Foreigners Clean Up Korean Mountain Trails PLUS other interesting stuff!!!

I know Shawn from my first two years in Korea when I lived in Ilsan. Great guy with a great cause!

Foreigners Clean Up Mountain Trails
By Tony MacGregor

A group of expatriates and Koreans who spend their spare time cleaning up litter on Koreans mountains are being met with applause and cries of encouragement from Korean hikers.

Shawn James Morrissey, a Canadian and president of the Korean Mountaineering League (KML), said Korean hikers have applauded them and sometimes stopped hiking and helped them clean up litter.

Shawn Morrissey, president of the Korean Mountaineering League, explains mountain ecology to volunteers, who clean up litter from Korea’s well-hiked mountains.

``It's obvious what we are doing because we have garbage bags attached to our waists as we collect the liter,'' he said. ``One woman said she feels ashamed because foreigners are doing the work that Koreans should be doing.''

Kevin Tarpey, a U.S. citizen and a member of the league, said the reaction of Korean hikers is 100 percent positive. ``They're overwhelmingly thankful. They have applauded us and even stopped to help us.''

Morrissey said over its three-year-old existence, the league _ with seven council members and about 25 Korean and foreign volunteers _ has removed 2,827 liters of trash and recyclables from Korea's mountains.

``Mountains should be a place of peace and pristine beauty,'' he said. ``People go to the mountains to get away from garbage. They shouldn't have to walk through litter on the mountains.''

The league has 20 to 30 cleanup trips on Korea's mountains, mostly focusing on the heavily hiked mountains in or near Seoul, such as Bukhansan National Park but have also worked on Mount Jiri in the south and Mount Gyeryong.

The KML is currently running a campaign with the slogan ``Pack it In, Pack it Out'' campaign to encourage hikers to dispose of their garbage properly off the mountains. At the same time the league is running the ``Root of the Problem'' sub-campaign to convince companies to reduce the amount of packaging that they use for their products.

The KML is also lobbying the government to pass legislation that would force companies to reduce the amount of packaging used on products.

Moorrissey said one of the biggest problems is lack of receptacles for litter. ``The attitude seems to be that having on litter receptacles will discourage people from littering, when the opposite is the case.''

He said the mountains, traditionally revered by Koreans who saw them as the home of spirits, need to be treated with respect. ``They are the source of clean water and contain a huge variety of plant, animal and insect species.''

He added that it takes thousands of years for some litter such as plastic and glass to biodegrade. ``Everything comes from the environment, but not everything is renewable. We have to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment.''

Morrissey, who grew up in Newfoundland, a mountainous province on Canada's east coast with much pristine wilderness, said he got the idea for the league when he came back to Korea from a trip to the Himalayas.

``Growing up in Newfoundland, I didn't fully realize the ecological importance of mountains because they were not only abundant but largely untouched. It was only after I came to Korea and came to love her highlands that I realized how important mountains are as bastions of wilderness and nature,'' he said. ``We need to take care of them.''

For more information see the league's Web site at www.kmleague.org/membership/4514461813
See Original...



Foreign teachers must undergo check
Joongang Daily

Days after an alleged pedophile who taught in Korea was arrested on the lam in Thailand, the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that foreign English teachers will be required to undergo a criminal records check before they can receive a visa here.

The new rule will take effect Dec. 1, the ministry said. Starting then, all foreigners applying for an E-2 visa, which is only for teachers, must submit their criminal record from the country in which they hold citizenship.

Anyone with sex- or drug-related convictions will not receive a visa, the ministry said, while those with other convictions will be thoroughly screened. The issuance of the visa will depend on the seriousness and frequency of the offenses, the ministry said. Detailed guidelines have not yet been announced.

The ministry said it is not difficult to obtain a person’s criminal records.
The new regulations do not require National Assembly approval.

The Justice Ministry issued the new guidelines following the arrest last week of Christopher Paul Neil, who had taught in Korea for a total of about four years. Interpol named him its most-wanted suspect for the crime of child sex abuse. He is accused of molesting dozens of children and posting blurred pictures of encounters on the Internet.

The new requirement, however, does not apply to other visas, including student, tourist and entertainer visas.

Some doubt the policy will be effective enough. “Quite a number of foreign students and U.S. soldiers teach English [illegally],” Kim Jae-won, an owner of an English cram school, said. “What about them?”

Currently, 16,000 foreigners in Korea hold the E-2 visa.

Many English teachers here welcomed the news, saying a large number of people are getting a bad reputation due to the actions of a small number of people.

Jennifer Hansen, a Canadian teacher, said, “Most foreign English teachers are ‘drug addicts’ and ‘pedophiles’ to many Koreans. I think the new requirement can change that. They’ll know that legal English teachers, at least, passed the government criminal screening.”
See original...



Japan to take fingerprints, photos of foreigners
Washington Post

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is to fingerprint and photograph foreigners entering the country from next month in an anti-terrorism policy that is stirring anger among foreign residents and human rights activists.

Anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.

"This will greatly contribute to preventing international terrorist activities on our soil," Immigration Bureau official Naoto Nikai said in a briefing on the system, which starts on November 20.

The checks are similar to the "U.S. Visit" system introduced in the United States after the attacks on September 11, 2001.

But Japan, unlike the United States, will require resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country.

"It certainly doesn't make people who've been here for 30 or 40 years feel like they're even human beings basically," said businessman Terrie Lloyd, who has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and has been based in Japan for 24 years.

"There has not been a single incident of foreign terrorism in Japan, and there have been plenty of Japanese terrorists," he said. Read More...



UK embassy to help Japan teachers
BBC News
The UK embassy in Tokyo has said it will help hundreds of teachers after Japan's largest language schools chain filed for protection from creditors.
Nova Corp, which mainly offers English classes, did not pay its 4,000 foreign staff for October, unions have said.

In a statement, the embassy said it was unable to provide financial assistance to those affected, but could help them contact family and friends.

It added that its officials were "closely monitoring the situation".
Read More...



Aussie teachers stranded
The Australian

NOVA Corp, Japan's largest foreign-language teaching company, has collapsed with debts of more than Y42.9 billion ($415million) leaving about 1000 Australian instructors stranded.Read More...

Nova, Bibimbap, and School-girls underwear...

Nova Update: Teachers Still Not Paid, Many Stop Working
Japan Probe

If you’ve been following the news about the collapse of Japan’s largest chain of English conversation schools, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that Nova failed to keep its promise of paying teachers on October 19th (after failing to pay on the 15th). As a result, a large number of teachers and staff have simply stopped going to work. According to Let’s Japan, Nova’s office staff has sent out notices to all teachers that thank those who are still working and plead for other teachers to come back to work:

We totally understand your situation, but your decision not to work is making our company’s recovery worse. If we cannot provide lessons to students then we have to close branches. In this case, the company, that has not paid us, and those that don’t carry out their duty to work bear responsibility.

We can prosecute the company for the salary delay. If you chose to walk out on the job and not work it does more damage than good for the students and for your case against the company. Striking is a legal way to do this, rather than walking out. please try to stay calm, stand together and protest to get the public’s understanding and sympathy.

If you report to your home country’s Foreign Affairs Aministration, you can and solve this problem in a diplomatic way. The more of you that do this, the better because ther’s power in numbers.

Most teachers posting on forums and blogs have scoffed at such a request, seeing no reason to work for free in the wild hope that giving a few extra lessons would somehow save Nova from its horrible financial situation.

An article in the Asahi Shimbun on Nova’s future gives three possible outcomes of the current situation:

1.Nova goes out of business
2.Outside investors step in
3.Drastic restructuring

Even if Nova doesn’t go out of business, it’s a given that school branches will continue to close across Japan, possibly leaving some staff and teachers without jobs.



Another story that's gripping the Korean Penninsula!!!!!
Foreigners pick bibimbap as favorite Korean food: poll
Korea Herald (National Page)

Bibimbap, or rice with vegetables and red pepper paste, is the most popular local food among foreigners living in Korea, according to a poll released yesterday.

