Korail's English-language option way more expensive.

The Korea Herald looks at Korea Railroad's website and how the discounts and promotions available for Korean customers aren't made known to people using the English-language page:

You could be paying 60 percent more for your rail tickets if you use KTX’s English language website, but administrators say they have no intention of letting users know this.

The site allows foreign users to buy tickets, but the discounts available on the Korean language site vanish when the English language option is selected. The site gives no notice that discounts are available for certain tickets, people and groups.

. . .

KTX representative Dan Nam-su said foreign customers could get discounts on the Korean site or at train stations, but confirmed there was no such option on the English language site.

“When we developed the homepage in the English version, there were some problems in data processing so we could not make the English version in detail,” he said, explaining that issues with foreign credit cards also made service provision difficult.

“We assumed that most rail customers are domestic travelers. We admit that we’ve lacked the promotion for foreigners who might use Korail on the website or at the station,” said Dan.

Read more in the article, in the accompanying Dave's ESL Cafe thread, and the thread that started it all on March 31st. That foreigners can make reservations online in English at all is an accomplishment: just a couple years ago the options ranged from doable with a Korail pass acquired via a Korean-language form, to impossible because the English-language option was removed.

Paying the full fare is I guess a, um, price of living overseas. I'm happy that it's not nearly as bad in Korea as it is in, say, Taiwan, where hotels often charge foreigners significantly more. Discounts are of course available to foreigners in South Korea, provided they can navigate Korean-language sites. If you're interested in getting the best available rates for hotels and airline tickets online---other industries that offer promotions not announced in English---as well as for restaurants or KTX tickets, it behooves you to check the Korean-language sites as well.

Old Takeshima news.

The post earlier this month about the Korea Times editor calling for a Dokdo museum in spite of their already being one generated a lot of interesting discussion, as posts on the Liancourt Rocks always do. I'm just going to look at Roboseyo's comment:

hmm. while I don't have much to add to the dokdo issue for now, Jay presents an interesting question: when DID Dokdo start to become such a big deal?

I'd be interested to read a history of Dokdo blow-ups in the Korean media, and see how the press' handling of Dokdo sovereignty claims has changed over the years.

You could spend a few chapters on that, and I don't have the answer, but it did remind me of an article I read recently while looking for something else. From an October 7, 1953 AP report in the Prescott Evening Courier:

A Japanese patrol boat has planted a marker on the uninhabited Takeshima Island, about midway between Japan and Korea, proclaiming it Japanese territory, it was announced today.

South Korea also claims the island and South Korean navy sources in Seoul said a ROK boat is en route to Takeshima to tear the Japanese marker down.

That's one of the first mentions of the islets in western media, though it's not the first newsworthy incident in the 20th century. Five days later, South Korea did what it often does when the dispute is in the news; from the AP via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

A party of 24 South Korean scientists and mountaineers left yesterday aboard a Navy freighter for Takeshima, an uninhabited islet in the Sea of Japan claimed by both Japan and South Korea.

The trip is being sponsored by the South Korean government in order to provide geographical data about the barren island, which lies roughly midway between Japan and South Korea.

The October 7th story is among the first I could find mentioning the Liancourt Rocks in the western media. There are others around the time, but they're pay-per-view. "Tokto" doesn't show up with much frequency until the 90s, when Korea's English-language papers started writing about it.

Biggest Buddha in Korea.

Last month we read about the huge Catholic church and complex they're building in Mokpo. That isn't the only big worship site in the area: Jeollanam-do also has the biggest Buddha in Korea.



You'll find this 36-meter, 670-kilogram statue at Nammireuksa (남미륵사) in Gangjin county's Gundong-myeon. You'll also see it on the highway if you're driving from Gangjin to points eastward. It went up in 2006---construction photos here---and cost 10 billion won.





I first wrote about the temple and the statue in December 2007, and visited the following February in order to take some photos for a March 2008 Gwangju News article. The temple is comprised of two sections: one has a variety of new shrines, stupa, and statues; the other has the large statue of Amitabha (아미타) and accessories.



Everything was brand new, almost creepily so, except for the lot that connects the two halves.



The temple's in the middle of nowhere



but buses do run somewhat regularly to the vicinity. A bus from the terminal in Gangjin-eup, the county seat, bound for villages to the east will drop you off some 700 meters from the entrance.

No room for older, experienced teachers at public schools.

For at least the past year we've been reading that South Korea stands to benefit from the poor economies in the countries that export native speaker English teachers. Tough markets for teachers there would mean Korean schools would be better able to attract more "qualified" teachers, and teachers with more "qualifications" such as certifications back home and advanced degrees. That doesn't look to be the case now, though, from what a reader forwarded me from recruiter WorknPlay Consulting. The emailer was asking about the chances of a 53-year-old teacher with four years experience with GEPIK finding something in Seoul or Bundang:

I know many experience teachers are having hard time to find a job in Korea because of their age.
And it’s very hard for a recruiter to promise that I can find her job in or around Seoul.
GEPIK has cut down on their budget for native English speaker teachers from this coming semester and now they can’t afford higher level teachers.

That is, teachers would be atop the payscale because of experience and credentials. Recruiters are saying, another emailer points out, the highest pay rate is 2.3 million won per month, when in fact contracts state teachers at the highest level can earn 2.5 million per month in Busan and Incheon and up to 2.7 in other provinces. WorknPlay goes on to say she can forward her resume to school boards in Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do for consideration.

The emailer also directed me to the website of another recruiter, Korvia, which says under "elibility and reuneration" for SMOE:

Aged 50 or over (As of 2008. 12. 31) may be excluded from the selection due to the purpose and the aim of SMOE

for GEPIK (Gyeonggi province):

Aged 50 or over (As of 2008. 12. 31) may be excluded from the selection due to the purpose and the aim of GEPIK.

and for EPIK:

Aged 50 or over (As of 2008. 12. 31) may be excluded from the selection due to the purpose and the aim of EPIK.

The EPIK website says teachers are to "Be a maximum of 55 years of age".

When I've written about quote-unquote qualified teachers before---such as in the Korea Herald last summer---and the media's clamoring for them, I've pointed out that schools aren't yet prepared to pay for them, and that for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker fresh out of college with no experience or training often fills the same role in schools as one who's been in Korea for years and who has credentials and paper qualifications required of teachers elsewhere. (More commentary on the difficulties native speaker English teachers face here.) This news, coupled with selective and discriminatory hiring practices by other schools and school boards, starts to paint a picture of the ideal "native speaker English teacher" South Korea hopes to attract.

Bribery scandal in Jeollanam-do ahead of elections.

The JoongAng Daily has the story:

Police said yesterday that a Seoul-based lighting company engaged in a large-scale bribery scheme in the South Jeolla region, paying off high-level regional officials - including the governor of Haenam County - in order to win orders for government landscape projects.

A man surnamed Nam, the head of a lighting company initialed N, is suspected to have used a broker to give money and goods to officials in Yeosu, Mokpo and Haenam, all in South Jeolla.

. . .

Haenam, Yeosu, and Mokpo, located on the southwestern coast, have been aggressive in launching nighttime-view landscape projects during the last couple of years. Yeosu, which has been chosen as the host city of the 2012 World Expo, has put aside around 40 billion won just for these projects.

