Tag: Korea

How come I am not surprised by this news?:

Two years ago, when Mrs. Lee’s 20-year-old son was found to have lied on his college application papers and later got expelled from his university, she was furious. But she wasn’t angry because he had acted immorally; rather, she was more upset because, in her mind, it was useless to blame him for something everyone else did, too.

“In Gangnam, everyone does this,” Lee reportedly told police. “Why is he the only one getting in trouble?”

Further investigation proved that her son, surnamed Sohn, also had an accomplice – his teacher.

When authorities looked into the case, they found that Sohn had received an undeserved award in an art competition for a piece he hadn’t created. His teacher switched the boy’s name with another student and submitted the work on Sohn’s behalf.

His teacher recommendation letter also included details of volunteer work he had never completed.

Sohn applied to college in the early admissions process, which assesses an applicant’s transcripts, extracurricular activities, academic awards, volunteer work, recommendation letters and grades.

In Korea, regular admissions normally evaluate applicants’ scores on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a standardized exam held every November. Thirty-five percent of the seats available at local colleges next year will be chosen via regular admissions, while the remaining 65 percent will be selected through early admissions.

One in every four early admissions slots will be determined through criteria similar to that which determined Sohn’s admission. But if Sohn’s case is any indication, university officials are mostly helpless to verify certain information, and similar fabrications often fly under the radar.

“There’s really not much we can do but believe whatever documents were authorized by the high school,” said one university admissions officer, who asked for anonymity. “It’s hard to tell which paper was fabricated when you have students and teachers collaborating in the scheme.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but probably most disturbing about this is that the teachers are helping the students to lie on the applications.

Koreans are trying to come to terms with the latest public safety disaster:

“Are we living in the Republic of Disasters?

This Internet post captures the fear, anger and frustration felt by a nation that was shocked by a fatal accident during an outdoor concert, when it is still recuperating from the Sewol tragedy.

A ventilation grating collapsed and 27 people standing on it fell 20 meters into an underground parking lot in the middle of a pop concert in Pangyo, south of Seoul, Friday evening.

Sixteen people were killed and 11 others were seriously injured.

“All we have heard since the Sewol ferry sinking is about how to improve safety,” said Lee, a 27-year-old man, who refused to reveal his full name.

“Every time, it’s same. The same headlines, the same government reaction and what not. The newspapers blame lax safety measures as the cause of yet another disaster and the saddest of all is that it all could have been prevented,” Lee said.

“What’s next?” Lee asked himself, and answered: “Some high-ranking government official bows in front of the cameras. Someone resigns, and it seems to quiet down. And another accident happens. It’s so cyclical that mentioning the problem seems boring.”

A 30-year-old office worker who identified herself as Kim suggested that a few security guards on site could have prevented the accident.

“The victims were trying to get a better view of the performers on stage. And I guess those people probably didn’t think too much about whether the grate was strong enough to support them or not. They were just being enthusiastic concert-goers, right?” she said.

“Maybe if someone had warned them, they wouldn’t have risked their lives,” she said. (Korea Times)

You can read more at the link, but like one netizen said in the article would the crowd have listened if there was security there?

I guess this how you exchange pleasantries on the DMZ:

South and North Korea exchanged fire across the heavily fortified border on Sunday, but there was no report of South Korean casualties.

The incident took around 5:40 p.m. when South Korea fired warning shots against North Korean soldiers who were approaching the military demarcation line in Paju after broadcasting warning messages.

North Korea apparently fired back against South Korea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, noting two marks from North Korean guns were found in a South Korean guard post.

South Korea also returned fired against North Korea, according to the JCS. [Yonhap]

Busan Haps has the scoop on when Apple fans can expect to purchase the new iPhone 6 in South Korea:

Image via Flickr user Pic-k-art.

Those looking to get their hands on the newest offering from Apple won’t have to wait much longer as they have announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will begin sales on October 31st in 36 additional countries and territories, including South Korea, as well as across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa have been added by the Cupertino, California company in a press statement yesterday.

Pre-orders by Korea’s three mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ — will begin October 24th.  [Busan Haps]

You can read more at the link.