The survey, commissioned by the Corea Image Communication Institute, also found that nearly six out of 10 foreigners believed Korean food could be popular abroad.

The survey was conducted among 207 foreigners from Aug. 19 to Sept. 3 to measure the appeal of Korean food to foreigners and its potential in the global market.

It found that 79 percent of respondents enjoyed traditional Korean food and 59 percent said Korean food could be popular in other countries.

When asked about their favorite Korean food, 17 percent of respondents picked bibimbap. Bulgogi, or seasoned beef, came in second with 14 percent, while galbi (barbequed beef ribs) received 11 percent and kimchi (pickled cabbage) came in fourth at 5 percent.

More than half of the respondents ate at Korean restaurants over four times a month, it said.

Of those who said they enjoyed Korean food, more than 60 percent said they liked the taste, while 17 percent said they were enjoyed trying new and unfamiliar food. Over 14 percent said they felt the food was full of nutrition, the survey found.

Eighteen percent neither liked nor disliked Korean food, and 2.4 percent said they did not like it.

However, the spiciness and smell of Korean food were the main barriers to exporting the food abroad, the survey said.

The respondents also said proper sanitation and traditional interiors were essential in order for Korean restaurants to be successful abroad.



Here's a twisted and odd story...the Mainichi Daily News always seems to have sooooo many!
Panty sellers roll in the cash by rolling off their soiled skimpies in disabled toilets

Safety and easy accessibility is increasingly transforming toilets for the disabled at Tokyo's railway stations into marketplaces for schoolgirls' panties, according to Spa! (10/23).

Large numbers of high school girls are often seen going into the roomier johns and those in the know say the kind of business they're getting up to is not what normally goes on in public conveniences.

"They're actually engaged in burusera trading inside there," a writer specializing on the adult entertainment world tells Spa! Burusera, of course, is the name given to the panty trade, with the term derived from the manufactured English phrase "bloomer seller."Read More...



This was from the Editorial section of the Korea Herald...about teacher quality....again!
[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR] Class assessment
I enjoyed reading Steve Schertzer's letter, "A message to Korean parents" (Oct. 13). He pinpointed two problems in regard to recruiting and evaluating foreign teachers.

I am a Korean teacher teaching English in Gyeonggi Province and I have been in charge of supervising a foreign English teacher who has recently come to Korea.

It is a blessing to have a foreign English teacher at hand for the other Korean teachers and my students, who normally don't have any opportunities to communicate in English. As long as the foreign teacher does his best to help the students, English classes are fascinating.

However, there are some flaws in the system, most notably the process of evaluation.

According to the contract for foreign teachers, he had to conduct a class with me which was observed and evaluated by principals and other teachers last semester. I strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with the concept of an evaluation, but its criteria were too vague and unrealistic. Furthermore, a well-prepared demonstration lesson is no guarantee of teaching ability.

Instead, the lesson is just designed to give the impression that students learn and enjoy English in a desirably effective way and that the government's investment in English education improves student proficiency.

Moreover, it does not help teachers, Korean or foreign, develop lesson plans because all they need to do is please district supervisors and school administrators with their single, pre-rehearsed lesson. Some foreign English teachers spend their time surfing on the internet and do not care about their daily lessons or students. All they need to do is borrow some teaching materials from friends or copy a couple of pages from a course book.

I think the government must get rid of this bureaucratic process of evaluation and replace it with a system that will allow foreign English teachers to be judged in a fair and efficient way, and be well prepared for their classes.

Agnes Kim, Seoul



One more quick note about another "evil-empire" attempting to spread it's money-making tentacles...
Wal-Mart to take full ownership of Japanese retailer Seiyu

TOKYO (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday it will take full ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary, Seiyu Ltd., as the U.S. retailer struggles to speed up management changes and reverse its slumping business in the world's second largest economy.Read More...

Foreign Crime in Korea Sensationalized....Again...and Again!

Sensationalizing Foreign Crime in Korea
From ROK Drop


Courtesy of the Marmot’s Hole, the Chosun Ilbo has yet another article on the supposed "rise of foreigner crime" in Korea:

Recently, foreigner crimes have been sharply rising, including the murder/dismemberment of a Korean woman by a Chinese in Ansan, the “French Freezer Baby” in Seoul’s Seorae Village, and the 2003 hit on a Russian mobster in Busan.

In Busan alone, foreign crime has skyrocketed 250% over the last three years. Law enforcement agencies say some 27 foreign criminal organizations are operating in the port city, including the Russian mafia, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, and Thai and Bengali gangs.

The Chosun says the first step in preventing foreigner crime is effective control and punishment of illegal migrant workers.

I wish before people write these articles they would actually do some research about what they are writing about. As I have pointed out before foreign crime is appearing to rise because more foreigners than ever are living in Korea. However, if you look at the actual statistics from the Korean National Police Agency serious crime by foreigners is actually less per capita than the average Korean population, yet the Chosun has a graphic of a young Korean girl fleeing evil foreigners. Once again just another example of the sensationalizing of foreign crime in Korea.



Alleged pedophile who fled Korea arrested
Joongang Daily

Police in Thailand yesterday apprehended the English teacher who worked in Korea for a total of more than four years and fled shortly after being named Interpol’s most-wanted pedophile, news services reported.

The suspect, Christopher Paul Neil, 32, has been accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen boys in three countries and putting pictures of the assaults on the Internet with his face blurred.

Neil was arrested in a rural northern section of Thailand in the house of an acquaintance who allegedly helped arrange several sexual affairs with local boys, Thai police said, according to The Associated Press.

“Bingo! We’ve got him,” Wimol Powintara, major general of the police force told the AP.

Neil was on his way to Bangkok from Nakhon Ratchasima Province, about 210 kilometers, or 130 miles, away, police said.

Authorities have not yet decided whether Neil will be tried in Canada or Thailand. Canada has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.
Thai law enforcement agencies have issued an arrest warrant against Neil based on the testimony of a boy who said he was paid about $30 to have sex with him, police said.

In Korea, Neil started teaching at Kwangju Foreign School in Gwangju in August. He quit without any notice on Oct. 11 and fled Korea after Interpol posted his picture on their Website as a wanted criminal offender.

The Korean police have been investigating Neil, but nothing has turned up at this point, said a police official in Seoul who declined to be named.
Neil’s colleagues in Korea also say they can’t believe the man who was singing so happily at noraebangs, or karaoke rooms, was a pedophile.

The suspected sex offender also worked as a chaplain in Canada. Interpol has accused him of sexually abusing Cambodian and Vietnamese boys from the ages of 6 to their early teens between 2002 and 2004.

The hunt which ended yesterday started when police in Germany found about 200 pictures of a man committing sexual offenses against children. His face was digitally altered, but German authorities were able to restore the image enough to figure out the man’s appearance.

After circulating the picture, Interpol, the international police agency, drew hundreds of tips, including one from Amy Bowler, who knew Neil when he was teaching at a public school in Gyeonggi.

“I love teaching, can’t get enough of it really,” Neil wrote on a MySpace blog that has been identified as being his.



Read More about the same topic:
Canadian accused of internet sex crimes also under investigation in B.C


U.S. reopens Busan consulate
Joonang Daily

The United States reopened a consulate in Busan yesterday, nine years after it was closed, the U.S. Embassy here announced.

The consulate, however, will not issue visas for Koreans or provide consular services to U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Embassy. That means Koreans in Busan must still travel more than 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, to Seoul to get a visa to travel to the United States.

“We will focus on providing information on business, overseas studying and immigration to residents in Busan and the surrounding areas,” said Byun Jung-hwan, senior advisor at the consulate.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to provide consular services to Koreans, Americans and third-country citizens, the embassy said in a press release. The consulate has no plans now to offer visas to Koreans.

The original consulate in Busan, Korea’s second-largest city, closed in September 1998 when the U.S. government was cutting back on its budget.

