The North Koreans continue to send propaganda across the DMZ likely in response to the activists who continue to send propaganda leaflets north of the DMZ:
What appears to be a North Korean flyer was found in the front yard of the National Assembly on Tuesday morning. It contains messages criticizing the South Korean government and its policies on the North. / Yonhap
A large number of North Korean leaflets were found in southwestern Seoul on Tuesday morning.
Yeongdeungpo police station said police collected more than 1,300 flyers as of 7 a.m. after they were bombarded with reports that North Korean posters were scattered in the streets of Yeouido as early as Monday night.
The flyers contained messages criticizing South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her policies on the North. One flyer said: “Park Geun-hye is the maid of the U.S. and a war maniac.
“(What we want is) Conversation, not battle. (What we want is) Trust, not distrust. (What we want is) Holding talks between the military authorities of North and South Korea.” [Korea Times]
The Konglish often seen around Korea I always find humorous, but the Seoul city government has launched a crackdown to try and fix many of its signs:
On left, an English sign referring to a public stage in front of Seoul City Hall is wrongly translated as “Vitality Charging Station.” On right, “Muggyo Annex,” nearby the hall’s entrance, is misspelled as “Emuggyo Annex.” / Korea Times photo by Hong Dam-young, Lee Jin-a
The Seoul City government recently launched an ambitious project to crack down on errors in English-language signs. But maybe they should take a look at their own building first.
Walking around Seoul City Hall, reporters from The Korea Times spotted several errors in English-language signs.
The first sign that caught their attention was “Vitality Charging Station” at an information display kiosk on the first floor. Referring to a public stage in front of the building, the English wrongly translated the original meaning.
One of the reporters asked a passing Canadian if he could guess the meaning of “Vitality Charging Station.” He thought for a while and said: “I think it means ‘battery’ or ‘male stamina.’
It’s the best guess I can make. I’m not sure what it means, though.” [Korea Times]
Placards are hung on street lamps in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul, on Sept. 30, 2016, to open the welcome week for foreigners on the eve of China’s weeklong National Day holiday. A variety of performances will be held in Myeondong and seven other tourist attractions in the capital during the week, when some 250,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit South Korea. (Yonhap)
I saw this story posted over at Reddit Korea about a Korean man caught illegally dumping pig carcasses into the Han River:
Apparently since October of last year, he would dispose of pigs he had used for jesa(제사) by dumping them into the Han River. In total he discarded nearly 100 pigs, amounting to 13 tons of illegal dumping in a public waterway! [Reddit Korea]
Long time ROK Heads may remember the large protests that happened when a USFK mortician poured 20 gallons of formaldehyde down a drain that was diluted first of all by running water, then was processed through the Seoul waste treatment system, and finally through the Nanjido central metropolitan treatment plant along with 1.9 million gallons of other sewage and waste that was processed through those facilities that day.
Does anyone think this farmer will face mass protests and massive media demonization for what he did to pollute the river?
Over at Reddit I saw this link to a Daum blog that has some good historical photos of Seoul’s Myeongdong shopping district over the years. For example here is a picture of Myeongdong back in 1930 during the Imperial Japanese colonial period:
This is an interesting idea where the city of Seoul is holding a flea market where foreign residents are the vendors:
A flea market opened in downtown Seoul on Sunday with foreign residents as vendors, as part of the city government’s efforts to provide them opportunities to integrate with citizens here.
About a hundred foreigners from some 40 teams selected by the Seoul Global Center gathered at Gwanghwamun Plaza early in the morning and sold various goods, ranging from used items to traditional handcrafts.
For graduate student Alex Gubo from Slovakia, the flea market was a platform to introduce his country’s culture to people living here. This was the second time for him to take part in the flea market event hosted by the Seoul Global Center. (….)
Sunday’s event was the latest among similar ones that took place in April, May and June. The last flea market this year is slated for Oct. 23.
Any foreign residents can apply to take part in the event, free of charge, the center said, adding the application process is provided on its website on the first day of each scheduled month.
“This event enables foreigners and natives to come together as one by sharing diverse cultures,” said Shin Dong-hoon, an official at the center.
The regular foreigners’ flea market is part of a broader weekly market event run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government from April to October on every Sunday. The theme of the market varies every week. [Yonhap]
I am surprised some enterprising ajushi hasn’t started hunting these wild boars for his own samgyeopsal joint:
Eighty sightings of wild boars have been reported in downtown Seoul in the first six months of this year, according to the city government’s report to the National Assembly’s Security and Public Administration Committee. This is almost one sighting every two days.
The figure rose from 54 to 199 cases between 2012 and 2014, Yonhap news agency said. It dropped to 155 last year, but if it stays at the present rate it will exceed last year.
Jongno District has had the most sightings, accounting for 35 percent of the 623 cases reported between 2012 and June this year. Eunpyeong District and Seongbuk District were second and third.
The three regions are next to Bukhansan National Park, one of Korea’s main wild boar habitats. The animals often descend from the mountains to residential areas or to hiking trails in search for food or when they leave their herd after losing power struggles.
The boars can be extremely dangerous when aggressive. On June 11, a man in his 70s was severely injured in an attack while he was working in a field in Goryeong, North Gyeongsang Province. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but before people start getting panicked about getting attacked by a wild boar keep in mind that you are probably more likely to get attacked by person than a pig.
A competitor of the wakeboarding competition “2016 Wakeboard World Series” rides on the board high into the air on the Han River on Aug. 21, 2016. (Yonhap)
