Even Hines Ward is getting in on the Korean baseball wave. By the way the game is about to start. Go Korea!

It’s over, the Japanese pitcher struck out the side in the 9th to put Korea away 6-0. Ichiro seems really happy because he will not have to eat his words after all. Like I said before championship caliber teams can rise above bad calls like the one Japan had against the US and they did with a little help from the US by losing to Mexico.

So far no signs of outrageous nationalistic celebrations from the Japanese like the Koreans had after their second defeat of Japan. The Koreans did come out of the dugout and give a bow to their many fans in Anaheim though which was a classy thing to do.

The Cuba vs Japan final should be a great game.

It was a good run by Korea and hopefully the Korean media doesn’t ruin it by claiming that the WBC is flawed by having Korea eliminated after only one loss especially when they have defeated Japan twice already. I can understand the sentiment because the WBC’s format is a little strange but the Koreans signed up for the WBC and the rules format that comes with it.
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Ichiro just popped up to end the top of the ninth and the third baseman for Korea Jung who caught the ball just flicked it back at Ichiro. To Ichiro’s credit he did not react to the provaction. If I was him I would at least tell the guy to look at the scoreboard.

Well Korea has one more chance to put some runs on the board and the first batter has already struck out. Not good.
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The ESPN announcer just butchered the Korean fans chant of Dae Han Min Guk. Quick somebody call Vank on him. The rain delay is over and the Japanese bats are still hot with them getting yet another hit. Instead of planting the Korean flag on the pitcher’s mound the Korean team may want to plant a white flag now because it is going to take a miracle to make a come back.
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It is still raining out and the game continues to be delayed which is just prolonging the inevitable that Korea has gotten stomped by Japan. Any bets if Ichiro will plant the Japanese flag on the pitcher’s mound?
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Okay this is getting out of hand right now. The Japanese are hitting the ball all over the place now. Japan is now winning 6-0 in the 8th inning. It is now raining pretty heavily and the game is being delayed which is only prolonging Team Korea’s misery of getting stomped by Japan. It is looking like it is going to be a Japan vs Cuba WBC Final.
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I think it safe to say that Kim Byung-hyun is now the most hated person in Korea. He just threw a wild pitch advancing a runner and then gave up a double allowing the runner to score a third run off of him. Why in the world did the Korean manager put Kim in? You do not use Kim in a tight pressure packed ball game. Ask Tino Martinez.

I have long posted on how much Kim sucks and I have been proven right again. They finally took him out. Why did he take Seo out? Seo was cruising and had only given up three hits. Hopefully this next pitcher can stop the bleeding and at least keep it from becoming a blow out.
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Japan is now threatening with a runner on second with no outs. The starting Korean pitcher Seo was taken out for I guy named Jun who pitched one good inning before giving up the double. Kim Byung-hyun Kim is now in and he just struck one batter out. Now Kim just did his best 2001 World Series imitation by giving up a two run home run. Japan is now winning 2-0. Is anyone now wondering why Seo was taken out of the game now?
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Peter Gammons just got done interviewing Hines Ward who is at the game supporting Team Korea. Ward just commented on how well the Korean community supports there sports teams. Gammons did ask him how he thought he would be received when he travels to Korea for the first time in April. Ward thought he would be treated well and was looking forward to going.
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It is now the 5th inning and the game between Korea and Japan is still stuck at 0-0. Both pitchers Uehara from Japan and Seo from Korea are pitching well and both teams have made some great defensive plays to keep the game scoreless. Ichiro has made a couple hits and stole two bases, so he has gotten off to a good start but has nothing to show for it yet.

So what really happened at Camp Humphreys this week?

From the Stars and Stripes:

South Korean authorities under heavy police escort Wednesday took the first steps toward sealing off a large tract of contested farmland that is to eventually become part of an expanded Camp Humphreys.

Some local residents who oppose the expansion scuffled with South Korean riot police and four female protesters were injured and taken to area hospitals, police said.