In July of last year, the United States agreed to reopen the consulate at a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ban Ki-moon, then South Korea’s foreign minister and now the secretary general of the United Nations.


f you've ever lived in a small or old neighborhood in Korea you may have had the wonderful experience of the "bug truck." Most pesticides are banned throughout North america, but they are liberally sprayed in many Korean neighborhoods to combat mosquitos. Check out Mike in Korea's vid!



Here's a little taste of modern history in Korea.
10 Most Remembered

Japan's Best Bottoms and other news

Burnt backside no bummer for beautiful-bottom babe
Mainichi Daily News

An 18-year-old girl was surprisingly crowned "Japan's best bottom" babe at Triumph International's "Show Me Your Sloggi" Japan contest held on Tuesday in Tokyo after a freak accident scorched her rump days before the contest.

"I always take care of my bottom, but I'm embarrassed to show it today because I burned it by sitting on a hair iron the other day," Kaho Watanabe, clad in pink baby doll lingerie, said in her short self-promotion spiel. Read More...and See Pictures!



From today's Marmot's Hole...

Need to Check English Teachers? Good Luck!
As it would turn out, the 32-year-old Canadian suspected of molesting young boys in Southeast Asia taught in Korea for four and a half years, teaching in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-do area on and off since 2000. Since August, he’d been teaching at a foreign school in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Before that, he taught at a high school somewhere in Gyeonggi-do.

A Gyeonggi-do Department of Education official said the suspect was remembered as a rather upright character who hardly ever drank, and his former coworkers are shocked by the news.

The suspect apparently fled to Thailand just two days after Intepol posted his face on their website. A police official said they’re still investigating whether the teacher molested any of his students in Korea, but they’ve yet to discover any such cases.

BTW, congratulations to Dave’s ESL Cafe for the media spotlight, although I’m not sure if this is what they wanted it for.

Oh, and I’m sure this will drive Western Confucian up the wall. As an ex-Catholic, though, I have to question the veracity of the report — how could the guy have been a priest-in-training when the Gyeonggi-do Education Department said he hardly drank?
OK, I’m definitely going to Hell for that one.

Anyway, the Seoul Shinmun, JoongAng Ilbo and Hanguk Ibo have run editorials deploring the porous state of Korea’s foreign teacher hiring system. The Seoul Shinmun was in particularly rare form — I especially liked this line:

Korea has been a “dupe” for a long time, allowing foreigners who speak English to get jobs easily and treating them well, but with this, we really can’t help but worry whether Korea will become a “paradise for criminals from English speaking nations.”

Dupes, they are. Dupes! The JoongAng expressed concern, too:

The insecurity of school parents concerning native speaker teachers and instructors is growing by the day. This is because the teachers’ shameless crimes are growing. Just a coupe of days ago, a Canadian wanted by Interpol for sexually molesting small children in Southeast Asia fled abroad after working as an English teacher in Korea as police moved in for the arrest. A while back, there were incidents of a teacher molesting children and a group of teachers smoking marijuana. There must be even more crimes that have yet to be revealed. It’s time to hurry and formulate measures.

Good luck with that. The papers’ rhetorical hyperbole aside, it’s true that teacher hiring practices are borderline criminal — it would seem to me that most people in the English education industry or who’ve spent time in said industry would admit as much. But a revamping of that system would require change at the bureaucratic level and increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies here in Korea and abroad. Change and cooperation requires effort, however, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Or at least not before some poor kid gets molested or killed by a guy who should never have been here in the first place.
See original @ Marmot's Hole



Striking Unpaid Teachers Blamed For Nova Branch Closures
Japan Probe
Translation of a Sankei Shimbun article from Let’s Japan:

NOVA continues to close schools due to instructor shortages.

October 18, 12:51 Sankei Shimbun delivery

METI’s order to suspend part of Nova’s business has forced the Nakamozu school in Osaka and schools elsewhere to take it upon themselves to close the schools and stop accepting reservations for lessons. It is believed that the schools acted on their own in an attempt to cope with students being unable to make reservations for lessons at the times they want due to the lack of teachers.

The schools that closed include Nakamozu, in Osaka, and the Ichigaya (closed on the 17th) and Suidobashi (closed on the 18th) schools in Tokyo.

A Nova spokesperson said that the schools were not told to close. The repeated delay of teachers’ pay and the Japanese staff ready to revolt underscores the steady decline in Nova’s ability to remain in control.

The Nakamozu school reportedly closed on October 16. A notice on the entrance to the school read: Notice of school closure and that the school would be closed from October 16 until the 31st. The notice also contained messages scribbled in English from teachers saying they would miss the students.

The Nakamozu school was scheduled to close its doors at the end of October and merge with the Tennoji school (also in Osaka). Nova is reported to have sent a notice on the 19th to the approximately 400 students at the school informing them of the merger.[Comment: This was pointed out in the forums as not making any sense. The 19th is likely a typo.]

After Nova informed its foreign teachers on October 12 that they would be paid on the 19th instead of the usual 15th, around 200 teachers a day continue to be absent from work. To cope with the sudden shortage of teachers, schools have reportedly been switching to ocha no ma ryuugaku lessons taught over a videophone, but some schools have been unable to fill the gap.

According to a representative for Nova schools in Osaka, “Reservations can’t be made for lessons this week. We apologize to the students for the schools closing on their own and are refusing reservations.”
—-

So the very visible and easily blameable foreign teachers are the cause of the trouble this branch is and others will soon be experiencing? The lack of teachers or even the decision to stop accepting reservations at any branch is the decision of the teachers?

Another interesting fact: the number of ‘topatsued’ teachers on the day of the union called demonstration was pretty much the same for that day (10/16) as for every other day so far this month, about 10% of the total workforce of Nova teachers.
Japan Probe



I noticed this story today in the Korea Times and wanted to point out one thing...NONE of the suspects arrested were Canadian English teachers!!!!
Six Drug Traffickers Arrested

Teachers fear pedophile backlash

Teachers fear pedophile backlash
Joongang Daily

The news that Canadian English teacher Christopher Paul Neil, whose most recent job was in Gwangju, was the object of an international manhunt as an alleged pedophile shocked English teachers in Korea who worried that the case could cause a backlash.

“Now Koreans will assume that all English teachers are pedophiles,” David Brogan, an Irish English teacher in Jeonju, North Jeolla, said. “Already today, just one day after the pedophile news broke, parents have called the hagwon where I am working to see if everything was okay with my background check.”

Other English teachers also expressed their concerns through a number of outlets, including Dave’s ESL Cafe, a popular Web site frequented by English teachers, including Neil. Some posters on the site accused the media of hyping the story to the detriment of foreigners in Korea.

An English teacher active on the site had recognized Neil’s picture and identified him to Interpol last week.

Kim Jin-hui, a mother of two elementary school students, is angry that the government issued visas to teachers without full background checks. “Isn’t it the job of the employers and the government to verify foreign teachers’ qualifications?” she asked.

Neil was teaching at Kwangju Foreign School, which is usually considered to have stricter hiring procedures than the hagwon cram schools where most English teachers are employed. Neil also taught at a public high school in Gyeonggi for about a year until March this year.

Neil fled Gwangju last week for Thailand, where police and Interpol are searching for him. He is accused of having abused young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. No evidence of any crimes in Korea has surfaced.

Neil was a chaplain and youth counselor back in Canada, The Associated Press reported. He also pursued studies to become a priest, but did not complete the requirements.

His younger brother, Matthew Neil, urged Christopher to turn himself in.
Joongang Daily



Looks as if the Canadian media is taking note of this news as well. The news of Christopher Paul Neil has brought some attention to the Korea's esl industry. There was an article about Canadians teaching esl in Korea in today's Ottawa Citizen.

