North Korea Renegs On 6 Way Talks Deal (1): A day after issuing a joint statement, North Korea changes their mind and demands light water reactors again. US officials are angered, while I don’t think anyone in the K-blogosphere was surprised.

Charles Jenkins Speaks Out (1): The world learned about life inside North Korea through former US Army deserter Charles Jenkins who returned from 35 years of living in the North. He also dropped a bombshell by claiming that North Korea still had captives from other countries while simultaneously showing the world his farmer tan.

Campaign Against North Korean Defectors (1)(2): It is bad enough the Chinese and the North Koreans are trying to stop defectors from the North but now the South Korean government is also actively trying to stop defectors. With all the challenges the defectors keep coming.

Human Rights Summit In Seoul (1): This summit has begun to lay the groundwork for holding North Korea accountable for their deplorable human rights situation.

Food Aid Stops To North Korea (1): The US and the World Food Program stop all food aid to North Korea due to the North Koreans not allowing proper monitoring of the aid.

Ric Flair On North Korea (1): The famous wrestler has a lot of interesting things to say about a wrestling trip to North Korea.

Unification Minister Needs a Muzzle (1): Chung once again blames the US for all of Korea’s woes. I wish this guy would shut up, I’d rather listen to Ric Flair.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope everyone enjoyed this look back at 2005. I expect an eventful year next year as well. Once again Happy New Year!

Dokto Madness (1)(2)(3): The madness over Dokto continued in full force in 2005. It continued enough that even I got in on it as well.

Yasukuni Nonsense Continues (1)(2): Prime Minister Koizumi continues to aggravate his childish neighbors by visiting the highly biased memorial that honors war criminals and white washes history. How do I know this? I visited the shrine myself.

International Tug of War (1): The dispute over an illegal Korean fishing vessel shows how childish Korean and Japanese relations have become.

Remembering Hiroshima (1)(2): This year was the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan.

Textbook Flap (): The controversy over Japanese textbooks whitewashing history continued.

Daniel Hong Controversy (1)(2): An article in the Korea Times from Daniel Hong brought out much debate about expats and Korean-Americans.

Hollywood Bar Incident (1): The denial of service at the Hollywood bar to an African person created good debate about denying service to soldiers and people of different races in Itaewon.

Canadians On The Run (1): Attention for once shifted from GI’s to illegal Canadian English teachers. I offer advice of how to blend in as a GI.

Top 10 Gecko’s Pickup Lines (1): If you have been there you will find these funny.

Cheju’s Loveland (1): This tourist attraction on Cheju Island proved to be a hit in the K-blogosphere.

Red Devil Soccer Team Qualifies for World Cup (1): The Korean soccer team not only qualified for the World Cup next year in Germany but also has favorable bracketing as well.

New Korean Soccer Coach (1): Former coach Bonfrere quits admid controversy new hardline coach Advocaat debuts with much fanfare.

Apolo Ohno Returns to Korea (1): US speedskater returns to Korea and wins competition.

Korean Baseball Scandal (1): US baseball had a performance enhancing drug scandal, Korea had their very own peformance enhancing cabbage scandal.

DMZ Shooting Rampage (1): A South Korean soldier goes on a rampage killing a number of his fellow soldiers. The rampage causes the Korean government to issue a huge cultural shift in the ROK Army.

South Korea Cuts Troops in Iraq (1): The Korean government decides to cut the Iraq troop deployment by a 1/3.

Zaytun Unit Reconstruction In Iraq (1): The ROK Army begins their great reconstruction project in Iraq, introducing modern toilets.

Soldiers Ambushed (1): Thugs ambushed two ROK Army soldiers and stole their weapons which led to a nation wide man hunt. The perpetrators were eventually arrested weeks later.

Korean Government Continues To Ignore Victims Families (1): The Korean government continues to neglect the families of the sailors killed in a pre-meditated 2002 attack on South Korean naval ships by the North Korean navy in an effort to create tensions during the 2002 World Cup.

KATUSA’s Allowed To Wear Taeguki (1): KATUSA soldiers serving with US soldiers were allowed to wear the Korean flag on their uniforms after a decision was made to have American soldiers wear the US flag on their uniforms.

Relocation Protests and Violence (1): Violent protests against relocating US forces to Camp Humphreys creates Braveheart style battles between protesters and Korean riot police.

Taxi Cab Related Incidents (1)(2)(2): A scourge of taxi cab related incidents and other acts of indiscipline plague USFK all year.

Osan Shakedown Scandal (1): An Air Force lieutenant in charge of the town patrol is convicted for corruption and a host of other crimes involving the shakedown of local bar owners for money and sex.

Human Trafficking Campaign (1)(2)(3): USFK and Korean police campaign against prostitution has mixed results and much controversy. Would families curve prostitution and what about the economic damage?