Police also made arrests but had no immediate word Wednesday night on how many.

The South Korean government has taken control of the land so the U.S. military can triple Camp Humphreys’ size and turn it into its main installation in South Korea by 2008.

Work crews Wednesday began setting up fencing and digging trenches across roads to prevent farmers from working the rice fields, something growers have threatened to begin doing Friday in defiance of the expansion plan.

“We are planning to set up barbed-wire fences,” an official at South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.

In the S&S article the police stopped the protesters, but the Korean media had a different version of the story.

From the Chosun:

The Defense Ministry and police are not stopping them for fear of violent clashes. Police are, however, stopping any tractors from elsewhere by stationing some 4,400 officers on 11 major access roads and highway tollgates near the area since Wednesday.

“It’s illegal to work fields the Defense Ministry has already taken control of with government permission, but we haven’t used any aggressive measures to stop them because that could provoke residents and activists,” a ministry official said. Instead, the ministry says it will bring them to book for trespassing once it has collected evidence of wrongdoing.

“Collected evidence of wrong doing?” The police saw them breaking the law right in front of their own eyes and didn’t arrest these people! What more evidence do you need?! Expect more Camp Humprheys drama to come.

Here is something you will probably not hear much about from the Korean media:

A South Korean player at the first World Baseball Classic (WBC) in the United States has tested positive in a doping test, South Korean team officials said Saturday.

Park Myeong-hwan, a 29-year-old pitcher from the Doosan Bears, was tested for an illegal drug, and is banned from playing in remaining games, the officials said.

However, you will hear a lot of this:

The U.S. media has also been frank in its admiration. The New York Times cited Buck Martinez, the U.S. team manager, as praising the Korean team’s talent, spirit and preparation. MLB.com went further, hailing Korea as the best team in the world right now, a “Classic” formation — high praise in a country that has been living with baseball for more than 130 years. Thus the World Series is known as the “Fall Classic,” the All Star Game as the “Midsummer Classic” and, of course, the present competition the World Baseball Classic.

At least the US baseball team beat Korea at something, they at least had no positive drug tests which actually comes as a mild surprise considering the current steroid scandal in Major League Baseball.

Also isn’t it interesting that the US media praises the Korean team for playing well and winning against the US, where if a US team does well against Korea, the Korean media brings up the black helicopter, CIA conspiracy theories of how Yankee is screwing Korea. For example, I have yet to see a story in the Korean media about what a good speed skater the American Olympic gold medalist Apollo Ohno is. Instead he just gets tore apart by being called a cheater and needs riot police to protect him when he comes to Korea to compete. If you haven’t noticed by reading this blog, I don’t like the Korean media much.

With that said I hope the Korean team does win it all even though I will be subjected to the self congratulating media orgasm that is sure to follow.

Form American deserter to North Korea Charles Jenkins has given an interesting interview to Korea’s Oh My News International:

The ex-sergeant served 25 days in a U.S. military brig in 2004 after being dishonorably discharged for desertion and is thought to have bartered his freedom with his knowledge of the North. “I was told that they had an agent in North Korea for over 20 years that didn’t give them one tenth of what I gave them.”

Jenkins told the U.S. he “would not be surprised” if Pyongyang has a nuclear weapon. “Close to my house was a mountain and Russia put missiles in there. Everybody knew that. Nobody goes up there or talks about it, but they’re all aimed at Japan and South Korea.”

To think that there is a minority of idiots in South Korea that want to kick out the US Army’s PATRIOT missile batteries from South Korea.

Jenkins had some kind words for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il though:

Kim Jong Il called in the World Health Food Program, “which his father would never have done. That helped a lot of people.” He claims Kim junior also investigated the camps and freed many people. “I say the son was better than the father.”

Could divorce be in the future for Jenkins?:

The subject of divorce came up between Jenkins and his wife, who is 19 years younger, after the government offered to exchange the couple’s Korean marriage license for a Japanese version.

