It looks like Songdo is the place to go for anyone looking to fly their drone in the Seoul area:
Songdo in Incheon has become a mecca for local drone developers as it is free of regulations banning the use of drones, making it become a hot spot for drone makers.
Songdo was created by reclaiming 32.3 square kilometers (12.4 square miles) of sea in a mega-project launched in 2003. It is largely free from regulatory measures, as there are no military installations near the area, since it used to be a vast coastal region covered by seawater prior to 2003.
The absence of legal obstacles to fly drones is a boon for gadget developers, as Seoul is ridden with regulations banning the use of drones to protect important facilities such as the presidential office and the government complex building. Gyeonggi is not exempt from state regulations because of its proximity to the inter-Korea border and the presence of military installations there.
“One big advantage to testing a drone in Songdo is that it is without no-fly zones, which are common in Seoul,” said Park Sang-gook, director of the research center for the drone manufacturer We Make Drone. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Anti-THAAD protesters surround bus carrying Korean Prime Minister.
Debate is escalating over the violent protest during the prime minister’s visit to the potential site for a U.S. advanced missile system last week, with the ruling camp condemning the incident as a criminal act of violence and the opposition accusing the government of politicizing it.
The Saenuri Party demanded firm punishment against the violent protesters who they said came from other neighborhoods to incite illegal activities. The opposition parties in turn rebuked the government for cracking down on a legitimate protest.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was pelted with eggs and water bottles during his visit on Friday to Seongju county, the southern rural town where the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense artillery unit will be deployed. The prime minister was also blocked for more than six hours by angry protesters.
Korea National Police Agency chief Kang Shin-myung said Monday that he received a report on evidence linking the violence to outside protestors. He said the authorities would determine whether there were any illegal activities and how far the out-of-town activists were involved in the incident.
“Violent activities staged by some protesters should be brought to justice,” said the Saenuri Party’s floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk. “Granting the residents the right to express their opinion is one thing, but allowing the outsiders to exercise violence is another,” he said.
The conservative party’s whip praised the Seongju residents for staying away from “outsider protesters,” many of whom, he claimed, consisted of antigovernment leftist activists. He urged the residents to prevent the activists from meddling in protests. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but via a reader tip comes this Reddit posting that translates a Donga-Ilbo article that states that six of the eight anti-THAAD protest leaders are from outside of the village of Seongju where the THAAD battery will be stationed:
Out of eight high ranking officials who are coordinating the protests against THAAD installation at Seongju, only two were Seongju residents, reports Channel-A News.
The rest were made up of well known ‘professional protestors’ who make their living protesting against South Korean government policies, who had no ties to the town of Seongju. This new organization met with the opposition Democratic Party for 4 hours, and asked the opposition party to intervene and block the THAAD installation, right to the end. One of the leaders in the group was a man who was in charge of the Mad Cow protests in 2008, arrested and served some time for organizing violent protests. Included in the same group are two leaders who were responsible for anti US protests 10 years ago, at Pyeongtek, when they violently tried to oppose the construction of new US military base in the area with homemade weapons. They are already wrapping headbands around their heads, and promises to “fight to the end” to stop the THAAD.
The leftist agitators in question include the the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea. Both groups are highly involved in anti-government and anti-US movements in South Korea. Another usual suspect, the Catholic Church of Korea is getting involved in the anti-THAAD movement as well by holding a protest outside of Camp Carroll.
Officials and devotees of the Order of St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey attend a rally protesting the deployment of THAAD on Monday in front of Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province. (Yonhap)
Just like the THAAD controversy the US beef riots were based on proven lies spread by the Korean left and their media allies:
MBC apologized to viewers on Tuesday for misleading them with misinterpretations and exaggerations about the risks of mad cow disease in the current affairs program PD Diary. It had been 106 days since PD Diary aired the first report on April 29 on the risks of mad cow disease that drove the entire country into hysteria. The apology followed an order by the Korea Communications Standards Commission on July 16. Following its main newscast that night, MBC showed the text of the KCSC order on air and read aloud its content, telling viewers that it apologized from the bottom of its heart.
MBC ignored a decision by the Press Arbitration Commission on May 19 ordering PD Diary to air a correction. Throughout July, the broadcaster rejected demands by prosecutors summoning program officials and to hand over transcripts and other materials. It also initially ignored the KCSC order on July 16 to issue an apology. It even ignored a ruling by a court of law on July 31 to air a correction saying the key points raised by PD Diary were false. At an internal meeting, MBC officials agreed not to admit any mistakes and to drag their heels for as long as possible. Now, the network probably decided to issue an apology because it became afraid of the treatment it would receive from the public, who have realized the truth about the deliberate exaggeration and distortion of facts by PD Diary.
But the distortions by MBC are not restricted to PD Diary. Since the first day PD Diary aired its report on mad cow disease, MBC News Desk, the main 9 p.m. newscast, broadcast reports exaggerating the fear of mad cow disease for three straight days, allocating 13 out of a total 25 items to that subject. The program regularly broadcast scenes of downer cows that had been aired by PD Diary, bombarding viewers minds with the notion that U.S. beef equals mad cow disease. The anchors made comments voicing satisfaction with the fear they had spread, saying young students were hitting the streets to lambaste and mock the government over the beef issue and that it had been a long time since we saw students this age protesting. The hysteria also poured through the airwaves on morning shows geared toward housewives, entertainment shows and radio programs.
