Crunching Numbers

Via Travis H.

Saw this link above (link) the one you posted and thought I'd crunch some numbers myself. While the foreign population rose 2% from 2008-2009, "violent" crime rose 18%. Robbery was the big one, almost doubling from 133 to 260. To put that in perspective, .03% of foreigners committed a robbery. Furthermore, 0.22% of foreigners are thieves. "Other" crimes (not specified) rose 8%. It is interesting they did not break those numbers down further, since the 5,551 crimes not specified represent more than 2/3 the total 7,812 crimes committed (speeding tickets anyone???).

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Overall, 0.89% of foreigners committed a crime (notice the decimal points on these percentages), giving a "criminal" rate of less than 1 per 100,000. That number would drop further given that one "crime" does not equal one person, one person likely committed several crimes.

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The FBI considers "violent" crime to be murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. But no figures for murder or rape were cited, though those two terms were cited in the second line of the article. Theft is a property crime.

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Just for reference (not to be compared to my "criminal" rates, which account for number of criminals per foreigner) the US crime rate in 2008 for all crimes (violent and property) was 3,672 per 100,000. Violent crimes were 454 per 100,000.

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The US murder rate was 5.4 per 100,000, between Turkey and Kenya. South Korea was 2.8 between Switzerland and Finland.

Smell that foreigner

"When walking past a foreigner's house, there was a unique odor foreigners carry. That is how I fathomed out whether a foreigner lived in the house," Baek was quoted as saying by police. Full article here.

Maybe it was because they didn't smell of kimchi and garlic. Oh! The apartments smelled of deodorant. Funny stuff.

Did you know that Koreans naturally don’t have a sweat smell? That is why deodorant is so difficult to find here.

Thanks to Christopher for turning me on to this one.

Ride the wave.

There is just so much wrong with this article that it will take a day to write about it. Scary thing is that this seems to be the standard for journalism in this country. I am being nice and calling it journalism and not complete rubbish. Whatever. It was fun reading the comments. This was my favourite part:

From the article:

Yonhap News learned from parents and teachers of middle school D in Jangan-gu, Suwon, where a native-speaker teacher from the United Kingdom came to school drunk and caused a disturbance. The drunken teacher began teaching sex education to the students in words they could not understand, saying “the reason I’m not married is I don’t want to have kids like you,” and “Dokdo is Japanese.”

A comment on the site:

I worked for a year at an elementary school, and one day I was surprised to see the head Korean teacher walk into my class and just start talking in Korean, completely interrupting my lesson. I went over to him and he stank of soju something fierce. He rambled on and on for about 10 minutes and then left. I asked my students what that was all about and they told me he was telling them to study hard.

So in my experience, its not the foreign teachers that disrupt class and come to school drunk, its the Koreans.

I am guessing the only real problem here was that he spoke about Laincourt Rocks, not that he was drunk. I am also upset about it because we all know South Africa are the rightful owners of the rocks.

My poor students

Oh dear! My students study so hard every day, just to eat beef and die.

Looking Good

Korea looking good in the outside world again, being an example of what you need to run as a Democracy.

Another English teacher caught with drugs

Does this mean he is not a Korean any more, like the “Foreigner who killed the Korean”, who turned out to have killed a Chinese national from Korean decent, him being a Korean national? I mean, this grower IS an English teacher.

Another investor on the go.

Does this mean the Won will fall even lower against the Dollar? Good job I’m not American. (Bad job I’m South African. Through this whole drop, the Rand has stayed stable against the Won, meaning it was dropping like a rock against the Dollar.)

Go YouTube

YouTube Korea will block you from uploading or commenting on stuff. They do this because they refuse to implement the real name system the ROK government demands. The work around? Click that little link at the top right that says "South Korea" and change the country. WOW, I feel so much saver!

North v.s. South

Last night was one of the biggest derby matches in the footballing world. Big in the sense that usually an international football mach is just that, an international match. With the North-South game however, you can kind of argue that it is a country playing against itself.

Four of us decided to trek to Seoul to watch our first ever match with the national team. Some people were there just to see the commies.

All in all it was a nice experience with the South victorious. The last few games between these two team ended in 0-0 draws, so it was nice to see a result. I predicted that it would be a 1-0 score because the South had the home game, so kudos to me.