“I told her: if you want to kick me out: do it now,” says Jenkins tearfully. “She said if we divorce, what about Brinda and Mika? That would be hard on them. So she told me she wouldn’t divorce me. I told her if you want to get married again in Japan I’ll leave. But I won’t leave Japan; I’ll stay for my daughters. She wouldn’t do it. She’ll never divorce me.”

This has to be one of the strangest marriages ever. Read the rest of the article for more.

From the Stars and Stripes:

A U.S. soldier was sentenced to five months of confinement and a bad conduct discharge during a court-martial Friday on charges he was absent without leave from his unit for more than nine months.

Kenneth H. Gore Jr., of the 8th U.S. Army, also was reduced from the rank of E-2 to E-1 during the half-day court proceeding.

So why did he go AWOL?:

During questioning, Gore told Parrish he had married a South Korean woman in early 2005 but had problems getting her a visa to return with him to the United States.

Gore said he had submitted an extension package to stay in South Korea so he could work the issue but the Army denied his request. A second request also was denied, he said, which led him to decide to stop reporting for duty so he could get her “paperwork processed.”

“I thought it would take anywhere between a couple a days and a week,” he stated in court Friday.

Instead, Gore holed up in an off-base apartment until January 2006 while his wife worked to support them, he said.

On Jan. 3, Gore said, his wife called military authorities and told them his whereabouts. A military investigator and Korean National Police who responded found Gore hiding in a closet, he said.

He goes AWOL for the wife and the loving wife turns him in. I wouldn’t say this has the makings of a healthy marriage. Yes he is an idiot and he now has 5 months at Camp Humphreys to think about it.

This case is a perfect example of why I say it is better to get a Fiance’ Visa instead of getting married in Korea if your time in country is short. Bring the significant other over to the US before getting married to see how she adjsuts, plus the paperwork drill is much easier and doesn’t require you to go AWOL like this dumb soldier.

Here is a good link for those who want to learn more about the history of St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years.

On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

The Marmot has a good posting on the “Irish of Asia” the Koreans that is worth checking out as well.

The Korean national baseball team played another outstanding well pitched game to defeat Japan 2-1 and advance to the World Baseball Classic semifinals. Here is my favorite quote from the article:

Lee Jong-beom, the hero of the game, said: “On hitting the decisive two-base hit, I thought how lucky I was to be born in South Korea.”
“My colleagues and I were excited throughout the game, listening to the slogan ‘Dae Han Min Kuk (Republic of Korea)’ from the cheering squad.”
Despite the win, he said Japanese baseball remains a notch above the level seen in South Korea.

I don’t know what being born in South Korea has to do with the decisive two-base hit but I don’t agree with his sentiments that the Japanese play better baseball than Korea. The Japanese appeared to be trying their best to beat Korea and they had two opportunities to do it and couldn’t get it done.

The Korean victory in turn will help the US enter the semifinals if they can beat Mexico, which the way the US is playing (crappy) is by no means a sure thing. Of course the Korean media is hyping up the fact that the Koreans have helped the Americans again like they did during the last World Cup, the Marmot’s Hole has the inside scoop on that. Than of course the Korean media has to bring up all the times they were “cheated” of glory to the Korean race by the wicked Americans:

In the Sydney Games of 2000, the Korean team failed to make it into the finals from the round of four because of a bad call, and in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, short-track skater Kim Dong-seong was deprived of his gold metal because of the “Ohno Incident.” And two years ago, during the 2004 Athens Games, gymnast Paul Hamm took away Yang Tae-yeong’s sure “gold.” At each turning point, the party that tripped up Korea for doubtful reasons was none other than the United States.
Despite this, Korea has played the role of rescuer each time the United States has faced crisis. A typical instance was the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

Interesting, no mention of the help from the referees in the last World Cup that allowed Korea to advance in the first place. Plus nothing about the Roy Jones Jr. boxing match scandal during the Seoul Olympics. It was a great win by the Korean team and they should be excited about it, but the in your face hyper nationalism has got to go IMHO. Could you imagine what would happen if the US team planted the American flag on a pitching mound in a Korean stadium like the Korean team did in Anaheim?

