At least Angelina Jolie knows what good Korean barbecue to order:
What is Angelina Jolie doing in Seoul?
American actress Angelina Jolie has been spotted in a restaurant in Samcheong-dong, a traditional area in central Seoul, by a number of people who shared her photos on social media on Friday.
According to the witnesses, the mega star was having samgyeopsal, the famous Korean style grilled pork dish, inside the restaurant at about 10 p.m.
“I just bumped into Angelina Jolie. She was eating Samgyepsal,” a Korean shared on her Instagram, with a photo of Jolie.
Sitting across from Jolie was Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, the Hollywood actress’s 14-year-old son.
To the post, people responded by saying, “Oh my God, what is she doing here?” and “I can’t believe she and I are under the same sky (in Seoul).”
Jolie was last in Seoul officially for premiere of movie “Salt” in 2010, in which she starred as the heroine. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but it is thought she may be in town to advocate for the Yemeni refugees in South Korea in her role as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)’s Special Envoy.
Deoksu Palace in Seoul is surrounded by trees full of autumn leaves on Oct. 28, 2018. The palace, one of the royal residences from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), is a top tourist spot in the South Korean capital. (Yonhap)
On the 80th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, may I say: It was a good thing that Neville Chamberlain had the good grace not to hoist a giant picture of Adolf Hitler on London's City Hall in 1938. https://t.co/4Lr9On1Y4K
Any guesses on who will pay for all the new Olympic infrastructure in North Korea if this plan gets advanced?:
At a press briefing in Seoul City Hall on Friday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announces a plan to bid for hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics with North Korean capital of Pyongyang. [YONHAP]Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon wants his city to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
At a press conference at City Hall Friday, just hours after his return from the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, Park vowed to dedicate his efforts to making that dream come true.
A joint statement signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit on Wednesday included an agreement to launch a joint bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
More apartment construction is coming to the greater Seoul area:
The former site of the Seongdong Detention Center in Songpa District, southeastern Seoul, on Friday. [YONHAP]The government named 17 sites where 35,000 apartment units will be built in the greater Seoul area, one of its attempts to cool off the overheated real estate market.
This is the first batch of sites the government announced. An additional 13 sites and 265,000 units will be announced later, including four to five “new cities” to be built next to the first generation of new cities such as Ilsan and Bundang in Gyeonggi.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday said it plans to supply 10,000 apartment units in Seoul on 11 sites. However only two areas in Seoul were disclosed as it is still working with the Seoul city government. The ministry said the Seoul government will announce the nine remaining sites.
The ones that were disclosed were Songpa District, southeastern Seoul, where the relocated Seongdong Detention Center used to stand, and Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul. The two sites that were named are located on the edge of the nation’s capital, contrary to previous speculation that they would be located in the center of the city. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but Uijongbu has been selected as a suburb of Seoul that will also have more apartments constructed. The government has not released where the apartments will be built, but with the closure of Camp Red Cloud in the near future, the old USFK military base could become yet another area in Korea covered in apartments.
The FED became an oddly located military installation after Seoul’s explosive growth. It is now about to finally close:
A Korean War-era Quonset hut stands at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District compound in Seoul, South Korea, July 31, 2018.
A few blocks from the sloping, spaceship-shaped Dongdaemun Design Plaza in one of Seoul’s trendiest fashion districts is another odd sight.
A tiny U.S. Army base sits just across the street from a hospital morgue and adjacent to a park that blocks its view from a major thoroughfare.
Know as FED, the compound has been home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, headquarters since the 1950-53 Korean War. Before that it was the site of a Japanese-built school from the nearly four decades when Japan occupied the peninsula until its defeat in World War II.
Surrounded by concrete and brick walls lined with concertina wire, the 13-acre base can be easy to miss, one of several sub-installations that belong to the larger Yongsan Garrison just a few miles away.
But its history reflects the highs and lows of the U.S. presence in the South Korean capital. In a final act, the Corps of Engineers is preparing to close the base after it moves to Camp Humphreys as part of the long-delayed relocation of most U.S. forces south of Seoul.