The game was quite boring in the first half because the North just parked and defended on the side of the pitch where were not at. Don’t you love that pain on the neck other side of the pitch feeling?

I was impressed with the crowd. They weren’t overly patriotic, but at the same time they weren’t very appreciative of general good shows. I’m the kind of supporter who want my own team to be blown up for a hand ball, or whatever it might be at the time, when it is the right decision. Here, however, only your own team’s good point and the other team’s bad point are seen. Granted, many countries do this so maybe I am just spoiled with the fans in Pretoria. Sure, we boo the other team, but it is more to intimidate them than to be downright mean. If they do something really good there will always be a courtesy applause as a response.

I would have liked to give you an amazing post with amazing descriptions and insightful analysis, but I am just not that good, so I will leave it here with a few photos.

p.s. You know how you say “Hundred miles an hour” to mean fast? Your taxi home actually did that. Do you know that there is a warning bell for when your speedometer hits 160 km/h?

When do I see these numbers?

The ChosunIlbo posted a story about cost sharing of education in Korea, as compared to other OECD countries. The last paragraph said something interesting and read like this:

The average number of students per teacher is 26.7 at elementary schools, 20.8 at middle schools and 15.9 at high schools, again much more than the OECD average of 16.2 at elementary schools, 13.3 at middle schools, and 12.6 at high schools.

When do I get these numbers? My smallest class is 35 and the largest is 40. At least I don't have to worry about the classes getting largerer.

Seoul to Hire US Cow Shrink

Michael Breen’s recent editorial in the Korea time made me laugh. I writing my thought as I was reading the piece titled Seoul to Hire US Cow Shrink:

With opposition to U.S. beef imports waning, analysts fear that the decision announced earlier this week by the new minister for beef and swine to hire Bucky McGee, the famous American cow psychologist, may create a new wave of anti-government protests.

A ministry official, who asked not to be identified, said that, given the psychological problems with Korean herds in the wake of the market opening, there was a clear need for an expert like McGee.

For Cattle or Koreans?

But he admitted that officials were concerned the people might misunderstand the purpose of hiring a foreigner if the Blue House mishandles the public relations.

Great use of the "foreigner not good enough because he is foreign" idea.

“It is important to convey that this decision is made in the national interest,” the official said.

President Lee yesterday welcomed the ministry's choice. During a visit to an elementary school, Lee told assembled students that a famous American doctor who `”knows how to deal with mad cows is on his way to Korea.”

Of course you need to give political speeches of national interest at schools in Korea.

When children started screaming, reporters asked Lee to go out into the playground where they could hear him more clearly.

McGee is known as the “cow whisperer” for his pioneering work with beef cattle. He achieved prominence in the early '90s when he worked in Britain during the outbreak of mad cow disease.

Earlier in his career, he developed a rudimentary language that allowed him to communicate with cows. Known as Mooian, or eummaemal in Korean, the language is extremely difficult to master.

Mooian! Eummaemal! HAHAHAHAHA.

McGee claims that cows are very similar to humans in their emotions, but they differ in that, despite geographic separation, they speak a common language.

North/South Korea?

"Cows are united, he famously said when asked to comment on the candlelit protests in Seoul. "There is no such thing as American beef."

The ministry has asked McGee to head up the ministry's Bovine Life Coach Department. The department is normally run by a director-general, but McGee is reported to have demanded an assistant minister title plus expatriate housing in Seoul's Seongbuk-dong district. If approved, his package would make him the most highly paid official in the Korean government.

A stab at foreigners there? Justified, if it is.

The opposition Democratic Party yesterday criticized the hiring. “McGee is insulting the Korean people,” said Kim Han-woo, the party spokesman. Asked by a Korean reporter why, Kim said that the question was an insult to the Democratic Party and demanded an apology.

Yes, this actually happens. Issues are created based on Korean-ness. You are wrong and insulting because you are not Korean. Facts should not be use to confuse the issue.

One online publication posted a video taken by Korean students at Montana State Cattle College, where McGee teaches Mooian language, and claimed that McGee had self-plagiarized his lectures. “He said the same thing as last year,” said one student who was repeating the second year after failing his oral exam. “How can he be accepted by Koreans?”

