Author Archives: Brendon Carr (Korea Law Blog)

Foreign Investment Evaporates

The Korea Times today reports that foreign investment has all but evaporated in the wake of five years of Roh Moo Hyun’s government and its handling of foreign-investment bête noire Lone Star Funds. Well, duh.
Bad news for hub dreamers:
“I don’t think Korea can change in the near future to reverse the poor FDI trend,” [former [...]

Korea Law Blog’s Recommendation on Where to Go for English-Teacher Employment-Law Help

As any regular reader of the Marmot’s Hole knows, Brendon Carr doesn’t want to field inquiries from English teachers. But that’s not because he hates English teachers: It’s because they’re calling the wrong place for help. Today Korea Law Blog recommends a good quasi-lawyer professional whom English teachers should be calling for help. If [...]

Hong Kil-Dong, “Eat-and-Run” Private Equity Investor

In an irony-free investment move, the National Pension Service has invested US$300 million with US private-equity fund Texas Pacific Group, which rescued Korea First Bank in 1999 and got no thanks for the effort. TPG’s affiliate/competitor Newbridge Capital, you may recall, got kicked around to no end in the press when it exited in 2005 [...]

National Treasure No. 1 Burns

Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) gate, Korea’s National Treasure #1, caught fire this evening around 8:45 p.m. according to breaking news reports on Naver.com. Reportedly it’s still smoldering. I hope the Marmot knows how to insert photos because there are some dramatic ones on the wires now, and tomorrow I am sure there will be something to photograph.
Sungnyemun [...]

For the English Teachers: How to Grow Weed At Home

Happy new year! While surfing the net I came across this Dutch (English-language, though) instructional video on how to grow marijuana indoors in an urban environment. It looks too complex and furtive for me; plus, I don’t smoke. But I know a lot of the rest of you do. (If the link doesn’t work, you’ll [...]

Another setback for Obama

2004 Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry reportedly will endorse the Illinois Senator’s candidacy.

That was a close call

It looks like Korea’s draft Anti-Discrimination Act was stopped just in time — apparently the new law was to make homosexuality mandatory, as well as prohibit discrimination based on nationality.

Sphere: Related Content

Korea Takes Action to Stop Foreign Abuse of IP Rights

Finally! Korea is taking action against the rampant abuse of intellectual property rights… by the big, bad multinationals who’ve become notorious for stealing Korean ideas.

Public-Service Announcement from the HTML Elf

A note from the HTML Elf: If you open an HTML tag (in particular <a> and <blockquote> tags), you must close the tag! I am tired of fixing these issues. If you don’t know how to use the tags, don’t use them! Every HTML tag, save the line break tag, is opened in brackets, and [...]

Observations on the Korean Bar Examination

By Brendon Carr
Marmot’s Hole Guest Blogger
In the comments to Election Commission Wants Everyone’s Mind to be a Blank Slate Before August 21 here on the Marmot’s Hole, a tangent emerged which could hijack the thread, something which happens from time to time. The topic is, I think, of general interest, and so for purposes of [...]

Korean Scientists Cure Cancer? Or Hwang Redux?

Agence France-Presse reports that Yonsei University scientists report the successful genetic engineering of a virus that eats cancer. And, they say, only cancer. When injected into tumors 90% of the tumorous cells disappear within 60 days.
Wow. “Cure for cancer” is a punchline for impossible. If this discovery bears fruit, Korean science really will be at [...]

Lisa Vershbow, Call Me

The Korea Times’ headline piece (at least on their website) breaks the earth-shaking revelation that U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow’s wife Lisa has apparently violated Korean law by peddling her costume jewelry at a gallery. Not having established a business here in Korea and obtained a taxpayer identification number, Lisa Vershbow is now an “illegal worker.” [...]

Bravo Foxtrot: Son of English Spectrum

Proving the amazing power of Robert Koehler’s Marmot’s Hole, today’s Sakkeon-eui Nae-Mak (사건의 내막 — “Inside Story”?) one of the sleazy tabloid newspapers I like to read on the subway coming home after work (my chauffeur is on holiday), has as its front-page feature (including photos lifted from his site) the scandal of ruggedly-handsome serial-killer [...]

Kyopos to Get “Special Orientation” to Korean Army

Since I like military news and today reported the US military as an “idealized version of America”, I noted the following: Shanghaied kyopos will get a special orientation to service in the Korean Army, reports the execrable Korea Times tomorrow. One can only imagine what’s in store for them. But why are overseas-Koreans having such [...]

Another ICS Parent Says School Doesn’t Suck

Reporter Andrew Salmon has a tyke at International Christian School (ICS), and writes the Korea Times today concerning the controversy around the school. Despite the fact that he’s British, he is not spitting mad over the selection of ICS to operate the Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). And he invites parents to give the [...]

AmCham Statement on Yongsan International School and ICS

Much complaining has come from unhappy expats with little information. In the interest of the transparency they so insistently demand, I am going to share as much as possible.
July 4th, in response to the brouhaha over the selection of International Christian School to operate the Yongsan International School of Seoul, American Chamber of Commerce in [...]

Yongsan International School Operating Agreement Signed

It’s final.
International Christian School (ICS) and the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation (the “Foundation”) today signed a final and binding (insofar as any contract is final and binding in Korea) Operating Agreement appointing ICS as the operator of the unfortunately-named Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). Personally, I hope the name of the school can be [...]

Another English Teacher Needs a Cup of STFU

Guest Post by BRENDON CARR
Member of the Angry Expat Commentariat
My curiosity was piqued by an aside from commenter usinkorea in the comments to the thread about the U.S. visa outrage. He described some article in the always-execrable Korea Times about the travails of English teachers in Korea. Basically, that rag will print anything from anyone [...]

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