Choose Your Battles Korea

This article appeared in the Korea Times today:

"Chinese Sailors Detained for Killing Korean Coast Guard

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Eleven Chinese sailors have been detained for illegally catching fish in Korea's exclusive economic zone in the West Sea and attacking Korean coast guards dispatched to stop them, resulting in the killing of a Korean coast guard, police said Sunday.

Park Gyeong-jo, 48, a sergeant of the Mokpo Coast Guard, was killed Thursday night after being beaten around the head with blunt weapons wielded by the sailors.

An arrest warrant was sought for three sailors confirmed to have been linked to the homicide, investigators said.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, a patrol vessel of the Mokpo Coast Guard detected two unidentified 50-ton Chinese fishing boats on its radar 70 kilometers west of Gageo Island, within the Korean EEZ.

Seventeen coast guards including Park were dispatched to capture the vessels. As they were approaching, the Chinese workers wielded iron pipes, shovels and threw bottles and fishing gear to prevent them from boarding.

Park and two other officers attempted to get onboard but were pushed away. Park fell in the sea and went missing.

He was found dead in a lifejacket at 1:10 p.m. Friday ㅡ 17 hours after he went missing ㅡ about six kilometers south of the missing point.

``An autopsy conformed that beatings to his head caused his death,'' said a Mokpo Coast Guard official.

The life-and-death battles between Korean coast guards and Chinese fishermen have continued through the years as the Korean EEZ in the West Sea, which is close to China's mainland, is considered one of the most fish-rich areas around the Korean Peninsula.

In May 2005, four coast guard officers were severely wounded after being assaulted by Chinese sailors, whose ship was on the verge of being captured for operating within Korean waters without permission.

In August, a member of the Incheon Coast Guard was also beaten while inspecting an unlicensed Chinese shipping boat, resulting in him being hospitalized for five weeks.

According to the Korea Coast Guard, 159 Chinese ships have been seized for operating illegally in Korean waters so far this year. In 2007, 494 illegal operations were reported, an 18 percent drop from the record high of 584 cases in 2005.

Chinese fishermen fiercely resist arrest to avoid tens of millions of won in fines, which exceed their annual income, if caught operating without permission.

``We go on patrol with gas guns, electronic shock devices and clubs. But we do not take such life-threatening weapons as rifles or handguns to avoid possible diplomatic disputes,'' a coast guard official said. ``For this reason, we have felt our lives threatened many times.'' "

My thoughts...this weekend people were still protesting against the South Korean President for allowing American Beef in the country. Of course, Chinese baby formula has recently been recalled for containing various toxins, and a Coast Guard officer was killed by Chinese fishermen....but hey, let's work really hard to keep out that beef from the country that has done more for South Korea than anyone else. Way to pick your battles South Korea.

The Dark Side

I had heard of this map before, but my friend John just sent me a link to this article, and I thought I'd share it. I find it truly sad....

"North and South Korea have been separated at the 38th parallel ever since the Korean War (1950-1953), which has never officially ended. In the ensuing ‘ceasefire’, North Korea developed into a communist dictatorship with a centrally planned economy, while South Korea became a capitalist democracy with a free market economy.

Economic hardship in the officially ‘self-reliant’ North has led to mass starvation, while the South has a vibrant economy able to compete with the best of the world. In 1996, the per capita GNP in the North was $920, while it was $11.270 in the South. A 1999 estimate of per capita GNPs put the South’s at 13 times that of the North. More recent figures will probably show an even wider gap.

Due to the different economic results on either side of the Demilitarized Zone, the ethnically quite homogenous Koreans have even begun to diversify physically, with the average North Korean male almost 7 cm shorter than his Southern counterpart (165,6 cm vs. 172,5 cm). North Korean females are on average 4 cm shorter than Southern women (154,9 cm vs. 159,1 cm). By 2025, the height difference is projected to increase to 11 cm for men, 6 cm for women. Unless the North’s economic situation changes drastically, that is.

So the South dwarfs the North, not just numerically (50 vs. 27 million), but also economically and even size-wise. Another stark reminder of the different worlds both Koreas now inhabit, is this map, a picture of the night-time illumination on the Korean peninsula.

The metropolitan area of Seoul, the South’s capital, holds 23 million people and is the second-largest conurbation on the planet (after Tokyo). Its huge lit-up area, close to the border with the North, is clearly visible from space. Other Southern cities, while quite a lot smaller than Seoul, are also clearly distinguishable on this satellite map, for example Gunsan on the western coast, directly below it the inland city of Gwangju, the cities of Masan and Busan on the southern coast, and several other cities, much smaller still.

By contrast (quite literally, even), the only speck of light north of the DMZ is the North’s capital of Pyonyang, a single, neat pinprick of white punched through an otherwise completely black canvas. The minimal lighting belies the fact that Pyongyang is home to an estimated 3 million people. Gunsan, in the South, has under 300.000 inhabitants.

There is only one bright side to this darkness that I can think of: North Korea must be a fantastic place for stargazing..."

(taken from - http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/218-koreas-dark-half/)

Kindergarten Art Class

Like many little boys, some of my kindergartners really enjoy things that little girls don't. Last week, we were drawing pictures of people on flying carpets. One of the boys colored a really nice picture and then proceeded to scribble red crayon all over it. Now, this kid is one of my favorite students, but every time we draw pictures of animals, his are in the wild eating each other (and yes, that's one of the reasons he's a favorite of mine. haha). The following conversation ensued:

"Moses Teacher, plane flew by and BOOM!" ~Student
"Hey, don't kill them and cover the picture with blood. These are people, not animals." ~Me
"Moses Teacher, it's not blood. They're on fire and not die. They're alive." ~Student
"Well, I guess as long as you didn't kill them...." ~Me

I was dumbstruck but really impressed. haha.

Please Be Nice

With football season quickly approaching, I'd like to take this moment to remind people that I do not watch the games live. My local time is 13 hours ahead of East Coast Time. What that means is that a 1pm Sunday game is actually live at 2am Monday morning for me. While I can't watch the games live, or on local television, I have paid $200 to be able to watch them on the internet for up to 48 hours after the original broadcast. Usually, I will watch them Monday night after my Korean Language night class so that's about 9am Monday morning in East Coast Time. However, there will be times that I need to wait longer because of scheduling conflicts. All this is to say please, please, please don't send me emails or instant messengers about how amazing those last few seconds were or how angry you are that the Eagles lost a game. It already feels kind of different watching the games knowing that they are not live. Please don't ruin the excitement of not knowing what happens. You will not be doing me a favor by telling me to not waste my time watching them lose. So let's play it safe this year folks. Unless you hear from me about the game personally or see some kind of status/away message on AIM, MSN, Skype or Facebook which makes it ABUNDANTLY obviously that I know what happened, don't say anything to me about the game until it's been over for at least 48 hours.

Thank you, and of course, GO BIRDS!!!!