A Dong-A Ilbo editorial from the 23rd has more:

Police detectives raided April 9 the government-provided residence of Haenam County Mayor Kim Chung-sik of South Jeolla Province, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party. Combing through his home, they discovered as many as 30 bundles of five million won notes worth 150 billion won (140 million U.S. dollars) in shopping bags. In his desk drawers, 40 million won (36,000 dollars) worth cash was found. How the Democratic Party selected Kim to run for reelection Wednesday, when the arrest warrant for him was issued, is beyond comprehension.

Yeoju County Mayor Lee Gi-soo, a member of the ruling Grand National Party, was arrested for allegedly handing over a shopping bag containing 200 million won (180,460 dollars) in cash to the secretary of ruling party lawmaker Rhee Beum-kwan. The list of corrupt municipal and provincial government heads released Thursday by the Board of Audit and Inspection included the mayors of Dangjin County in South Chungcheong Province and Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province who were internally appointed or confirmed as candidates for local elections representing the ruling party.

You could assemble a collection of links on corruption in politics for any region of the country, but looking at the title of this blog I've chosen the southwestern corner. Off the top of my head I remember the story of the former Jeollanam-do provincial governor who killed himself in 2004 in the middle of corruption investigation. A 2007 Chosun Ilbo editorial used examples of bribery in Haenam and Gangjin counties as proof of South Korea still "carrying the shameful tag of being a corrupt, backward nation." In March we read about a vote-buying scandal in Shinan county:

The Mokpo Police Department in South Jeolla Province said Thursday 1,093 residents of Imja Island will be questioned regarding suspicions that they received envelopes filled with cash from candidates running for the top seat of a farmers' association on the island.

One of my "favorite" stories, I guess, is of the corruption in Suncheon. From the Dong-A Ilbo in 2006:

In Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, considering that three previous elected mayors were all jailed for charges such as bribery, an “oath of integrity” was taken at the end of the inaugural ceremony.

Ten municipal officials, including Mayor No Gwan-gyu and the vice mayor read and signed the oath in one accord. “I pledge to perform my duties honestly, justly and sincerely according to the law and principles and be a model to others by living an integrated and sound life so that I can fulfill our citizens’ expectations.”

Suncheon mayor No Gwan-gyu on July 3, 2006. The city's undergone quite a transformation during his term.

Jeollanam-do's oldest residents share secrets to long life.

Interesting little piece on the GFN 98.7FM website, a post in the "local news" section I can't link to directly. A couple excerpts:

"Eating fermented food products like dwen jang gook and spending time with family are the secrets to a long life" according to the results of a recent study into the lifestyles of people over 100 years of age residing in the Jeonnam area.
The study which covered 22 men and 175 women all over the age of 100, found that all of the subjects of the study enjoyed eating the dwen jang gook a type of fermented bean paste soup and none smoked cigarettes or induldged in alcohol.

. . .

The population of Jeollanamdo is aging at twice the speed of the national average and the Provincial Government plans to use the results of this study to devise policies to improve the lives of it`s elderly residents.

More information available, in Korean, via articles from Dailian.co.kr and Yonhap, the latter providing this breakdown:

실제 나이는 100세 미만 40명, 100세 30명 101∼105세 107명, 106∼110세 17명이며 110세인 담양 국운산 할머니가 최고령자로 나타났고 자신의 나이를 정확히 모르는 노인도 2명이나 됐다.

In 2007 we learned that beans and garlic were fueling Korea's oldest citizens. From the Chosun Ilbo:

Kim Jong-in, dean of Wonkwang University's Graduate School of Health & Enivironment, studied 996 Koreans over 100 years old in 254 areas around the country. Areas with larger soybean and garlic crops have higher numbers of seniors over 100. Areas that have lower levels of biochemical oxygen demand in the water and lower levels of sulfur dioxide in the air, both indicators of pollution, also have greater numbers of centenarians.

Less developed regions, which have fewer water facilities, less public spending, and fewer paved roads, have more over-100 seniors than other regions. Rural areas that have low rates of tobacco consumption and fewer cars also have more centenarians, indicating that smoking and exercise affect longevity.

I've written about Jeollanam-do's oldest residents a couple times before. Last April we learned that the province was expected to get 65 new centenarians, based on the number of people born in 1909. According to the article last year, Suncheon had the highest number of centenarians in the province, and according to a 2006 article reprinted on last year's post, had the highest number of centenarians in the country with 18. In a comment last April Ms. Parker shared one of her experiences:

I'm wondering if I may have met one of those elderly gentlement from Suncheon when I first arrived in Korea in 2006.

I was out with a Korean family and we'd stopped for a snack. This old man wandered past us, dressed in traditional clothing that I'd only ever seen in a museum before... the real old hanbok, with red bauble-like buttons. His beard was long and white --

Unsure of the etiquette, I asked if I could take a photo with him. He sat with me, and we held hands (!!). I don't think I've ever met such an old person in my life.... and he was so calm and gentle. Just a wonderful experience to have so early on in my Korean experience.

An article from October 2009 put the number of centenarians in Jeollanam-do at 186, with Yeosu's 20 the most in the province.

That 2007 Chosun Ilbo article has more on the area. On the topic if "less developed regions" having more centenarians than other parts of the country

Professor Kim counted the number of seniors over 100 per 100,000 residents based on the 2005 census by the National Statistical Office. The region with the most seniors over 100 was Hampyeong County in South Jeolla Province with 27.72 per 100,000. Gurye County in South Jeolla Province came in second with 24.29, followed by Janseong County in South Jeolla Province with 16.79, Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province with 15.24 and Gangjin County in South Jeolla Province with 13.68.

The top four cities were all in North and South Jeolla provinces. By city, Jeongeup City in North Jeolla Province took first place with 6.93, followed by Naju City in South Jeolla Province with 6.91, Suncheon City in South Jeolla Province with 6.88, Gimje City in North Jeolla Province with 6.64 and Jongno District in Seoul with 6.49.

Foreigners to be fingerprinted upon entry of Korea from August.

So writes the Chosun Ilbo today:

All foreigners over 17 will be fingerprinted and photographed when they enter Korea starting in August. A revision to the immigration control law was passed by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday.

Once the bill passes a plenary session, it will be possible to stop foreigners, who have been deported for crimes in the country, from reentering on a different passport.

Korean-language version here. I was looking around for an offensive cartoon of foreign criminals to pair with this post---Dong-A Ilbo, you taking the day off?---but am a little disappointed to not find one.

This issue has been discussed for years. I've written about it twice before

* December 28, 2008: "Korean government wants to fingerprint foreign tourists and residents by 2010."
* September 22, 2009: "Bill for fingerprinting foreign tourists by 2012 to be introduced next month."

and said that I don't see a problem with asking for fingerprints of tourists upon entry. It was introduced to Japan a couple years ago, and was met with some heavy opposition by readers of Japan Probe and Japan Guide. You'd need to read through some of the articles from 2006 and 2007, which pop up in a Google search, to get a sense of the climate in Japan a few years ago, as a lot of the outrage came because residents and visa-holders were also to have their fingerprints taken at each entry. It's not clear if that would happen in South Korea. The 2008 Korea Times article says

The Ministry of Justice said Saturday that it will propose to revise the Immigration Law so that all foreign nationals, either for short-term stay or long-term, are obliged to provide their biometric information to the Korean authorities when they come to the country.

but it doesn't say whether data of "long-term" foreign nationals would be taken upon first entry or each entry.

