Koreans really love their kids which explains the tendency to spoil and go to great lengths to educate children in Korea, however something went terribly wrong with this man from LA’s Koreatown:

Authorities said that Yun told his wife on Sunday that he was taking Ashley, 11, and Alexander, 10, to a movie and would return a few hours later. Around 4:40 p.m., he drove his Toyota Sequoia into a deserted alley near his former business, they said.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives believe he splashed fuel around the interior of the vehicle.

Witnesses told police they saw him arguing with Ashley outside the car before forcing her into the back seat. They said they watched in horror as Yun climbed into the front passenger seat and the SUV erupted into flames.

Seconds later, he rolled out onto the ground, his legs engulfed in flames. Firefighters arriving at the scene found that the vehicle had burned to its frame and the children had died. Yun was under guard and listed in critical condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with burns to his hands, face and legs. He is expected to survive, police said.

“We see horrific crimes, but this is a particularly sad one and very hard to understand,” said Lt. Don Hartwell.

Mr. Yun was once a successful garment manufacturer in Koreatown and reportedly began having marriage difficulties including beating his wife in 2004 due to his business suddenly failing due to the IRS forcing him to pay $100,000 in back taxes. His wife filed for divorce last week and apparently this guy just snapped and burned his children to death in the car. This guy will probably try and use the insanity defense but how a parent could burn their children to death is beyond me. If you want to go burn yourself so be it, but leave the kids out of it.

(Hat Tip: June Cho)

The Hines Ward tour continued in Korea with Ward visiting the Pearl S. Buck International Foundation which is an organization dedicated to helping mixed race children. Noticably absent was all the hanger ons like President Roh who wanted their photo op with Hines Ward but wouldn’t be caught dead getting a photo op with these children.

Hines Ward’s mom Kim Young-hee had some strong words at the meeting:

Across from her sat two fellow mothers of mixed-race children, the mother of Arum, 30-year-old An Jin-hee, and the mother of Yujin, Bae Seon-ju (45). While Kim¿s Super Bowl star son, who is half African American, was posing for pictures and hugging the children, Kim’s lips remained tightly sealed.

An told Kim there was much she wanted to talk to her about. ¿If I had the opportunity to get out of Korea right now, I would do it without a moment’s hesitation,¿ An said. Kim silently held her hand. Then she said, “Yes, that is what you should do. I always used to think that too.”

When she had composed herself, Kim said she had spent 30 years ¿without looking at Koreans and without thinking about them. What do you think would have become of us if I had kept living here with Hines? He would probably never have been able to be anything but a beggar. Do you think I would even have been able to get work cleaning houses?¿

She is absolutely right and she even had more to say:

Kim said this was the way Koreans are. ¿Even in America, Korean’s don’t get along. Koreans who immigrated ignored us. Koreans of the same skin color are even more racist among themselves. It doesn’t make sense. If everybody hates our children so much because their skin is a different color, then why do Koreans run around dying their hair blond and red?

Kim noted the contrast between her difficult early years in the U.S., when no one wanted to help, and the sudden interest sparked by Hines Ward¿s success. ¿It’s hard, but that’s just the way it goes,” she said. “But I have no regrets.”

She left by doing something very nice:

As Kim was leaving the foundation, Jang Ye-eun (19), a girl who said she hoped to become a basketball star, bowed to her and said goodbye. Kim impulsively opened her wallet, took out a bill and put it in Jang’s pocket. It was US$100. “It’s Hines¿ mother giving you this, so it¿s fine. You go and buy books for school. And you make up your mind right now that you absolutely must succeed. You can do it,” she said, and left.

Kim gave more money to help that girl than probably anyone in Korea ever gave to help her when she had her son. Maybe Hines Ward is not the one to change perceptions in Korea after all. Maybe it will be his mom instead. I think her outspokeness may possibly do more than Hines Ward’s fame, to really get people in Korea to change their perceptions of mixed race children.

Robert over at the Marmot’s Hole of course has great coverage of this as well to check out.

The new 2ID move to print counterfeit money did not get off to a good start; from the Marmot’s Hole:

Apparently the North Koreans aren¿t the only ones on the peninsula trading in funny money. Up in Uijeongbu (of course!), a 21-year old U.S. Army private (of course!) is under investigation after he paid a taxi driver (of course!) with three counterfeit 10,000-won bills.
Police have asked USFK to turn the private over so that the source of the counterfeit bills can be determined.

This incident reminds of a prior incident a few years back also in the 2nd Infantry Division.  A soldier was caught passing counterfeit won bills to an ajumma selling chicken (rat) on a stick at a vending booth in the ville.  The ajumma walked over to the MP shack next door and handed the MPs the counterfeit bill and they promptly brought the GI’s in for questioning.  The GI who passed the bill said he didn’t know they were counterfeit but was detained anyway.  The other soldiers said they didn’t know anything about it.  The MPs let the other guys go and one of those guys had his hands in his pocket and pulled them out to open the door and walk out.  After he pulled out his hands from his pockets a counterfeit bill fell out and he was detained as well.

Both guys ended up admitting to digitally scanning the bills and printing them.  The ROK government turned the case over to the military and they received military punishment and were ultimately chaptered from the Army.  This case just like yesterdays case are definitely what I call a Great Moment in Stupidity.

