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By Martin Rehder, May 8, 2012 9:51 am

A few news worthy items from around Korea:

• Korean authorities are in the midst of a smuggling operation in which dead human babies have been dried, pulverized and turned into capsules.  Some people believe the capsules are good for stamina, fighting cancer or rejuvenation.  And then it gets weird.  Because the capsules contain toxic ingredients, such as super bacteria, customs officials wants to stop the smuggling. The Korea customs office, however, is looking into ways to allow the legal imports of supplements minus the non-hazardous ingredients.
• Four more savings banks have been suspended in Korea after authorities have determined they didn’t have the funds to back up their risky investments.  Solomon, Mirae, Hanju and Korea Savings Bank have been ordered to case operation for six months. The CEO of Mirae was arrested late last week attempting to flee the country with a wad of cash.
• Comic books are alive and well in Korea. And in the movies. The Avengers, doing fantastically in the box office now, will be joined by another comic book hero, G.I. Joe. On June 14th the world premiere of the new G.I. Joe flick will be held in Seoul.    The movie is the creation of Korean American Jon M. Chu. Also starring the in movie is Korean Lee Hyung Hun, who plays Storm Shadow.
• Having “learned lessons” from Japan’s disastrous triple-feature earthquake-tsunami-nuclear meltdown, South Korea is forging ahead with the construction of two new nuclear reactors.  This despite a recent power outage and equipment failure at the Kuri nuclear plant between Busan and Ulsan that was covered up for a month before it was revealed to authorities. Meanwhile, across the pond, Japan, having lived through nuclear war and still struggling to contain the meltdown at Fukushima, has turned off the last of its nuclear power plants and will rely on fossil fuel for its energy needs.  Japan relied on nuclear power for 30% of its needs but will replace that with more expensive (but far safer) oil and natural gas.

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By Deirdre Madden, May 7, 2012 3:38 pm

This spring, we’ve managed to avoid heavy dust storms blowing in from the Gobi Desert, yet everything is still covered with a bright, yellow dust. Turns out, this year Nature is out to get allergy sufferers. If you use the link on the UlsanOnline weather page, you can keep track of pollen levels to help manage your sypmtoms.

It seems this year that the trees have turned against us all, and are unleashing “Dangerous” to “Very Dangerous” levels of pollen upon our unsuspecting eyes, noses and throats. According to the above site, this week, tree pollen levels will vary between 162.4 grains of pollen/m3 on Thursday, which is well into the Danger Zone (got Kenny Logins stuck in your head now? You’re welcome!) and 550.1 on Tuesday, which ranks in the Very Dangerous level.

Now, before you freak out too much over their choice of words, know that “Dangerous” means even people with slight allergies will show symptoms, and “Very Dangerous” means most people will show allergy symptoms, such as itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose and sore, itchy throat. Probably not deadly, but certainly irritating.

If you are prone to allergies, or if you are bothered by these symptoms, head to your local pharmacy (Yeok-guk) and ask for medicine for allergy. This is easy even if you have no Korean language skills, as the Korean for allergy is allergy (gotta love Konglish!). Friends have recommend Zyrtec (as does the pollen website).

The good news is that levels for grass and weed pollen, and mold-spores are all well within the “Faint” range, meaning that unless you are particularly sensitive, they shouldn’t be bothering you too much.

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By Martin Rehder, March 21, 2012 10:48 pm

Some tidbits of interest from around Korea:

• First it was a breakthrough. American negotiators hailed recent talks with North Korea about dumping their nukes. The US will trade food for dropping the nuclear ambitions.  Then the Norks decided they wanted to test a long range rocket. Oops.  Despite rare public admonishments from China, they appear still ready to launch.  Previously, the North Koreans told the South it was merely a communications satellite they were launching. But nobody was buying that line.  Now the North Koreans are telling the South that  if they even mention nukes during next week’s summit they will consider it a declaration of war.  Honestly, the bullshit from that Kountry gets a little tiring.  If they continue the planned launch, they stand to lose billions of US dollars in aid, but the leaders likely couldn’t care less – they have lots of food. It’s the average peasant who goes hungry.  Who really understands the thinking that goes on in that land?
• Meanwhile, in capitalist South Korea, the Seoul government is attempting to make capitalism a little kinder and gentler for the little guys, while being meaner and tougher with the big guys.  Major discount stores will be forced to close on some Sundays to enable smaller mom and pop shops to make money.  We’ll see if the Koreans can achieve  the oxymoron of control of the free market.
• In energy news, the US exempted 11 countries from sanctions because they cut back on Iranian oil imports.  South Korea, however, is not one of them. According to Reuters, Korea has actually increased imports of Iranian oil in 2011.  The US has been trying to put a strangle hold on Iran to force them quit their nuclear weapon program. Iran says they don’t have one. Having been unable to cut Iranian imports, South Korea may be subject to financial sanctions for not playing Washington’s games.
• And finally, in medical news South Korean scientists claim to have discovered an enzyme that will suppress the growth of cancer.  I’m not saying I don’t believe them, but Korean scientists have made claims in the past that turned out not to be true. I’ll wait and see before I invest much hope in their claims.

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By Deirdre Madden, March 7, 2012 8:19 pm

It’s that time of year again. The temperature is nosing its way above 10 degrees, tentative buds are poking out of the tree branches, and any day now, the flowers and blossoms will begin to show themselves; Spring is coming!

Unfortunately, during March and April in Korea, the trade winds shift from the cold Siberian winds of winter, and head towards the hot, humid Southeastern winds of summer, pausing for spring break over the ever-expanding Gobi desert. And these winds have a bad habit of picking up parts of the desert, along with pesticides and pollutants from the Chinese farms and factories in its path, and blowing all this shit dust right into our lungs.

Some years are better than others, and we only have moderate level advisories. Other years, there are days you should not leave the house, and even indoors, wearing a mask is advisable, especially if you have any pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as asthma. There have been dust storms where you can actually see the dust blowing down the street in waves, or see the particles filtering through beams of light, like tiny snowflakes.

Yellow dust mainly poses health risks associated with the respiratory tract (due to the whole “you’re breathing in lungfuls of sand” thing), such as allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other respiratory disease, or more mild symptoms like congestion, eye irritation, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

So, how do you avoid all the nastiness? Well the short answer is to stay indoors during the Advisories and Warnings, and keep your doors and windows closed. It’s also a good idea to avoid exertion; even sweeping the floor gets you breathing faster. We’ll try to keep an eye on the news and alert people via this site and the Facebook page if there is a particularly bad day in store. You can also check the dust levels (and other Ulsan weather) here.

In the meantime, here are some tips on what to do during Yellow Dust season.

- limit the amount of time and energy you spend outdoors

- if you normally wear contacts, wear glasses to avoid eye irritation (or keep your Visine handy)

- buy a mask – this can be one of the cutie ones at Art Box, or try the pharmacy or hardware store for ones meant to filter out smaller dust particles – then actually wear it!

- limit your exposure to the dust – wear long sleeves/pants, wash exposed skin when you get inside (some of the shit stuff mixed in with the sand are pollutants and pesticides, which may cause skin irritation, not to mention the general sandblasting effect it can have)

- drink plenty of water, but don’t eat or drink anything outside

On “Health Advisory” days, when the levels are moderate (Average dust concentration will be at or above 400µm/m3 for over 2 hours )

- if you have a respiratory condition (even just a cough or cold), stay indoors as much as possible, and limit physical exertion

- if you are healthy, avoid outdoor physical activity

- Kindergarten and Elementary children should stay home, and indoors

On “Health Warning” days, when levels are high (Average dust concentration will be at or above 800µm/m3 for over 2 hours)

- everyone should stay inside as much as possible, and keep physical exertion as low as possible if you do venture outside.

