Tag: South Korea

This photo, provided by South Korea’s defense ministry, shows military officials from the two Koreas and the U.N. Command carrying out joint work to verify the disarmament of the Joint Security Area inside the Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap)

I have a hard time seeing these sex robots causing a decrease in sex crimes and prostitution any time soon in South Korea, but some people think they will:

Sex robot “brothels” have emerged as a potentially lucrative business as sex doll manufacturers offer more sophisticated, individually tailored models, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.

With many shops that offer sex with these robots popping up in Europe and Canada, some technology pundits here are cautiously suggesting Korea may have to deal with this controversial issue in the near future.

Advocates say sex with robots can reduce the need for sex workers and help disabled people enjoy the same sexual pleasure as others do, in the privacy of their own room.

But opponents argue that sex robots cannot replace women and they will dehumanize the relationship between men and women.  (…………..)

Sex robots are banned from import to Korea. Under article 234 of the customs law, goods that disrupt the constitutional order, disturb public safety and order or corrupt morals shall not be exported or imported.

However, it is possible to purchase life-size sex dolls online here. Also, sex dolls made by local firms are available on the internet. While it is illegal to import or export sex dolls, there are no laws that forbid manufacturing and selling the dolls here.

While sex robots are still legally unavailable here, experts say possibilities are open for Korea to allow “robot prostitution.”

“The positive aspect of sex robots is that they will help decrease the number of women who sell sex illegally,” said Kang Dong-woo, director at the Korean Institute for Sexual and Couple’s Health (KISCH). The KISCH is a private clinic for sex counseling in Seoul.

“It is no secret that there are many men who use prostitution services. Prostitution is available everywhere here through the internet. In such circumstances, I think chances are open for the country to introduce robot prostitution in the near future as it can reduce sex crimes and illegal prostitution,” Kang said.   [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like there is going to be a surge of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea after this court ruling:

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that moral scruples and religious beliefs are valid reasons to refuse compulsory military service, a landmark change in the court’s decades-long stance on conscientious objection and one that’s expected to impact the fate of over 900 men.

Thursday’s verdict concerned only one defendant, a 34-year-old Jehovah’s Witness named Oh Seung-heon. In a nine to four vote, the full bench ordered an appellate court to retry his case, effectively clearing him of charges that he violated the Military Service Act.  (…….)

Conscientious objection has long been a subject of public debate in South Korea.

More than 19,000 conscientious objectors were criminally punished under South Korean law since the 1950s, mostly serving 18 months in jail. A majority of those objectors were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian sect that bases its refusal to serve in the military on Isaiah 2:4, a part of which reads, “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

South Korea’s Supreme Court said Thursday that it “violates the practice of tolerance towards minorities, a spirit of free democracy, to uniformly force the implementation of mandatory military service and criminally charge those who fail to fulfill.” In that sense, the court continued, conscientious objection falls into the category of a “valid reason” not to comply with the military’s call for enlistment.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the Jehovah’s Witness defendant did say he is willing to do mandatory civilian service.  I wonder if there is a religious reason not to be part of the riot police?

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to any following the denuclearization negotiations that Moon Chung-in wants the US to drop sanctions for little or nothing in return from North Korea:

Washington remains largely skeptical of the North Korean leader’s intention to denuclearize.

Amid these circumstances, a special adviser to the President stated a paradigm shift may be necessary.

“The U.S. views North Korea in the frame of crime and punishment ―- this is its social construct of reality that North Korea cheats and lies,” Moon Chung-in, a special presidential adviser for unification, diplomacy and national security affairs, told The Korea Times in an interview at his office last week.

“But if it only looks at Pyongyang through this frame there is no way out. There needs to be a more pragmatic, flexible approach to North Korea.”

Stalled talks

Moon attributes the stall in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. to differences surrounding when to lift sanctions.

“Basically the stance of the U.S. is that sanctions will be lifted when North Korea achieves complete denuclearization, which North Korea cannot accept,” he said.

He pointed out that while Pyongyang initially called only for a declaration ending the war, it is now stating this is not enough because Kim offered to permanently dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility in his third summit with Moon held in Pyongyang. The U.S., meanwhile, wants North Korea to disclose its nuclear arsenal and submit to inspections, the adviser said.

However, Pyongyang would be unwilling to report its entire nuclear inventory for two reasons, he said.

“First, why would North Korea hand over a list of its inventory while relations with the U.S. are still hostile? This would leave the regime defenseless,” Moon said.

The other reason is based on the inherent nature of declaring inventory.

“The U.S. states that North Korea has 60 to 65 nuclear warheads, but if it has less than this amount, the U.S. will never believe it even if Pyongyang makes a declaration. Washington will continue to call for additional reports and the process will fall through. This will leave North Korea in a worse situation than before making the report.”

This is why Pyongyang is calling for a trust relationship to be built first, he said.

