Tag: Seoul

It was only a matter of time, but it looks like the Korean left is now trying to use the Sewol tragedy to their political benefit by trying to turn it into another 2008 mad cow like violent protest:

Protesters try to topple a police bus at a rally in downtown Seoul on April 18, 2015. (Yonhap)

Police said Sunday they will trace violent demonstrators at a street rally here the previous night that left scores of police officers injured.

“We will run after those who organized the violent rally and acted violently so they could be subjected to legal punishment,” a spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said in a news conference.

As many as 74 police officers were wounded, three of them seriously, the spokesman said, adding that 72 police vehicles were damaged and 368 police cameras, walkie-talkies and other equipment were either damaged or stolen.  (………)

More than 13,000 police were mobilized to blockade the road to Cheong Wa Dae and they used hundreds of trucks and other vehicles to seal off the roads nearby.

Some demonstrators destroyed police vehicles and took out fire extinguishers to spray them against the police.

Several of the police vehicles were turned over by some protesters using ropes.

Police rounded up 100 violent demonstrators, including 20 members of the bereaved families of the ferry sinking.

Nine demonstrators were brought to nearby hospitals for injuries suffered in the clash.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but as we have seen before the leftists are trying to get the police to over react and then use carefully taken picture to create the perception that South Korea has become a police state just like Park’s father once administered back in the 70’s.  All it would take is the leftists getting violent and the policing responding heavy handedly and then the leftists inserting one of the mother’s of the Sewol victims into the scuffle.  They would love nothing more then having pictures of what appears to be a Sewol victim’s mother being beaten by police and they may have gotten them:

“After countless attempts and struggles until the break of dawn, we are here at the Gwanghwamun Gate with a blanket,” Kim Young-oh, who lost his daughter Yu-min in the accident, said on a social networking service on Friday. “In the meantime, the mother of one of the victims broke four of her ribs and 10 others were taken by the police.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

What is actually ironic about the Korean leftist is that this time they actually have a legitimate complaint though President Park is not entirely to blame for the Sewol tragedy.  The lack of safety and corruption in Korea has been going on long before Park ever became President.  Probably the worst thing so far I have seen in the aftermath of the Sewol tragedy is how the captain and crew took nearly all the blame while the company that owned the boat received less than a $10,000 fine.  If the leftists really cared about this tragedy they would be protesting in front o f the Chonghaejin Marine Company demanding that they pay compensation to the families and raise the Sewol themselves instead of protesting President Park.

This is a protest I think most men would want to go check out:

A topless woman appeared in Seoul’s busy downtown area around noon Wednesday with her private parts only covered in tape to protest for women’s right to bare their breasts.

Holding a sign that roughly translates as “Why are men allowed to expose their nipples while women are not?” she later put on a bikini top to cover herself up when a crowd of men had gathered around her.

Police arrived at the scene to stop her and the woman left at around 1:30 p.m. Police said they had no idea why she was holding the protest.

The 27-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Lee, had caused a stir last month after a video clip of her dancing topless at a night club went viral on the Internet. She is known to be an ex-dealer of German luxury cars.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but when asked why she was protesting topless she said it was the only way to get people’s attention.

South Korean Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung leads Easter Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul on April 5, 2015. (Yonhap)

It looks like smokers in Seoul are going to have less option of where they can smoke:

A three-month grace period ends today for violators of a smoking ban at all restaurants, coffee shops and Internet cafes, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Tuesday.

From today, anyone who violates the ban will be fined 100,000 won ($90), while the owners will have to pay 1.7 million won ($1,500).

When the government implemented the ban in January, it gave a grace period until the end of March, and has since tried to raise public awareness about the smoking ban.

“Smoking in those places has not been strongly controlled to date. We only fined owners who maintained smoking tables for the last three months,” said a ministry official. “However, the ban will be strictly applied from April.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see how strictly this ordinance is enforced.

Shown is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park in downtown Seoul on March 20, 2015. The plaza opened on March 21, 2014, to contain a multiuse park, a fashion plaza and an underground mall with the aim to serve as South Korea’s as well as Asia’s fashion hub. (Yonhap)

An example of how this story has gone viral is that over in the Forums where I posted this article it received nearly 2,000 page views yesterday:

It’s that time of the year again that if you can spend time in Seoul instead of trying to exit the city with everyone else because it will feel like you have the city to yourself:

The mass migration for Seollal, or the Lunar New Year’s Day, has begun.

More than 16 million Koreans are expected to hit the road during the five-day holiday, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Expressways were clogged and airports and railway stations busy at the start of the traditional pilgrimage for family reunions and holiday-making trips.

The number of travelers is predicted to peak Thursday, Seollal, with 7 million likely to move.

Information on less-congested roads and other traffic situations is available through broadcasts, the ministry’s website (cyber.mltm.go.kr/traffic) and its mobile website (m.mltm.go.kr/traffic).

The government has increased the number of express buses, trains, flights and ferries to reduce traffic congestion during the holiday.

For Seoul citizens planning to return late Friday or Saturday, the city government will extend the operating hours of subways and intra-city buses to 2 a.m.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Residents of Guryong Village, the last shantytown in Gangnam, Seoul’s wealthiest district, clash with riot police on Feb. 6, 2015, as municipal officials and contractor workers attempt to demolish the village’s community center as part of the area’s redevelopment project. (Yonhap)

After our previous post, many of you asked where you can buy cream beer in South Korea. While there are a couple small pubs that serve this new classic drink, one bar you can visit is Chir Beer 369, which is located in Sangsu, Seoul. Chir Beer is also renowned for its fried chicken, so it’s a good idea to munch on some Cajun chicken wings to balance out the sweet cream beer.  [You can see more unusual beers in Seoul at KoreAm Journal]

Via a reader tip comes this article that explains how the Seoul government is trying to shutdown the ride sharing app Uber by indicting the company’s CEO:

South Korea has indicted the chief executive officer and local subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc for violating a law governing public transport, becoming the latest jurisdiction to challenge the U.S. taxi service provider.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office issued the indictment against CEO Travis Kalanick and the firm’s Korean unit for violating a law prohibiting individuals or firms without appropriate licenses from providing or facilitating transportation services, an Uber spokeswoman said.  [Fortune]

You can read the rest at the link, but the Seoul government has been trying to shut down Uber in Korea in order to protect their own taxi drivers and the domestic Daum-Kakao app that provides an Uber like service and is endorsed by the taxi union.  This indictment is probably being used to scare Uber out of Korea.  It will be interesting to see how this works out.