I’m actually happy that the US team lost to Mexico today eliminating them from the World Baseball Classic because I think the Koreans would have whooped them again in a rematch. The US team was a joke and an embarrassment. I said it once and I will say it again give me amateur athletes that care about the game. These professionals are a disgrace.

Instead of playing the US again the Koreans will be matched up against Japan for the third time. Will the third time be the charm for Japan? I guess we will find out. If Japan wins do you think they will plant their flag on the pitcher’s mound?

An issue that has gained recent attention is the issue of sexual assaults in Korea. There has been plenty of recent attention in Korea on sexual assaults against minors and other Korean women. Many of the recent high profile assaults against these women have been by repeat rapists who had received lenient jail time measured in months after their first sexual assault. These cases has caught the attention of the Korean media and hopefully this attention will lead to positive change in Korean society against sexual predators by not immediately condemning women who have been raped as prostitutes for example or giving these monsters who rape women light sentences which is right now an all to common practice in Korea.

Despite the media coverage of the sexual assault problems in Korea, something that has continued to be ignored by the Korean media is sexual assaults against foreign women in Korea. I have highlighted a number of assaults against female foreigners in Korea. Here are a few examples of past assaults on foreign women in Korea. A 19 year old female soldier newly arrived to Korea from Incheon airport was raped by a cab driver bringing her to Seoul. Then there is also the Jamie Penich murder in Itaewon that should be familiar to many expats out there. Then most recently the rape of an Army officer in Taegu that was almost totally buried by the Korean media.

If you don’t believe me that these stories are buried go ask the nearest Korean if they have heard about the rape of the US Army officer. They will probably tell you they never heard about it. Now ask them if they heard about the drunk idiot GI in Uijongbu who hit a beer bottle over a Korean guy’s head, they will probably tell you that they have heard of that, however. I just find it sad that a ville incident such as the beer bottle case would draw more publicity then a rape in Taegu, especially since the rapist wasn’t caught and could be still out there in Korean society raping more people. It just seems to me a rape case should draw as much media attention as possible in order to identify the rapist to ensure they are caught and cannot rape more women.

In an effort to educate people more about sexual assaults in Korea, I was contacted by a young lady who was sexually assaulted and beaten while teaching English at a hagwon in Seoul. For those familiar with prior assaults on foreign women in Korea you will see many similarities in this case with those prior cases in as far as how incompetent the Korean police are. The important thing is to learn from her story things that you can do to help yourself if you find yourself in a similar situation or maybe you are helping someone that unfortunately was assaulted because the Korean police are not there to help you.

With that in mind here is a story of a sexual assault in Korea that no one has probably heard of, but should of:

I came across this blog in doing my own research about the incidents of foreign females in Korea being assaulted and saw the story from back in July when a female military officer was assaulted by a cab driver. I am so lucky that I have found this blog and can spread the word about the dangers of being a foreign female in Korea and how biased the Korean media, police, hospitals, etc. might be to you if something horrible were to happen. I, too, was a victim and want anyone who wants to hear my story to listen up and spread the word.

I came to Seoul in February of last year to teach English. This was not my first time in Korea, having visited Korea in high school with my Korean friend and having also studied Korean language at Yonsei University in 2000-2001.

I was living in Seoul in what is considered to be one of the safest (aka richest) areas: Chungdam. I am sure you know the 24 hour McDonalds, Hard Rock Cafe, etc—I lived across the street from those places. On July 31, 2005, I arrived to my one room when around 11:20pm, my window slides open and a man is in the window. In the second that I sat frozen in my computer chair in shock/surprise/disbelief, he hopped down from the window and lunged at me and began to hit me with his fist repeatedly, while choking me with his other hand. After hitting me for a few minutes to where I was going unconscious, he ran over to my bag, grabbed my wallet, and in Korean, said the first word “Don, don, don”, which translated means “Money, money, money”. Being a Sunday night, I had just spent the last cash I had and I told him that in Korean. At this point, he began hitting me again. After only a few hits, however, he decided to begin choking me.