As I said this has been in the works for years, but it's recently been in the news because a couple of suspected Taliban members were apprehended in Korea earlier in the month. The Korea Times had a headline typical of that paper, "Seoul Plans to Fingerprint Foreign Suspects From Aug.," but I wouldn't go so far as to consider all foreign tourists as suspects, or to imply that Korea thinks that. The reports of foreign crime are often greatly exaggerated, with reports invariably writing about the increase of crime without also noting the increase of foreigners in the country. The English-language newspapers also pay undue attention to the threat of foreign sexual predators, as demonstrated recently on this March 22nd post, with Korea recently announcing foreign sex offenders would not be permitted into the country.

The government has reportedly changed its regulations to permanently ban foreigners convicted of sex offenses from entering the country.

In light of a series of brutal sex crimes that have outraged citizens recently, the Ministry of Justice said that a revised bill was put into effect last month prohibiting foreign sex criminals from entering the country.

That's what the Chosun Ilbo wrote on March 22nd, but of course the perpetrators of those "brutal sex crimes" were Korean.

Hur Jin one of top three finalists for Voice of McDonald's.

On Friday I posted about the Voice of McDonald's international singing competition among McDonald's employees, in which four Koreans were among the thirty semi-finalists, and a 20-year-old from Goyang was among the twelve Global Finalists. Further information is buried on the McDonald's site in an annoying labyrinth of links, but basically Jin was named one of the three finalists on Monday, and will be competing for first place on Thursday. You can watch the final online starting at 9:59 am Thursday the 22nd, EST, which translates to 10:59 pm Thursday night, Korean time. She's going up against a guy from Peru and woman from the Philippines, two singers I considered among the worst of the twelve, so this could lead to Korea becoming a McHub of something or other.

19-year-old dies of lymphoma.

So writes J.R. Breen in the Korea Times:

Jeon Yoo-woon, a 19 year old Korean boy diagnosed with lymphoma, died Tuesday evening at Yonsei Severance Hospital after losing his one-month battle against the cancer despite a stream of help from a group of expatriates.

He suffered complications in the morning and unexpectedly passed away at around 6 p.m., his family said.
``Nobody realized he was going to die, they thought he was over the worst part, then he just slipped away,’’ said Marie Frenette, a Canadian expat who had been helping the family secure blood donations.

As I wrote last month, via Frenette and the Facebook page, his B- blood type was particularly rare among Koreans, leading some expats to come forward to try and help. Frenette wrote on the Facebook page yesterday evening:

We had an amazing show of support from the expats and Koreans a like. The... donations we received surely helped prolong his life, but there were factors beyond our control.
On behalf of YooWoon's family and myself, thank you once again for your tremendous support during this difficult time. I will be sure to update you as I get news about how we can pay our respects to the family.

Frustration erupts at Incheon airport.

The Chosun Ilbo has a small photo gallery of stranded foreigners at Incheon International Airport on the 19th.

The JoongAng Daily reports that a lot of flights between Europe and Incheon have been cancelled recently.

The volcanic ash clouds in Europe have forced the cancellations of most flights to and from Europe at Incheon International Airport for four days straight. According to the Incheon International Airport Corporation, 41 flights out of 54 scheduled to leave for or arrive from Europe were canceled yesterday.

The Korea Herald says 127 flights in and out of Incheon were cancelled from Friday to "yesterday," and I assume "yesterday" is Monday since the news put on the website on the 19th hits newsstands on the 20th. The JoongAng Daily continues

On Saturday, 33 flights to and from Europe were canceled following 16 cancellations Friday. Over four days, Korean Air canceled 23 flights while Asiana Airlines canceled 8.

Nearly 200 foreigners with tickets to Europe waited at Incheon International Airport terminals.

Indeed, one of the stories lately is frustration at Incheon among unhappy passengers stranded for days. From the Associated Press a few hours ago:

At Incheon International Airport in South Korea, a group of about 30 frustrated passengers blocked a Korean Air ticketing counter and demanded a meeting with company officials to arrange travel to anywhere in Europe after they heard an Air France jet flew from the airport to the French city of Bordeaux.

They held up a makeshift sign saying, "We want to come back home," each word written on a separate piece of paper and held by an individual traveler.

"We need a flight, we need a time," Thierry Loison, who has been stuck since Friday at Incheon on the way back to France after a vacation in Bali, told Korean Air officials. "We were like animals this morning."

Passengers resting on blankets spread on the floor of a business center complained about the lack of hotel accommodations. They said they were only receiving a voucher for one meal a day at McDonald's and that they were running out of money.

From NoCutNews.

Well, if it's any consolation, Incheon consistently ranks among the best airports in the world.

More airing of grievances by those who want to lead English teachers.

The past year of the Association of English Teachers in Korea was dominated by personalities. What it ultimately accomplished during its first year is still up for debate, as is where it will go in the future, but one thing it did do is alienate a lot of people, whether through inattetion, inaction, or in-fighting.

On Chris in South Korea on April 5th we read about a new teachers' organization forming out of Busan, announced through a post and series of emails that highlighted the personality conflicts among the groups' members. The conversation continues, somewhat, on Roboseyo, and the he-said, they-said has reached my inbox with a lengthy email I'm still debating posting. And, it continues on a lengthy Dave's ESL Cafe post that, if the intention was to endear people to Busan's FREED, accomplished the exact opposite.

2010 Jinju Bullfighting Festival cancelled, Uiryeong's festival April 21st - 25th.

I've written about Korean bullfighting before, but didn't think to post about this spring's festivals until a reader asked about them on my Facebook page.



The 118th bullfighting festival in Jinju (진주전국민속소싸움대회), scheduled this year from April 30th through May 5th, has been cancelled. The website says it's because of the tragic events in Incheon last month:

언론보도한 바와 같이 관계기관에서
2010년 4월 8일 인천 강화지역의 구제역 발생과 관련하여
축산물을 대상으로 하는 행사는 전국적인 방역조치의 우려 때문에
연기 또는 취소하라는 요청이 있어
부득이 다음과 같이 알려드리오니
널리 양해하여 주시기 바랍니다.

That's not the only festival cancelled or delayed in the aftermath of the Cheonan sinking. The Ulsan's Whale Festival scheduled for April has been pushed back until July, and Ulsan's Bonggye Bulgogi Festival (봉계한우불고기축제) scheduled from the 23rd through the 25th has been cancelled. It's been a bad couple seasons for festivals; a good many last summer and fall were cancelled ostensibly because of swine flu.



The Uiryeong Bullfighting Festival (의령전국소싸움대회) will run from April 21st through 25th in Gyeongsangnam-do's Uiryeong county. The fights will take place each day from 10 am to 6 pm.