Thousands of Canadians teach in S. Korea
Geoff Nixon, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian citizen originally from Maple Ridge, B.C., taught English in South Korea until he stopped showing up for work last Thursday. He is now being hunted by Interpol on charges that he sexually abused children in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Neil is only one of thousands of Canadians who work teaching English in South Korea -- a position that doesn't always require a background check, and can put a person in a classroom within a few weeks of applying for a position online.

Kara Stirling is director of recruiting at Footprints Recruiting, a Vancouver-based company that places English teachers at schools in Asian countries. She said yesterday there are three main qualifications for teaching in South Korea.

"The minimum requirements ... are a bachelor's degree, you are a native English speaker and you are a citizen of a native English-speaking country," she said.

From there, the particulars differ school by school: While all South Korean public schools require a criminal background check -- as well as a clean bill of health -- in order to gain employment as a teacher, many private schools do not have the same standards. Read More...



Caught this on the Marmot's Hole this afternoon.

Rough Night Out, Eh?
And in local news, a 50-year-old civil servant at Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Hall was arrested in Changwon on charges of fleeing the scene after he hit two parked cars while driving drunk.

The best part, though, is that after he was caught, he not only refused to take a Breathalyzer test, but he also allegedly assaulted — twice! — a 32-year-old American English teacher who tried to stop him from drunk driving and turned him in.*

*Translation edited.

Video footage here.(Original Korean news story).
Marmot's Hole



F.Y.I.

I recieved a few interesting questions recently about teaching ESL in Korea and I just wanted to take a few moments and give my two cents.

Q.#1 What's it like to live in a smaller city vs. a bigger city like Seoul?
A. I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for. Some people find a smaller place fits better while others don't.

Big City...
Upsides: There are lots of amenties and "western" things. There are lots of family restaurants (TGI Friday's, Outback) coffee shops like Starbucks. There are lots of nightclubs (if that's your scene), more foreign foods in the supermarkets and generally, a larger foreign community. There is lots of English around; on signs, menus, etc.

Downsides: Seoul is damn big. Sometimes I found it far too big. There's a severe lack of green space and when you do find some, thoudands of others found it before you and are there! Seoul isn't as friendly as smaller places. I tended to find more negative energy towards foreigners in Seoul than in other cities like Busan.

Small City...(I never really lived in one in Korea...Busan is quite big)
Upsides: Since there are fewer foreigners, you may adopt an almost "celebrity" status. Everyone will be interested in you, which means you may have more chances to snag private lessons. You may get a more "authentic" Korean experience. People in small towns tend to be friendlier towards visitors.

Downsides: There won't be as many western food products to buy. The foreign community will be smaller. There will be more of a language barrier (Fewer people will speak English). You may find a smaller Korean city more conservative. Korean people may be more shy around you than in Seoul since they are not used to seeing "non-Koreans." The fact that you are uncommon may cause people to stare at you...a lot!


Q.#2 I'm going to Korea soon and haven't learned any Korean. Is that bad?A. I don't think it is personally. Before I went to Korea, I had no knowledge of the language. I lived in Eastern Canada where there was no Korean commmunity. I had never heard the language or eaten the food.

I think it's important to learn some language when you first arrive. Learning how to read and write Korean isn't difficult and will make your life a lot easier! Learn some basic phrases as well.

An ESL teacher can live relatively easily in Seoul or Busan without much Korean language skill since there is English almost everywhere. Sometimes though, you'll wish you could speak the language. Life may be more difficult if you live in a smaller town though. In smaller areas, you'll find that few people can speak English and most signs are only in Korean. If you are to live in a more rural area, I'd definatley say, "Study Korean!"



Thinking about teaching or doing some other sort of work in Japan? There are plenty of ESL gigs in that country too (mind you, there may be more competition these days with the piles of newly unekployed Nova teachers in the job market).

Here's some great information about visas in Japan from Kevin Cooney. He's a Tokyo based comedian. He's got some great stuff on his site!

For some entertaining vids, check out Kevin's site!

Interpol Hunt for Canadian Teacher

Eeekk....scary stuff!! I hope this doesn't cause much blowback. We already know that "Canadian English Teachers" are some of the most evil creatures roaming the streets of Korea! (Loads of sarcasm for those who didn't catch it).

Global search for pedophile points to Canadian in Thailand: Interpol CBC News

International police are closing in on the subject of a worldwide, three-year manhunt for a suspected pedophile who they believe is a 32-year-old Canadian travelling in Thailand, Interpol said Tuesday.

News reports identified the man in an unscrambled picture released last week as Christopher Paul Neil, who was working as an English teacher in South KoreaRead More...

Fallen Canadian Hero Laid to Rest in Ottawa

Normally, this blog has a dictinctly "Asian" vibe to it. Not today. I live in Ottawa now and today I witnessed a moving scene. I've never seen anything like it. Hundreds of people lined Rideau Street and Sussex Avenue at lunchtime to remember one person. I was almost in tears as I witnessed almost 5,000 members of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and other police force members march through the streets of Ottawa for the funeral of Constable Christopher Worden. Worden was brutally gunned down at a suspected drug house in the town of Hay River, N.W.T, on October 6th.


This program was given to me by a police officer as I stood along the Rideau Street watching the somber procession pass. Ottawa was Constable Worden's hometown.







This was a truely fitting farwell to a real Canadian hero.



Slain Mountie remembered as 'caring' man
CTV News

RCMP Const. Chris Worden was remembered Monday in Ottawa as "a compassionate, caring and gentle man" dedicated to his wife and excited about his role as a new father.

Worden, from Ottawa, was shot to death on Oct. 6 at a suspected drug house in the Northwest Territories.

Mounties on horseback, a pipe band and police officers in dress uniform from across the country marched through the streets of Ottawa ahead of the regimental funeral service.

Worden's widow Jodie held their infant daughter Alexis in her arms on the steps of Notre Dame Basilica on Sussex Drive as she watched the procession from Parliament Hill to the church. Read More...



Slain Mountie praised for 'selfless acts' at packed funeral in Ottawa
CBC News

RCMP colleagues, relatives and federal politicians packed into Ottawa's oldest church Monday for the regimental funeral of a Mountie recently killed in the Northwest Territories.

Const. Christopher Worden, 30, died on Oct. 6 after responding to a call for assistance in the small town of Hay River, about 400 kilometres south of Yellowknife.

To a full house at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Const. Mike Carter, Worden's friend and colleague, gave a eulogy on behalf of the RCMP during which he described Worden's passion for his work, life and family. Worden leaves behind his wife, Jodie, and eight-month-old daughter, Alexis. Read More...

Aussie Nova teachers to be helped by consulates...and Seoul...Damn expensive!

Aussie Nova teachers to be helped by consulates
Japan Times

SYDNEY (Kyodo) Australia is offering consular assistance to its nationals who are working in Japan for struggling, scandal-hit language school chain Nova Corp., Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said Friday.

"We'll provide them with consular assistance if they need it," he said. "If they get into real personal difficulties, we'll obviously help them out."

Some 1,300 Australians work for Nova and face the real possibility of losing their jobs while living in a very expensive country, he said.

While Nova has not gone completely bust yet, Downer said he fears the company would "fall over."

Nova has been operating on shaky ground since June, when the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ordered it to suspend part of its operations for lying to customers in advertisements about its services.

Since then, Nova has been hit with decreasing student enrollments and canceled contracts.

Some 4,000 foreign teachers are currently registered with Nova in Japan, with many coming from Australia and New Zealand.

Several foreign Nova workers have complained to media in Australia and New Zealand that they have not been paid recently.

Downer said he believes Nova's operating difficulties were due to poor management and would not have broader implications for Japan's English-language teaching market.

"I think there is growing demand for English-language teaching in Japan. So I think we needn't be pessimistic about it in a broader sense. We just need to think about the 1,300 Australians who are suddenly finding themselves out on the street there in Japan," he said.

Australia Asia Centre for Education Exchange, an Australian company coordinating international education exchange programs, has stopped dispatching teachers to Nova.

