It would be interesting to see how many people in Korea would support this ban? I wonder how this would be enforced though?:
The nominee for the Korea Media Communications Commission (KMCC) said Tuesday he would consider introducing a ban on teenagers’ use of social media platforms to protect underage users from harmful content online.
Kim Jong-cheol, a professor at Yonsei Law School who was nominated last month by President Lee Jae Myung to lead the KMCC, made the remark during his parliamentary confirmation hearing.
“I believe it is absolutely necessary,” Kim said in response to a question on whether South Korea should introduce age restrictions similar to those adopted by Australia.
“Youth protection is one of the core issues among my key responsibilities, and I am prepared to pursue this task with a strong commitment,” he added.
You can read more at the link.
The last time I was in Itaewon it did not seem any busier than usual, but apparently this year the number of foreigners visiting the district has increased:
Itaewon has seen a sharp rise in visitors this year, a trend driven in part by Yongsan District’s effort to revive the area’s local-brand commercial district.
According to the Yongsan District Office on Friday, the initiative is now entering its final stage and has begun to deliver tangible results.
The number of domestic visitors climbed from 1.25 million last year to 1.3 million as of November. Foreign tourist arrivals also exceeded 250,000, up from 240,000 a year earlier.
You can read more at the link.
This is actually a pretty good idea to make using public transit easier for foreigners. With that said it is not that hard to figure out how to pay for public transit in Korea:
The government has begun reviewing a system that would allow foreign tourists to use buses and subways in Korea with overseas-issued credit cards, officials said Sunday.
The land and transport recently launched a bid to commission a study on introducing an open-loop public transportation payment system, which was to begin this month and run through the end of next year, according to the officials.
The study aims to enable foreigners to pay public transportation fares directly with international credit cards. Currently, visitors must purchase and top up transportation cards with cash or buy prepaid cards designed specifically for foreigners, which often causes inconvenience.
You can read more at the link.
Fortunately the Air Force recovered this drone before someone else did:
A U.S. Air Force unit based in South Korea said Sunday it has completed the recovery operations of a MQ-9 drone that crashed off the country’s west coast last month.
The drone, also known as the Reaper, crashed near Maldo-ri Island off the western city of Gunsan, about 180 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 24, with no injuries reported. An investigation into the cause of the incident is under way.
“Following a thorough and collaborative effort, the recovery operation has now been successfully completed,” the 8th Fighter Wing told Yonhap News Agency, in response to a query on follow-up measures.
The U.S. Air Force had conducted the operation in cooperation with the South Korean Navy, the Coast Guard and the Army.
You can read more at the link.
As soon as President Lee was elected this issue was going to come up:
The differences between Seoul and Washington over joint military exercises have become more pronounced. South Korean leaders have publicly suggested scaling down the exercises to bring North Korea to the negotiating table, while U.S. officials oppose the idea and emphasize their importance for alliance readiness.
Scaling down or postponing joint military exercises has been proposed by previous governments, mainly liberal ones, to create a reconciliatory environment with North Korea, as the North has often called the drills “a rehearsal of war.”
President Lee Jae Myung and other officials in his administration have raised the issue as they seek to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang, as communication channels are currently severed.
“If necessary, and if it helps the United States exercise strategic leverage, even the issue of joint military drills can be discussed and considered,” Lee said in a press conference on Dec. 3. “Simply saying such discussions are possible can help to open conditions for negotiations.”
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young echoed this view, repeatedly saying that joint exercises should serve broader goals such as easing tensions and supporting dialogue.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said, “Joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises are a tool to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. They cannot be the objective in themselves.” He added that the president had already laid out the criteria for reviewing the issue.Chung noted that the suspension of Team Spirit exercises in 1992 and 1994 helped advance nuclear negotiations with North Korea, while another pause in 2018 coincided with a thaw in inter-Korean relations. He said a similar measure may be needed ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China next April and his potential talks with North Korea.
You can read more at the link.