They're held in Uiryeong-eup, the county seat, at the 전통농경문화테마파크. The address in Korean is 의령군 의령읍 무전리 116번지 일대, there's a map here from Naver, and because neither the festival site nor the county one says anything about buses going that way you'll have to check when you get there or take a cab. The internet also says no buses go there from Gwangju, bus there are eight a day from Jinju's intercity bus terminal (시외버스터미널) and about one per hour from Masan's intercity terminal (마산시외버스터미널), with both mid-sized cities being accessible by frequent buses from Gwangju and Suncheon. You can get schedules out of both cities, in Korean, via USquare.co.kr.

The bigger and better-known festival, the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival (청도소싸움축제) takes place each March in Gyeongsangbuk-do's Cheongdo county, and was held this year from March 17th through 21st.

This is the sort of event that attracts western media attention once a year. Last year the International Herald Tribune had an article out of Jinju:

Unlike Spanish bullfighting, there is no matador. In South Korea, bull fights bull. Tons of muscle charge at each other, and clumps of bloody hair fly as the animals bang heads, their horns clashing like sabers.

That may sound brutal, but bulls rarely die in the ring. The fight is over when one turns tail. Some matches stretch on for hours. Others end before they start: the bulls stare each other down, and one walks away.

Popular interest in bullfighting, once regular village entertainment in South Korea, has waned in recent decades, a victim of television, the Internet and more-global spectator sports, like soccer and baseball. But in the last few years, some cities have begun promoting bullfighting as a tourist attraction and the government now hopes to reignite the old passion by legalizing ringside gambling, starting in July.

. . .

[One of the local rancher-trainers] dismissed concerns that the pastime’s revival might attract charges of animal abuse.

“All male herd animals fight each other for reproduction,” he said. “This is not about man conquering nature, as in Spanish bullfighting. We are simply observing nature in action.”

Here's another lengthy article from the JoongAng Daily from 2008, with plenty of others available from our friend Google.

April and May festivals in and around Jeollanam-do, 2010 edition.

Because of time constraints I didn't do a large post in March previewing upcoming spring festivals in Jeollanam-do, as I've done in years past. There have already been a few---the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival, the Gwangyang Apricot Festival, the Yudalsan Flower Festival, and several others---and others like the Cheongsan-do Slow Walking Festival, the Shinan Tulip Festival, and Gwangju World Photonics Expo are underway and have already been blogged, but there are plenty of other big ones over the next few weeks. Here's a look at what's coming up. Please post questions, reviews, or additions as a comment below.




Namwon Love Love Festival (남원춘향축제)
* April 23rd - April 26th
* Official site
Actually held in North Jeolla province, the small city of Namwon has several sites devoted to Chunhyang, a character in a well-known folktale, which

tells the story of love between Chunhyang, the daughter of a kisaeng entertainer, and Yi Mongryong, the son of a magistrate. After the two are illegally married, Mongryong goes to Seoul and a corrupt local magistrate attempts to force Chunhyang to be his concubine. She refuses and is faced with death, but is rescued at the last minute by Mongryong returning in his new role as a secret royal inspector.

I don't know why they've decided to call it the "Love Love Festival" this time, but Namwon calls itself the "City of Love" based on its association with Chunhyang. Gwanghallu Garden (광한루) is located about 1.2 kilometers southwest of the express bus terminal, and should be your first stop. The Namwon city page says:

This is the country's classic traditional garden built as a symbol of the universe. Nearby, the garden offers Ojak Bridge, as well as a lake with three mountain deities symbolizing Yeongju (Mt. Halla), Bongnae (Mt. Geumgang) and Bangjang (Mt. Jiri). According to legend, on every July 7th of the lunar calendar, thousands of crows come together and make the Ojak Bridge to allow the Altair and the Weaver to meet each other, and then Chunhyang and her fiance Lee Mong-ryong have a romantic rendezvous on the bridge, thus completing its construction (historical relic No. 303)

But, anyway, it's pretty. Across the river, to the southeast, is what's called the Chunhyang Theme Park. Both sites make for a nice visit, and as far as the festival goes, a daily schedule here, and a further listing of events here and along that sidebar. It's a pretty town on the other side of Jirisan from Jeollanam-do, and is worth a visit if not during the festival, then when you've got a free weekend. Buses run to Namwon a few times an hour from Gwangju, sometimes before heading to another city, and it takes upwards of 70 minutes to make the trip.


Hampyeong Butterfly Festival (함평나비대축제)
* April 23rd - May 9th
* Official site
One of the better-known festivals in the province. It takes place in Hampyeong county. You'll find various schedules buried here, in Korean, and a map of the festival grounds here. I went to the festival twice---in 2008 and 2009---and found the grounds scenic and the flowers pretty, but there actually aren't very many butterflies. They're kept inside one building, surrounded by prohibitively long lines. Visiting the buttefly festival without visiting the butterflies makes for a pleasant enough afternoon, basically a stroll through a huge park. Take a look at last year's post and the accompanying Flickr gallery for more.




Yeongrang Culture Festival (영랑문화제)
* April 23rd - 25th.
* Profile from Gangjin county site
Held in honor of one of the county's most famous products, the poet Kim Yun-sik (penname Yeongrang). His birthplace is a short stroll from the bus terminal in Gangjin-eup. It's a nice little area, especially in spring, and is worth a visit if you live in Gangjin, but there's no reason to make the trip especially for the festival.




Jeonju International Film Festival (전주국제영화제)
* April 29th - May 7th
* Official site
The second-biggest international film festival in the country, held in Jeonju, the capital of North Jeolla province. You can browse through the schedule here, in English, and join the Facebook group for updates.



Damyang Bamboo Festival (담양대나무축제)
* May 1st - May 5th
* Official site
Damyang, a rural county best known for its popular bamboo forest. If you've never been it's worth a trip, but you have to decide for yourself if it's an experience made better through the thousands of Koreans you'll find during the festival. Besides walking through the forest you can purchase lots of bamboo arts and crafts, and can get a look at small-town Korea if you've never seen it, though again maybe festival week isn't very representative of rural Jeollanam-do. This year they've made an English-language site, which provides a program and some background information. It does, unfortunately, start talking about

Damyang is a city rich with green resources and moral culture. Including green bamboo grove, there are antetype of ecosystem remaining in its natural status with healthy breathing, and cultural heritages such as lyrics literature handed down by ancestors are glorious. Therefore, Damyang is the world of {scenery} that is more beautiful than any other place.

Damyang is just outside of Gwangju, and all kinds of buses run back and forth. You can get another bus from the Damyang bus terminal to the forest. When I visited in 2006 it was bus 303 running that route, but that could have changed, and the website provides no further information. Google will be your friend for more information about the area, and Naver will show you pictures from bamboo festivals of years past.




Boseong Green Tea Festival (보성대향제)
* May 1st - May 5th
* Official site
One of the province's representative festivals at one of its representative sites, this takes place at the largest of Boseong's famous green tea fields. They're at their greenest in the spring, and last May is when I took the picture that serves as this blog's header. I took scores of other photographs that day, of performances, arts and crafts, green tea ice cream, and even green tea samgyeopsal, but I lost my camera at Home Plus a few days later, and basically gave away hundreds of pictures to some Suncheon cretin. Anyway, the fields are pretty, and the festival is as fine a time as any to visit them. Buses run regularly to Boseong from Suncheon and Gwangju, and when you arrive at the bus terminal in Boseong you'll find signs in English helping you use the vending machine to get your tickets for the bus to the tea fields.