The body said on its Web site that following the abrupt closure of some Nova schools and Nova's delayed payments to instructors, it ended its recruitment relationship with the Japanese company Oct. 1.


Seoul, Exorbitant City
Chosun Ilbo

Seoul is among the world’s most expensive cities despite the fact that Korea only ranks 49th in terms of per capita income. Some international compilers of price indexes put Seoul above notoriously exorbitant Tokyo, New York and London. In a survey of the cost of living in 144 cities in March last year, Mercer Human Resource Consulting found Seoul the second most expensive city after Moscow. Seoul moved up three notches from 2005.

According to the 2006 Corporate Travel Index by Business Travel News of the U.S., a stay in Seoul cost US$567, the third most expensive among 100 cities after Monte Carlo and Paris. In a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Seoul was cheaper than other cities but the price increase was steep. In the index of 130 cities, Seoul ranked 13th, above New York and up 12 notches from the previous year. The institute put Seoul’s prices at 110 against the benchmark 100 of the United States.

The Mainichi Shimbun's Seoul correspondent Tetsuo Nakajima lives alone in a studio apartment in Yeonhee-dong, Seoul. He pays W800,000 (about 100,000 yen) rent for the room, for which he also forked out a W10 million (US$1=W936) deposit. In Tokyo, his wife and three children live in a four-room public apartment. They pay 130,000 yen (about W1 million) in rent without deposit. In other words, he pays nearly as much for a studio here as for his four family members back in Tokyo. The BBC’s Charles Scanlon, previously stationed in Japan, says housing prices in Seoul are almost the same as in Tokyo. With the exception of Hong Kong, Seoul's housing prices seem to be three to four times higher than elsewhere in Asia.

Scanlon spends days off in the mountains or by the seaside but can’t understand the high hotel room rates. Elsewhere in Asia, he says, visitors can stay at a luxury hotel for $150 to $200 a night. In Korea, that only gets them somewhere middling. Divine Munguia from Los Angeles, who teaches English at a private tutoring institute, was shocked when she first saw what organic vegetables cost at a superstore. In the U.S., she says, she can buy a bagel for $1. But one shop in Seoul sells bagels for W3,000, more than three times as much. Scanlon is also baffled by the high price of imported beer, which is twice as expensive as Korean brands. An imported beer costs about W7,000 in Seoul, double the price in London and about three times higher than in other Asian cities.

Munguia does not bother with a cell phone. According to her, there is almost no difference between the prices of the handsets themselves in Korea and the U.S., but the difference in monthly charges is huge. Books are another puzzle. In the U.S., each thick volume of the Harry Potter series sells for $10 (about W9,000). In translation, each installment is divided into four volumes costing W8,000 each or W32,000 for the set and W200,000 for all six books.

"Since last year, Japanese diplomats based in Seoul have outrun their colleagues in Washington, D.C. in terms of their living allowance,” Nakajima says. High prices are the reason. Scanlon says Koreans are not necessarily unhappy just because of the high prices. But asked if he enjoys living in Seoul, he shakes his head: "Schools are average. Medical facilities are average. There are not many good weekend destinations. Why are the prices so high?"



Get Ready for Water-Powered Cell Phones
Chosun Ilbo

In 2010 your mobile phone may be powered by water. Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced Thursday that it has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on H20.

"When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas," explained Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics' research center. "The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power." Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung's needs only water. Read More...


Pope appeals to South Korea to reject human cloning
CNN

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI appealed Thursday to South Koreans' "inherent moral sensibility" to reject embryonic stem cell research and human cloning after the country decided to let embryonic stem cell research resume.

Benedict also praised South Korea's efforts to halt North Korea's nuclear ambitions in comments to Seoul's new ambassador to the Vatican, Ji-Young Francesco Kim, who presented his credentials to the pontiff.

"It is my ardent hope that the ongoing participation of various countries involved in the negotiation process will lead to a cessation of programs designed to develop and produce weapons with frightening potential for unspeakable destruction," Benedict said.

Separately, the pope noted South Korea's "notable successes in scientific research and development." But he said such research must be carried out with "firm ethical standards" that always respect the dignity of human life.Read More...


AND...on a much less serious note...but I'm somewhat saddened by the fate of this little tutrle....

Turtle stuck in track switch delays Nagasaki trains
Mainichi Daily News

NAGASAKI -- A turtle got stuck in a railway switch in Nagasaki Prefecture on Friday, delaying three trains by up to 46 minutes, the railway operator said.

At about 10 a.m. on Friday, a limited express train bound for Nagasaki from Hakata made an emergency stop at Yue Station on the Nagasaki Line in Isahaya in response to a red signal light.

The railway traffic control center later found that a switch at the station was not functioning properly, preventing the signal to turn to green.

Track maintenance workers examined the switch, and found that a 25-centimeter-long turtle caught inside. Services on the line were resumed 46 minutes later after the turtle was removed from the railway switch.

Hillary Clinton likes hanboks....Is this news???

Oh My God....this is some really LAME news! Must be another SLOW day in the Korean newsrooms!What more can I say?
Traditional Korean Dress Fascinates Sen. Clinton


Nova Sued For Not Paying the Rent
Now the landlords are getting into the act. According to the Nikkan Sports, a landlord in Kyoto has filed a lawsuit demanding 1.35 million yen in rent in arrears.

The school, which is in Shimgyou ward, Kyoto, is three months in arrears with the rent. A lawyer for the landlord says that this is probably the first case where Nova has been sued for not paying the rent.
From Let's Japan



More proof that you should always be careful who you date. "Hell hath no fury like a schoolgirl catching her salaryman boyfriend watching porn!"

Jealous schoolgirl torches 32-year-old, longtime lover's Tokyo home
Mainichi Daily News

A 17-year-old schoolgirl who burned down her 32-year-old Tokyo lover's apartment has been arrested, police said.

The second year private high school student, who can't be named because she is a minor, was arrested for arson of an inhabited structure.

The girl admits to the allegations against her, saying it was sparked by her feelings for her 32-year-old company employee lover of over two years.

"He had adult DVDs and a note with another woman's name on it that made me mad," police quoted the schoolgirl as saying.

She is apparently apologetic.

"I've done something terrible," she said.

Her boyfriend has pledged to support her.

"I suppose I've got to think about her feelings, too, and I'm thinking about marriage," the 30-something salaryman said.

Police said the girl set fire to candy wrappers in a trash can in the man's apartment in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, on the morning of Sept. 20, gutting the 17-square-meter room in which it was located. The boyfriend was out at the time, but the girl suffered minor burns.

The couple had lived together in Osaka Prefecture for the past two years, but had been torn apart when the man was transferred to Tokyo in April. Since then, the schoolgirl had traveled up from Osaka to meet him. There had been talk of the couple separating. On the night before the arson, the schoolgirl torched an adult movie she found in the man's apartment.



This is the COOLEST "scare crow" machine (and the only one) I've ever seen!! I came across this vid last tonight...it was taken in rural Japan.

That's from softpapa...



Educational problems of credential-fixated society
Korea Herald

Following is the fourth in a series looking into the so-called "credential society," a trend that prioritizes a person's educational background, instead of his or her actual ability and career performance. The series will explore solutions to deep-rooted problems, and seeks to cultivate a "meritocratic" society.

Park Soung-hee, 44, is a typical Korean mother, whose 16-year-old child takes a variety of private lessons at different hagwon, bringing him home around 11 p.m.

"Mothers have no choice but to put up with private lessons because everyone is doing so and a lot of the times, school teachers seem incapable," she said.

A 2007 OECD report showed that 7.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product is spent on education.

According to recent research by the Korean Educational Development Institute, Koreans spent about 13.6 trillion won ($14.8 billion) on private tuition last year. That is 2.85 million won per student.

This "education fever" stems from a society that highly values the name of the university people attend. An individual's educational credentials are regarded as the most important element in determining the person's future, as in his or her job, salary and even marriage, regardless of what potential and capabilities the person may possess.