Brilliant! Korea is well known for it’s plagiarism. Gypsy Scholar has a running battle with his students ever year on this issue and the Korean students just can’t seem to understand why it is bad to steal other people’s work. The Self Plagiarism is a reference to the recent resignation of the Education Minister for plagiarising himself.

The Hanwoo Association and the Korea Dairy and Beef Farmers Association have yet to comment publicly for fear of upsetting public sentiment.

Because then we will have 3 months of senseless protests.

The two associations are concerned about a recent spate of incidents involving Korean herds which they suspect may be related to fears about the imminent arrival of American beef.

The Cattle or the Koreans?

“They know American beef is already on the shelves and it's creating some discipline problems on the farm,” said Yu Sang-soo, a farmer in South Jeolla Province, who claimed his cows are both attracted to and repelled by their American bovine cousins.

We loooove white people but YOU ARE NOT KOREAN!

"They admire American cattle," he said. "But American cows under 30 months old show no respect for older cows and that is a problem."

Erm? HAHAHA!

Korean herds are notoriously fractious with cows developing loyalties to sub-groups within herds, rather than behaving as a group. Some groups of younger cows are said to have rampaged through fields defecating on fresh grass.

Again, HAHAHAHAHAHA. I was laughing, again, while creating this post.

Surprisingly, the American embassy opposes McGee's visit to Korea. “Cows may speak the same language as he claims,” said U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow. “But just because he understands their words, it doesn't mean he will ever get what they want.”

That is very Koreans. "We will speak to you, but we are 'not the same as you' and therefore we will fight you ever step of the way."

The top U.S. official in Seoul said he fears McGee may end up doing more harm than good if he tries to impose American thinking on Korean cows.

“Korean cattle won't be cowed, certainly not by an American,” Vershbow said. “I categorically oppose this decision and if the ministry does not reverse it and apologize, I will have to make a grave decision.”

It is strange how apologies in this country seem to cure everything. I can apologise all day, but it does not mean I give a damn or feel guilty.

Breen has been in Korea for a very long time and I think few Westerners understand Koreans as well as he does. He has a way of pointing out the obvious and making you see it anew.

This is News

Stupidity in the news.

I’m in a slightly irritated mood today, regarding news, at least, and the news reports have been annoying me no end. I have to say that all the stories come from the Chusun Ilbo because they allow me to read through Google Reader. I do get South African feeds as well, but dint even get me started on that.

Let me start with an article that I found through Brian. In a Chosun Ilbo article “Korean-Language Proficiency Drops” last week, this was printed:

The proficiency of Koreans in their mother tongue seems to have declined in recent years as many take Korean-language education for granted and an obsession with learning English has seized the country.

So,erm, Korea is different from the rest of the world? I can’t remember a time when people haven’t complained about language proficiency in the mother tongue, be it the UK, the US, South Africa or Korea. Language is not a static thing. It is a communication tool. If you are communicating effectively, then what is the problem? I can understand if people are saying Communications Skills are going downhill, but Language Skills? Are these people saying they are using the same Korean as people 100 years ago?

The article goes on:

The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation carried out a study of the results of the scholastic achievement tests of 20,945 third-year middle school students nationwide between 2004 and 2006. It shows that the percentage of students who received good or excellent marks in Korean fell from 14.1 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2006. On the other hand, those who received good or excellent grades in English rose from 18.6 to 20.5 percent over the period. The proportion who missed the minimum standard in Korean expected from a third-year middle school student increased from 4.4 percent in 2005 to 7.4 percent in 2006.

How do we know what student’s scores are when they are adjusted? If you are willing to change a student’s who deserves nothing less than 10% a 60% instead then how do you really know what the results are? Adjusted scores are almost meaningless, and for research they are not worth the paper they are printed on.

In 2001, the Korean Education Development Institute released a report on Korean adults’ reading comprehension and compared it with that of other OECD member countries. Korean adults scored 237.5 out of 500 points when tested on their ability to understand various documents such as those containing maps and charts, coming 18th out of 22 countries. Sweden came first with 305.6 points. Korea was also in the middle to lower ranks in comprehending newspaper editorials, poems and novels.