Kenneth Pickler, 64, the Far East District’s transportation chief, has worked on the compound since he was first deployed there as a soldier 1989, then took a job as a civilian after retiring from active duty.
The Cloverdale, Calif., native plans to retire after the FED compound closes, although he plans to remain in South Korea.
“My last official duty is to shut off the lights, lock the gate and hand the keys over … back to the garrison,” he told Stars and Stripes in an interview last month. “And that’s supposed to happen in mid-November.” [Stars and Stripes]
You can read much more at the link such as the fact that a third of the buildings at the FED were built by the Japanese. The first building was the Gyeongseong School of Education built in 1922 that is the main building used on the compound.
There is also an interesting story about a fuel leak mess created by the South Koreans when they razed an old Japanese courthouse adjacent to the FED back in the 1990’s that the US had to clean up. It reminded me of the current fuel leak controversy over at Yongsan Garrison frequently blamed on USFK.
After the base closes in November there are not current plans on what the ROK will do with the land. Considering that there are a number of Japanese era buildings on the property the bulldozer is likely coming for them.
It appears that Ambassador Harris is going to need to start packing a gun to protect himself after reading this article:
Habib House is the U.S. ambassador’s residence in downtown Seoul. Yonhap
What if it had been a terrorist?
That must be what crossed the mind of U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris.
About 10 p.m. on Sept. 3, an intruder was caught prowling Habib House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in downtown Seoul.
It is said Harris is not happy with the intrusion and the lack of adequate follow-up measures by Korean police.
The intruder proved to be a Korean-Chinese woman who arrived in Korea two days before the break-in.
When discovered in the house, she was reportedly speaking incoherently and making an unfounded claim that she was a relative of former President Lee Myung-bak, now in jail and being tried for corruption while in office, among other things.
It couldn’t be confirmed whether the ambassador was at home when the intrusion happened. But he is said to be upset about what could have happened if the woman was an IS terrorist trained to harm him.
He is said to be dissatisfied with the Korean police response, not even offering written assurances promising no repetition of a similar incident.
The Namdaemun police station, which is handling the case, told The Korea Times that the suspect was released 48 hours after the incident and it was no big deal.
“Breaking in and entering is not a serious crime,” a police officer said. “By law we could hold the woman for 48 hours. So we released her.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but based on the police response to this incident, any crazy leftist could break into the US ambassador’s house to launch a protest against the Trump administration’s North Korea policies with no consequences.
What makes this matter even worse is that the prior US ambassador Mark Lippert was brutally knifed in the face by inadequate Korean security.
Fortunately this happened when no kids where in school:
A kindergarten building in southern Seoul has tilted after a retaining wall at a nearby construction site collapsed. No casualties were reported but the incident led to the evacuation of some 50 people at one point.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
Report: According to local authorities, the three-story Sangdo Kindergarten in the southern district of Dongjak tilted about ten degrees after the wall designed to prevent subsidence caved in at around 11:20 p.m. Thursday.
There were no casualties as the building was empty at the time but some 50 local residents had to evacuate and take shelter at a community center and hotel on Thursday night before returning home on Friday morning. [KBS World Radio]
There is so little green space around Seoul as it is and it appears there may soon be even less:
The Korean government is mulling the option of developing regions in Seoul designated as greenbelt areas to increase apartment supply in the city.
According to local media reports in Korea, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure is looking into securing land in Seoul that could be developed into residential areas. Options on the table for the Land Ministry includes greenbelt areas with relatively less conservation value compared to other areas as well as abandoned land in the city.
Greenbelt zones are protected areas of land where building is not permitted to protect the environment.
Lawmakers and top officials, including ruling Democratic Party Chairman Lee Hae-chan and Blue House policy chief Jang Ha-sung, have said that the government wants to significantly increase the supply of apartments in Seoul. The stance indicates an about-face in the government’s real estate policy.
As recently as last week, top officials, including Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee, said that the supply of housing in Korea is sufficient. Up until now, government measures focused on tight control over speculation on existing apartments. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but does anyone still think that all of Yongsan Garrison once it is vacated will become a city park?