The tendency dates back to the traditional Confucian attitude in the pre-modern era, and was strengthened in the process of industrialization and nation-building led by a few elite groups since independence from Japan in 1945.

In such an atmosphere, students are forced to make the utmost efforts to get into prominent schools. But students are given only one ultimate opportunity - the national college entrance exam.

"Spending four years at a prominent college may determine how much the students will be able to benefit for the next 40 years," said Kang Joon-man, a journalism professor at Chonbuk National University. "With that factor in mind, who would not strive to get into a good school?"

"It is true that Korean society is crazy about obtaining the best credentials. However, those records are only for show and they don't really match with the person's abilities," said Kang, the author of "The Kingdom of Seoul National University."

Destruction of public education

Because the students' lives depend on a single exam, it is negatively affecting public education.

The educational curriculum at schools tends to focus around the subjects that constitute the College Scholastic Aptitude Test, according to Byun Hye-won, an English teacher at Gyeonggi High School in Seoul.

"The subjects that don't appear on the college entrance exam are likely to disappear or take up a smaller percentage of the school curriculum," she said. "Since the curriculum is so test-oriented, I see many points lacking in students, especially when I see them have a difficult time listening to high quality lectures."

The government has launched the After-School program at 99 percent of public schools nationwide to offer high-quality educational programs at low cost to normalize public education and to tackle the over-the-top spending on private education, government officials said.

However, many parents claimed that what their children learn at school is just not enough.

"It's not sufficient for my child to get into the university he's aiming for only with what he's learning in school. This is why he's taking expensive private lessons and classes at private institutions," said Ji Kyung, a mother of a high school senior.

Ranking of schools

In Korean society, the easiest method to join the elite, which can secure high-profile jobs, is to graduate from a top school.

Government data showed that more than half of high-ranking public officials - ministerial level and higher - are graduates of the nation's top-ranked Seoul National University.

A history professor at Hallym University also said people tend to show different attitudes toward a person after learning what school the person attended.

"Of course there is a significant amount of meaning in the kind of education one can get from a specific education institute," said Kim Dong-hoon, a Kookmin University law professor and administrative director of 'Hakbul'less Society Movement. "Just as we choose to buy certain products because of trusted brand names, it is more than natural that people respect graduates of certain schools."

Because of such reasons, people will likely rank the schools and put them into categories, depending on their locations and levels.

"Students attending schools in the middle and low categories will feel like they are inferior beings compared to those who attend the top schools around the nation, which may tag along with them throughout their lives," Kim said.

According to a survey headed by Jung Tae-hwa of the state-run Korea Research Institute of Vocational Education and Training, over 57 percent of Koreans have an inferiority complex regarding their credentials and more than 70 percent said that having graduated from lower-tier schools made them feel deprived.

This leaves universities in regional areas with fewer students, which also means less regional development, according to critics.

"Most of the highly-skilled students in rural areas take off to the cities after finishing high school," said Kim Hyung-gon, a professor in the mass communications department at Tongmyong University in Busan. "This performs a great part in slowing down regional development."

Due to unbalanced regional development a major economic gap results as a great number of students coming from other regions seek better jobs in Seoul.

Society of professors

This societal phenomenon is seen in the academic field as well, many educational experts said.

Many universities reportedly prefer professors who graduated from their schools, indicating that it is important to be a graduate of a prestigious school to gain employment there.

A large number of professors at schools in the rural areas have the desire to find a permanent teaching job at a school in the metropolitan area, according to Kang of Chonbuk National University.

"Many of them are willing to quit their current temporary jobs at any time to find a better working environment with more options," he said. "Professors at regional schools, who have received education at the top schools in the nation's capital, will most likely consider the rural areas as regions populated by a lower class of people, so they will do their best to move away."

Mafia Prize goes to Busan! And More Nova woes...

More Than 11,000 Mobbed Up Nationwide
Chosun Ilbo
The number of organized gang members prosecutors are keeping an eye on topped 11,000 across the nation. According to the report submitted by Justice Ministry to Rep. Choi Byung-gook of Grand National Party on Monday, 11,476 members from 471 organized gangs are on the supervision list of prosecutors. Among them, 167 groups were deemed criminal organizations by courts. Busan district prosecutors had the most on their hands with 1,833 gang members from 101 groups, followed by 1,581 members from 45 groups in Suwon, 1,542 from 33 groups in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and 1,193 members from 81 groups in central Seoul.

Prosecutors name two reasons why there are more mobsters on the Busan list than in Seoul. One is that Busan offers more opportunities for extortion with its busy sea port, and the other is that organized criminals in the southern city often carry their activities in public, making it easy for police and prosecutors to spot them. “In Seoul, organized gangs go underground and camouflage their activities as a business,” a prosecutor said. “But Busan-based organized gangs often engage in violence even in public places.” Last January, three syndicates attacked the largest local gang at Youngrak Garden funeral home in Busan and 50 gangsters were arrested.

Gangsters are often arrested in turf wars and while extorting money from traders. Last February in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, members of the Suwon Southgate gang attacked a place where rival gangsters were staying; four died or were wounded in the attack. In the first half of this year, 75 gangsters were arrested for major offenses.


Nova Instructors Forced To Teach Retarded And Mentally Disabled
Japan Probe
Nova teachers with seemingly little to lose and possibly just wanting to relieve the stress of dealing with possible termination and non-payment of salaries, have turned to Internet forums and blogs to communicate their frustrations with their employer. One very interesting fact that has recently come to light is that apparently some teachers at Nova were forced to teach retarded and mentally disabled customers often together with normal students. Reports of stalking of teachers, threats, assaults and various odd and abnormal behavior from students has many wondering what sort of operation is/was Nova running.

Here is one especially detailed account from Nova teacher CynicalBeyondReason :
Students routinely showed up drunk, passed out or fell asleep in class. There were three cases of foreigners being stalked by Nova customers (2 of them female customers), one of which made strange, violent threats when the object of her infatuation was transferred (”I will destroy the city!”). In ALL of these cases, despite the endless complaints by us that went all the way to the AAM level, nothing was EVER done in any of these cases. Not ONE of these “students” was ever asked to leave. And this is not restricted to Nova, because I have acquaintances that work at small eikaiwa that tell me EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS HAPPEN THERE.”

It seems cases of stalking and threats are more commonplace at Nova than previously thought. One recent case that turned tragic Lindsay Hawker comes to mind, where here stalker lured her into his apartment under the guise of private lessons only to murder her and dump her body in a bathtub filled with dirt. Despite widespread publication of the suspects picture by police and authorities, he remains at large. The authorities have been accused of bungled police work in that case by letting the suspect escape bare footed out a window as 10 officers arrived to his front door.

What is disturbing in the accounts of some Nova teachers is the lack of concern or responsibility by upper level management in dealing with these cases. Many complain of being ‘chewed out’ by staff when they failed to handle what were obviously bad situations and even in some cases dangerous.

Too true, but the other eikaiwa schools don’t take it to the extremes that Nova does.
We had an obviously insane woman show up for a demo lesson.

Borderline psychos are still perfectly acceptable, and the stalking problem is both rampant and largely ignored. But that is more the fault of the lazy-ass Japanese police, who even when called up by the eikaiwa management, will cuss out the stalkee for getting stalked rather than arrest the stalker (they wouldn’t even arrest a stalker who actually attacked a teacher in the middle of a lesson! School knew he had been a stalker, too, but don’t know how they’d handle his contract because he did the honorable thing and killed himself the next day after a mere talking to by the cops. Problem solved).
Read More...


Policeman shot in butt with own gun while battling porn vending machine bandits
TAGAWA, Fukuoka -- A police officer is in a serious condition after being shot in the buttocks with his own pistol while scuffling with porno vending machine thieves here Friday, police said.

The 29-year-old sergeant from Tagawa Police Station is being treated for the wound to his buttocks.

Two men have been arrested for robbery resulting in injury in connection with the case.