Again with the OEC! What is it with these people? Does the rest of the world not exist? And results from 2001 to talk about the situation today?

Is not understanding newspaper editorials any wonder? No one expects any critical thinking skill from students in this country. People and especially students are told what to think. PD Diary says something stupid and everyone says “We will comply.” I firmly believe that the language classes are a big part of this. Writing essays instead of picking the obvious answer from A, B, D or D alone might just allow students to think a little further than their noses. Doesn’t it amaze you that someone finishes school and then tells you they have NEVER written an essay of any kind?

In November last year, a survey of 330 human resources managers in Korean firms, conducted by employment website JobKorea, revealed that 59.7 percent were unhappy with the level of Korean proficiency of new employees, with 49.4 percent saying they are “not satisfied” and 10.3 percent saying “very unsatisfied.”

Well, let me see. Older people believing younger people’s language is not up to scratch. Imagine that. Younger people don’t have the same standards. What is the world coming to?

Experts say neglect of Chinese characters education in the school curriculum is one of the major reasons behind this. Because 70 percent of Korean vocabulary is made of the combination of Chinese characters, they claim the study of Chinese characters is essential for middle and high school education. However, as English loomed ever larger and Chinese characters began to be branded as arcane, its importance in school curricula dwindled. Prof. Lee Jong-mook of the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University said, “The fundamental remedy would be to strengthen Chinese characters education in the school curriculum, and to help children develop reading skills by studying the classics from adolescence.”

I don’t get it. Does this mean that English speaker should now start studying German to understand the structure of English and French to get a vocabulary? Wait, Korean doesn’t use the same structure as Chinese, so along those lines French should be enough for English Speakers to improve their language because it seems that vocabulary IS language.

Centuries later and they still can’t let go of a language they never use? Amazing! Are you Korean or Chinese?

Lack of time committed to reading also contributes to dwindling Korean proficiency. According to statistics on Koreans’ reading habits released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last year, adults managed to read only one book per month, and one in four did not read books at all.

Lack of time committed? And when are people supposed to read? A love for reading normally starts at school level. Granted, I only really got in to reading once I started taking the bus to work, but I still developed the love in school. Over here you leave school to go to a hagwon, go home to your bed and wake up to go to school. When do they expect students to read? Further more, if reading more does not have anything to do with the Entrance Exam, then the system will ignore it. Why don’t we hear anyone complain about how the system is screwing itself? Oh, because it is the way things work in Korea. It is Korean style. Well, skattebol, Korean Style comes with Korean Style results.

*****

In an article in the Korean times entitled “Christians Denounce TV Program for Humanizing Jesus”

The CCK said: “What the program is trying to say could shake many people's beliefs. It is a violation of individual’s rights to have freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution.” The group reportedly tried to cancel the show.

Otto says: “What?!”

State says: "Oh, that's no problem at all. We won't violate your individual rights any more. From now on Buddhism is the only religion allowed in Korea. Hope you don't mind too much."

*****

Also in the Chosun Ilbo also reports that “Soju Makes Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary”

And? Who cares except Koreans? Is it really that strange that the name of a product that should be there in any case have been included? Imagine Scotland suggesting it is news that Whiskey is now on the dictionary. Then again, they might just do that. Apparently Soju is “a Korean vodka distilled from rice.” Vodka? Are these people morons? Do they even know what vodka is? Have they ever heard of the words like and spirits. Oh well, at least the article is not about the fools who are still protesting the US beef but still eating dirty Korean beef. (I wonder if pap can be found in the dictionary?)

*****

Again, Chosun Ilbo asks: “Should Subordinates Take the Blame?” The article is about the president who replaced members of the cabinet because of recent events in the country. The fool makes decisions without listening to anyone and then fires other people to make it look as if it was not his fault? Is he so blind to the world that he thinks this will work, or are Koreans actually that gullible to believe this?

My Bra, this is lekker!

South Africa now holds a record in Korea. A South African arrested for brining marijuana in to the country, but in doing so he broke the record for the biggest load to be taken at Incheon International. It used to be a pathetic 12.8 kg, but the new record is now proudly behind the name of South Africa at 14 kg. According the translated article from Korea Beat, we seem to be going big when we bring the stuff in. I wonder what it was. Durban Poison maybe, or Swazi Gold, or…

Canadians, your reputation might be led smoky after this.

