Cute wild cats in the middle of the road.

There's a photo gallery on the Chosun Ilbo website of a mother 살쾡이 (or 삵) and three kittens in the middle of the street in Yeongam county.




They're a wild cat native to, among other places, Korea, and called "Leopard cats" in English. I mentioned these cats briefly in a post two weeks ago. An Acorn in the Dog's Food has a good follow-up to that.

World Taekwondo Culture Expo coming to Jeollabuk-do July 3rd through 10th.

Taekwondo enthusiasts in the area might want to check out the World Taekwondo Culture Expo (세계태권도문화엑스포), coming to Muju and Jeonju in Jeollabuk-do. The website for it is here, the Tour2Korea profile is here, and there was a write-up about the third annual event yesterday in the Korea Times; some excerpts:

The southwestern province of North Jelloa has invited taekwondo practitioners and experts from 40 countries to take part in the third World Taekwondo Culture Expo from July 4 to 11, according to the organizers Wednesday.

They said that 2,000 followers of the popular Korean martial arts at home and abroad will visit the co-host cities of Jeonju and Muju.

``As the founding nation of taekwondo, Korea is the best place to learn not only the sport itself, but also the cultural and spiritual aspects of the sport,'' a spokesman of the event said. The festival is held every year.

. . .

In light of taekwondo's global popularity, President Choue Chung-won of the World Taekwondo Federation has maintained that the true impetus for ``hallyu'' (Korean Wave) was provided by the discipline.

The term refers to the surge of popularity of Korean culture around the world, especially in Asia, since the beginning of the 21st century.

Guests will also have the chance to make kimchi and a giant bowl of bibimbap, an especially significant experience for foreigners unaccustomed to mixing things in their own countries.



You'll note on the official site that the date has been changed from what was reported in the KT.



Actually I was somewhat familiar with the region's connection to Taekwondo because I remember reading an article a few years ago that made reference to it.

A promotional brochure for a new Taekwondo park has sparked patriotic ire since the child models in the North Jeolla Province publication are wearing what appear to be karate suits.

The first glimmer of controversy appears to be a posting on the website of the North Jeolla provincial government titled, "Brochure for the Taekwondo park, a shame." There, a devotee of the Korean martial art pointed out, "The models wear karate suits, their belts are tied improperly, and what is worse, there is no green belt in Taekwondo. This brochure is a waste of money. How could you administer the Taekwondo park without being able to distinguish the Taekwondo suit from the karate suit. Will you promote the spirit and culture of Korea in a brochure with kimono-clad models?"

Oh.



After reading the Korea Times article this morning I had to go and make an addition to my collection of Mecca in Korea:

The expo is part of North Jeolla's promotional initiatives for the 2013 opening of the Muju Taekwondo Park as a Mecca of the global sport in the form of villages, museums and training centers.

Industry experts say the creation of a list of Mecca in Korea will enhance the global image of Brian in Jeollanam-do and make it a world leader in Jeollanam-do-focused research, news, cultural events, and semiconductors.

Farmers in Muan to grow colored potatoes.

As heard on GFN this morning, some farmers in Muan county will grow red- and purple-colored potatoes (컬러감자).


From here.

Farms in other part of the country have grown them as well, and though the radio said the reason is to give farmers something to do help farmers compete within these free-trade agreements, google says colored potatoes have health benefits, too.

The English of the newscaster on Gwangju English-Practice Radio's GFN's "City of Light" is really hard to take, but it cracks me up that she pronounces "potato" the same way my grandmother does: poTAYta.

Family reunions.

From the Joongang Ilbo the other day:

A married immigrant, center, weeps after she met her parents at Incheon International Airport, yesterday. Korea Saemaul Undong Center organized the family reunion, inviting 80 parents from Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand to meet their children who have settled in Korea.

Several more here.

"In Korea, a person is not guilty of any crime for having sex with a minor aged 13 and over unless it is paid for or forced."

That point was demonstrated in Busan on Wednesday.

A local high court found a 46-year-old man not guilty of having sex with a runaway teenage girl, saying their liaison was neither forced nor in exchange for money.

The Busan District Court Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that acquitted the man, identified as Kim, of charges related to the violation of the law covering the protection of minors.

Kim bought food for the 16-year-old girl, who was wandering near Seoul Station, and allowed her to stay at his home in December 2006. He was indicted for having sex with her while the two lived together for about six months.

``The girl had already been homeless for about two years before meeting Kim, and he did not control her after offering his house as a shelter to her request. So we don’t acknowledge the prosecution’s claim that Kim made the minor (engage in sexual activity) away from her parents’ protection,’’ the court said.

Not directly related to this case, but I was reminded of a Gusts of Popular Feeling post from last November that looked at the high number---33%---of middle and high school girls in Busan who said they had been propositioned for sex, and the 6.5% of girls there who said they sold it.

A woman from Japan, Susan Menadue-Chun, has written to the Korea Times to share her unpleasant experience in Seoul:

Regrettably on my last trip to Seoul I was assaulted at a major pedestrian crossing at midday. I was waiting alone to cross at the traffic lights when I heard a scream and felt pain over the top of my head.

To my terrible dismay, I realized the scream was mine and I had been hit. I struggled to look around to see a well-dressed young man equipped with a snazzy iPod looking back at me strangely. He seemed to be enjoying my pain and confusion.

I dared not say a thing in fear he would hit me again. While I regained my composure, I heard more screams. The assailant had then moved on and hit two more women over the head before making a hurried departure. We were too stunned to move or say anything.