Police said the sergeant was one of three policemen to rush to the scene after a security company informed them that somebody was tampering with a pornography vending machine in an isolated part of Tagawa just before 4:30 a.m. Friday.

The officers reached the vending machine to find two men trying to break into it.

A scuffle arose and one of the men took out the sergeant's gun, firing it and sending a bullet slamming into the police officer's bottom.

Mainichi Daily News



Gov't to order Nova to refund tuition for canceled lessons
Japan Today

TOKYO — The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to order scandal-hit English-language school operator Nova Corp to promptly pay back tuition fees to customers who cancel lessons in accordance with their contracts, government officials said Tuesday.

The same day, the labor union assisting teachers at Nova requested that the ministry, which oversees the industry, take action to secure the teachers' employment and prevent further damage to students.

A report filed Tuesday by Nova with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, meanwhile, showed that the company has raised about 70 million yen through issuing equity warrants, apparently aiming to finance office rents, personnel expenses and other operation costs. Read More...

American Dies at Incheon Airport

American Dies at Incheon Airport After Service Staff Block Rescue Personnel

Service staff at Incheon International Airport yesterday essentially killed a 48-year-old American man who’d collapsed in the airport’s baggage terminal when they prevented emergency rescue personnel dispatched from the airport fire station from entering the arrival concourse.

A witness said emergency personnel tried to enter the arrival concourse to assist the man, who’d stopped breathing, but were blocked by staff who told them they could not. A scuffle ensued for over five minutes, after which emergency staff entered through another way. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the American, he was already dead.

Airport service staff, meanwhile, blamed the rescue personnel for not properly explaining the situation at hand. The airport itself also blamed the rescue personnel. Marmot's Hole



So...looks like salarymen all over Korea are smiling and breathing a collective sigh of relief. Why would they do such a thing you ask? Well, looks as if all those young ladies,aka "bar hostesses" who perform sexual services for whiskey bar customers cannot be charged with prostitution when they have sex with clients! Businessmen's smiles just got wider and their wives teeth are gritting even harder!

Court Rules in Bar Hostess Solicitation Case
A court ruled that bar hostesses cannot be charged with prostitution even if their solicitation of rich customers involves sexual intercourse, just as long as their patrons do not pay them any money for sex.

The court also ruled that better sales at the club following the solicitations were marginal relative to the charges filed.

Women’s advocacy groups decry the decision, calling the judge “innocent” of the real deals made at bars and clubs.

Prostitution disguised as business solicitations–

A female job recruiter, Hong, age 42, introduced three hostesses to Yoon, 32, the owner of the club named by the court, at a coffee shop in Gangnam Gu, Seoul in June 2007.

Yoon made advance payments of $2,500 to $6,000 to the three women, and they started working at a club run by Yoon in Japan. Yoon took good care of rich customers, and assigned hostesses to them to cultivate their patronage.

The hostesses themselves chipped in. They voluntarily asked the rich patrons out and met them outside the club. They all entered sexual relationships with them as well to keep them coming to the club. Read More...


I like how the bar hostesses had sex with their clients in order to "cultivate their patronage"!!!


I was going through some old footage from when I lived in Busan (I have hours of the stuff it seems) and put together a little video of me kickin around Nampo-dong in Busan. I suppose that since it is PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival) time and this was the original home of the festival, I'd pot this little vid. In it I'm hunting for the illusive stick of deoderant.



On a lighter note, mind you, there was nothing heavy about that video...a story from Japan with a twisted twist!

Foot fetish burglar steals women's shoes to smell them
OTA, Gunma -- A man has been arrested here after breaking into a mobile phone store here and stealing 17 pairs of women's shoes belonging to employees so he could smell the footwear, police said.

Yusuke Suzuki, 23, a part-time worker from Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, was arrested for trespassing and theft after he allegedly broke into the mobile phone store and stole the shoes.

He admits to the allegations.

"There are lots of pretty women working in the store and I wanted to smell their shoes," Suzuki told the police.

Police said that Suzuki smashed a window to get into the mobile phone store early on the morning of Sept. 24, then took out 17 pairs of pumps stored in a shoe cupboard and belonging to female employees.

In a subsequent raid on Suzuki's home, police seized a further 32 pairs of women's shoes. Suzuki says he bought these shoes over the Internet. Police said they are investigating his claim.

Xenophobia, Canadian pothead teachers and Condom Conferences!

Korea Post Under Fire for Xenophobia
Chosun Ilbo

When a Chinese resident in Korea went to an ATM machine run by the Korea Post during the Chuseok holidays, he was taken aback by a text that appeared on the screen asking him to confirm his identity at the service counter. Since it was a holiday, the post office was closed, leaving him without cash throughout the break. The incident was a result of Korea Post’s new measure to prevent a new style of fraud, in which fraudsters pretend to be officials from public institutions and threaten victims into transferring money into specified bank accounts. Those accounts often belong to foreign residents, including foreign-born Koreans.

To address the problem, Korea Post in August began to crack down on some 10,000 bank accounts held by foreigners suspected of being used for fraud. When it was unable to reach account holders after calling them three times, it temporarily suspended withdrawals from those accounts. To put it right again, foreign account holders must visit a post office to confirm their identities. But the blameless Chinese man felt it was discrimination. "They treat us as if we're some kind of imposters," he said. Korea Post says it only meant to protect innocent citizens from fraud, but admitted the measures could have affected another innocent group.

It stopped the inspection of foreign bank accounts at the start of October. "Suspension of bank services of all foreign residents based on the misbehavior of some is a typical case of opting for convenience rather than doing things right," one bank official says. More consideration will be required now that there are over 1 million foreign residents here. Chosun Ilbo

I remember seeing posters scattered throughout the Seoul Subway system a few years ago with a group of non-Koreans pictured and they said something about living the "Korean Dream." What was that all about? Looks like there are a lot of foreigners simply being denied basic services.



Here's a little something I came across on the Marmot's hole and got a kick out of!

What’s a Canadian Pothead to Do?
Alert the Immigration Bureau! — Korea may have to prepare for a flood of Canadian potheads fleeing new, Draconian drug laws in their native land:

Reversing earlier moves to decriminalize marijuana use, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada announced new legal and spending measures against drug use and distribution on Thursday.

In 2005, the government, then led by the Liberal Party, introduced legislation to eliminate criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The bill did not pass Parliament before the election that brought Mr. Harper and the Conservatives to power. It was never reintroduced.

“Far too long now in Canada, governments have been sending out mixed messages on drugs,” Mr. Harper said Thursday. “Canadians hardly know what the law is anymore.”
To make it clear that drug use is illegal in Canada, he said the government would spend about $64 million on antidrug campaigns and increased enforcement, including mandatory sentences for dealers and smugglers. There will also be increased coordination with the United States, he said.

Maybe Korea and Canada can exchange populations — Canadian potheads to Korea, Korean prostitutes to Canada.

Oh, wait — they already are.
The Marmot's Hole



Any story about condoms deserves some coverage....a good ole "rubber conference"!

Condom Experts to Gather in Korea

Around 100 experts in the area of condom standards from over 50 countries around the world will gather in Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju next Monday. They will attend a five-day long conference organized by the International Organization for Standardization to discuss the quality and size of condoms. Korean firms account for the lion’s share of the condom industry around the world, a factor that has led Korea to host the conference. Globally, 80 companies have facilities to produce 12 billion condoms a year, equivalent to W1.1 trillion (US$1=W916). Of the 80 companies, Korea’s Unidus, Dongkuk Trading and Hankook Latex account for 30 percent of the global market, making Korea a sure no.1 in the world.

The conference is expected to focus more on enhancing quality and safety of condoms rather than size, since there already exists a global standard for large, medium and small condoms. At present, condoms 49 mm in width and a minimum of 170 mm in length are small, 53 mm by 170 mm medium, and 57mm by 205 mm large. Large ones are generally being sold in the U.S. and Europe. In Korea, the most popular size changed to medium from small about five years ago.