Jinnamje Memorial Festival (진남제)
* May 3rd - May 5th
* Official site
Held at various sites in Yeosu, the 44th annual Jinnamje Memorial Festival is one of two Turtle Ship festivals in the city that week. There's a program here, in Korean, and somewhat of a map of festival sites here.


Yeosu Turtle Ship Festival (여수거북선대축제)
* May 3rd - May 6th
* Official site (not working)
Yeosu has quite a few sites devoted to national hero Admiral Yi Sun-shin and his boat, and this is another Turtle Ship festival. It was originally scheduled to run from the 5th through the 8th. and will be held at the "new harbor" near the bridge to Odong-do, and the site of the 2012 Expo. I went last year, sort of, because the Yeosu Tall Ships Festival was going on right next door. Aside from a couple parades and a solar-powered turtle ship going around spitting fire, there wasn't a whole lot to it.


Jangseong Hong Gildong Festival (장성홍길동축제)
* May 7th - 9th
* Profile from Jangseong county site
A festival in honor of the folk hero you might think of as a Robin Hood. Jangseong county is very proud of Hong Gil-dong, and you can read more about him, sort of, on the Jangseong county page, which devotes most of its space to him and to strange English like

we will be the leader of 21st century
with brighter and wider eyes

The Jangseong county page also takes for granted that readers believe Hong Gildong and his crew governed Okinawa for a time. You'll find a program for the festival here, in Korean, you'll find the festival at Jangseong's Hong Gildong Theme Park (홍길동테마파크), and you'll need to remember 테마파크 isn't like a theme park in English but is actually a park built around a theme (like Hong Gildong or Chunhyang).


Wando Jang Bogo Festival (완도장보고축제)
* May 7th - May 9th
Held in Wando county in celebration of Jang Bogo, a man who basically set up his own little kingdom on a tiny Wando island and kept the seas safe from pirates in the 9th century. One of the aims of the 2009 festival was, according to the Wando county site:

Increase the Changpogo brand image by consistent strengthening of the Changpogo theme in order to take place as a competitive international festival, even though the Changpogo brand has been settled as the region’s major brand through drama set projects, Jangdo historic site restoring project, Changpogo Memorial Hall, Changpogo Monument project, etc.

Yeah, okay. It's held at various locations throughout the county. Though the drama sets and the reconstructed historical sites look really interesting---ROK Drop has a nice post up on them---it might be challenging to attend this festival unless you live in Wando already. You might keep the sites in mind if you're attending the Cheongsan-do Slow Walking Festival, admittedly held on a different island together.



Dasan Festival (다산제)
* May 7th - May 9th
* Profile from Gangjin county page
Held in Gangjin county in honor of the famous scholar Jeong Yak-yong exiled there for twenty years. It will be held at and around Dasan Chodang, in Doam-myeon, the home where he spent most of his years while exiled to the southern coast. I lived in Gangjin for a year and took an interest in local history and points of interest, and have written a lot about the sites associated with Dasan and other famous Gangjin residents. The area is definitely worth a visit, but perhaps not during this busy weekend. If you do decide to go, that weekend or whenever, you'll want to hike from Dasan Chodang to Baekryeonsa, considered the most famous temple in Gangjin.




Nagan Folk Culture Festival (낙안민속문화축제)
* May 7th - May 9th
* Folk village official site
Held at one of my favorite spots in Suncheon, the Nagan Folk Village, about 25 kilometers outside the city. I've visited the village several times---I've written about my visits here and here---and went to last spring's festival but didn't blog it. It's considered the country's best preserved folk village, and some 200+ people live there and operate minbak and restaurants in the old homes. I consider it a must-visit for people in the area, and I like how a now-defunct blogger described it, quoted from my 2008 post:

This place impressed me on several levels. Part museum, part artists' colony, and part time machine, this historic, inhabited fortress town is an ideal destination for those of us who adore travel but are easily bored by museums and standard touristy fare.

The Korean counterpart to Western Renaissance Fairs, folk villages are communities dedicated to preserving and perpetuating traditional customs and craftsmanship. The village at Nagan is exceptional in that it is housed inside a Chosun-era walled fortress, which in itself is a formidable historic landmark.

If you're interested in visiting the folk village, during one of the year's two big festivals is the time to do it. The attractions aren't overwhelming---they include arts and crafts, food, folk games---but the village is nice to look at, and it's the sort of festival augmented by crowds of people. It's accessible via Suncheon city buses 63 and 68, and is part of the Suncheon bus tour. When you get off the bus in Nagan-myeon, check the poster on the convenience store door to find out when the buses head back to Suncheon.






A few photographs from May 2009.

1 dead, 3 missing in Navy helicopter crash off Jindo.

The Chosun Ilbo writes:

A Lynx helicopter belonging to the Third Naval Fleet which was patrolling near Chuja Island 14.5 km southeast of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, crashed around 8:58 pm on Thursday, leaving one officer dead and three others missing.

The helicopter was searching for a submarine. The military and maritime police immediately sent out two high-speed ships and eight patrol boats to the site of the accident, where they discovered the body of Lt. Kwon Dae-ha.

The JoongAng Daily and Korea Times also have English-language coverage. A Chosun Ilbo article provides the following map:

Korean crew trainer trying to be Voice of McDonald's.

The Korea Times tells us about Hur Jin (허진), one of twelve finalists for the international "Voice of McDonald's" competition.

McDonald's Korea said Thursday that Hur Jin will represent the nation in the singing contest where a dozen finalists will compete on April 20 in Orlando.

Around 10,000 McDonald's restaurant employees from 119 countries across the world participated in the preliminary rounds and only 12, including Hur, clinched the tickets to Orlando. The finalists were picked via online votes and in-house judges' evaluations.

Hur plans to sing famous pop singer Alicia Keys' ``No One.'' The champion of the competition will receive $25,000 as well as have the opportunity to perform at various McDonald's events to be held around the world for a full year.

``I had to compete with many people to advance in this contest so I will win the championship and show Koreans' competence to the whole world,'' said Hur, a staff trainer. ``I want to become a vocal trainer and help students who have a dream of performing music like me.''

I got a job at McDonald's in 10th grade, became a crew trainer at 16, and a manager at 17, so I'll probably always feel a soft spot for the place and its activities, even if I don't care for the menu much anymore. You can read more about Hur on her Voice of McDonald's profile; an excerpt:

I am a crew trainer for McDonald's and I sing with my McDonald's crew – we have a band and book a studio once a week to play together. I don’t think I could leave because I love the people I work with. I hope I get to go to Florida to make music and beautiful memories with other McDonald’s crew from around the world.

You can also see her singing part of "Suddenly I See" by K. T. Tunstall, and pictures of her getting the good news. Unlike other Koreans who have become famous for singing American pop songs on YouTube, Hur is actually good.



She's a little marble-mouthed, like when singing "Why the hell it means so much to me," but it's a very good effort. YouTube has videos from other Korean entrants. Four of the thirty semi-finalists were from Korea.