He gave up choking me and began hitting me more until I again was drifting in and out of consciousness.

He then decided to rape me. He first tried covering my bloodied face with a shirt but I quickly bled through it so he told me in Korean, “Wash your face”. He went into my kitchen to get a knife and I knew it was my chance to get away. In that instant I found my cell phone and locked myself in the bathroom.

Once locked inside, I called the police. According to their police report was at 11::40pm. They did not arrive to my apartment until well after 12am despite a police station being only 5 minutes by walk from my house. I didn’t trust that the police believed me and understood to come so I also called my friends, but they too, were all far away. When the 2 policemen showed up, the man was gone. I told the police what happened and that I need to go to a hospital right away but their first words to me was to say “Where are your panties and give me your Alien Registration ID card”. I managed to find my ID card and I gave it to him and then ran out my door to try to get someone else to get me an ambulance. The police came out and told me to sit in the back of their police car, which I did. Soon after, the ambulance came and they did not help into the ambulance on a stretcher. They opened up their sliding side door and told me to walk in. I did and lay down on the stretcher, unattended by anyone

The first place I was taken was called Samsung Medical Center. When we arrived there, again I was not taken in on a stretcher, but instead the two ambulance workers opened the door and told me to get out. As we were walking in, they did not assist me in walking and wouldn’t even open the hospital doors for me until I pulled up the back of my running pants which had slipped down to reveal the top of my panties. I was laid on a stretcher and someone came to clean my face and photograph my injuries. Within a short amount of time a number of my friends and coworkers began arriving and immediately we worked together to recall what I could of the attack while the hospital workers were deciding where to send me. I explained to them first of all what happened and asked them to please test my fingernails for his DNA because I probably scratched him. My friends (no police were to be found now) then got a pen and paper and were asking for his description and also began listing the places I could remember he touched: My window, my wallet, my bag, my refrigerator, my door lock, my sink faucet—all places that could be tested for fingerprints. This first hospital also took pictures of my injuries which now are LOST. The hospital has told the US Embassy that they do not have a camera to even take pictures; while they told my friend who inquired about them that they just don’t have record of my name for that date.

After I would guess about 40 minutes-1 hour, I was moved to a 2nd hospital—Hye-Min hospital in the northwest part of Seoul. I was put into the ambulance on a stretcher but again, was not tended to by any professionals. My two friends rode with me and when I began feeling nauseous and throwing up from the bumpy ride and my head injury, my friends were helping me not any professional workers. I do not remember the emergency room of Hye-Min Hospital and what I will tell you comes from my friends who were dealing with admitting me. This comes from 2 Korean friends, 1 American friend, and 1 Canadian friend. My friends were speaking with the man admitting me, he said that the hospital would not help me unless I paid him $1000.00 in cash because I was a ‘Russian prostitute who probably deserved what I got’. Finally after convincing him I was neither Russian, nor a prostitute and having my boss show up, they decided to admit me into Intensive Care. Despite my major injuries being associated with my head and eye, there was no eye doctor even available at this hospital. However, the first hospital claimed that the bigger hospitals’ ICUs were all full and they could not take me.

At this hospital, I basically laid for 1 day on an IV —no medications were given and very little monitoring was done. My blood pressure was checked maybe 2 times per day and I was given no heart/oxygen or any other standard monitors. Besides being in pain from my head injuries, I was unable to sleep or lay without pain due to severe neck and back strains from being choked. The bed was flat in a very uncomfortable position and I was told if I needed to be moved I would have to pound on the side of my bed to get a nurses attention because they didn’t have call buttons. Of course, when I did this, nurses would ignore me for 10-15 minutes or more. I was finally moved into the ICU of Yongdong Severance Hospital where I was given good treatment and finally tests were taken. I was given an immediate CT scan, along with X-rays and an eye doctor looked at my eyes. It was decided that I had a brain hemorrhage, fractured skull and other facial bones, ocular hemorrhaging. On day 3 of my ordeal, I was visited by a deputy of the US embassy and a Korean detective, who through my best Korean friend, interpreted what happened and the suspect description. No sketch was taken, however.