To further raise the effectiveness of condoms as the best protection against AIDS, period of circulation is likely to be reduced to three or four years from the current five along with tightened quality inspection. In the global condom market, low-priced condoms from China, Malaysia and India are threatening high-priced ones from Korea and other countries. In this light, shoring up the quality standards of condoms may prove an advantage for Korean firms. Chosun Ilbo

It's interesting that the condoms sold in Korea have traditionally been smaller than international standards. Luckily, it seems that things are "getting bigger" and the "industry is growing." I wonder how those changes have happened?


After failing honesty test, NOVA tightens the screws on teachers

NOVA, Japan's biggest chain of English language conversation schools is feeling the pinch, and it's struggling to pay its biggest asset -- foreign teachers, Weekly Playboy (10/15) says.

NOVA was supposed to pay its instructors on Sept. 15, but hundreds still hadn't received their wages 10 days later and some may have still yet to get their due remuneration even now.

NOVA's problems began in April when the Supreme Court ruled its repayment methods when students cancelled contracts were illegal and two months later the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry suspended some of its operations.

But now, the chain of schools is hurting -- itself, its employees and its paying customers.

"NOVA has been flooded by requests to cancel contracts from students worried about its future and its shortage of capital," Katsuji Yamahara, head of the multinational General Union to which many foreign NOVA instructors belong, tells Weekly Playboy. "Some schools have had to be shut down because they don't have the money to run. I guess that's also been behind the late payments to the foreign teachers."

Many of the roughly 5,000 NOVA teachers are furious at the way they've been treated.

"Our payday is the 15th of every month. Sept. 15 was a Saturday, so they were supposed to pay us the day before. But the only people paid on the 14th were some instructors in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka. I didn't get paid," a NOVA instructor of seven years experience tells Weekly Playboy. "After that, they told us by e-mail that they'd definitely pay on the 19th. But there was nothing. Then they said the 21st, but nothing again. Then they came out and said they'd pay on the 25th after the long weekend, but it still didn't come through. They just keep telling us all these lies."

Another NOVA teacher adds the problem is not just unpaid wages. For many of its foreign instructors, NOVA borrows an apartment on their behalf, deducts the rent from their pay packet and pays the landlord directly.

"But NOVA has been deducting the rent from our pay and then not handing it over to the landlords," the teacher tells the weekly. "Some landlords have been telling teachers to get out of their apartment by the start of October."

Foreign teachers are the biggest asset an English conversation school can have in Japan. Many NOVA employees have already fled to other popular conversation school chains. But those who stay at NOVA are being drastically overwhelmed by student numbers and demand is enormous. Students, in turn, are complaining because they can't get classes as easily as they had been told it would be. Further reductions in teacher numbers are likely to hurt the chain even more.

Weekly Playboy says it repeatedly contacted NOVA for a comment about the situation but was constantly told that a reply would be forthcoming "tomorrow." Each time tomorrow became today, the response was identical. Phone calls to the company always got a busy tone. After 5 p.m., the engaged signal was replaced by a recorded message.

Union boss Yamahara is hardly bullish about NOVA's future.

"They'll close more schools because they can't pay the rent. Teachers will quit because they haven't been paid. It's in a truly downward spiral," he says. "NOVA has always sold itself on being cheap and convenient. To be honest, though, I don't think there are really many options open for NOVA from now on."

While the foreign teachers are languishing, NOVA's president Nozomu Sahashi is sitting back on a personal fortune estimated to be several hundred million yen, a fund the weekly suggests he should consider tapping into to pay his teachers' wages. The teachers certainly like the idea.

"I've got workmates who can't pay their transport costs. They can't come to work because they haven't got the money for their train fare. Other teachers have to eat cup noodles three times a day because they haven't got the money for any other food," a foreign NOVA teacher tells Weekly Playboy. "F**k you, Sahashi. Hurry up and pay!" (By Ryann Connell)
（Mainichi Japan） October 4, 2007

Bibimbap, Blank Stares and serial killing fishermen!

The inter-Korean Summit has finished and everyone had a good time!

Just look at the puss on Mr. Kim in this group photo. Now...this is a man who likes to have a good time!!! I can feel the fun from here...


In more Korean "Non-News"...

Visitors to an event called '4340 Bibimbap for Harmony' make bibimbap for 300 people at the National Folk Museum in Seoul on Monday, two days before Foundation Day, which marks the start of the Dangun Era 4340 years ago. Dangun is the mythical founding father of Korea. /Yonhap



Eeeek...beware...there be killers on those dangerous Korean seas. Here's a creepy tale of a serial killin old Korean pervert!! He murdered again and again cause he just wanted to touch some young women.

Fisherman Confesses to Serial Murders
Chosun Ilbo

A 70-year-old fisherman has confessed to murdering four young adults in two separate incidents in less than a month.
According to police, on the evening of Aug. 31, the fisherman identified as Oh was preparing for a fishing trip at a dock in Bosung, South Jeolla Province, when he was approached by a couple who asked for a boat ride. They were 21-year-old Kim (male) and 20-year-old Choo (female), both college students from Gwangju.

Oh took them on board and sailed for about 30 minutes into nearby waters. After fishing for about an hour, Oh threw Kim into the water in order to rape Choo. Kim struggled to climb back into the boat, but Oh beat him five times with a hook on a pole, killing him. Oh then advanced on Choo, but she fought back by grabbing Oh's waist. Finally Oh threw her into the water, too, and stopped her from climbing back into the boat with the pole, police said.

Just 25 days later, on Sept. 25, Oh was preparing for another fishing trip at the same spot when he was approached again, this time by two women who asked for a boat ride. Oh took 24-year-old Cho from Gyeonggi Province and 23-year-old Ahn from Incheon on board and returned to his fishing spot where he worked for about three hours. On the way back, Oh tried to touch one of the women. Both women fought back and all three fell into the water.

One woman was swept away by the tide and Oh climbed into the boat. When the other woman tried to climb in, Oh killed her with the same pole, fearing that she would otherwise go to police. Read more...


The English Industry in Korea is booming...we all know that...not a new revelation on my part, but here's an interesting article on the origins of Korea's English Boom! "Original English Boom" by Andrei Lankov in the Korea Times is an interesting look at the history behind South Korea's love affair with studying the English language.

Summits, Chinese Speaking Children and Cult-like English Schools

President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea’s titular leader Kim Yong-nam pass through the Arch of Triumph in an open car during a motorcade in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, the first day of the inter-Korean summit. Korea Times


So, what's the news?? Well, on the Korean Penninsula there's only one true story at the moment and rightfully so. The North/South Summit is on everyone's minds. It's such an exciting event that the Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy has released some cute caricature wallpaper for all of us to enjoy!!!

Korea Times


Should English teachers become worried about English study becoming a thing of the past in Korea? I doubt it, but this is an interesting story nontheless. We all know how "English-crazy" so many are in South Korea. The English education industry is a massive one, employing thousands of native English speakers from many countries, not to mention home-grown teachesr. As China emerges as a major player in the world economy (soon to be the next superpower), many Koreans are scrambling to give their kids yet another advantage. Chinese language fluency will hopefully be another chance for Korean children to seek their fame and fortune...and of course look after Mom and Pops when they get old...we hope! In "Wanted: Chinese Graduates to Babysit Children" in the Chosun Ilbo, it looks like young Korean students will now have another academy to stand between them and "childhood"!

Oh yeah...
An interesting tale in Japan Probe questioning wheter Nova Language School is truely a cult or not! Read for yourself....funny stuff!

It's that time of year again...time for PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival). I was living in Haeundae last year and was able to enjoy many of the festivities along the beach. It was cool. I was able to see loads of celebrities whom I have never heard of or seen before. I suppose that took a lot away from the moment, but...hmmm....there ya go! I may not have known the "famous" people I saw, but I do know one thing...Busan can be a groovy little city (4 million pop.)to live in. Chec out what the Joogang Daily says about Busan's cuisine.