- if you have a respiratory condition, you may want to wear your mask indoors if you live in a drafty apartment

- Kindergarten and Elementary classes should be cancelled

- sporting events should be rescheduled

For more information, check out the Korea Meteorological Association’s page.

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By Martin Rehder, December 5, 2011 10:10 am

A few news items:

• Unable to let a good controversy die, Koreans are again trying to clone humans. LifeNews, a very pro-life publication, has a longish piece on the evils of cloning chief among them is their belief cloning will lead to the “commodification of women’s bodies.”  Personally, I’m more worried about Arnold Schwartzeneger coming back to films in a 6th day event.
• American feds have seized 11 Korean internet site domains. How is that possible, you say? Because all 11 were registered through a Seattle Wa., based network provider.  Authorities seized them because of rampant copyright movie distribution. Thankfully, none of them were sites I use to get my full of video. Included in the seizure were: 007disk.com, 007disk.net, 82movie.com, 82movie.net, 82us.com, bzserv.info, itvwmg.com, ktvwmg.com ,wmgitv.com, wmgus.com, wmgus.net.
• And speaking of video, the South Korea has launched an entire TV channel dedicated to reunification of the North and South. Koreans are too busy with work, school, hagwons, etc. and the governments wants them to think about the notion of reunification, a prospect they believe could happen very quickly should the North Korean regime collapse. So to get people thinking along these lines, the channel, unitv.unikorea.go.kr/web/, will  air a 20-part sitcom about a South Korean family living near the DMZ who adopt a young North Korean refugee. Meanwhile, North Korea has labelled the new channel “psychological warfare.”

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By Martin Rehder, December 3, 2011 11:30 am

A few newsworthy items:

• After a long stretch of quiet regarding North Korea. President Lee Myung-Bak kicks it up a notch. Part of the interview, conducted by America’s National Public Radio, focused on Korea’s National Security Laws and why they are so harsh. It’s because we live next to
  

  one of the world’s most well-armed and most belligerent countries.

  Which leads us into the next bit of news – censorship.

• Korea is planning a crackdown to intensify its review on the social media websites to prevent what it calls “illegal and harmful” information.  Included in the review will be items such as obscenity, defamation, national security and inciting fear.  I hope that means they will block the next idiot to post the ridiculous mad cow disease story.
• And in the “What Planet are You From?” department, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has declared that
  

  AIDS is not contracted via physical contact as it is only 0.1 percent to 1 percent that it is infected from the disease sufferer with one sex.

  The Ministry also proclaims that eight of every ten (82.2%)  Koreans with HIV/Aids survives and has started a campaign to

  let the citizens know AIDS is not incurable and eliminate prejudice against AIDS patients

  World health statistics put the death rate a little differently with 1.8 million deaths of nearly 34 million who have the disease. That puts Korean stats somewhat darker than average. Still, it’s a step up from just a few years ago when Korea officially denied that  A) there were any homosexuals in Korea and B) there was no AIDS because of Kimchi. Those 1.8 million worldwide who died in 2009 would like to have a word with the KMHW concerning the incurable part of their campaign.

• In case you want to contract your very own personal STD, the Hankyoreh is kind enough to publish a map of all the sexually oriented businesses in the Gangnam district of Seoul.
• With all the hoopla concerning CarrierIQ (a user tracking application) on smart phones, it’s nice to know Korea’s products are not infested with them. Samsung, leader in smartphone sales in Korea denies placing CarrierIQ on Korean phones but says they did indeed install it on phones destined for America.
• Just when you thought it was cold enough, the Korean monopoly power distribution company, Kepco, is raising prices for the  2nd time this year. The government had previously artificially kept prices down to stem inflation, but history tells us that nevers works and usually backfires to increase prices more they would have minus the intervention.

