Tag: South Korea

Some may say this is victim blaming, but I think it is just common sense to not get drunk alone with people you just met in a foreign country you know nothing about, unless of course they used a date rape drug against her which is an entirely different story.  With that said lets hope these three guys are vigorously investigated by Korean authorities which have a well established track record of poorly handling sexual assault cases like this:

Three Korean males have been arrested on charges of gang-raping a Swedish tourist they met at a nightclub in Hongdae, Seoul, police said Wednesday.

I don’t advocate for people to commit suicide, but here is a power tip for those that can’t be deterred from doing so, make sure you don’t kill someone else during your attempt.  This is just a horrible story that someone minding his own business, returning home with his family is killed like this:

A depressed college student jumped to his death from the 20th floor of an apartment building in Gokseong County, South Jeolla, and fell on a lauded civil servant, killing him.

The 39-year-old civil servant was walking home from a bus stop with his wife and their 6-year-old boy, police said. The wife was eight months pregnant.

The college student died immediately from a fractured skull, while the victim was transported to a nearby hospital but died about three hours later.

Police identified the student as a 25-year-old college senior who attended school in Gwangju and lived in a different apartment complex nearby. He reportedly jumped from the highest floor of a 20-floor apartment building around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday and left behind his cell phone, backpack and shoes.

In his backpack was a two-page note, part of which read, “I’m a lump of inferiority. My life is trash.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

It appears that another incident involving safety has claimed more lives in South Korea:

Four workers were killed and 10 others were injured Wednesday, when a subway construction site near Seoul collapsed due to what is believed to be an explosion of an oxygen cylinder, police said.

The victims, who were trapped under debris 15 meters underground, were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, according to authorities.

The accident, which occurred in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul, around 7:20 a.m., took place when a total of 17 workers were doing welding work.

A witness said there was a huge blast, but the police said they believe explosives were not being used at the time of the collapse.

The number of deaths could increase as some of the injured are in critical condition, the police said.

Police and firefighters said they are investigating the exact cause of the accident.  [Yonhap]

This photo shows new summer uniforms for South Korean policemen, who will sport them starting June 1, 2016. The new uniform is made of the latest materials and is focused on enhancing reliability and wearability, the National Policy Agency said May 29. The colors of the upper-wear are different for normal police and traffic police, with greenish navy for normal police and ivory white for traffic police. (Yonhap)

This does seem like a really young age to begin studying a foreign language:

Korean mothers have their children start learning English before they turn five on average, an age some admit is probably too early, a survey showed Tuesday.

Yoon’s English School, a company that runs a chain of English language schools across the country, asked 466 members of an online mothers’ community between May 25-29 and found that their children started learning English at an average age of 4.8.

The survey said 24.9 percent started at age 6, 21.7 percent at age 5 and 14.8 percent at age 4. It also said 5.8 percent of the mothers started teaching English to their children, when they were still in the womb.

When asked if the chosen age was appropriate, 68.5 percent said it was, but 28.1 percent thought it was too early. The survey found that the largest group of 21.7 percent said about 8 years old, the age children normally start primary school, is the right time to start English education. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Front page news in Uganda is pleasant reading for South Korea's president. https://t.co/5nLkwTr4dA pic.twitter.com/GgbsNYnA4n

— Alastair Gale (@AlastairGale) May 30, 2016

Maybe this is the sign that the English language learning fervor in South Korea is beginning to decrease a bit:

Gyeonggi English Village, the first residential English camp in Korea located at Paju and Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, is closing down after a decade of operation.

Gyeonggi English Village, which opened in April 2006, was created to give the public a place to experience English-speaking culture and learn the language in the context of everyday life.

The village has struggled with low attendance. Last year, approximately 22,000 people visited the English Village, or about 610 visitors per day. The village lent out ten of its 17 buildings to other organizations to augment its revenues. With the boom in private language academies and more students travelling abroad for language study, demand for the village’s more carefree classes was undercut.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like if Ban Ki-moon wants the job as President of South Korea, it is his to lose:

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led all potential presidential contenders in a poll after he made the strongest hint yet of a possible run in next year’s election.

In a poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo on Friday and Saturday of 1,000 eligible voters nationwide, respondents were asked who they would like to see as Korea’s next president. Ban topped the list with 28.4 percent, followed by Moon Jae-in of the Minjoo Party of Korea with 16.2 percent. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-leader of the People’s Party, came in third with 11.9 percent.

The poll was seen as a testament to Ban’s far-reaching appeal to voters and a favorable image formed by his 10-year leadership of the United Nations.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who expressed an objection to Ban running, citing a UN resolution that calls on UN chiefs to refrain from taking government jobs, came in fourth with 7.2 percent, trailed by former Saenuri Chairman Kim Moo-sung with 4.2 percent.

In a three-way race with Moon and Ahn, both from the liberal bloc, Ban was far ahead of the two, with 45.7 percent of support, while Moon received 24.6 percent and Ahn had 20.1 percent. Of all respondents, 9.7 percent said they didn’t have a favorite.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

I have always liked Ban Ki-moon because when he was the foreign minister of South Korea he was the voice of sanity during the administration of Roh Moo-hyun.  Even during the fervent anti-American years Ban Ki-moon would still visit US military installations in Korea to thank US servicemembers for their service.  With that all said he is running the UN about as I expected.  Ban is a consensus builder and not a change agent.  He can run things low key and competently within an established framework which right now it appears this is what Korean voters want for their President.

This will definitely be a unique ultra-marathon for those who decide to run it:

A 100-kilometer (62 mile) long ultra-marathon near the demilitarized zone, which divides the South and North, will be hosted over the course of three days in early September, announced the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Tuesday.

The marathon will take place in the far northern part of Gyeonggi – Gimpo, Paju and Yeonchon District – from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4.

The sports event was organized to publicize the history, culture and ecological diversity of the demilitarized zone as well as deliver a message about peace and the importance of life to race participants.

Over 80 percent of the marathon’s trails are unpaved roads, and runners will have to run through mountainous environs and meadows. As many as 1,700 runners will participate in the race, and the course will be divided into two parts – one for foreign and domestic professional runners and another for amateur runners.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

A herd of cattle is put out to pasture in Daegwallyeong Pass in PyeongChang, a mountainous town in South Korea’s northeast province of Gangwon, on May 26, 2016. The cattle will be left in the meadow, run by the Rural Development Administration’s “hanwoo” cattle test center, for the next 180 days. (Yonhap)