Tag: South Korea

This woman has absolutely no shame.  If anything she should be forced to pay child support to her two kids, not take their money:

I watched as Kyung-hwan’s eyes reddened with rage as the judge read out the ruling last month at a court in Daegu. His birth mother, who recently recovered parental rights over him and his two younger brothers, was ruled ineligible to claim the insurance left behind by his dad, her ex-husband, for the time being.

She was told to wait until a separate trial determines whether or not she could continue being the legal parent over the three boys.

After the father died last September in a car accident, his sons were to receive 600 million won ($548,400), but all three boys were underage, meaning they couldn’t claim the cash without a legal guardian.

Their mother, who left them six years ago and divorced their dad, returned several months ago to tell them she had gained parental rights over them. It was the first time in six years that the boys had ever seen her. They later heard she called the insurance company asking how much her ex-husband had left behind.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but according to the article the kids hired a lawyer to stop their mom from claiming the life insurance money left by their father after his death.

For the residents of Seongju they will need to decide if they still care about the THAAD deployment if its moved to the alternate site that is no longer in their backyard:

Residents living near a government-chosen site for a U.S. anti-missile system failed Saturday to discuss whether to review an alternative location due to opponents’ protest.

Residents of the southern county of Seongju held a meeting to discuss whether they can consider picking an alternative site for the government’s move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) inside the county.

But they failed to reach a consensus over whether to review the alternative location as some of them insisted that the government should scrap its plan to deploy a THAAD battery on their county. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but here is a Google Earth image I put together that shows the two proposed THAAD locations:

As the image shows the problems with the THAAD deployment moves from Seongju’s backyard to Gimcheon’s.  So will the people of Gimcheon now complain about the deployment?  I guess time will tell, but that is the problem with THAAD in South Korea it will always be radiating over someones backyard.

One thing for sure is that the cost of the deployment of THAAD is going to skyrocket by having to purchase or lease the Lotte Sky Hill Golf Resort land from the Lotte corporation compared to deploying the THAAD on government owned ROK Air Force land at the first THAAD site outside of Seongju.

What I find most amazing about this article is not that construction is being held up because of a dispute over cultural preservation, but the land these buildings sit on was bought for $15 billion:

There are seven decaying buildings strangely ornamented with rectangular shapes right in the center of Seoul, where land is worth its weight in gold, a stark contrast to the clean modern structures surrounding them.The seven old buildings are located beside the Westin Chosun hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung District, central Seoul. The cafes, massage parlors and other shops in these buildings were all closed down last week. A restaurant on the first floor of one of the buildings had a notice that said, “Due to the reconstruction of this building, we are closing our restaurant on Dec. 22, 2015,” indicating that the reconstruction did not take place for seven months.

The seven buildings sit on about 6,562 square meters (1.6 acres) of land, which the construction company Booyoung Group purchased for about 1.7 trillion won ($15 billion) from its previous owner, Samwhan Corporation, in order to build a hotel.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the Seoul government is making preservation demands on the construction company which is halting their plans to build a hotel.  I think this architect quoted in the article does make a good point:

An architect who requested to remain anonymous said, “We need to reevaluate how much the designated buildings are worth, culturally speaking. Just because a building looks old does not mean it’s worth being preserved.”

Looking at the buildings it is not like they are architectural masterpieces.  They are quite honestly ugly rectangles.  It will be interesting to see what happens with this development in the coming years.

Anti-dogmeat ad in a #Seoul subway station https://t.co/YzkHnZKUGT pic.twitter.com/jxWwKDeoaq

— J. D. McPherson (@ZenKimchi) August 18, 2016

A sales clerk explains to a female customer about the functions of air conditioners at a home appliance shop in Seoul on Aug. 16, 2016. According to industry sources, the sales of air conditioners this year are expected to post an all-time high of 2.20 million units thanks to a month-long sweltering heat. (Yonhap)

It looks like some Korean politicians needed a bump in the polls by making a Dokdo trip:

A group of South Korean lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties visited their country’s easternmost islets of Dokdo on Monday as the nation celebrated the 71st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

The group of 10 lawmakers, led by Saenuri Party Rep. Na Kyung-won, said the trip was intended to reassert South Korea’s sovereignty of the islets and was an “inherent” part of their parliamentary activities.

It is the first such trip by South Korean lawmakers since Aug. 14, 2013, when another group of lawmakers traveled to the islets to counter Japan’s territorial claims to Dokdo.

“(I) hope that there will be more such visits in the future,” Na told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. “More attention and support (for Dokdo) on the part of the National Assembly is needed.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I think the assemblyman is right that they need to do more to show their support for Dokdo.  First of all they should have taken picture of all them trying to eat a Japanese flag.  After that one of them should have chopped their finger off,  while another stuck a knife in their gut, followed by drinking weed killer.  Finally one of them should have covered themselves in bees while holding a sign declaring Dokdo as Korean territory.

That is how real defenders of Dokdo show their patriotism!  This group of National Assemblymen are just amateurs with much to learn.

This photo shows Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in the namesake county, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The club and its vicinity rapidly emerge as an alternative candidate site for the U.S. anti-missile system, called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), instead of an originally-planned site in the same county amid local residents’ vehement opposition to the deployment, citing health problems. Lotte Skyhill provided the photo. (Yonhap)

Considering all the black face and big nose caricatures used in the Korean media, South Koreans really do not have much of a moral high ground to stand on with this issue:

South Korean football fans became upset when a spectator allegedly abusing Asians was shown on TV as South Korea beat Fiji.

At the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, Brazil, on Aug. 5, a man made “slanted eyes,” a Western gesture to make fun of Asians’ eyes.

Some regard the act as racially offensive.

South Koreans were even more embarrassed when they learned that the man was cheering for South Korea.

He was holding a national flag and wearing a red T-shirt just like South Korean fans.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Welcome to the most hipster bar/coffee shop in the known universe. Yes, that is my drink. @… https://t.co/yU82G3bj2w

— Dr. Michael Hurt (@metropolitician) August 12, 2016

It makes me wonder how many of these type of bars are operating in Seoul especially since according to the article the bar is perfectly legal:

A clandestine bar where couples openly have sex and watch other couples having sex has been operating in the middle of Seoul, a TV network reported Thursday.

Couples in their 20s to 40s hand in their mobile phones and other belongings before the sex party, which includes group sex and swapping.

The bar is on the third floor of a building in the middle of Hongdae, one of Seoul’s busiest night-out areas, according to TV Chosun.

There are shower booths and cleansers for women to use after sex.

The bar even runs a blog where readers can find explicit reviews, a bulletin board aimed at foreigners, and photos of a dressing room that holds erotic clothing, TV Chosun said.

The bar has remained confidential for seven years, thanks to strict security checks. It is open only to members, who must make a reservation. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.