Tag: Seoul

I think the most blame should be put on the mother who did not ask anyone for help though I would not be surprised if she was suffering from depression that contributed to her death:

Han Sung-ok, 42, seemed determined to pick through nearly every lettuce on the market stand. She turned each one over and examined it while her six-year-old son clambered on the fence nearby. 

The vegetable seller in the southern Seoul suburb looked on, annoyed. This was one picky customer and she didn’t even buy a lot of vegetables – only one or two items for as little as she could pay. On this occasion it was a lettuce for 500 won (about $0.40; £0.33). 

Uttering only a few words, Han handed over her money and left with her son.

Just a few weeks later, both were dead. 

Having fled food shortages in her native North Korea and dreaming of a new life, Han and her son are believed to have starved to death in one of the wealthiest cities in Asia. Their bodies lay undiscovered for two months until someone came to read the water meter and noticed a bad smell.

Mother and son were found apart on the floor. The only food in their tiny rented apartment was a bag of red pepper chilli flakes.

BBC

You can read the whole thing at the link, but she definitely had a hard life and trouble adapting to South Korean culture. People in the government probably should have done more to check on her welfare, but ultimately if she would have reached out to defector organizations or even a local church she could have gotten help instead of starving to death.

As far protests go, only getting a supposed 20,000 people to show up in the middle of Seoul is pretty weak. Maybe the supposed anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea is not as great as the media and politicians lead people to believe:

The weekly protest rally demanding Japan’s apology to victims of its wartime sex slavery marked its 1,400th edition Wednesday amid an escalating diplomatic and trade row between Seoul and Tokyo.

Nearly 20,000 activists, students and other citizens assembled to participate in the 27-year-old protest in front of the former compound of the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul at noon.

Politicians, including Rep. Sim Sang-jung, head of the progressive Justice Party, and Rep. Nam In-soon for the ruling Democratic Party also attended the historic event.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I am still waiting for an anti-China protest in regards to their destruction of the Korean peninsula during the Korean War which was more recent than Japan’s World War II offenses against Korea.

Following Yonhap News, my job title is again "begpacker buster" on JTBC. Whatever, hope authorities will clampdown on the stream of shameless #begpackers entering Korea. pic.twitter.com/OZ9RVGdmA7

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 16, 2019

Good luck with this:

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced on Sunday his vision to turn Seoul into a bicycle-friendly city, including installing elevated bike roads above bus lanes in Seoul, during his visit to Bogota, Colombia.  

“My intention is to turn Seoul into one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world,” Park told Korean reporters in Colombia’s capital on Sunday, during his trip to several South American cities to bridge inter-city cooperation on urban regeneration. 

“And there are a few options to go about this plan. One is to take some of the car lanes and turn them into bike highways while making sure that they are completely separated from car roads.”

“Another option,” he continued, “is to build elevated bike roads above bus lanes, or to build enclosed bike lanes on either side of bridges across the Han River.”

Park is traveling through South American cities, including Mexico City, and Medellin and Bogota, both Colombia, from July 8 to 17 to explore inter-city cooperation on urban regeneration.

He made the announcement during a day of ciclovia, which is a local practice in some South American cities such as Bogota and Medellin that involves blocking certain roads from traffic and opening it up to pedestrians and cyclists on Sundays or other designated days.

“In all the options that the city government is considering, it is trying to build a so-called Cycle Rapid Transportation highway, an unprecedented attempt,” the Seoul city government said in a statement on Sunday. “The bike highway would be completely separate from roads used by cars and by pedestrians.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will inject 300 million won ($254,400) within this year to conduct feasibility studies on the plan. 

Jeong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Anyone want to place a bet that this cable car operator was busy looking at his phone?:

The police investigating a cable car accident that took place at N Seoul Tower on Friday will book an employee who was in charge of the operations control at the time.

The Namdaemun Police Station said the individual will be taken into custody on charges of professional negligence resulting in injury. 

In earlier police questioning, the employee is known to have said that he was late in putting the brakes on the cable car because he hadn’t been paying attention.

At around 7:15 p.m. Friday, the cable car carrying 20 passengers failed to slow down while entering the platform and crashed into the safety fence.

Seven passengers including two foreign tourists suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital.

Cable car rides at the N Seoul Tower have since been suspended for mechanical inspections.

KBS World Radio via a reader tip

LOL! Seoul City recently placed 80 (130 says JTBC) massive tree pots in Seoul's Gwanghwamun to block Park Geun-hye lovers from installing "release her from jail" tents.

Today: PGH lovers install tents in Gwanghwamun spots "where there were no trees".

🤣🤦‍♂️https://t.co/E2iZQQ5DL9 pic.twitter.com/cvSRBFE0Yk

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 6, 2019

I am not a fan of occupying Gwanghamun Square with tents, but would the government remove tents of their political allies if they set them up in Gwanghamun Square?:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government removed tents, Tuesday, which had been put up illegally by a far-right minor opposition party in Gwanghwamun Square protesting the imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye.

However, the Our Republican Party, put up new tent on the same spot just five hours later, indicating a possible clash between it and the city government in the near future.

According to the city government, 500 municipal officials and 400 hired workers raided the spot at 5:20 a.m. to remove two tents and a canopy installed by the party.

The party, which changed its name the previous day from the Korean Patriots Party, set up the tents May 10 for sit-in protests calling for an investigation into the deaths of five pro-Park supporters who died during a 2017 rally against the impeachment of the former president. Seoul City has been sending letters of notification to the party to remove the tents set up without its permission. 

The officials and workers clashed with 400 party members and supporters, who tried to protect the tents after a city official read out a notice on the execution of an administrative order.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.