(Image from KoreaBANG)

Saenuri lawmaker Rep. Kwon Seong-dong using company time and bandwidth to explore extracurricular pursuits.  [Via Marmot’s Hole]

You can read more about who Rep. Kwon is checking out at the link.

Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this interesting story about a Korean superfan who has become the face of the fanbase for the Kansas City Royals baseball team that will take on the San Francisco Giants in the World Series:

The Irish have the Blarney Stone, the Chinese rub Buddha’s belly and the Kansas City Royals have Lee Sung-woo.

They have who, what, huh?

Okay, so the story goes that in the middle of the American major league baseball season the Kansas City Royals were just an average team in a small market with average talent, having yet another ho-hum average season in their bland 45 year history (playoff-less in the last 28 of those 45 years).  That was until a foreigner named Sung-woo Lee from far away South Korea came on the scene.  Through social media, Sung-woo was a regular fixture on Royals’ fan sites and blogs and exhorted Royals’ fans to persevere, which helped to inject much needed enthusiasm into the traditional fan base.  Interestingly enough, Sung-woo’s online participation started as an attempt to learn English by consistently conversing with American baseball fans. [Marmot’s Hole]

You can read more at the Marmot’s Hole link, but if they win the World Series this is a Disney feel good story in the making.  In fact a filmmaker is already making a movie about Lee:

That would be OK, but… what if SungWoo could come back for the World Series in Kansas City?

It appears to be happening. Due to a viral effort by bloggers and a filmmaker named Josh Swade – who is in Korea right now — wants to document the story, several people close to the situation are reporting that Lee will be returning for the first Fall Classic in Kansas City since 1985. Andy McCullough in the Kansas City Star reports that Swade is talking with Lee’s employer in South Korea to make it possible for him to get away. Announcements have been made elsewhere.   [Yahoo Sports]

Guess who's coming to game 1?! #SungWooSeries @30for30 @Royals @MLB pic.twitter.com/lKiofQKFr7

— Josh Swade (@JoshSwade) October 17, 2014

You can read more at the link, but what an incredible story.

South Korea tries to ease cyber surveillance fears http://t.co/nKiVFvsjlC #KoreaNews

— Korea News Summary (@ROKreport) October 16, 2014

This first McDonald’s franchise is currently being constructed in Dongducheon.  You can read more about it over at Korea Noodles.

Hopefully this conference is able to go smoothly in Korea without any ebola transmissions.  You would think though that the attendees from the three West African countries would voluntarily not attend conferences like this until the outbreak is under control:

Concern is mounting about a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus just days before the opening of a global telecommunications conference in Busan.

The International Telecommunication Union is set to start next Monday in the southeastern port city and runs until November 7. More than 3,000 government officials and 600,000 attendees from 193 countries are expected to visit. More than 170 attendees hail from West Africa including Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the epicenters of the current outbreak.

The government has placed a request to the three hardest-hit nations not to visit and has intensified quarantine and monitoring at the Gimhae International Airport, where most visitors are expected to arrive.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare staged a response-preparation drill on Thursday for conference personnel and health staff at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center meeting venue if a visitor demonstrates Ebola-like symptoms. Five fever detectors have been deployed at the venue.

Still, the precautions haven’t quelled fears over possible transmission. Over the past few weeks, local civic groups and politicians have called on the government to establish more thorough measures to prevent an outbreak.

In a meeting with relevant ministry officials on Thursday, Rep. Cho Kyung-tae from the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy party, urged the government to block the entry of African delegates from the three nations.

“Running an international event smoothly can’t take priority over public health,” argued Rep. Cho.

Another lawmaker from the same party, Rep. Bae Jae-jung, on Wednesday cited the lack of adequate medical facilities and experts at local hospitals as a primary concern.

“We don’t have a special ward to properly isolate a patient who might contract the disease,” Rep. Bae said.  [Wall Street Journal]

You can read more at the link, but this was mentioned in the Forums that isn’t it ironic that telecommunications conference cannot have participants from these three African nations participate via telecommunications?  Discuss more over in the Forums Ebola Open Thread.

A ROK Head was kind enough to post this over in the Forum:

A ventilation grille near an outdoor concert venue collapsed on Friday in Gyeonggi Province, and appears to have killed at least 14 people and injured 11, police said.

You can read more and discuss at the Forums.