For those not in the military, 2ID rigorously tracks alcohol related incidents and actually awards streamers and days off to units that maintain no alcohol related incidents for 6 months and one year.  With the amount of taxi cab related incidents maybe 2ID can track these too and give out streamers for no taxi cab related incidents as well?

It is interesting to see the recent attention that K-Blogs have received the last couple of weeks. First of all you had the Newsweek article on Hines Ward that was largely sourced by members of the K-Blog community including this humble site. Then one the major Korean newspaper’s website the Joong Ang Ilbo is now running a series of articles covering the K-Blogosphere. Finally the king of K-Blogging the Marmot’s Hole has been featured, in the Korea Times. Here is some of what Robert the Marmot had to say in the article:

Although blogging for many English-speaking expatriates is an outlet to blow off steam, Korea blogs are essentially akin to blogs elsewhere, he said.

But he agreed that one could certainly get the opinion that English-language Korea blogs are simply a collection of Korea-hating rants by right-wing, white men.

According to him, people here began making blogs in earnest because a blog is a good place to jot down thoughts that might be used later. “Blogs are really an archive of thoughts.??

It is true that the majority of K-Blogs are white males, but I have to disagree that K-Blogs are dominated by conservatives. I think there is plenty of variety in fact. First of all you have probably the most well written K-Blog the Asia Pages which is written by Jodi a female blogger which I wouldn’t call a right wing conservative. Then you have the Oranckay who is kind of like the senior statesman of the K-Blog community who I would not classify as a conservative. Plus you have the well known commenter/blogger Kushibo who I think is safe to say has liberal views. Than you have old school K-Blogger Brian from Cathartidae who I’m sure would be offended to be considered part of the supposed “right wing, white men” blogging conspiracy.

I’m just saying that for every white male conservative out there, there is an alternate point of view which keeps the K-Blog scene interesting.

Now why do we “bitch” so much:

The bitching by Western bloggers in Korea is actually in keeping with what you could read on a lot of Korean blogs, he said. It is what everyone does in Korea. There was this poll reported in the Dong-a Ilbo that said some 40 percent of young people would emigrate given the chance.
“Bitching is in keeping with the local culture,?? he said.

I admit it, I “bitch” or to better define it, criticize certain things that I feel strongly about, like the violence from anti-US hate groups towards soldiers and the riot police, the treatment of North Korean refugees in Korea, President Roh’s governments ass kissing towards North Korea and their use of anti-US or anti-Japanese rhetoric to boost popularity, the treatment of mixed race children and orphans in Korea, the Dokto Riders, the media orgy over Hines Ward, among other things. No place is perfect and Korea has it’s issues just like anywhere else, but if people don’t point them out how are things going to get better?

With that in mind I think Korea has a lot going for it and I try to point that out to. Korea is a beautiful country with an under appreciated culture, interesting history, great food, and vibrant people which I have posted on plenty as well. All of this is what makes Korea the land of endless blogging. There is always something going on here. You have the anti-USFK protests, finger chopping madness over Dokto, endless articles about the wonders of kimchi and Korean superiority with chopsticks, people digging tunnels to smuggle beer out of Yongsan or better yet Yongsan burning down. Not to mention North Korea and their pigmy dictator who has threatened to turn Seoul into a sea fire. The list goes on and on, where else provides this much good blogging material?

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.

Well because I really have nothing else to blog about here is more on the Hines Ward visit to Korea. Fresh off of rubbing elbows with President Roh Moo-hyun, Hines Ward has now decided to begin his own foundation to assist mixed race children in Korea:

At a press conference in Seoul, Ward said he was discussing with his legal representative here the establishment of the foundation to help children with mixed-blood backgrounds, similar to the Pearl S. Buck International (PSBI) that works with children of mixed-heritage.

Here is what President had to say about the meeting with Ward:

During the Chong Wa Dae meeting, Roh praised Ward’s enthusiasm and outstanding achievement giving Korean mixed-race students hopes and dreams, presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said.

Roh pledged to give more equal social opportunities to those of mixed-race, asking Ward for continued attention to his native country.

Why does it take Hines Ward an American to give these kids hopes and dreams? Roh is the President of Korea, why doesn’t he step up and give these kids hopes and dreams instead? If Ward wasn’t the Super Bowl MVP these kids would not be worthy of hopes and dreams then? Only Super Bowl MVPs are qualified to give these kids hope for a better future? President Roh and Koreans in general should have been addressing this problem long before Hines Ward showed up.

I do have to give credit to Hines Ward for stepping up and bringing attention to this issue. I will be more impressed if he sticks with it and remains active in his pledge to aid mixed race children. That will mean more than just spotlighting the issue for a couple of weeks during his visit. If stays active in the problem then maybe things will change. If not then a month after he leaves all will be forgotten until the next famous mixed race person comes around.

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.

Well not really by storm but they were in San Francisco and in accordance with Marmot’s guidance make sure you read Jeff’s take on the Dokto Riders in San Francisco.

I have to agree with Jeff that the Dokto Riders should get some props for playing to Korean nationalism in order to finance their 9 month around the world vacation. Look at how much money they got for this road trip:

Funding comes from $20,000 they earned at part-time jobs, $50,000 from the GS Caltex energy corporation, $20,000 from KIUP Bank, and a $10,000 pledge from the Korean Government Information Agency, which also is supplying postcards and maps to distribute, Kim said.

I wonder if there are any Daemado Riders in the works now?