Fatal Vehicle Accident (1)(2): This had the potential of blowing up on USFK but the fatal accident was well handled and the family accepted the soldiers apology. This didn’t stop anti-US protesters from taking advantage of the situation to push their own causes though.

USFK To Become USFJ? (1): Rumors continue to swirl about USFK being pulled off the peninsula to Japan.

Black Marketing Campaign(1): USFK started an agressive campaign this year to curb black marketing which included a number of arrests with mixed results.

Camp Closure (1): Some look at it as a sign of USFK transformation and others as the beginning of a pullout. Either way USFK saw camps Page, Essayons, Sears, Falling Water, and Kyle all close this year.

Tsunami Relief Deployment (1): USFK soldier deployed to Indonesia to help with tsunami relief in the disaster stricken region.

Pro-US Rallies On The Rise (1): Many pro-American groups fed up with the violent protests from Korea’s far left have begun mobilizing to counter the communist sympathizers.

War Time Command Issue (1): The US and Korea agree to explore giving the ROK Army war time command of US forces. Yeah, right.

Army Officer Raped (1): A Korean man robbed and raped a female US Army officer in Daegu at her off post apartment. The perpetrator is still at large.

Anjung-ri Business Owners Square Off Against Camp Humphreys’ Officials (1): A number of business owners outside of Camp Humphreys raised a banner demanding that the camp commander go back to Afghanistan after a number of establishments were put off limits.

USFK Crime Rape Drops (1): You wouldn’t know it due to the bias media in Korea but the USFK crime rate has drop significantly.

Apache Helicopter Crash (1): An apache helicopter went down during a training exercise killing one soldier.

Yongsan Garrison Scam (1): A scam by a Korean woman signing people onto Yongsan Garrison to gamble netted this woman $1.2 Million before getting caught. How many have been doing this that haven’t been caught?

USFK Will Not Deploy Regionally (1): The US put to rest any concerns from Seoul that USFK would be used in regional conflicts without Korea’s permission.

UN Cemetery In Pusan Vandalized (1): Anti-US scumbags spray vandalize the graves of US soldiers killed during the Korean War buried in Pusan.

False Marriage Proposal (1): CRC soldier makes headlines with his false marriage proposal to Korean woman.

Asking The US To Leave (1): Is it time for the US to get out of Korea with activists blaming the US for everything wrong in the country?

Camp Kwangsa-ri Man Swindle US for Thousands (1): A Korean worker on camp Kwangsa-ri embezzled hundred of thousands of dollars from the ammunition depot.

Stem Cell Controversy (1): Dr. Hwang was turned into a legendary hero and a international disgrace over the course of the last year. The country is still reeling from the aftershocks of this scandal.

North Korea Officially Declares It Has Nukes (1): North Korea put all the guessing to rest about their nuclear program by officially coming clean and declaring themselves a nuclear state.

South Korean Human Rights Vote (1): South Korea abstains from UN vote to condemn North Korea’s human rights conditions while previously condemning other countries. Belarus challenges Korea’s hippocrisy.

South Korean Aid to North Korea Continues (1): South Korea continues to give ridiculous amounts of aid to North Korea. The North’s military needs to get their food and clothing from somewhere I guess.

Cheongyecheon Steam Opens (1)(2): The brain child of Seoul’s Mayor Lee Myung-bak becomes an extremely popular attraction in Seoul and catapults Lee to presidential front runner.

Hong Kong Riots (1): South Korean farmers are arrested for rioting during a protest against the WTO at Hong Kong.

Typhoon Nabi (1): Typhoon primarily hit Japan and Southeastern Korea the hardest before making land fall on Korea’s isolated Ullong-do Island one of my favorite places in all of Korea.

Robert Kim Returns to Korea (1): The Korean-American scumbag that spied for the Korean government returns to a heros’ welcome in Korea.

Korean Press Secretary Puts Foot In Her Mouth (1): The Korean Press Secretary suggests that there is little anti-Americanism in Korea.

PETA Protesters (1): Now these are protests that I can get into. Bikini clad activists protest for animal rights in Seoul.

Ms. Asia Contest (1): Korea finishes second at the Ms. Asia contest. The Chinese winner is absolutely gorgeous.

Koreans Married To Foreigners (1): In a shocker it was discovered that 10% of Koreans were married to a foreigner.

Korean Gas Crisis (1): Studies show that Korea has a farting problem.

Elephants Run Wild In Seoul (1): A stampede of elephants that escaped from a zoo causes property damage and injuries in Seoul.

The Ugly Korean? (1): A Hong Kong airport disturbance tarnishes Korea’s image abroad.

With the New Year just around the corner I have decided to do a look back at the news stories that mattered enough in Korea in 2005 for me to blog about them right here on GI Korea. It was an eventful year with the Stem Cell controversy highlighting a year, featuring many violent riots and protests, USFK transformation and tsunami relief operations, plus a host of other happenings that make Korea the land of endless blogging material. So enjoy this look back and feel free to comment on something you think I should have included or not. Happy New Years!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

US-Korea Postings That Mattered:

MacArthur Statue Controversy (1)(2)(3): Communist rioters try to tear down MacArthur statue in Inchon while veterans defend the statue. Korean government fails to condemn rioters while US Congressmen and the British Embassy condemn the protests.

