Category: Korea-General Topics

I wonder if Seoul will ever see this money paid back to them:

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed Friday that Ukraine has received a US$100 million loan from South Korea aimed at supporting the social sector.

In a post on social media X, Shmyhal said the loan is “the first budget assistance” from South Korea to support the social sector.

He said Ukraine also signed an agreement with South Korea granting access to up to $2.1 billion in funding earlier this year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears the authoritarian block is sending a message to South Korea about supporting Ukraine:

South Korea scrambled fighter jets Friday after six Russian and five Chinese military aircraft entered the country’s air defense identification zone. The foreign aircraft approached the zone between 9:35 a.m. and 1:53 p.m., crossing into the buffer near the southern and eastern coasts, according to a statement from the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air defense identification zones are buffers designed by some nations to monitor and identify approaching aircraft before they enter national airspace.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Good job by this Army veteran living in Pyeongtaek:

A quiet evening at home took a chaotic turn for U.S. Army veteran Arthur Chavarria when his wife, Kim Dong Young, opened the door on Nov. 1 and shouted, “There’s a fire!” Chavarria was headed for bed that night, but instead slipped on a pair of flip-flops and ran toward smoke rising from an old house in Seokgeun village near Camp Humphreys. “I heard a woman screaming — a really loud, desperate scream,” he told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. “The moment I heard that, I just ran toward the residence.”

What happened next earned the couple a commendation from the Pyeongtaek Fire Department and praise from Fire Chief Kang Bong-ju. “We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Chavarria for quickly reporting the fire and rescuing a precious life,” Kang said at Wednesday’s commendation ceremony. When he rushed outside that night, Chavarria saw a neighboring homeowner, an elderly woman, heading back into the burning structure. “I thought, ‘There’s probably somebody in there if she’s going back inside,’ ” he said.

Chavarria followed her in and quickly realized she was alone, attempting to fight the flames with a garden hose. “She was handing me the hose, wanting me to help her put out the fire,” he said. But the smoke was heavy, and he could not let her stay. “She could’ve passed out or worse,” he added.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The propaganda balloon wars between South and North Korea could now spread to Ukraine and Russia:

A group of North Korean defectors delivered propaganda leaflets to Ukraine on Monday, encouraging North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia to defect, as thousands of North Korean troops have been sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The “Defectors’ Propaganda Corps,” comprising North Korean soldiers-turned-defectors and defectors whose sons served in the North Korean military, delivered the propaganda leaflets to the Embassy of Ukraine in Seoul for the distribution to North Korean soldiers in Russia, the group said.

The leaflets carry messages encouraging North Korean troops to defect, along with instructions on how to defect. Audio files with similar messages were also delivered to the embassy.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if Ukraine sends propaganda balloons towards North Korean troops in Russia, I wonder if Kim Jong-un will have his troops send garbage balloons into Ukraine in response?

This guy is definitely suspicious because what tourist to Korea immediately to the Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs after arriving at the airport?:

– A Chinese man was released from police custody after being questioned on suspicion of filming the headquarters of the state spy agency using a drone, police said Monday.

The Chinese national in his 40s was released late Sunday, a day after he was caught by the police for appearing to film the National Intelligence Service (NIS) headquarters in southern Seoul in violation of the Aviation Safety Act.

Police said the man appeared to have filmed the NIS building while taking drone footage of the nearby Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs, the historical burial grounds of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). (………..)

The man reportedly told police he was trying to film the royal tombs out of a deep interest in world heritage sites, with plans to film temples and other places in the country as well.

The man was also found to have headed straight to the tombs in a rented car after entering the country through Incheon International Airport on Saturday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but they need to make example of this guy to send a message to anyone flying drones illegally.

I am totally for students keeping their phones in their lockers during the school day:

Korea may soon join a growing list of countries moving to ban mobile phones in classrooms, as the policy idea is gaining increasing support from teachers, parents and politicians here.

According to lawmakers and education administrators on Sunday, Rep. Cho Jung-hun and 10 other lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party are pushing for a countrywide ban on the use of phones and other smart devices in schools to protect the mental health of students.

“Many countries, including the United States and France, are trying to restrict phone use through legislation as social media addiction becomes a serious problem. This is also true in Korea, where 25 percent of children aged between 3 and 9 and 40.1 percent of those aged between 10 and 19 were found to be overly dependent on smartphones,” they said, explaining the reason for proposing the bill. “To protect their mental health, we are proposing to restrict the use of smart devices in schools unless permitted for educational or emergency purposes.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The locals are concerned that these balloon launches could lead to a North Korean provocation against them which is why there has been so much pushback:

A South Korean activist group called off its plan to launch balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North across the heavily fortified frontier on Thursday after facing local opposition and police prevention due to potential security risks to residents.

Choi Sung-ryong, head of the Association of the Families of Those Abducted by North Korea, announced that the organization would cancel its decision to scatter propaganda leaflets in the North during a press conference held at the National Memorial for Abductees during the Korean War in the western border city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The group had initially planned to float some 100,000 copies of the leaflet made of plastic — containing photos and descriptions of six abductee victims — attached to large balloons along with one-dollar bills on this day.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the activists are now saying they are going to instead fly drones into North Korea instead which will actually be more provocative than the balloons.

It is understandable that the public image of doctor’s in South Korea has taken a severe nosedive with their antics to try and stop the increase of students going to medical schools:

The conflict over the proposed increase in medical student quotas, which has persisted for more than nine months, continues to disrupt medical services nationwide. Despite ongoing discussions, doctors and the government have yet to find common ground. The ruling party’s proposal for four-way negotiations remains untouched, with no formal dialogue having taken place.

While the standoff has continued, Park has felt her understanding of what being a doctor means as a profession changing.

“I had thought of them as selfless heroes dedicated to public health, but now I see them as a privileged group driven by self-interest,” she said.

Park is not the only one who questions the profession’s long-standing reputation for public service.

“The latest tension between doctors and the government has given the public the impression that they are a selfish and (a group) that requires negotiations for everything,” said Lee Ju-yul, professor in the Department of Health Administration at Namseoul University.

Patients with chronic illnesses feel betrayed by doctors, with some complaining they have been treated as bargaining chips.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.