Former ROK Army veterans who served in the Vietnam War recently won a lawsuit against the US companies responsible for manufacturing the chemical, Agent Orange, that was used to clear foliage in the jungles of Vietnam:

In the first Korean court ruling on compensation for illnesses triggered by the use of Agent Orange, a defoliant, during the Vietnam War, the Seoul High Court said yesterday that the U.S. chemical companies Dow Chemical and Monsanto must pay 6,795 Korean veterans a total of 63 billion won ($63 million).

“There is a high possibility that the plaintiffs, who were in Vietnam between 1965 and 1973, were exposed to the toxic chemical,” the court said. “We acknowledged the need for compensation for those who suffered 11 diseases that are the aftermath of exposure to Agent Orange, such as lymphatic gland cancer and larynx cancer.”

I think it is a good thing that these veterans won this lawsuit because it is pretty well documented the affects Agent Orange has had on Vietnam War veterans. A little known fact outside of Korea, is the fact that Korea had 47,682 soldiers fighting in Vietnam at the height of the war in 1968, at the US’s request and over 5,000 Korean soldiers were killed in the jungles there.

I have talked to many Korean Vietnam War veterans and every single one of them felt like they had been spurned and forgotten by the general Korean public. The US government at least should not forget about these veterans and help them get their compensation from the specified companies.

It will be interesting to see if President Roh will do anything as well to help these veterans. Remember this is the same guy that will not attend a memorial ceremony for six South Korean sailors murdered during a coordinated North Korean attack. With this in mind why would President Roh care about some old, sick Korean Vietnam War veterans?

This has to be the longest police chase I have ever heard of:

After a 71-and-a-half-hour chase involving special forces, a helicopter and three patrol boats, Jeju Maritime Police boarded and took control Thursday of a Russian freighter, which was on the run after dropping logs into waters east of Korea.
The “Tyumen,” a 4,516-ton boat transporting lumber, sent a distress call on Monday morning, indicating that it was sinking about 68.5 kilometers (42.6 miles) east of Mukho Harbor, Donghae, Gangwon province. The boat was en route to China from Russia.

After 25 minutes, the troops and police gained control of the Russian boat. The police took the boat and its crew to Hwasun harbor where the captain was being questioned on charges of violating Korean laws governing public water management.

Outgoing USFK commander General Leon LaPorte has two interesting articles in the Stars and Stripes that can be accessed both here and here. The first thing I would like to comment on is the part of the first article that talks about the 2002 armored vehicle accident:

Forty-four days into his command, two teenage girls were crushed by a 57-ton armored vehicle on a narrow road in Uijeongbu, about 15 miles north of Seoul.

The deaths quickly came to symbolize how little the Americans understood the country they were trying to protect, Korean analysts said this month. LaPorte and other USFK officials made repeated apologies, but they were denounced as late and insincere.

“It should have been handled more smartly,” said Assemblyman Yu Jae-gun, chairman of the Korean assembly’s Defense Committee, in a rare criticism of USFK under LaPorte.

Many, including Yu and Oberdorfer, say USFK has learned its lesson and responds more appropriately when tragedy occurs. Even President Bush made a statement right away about a Korean woman who was killed by an Army truck last summer, noted Kim Woo-sang, a professor of political science at Yonsei University in Seoul. “That’s a big difference,” he said.

USFK actually did make immediate apologies, held a candle light vigil on Camp Red Cloud, and offered compensation payments, but the Korean press was not interested in publicizing this. The Korean media was more interested in building as much xenophobic hatred as possible against American GI’s by publishing every wild and crazy conspiracy theory possible. The xenophobic hatefest of 2002 was more a product of the Korean media and their political accomplices than USFK public relations mistakes after the accident.

Here is another example of how the media is not eager to report any USFK good news stories:

LaPorte initiated a Good Neighbor Program shortly after the accident to promote more exchanges between Koreans and American servicemembers. The volunteer program encourages servicemembers to adopt orphanages and nursing homes, teach English and collect food and goods to distribute during Korean holidays.

General LaPorte actually didn’t start this program because GI’s have been adopting orphanages and volunteering in the local community long before 2002. General LaPorte to his credit was the first command to better organize and promote the Good Neighbor activities. Yet even his increased attention to this program has drawn little reaction from the Korean public because they don’t know about it:

It’s unlikely that many average Koreans know about the Good Neighbor Program, or even LaPorte’s name, many interviewed said. But they praised his efforts to reach out, noting there is now a USFK Web site in Korean for this Internet-driven country.