The Falling US Dollar (1): The falling US dollar earlier this year was putting a lot less Korean Won for beer drinking in soldiers and expats pockets.

President Bush Attends APEC Meeting (1): President Bush attended the APEC meeting in Pusan admit tight Korean security. APEC meeting executed smoothly by Korean government.

Korean Visa Waiver Issue (1): An important issue with Koreans is trying to get the US government to implement the Visa waiver program for Korean nationals.

Microsoft Anti-trust Case in Korea (1): US software maker agrees to settlement in anti-trust suit.

Reuters is reporting that Korea has the world’s most dangerous streets:

The mean streets of the industrialized world are meanest in South Korea, which tops several categories for accidents and road fatalities.
South Korea led the developed world in 2003 with the most accidents per 10,000 vehicles, the most accidents per kilometer of roadway and the most road-related fatalities per 100,000 people, according to figures compiled by South Korea’s Road Traffic Authority.

(…)

South Korea had 137 accidents for 10,000 vehicles in 2003, followed by Japan with 117, Belgium with 90, while the United States and Australia tied for fourth with 85.

South Korea had 2.5 accidents per km of road to top the industrialized world ranking, far more than number two Turkey at 0.9 and third-ranked Japan at 0.8.

Here is what South Korea’s Road Traffic Authority says is responsible for the high accident rate:

“Koreans have a ‘hurry hurry’ culture. We only consider the results and the not the means,” said a spokesman for the agency by telephone.

The figures could also be attributed to heavy traffic levels in a densely populated country, the spokesman said. Simply not paying enough attention when driving was also a factor.

I am often conflicted on if Korea has the world’s best or worst drivers because the way people here don’t obey traffic laws along with pedestrians running around all over the place, I am amazed there isn’t more accidents here.

Koreans prescribe to what I call a Darwinian approach to driving. There is a food chain on the Korean roads. The buses and “Terminator” trucks rule the roads. Large Bongo trucks are next in the pecking order. Small bongo trucks, taxis, SUV’s, and cars are next in the pecking order. In last place on the pecking order are the many moped drivers. If someone gets in accident with a vehicle higher in the pecking order it is that driver’s fault for the accident and the driver of that vehicle will let you know it to by becoming angry and sometimes violent after the accident.

Sometimes it doesn’t even take an accident to make someone higher in the food chain angry. One time I saw a cab driver get out of his cab and slap someone in a car who was talking on his cell phone and didn’t go on the green light. The cab driver didn’t honk or anything, he just simply got out and slapped the guy.

USFK has had a handful of accidents over the past few years involving military vehicles hitting mopeds. You hear very little outrage over these accidents because the mopeds are the lowest on the food chain. Now if a USFK vehicle hits a pedestrian that is a different story because they are not considered part of the food chain.

Due to this Darwinian approach to driving the buses, “Terminators”, and taxi drivers feel they have free reign on the roadways to cut off other vehicles and break any traffic laws necessary to get them more quickly from Point A to Point B.

The police do nothing to stop this either. When I walk to work I have to cross a busy intersection and sometimes the police will stand with these gay looking flags in an effort to get drivers to stop running the red lights and causing accidents at the intersection. It has little effect because the buses, “Terminators”, large bongos, and taxis just driver right through the red lights anyway and honk at the police. The police just blow their whistles at the offender but do not write down any license plate number or get into their cruiser to chase the person down to ticket them.

There is another busy intersection I cross and there they have ajummas with flags to stop cars from running the red light as well. At this intersection no one dares run the red light because first of all the that is the main crosswalk for children to go to school and Koreans love children so they will stop there, plus no matter how high a vehicle is on the food chain all drivers are scared of pissed off ajummas.

So there is a number of reasons for the high traffic accident rate in Korea, but the bottom line is that as long as the Korean police is looked at as nothing more than Keystone cops nothing will change unless of course every intersection in Korea is manned with pissed off ajummas.

Nomad has more on this subject as well.

Here is another indication that relations between Washington and Beijing continue to improve:

Chinese officials have agreed to consider a U.S. request to search military archives that could yield clues to the fate of missing Korean War servicemen possibly held by China, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.
Beijing was “optimistic that a way could be found to access the documents,” the embassy said in a statement.

Relatives of missing servicemen welcomed the news of China’s decision with wary optimism.

This is really good news that Beijing is going to allow US investigator to tap their archives to look for missing US POW’s. Hopefully, cooperation like this between the US and China can help find out what happened to the missing Korean War POW’s to finally give these families closure on what happened to their loved one over 50 years ago.