I don’t get it.

An article in the Chosun Ilbo says:

According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs on Tuesday, an average of 3.34 people died in traffic accidents per every 10,000 cars in Korea in 2006, more than double the OECD average of 1.53. Korea's figure dropped slightly to 3.08 last year, but it still remains high.

What I don’t get is this obsession to compare things like road safety between OECD countries. What does it matter if you are a member of the OECD or not? I have been to many OECD countries and I can assure you that I have NEVER been afraid of walking on the pavement/sidewalk and have rarely been even remotely afraid of crossing at the traffic light when I am allowed to walk.

In Korea people get injured on the sidewalk and a red light does not mean you have to stop at all, especially if you are a huge lorry. I would love to see where Korea features on a bigger stage. What will it look like when they do worse than most of the non-OECD countries?

Just in case you don’t know that the OECD is let me inform you. It is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international organisation of thirty countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and free market economy. How do your principals on politics and economics have any barring on road safety?

As a side note I find it interesting that the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is one thing. Maritime affairs are surely big enough to be a single operation in a country almost completely surrounded by water. Maybe this is why the road safety is lagging? Also, what exactly does “Land Affairs” mean?

Rugby Union

Google reader turned up this off beat bit of information:
South Korea seal Asian Five Nations second spot.
Good going Korea!

It is no surprise that Japan finished first with 4 out of 4 wins. On Asia Proper (the real Asian powers are Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Island) there are very few teams that can compete with, never mind beat Japan at Rugby. I must say that I was surprised to hear that South Korea came in second considering that Hong Kong was a British Colony until not so long ago. I only know of one club in Korea.

South Korea suffers from the one of the same problem that that Black people in South Africa suffer from. You need GRASS to play rugby. Unlike football, you can’t play on the sand and gravel that most schools here seem to have. Therefore, there is no possibility to get it in to a decent level at amongst the youth. Let us not forget that we will have to take students away from they over full studying times. However, if the Taekwondo studios are considered Hagwons, then maybe we can start a Rugby Hagwon?

I can hardly remember this about Japan beating Korea article from Reuters earlier this season, but I suppose it fits on with this post.

Also a link the the Asian Five Nations.

 

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After reading the article I remembered that I never watched last week’s match between “my team” and current champions *cough*, the Bulls and the Cheetahs. I call them “my team” because even thought the same players play in the Super 14 as in the Curry Cup, the team name is not the same and in theory they can draft in player from other provinces for the duration of the Super 14 tournament, which they can’t do in the Curry Cup.

My mother told me that the match was good, but I didn’t expect this. I stopped following the season after the first few games because the Bulls were not just loosing, they were embarrassing. It hurts to see your team loose in the way they lost in the first part of the season. Somehow they managed to turn things around and won their last 4 matches, each looking better than the previous.

I downloaded the game and sat down to watch. It started with the Cheetahs scoring quick tries. I thought to myself that my mother would not say the game was good if we lost by a mile, so I was still relaxed. The Bull managed to hold out and score two sudden a bit tried later on. The first half ended with the score at 18-17 for the Bulls. When the teams came back the game turned in to a massacre. The Bulls were running rampant, seemingly scoring tries at will and racking up 42 point, mostly in tries to the Cheetahs’ lone 3 point penalty. In rugby, 60-20 is a huge win/loss, no matter what was happening in the game. Pierre Spies is back and the rugby world is looking out for him again. The man made a great comeback after serious illness, but the star of this match for me was first the Right Wing, Ndungane, and then closely behind him the Full Back, Kirchner. The Left Wing and last years world player of the year, Habana seems to have joined the land of the living recently and made a big impact on the game as well. Rugby365 has a full report here.

The semi finals are being player this weekend and then the finals next week. After the Domestic Seasons start in the Australia, South African and new Zealand while the international test matches will be played them in the Tri Nations, possibly the strongest single Rugby tournament in the world with the Super 14 close behind. I digress. After the recent performances by the Bulls I can’t wait to get the Curry Cup under way. We won the Vodacom Cup last week and maybe we can now get the big brother as well.

