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South Korea

Yithian said:
Another great shot of rooftop defence in Seoul.

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It'd be useful against seagulls.
 
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Ancient human sacrifice discovered in Korea
May 16, 2017

Evidence of human sacrifice to try to ensure the success of ancient construction projects has been found for the first time at a Korean site, officials said Tuesday.

Two skeletons dating from the 5th century were found under the walls of the Wolseong, or Moon Castle, in Gyeongju in South Korea, the capital of the former Silla kingdom, Seoul's Cultural Heritage Administration said in a statement.

"This is the first archaeological evidence that folklore about humans being sacrificed for the foundations of buildings, dams or walls were true stories," spokeswoman Choi Moon-Jung of the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage told AFP.

The burial of living victims with dead kings to serve them in the afterlife is well known in ancient Korean cultures.

How the Wolseong victims were put to death was not yet clear and further research was being carried out, but they did not appear to have been buried alive.

"Judging from the fact that there are no signs of resistance when they were buried, they must have been buried when they were unconscious or dead," said senior researcher Park Yoon-Jung.

"Folklore indicates humans were sacrificed to appease gods and plead with them to ensure the structures being built lasted a long time." ...



Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-ancient-human-sacrifice-korea.html#jCp
 
Saved from becoming a hotdog.

South Korea president adopts meat farm rescue dog

South Korea's new president Moon Jae-in has made good on one of his election promises by adopting a dog from an animal sanctuary.

An announcement from the Cheong Wa Dae ("The Blue House", the president's official residence in Seoul) Facebook page presents Tory as the country's new "First Dog" in a move seen as supporting animal rights in South Korea.

The four-year-old black mongrel was adopted from the animal rights group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), and South Korea's Yonhap news agency notes that this is the first time that a shelter dog has become a so-called First Dog.

Among CARE's activities is campaigning against dog meat in Asia, and President Moon's adoption of Tory from the group is seen as sending a strong message against the trade. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-40740717#
 
Ok, the krazy stuff is in NZ but the Mud is from SK.

Row as New Zealand spends thousands on South Korean mud

An unlikely row is brewing in New Zealand, where it has emerged that thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money has been spent importing mud from South Korea for a music festival.

The organisers of Rotorua's forthcoming Mudtopia festival have spent NZ$90,000 (US$68,000; £51,600) on five tonnes of mud powder from Boryeong in South Korea, Stuff.nz reports and, according to the council in the North Island town, it represents good value for money.

Local officials explain that the five tonnes of mud will be enough for the next five Mudtopia events, where mud and music will come together in an unlikely and messy fusion this December, saying that the money has come from a central government grant that will eventually be covered by ticket sales.

And there's a very good reason why organisers have decided on a superior imported product, Rotorua local councillor Trevor Maxwell tells the New Zealand Herald. "I know there's a perception that Rotorua has enough mud, but you can't just pull any old mud out of the ground and throw it at people. There could be anything in there that could end up making people sick." ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-40740404#
 
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Isn't a fine a tad OTT? Still, if he said it about Kim Jong-un's mother he would likely have been shot.

A 73-year-old South Korean man has been fined for spreading rumours online that the widow of a late president was going to marry rap legend Dr Dre.

The unnamed man had said the marriage was intended to launder "slush funds" he alleged belonged to the former leader Kim Dae-jung.

Mr Kim's widow, Lee Hee-ho, is 95 but remains influential in South Korea.

The Seoul district court ruled on Friday that Lee "violated the honour of the deceased and the bereaved".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41070828#
 
ramonmercado said:
Isn't a fine a tad OTT? Still, if he said it about Kim Jong-un's mother he would likely have been shot.

A 73-year-old South Korean man has been fined for spreading rumours online that the widow of a late president was going to marry rap legend Dr Dre.

The unnamed man had said the marriage was intended to launder "slush funds" he alleged belonged to the former leader Kim Dae-jung.

Mr Kim's widow, Lee Hee-ho, is 95 but remains influential in South Korea.

The Seoul district court ruled on Friday that Lee "violated the honour of the deceased and the bereaved".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41070828#
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That's gold dust :rollingw::rollingw:
 
ramonmercado said:
Isn't a fine a tad OTT? Still, if he said it about Kim Jong-un's mother he would likely have been shot.

A 73-year-old South Korean man has been fined for spreading rumours online that the widow of a late president was going to marry rap legend Dr Dre.

The unnamed man had said the marriage was intended to launder "slush funds" he alleged belonged to the former leader Kim Dae-jung.

Mr Kim's widow, Lee Hee-ho, is 95 but remains influential in South Korea.

The Seoul district court ruled on Friday that Lee "violated the honour of the deceased and the bereaved".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41070828#
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This is South Korea: if there's a rule, it's a rule--common sense be damned.
(Unless you can bribe somebody to look the other way).