The other eleven Global Finalists this year are from China, Costa Rica, France, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Spain, and two from the US, and they all have profiles on the VOM site. Jin compares well to the other finalists, and her English at least is better than the other non-native speakers, excepting Ms. Portillo from Costa Rica and maybe Ms. Cepello from Spain. Let's see if she can bring the Voice of McDonald's title to Korea, where it belongs. *cough*

Suncheon's Maesan schools turn 100.

Local dignitaries (Suncheon mayor on the left) unveil a statue at Palma Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Photos from the Maesan High School photo gallery.

Suncheon's Maesan High School (매산고등학교) celebrated its 100th birthday on April 15th. That school, along with Maesan Middle School and Maesan Girls' High School, was founded by American missionaries F. Preston and Robert Thornwell Coit with the American Southern Presbyterian Mission. The three schools border one another in an interesting cluster of Suncheon missionary history, something I wrote more about in a a January 2008 post, and a heritage that's still visible up and down the peninsula today.

Need another Dokdo museum like we need another tower on Namsan.

With the frequency of articles in Korea's English-language newspapers about Japanese Occupation you might be forgiven for thinking the war ended last fall. They've had a lot of material this spring, first with commemorating the 100th anniversary of the execution of Ahn Jong-geun---and, as @koreangov notes, next year will be the first anniversary of the 100th anniversary of his death, cause for more celebration---and then with Japanese textbooks again considering the Liancourt Rocks as Japanese territory.

South Korea has responded to these textbook claims by aiming to teach students about Dokdo at an even younger age---as if Korean children aren't already vocal about the rocks---and by sending on Thursday

a team and two ships to Dokdo for the inspection as a way to further proclaim Korean rule over the islets.

All in addition to the usual demonstrations of disapproval.

The Korea Times' Political Editor Kim Jong-chan has written a piece calling for a Dokdo museum to be built on the rocks or on the larger Ulleung-do. "Proposal For Museum On Dokdo" goes twelve sentences before achieving Godwin's law:

Adolf Hitler engineered the Holocaust that massacred six million Jews. For the past decades, Germans have repented of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime (1933-1945) and its collaborators.

Japan is different. Japan's school textbooks whitewash the wrongdoings it committed against the peoples of Korea, China and other Asian nations during World War II (1939-1945).

The column meanders in the typically Korean way, giving the author's main idea in the very last sentence with little support in the preceding paragraphs, closing with:

As far as the historical issues are concerned, the ruling camp needs to be assertive and take more effective measures to bolster Korea's rightful sovereignty over Dokdo. Building a history museum on Dokdo or nearby larger Ullung Island will help students and visitors learn more about them.

Bringing up Hitler isn't that uncommon when talking about Japanese Occupation, and comparing Korean tragedies with western ones happens pretty often. And we've seen that writing style before, one that probably makes sense in Korean but is jarring to readers' expectations in English. What's surprising here is that Kim doesn't know such a museum already exists.

The Dokdo Museum (독도박물관) is on Ulleung-do, and it's been there since 1995. I knew about it because I can use Google, and because I've read about some of the "evidence" in the museum being disputed. Gypsy Scholar paid a visit in 2006, and wrote:

My official position is that Dokdo belongs to Korea.

Unofficially, I don't really know, and the museum didn't help me to decide one way or the other because the information was all in Korean ... except for a brochure written in strange English.

But I'm sure things have changed since 2006. The curator introduces the museum:

In this only one territorial museum of Korea, We will find, collect and reaserch all materials about sea of Korea continuously as well as confirm the basement of our theories and arrangement of historical materials to argue against Japan's insistence. And with the result from our efforts, we will do our best to inspire awareness of our territory and nation to our people by exhibition, education, advertisement. Please support us with your heart.

In ulleung with ancient mysteries, Dokdo museum is waiting for your visit. Welcome to Dokdo museum!

Anyway, a museum on Dokdo would be unfeasible because comparatively few people attempt to go there, and even fewer are able to reach the island because of uncooperative weather, though the rocks did see a record number of visitors in 2009. Moreover, because the people visiting the rocks are either Koreans who have agreed with the Korean stance since birth or are foreigners unwittingly dragged along, it's unnecessary to crowd up the tiny rocks with even more development.

"Pink Ribbon Love Marathon" in Gwangju, June 20th; other upcoming runs and deadlines.

Poster for Busan's Pink Ribbon Marathon, coming Sunday the 18th.

Thanks to Gwangju-based Kimchi and Cornbread for bringing word of the "Pink Ribbon Love Marathon" (핑크리본사랑마라톤) coming to Gwangju on June 20th. There are runs under this Pink Ribbon name in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Seoul throughout the year, to benefit breast cancer, a run about which Google will tell you more. The event in Gwangju will take place at the World Cup Stadium and will have 10K and 5K runs (maps here), and it costs 10,000 won to enter. Kimchi and Cornbread walks you through registering in Korean if you need some assistance. Just note that the marathon website says registration opened on March 15th and will continue until 3,000 have signed up, so if you're interested get in quick because the spots will no doubt go.

Also on her post she writes:

If you are a runner in Korea it can be quite difficult to hear about and register for organized races. This hit home when last week I planned a group run in Gwangju at the exact same time a major marathon was going on in my neighborhood. Even being slightly in the know and being able to recognize the Korean word for marathon, at no point had I heard about this run.

I wrote about the Honam International Marathon twice---on January 1st and March 8th---and once the year before, so there are resources for English-speaking runners in Jeollanam-do [insert winking smiley]. As far as other big races in the area:

* There's one more day left to sign up for the Jangseong Hong Gil-dong Marathon (장성홍길동마라톤대회) on May 2nd.

* Registration for the June 13th Yeonggwang Marathon (2010 굴비골영광마라톤대회) ends on May 29th.

* Registration for the September 4th Suncheon Bay Ultra Marathon (순천만울트라마라톤대회) started on April 1st.

* The Geumseongsan Mountain Trail Marathon (금성산산길마라톤축제) takes place in Naju on September 12th, with registration going until August 15th. As with last time, the man in charge is willing to help:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen from overseas!

Please register for Geumsungsan Mt. Marathon Race online.
If the online registration system doesn't work, please e-mail your information to me!
I will help you to register.
My e-mail address is ncs6745@hanamil.net
Sincerely,
Chun-Soo NA
Diretor of Naju Marathon Office

* Sign-up for the October 2nd Gangjin Celadon Ultra Marathon (강진청자 울트라마라톤) begins on May 1st.

* Registration for the "regular" Gangjin Marathon (강진청자전국마라톤대회) on October 31st, with the variety of races you can expect at these runs, goes from March until October 1st.

* No information for registration given for the Hwasun Goindol Marathon (화순고인돌마라톤대회) on October 31st, but you should be fine.

* The Suncheon Marathon (순천남승룡마라톤대회) takes place on November 13th, registration open until September 30th.

* On November 14th is the Damyang Metasequoia Marathon (담양메타세쿼이아전국마라톤), named after the scenic road in the county lined with largish trees. The website has information about 2009's run, but I guess you should sign up in the summer or early fall if you want to do it.

There are several websites that list races in Korean, and I do my best on this site to keep track of races and registration deadlines for southwestern Korea, so keep checking back. Time permitting I'll profile some of these in greater detail as the registration deadlines approach.