News of the week

I'll start off with an interesting and growing thread. Someone brought up restaurants and I made a note to go visit the places myself.

(PS: for reasonably priced, really great Indian food, I recommend Durga, on the second floor of the street front, straight ahead out exit 1 of jonggak station (line 1), between jonggak and gwanghwamun stations. Try the fresh naan bread, the chicken butter masala, the palak prawn, and the dal makhani. Tell them the curly haired guy who always orders chicken butter masala sent you.)

And

I think Buddha’s Belly is the best Thai food in Seoul. Great ambiance, too. It is located behind the Hamilton Hotel, in the same building as USMania (just down the street from the Three Alley Pub).

Read the thread here.

 

Korean anti-Americanism

An extremely interesting article, but I have to wonder about it. When I walk down the street, do you think they some people might like me, or maybe NOT like me because they think I am American or because I am Foreign. Do people like the man in the article really make the distinction?

 

South Korean leader apologizes over beef deal

And why exactly does he need to apologise for peoples stupid over reactions about the based on the media’s intentional misinformation, again? Are we going to get a public apology from the Editor of the station that showed imaged of a sick animal, knowing that it didn’t have BSE, but still claiming it did? I am so sorry to hear that the Presedent is doing his job and trying to find cheaper meat for the people of Korea. I sure hope he doesn’t try to find any other cheap sources of food.

Tukkies to stage xenophobia protest

The first article I am seeing about someone actually standing up against the this serious, and still spreading, problem in South Africa.

I can link to a few articles, but I already mentioned it earlier this week. Since mentioning it the violence have spread to all the corners of South Africa's townships

 

Tsvangirai visits xenophobia hot spot

What really annoys me about this article is that he sees Zimbabweans and Mozambiquers as “Brothers” that need to be helped, but will he say the same about me, an actual South African, despite my skin colour? Somehow I doubt it.

Because of attitudes like this, and general violence and crime, is it any wonder that 20% of SAfricans plan to emigrate?

 

Government to blame, say bloggers

“DO not know what our government was hoping would happen when they allowed foreigners to flood into our country. I remember the Special Assignment programme on how Zimbabweans found a way into our country.

Our government did absolutely nothing. Imagine yourself being the poorest of the poor, and there are people from another country who get jobs because it is easy for them to be cheated. I fail to believe that our South Africans do not want to work hard. — Cleo”

I suppose the government workers striking because they didn’t get the extra public holiday is a prime example of how hard they are working. Also, are they saying that THEY would rather be the ones being cheated, just so that they can strike and show how hard working they are, or are they now referring to the private shop keepers who were driven out of town and get their shops looted by these same “hard working and honest” local people.

 

Documentary highlights education collapse

Yup, yup. 15 years on and the terrible white government did just as much good as the current black government, but the fool will vote for the ANC no matter what, and don’t even mention that they can vote for a white man. Heaven Forbid that things might go back to the way it used to be. The ironic thing is that, 15 years on, they are still blaming the white government for the ANC’s uselessness.

 

Korea's Animation Industry Maturing

Sweet. Nice going people. We need another strong animation style. In my opinion we can not have enough animation.

Let’s just hope they take it like grown-ups and don’t make it in to another excuse to try and justify Korea as the best thing since the Big Bang. Korea has so much to offer, but they can’t seem to do it without making an issue about everything that is nice.

 

When Sexual Violence Prevention Education Goes Wrong

I am not sire if I should laugh or scream at this article. I can just see little girls stabbing someone just because they don’t know them, and based on the reactions I get from the elementary school children when I walk down the street, I just hope they don’t attack me spontaneously.

Xenophobia: Mbeki gives nod to army.

It is spreading! is terrible!

In short, the violence against foreigners in South African townships have spread to townships outside the province. Because it is mob violence and our police is only marginally better than Korean police, the army have been asked to join the fray. I know this sound bad, but a few SA will have to die for this, because I am sure many of them are only there to loot what is left when the foreigners start running. Shameful stuff.

The whole article, including the death toll so far, is available at The Mail and Guardian.

The Republic of Korea vs The Republic of South Africa

Koreans, and more specifically the Korean media, might seem to hate foreigners, but at least it is not as bad as the current situation in South Africa. There people are being killed, set alight alive, for being foreign. Keep in mind that this is only happening in the townships, but I agree with Zuma that this is shaming the nation as a whole. How Korean are we sounding now? Shaming the nation?