On a tangent, it's worth noting that Kim Dae-jung was one of only two or three Korean presidents since independence who wasn't a complete scumbag.
 
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Yithian said:
I'm not convinced it's a fortification at all.
I think it's simply there to hide the launcher.
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they should have painted the launcher a tan shade to fit in. Nothing stands out more than camouflage against a plain background.
 
ramonmercado said:
Mr Kim's widow, Lee Hee-ho, is 95 but remains influential in South Korea.
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If this just means respected / venerated / revered, then that I can believe.

But if it genuinely means substantively-affecting the direction of decisions, policies and strategies, I shall be utterly-astounded.
 
Ermintruder said:
If this just means respected / venerated / revered, then that I can believe.

But if it genuinely means substantively-affecting the direction of decisions, policies and strategies, I shall be utterly-astounded.
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It means the family has a circle of wealthy and powerful followers, many of whose relatives had dealings with her late husband and still have fingers in current political pies.

She's not pulling strings, more of a totem.

Compare with next generation Thatcherites 'defending the legacy of Thatcherism'.
 
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Sooner or later USA and China will jointly attack NK and pacify it, and leave the rubbles for SK to take over.
 
Vardoger said:
Sooner or later USA and China will jointly attack NK and pacify it, and leave the rubbles for SK to take over.
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I don't think either of them want to reduce NK to rubble. Take out the leadership and destroy its military capabilities would the mission. SK would need massive international financial support to unite with NK even without it being pulverised.
 
Vardoger said:
Sooner or later USA and China will jointly attack NK and pacify it, and leave the rubbles for SK to take over.
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With the recent missile overflight, I see Japan slowly emerging as a third key stakeholder in all this.

I suspect any outright intrusive intervention would be led by the Chinese, so as to evade all insinuations of it being a joint American / SK coup. I also suspect China still sees strategic benefit in having a friendly (i.e., functionally subservient) buffer zone between its territory and South Korea. As a result, I don't see a resolution involving Korean reunification dominated by the southern component as a short-term probability.
 
EnolaGaia said:
With the recent missile overflight, I see Japan slowly emerging as a third key stakeholder in all this.

I suspect any outright intrusive intervention would be led by the Chinese, so as to evade all insinuations of it being a joint American / SK coup. I also suspect China still sees strategic benefit in having a friendly (i.e., functionally subservient) buffer zone between its territory and South Korea. As a result, I don't see a resolution involving Korean reunification dominated by the southern component as a short-term probability.
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Possibly. It could be just a removal of current leadership and replacement with a puppet dictator, or it could be an outright assassination.
 
China has one prime reason for not wanting the DPRK to implode - the gargantuan humanitarian crisis that would follow. Beijing is no more impressed by the Kims than anyone else I imagine but keeping them propped up means they don't have to deal with millions of starving refugees. If China won't intervene, no else would dare. And hell even if Beijing decided it would be best for Pyongyang to fall, they wouldn't be very keen on pro-US Seoul swooping in up to their border.

South Korea also feels the same way about aftermath and even if Beijing turned the other way, Seoul would not be keen for a war - namely because the DPRK has something like 20,000 artillery pieces in range of the South's capital. WMDs on the cheap.

Basically its don't ask, don't tell - dealing with North Korea in the right way would be an incredible undertaking with a lot of human misery and horror, nevermind the geopolitical ramifications and economic effects. There's plenty of that already but most of it behind Kim's walls so...

And now nukes are an even bigger part of the equation
 
Woof justice.

The South Korean government is to reward people who send in photos of dogs out in public without a muzzle in a bid to crack down on careless pet owners.

From March, fines are being increased five-fold for dogs spotted without a collar or muzzle, with 20 per cent of the money going to what locals are calling "dogparazzi" - a play on the word "paparazzi" - the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reports.

Dogparazzi informants will find themselves 100,000 won ($94; £67) better off should their photograph result in a fine. However, the rewards are limited - to prevent abuse of the system, the authorities will only hand out 20 per year, Chosun Ilbo says.

It's all part of new laws on dog ownership which could see particularly careless owners facing huge fines and prison sentences, Yonhap news agency reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-42744349#
 
The nutty sisters have their wings clipped.

The CEO of Korean Air says his two daughters are resigning after separate incidents that led to allegations of abuse of power inside the company.

Police are investigating the younger daughter, Cho Hyun-min, after she allegedly splashed water in a colleague's face.

Her older sister infamously delayed a flight in 2014 over a packet of nuts - and served jail time for the incident.

In a statement, their father apologised to the public and his employees.

Cho Yang-ho said his daughters would be stripped of all their responsibilities, Yonhap news agency reports.