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By Deirdre Madden, November 21, 2011 10:51 pm

Every winter, as I loudly proclaim how much I hate the cold, people inevitably say, “But you’re Canadian!” as though that somehow makes me naturally invulnerable to sub-zero temperatures. While the nature part is not necessarily true, there are some things I learned that helped me deal with growing up in a country that can see below freezing temperatures for 6 months of the year. Seeing as a large number of new teachers in Ulsan are about to weather their first real winter (I’m looking at you, Southern Hemisphere peeps), I thought I’d pass along some of this knowledge to keep those of you unused to cold from becoming hermits for the next few months.

Snow day in Ulsan, Winter 2011

Dressing for the Cold:

One of the most important things you can do to keep yourself comfortable is to learn to dress properly. The key to this is layering. You need three basic layers: a wicking layer (more on that to come), an insulating layer and a protective layer.

First and foremost, you should know that cotton is not your friend in cold weather. Winter sports enthusiasts will know, cotton can actually kill you (or lead to toes being cut off). The problem is, it isn’t a “wicking” fabric. See, when cotton gets wet (melted snow, rain, your own sweat), it stays wet, holding the dampness against your skin. Wet and cold are a bad combination, as it can drop your core body temperature, which can lead to hypothermia (in extreme conditions, this can lead to death). What you need to do is choose an under layer that is either silk or a poly-blend. These will wick, or pull, the sweat and moisture away from your skin, keeping you dry – the key to staying warm. This goes for socks, long-johns, and undershirts. You want this layer to fit you, but not be tight against you. If it’s too tight, it can affect your circulation, which will contribute to your feeling cold, but also, the way you stay warm is by heating little pockets of air and keeping them trapped next to your body – if the clothes are skin-tight, you don’t get the benefit of those air pockets.

Enough snow to cancel schools and hogwans across the city (Winter 2011)

The second layer, insulation, is also important. Wool and fleece are good choices here. Wool is an excellent, natural fabric for keeping you warm. It does the whole wicking thing, but it also will keep you warm even if you fall in the ocean. It’s one of the best insulators out there.  Fleece is a pretty good synthetic counterpart. If you’re staying inside, this is as far as you need to go (though you may choose to wear more than one insulating layer).

When you venture outside, you need to add the protective layer. This is to keep out the rain, snow and wind. Just as the level of humidity makes us feel hotter in the summer, the wind can make it feel a lot colder in the winter. This is known as the Wind Chill Factor, and if you’re ever in Canada during winter, you will hear a steady stream of complaint about this weather phenomenon. Check out the Environment Canada website if you want to calculate how much colder the wind makes things.

Down, real or synthetic, makes for a warm jacket with both insulation and an outer protective shell.

Hats, scarves, gloves, mittens and socks should also be woolen or synthetic, never cotton. Mittens keep your hands warmer by keeping your fingers all together where they can share body heat. If you’re participating in snow sports, or are likely to get wet, get mitts or gloves with a nylon shell. Resist the urge to put on multiple layers of socks or gloves. Instead of keeping you warmer, this restricts your circulation, and actually makes you colder. Instead, buy thick, fuzzy  socks or mitts, and a pair of warm boots.

Keeping active:

Ulsan doesn’t see a lot of snow, rain or ice most winters, though last year saw a few snow-days. This generally means that the roads and trails are dry and safe for biking or running. When exercising in the winter, dress to protect yourself from the wind, more than from the cold. You’ll generate plenty of body heat, but because you’ll be sweating, it’s easy to get a bad chill if the wind gets you. Keep your ears covered, too. For whatever reason, they don’t get much blood flow, even when you’re exercising, and are susceptible to frost bite. Always dress in layers so that you can add or subtract to keep your body temperature more or less consistent.

Playing in the record heavy snowfalls in Gangwondo last winter. If you’re dressed for it, this is fun!

There’s also the indoor option. Ulsan has tons of health clubs scattered around the city, as well as some indoor rock climbing gyms.