Housewives and young students who saw these broadcasts were scared out of their minds and took to the streets to protest. Junior highschool girls wept that they were too young to die, and some even called the agriculture ministers office and cried, saying they were too afraid to eat even instant noodles or use sanitary napkins if U.S. beef imports resumed. Parents took their children to see doctors after they developed beef phobia or had problems sleeping due to fears of contracting the human form of mad cow disease. [Chosun Ilbo]
Interestingly who we haven’t seen shown up yet in Seongju is quite possibly the most well known anti-US activist and Catholic priest, Father Mun Jeong-hyeon:
Father Mun Jeong-hyeong protests ROK Navy base on Jeju island.
It seems like he has been keeping a low profile ever since his 2013 protesting of the ROK Navy base on Jeju island that he and other protesters claimed was actually going to be used by the US Navy. Another group that I have not seen in Seongju yet is the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. This long time anti-US group has protested in Seoul before against the deployment of the THAAD battery, but it overall has not been a major issue for them. I do expect that to change since the THAAD issue has now become much larger in Korea.
At this point is pretty much a certainty that violent protests will be used to stop the THAAD battery especially with a Korean presidential election looming next year. If Father Mun and the Korean Confederation of Trade Union thugs along with the other usual suspects show up at Seongju to block access to the base for the arrival of the THAAD equipment than expect things to get ugly.
That is why if USFK planners were smart they would install the THAAD battery during the winter time and not during the summer protest season. The anti-US movement will not be able to draw huge crowds to violently protest in cold weather. Convoying in the equipment late on a cold winter night should mitigate any attempts to block access to the ROK base. Once the THAAD battery is deployed and the presidential election is over, I expect this issue to fade away just like the Camp Humphreys issue back in 2005 which no one cares about today.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from L) watches a soldier holding a 1-meter-long drone during a recent visit to an army science and technology museum, in this photo released by a North Korean TV station on July 18, 2016. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
This just goes to show that sickos can come in any rank if the allegations are true:
Shaw Air Force Base’s former vice commander, who was relieved of duty earlier this year, faces criminal charges, including for child pornography.
Base officials report Col. William Jones was charged with possession of child pornography and obstruction of justice June 29, according to a news release. Jones serves as the Ninth Air Force deputy chief of safety.
He took over as the 20th Fighter Wing vice commander at the base in April 2014 but was relieved of duty in February for loss of confidence, according to The Sumter Item.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 8 to “conduct an inquiry into the matter,” the release stated. [Myrtle Beach Online]
Leave it to South Korea to come up with their own version of the smash video game hit Pokemon Go since the game cannot be played in South Korea except in one city due to the Google Maps ban:
There has been a mobile augmented reality game development boom since Pockemon Go gained huge popularity. In Korea, Pororo Go, a game applying Pororo characters to AR technology, will soon be released.
AR service firm Social Network said Monday Pororo Go will be launched next month in partnership with Iconix, the maker of Porong Porong Pororo. Social Network last year released “Sketchpop,” an education app for AR coloring by using Pororo, Lava, Puka, Tayo and Robocar Poly characters, which has garnered 1 million downloads in Korea.
Social Network CEO Park Su-wang said, “While Pockemon is an augmented reality game for simple fun, Pororo Go includes education elements in AR game, which makes it stand out and allow children to enjoy and learn at the same time.” [Donga Ilbo]
This game must being using one of the Korean mapping companies like Naver. It makes me wonder if this game can be played outside of Korea?
The teen had been kicked out of the beauty store when she was caught shoplifting with another girl.
A 13-year-old Missouri girl suspected of shooting and critically wounding a Korean couple in their 70s has surrendered to police.
The teen had shot the parents of the owner of King’s Beauty Supply in Bellefontaine Neighbors on Tuesday after she and another juvenile had been booted from the store earlier in the day for stealing, the Post-Dispatch reported.
When the girls returned to the shop, the couple called police, who found the girls in a nearby parking lot.
One girl was taken into custody on a previous juvenile warrant and the other was released with a warning with the couple’s approval, according to Detective Shawn Applegate.
The couple recovered the stolen items, believed to be hair extensions, and the shoplifting was not reported.
However, the girl who was given the warning returned again to the store and shot the couple, cops said. She came into the store, and “then less than a minute later came running out, swinging in her right hand a revolver as she ran,” a witness told authorities, according to the Post-Dispatch. [New York Daily News]
You can read more at the link, but all the best to the family and friends of the victims.
Everything Congresswoman Bordallo is saying is true, but it will not matter to the anti-US leftist protesters spreading the misinformation in South Korea that the THAAD radar causes cancer, miscarriages and ruins crops:
In this photo, taken in Guam on July 19, 2016, U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo talks with South Korean reporters about the THAAD system on the island. (Yonhap)
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system will pose no environmental problems whatsoever if it is set up away from heavily-populated areas as in Guam, a U.S. Congresswoman representing the Pacific island territory told South Korean media.
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) made the remarks in a meeting with South Korea’s Defense Ministry Joint Press Corps on Tuesday following their tour of an operational THAAD battery a day earlier.
The reporters were on the island to check how an actual THAAD battery is run and if it poses a health risk to people nearby and the environment.
She said there has never been a complaint raised about noise related to the THAAD system since it was brought onto the island in 2013. She said that as long as the battery is placed in an “isolated” area and not in the middle of a town there should be no problems.
The lawmaker also made clear that since the battery’s deployment, there has been no signs that it has impacted the environment around it, and that the presence of THAAD has not hurt the island’s tourism trade. [Yonhap]
This photo, taken on July 19, 2016, shows a pistol and bullets that the Busan Police Agency has confiscated from a high-ranking member of a major yakuza group known as Kudo-kai. The member smuggled himself into South Korea in January 2015 before being apprehended by police on July 7. The Kudo-kai crime syndicate is based in Kitakyushu, Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture.(Yonhap)
