April 2007, but the United States has to take that seat to rotate crew at the international space station, according to the South Korean Science and Technology Ministry.
America holding back Korea from glory yet again.
A former North Korean refugee who escaped to South Korea is now once again trying to defect; this time to the United States:
This week may end the Odyssey of North Korean defector Ma Young-ae, who after settling briefly in South Korea defected again to the U.S. Ma is seeking asylum in the U.S. as a refugee from what she says is ?political oppression? in South Korea.A source close to North Korean human rights activists in Washington on Tuesday said Ma will have her final interview with U.S. authorities on the matter on Thursday. The source added her chances look ?extremely good.?
This could become a big political problem between Washington and Seoul if more and more North Korean defectors continue to seek asylum in the United States. To bad Hines Ward’s mom wasn’t a North Korean defector. Maybe then the South Korean government would bring more attention to assimilating North Koreans into South Korean society like President Roh is currently trying to do with mixed race Koreans.
Spring time has arrived and the Stars and Stripes has a good listing of some of the most popular cherry blossom viewing sites in Korea. Here is where the Stars and Stripes recommends viewing cherry blossoms:
Chinhae
Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul
Children’s Grand Park in Seoul
Namsan Mountain in Seoul
Seokchon Lake at Lotte World
Seoul Land Amusement Park
Sip-ri Cherry Blossom Road
Walker Hill Road
Yeouido Yunjungno Cherry Blossom Festival
Just be warned these are the most popular areas which means floods of people will be there with you if you go. If you are like me and hate going where the crowds are it is best to find some areas that are not common tourist destination to view the cherry blossoms.
Here is a recommendation that is off the beaten path if you want to view cherry blossoms. Go to Gayasan Mountain just west of Taegu to get the national park. The road to the national park is lined with cherry blossoms trees. It is really a pretty drive. To get there go to Taegu and then head west on I-12 and exit at road 1084 which connects to highway 59 that leads into Gayasan National Park.
Another nice area is that is nearby to Camp Casey is Soyasan Park just North of Dongducheon. The road leading to the mountain is also lined with cherry blossoms trees. To get here just travel North of Dongducheon on highway 3 until you see the Soyosan park signs to the right just north of Camp Casey.
Finally another great area is Jirisan Mountain in the far south of the mountain. Many areas of the mountain have the cherry blossom trees as well as having the spring time azaleas blooming. To get to Jirisan Mountain just travel South from Seoul on I-35 which will lead you to multiple exits to get to the park.
Enjoy the spring time while it lasts. It will be hot and humid before you know it and we will all be talking about the latest wave of fan deaths.
Not a bad first day for Hines Ward in Korea:
Ward and his mother, Kim Young-hee, were greeted by a scrum of more than 100 reporters and photographers on arrival at Inchon airport, near Seoul. National broadcaster YTN carried the arrival live and called the event “the return of the hero.”
Hundreds of riot police stood shoulder to shoulder to clear a path for the two.
Ward and his mother are starting a 10-day tour that will include a lunch with President Roh Moo-hyun, visits with relatives and a pep talk to mixed-race children, who often find it difficult to succeed in Korean society.
Well I guess Apollo Anton Ohno isn’t the only one that needs riot police to protect him at a Korean airport. Gees I wonder why President Roh didn’t decide to visit with the mixed race children as well?
Look at the free stuff that Ward is getting for coming to Korea:
Ward and Kim left Seoul with little, but they will be showered with gifts and accolades during their visit.
One automaker is loaning his entourage three limousines. A Seoul hotel is providing one of its most expensive suites and a fashion house has given new clothes.
Does a NFL athlete really need to be given this stuff for free? How about donating the money all of this stuff costs, to a mixed race children charity instead?
Looks like South Korea is willing to pull out all the stops including giving nuclear power to Indonesia in order to gain support for Minister Ban’s UN Secretary General bid:
South Korea, one of the world’s biggest oil and liquefied natural gas importers, wants to help Indonesia develop nuclear power, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
“We hope that both Indonesia and Korea will be able to conclude a nuclear energy cooperation agreement as soon as possible,” Ban told a joint news conference with Indonesia’s’s Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.
“We are one of the countries with high tech technology and know-how in this area,” he added.
Nuclear power plays an important role in providing an alternative source of energy in South Korea, which imports all of its oil and liquefied gas.
I’m curious to see what Washington reactions to this news will be because if these nuclear reactors are constructed that would mean that Indonesia is only one coup away from giving nuclear technology maybe to people the US government would rather not have access too. Hopefully the US has learned something from Pakistan and their scientists giving nuclear secrets to scores of governments including North Korea who would not have had that information otherwise.
Well known K-blogger USinKorea now has a new video montage out of the recent anti-USFK hate groups xenophobic protests. The video footage from the Camp Humphrey protests are the most dramatic. I don’t see how South Korean society can put up with these hate groups attacking and injuring the riot police who are mostly 20 year old draftees conducting their mandatory service for the nation. I can’t see how any Korean wouldn’t be embarrassed watching this montage. Go check it out.
I doubt the anti-US hate groups are shaking in their boots right now after the Korean government has vowed to crack down on them:
South Korea warned Sunday that it will strictly deal with illegal protests against joint military exercises it holds annually with the United States.
“Illegal protests at military training grounds cannot be allowed under any circumstances,” the Defense Ministry said in a press statement. “The military will sternly deal with these illegal activities.”
The statement came after about 20 South Korean civic activists staged a surprise rally in Taean on the nation’s west coast where South Korean and U.S. troops staged an amphibious landing drill on Thursday.
If they want to get tough on them, how about the members of the hate groups face assault charges for pushing and tackling the US Marines last week and be forced to apologize and pay compensation to them, just like if the situation was reversed. Now that would be
Alls well on Cheju Island after a power outage:
Two undersea power transmission cables malfunctioned for unknown reasons at 10:36 a.m., sparking the blackout, the exchange said.
“One of the two lines was fixed to enable the supply of power to Jeju,” state power monopoly Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said. “But the other remained out of service.”
An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the malfunction, KEPCO said, adding that the cables might have been damaged by fishermen.
The two cables transmit electricity from a substation in Hanam, about 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul, to the island, accounting for about 30 percent of its power consumption.
Regional emergency rescue offices were flooded with calls from people trapped in elevators, officials said.
The power outage disrupted flights and resulted in severe traffic congestion in the region’s densely populated areas as traffic signals failed to operate.
Could you imagine the chaos if Seoul had a similar power outage?
The New York Times is running an article about how the South Korean government plans to expand the use of robots within South Korean society over the next 5-10 years:
By 2007, networked robots that, say, relay messages to parents, teach children English and sing and dance for them when they are bored, are scheduled to enter mass production. Outside the home, they are expected to guide customers at post offices or patrol public areas, searching for intruders and transmitting images to monitoring centers.
If all goes according to plan, robots will be in every South Korean household between 2015 and 2020. That is the prediction, at least, of the Ministry of Information and Communication, which has grouped more than 30 companies, as well as 1,000 scientists from universities and research institutes, under its wing. Some want to move even faster.
“My personal goal is to put a robot in every home by 2010,” said Oh Sang Rok, manager of the ministry’s intelligent service robot project.
I can see the Korean labor union protests already over robots taking their jobs.