Those of you in and around Seoul should take a look at the Seoul Flyers Running Club page.

Gangjin has the second-highest rate of smoking in the province.

According to the results of a study by Chonnam National University on residents 19 and over, Gangjin county has the second-highest rate of smoking in Jeollanam-do. Jindo county's at the top with 29.6%, and Gangjin's second with 28.4%. The lowest is Shinan county with 20.7%, followed by Damyang county with 21.6% and Gwangyang with 21.9%. Jeollanam-do did have the lowest rate among the sixteen cities and provinces. This isn't exactly news---the numbers came out March 24th---so clearly I have to reevaluate the personnel at the Brian in Jeollanam-do Gangjin bureau.

Korean territory to increase by a little bit by registering new islands.

From KBS Global:

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday that after wrapping up a nine-month project on island territories in February, the ministry found 923 unregistered islands.

. . .

A ministry official said that following the project, the nation’s territory is expected to increase around 16-and-a-half square kilometers.

Jeollanam-do will get 281 of these, and will increase its territory by 482,295 square meters, the largest size increase of all the provinces. According to the Naver online encyclopedia there are 3,153 islands in South Korea, with Korean Wikipedia saying, using numbers from the Coast Guard, there are 1,688 uninhabited (무인도) islands in Jeollanam-do. Before this latest reckoning, presumably.

2010 Cheongsan-do Slow Walking Festival (2010 청산도 슬로우걷기축제): April 10th - May 2nd.

The 2010 Cheongsan-do Slow Walking Festival (2010 청산도 슬로우걷기축제) will take place from April 10th through May 2nd on an island in Wando county, Cheongsan-do. The island was one of the original four communities in Jeollanam-do to join the international "Slow City" movement back in 2008, the first four places in South Korea to do so. I've written about these places a few times:

* February 15, 2008: Jeollanam-do's Slow Cities.
* March 24, 2009: "Jeollanam-do is a little slow."
* April 10, 2009: "Pretty flowers in Jangheung, Wando."
* December 28, 2009: "Slow City" island in Shinan working hard to stay slow.

The Korea Tourism Organization has a little bit about Cheongsan-do:

The island is 50 minutes by ferry from Wando Terminal. It was first publicized through Sopyonje, a Korean movie highlighting the tradition of [pansori], a Korean traditional opera. In his search for filming locations, film director Im Kwon-taek wanted a traditional village that was still untouched by modernity. It is said that he gave his approval immediately after visiting Cheongsan-do. As seen in the movie, the island offers a trip back in time along narrow, winding roads, low stone walls, and green terraced rice fields.

You'll find more information about the festival, including a small program, on the official festival site, though it's in Korean and not very helpful. The main attraction is the scenery and the slow concept it markets, and I shared a few pictures off the wire in last year's festival write-up:





And some pictures of foreigners who'd be my classmates at Chonnam National University later in the year:



Last year I wrote that even though one of the pictures had the headline "청산도 체험하는 외국인," but for many Koreans, Cheongsan-do is just as 신기한. Rural Korea has become rather exoticized---a concept I explored further here and here---to the extent that some deny to foreigners that it even exists, and one of the most popular TV shows of the past couple years could feature celebrities acting goofy in fish-out-of-water situations there. In my earlier posts on Jeollanam-do's slow cities I asked whether they were being deliberately slow, or whether their pace of life was just a consequence of so many Koreans choosing not to live in these places, and if the new designation would paradoxically attract a ton of people.

This festival spans several weeks, and is one of two fairly big island festivals in Jeollanam-do this coming weekend. The other is a tulip festival in Shinan county from the 16th through the 25th. The Wando county page says there are four ferries a day to and from Cheongsan-do. On the official festival page you'll find, in Korean, information about buses on the island by clicking on the "Tour" tab and choosing the last option. Choosing the first one will get you walking course information, again in Korean.

Korean government to try and turn off computer games after midnight for minors.

This has been in the news the past couple days, and is the sort of "news of the weird" story out of Asia the Western media just loves, so since that's bringing in people I might as well address the story here. The two sources from Korean English-language papers are the Korea Herald and Dong-A Ilbo. Two lengthy excerpts from the former:

A pair of policies were announced yesterday that will attempt to block underaged access to online computer games after midnight in light of the rising problem of video game addiction among youth.

In what’s being touted as the "nighttime shutdown," the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism hopes the new measures they have implemented will help eradicate video game addiction among teenagers.

According to the ministry, underaged users will be forced out of gaming sessions when online access automatically shuts down as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

. . .

Gamers will be given three options for the six hour black-out period --midnight-6 a.m.,1-7 a.m., and 2-8 a.m.

The "slowdown" scheme is currently being tested out on a total of four role playing games, including the hugely popular "Dungeon & Fighter," and "Dragon Nest," and will be extended to 19 role playing games.

The 19 RPG titles represent approximately 79 percent of the domestic online game market.

And an editorial from the latter:

Korea’s game industry is so competitive, online game exports earn 50 times that of the film sector. The good always comes with the bad, however. Korea has high percentage of online game addicts. Teenagers usually return home late from attending academic institutes and can easily meet up with a game partner at night. As a result, many of them stay in front of their PCs late into the night. Despite the government’s proposed measures to limit their access late at night, addicts could take advantage of their parents’ social security numbers to gain access. Parent attention and care alone are not enough to prevent their addiction to games. Thorough government measures that can effectively prevent game addiction are urgently needed.

Some people are saying this isn't compatible with a free country, and others are asking where the parents that kids are spending so much time with computer games. I can see the validity in both statements: to the former, the government's attempts at a strong grip on that fast, cheap, ubiquitous internet have been well-documented; to the latter, this is a country where kids spend a lot of time out of the house, and where a hands-off approach with young people contradicts the control parents exercise later. I would like to point out, though, that this won't be an issue for many. The rigors of Korean education mean when high school students are awake past midnight, it's usually to pass the time in cram schools or to study on their own at home or in dorms. Elementary and middle school students at my former hagwon were routinely kept past midnight, and there have been measures over the past few years to impose a curfew on these cram schools.

The use and overuse of online games in Korea is commmensurate with the ubiquity of fast, cheap internet. The image of internet addiction, of a guy sitting in a smoky PC room or alone in a dark apartment, isn't really fair to the social function computer games play for many of the country's young people. I made that point in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette piece last month:

When students play computer games all day on a Sunday, it's not quite the same as vegging out in front of the TV as we're used to it. First of all, most kids play with their friends, whether in person or online, so there's an element of social interaction. Second, most people don't play at home, so kids at least get out of the house (and into a smoky PC bang, but still).

There are a lot of reasons for the interest in gaming, but a big one is that it fits a lifestyle dictated by work and, for students and business people, sedentary activity. Moreover, Koreans enjoy technology and computers; playing games is still doing something, and something with some secondary practical applications. You won't find the longest-working people in the OECD doing a lot of nothing.

That so many children are considered "vulnerable" to internet addiction owes to so many children having access to the internet and, thanks to those limitations on their social calendars, not much else.