While in the hospital I was thinking about who this guy might be so I gathered a list of the places I walk a lot. Based on his skin tone and build, I figured he must work outside and suggested to the police to check 3 nearby construction sites near my house that I regularly walk by, 2 car shops or local taxis. Based on the glove marks around my neck, I figured he could be a taxi driver and a taxi driver lives in my building, yet the police never interviewed anyone in my building or the surrounding buildings. My friends interviewed my neighbors on their own who said they did in fact hear screams, but were too afraid to help and saw nothing. The police interviewed no one, took no suspect sketch, no DNA, and despite claiming that they took fingerprints, there was no evidence of the traditional black soot fingerprinting would leave at my apartment. There were no police reports sent out to the media and despite me and my friends calling every Korean and English news and television media outlet, no one would cover my story or even just release information regarding the suspect’s appearance. I also remembered that because I lived in the nicest area of Seoul, for “security” they have CCTV cameras up around the neighborhoods. My Korean friend called the police with this information and all of my other suggestions about where to find the suspect and their response to us was “We do things our way, we are handling it, leave us alone”. I was never contacted by the police again. During my final day in the hospital, I finally got enough courage to look at the shirt I was wearing during the attack. The police did not collect it for evidence or DNA. Upon my examination, I found a short black hair to which I applied a piece of tape and called the police asking them to please come and pick it up—-it could be the suspect’s hair! Again, they responded, “We do things our way; we don’t have time for that”. Finally, after returning to America and complaining to the Embassy, the police agreed to look at the hair and we fed-exd the shirt to the police. It was returned “tested” with the hair still in tact. Nice, right?

I do not even want to get into my school. Of course we know how hagwons are. All I will say, is that they deemed me to be too problematic to the school because they feared I would reveal where I worked and make them to have a bad reputation. When I was released from the hospital, I had made flyers to distribute throughout my neighborhood with a suspect description and I was told by my school and the police that I could not do so because it would make all Koreans look crazy. So, despite being promised I would have a job when I was completely, recovered, I never got the offer back.

After returning back to the USA, I am not aware of anything going on in the investigation. About 3 weeks after my attack, a Korean girl was found naked and murdered, dying from the same injuries I sustained and she only lived about 5 minutes from my house by walk. So after 1 month, the police requested I get a sketch of the suspect and started sending me pictures of sex offenders about 2 months after my attack. But of course, the mind is a great thing and tries to forget something like that, so making a sketch now is difficult. Due to the recent string of serial rapes in Korea, I have taken it on myself to try to find out anyone who is arrested in case I may recognize the guy. After seeing a picture the Taejon serial rapist who was captured in Seoul in February, he seemed familiar to me and so I contacted the Embassy. They said the police determined it was not the same man who attacked me based on a DNA mismatch. Oh, now they do have my perpetrator’s DNA? Up until this point, I was told they didn’t have anything. Suspicious is the fact that they will not give the embassy pictures of the man for me to identify.

That is my story. My goal is not to shock, not to expound hate on Korea or Korean people. My goal is to make us foreigners living in a seemingly “safe” country aware that even though these things do not appear in the papers, they can and do happen. More importantly, I am looking for ways I can help to get started programs for foreigners to provide safety education and resources. If you would be attacked, do you know enough Korean to call the police, or do you even know the police number? If you do suffer an attack, there are no rape crisis lines or centers for foreigners. Finding a psychologist who speaks English is also difficult.

We need to get together and make a positive change. Acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step. Now, let’s make a difference.

I know this post is long but I think the information provided in it is very important because I know I learned plenty from the writer’s tragic experience and hopefully others did as well.