Having spent a few years in 1st Brigade it is a bit sad to see it go:

SEOUL, South Korea — A decades-old 2nd Infantry Division unit stationed near the tense South-North Korea border will deactivate and be replaced by a U.S.-based rotational brigade combat team, according to the Pentagon.

The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team will be deactivated in June 2015 and will be immediately replaced by approximately 4,600 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

Troops are typically stationed in South Korea on one- or two-year tours, leading to frequent turnover within units. The deactivation and switch to nine-month rotational deployments is part of a U.S. Army rotational plan that calls for similarly sized and capable units from the United States to train and deploy together.

“There’s no loss in capability. Some would argue that the capability might even be slightly higher because it’s a trained unit that arrives there in Korea prepared to act,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters. “We believe that any loss to continuity with familiarity to the terrain will be made up by a single cohesive unit that is familiar with working with each other.”
(Stars and Stripes)

You can read more at the link, but the problem you have with rotational units is that everyone is the new person all at the same time.

The AFP has an article about how difficult the retirement years can be for the elderly in Korea:

Out of work and out of pocket, South Korean retirees are struggling to force their way back into an unwelcoming job market in an effort to supplement meagre or non-existent pensions.

But President Park Geun-Hye’s vision of a new “creative economy” seems to have little space for a generation that grew up with shipyards and steel mills rather than smartphones and start-ups.

Kim Min-Su, 69, receives a monthly pension of 590,000 ($562)– the sole source of income for him and his wife who live in a mini-apartment in Seoul.

“I wasn’t able to put much aside when I was working because nearly all of it went on raising and schooling my four kids,” Kim said after a morning spent scanning job vacancy notices at a Career Transition Centre for the elderly. (AFP)

You can read much more at the link, but something the government is trying to do is have companies pay workers less as they become older to keep them working. It seems like this will cause the unemployment of young college graduates to only become worse in Korea.

Former rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji performs at a qualification match for professional bowlers in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 2, 2014. (Yonhap)

Kim Jong Un pictured without cane – North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun has published pictures showing Kim Jong Un walking… http://t.co/smusHUlk6E

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) November 5, 2014

It is too bad that people in Japan and Korea cannot get past harsh history like these US vets are able to do:

HEIWAJIMA, JAPAN — Bill Sanchez looked out over the canal. “That’s where the geisha girls used to be,” he said, pointing at the opposite bank, now lined with modern apartment buildings. “They used to wave at us.”

Was that a twinkle in his eye or just the reflection of the water?

For most American servicemen held as prisoners during World War II, returning to Japan is a complicated thing. But 96-year-old Sanchez, who spent 42 months doing back-breaking work here, said Thursday that the war was bad for everyone. He’s heartened at the way America’s former enemy has emerged from the ashes.

“I went through all that suffering, and the Japanese went through all those bombings,” he said, standing on the waterway that runs alongside what was once Camp Omori, where he was held prisoner.

Now, the camp site is a venue for boat races along the canal, complete with Jumbotron and betting windows. The neighboring mall features huge signs declaring “Big fun”and “Game panic.”

“I take a bit of pride in all of this. What they have done is unbelievable,” said Sanchez, who was brought to Japan on a “hell ship” in 1942 after U.S. forces surrendered in the Philippines, where he was stationed.

He was wearing a crimson garrison cap with “American ex-prisoners of war” on it.

Sanchez, a retired trader in steel and other commodities from Monterey Park, Calif., is one of seven former POWs visiting Japan on a trip organized by Japan’s foreign ministry “to promote mutual understanding between Japan and the United States through encouraging a reconciliation of minds.” (Washington Post)

You can read more at the link.

Anyone surprised by these results?

South Korean school children were the least happy among those in OECD countries, a recent survey showed.

In the latest survey, the subjective happiness index of South Korean children was 60.3 percent, which was the lowest among the OECD countries.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

The light punishment for corporate criminals in Korea continues:

Yoo Dae-gyun, the eldest son of the late Yoo Byung-eun, the de facto owner of Chonghaejin Marine that operated the sunken ferry Sewol, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday in district court.

The Incheon District Court found him guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust.

The sentence was lighter than the four years imprisonment the prosecution had earlier demanded.

According to the court, the Yoo took 7.3 billion won in fees from seven companies owned by his family, including Chonghaejin, for using a trademark held by him from May 2002 to last December.

He obtained trademark rights for the name of Sewol’s sister ferry, Ohamana, and Chonghaejin paid him 3.5 billion won for the use of the name.

“We recognize Yoo embezzled the money under the name of trademark use and advisory service fees by taking advantage of the fact that he was the son of the senior Yoo who established those companies,” the court said.  [Korea Times]

Look at the sentences the other Yoo family members and aids received:

In the meantime, the late senior Yoo’s brothers, Byung-il and Byung-ho, were given a suspended jail term and two years in prison, respectively, for embezzlement and breach of trust at the companies for which they worked, which were also set up by the Yoo family.

Four other aides to the late senior Yoo, who were heads or high-ranking officials of the companies set up by the family, were sentenced to two to four years for embezzlement or breach of trust as well. Six other aides received suspended jail terms for the same charges.

How come I have a feeling that backroom deals were worked out for these sentences to keep people quiet about their collusion with government officials?

Reuters: US official says @BarackObama quietly acquiescing to #Myanmar gov;t barring Suu Kyi from presidency bid. pic.twitter.com/mQrHezknw0

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 5, 2014

A tanker truck carrying sulfuric acid hit a guardrail along a local road Wednesday and overturned, spilling some of the acid into Nakdong River, South Korea’s longest river, firefighters and police said.

The truck, which had a load capacity of 25 tons, was carrying about 20,000 liters of sulfuric acid. About 200 liters of the acid spilled into the river, which passes through Gyeongsang Provinces in the country’s southeast, they added.

The 53-year-old driver of the truck suffered a minor injury.

The firefighters said they are trying to contain the spill by building an embankment to prevent more acid from flowing into the river.

Authorities said they are inspecting water from the river to determine whether the leaked sulfuric acid has negatively affected living things in the river. Sulfuric acid, which is highly corrosive, can be fatal to fish.

“As the acid that has spilled into the river has been diluted, it seemed that the accident would have little effect,” said an official at the provincial government.

The authorities said that they will continue to inspect the water in the lower region of the river to gauge the effect of the leakage for the next few days.  [Yonhap]

For anyone that wants to discuss the midterm election results from last night here is the place to do it.  I for one do not see much changing, but it will be interesting to see if the media will blame gridlock in Washington on Democrats now when they use the filibuster instead of Republicans?  The biggest thing I am concerned about is sequestration beginning again next year.  Will the Republicans do anything to address this?