My daughter is a graduate student at a prestigious Korean university. She has had two similar assaults in the 18 months she has lived in Seoul.

The same letter, with only a few subtle changes, by that same author was in the Joongang Ilbo two weeks ago. The JI piece seems to want to go in a different direction, though, and was titled by the paper "Korea’s denial of mental illness," whereas the KT letter is titled "Attacks in Seoul Street." Both close with

I will continue to travel to Seoul because my affinity for Korea is more than skin deep. Then again, if I was a tourist visiting Seoul for the first time I would never go again.

There was a similar situation in March when a California woman, presumably of Korean descent, had nearly-identical letters published in both the JI and KT on the dangers of American beef.

Concert in Gwangju tomorrow night: SG Wannabe, Davichi, Chae-yeon, 등.

As reported on GFN's "City of Light" this morning, there will be a concert in Gwangju Thursday night to mark 99 days remaining until the Photonics Expo. It will be at the Kim Daejung Convention Center from 8:30 to 10:30, and the line-up includes SG Wannabe, Davichi, Chae-yeon, V.O.S., 4minute, and others. Tickets are 6,000 won. I got that information here, though I don't see it on the official Expo site. The co-host on the GFN program said some people are upset that Gwangju spends so much money on these concerts all the time, but my thing is---and maybe I feel this way because I don't live in Gwangju---there's hardly any advance notice. Same with the big one last month, with Rain, After School, Jewelry, Leessang, 등.

5 Koreans in New York kill themselves each month.

So says New America Media, based off a Korea Times survey.

According to a Korea Times survey of the three major Korean funeral parlors in New York and New Jersey -- Jung-Ang Funeral Parlor, Je-Mi Funeral Parlor and Kim, Ki-Ho Yae Hospital -- 31 Koreans committed suicide between January and June 26th. This number indicates that an average of five Koreans in New York kill themselves each month, four times greater than the general population's average of 12 to 15 suicides a year.

The funeral directors said the number would be even higher if the survey had included more funeral homes.

HT to ExpatKorea.

How many times do teachers get tested for drugs and AIDS?

I was forwarded some questions about E-2 visa regulations that I, too, am curious about. Are teachers who are renewing their visas required to redo their drug and AIDS tests? What about teachers in the same program---such as EPIK or the Jeollanam-do Office of Education---who are staying on for an extra year but changing schools? Or, what about teachers who completed a contract---and submitted all the required paperwork and documents last time---and are trying to sign a new one with an entirely different school? Are you a teacher who has been forced to redo these tests when renewing your contract? By whom? Also, are teachers on E-2 visas now here on two-year contracts? I recall back in January E-2 visas were valid for up to two years.

If you wouldn't mind sharing, please do, or if you would feel comfortable emailing me, you can do so at the address on the right. Thanks.

"Anti-English Spectrum" brings more bad news to the Chosun Ilbo.

I'm just putting this out there for the benefit of those who can translate it, but on the front page of the Chosun Ilbo website are stories of native speaker English teachers behaving badly. Beneath the headline of "Foreign teachers' dirty hands" is the lead story, news that broke Tuesday on a messageboard that two teachers---one Canadian, one American---at a Seoul hagwon were accused of fondling and sexually harassing a female elementary school student at a previous hagwon. It goes on to discuss the problem of sexual predator foreign teachers, speaking in general about anecdotal evidence of NSET debauchery, but without giving specific evidence or further information about the student or teachers in question. The belief that there are native speaker English teachers in schools today who were dismissed from previous hagwon for sexual misconduct is one we see repeated from time to time, most recently three weeks ago, when the aide for a lawmaker said:

``E-2 visa holders, once caught for taking drugs or sexually harassing children, were often found to be rehired at another school or hagwon,'' said Yeo Jun-sung, an aide for Rep. Choi. ``The proposed bills are to remove these loopholes from the current immigration law.''

Another story atop the page is one we read earlier in the month via Korea Beat, about troublesome native speaker English teachers. One must of course consider the source---an online cafe of hate-mongering netizens called the "Anti-English Spectrum"---though as Matt of Gusts of Popular Feeling has demonstrated, the group apparently has some sway, even contributing language to legislation. Hell, that it finds an audience in major newspapers like the Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Times is evidence enough of its influence.

Take a look around google, around this site, and around the other blogs like Korea Beat and Gusts of Popular Feeling for more of what this group is about. I'll just leave you with a couple of excerpts. A quotation from the internet cafe's manager Lee Eun-ung, in the Korea Times:

``Sometimes we stay up at night tracking and watching foreign nationals. We have even found some foreign teachers that take drugs then teach students at hagwons the following day,'' Lee said. ``We will continue to help police deport these foreign teachers.''

And from an interview with the leader, translated by Korea Beat:

I prepare some policy reports or pursue an illegal foreign lecturer, braving fire and water and working until past midnight. And after my office job I don’t sleep, I feel tired all over. Some of our members collapse from the exhaustion. There are some funny times, like when we report a foreign lecturer to the police for doing drugs at his workplace but the people there actually didn’t realize he was doing drugs. And some of our members have quit their jobs because of the time they spent on the movement.

. . .

We are determined to do this as a sacrifice. Through our sacrifice we can prevent our children being taught English by unqualified lecturers and achieve the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes, and our willing sacrifice is our principled stand. We work harder than anyone knows and feel a keen sense of duty.

* Update: Here's a translation of today's Chosun Ilbo story by Korea Beat.

* Update 2: The Marmot's Hole tells us that the same author put out another hit piece today. Is there nothing that can be done about this crap?

* Update 3: A third piece from this author in as many days.