The photo dated 1966 shows then home minister, Uhm Min-young, awarding guards of Dokdo, South Korea’s eastern islets. Despite South Korea effectively controlling Dokdo, Japan repeatedly claims the outcroppings as its territory. The National Archives of Korea on Nov. 11, 2015 released a series of old photos to show South Korea’s past 70 years. (Yonhap)
The South Korean government has taken measures to increase security of French sites in South Korea after the deadly ISIS terror attack in Paris:
The South Korean police increase security of the French embassy to Seoul on Nov. 14, 2015. (Yonhap)
The South Korean government went on full alert on Saturday to stem any possible terrorist aggressions in the country following the deadly attacks in Paris that killed around 120 people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an emergency inter-governmental meeting to check the security of Korean nationals in France after the shootings, bombings and a hostage situation at a popular concert venue in the French capital on Friday (local time) reverberated around the world.
“We have to tighten border controls and security in key public facilities in case of an emergency in the country,” said Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn during the meeting.
The police increased police patrols around French facilities in South Korea, including its embassy and schools, in a way to prevent any possibilities of additional terrorist attacks in the country, with other foreign missions also on strict guard. [Yonhap]
The photo dated 1965 shows a car manufacturing factory operated by Shinjin Automobiles, which produced vehicles locally with complete knockdown kits brought in from Toyota. The National Archives of Korea released it and other old photos on Nov. 11, 2015 to give a glimpse of the country’s past 70 years. (Yonhap)
Yuju, a member of girl group GFriend, poses with her test identification slip in front of Gwanak High School in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo Ward on Nov. 12, 2015, before entering the school to sit for the state-administrated scholastic aptitude test. Some 630,000 students nationwide are taking the test to enter college in the spring semester that begins in March. (Yonhap)
There is probably plenty of more ill gotten funds that the Chun family has that hopefully prosecutors continue to go after:
U.S. prosecutors this week returned more than $1.1 million in seized assets linked to South Korea’s disgraced former president, Chun Doo-hwan, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
The $1,126,951.45 was seized through forfeiture actions in Southern California and Philadelphia, where authorities found a tony white clapboard home in Newport Beach and a secured investment in a Pennsylvania company linked to Chun’s son, Chun Jae Yong.
The younger Chun has admitted to South Korean prosecutors that the funds came from his father, according to a complaint in the U.S. forfeiture case.
The sum seized by prosecutors here is a sliver of the $229 million of the criminal restitution Chun was ordered to pay by South Korean courts in 1996 for ill-gotten gains amassed through bribes from corporations such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG during his eight years as president in the 1980s. [LA Times]
This photo dated June 26, 1957, shows fishermen aboard the Jinam-ho, South Korea’s first overseas fishing boat, ahead of a voyage. People like them had served as an economic pillar for the country during hard times, sending home money earned from their catch. Government estimates show they remitted some US$87 million to South Korea from 1966-1987. Many of the fishermen died in foreign waters, and the fisheries ministry started a campaign in 2014 to bring back their remains. (Photo provided by the Korea Overseas Fisheries Association) (Yonhap)
The Mayor of Seoul is defending the city’s new slogan I.Seoul.U by claiming that since it make no sense that it could mean anything:
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will stick to its new slogan, “I.Seoul.U,” Mayor Park Won-soon said Monday.
“Many slogans of cities around the world receive negative feedback at first,” he said during a luncheon with reporters at City Hall. “After a while, I expect the negative reactions will change.”
“Even if we start all over again and come up with a new slogan, it will face some sort of criticism. That cannot be avoided.”
This is the first time that the mayor expressed his opinion about the slogan.
“I.Seoul.U” was selected as the capital city’s slogan on Oct. 28, after beating two other finalists ― “Seoulmate” and “SEOULing.”
“I had expected the slogan would be received positively, but it wasn’t,” Park said.
“I nonetheless believe that the process of selecting the slogan was meaningful because it allowed citizens to participate.”
Addressing the criticism that the slogan is nonsensical and unclear, Park said he believes it is better to leave the interpretation open to the public rather than try to define the meaning.
For example, he noted, the slogan “Incredible India” is a great one, but because its meaning is unchangeable, it can only be used for a short time.
“On the other hand, ‘I.Seoul.U’ can mean anything,” Park said. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but the city spent $700,000 on something the mayor admits has no meaning.
If it makes anyone feel better according to this poll nearly 78% of Japanese hate China as well:
Nearly 60 percent of Japanese people said they hate Korea in a survey conducted last year and released Sunday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The national image of Korea is the worst in Japan among 14 other countries where citizens were interviewed as part of a survey conducted by Samjong KPMG and commissioned by the ministry.
It showed that only 14.3 percent of Japanese respondents hold positive views about Korea, the lowest among 14 countries.
It surveyed 5,600 people in 14 countries about Korea’s image between October and November 2014.
The 14 countries were Malaysia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Russia, the United States, Romania, Britain, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan.
The accounting and financial advisory firm attributed Korea’s negative image in Japan to the ongoing historical and territorial disputes.
“The results suggest that persistent rows over historical issues and the relevant anti-Korea campaigns by rightwing activists affected popular sentiment in Japan,” a company official said. [The Korea Times]