“The North is seeking a non-aggression relationship through the declaration ending the war, and for the U.S. to take corresponding measures for the shutting down of the Yongbyon facility in a verifiable way ―- such as lifting sanctions,” he said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but Moon Chung-in is the ROK administration’s trial balloon specialist to judge American reaction to proposed ideas.  In the past year Moon Chung-in has stated his opposition to the THAAD battery in South Korea and has hinted at ending the US-ROK alliance.  He has even said the US US should recognize North Korea as a nuclear power which is a curious position since he says North Korea is planning to supposedly denuclearize.

English teachers in Korea got to experience recently “Don’t Molest Students” training and they did not like it:

Foreign English teachers across Gyeonggi Province woke up extra early on Saturday, Oct. 20, many before sunrise, to attend a seminar they were told was mandatory. The seminar, held in the remote provincial town Icheon, started at 8:30 a.m., requiring many teachers from the far-flung corners of the province to find their own way there, as they had to leave before public transportation opened.

Joe McPherson, a longtime resident of Korea on an F-5 permanent resident visa, was up at 6 a.m., leaving behind his Korean wife and children in Gimpo and driving his car to what he called the “Dirty Foreigner Seminar.”

“This isn’t about career enrichment,” said McPherson, a restaurateur and owner of a successful tourism company who teaches on the side to make ends meet. “It’s because of the stereotype that we’re all sexual deviants.”  (…………………..)

Throughout the talks, attendees were reminded numerous times not to sexually harass students, although little instruction was given on what sexual harassment was and how to avoid it.

“This reinforces the stereotype that foreigners are by nature potential sexual predators and drug fiends,” McPherson said. “Do teachers really need to be told that molesting children is wrong?”  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link if you want a good laugh for the day.

Would that be the country that’s at least 50 times richer than North Korea, an open democratic society, backed up by the most powerful nation on earth, yet vigorously censors itself when it comes to crimes against humanity? https://t.co/YLbveE973f

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) October 30, 2018

Am I supposed to be excited because North Korea closed a couple of doors?

The entrances (circled) of artillery positions on North Korea’s Jangjae Island bordering South Korea in the West Sea is seen closed on Oct. 31, 2018, one day ahead of the implementation of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreements, in which the two sides agreed to set a maritime buffer zone spanning around 80 km in the East and West Seas to prevent unintended naval clashes. (Yonhap)

This is just another example of an easily reversible so called concession by the North Koreans.  They can just open the door and use their artillery when ever they want.  Why doesn’t Seoul have them remove the artillery as well as their silkworm missiles and confirm it with an inspection?  That would create a real buffer zone instead of the pretend one the Moon administration is agreeing to.

By the way the below graphic provides a breakdown of North Korea’s artillery and missile positions in the Yellow Sea:

It will be interesting to see if the claim of upcoming sanctions is true or not.  I always figured that the Trump administration would wait until after the mid-term elections before taking any tough actions on the Korea front. This rumor may be a warning to the Moon administration that the US is ready to take action if Korea tries to do any banking deals with North Korea:

A rumor that the United States Treasury is considering including a Korean bank in a secondary boycott in early November has pushed down the shares of major financial institutes, although the country’s financial regulator and banks deny the claim.

A rumor surfaced early this week through Kakao Talk and other internet messengers that the U.S. Treasury Department will announce sanctions against a South Korean bank for illegally trading with North Korea before Nov. 6. While not specifying the bank, the rumor said that the bank was notified on Oct. 12.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) refuted the claim on Wednesday, calling it a groundless rumor. Local banks echoed the denial.

“The rumor that the U.S. is pushing forward with a secondary boycott is not true as we confirmed with local banks,” said the regulator in a statement.

The measure was designed to punish third-party companies that engage in illicit trade with Pyongyang.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but South Korean bankers have recently publicly said they will not do any business with North Korea until the sanctions are dropped.

This seems like an awful lot of money to renovate an office building:

South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Sunday unveiled details about the money it spent to renovate the inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, amid criticism that it spent too much on the project.

The ministry sent the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and unification a document containing details of the costs of the office, which launched on Sept. 14 as a communication platform for cross-border cooperation and exchanges.

Of the total expenditures, which amounted to 9.78 billion won ($8.56 million), the cost for renovation materials, including construction equipment and pipes, was 3.49 billion won, while labor costs amounted to 2.58 billion won.

The costs for materials to construct the office’s main building, accommodation facility and other amenities were 1.22 billion won, 570 million won and 560 million won, respectively, the ministry said.   [Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip]

Hypocracy under the Moon administration. The anti-US arsonists who set fire 2 times to the MacArthur statue found not guilty. The 1st time, there was not even an investigation. But Taegukki (SK flag) rally person knocking down an illegal, politically-used Sewol tower gets jailed. https://t.co/Mg2TWer0D2

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) October 29, 2018