In this photo provided by the Yangyang county government, farmer Kim Kwang-seop sprays agricultural pesticides by using a drone on his paddies in the eastern county on June 8, 2015. Kim said he has completed the work in just five minutes with the drone, compared with more than 20 minutes with manual labor. The utilization of drones is on a gradual increase in the country’s agricultural sector. (Yonhap)
I would not be surprised if the perpetrators thought they could get away with this simply because they were on a remote island that had no police station:
Koreans have been appalled by a gang rape of a female teacher in her 20s on Heuksan Island off Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, after the case was made public last week. The predators included the parents of the teacher’s students, triggering public uproar about the blatant disregard for teachers and women.
The authorities need to ensure that the men in this case are duly punished and that the victim is given proper physical and emotional care before resuming her duties.
The rape case is a shocking reminder of the unsettling work conditions women are exposed to in remote areas such as Sinan County.
What is also shocking is the reaction from some of island’s residents, who seemed to be siding with the predators and blaming the victim for getting drunk in media interviews. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the Korea Herald had more details about the case:
The police revealed details of the case on June 3. The victim’s distress call came in the wee hours of May 22.
According to police, the victim had dinner at one of the local restaurants where she was asked to join the three suspects, two of whom are parents of children at her school.
The men insisted that the victim drink, despite her repeated refusal as she had plans to explore the village the next day.
Once the victim was inebriated, one of the men volunteered to drop her home and raped her at her residence, followed by the other two. [Korea Herald]
Members of a special maritime unit train ahead of their deployment at the western border island of Yeonpyeong on June 8, 2016, to fend off Chinese boats fishing illegally in South Korean waters. The unit has been bolstered in size to deal with the growing problem of Chinese fishing boats encroaching into South Korea’s waters. A Seoul official said the government on the same day protested to Beijing about the violations. (Photo provided by the Incheon branch of the Korea Coast Guard) (Yonhap)
With the recent passing of Muhammad Ali I figured it was as good as time as any to remember the Champ’s visit to South Korea back almost exactly 40 years after ago in 1976. Ali visited South Korea after participating in a celebrity wrestling match with famed Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki. Incredibly Ali threw six punches in the wrestling match and earned $6 million for it.
Pacific Stars & Stripes, June 26, 1976
Ali landed in Korea at Gimpo Airport and a motorcade took him on a tour of downtown Seoul where an incredible one million people it was estimated greeted him. Here is what Ali had to say about the welcome he received in Seoul:
“When I go back to America and throughout my tours I will tell people of the world how nice Korea is,” Ali said.
Pacific Stars & Stripes, June 29 1976
Ali also had good things to say about US troops stationed in South Korea:
“I’ve many American brothers over here, black and white who fight for the freedom of the world and are doing a job we can’t pay them for,” he said. “I am a fighter myself and I realize how lonely it is when you’re in combat-how lonely you are in training.”
After the motorcade tour of Seoul, Ali was next driven north to Camp Casey where he boxed and entertained 2nd Infantry Division soldiers:
Ali fought exhibitions for the U. S. 2nd Infantry Division after receiving a hero’s welcome in downtown Seoul from hundreds of thousands of Koreans.
“One million dollars a punch,” Ali said of his 15-round draw Saturday with professional Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who spent most of the bout on his back trying to kick Ali down.
“And you are going to see hundreds of punches for nothing,” he told more than 2,500 American soldiers at the Shoonover Bowl outdoor theater 12 miles below the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea. [Stars & Stripes, June 29, 1976]
So for soldiers stationed on Camp Casey the next time you are at Shooner Bowl remember that decades ago Muhammad Ali once entertained US soldiers there. Here is a cool story from the visit:
“All right, fellows. Do you have any boxers out here?” Ali asked.
Specialist Fourth Class Gerald Noble, 28, stepped out. The 202-pound soldier was a Michigan State heavyweight champion in 1967.
They agreed to a five-minute round, in which Noble tried hard but was no match for Ali. The champion danced in and away and landed scores of accurate but soft punches on the soldier-boxer.
After the fight, in which Ali patted Noble on the seat of the pants with his right fist after forcing him into a corner, the champ declared the soldier one of the best men he has fought.
The soldiers booed, and a 149-pounder volunteered to “put up a better fight, if not knock you out.”
The challenger was Private First Class Larry D. Rice, 20.
Ali faked being knocked down twice in a five-minute round with the welterweight, drawing big cheers from the crowd. In the end, however, it was Rice who became exhausted and gave up.
“Ali is a great fighter but today he turned out to be a greater entertainer, too. We love him in this remote area. He must be second to none in every sense,” an enlisted man said. “Second to None” is the slogan of the division.
What an awesome story Gerald Noble and Larry Rice were able to tell for the rest of their lives of boxing Muhammad Ali. It is such an incredible story they probably had a hard time getting people to believe them. I am sure the Koreans and GIs that saw Ali back in 1976 will never forget his visit much like many people in the world will not forget the legacy Muhammad Ali left before his passing.
South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Yun Byung-se, left, speaks with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez on Sunday at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, in the first foreign ministerial meeting between the two countries since diplomatic ties were severed in 1959. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Yun Byung-se sat down for a face-to-face meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez here on Sunday, the first foreign ministerial meeting between the two countries in nearly six decades.
The 75-minute closed-door meeting was held on the sidelines of the seventh summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which ran for three days since Friday.
Yun departed Seoul on Saturday to become the first foreign minister from South Korea to visit Havana since diplomatic ties were severed in 1959 following the Cuban revolution.
Havana is a close ally of Pyongyang, and diplomatic analysts say restoring ties will not be easy. Cuba is one of four countries Seoul has yet to normalize ties with. The three others are Syria, Kosovo and Macedonia. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Members of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union form a human chain around the building housing the finance ministry in Sejong, south of Seoul, on June 3, 2016, to protest against the introduction of a performance-based pay system. The government is pushing the system as part of economic and labor reforms. (Yonhap)
A ROK Drop favorite Congressman Ed Royce is of course correct that any legislation that a possible Trump presidency proposes has to go through Congress. The only affect that I see a possible Trump presidency having on South Korea is that they will have to pay more for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance:
Q. South Koreans have some trepidation over what a Donald Trump presidency may mean for the U.S. alliance with Seoul, such as Washington maintaining U.S. troops on the peninsula and continuing to extend its nuclear umbrella to the region. Should we be concerned?
A. Well, remember the way in which our system works. It is Congress that has passed many of these laws, and whether it is having given Korea NATO-plus-three status, which was a bill that I authored, or whether it’s [the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement] legislation, which I was a co-sponsor of, it is Congress that has passed these bills. And we are deeply committed.
Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan way feel that this is a very important alliance for our members in Congress. For our House members and Senate members, this is a strongly held position. And it is Congress that passes the laws. Every spending bill originates in the House of the Representatives. I’m chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; we have 44 members, and we have set these policies. I’ve been traveling here for over 20 years, and for 10 of those years, I was chairman of the inter-parliamentary exchange working with the [Korean] National Assembly. I would say I’ve never seen the relationship as strong as it is today… and I think it’s going to get stronger. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
By the way Congressman Royce has a lot more in the interview that is worth reading at the link.
Foreigners plants rice in a paddy at Changdeok Palace in Seoul on June 1, 2016. The event was arranged so they could experience a Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) ritual, in which kings plant rice to see how the annual rice farming fared. (Yonhap)
