It seems the Ministry of Unification is on the way out of existence. It is fitting that the current Beverly hillbilly (see here) National Intelligence Service director is also on the way out as well.
Yonhap reports that police in Busan have applied for an arrest warrant for a 37-year-old New Zealander suspected of habitually molesting a 7-year-girl at his hagwon in Haeundae-gu. According to police, the Kiwi, identified as “T,” moved the alleged victim’s chair to a corner of the classroom so he could molest her without the other [...]
It’s not everyday that you see the Koreans compared to the Terrible Turk:
Every student of history should remember the Battle of Lepanto. For those who might have forgotten, it took place in 1571 in the waters off western Greece and was the last major naval battle to be fought solely between rowing vessels.
The Holy League, [...]
The JoongAng Ilbo notes that according to Ministry of Education survey taken in 2006 of 32,000 elementary, middle and high school English teachers nationwide, only half — 49.8%, to be exact — could teach for a full hour in English.
To combat the problem, the Seoul Office of Education has decided to push for the adoption [...]
Apparently there is. Meet Seo Kyoung-duk, who has managed to parlay his degree from one of Korea’s top universities into a life of part-time jobs to support, well, this:
Seo Kyoung-duk is a man of solitary hope.
He invests his life savings to publish ads about his native Korea in major American newspapers.
He was an advocate for [...]
Yonhap reports that a US Congressional Research Service report on human trafficking has sparked controversy by labeling Korea a major destination for sex tourism.
This, despite “objective records” showing that since the Special Law on Prostitution went into effect in 2004, the red-light districts have closed down, organized tourism for foreign tourists has been “virtually eradicated,” [...]
Yonhap reports that Seoul High Court has overturned the conviction on a 21-year old private who was originally sentenced to 3 years in the pen for attempting to rape a female police officer. A 22-year-old sergeant who was convicted with him and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in jail, meanwhile, had his sentence [...]
I guess this was going to happen sooner or later. The Korean National Police is looking into using Tasers to subdue violent demonstrators.
The Korean National Bobsleigh Team has won the bronze medal during the 2008 American Cup competition held at Salt Lake City. But like the Jamaican team at the 88 Winter Olympics, the Korean team had had its share of hardships. First it had only three members including the coach, but because of “budgetary problems” only [...]
My latest KT piece is up. A snippet:
In short, the Roh-Bush deal gave Korea increased national pride. In return, the U.S. got greater operational flexibility and several thousand fewer body bags in the event of a conflict. It is trade with which both sides seem happy.
I assume you already about know the deal in question.
(BTW, I [...]
Photos taken during the 2008 Detroit Motor Show.
LMB has stated that the Canal will be built “with 100% private funding and will not involve government funds.” Because of this he stressed that “it cannot be done unilaterally and that there is no government schedule for its completion.” Put it simply, according to LMB, the project is “in private hands.”
OK, does this mean [...]
Upcoming Royal Asiatic Society–Korea activities of interest to M-holers:
Tomorrow Tuesday January 15th: Well-known 19th-20th-cen Historian-of-Korea Prof Lew Young-ik (PhD Harvard 1972, Chair of Korean Studies at Yonsei Univ GSIS, my fellow Governing Council Member of RAS-K) will give the first RAS Lecture of the year, on “Early Korean Encounters with the United States and Japan”. That’s the title [...]
Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, Jungnim-dong Cathedral
We’ve visited quite a few old Catholic churches on this blog. Most were built by French missionaries in the closing years of the Joseon era and the Japanese colonial era.
The Paris Foreign Missions Society weren’t the only Catholics doing missionary work in Korea, however. They were joined by the [...]
A simple demonstration on how a 3G phone can be used to teach English. The phone bill will be a killer though.
Korea News via Google