The situation have made it on to the New York Times: Anti-Immigrant Violence in Johannesburg.

Here is a quick article from the Mail and Guardian in South Africa as well: Mob violence sweeps Gauteng.

When I got back and checked the blogs, I noticed a lot of information about the Gwangju Democratization Movement. It is sad, but I am sorry to day that I grew up with thighs like this. I am a bit desensitised to massacres.

Again, two famous examples from my own country. They are not on the same scale, but for reasons that at arguably far less:
The Soweto Uprising and The Sharpville masacre

News of the Week

I haven’t done News of the Week for a while, however, I finally set up my Google Reader to check everything that I like, so now it is as easy as going to one place to read news, sport news and blog sites. That makes it easy to pick op what is going on during the week. Now, without further ado, the news of the week…

Teaching the World changes it's header image.
Full article at, you are looking at it.

I thought it was about time to get a new header. Because I am putting serious effort in to learning Korean now, I thought I would reflect that on my header. It says "I am Otto. I'm studying the Korean language." I had someone check for me to make sure of the spelling, and wouldn't you know it, I made a mistake.

"But Teacher, dippicult!" I am using a book to study, and that is where the barcode thing comes from.

Thousands of pupils fell pregnant last year.
Full article at the Sowetan.

This is not Korean news, but I still find the situation interesting. School Girls in South Africa are getting pregnant and, apparently it is the Education department’s responsibility to stop this. Baby, if you have sex without a condom or you snip the front of to “not miss out on the feeling”, then you are going to get pregnant.

People, please keep in mind that it is not uncommon for a high school girl or boy might be 21 years old in SA.

First cloned dog to produce offspring.
Full article at IOL.

How is this different from the sheep a decade ago how? The issue might be that it is the same guy that faked the results on Human Cloning, but they don’t exactly say that it the problem.

Korean Cops: “Raped? Not Our Job”
Full translated article at Korea Beat.

Makes be long for home. “What? We have to work?” Did you know the SA police hire security companies to take care of the car outside the station? If they do not then the public who visit might com out of the station owning one car less.

South Korea Braces For Olympic Torch Protests.
Full article at VOA News.

The torch is coming to town and the protesters are using it to make their points. I suspect Korea is not so much concerned that people are protesting, but more likely more about the world seeing that this is a normal country with actual problems. Some countries are almost proud of the fact that people are allowed to protest, but not here.

From listening to others, the torch run was used last time by Dokdo Island lovers. That is another story all together. I think I might get a few links up to the people who did the decent research on the issue.

Is there cricket in North Korea?
Full article at TimesOnline.

I am sure they are already playing football, but now they are going to the quintessential game from the greatest Imperialists of history? Cute!

SKorean convicted for ancient gate fire
Full article at topix.

The A-hole who burned down Namdaemun’s gate is getting it at last. 10 years in prison for a man of 69 is not going to be that easy, but then again, this is Korea and I suspect something like “But he is old and us guards have to give him everything he wants,” will happen.

Icheon Marathon.
Full article at Icheon Marathon.

Yes, we seem to have one. I wonder what this will do to traffic. Also, where on earth do these people train?

Lee bows out.
Full article at The Economist.

Lee? Really? We are getting a president? No, dumb ass!

About 1 in 3 people here are named Lee. If you want to name someone without really naming them then you will call them Lee or Kim. No one will have any idea who it is. In this case, we are actually talking about the chairman of Samsung, the biggest company in Korea. There has been a big fraught case surrounding Samsung for a while now.

South Korea's economic growth slows in 1st quarter on exports, spending.
Full article at the International Herald Tribune.

WOW! I hope this gets sorted soon.

Korea Should Revamp Its Image.
Full article at dongA.com.

Korea is worried about loss of image? I did not even know they had an image. Sure, some people know that Samsung and Hyundai come from Korea, but that is it. Ask them where korea is and they will not even be sure where to look for it on a map.

Korea need to get an image in the world, I feel. It is not going to be easy when you have to compete with neighbours Japan and China. From my experience more people know about the Philippines that about Korea.