Both cases hit the headlines in the country and reopened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family firms known as chaebols.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43856839
 
Second-largest earthquake in modern South Korean history tied to geothermal plant
By Paul VoosenApr. 26, 2018 , 2:00 PM

There’s a lot to like about geothermal power. Even in regions devoid of natural hot spots, engineers can harvest energy by injecting high-pressure water deep into Earth, where it’s heated by hot granite crust before being pumped back up to heat homes or generate power. That was the goal in Pohang, South Korea, where a $38 million pilot plant sought to bring the carbon-free power source to the country. But that plant, it now appears, brought something else: a large, damaging earthquake.

The magnitude-5.5 Pohang earthquake, the second largest in the country’s modern history, struck the densely populated region on 15 November 2017, injuring 90 people and causing $52 million in damage. It crumbled walls, cracked roads, and collapsed old buildings. And, according to two studies published today in Science, it is likely the largest earthquake ever to be triggered by enhanced geothermal power. ...

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018...ly_2018-04-26&et_rid=394299689&et_cid=1995962

The Korean Monty Burns did it?
 
Now that's hard luck.

A South Korean cleaner may miss out on a fortune in gold after an unexpected find in a rubbish bin, it's reported.

According to The Korea Times, a cleaner found seven gold bars worth a total 350 million won (£240,000; $330,000) whilst emptying a rubbish bin at Incheon International Airport on 26 April.

The bars, each weighing 1kg (2.2 lbs), were wrapped in newspapers, and police suspect that their original owner threw them away in a hurry because he risked being caught.

Currently, there is no proof that the gold is connected to criminal activity. It was originally thought that the cleaner, who has not been named by the media, would be able to make a substantial claim on the goods.

However, the airport has said that the cleaner won't be able to receive any reward because they were "working as airport staff and it is a part of the cleaner's job to find lost things".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43972394
 
Looks as if Yith picked the right time to go on holidays.

South Korea's capital city of Seoul has recorded its hottest ever temperature at 39C (102F).

More than 28 people have died and 2,266 have suffered heat-related conditions as a result of a sweltering heatwave, according to authorities.

Some are beating the heat in pools and fountains, while others have turned to more creative methods - including "ice vests" - in an attempt to cool down.

The hot weather is set to continue throughout the week.

President Moon Jae-in has called for the heatwave to be declared a form of natural disaster, a move that would allow victims to claim compensation.

The government has also set aside 6bn won ($5.3m; £4m) for city and provincial governments to deal with the effects of the weather.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45027922
 
Peeping toms in South Korea.

I can remember the first time I heard about South Korea's spy cameras.

Just after arriving in Seoul, I was running to the public loo along the river Han while on a bike ride with a friend.

"Check it doesn't have a camera in it," she shouted. I turned around and laughed. But she wasn't kidding.

Many women have told me that the first thing they do when they go to a public toilet in South Korea is check for any peepholes or cameras. Just in case.

Because the country is in the grip of what's been described as a spy camera epidemic.

More than 6,000 cases of so-called spy cam porn are reported to the police each year, and 80% of the victims are women.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45040968
 
Bonkers crime story here today. The BBC has a report:

South Korean arsonist kills neighbours fleeing fire - police​
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A man in South Korea has set his flat on fire and then stabbed building residents as they tried to flee, killing five people, police said.​
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Thirteen others were injured in the incident that took place in Jinju in the south of the country.​
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The unidentified 42-year-old suspect was detained and admitted the crime, police said​
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Source:​
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It's an unpleasantly novel effect, but ultimately the same cause: chronic overwork, strong societal pressures and historically poor (if improving) mental health services.

Many cope--family support structures (on balance) helping more than they exacerbate--but some people simply 'snap'.

The only saving grace, perhaps, is that private firearm ownership is all but non-existent and there's a limit to the killing one can do with a bladed weapon before you are stopped.
 
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Asiatic Black Bear Caught on Film in the DMZ.

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A rare Asiatic black bear has been spotted in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), South Korea's government says.

It was captured on video in the eastern part of the zone that divides North and South Korea.

The Asiatic black bear is classified as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund.

The DMZ has become a haven for plants and wildlife with South Korea's government predicting there are over 100 endangered species that call the area home.

A ministry official told Yonhap news: "It is believed that the photographed bear, about eight to nine months old and weighing about 25 to 35 kilograms, is a descendant of the Asiatic black bears who inhabited the DMZ region for quite a long time."

Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48214343
 
Vid at link.

Where dogs wear pollution masks
South Korea has some of the worst air quality in the developed world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
While people have long protected themselves by wearing masks, concern is now growing among dog owners for the health of their pets.
  • 09 Jun 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-48561039/where-dogs-wear-pollution-masks
 
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