Tag: Busan

This is a really good program that the South Korean government puts on every year:

South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs hosted Munson and more than 100 other veterans and family members from 16 nations to express the South’s appreciation for the sacrifices made during the three-year war.

During the six-day revisit program that began Tuesday, the vets participated in numerous cultural events and tours, including a trip to the truce village of Panmunjom and other sites in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone.

They also laid white flowers on the headstones of fallen servicemembers at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in the southern city of Busan.

They were welcomed with a standing ovation and honored during the annual United Nations Forces participation day ceremony in Seoul, which was broadcast on national TV.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Once again when are so called patriotic Koreans going to pull a stunt like this at the Chinese embassy to protest their current economic retaliation against South Korea and historical wrong doing against the Korean people?:

Police detained six college students Monday after they staged a demonstration inside the Japanese Consulate in the southeastern port city of Busan in protest of Japan’s trade restrictions on Korea. 

The students were in the consulate’s library, then stormed out to its yard at around 2:30 p.m. They shouted slogans and held banners that read, “We denounce Japan’s re-invasion,” “We condemn economic provocations,” and “Abe must apologize.” 

They were taken to a police station and are being probed on the account of trespassing the premises of a diplomatic mission, the police said. 

The students, who claim to belong to an anti-Japan group based in Busan, individually entered the consulate building earlier through due procedures, according to the police.

At the time of their protest, a coalition of 30 civic groups in the city was holding a joint news conference in front of the consulate’s rear gate to condemn Japan for its export restrictions against South Korea and call for a boycott of Japanese products.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but when are these protesters going to demand the Emperor President Xi of China apologize?

Anyway these activists pull these stunts against Japan because they know they can get away with it. If they tried this against the Chinese embassy they know there would likely be real repercussions. Remember the Chinese embassy once sponsored the assault of Korean citizens in Seoul and got away with it.  

Could you imagine what would happen if the Japanese embassy organized a mob to assault Koreans in Seoul?

There will be some naval action going in the waters off of Busan this week:

A large-scale multinational maritime exercise will begin in the country’s southern port city of Busan this week.

The Navy said on Sunday that South Korea, the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other partner countries will kick off a combined maritime security exercise in Busan from Monday to Thursday and in Singapore from May 9th to 13th.

The exercise involves 18 member countries of the maritime security expert working group of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), a defense dialogue mechanism involving ASEAN and other countries, including the United States.

The Navy said 12 countries will send 16 warships and six aircraft for the exercise, while six other countries will send only military personnel.

KBS World Radio

I had a cab driver do this to me before and I got out and thanked him for the free ride after recording his driver information:

A taxi driver has been fined for overcharging British passengers. 

According to police, the driver picked them up at the International Passenger Terminal in Busan Port on Wednesday morning, drove about two kilometers with the meter off and charged 20,000 won ($18), nearly four times the proper fare. 

When the passengers told their Korean guide about the incident, the guide reported the driver to the tourist police, a special unit committed to handling complaints from foreign visitors. 

Police confirmed the offense after looking at the vehicle’s dash cam and CCTV footage. The driver admitted he had overcharged the passengers.

Korea Times

I wonder how much the fine was? I doubt it was enough to discourage taxi drivers from continuing this activity.

These drug smugglers must have forgot to pay someone off in the Mexican government to have this tip called in against them:

The Korea Customs Service announced Monday it confiscated a record amount of cocaine shipped into the Port of Busan. 

According to customs officials, 63.88 kilograms (140.8 pounds) of cocaine was smuggled into the port, the largest amount of drugs found since the opening of Busan Harbor. Authorities estimated that market value was about 190 billion won ($168 million). 

Customs authorities said the cargo left Mexico 20 days ago, arrived in Busan on Dec. 14 and was head to Tianjin, China.  

Customs was tipped off about the smuggling by Mexican customs officials. The Korea Customs Service was told the drugs were concealed in 22 tons of recyclable copper scraps, packed in small plastic bags that were stuffed into two large black bags. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty strange that Korean War veterans are intentionally excluded from a Korean War memorial event:

I felt a little foolish this year when reporters and others present at the Turn Toward Busan ceremony at the UN Cemetery on Nov. 11 congratulated me for being prominently mentioned in the program. Some thought I was actually present, among the various dignitaries.

I wasn’t there. Nor were any veterans invited from the various nations that sent soldiers to fight in Korea during the war years.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs excluded the aging veterans from participating this year. Instead, they gave more than 100 places usually reserved for veterans to family members of those who fell in the war.

While no veteran will object to giving up his place to a bonafide grieving family member of a comrade, it was a major error of the MPVA to exclude veterans.

Ironically, the ceremony gave the impression that veterans from the many nations were actually present. The huge video screens set up on each side of the altar displayed a sign in English that read, “Thanks, Veterans.” But they were not there.

Bereaved family members are much younger than the veterans. In most cases they will be on this Earth much longer. Presumably, they will continue to be invited to Korea long after the veterans revisit programs end in 2020.

In several cases the family members invited were very distant relatives of the fallen soldiers. They were not born until many years after the Korean War ended, and never met or actually grieved for the fallen soldiers.

While their presence does perpetuate the memory of those who fell, it also excluded participation by those who served alongside those soldiers ― those who fought in the war and were spared.  [Korea Times]

I don’t understand what the problem is with adding more chairs to accommodate family members and veterans?  Why exclude veterans especially when they have been invited in prior years.

Here is what Dr. Tara O thinks is going on:

Min of Patriots & Veterans Affairs didn't invite Korean War vets from UN Sending States this year, unlike in the past. Many are in 80s. The Minister is Pi Woo-jin, who strongly supports Moon, whose priority is Kim Jong-un. How does Kim feel re UN vets?https://t.co/rekH21tM2e

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 29, 2018

This photo shows Haeundae Beach in Busan on July 10, 2018. (Yonhap)