One of the most unusual things to do in the Seoul area, is a trip to Dongnimmun Park and Seodaemun Prison. I say unusual simply because you wouldn’t think of a former prison as a recommended travel destination in Korea, but I recommend this park and prison simply because of the historical and psychological significance they have to the Korean people. If you have ever wondered why Koreans are so ultra-nationalistic this park and prison will give you an idea why.
When you arrive at Dongnimmun Park the first thing you will see is this large arch that towers over the park:
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How much of a scumbag do you have to be to do something like this?:
A particularly annoying trend for law enforcement officials is the growing number of people who are faking their own kidnappings for ransom. As most of the victims of the spoof kidnappings are the suspects’ own family members, police are complaining that there is little legal ground for them to arrest the perpetrators.
Last Sunday, detectives at the Socho Police Station in southern Seoul received a call from a young woman who claimed that her father, a 43-year-old Chung, had been kidnapped by his creditors for failing to pay off 58 million won in debts.
More than 2,000 police officers were deployed around Chung’s house to search for his whereabouts. However, the search was called off a day later when it was revealed that the abduction was a hoax, a scam organized by Chung himself.
Chung, a jobless man, said he was trying to trick his own family into paying the ransom, which he was going to use to pay off the husband of a 44-year-old woman he was having an extramarital affair with.
From the Korea Times:
Huh, a 30-year-old teacher, had a rude awakening in his first year at a high school in Kyonggi Province.
“Things have changed so much from when I was in high school, and even then teachers complained that we didn’t treat them in the proper manner. These days, students openly criticize teachers’ skills, chat or text message on mobile phones during classes and even miss school for days without explanation. We as teachers are supposed to be fine with that,” said Huh, who believes that frequent news reports about corrupt teachers and failing students are further eroding the respect for his profession.
Historically Korea has maintained a culture that payed great respect to teachers and scholars, however by reading news reports like this it appears this culture is changing. The question I have is it the students or is the teachers that is changing? If a teacher lets them use cell phones in class, why is the teacher surprised that the student is zoning them out? If teachers spent more time acting like teachers instead of spreading anti-Japanese hatred and North Korean propaganda maybe they would earn more respect in the classroom.
It sounds like the teachers are as much to blame for what is going on as the students.Â
UPDATE #2: The Stars and Stripes now has an English language report out that clarifies what happened. It was just one soldier involved in the incident and this soldier was in fact and MP and is a 8th Army soldier stationed in Yongsan. The 2ID bashing can stop now.
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There is a good discussion going on over at Lost Nomad over this article about how Korea is looking at changing fire engine colors in order to make them stand out more so motorists will yield to fire engines. For those unfamiliar with Korea, motorists here usually do not make way for fire engines or ambulances very regularly. In my opinion it is because of all the flashing lights they see on the road anyway. The police in Korea drive around often with their lights on for no reason. Than you have tow truck drivers doing the same thing.
The best example I can give you of how absurd the flashing light culture in Korea is, is that one time while driving between Uijongbu and Dongducheon in my HMMWV we yielded on the side of the road for vehicle with flashing lights coming up behind us. The vehicle with the flashing lights ended up being a KT Internet man. He had lights installed on his car so he could cut through traffic and run red lights to respond to the latest Internet emergencies I guess.Â
Is it any wonder when people see flashing lights they don’t yield when it could just be another Internet emergency?Â
I recently had a request by e-mail to post about what an American expat living in Korea should do in case war was to break out on the peninsula. Below I have posted my educated opinion on what to do in case a crisis was to break out on the Korean peninsula. I don’t consider myself an expert on this so take it for what it is worth.
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From Yonhap:
A South Korean research team claimed Monday it has created the world’s first cloned wolves in October 2005, and that the animals have been growing up without any problems. The team, led by Lee Byeong-chun and Shin Nam-sik, veterinary professors at Seoul National University, said the two cloned female wolves, named Snuwolf and Snuwolffy, were born on Oct. 18 and Oct. 26, 2005.
The breakthrough came three months after the team announced it succeeded in cloning three female dogs — Bona, Peace and Hope. The team’s lead scientist, Lee, was a key member of the team led by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, which produced the world’s first cloned dog, Snuppy, a male, in April 2005.
Both Hwang and Lee have been on trial following the discovery that their research papers on human stem cells were found to be fabricated. Their works on dog cloning, however, were confirmed genuine and successful.
How come I have this feeling we haven’t seen the last of Dr. Hwang Woo-suk?Â