What I most remember about the xenophobic hatefest of 2002 is how the media buried the blatant attack and murder of six South Korean sailors patroling the Yellow Sea just days after the tank accident in order to draw public attention away from South Korea’s surprising World Cup run that year.

A traffic accident in the country with the world’s highest traffic accident rate draws mass protests, discrimination, and assaults against foreigners while a planned murder of six South Korean servicemen by the North Koreans barely draws a whisper of media attention. President Bush apologized for the traffic accident that resulted in the two girls deaths while I’m still waiting for Kim Jong Il to at least even say, “My bad” for killing the six South Korean sailors.

The Korean government has reacted to the recent reduction of the foreign film quota system in Korea by offering subsidies instead:

The government will inject W400 billion (US$400 million) into the film industry over the next five years to compensate it for a cut in the screen quota that so far guaranteed it a comfortable 176 days a year in the movie theaters. Half the money is to come from a 5 percent levy on tickets.

The long list of well made Korean films can stand on their own against Hollywood blockbusters and this subisidy that is coming from the consumers wallets will only serve to keep the crappy Korean films around.

US is apparently moving ahead with a plan to enforce further financial penalties on the North Koreans because of their illegal counterfeiting and financial activities:

But under the draft order, almost all finance companies would be effectively prohibited from doing business with North Korea. That would also affect international financial institutions outside the U.S. and thus deal a heavy blow to North Korea’s overseas trade.

In Perl’s reading, financial institutions would have a choice whether they are with or against the U.S., but given the importance of their U.S. interests, it would in effect force most major international firms to stop dealing with the North.

The South Korean government is of course upset that the US would enforce their own laws and levy penalties against the North Koreans for violating them. The financial sanctions plan will have an affect on the North Koreans, but I don’t see it causing the regime to collapse. The regime will not collapse until the South Koreans and Chinese stop given them continuous free hand outs. Whatever amount of money they lose from the financial sanctions the North Koreans will just demand an equable amount of aid from the South Koreans to make up for the short fall.

It appears that Koreans will be able to enter the US Visa free by 2008:

Michael Kirby, U.S. consul-general to South Korea, said on Thursday that it will be possible for Seoul to join Washington’s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as early as 2008 if it shows a visa refusal rate below 3 percent for two years.

“I am very optimistic that, if everything works out, it will be possible perhaps for (South) Korea to join the program as early as 2008,” Kirby told YTN, a 24-hour cable news channel.

I think it is great if South Korea becomes part of the Visa Waiver Program because it has been a sore point for Koreans traveling to the US for a long time, plus the US Embassy in Seoul would be greatly relieved because they currently process more visa applications than any other US Embassy in the world. I just think that it is important that the VWP rules not be bent to allow the Koreans to join. There are set rules that must be met and if Korea meets them by 2008, than they should be allowed to join the program.

A Korean Air Force F-16 has crashed in Chungju, South Korea:

Lieutenant Colonel Kim Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the Air Force, said the pilot ¿ identified as a 35-year-old major ¿ suffered only minor injuries and was in a stable condition.

The F-16C caught fire as it was taking off and crashed near the base’s perimeter fence after the pilot ejected. The Air Force immediately grounded all combat aircraft except those on crucial air patrols and is investigating the incident.
Air Force officials said F-16s have been deployed nationwide since 1986. Since then, seven have crashed, the first in 2002.

This is the reason why I stay home during Lunar New Year in Korea.

Here is one Japanese cultural transfer I hope makes it to Korea, Beerbots!:

Japanese beer maker Asahi plans to give away 5000 personal bartending bots, each of which can store up to six cans of beer in a refrigerated compartment within its belly. At the push of a button the simple robots will open a can and pour the chilled contents into a glass for a thirsty owner.

Some robotics experts see the promotion as a fun way to promote a wider interest in robotics. Others, however, say it is a gimmick that distracts from genuine robot research.

Via the Dram Man, (a good blog by the way worth checking out) here is a Samsung animator’s attempt on how to properly use a urinal in Korea:

Kind of reminds me of when I was in Japan and there they had to post diagrams on how to use the Asian style urinals there:

My elevator could of used the Samsung diagram when this person kept pissing all over my apartment’s elevator.