I'm not a tech-blogger, and I'm certainly not an authority on internet culture in South Korea, but the way I see it I don't believe this will be treated as alarming by many. The demands of the Korean education system will keep most minors in line, and this measure aimed at a selection of online games will attempt to get at the young people who, for whatever reason, don't have the same pressures. I'll be vague by writing that education is still highly-valued in South Korea, and I don't think many will argue with a plan to focus students on school, even at the expense of what some might consider the "freedom" to game around the clock.

eSports betting scandal in South Korea comes to light.

A lot of gaming sites are writing about a betting scandal in the world of StarCraft involving some of South Korea's biggest gamers.

Further details are still being revealed, but it includes teams accused of intentionally losing matches and even leaking their own team’s replay files to illegal gambling syndicates. It is believed to have started in 2006 and peaked in 2008.

A lot of people are involved, including pro gaming coaches and even Ma Jae-Yoon . . . one of the most famous StarCraft players. During the 2007 and 2008 season, Ma Jae-Yoon underperformed and lost several important matches, posting the worst record of his playing career. At the time, it was thought that he never quite recovered from a big loss to a rival player.

The eSports organizers are also accused of knowing all about it, too, and tried to rectify the issue themselves by co-existing with the illegal betting sites. The dirty teams are purging themselves by naming names. Some of the most serious offenders are even being forced to retire. Americans are primarily drawing parallels to the massive Black Sox Scandal back in 1919.

Finding those further details sent me chasing a series of trackbacks and hat-tips, but for starters you'll find a little more on Kotaku and GamePron. The English-language source looks to be a post on a StarCraft community messageboard with links to Korean-language sources.

A fire Tuesday evening at an apartment in Suncheon's Yeonhyang-dong claimed the lives of two 15-year-old twin girls, Yonhap says.

Five Korean hagwon teachers busted for drugs, fake degrees.

The JoongAng Daily writes that five Korean English teachers have been arrested for selling and taking drugs and using fake degrees to get their jobs.

The five hagwon teachers, all Koreans, including a man surnamed Lee, 26, and a woman named Park, 25, allegedly met up routinely in areas of Seoul including Gangnam, Sinchon and Hongdae in order to take marijuana and methamphetamine. Police said they have verified that the teachers sold the drugs to each other at about 850,000 won ($756) a gram; they are still investigating whether other sales were made.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said the teachers each paid $240-$300 to www.phonydiploma.com in order to obtain graduate certificates in English literature or education from universities such as California State University in Long Beach and Old Dominion University in Virginia. Police said the Web site issued their diplomas in less than a month via international mail.

Phonydiploma.com says:

People purchase phony diplomas for a multitude to reasons such as:

* Wow your friends and family
* Give as a gift to loved ones and friends or colleagues
* Replace an missing original
* Show off at a reunion (family, school or otherwise)
* Boost your self-esteem
* Add to your social media profile
* Increase your desire to obtain a real diploma or degree

but clearly some Koreans have recognized another market. Academic fraud is of course a big problem in South Korea and has been for years, though that hasn't interfered with moral panics over foreign English teachers supposedly using forged degrees to get jobs. Just like a few drug-taking, degree-forging foriegn English teachers damage the profession, so do these five teachers, working as they were in very wealthy areas, damage the credibility of Korean English teachers as a whole. Plenty of hagwon advertise where their teachers attended school, and knowing what I know about Korean students abroad and about "English" in Korea, I've always looked suspiciously at claims of degrees earned at American universities. Stories like this don't help that image.

US Ambassador Stevens visits Gwangju high school.

From Yonhap.

United States Ambassador Kathleen Stephens visited Seolwol Girls' High School in Gwangju on Tuesday. Arirang says

Just over three months ago, a student here with a dream of making her mark on the international stage one day, requested the US ambassador to come and speak to her along with her peers involved in the school's annual English publication, 'The Seolwol Times.' The group of young writers had voted Korea's first female overseas envoy as their number one most respected public figure.

The school wrote up the visit, too.

* Update (4/14/2010, 7:15): The JoongAng Daily has the story now, too:

In her speech to the students, Stephens stressed the importance of education and empowering women in society.

“Investing in women who have high potential is one of the definite ways to achieve social development,” Stephens said. “I’m impressed at what Korean women have achieved so far in higher education compared to the time when I first came to Korea, back in the 1970s.

“Even if you don’t graduate from prestigious universities, you can still be successful in arts, sports, and in business by using your creativity and talent.”

F1 in Jeollanam-do six months away, probably.

The inaugural Korean Grand Prix (2010 코리아그랑프리) will be coming to Jeollanam-do's Yeongam county in just over six months, on October 24th. A reader emailed me earlier in the month to tell me the English-language site is now up, shortly after tickets went on sale on the 1st, though the site's still a bit clumsy. He said he tried to sign up and make an account but his Alien Registration Card number wasn't accepted, a common problem on Korean websites. I've noticed there isn't any place to enter a foreign passport, either, but then again not many foreign passport holders are able to navigate a Korean-language site anyway. He was able to put his name in as a volunteer, though, and is waiting to hear back.

The news recently has been about possible delays. The track designer was quoted, in a German magazine via ITV Sport and the New York Times' Formula One blog, saying construction is behind schedule. From ITV Sport on Monday:

The inaugural Korean Grand Prix could be in danger of being postponed with work on the new venue having reportedly fallen behind schedule.

South Korea is scheduled to hold its maiden Formula 1 race on October 24 but the German magazine Focus reports that “major problems” with construction work at the track in the South Jeolla region have raised the prospect of the event being called off for 2010.

F1’s pre-eminent track designer Herman Tilke has again designed the 3.5-mile waterfront circuit, but his company is only playing an advisory role in the building process and he has admitted to the publication that work on the venue is not running to plan.

“For the first time I fear that a circuit will not be ready in time,” he is quoted as saying by Focus.

Korean organizers have denied any impending delay. From the BBC:

But Korea racing chief Chung Yung-Cho said: "The construction progress is well ahead of its schedule and we have absolutely no issues with completion."

Actually, last year we learned the race would be held on the 17th. A JoongAng Daily article on the 5th said organizers hope to attract 200,000 people to the event, "from home and abroad."

The participants applauded and cheered as the organizers presented an overview of the Korean Grand Prix, accompanied by a performance by the idol pop singing group 2NE1 and formal speeches by the government dignitaries, including Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon. The event marked the launch of ticket sales to the three-day Korean Grand Prix.

“Think of 24 F1 machines, priced at around 10 billion won [$8.9 million] each, racing in our country Isn’t it great?” said Chung Young-jo, KAVO head, as he led the presentation of the event.

The article four days earlier, though, said they hope to attract 250,000 to 300,000 people from overseas. An October interview with the "director general of the F1 Race Preparation & Planning team in South Jeolla" showed some big ideas:

We plan to develop the city into a motor sport industry cluster on a longer term. We will keep the hat-shaped circuit in the north running more than 200 days of the year by attracting other existing motor events such as A1 Grand Prix, F3 Grand Prix, Kart racing and drag racing. And we hope to create synergy with the local economy through a tourist complex with a yacht yard just next to the circuit.

You can take a look around some of those plans here, in Korean.

Anyway, it looks like people who don't want to try the Korean-language page can purchase their tickets here.