This is a horrible crime committed by a South Korean man in Hong Kong:
Hong Kong police have arrested a South Korean man on suspicion of murdering his wife and seven-year-old son at the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel, according to Reuters.
The two were found dead in a room at 8:30 a.m. The man reportedly appeared drunk and injured. He was arrested at the scene and sent to hospital.
Further details were not available immediately. [Korea Times]
Via a reader tip comes news that English education will soon be banned in early education classes in South Korea:
The Ministry of Education (MOE) plans to ban English classes at daycare centers and kindergartens, following its recent controversial decision to scrap afterschool English classes at elementary schools.
In December, the ministry said it will abolish afterschool English classes for first and second graders when the 2018 term begins in March.
Officials believe starting English at a young age has little benefit and claim that it creates a great deal of stress for children.
“There are two main reasons the ministry is working to get rid of the program. Many experts believe the process of learning English is too stressful and less effective for young children.” said Kwon Ji-young, a director of early childhood education, at the MOE. “Secondly, English will be provided in classes starting in the 3rd grade, so English classes before this only become early preparation for elementary school.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but it seems to me a kid learning a foreign language at a younger age is better than waiting until they are order and possibly not as comfortable with learning a foreign language.
I also wonder if this has anything to do with trying to reduce education costs for parents by deemphasizing English education? The costs for private English tutoring can be very expensive. If this is the case then English testing in national exams needs to be deemphasized as well.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (L) shakes hands with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland as they meet in Vancouver on Jan. 15, 2018, on the sidelines of a two-day gathering of top diplomats from 16 countries. The gathering is for discussing issues related to security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)
Here is another reminder that in South Korea you do not have the same right to self defense as most people would expect back in the United States or other countries:
Korea has a “stand-your-ground law” that allows people to use force to protect themselves or others against threats.
But many believe the law is nothing but a name because of its lack of flexibility for defenders.
Under the law, people are allowed to use force to “prevent unjust infringement of one’s or another person’s legal interest,” as long as there are reasonable grounds for that act and the degree of force does not go beyond reasonable bounds. But the law, as precedents and police guidelines show, deems using weapons and inflicting injuries on the attacker that would take more than three weeks to recover from unreasonable ― a standard many find almost impossible to meet in reality.
If both sides sustain injuries, police almost always press assault charges on both, regardless of how the fight started and how serious each person is hurt, urging them to settle and drop allegations.
“Police do not want to give an impression that they are taking sides with anyone,” Kwak Dae-kyung, professor at the police administration department of Dongguk University, told The Korea Times. “This is why police are cautious about making a conclusion that one of them did so for self-protection.”
Also, there are too many petty altercations for police to handle. “It just takes too much time and effort to find out exactly what happened with physical evidence for every single case,” he said. “Thus, police try to conclude the case quickly for everyone involved by convincing them to settle.”
Some people refuse to settle and bring the case to court. But the court rarely recognizes self-defense claims.
“The court interprets the law very narrowly, which is the key of the issue,” lawyer Kim Yong-min said. “As long as the court’s current interpretation stands, there are few things police and prosecutors can do to change it.”
According to the law, which states that the defense act should not exceed reasonable limits, the person should not use greater force than that inflicted on him or her, which Kim thinks is the most nonsensical part of the law. (……..)
But change may be coming here. Over the past few months, dozens of petitions were posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website to urge the government and the National Assembly to revise the self-defense law. [Korea Herald]
You can read much more at the link, but there are numerous examples over the years of victims of criminal activities being convicted by a Korean court for defending themselves. The self defense law is even worse for foreigners when the Korean assailant can just lie and the police will likely blame the foreigner for the altercation.
Here are a few examples involving USFK servicemembers:
Visitors cross a suspension bridge over Mount Sogeum in the city of Wonju, northeast of Seoul, on Jan. 11, 2018, in this photo released by the Wonju municipality. The 200-meter-long Mount Sogeum Suspension Bridge opened on that day and is the longest bridge in South Korea’s mountains, leading to a 100-meter-high rock mountaintop. (Yonhap)
This sounds like one of these only in Korea stories:
KB Kookmin Bank has come under fire for holding a grueling 100 kilometer march for its recruits and reportedly giving out oral contraceptive pills to its new female employees — a large portion of which are under 30 — during the training period.
According to the news report from a local daily, the commercial bank gave the pills to the employees to control their menstrual cycles before they go on a 100-kilometer overnight march. The bank has traditionally carried out the marching event every year to boost the morale of the rookies, the report said.
The bank explained that it provided the pill for the health of female employees who are on their period, as they could feel relatively more exhausted than their male co-workers during the harsh schedule. The employees were not forced to take the pill, the bank added.
The act, however, caused a public backlash after it was revealed on Monday. [Korea Herald]
You can read more at the link, but the bank did not mandate the use of the pills, it was optional if the female employees needed it. As far as marching 100 kilometers if the new employees knew this was something they would have to complete for initial training and were being paid I don’t see what the big deal is?
Kevin Martin (R), vice president for mobile and global access policy at Facebook, arrives at the government complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, on Jan. 10, 2018, to meet with Korea Communications Commission chief Lee Hyo-seong. (Yonhap)
HOW EXCITED ARE SOUTH KOREANS ABOUT THESE N-S TALKS EH Acc to live search rankings not as excited as about some actress, some actor, a girl group, an actress, a boy band, college acceptance rates, the UAE, an actress, a pickup truck, a drama… tomorrow's weather… pic.twitter.com/yYuYqO7Zq2
Adm. Um Hyun-seong (R), South Korea’s chief of naval operations, poses for a photo with Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, the outgoing commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea, after giving Cooper a medal at a ceremony in Seoul on Jan. 9, 2018, in this photo released by the Navy. Cooper was given the Cheonsu Medal, the third-highest honor in the five-tier Order of National Security Merit, in recognition of his contribution to the alliance between the two countries. (Yonhap)