And while there’s not much snow down here in the south, there is usually a decent snowfall farther north. Korea currently has about 13 ski resorts, most of which are close to Seoul or in Gangwando (the northeastern province that borders North Korea). The best ski hills are in the Taebaek Mountain area, as they get the most natural snowfall each year. Taehwa tours runs buses to High 1 from Ulsan (see  for more details).

Learning to snowboard at High 1 Resort

Hiking is another great way to get out and enjoy the winter. Again, dressing in warm layers is important, but the trails are less crowded than during the peak Autumn colours season. Keep in mind that weather can change suddenly on a mountain, and sunny and warm below doesn’t mean it’s not snowing at the peak.

As tempting as it is to shut yourself up in your cosy apartment, it can be important for your mental health to absorb some vitamin D, so wrap yourself up, and get out there. The colder you get, the better the hot chocolate tastes when you get back inside!

Bundled up and enjoying the sunshine on the slopes.

Saunas:

Public baths are a big part of Korean culture. Families bond over bathing. And while public nudity may be a bit daunting for a Westerner, it’s one of the best ways to warm yourself up in the winter. There’s always the jimjilbang (hot room) option, where you put on shorts and t-shirts and lie around in hot rooms, but soaking in hot tubs or sweating in steam rooms can help you forget winter even exists.  (Read this article on how to use the bath house.)

Ondol Floors:

Traditional Korean heating is one of my favourite things in the history of the world. Nowadays, hot water pipes run under the floors to heat each room (except the bathroom – where you spend a good portion of your time naked and wet. Why would you bother heating the bathroom?). In case you haven’t discovered it yet, the control panel for your hot water also turns on your floor heat. Don’t leave it on for long periods, as it doesn’t really stop heating while it’s on, and you can turn your apartment into a sauna. More than once I’ve forgotten to turn my heat off before work and been unable to walk on my floors when I got home… But when you’re home, ondol is wonderful. It feels great to lie on the warm patches and feel the heat soaking into your skin. Just remember to keep your doors and windows shut when the heat is on, or you’ll run up huge gas bills.

Winter doesn’t have to be a huge drag. Take advantage of the opportunities it offers; skiing or snowboarding, basking in the heat of saunas, and drinking limitless hot chocolate.

Wintery sun, as seen from the KTX

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By Martin Rehder, November 18, 2011 10:01 pm

Korea is terminally in love with American style.

They must be. There’s no other way to explain the absolutely pigheaded manner in which the Korean government has bowed to the wishes of corporations and ignored the wishes of the people.  Despite the fact that the majority of citizens were for it, and it even passed a cabinet level meeting over a year ago, lawmakers have decided not to pass a bill that would enable supermarkets to sell over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol.

80% of the people wanted to be able to buy simple pain meds more easily. Even doctors called for the passage of the bill. But the government, which apparently is far more knowledgeable than their constituents, caved to the demands of the drug and pharmacy issue and held the bill up. Just like America, Korea is becoming “Of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations.”  They already manipulate the exchange rate to favor the large exporters and now they can control an individuals health to favor the drug companies.

Way to go, Korea!  Little America!

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By Martin Rehder, November 16, 2011 9:34 am

A few newsworthy items from around Korea:

• Korea is planning a nation-wide block of port 25!  No, that’s not a shipping import and export issue. That’s an email issue to help prevent spam.  Email routed through the internet goes through port 25. If you experience issues sending or receiving email, which these days is not likely as most email providers use other ports, this may be the cause. If you only use web-based email like hotmail, gmail or yahoo you have nothing to worry about. If you have an email client such as Exchange you might want to check your port settings on incoming or outgoing emails to make sure you’re going to be ok.
• Despite the fact that tensions with North Korea are higher than they’ve been in years, South Korea still does the right thing. They are inoculating North Korean kiddos for hepatitis.
• One for the ladies…Brad Pitt is in Korea today to promote his newest movie Moneyball which starts Thursday in theaters.
• Although ratified four and a half years ago, the Korea-USA Free Trade Agreement is still in limbo. The US Congress passed is last month, but now Korean politicians are still wrangling over the FTA. My guess is it will likely pass, but not without some nitwit bringing up mad cow disease again.
• Even though Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, there aren’t enough kindergartens. 2007, the birth year this crop of kindy kids should enter a school, was larger than most due to it being the “Golden Year of the Pig.” But subsequent crops are smaller and no one is going to build more kindergartens when the number of kids is dropping. Some kids are getting left out with some areas oversubscribed by 2.4 kids to one seat.
• Bullets are not flying in the cold war of North and South Korea but bytes are flying at – literally – the speed of light. North Korean unification websites are breathing heavily on social networking sites such as Twitter, facebook, Naver and Daum.
• And in the Embarassing Situation department, the North Koreans have successfully hacked a South Korea grad school. Can you guess which one?  The Graduate School of Information Security of Korea University was hacked and emails compromised.
• In the smart phone wars, Samsung’s Galaxy S2 takes tops honors – even above the latest iPhone – in the venerable Consumer Reports magazine. If you’re thinking about a phone, think about this one.
• In the green energy department, Korea will begin building an enormous wind farm off the southwest coast. The project will produce about 2500Mwatts of power by the end of the decade.

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By Martin Rehder, November 8, 2011 11:31 am

A few noteworthy news nibbles from around Korea

• Crazy is a bad word, and anyone who is crazy is just weak in the mind and it’s their own fault for not bettering themselves and getting well.  No small wonder, then, that given that prognosis an average of 40 Koreans a day are killing themselves when they can’t cope with their world.  But even talking about suicide is taboo in Korea. However, according to the BBC, Korean Parliament is beginning to make the public aware of this problem. One of my favorite quotes from the article is from Dr. Hong, a child psychologist who says
  

  that , for parents, the pressure to push their children even harder has led to them overcoming the stigma of going to a psychiatrist. But, he says, they often come for the wrong reasons.They come to me to help their child work harder, he says, “to have better grades by being treated for ADHD (Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder) – because the school performance is so important”.

  This country has trouble letting their kids be kids and it starts at an early age: elementary school grades are important to get into the best middle school to get into the best high school and then the best college. But even the kids are unable to let themselves be second-best. Laws had to have been enacted to keep them from paying online computer games all night. But if that were all, it might be done. Instead, a group of consumers have sued to have the games for students back on all night. The group alleges that the law

  violates citizens’ rights to education, to equality, and to pursue happiness.

• Locked in a mortal battle with arch-rival Apple,  Korean electronics giant Samsung is feeling the heat of their own fires.  Samsung filed dozens of lawsuits against Apple and as a result the European Commission is seeking information from Samsung on obstructing competition.  However, the two companies continue to embrace each other, and license each others’ technologies.  Apple hates Samsung, but they have no choice but to continue to do business with them. They are a
  

  critical parts supplier because it is the industry’s sole company that can guarantee output commitment, pricing, on-time delivery and qualified products in components.

  Which also means that Samsung, although they may hate Apple as well, gets a large chunk of revenue from them for the chips and displays they buy.

• And, as if drivers are not crappy enough already in this land, more technology will be placed on dashboards.  3-D augmented reality may be arriving soon in cars. Augmented reality, in this instance, would be having a camera view of in front of the car and on the video screen map information, such as streets and business names will be embedded. I’ve got a great idea for some automobile technology: how about a robotic arm that sweeps out and jack-slaps the shit out of the driver when he or she fails to follow signs, street lights, watch for pedestrians or watch for other traffic.  On second thought, that wouldn’t work – Koreans would be so busy being slapped they couldn’t drive at all. Hmmmm… maybe that would work!
• And in a move expressly made to confound even the most basic of capitalistic notions, advertisers have declared war on “unethical” dramas.  The reasoning is this: bad or unethical, dramas reflect badly on the advertiser.  But in a normal capitalistic society, one would simply not buy ad time surrounding a controversial show rather than declare war on the makers of bad shows.   But, this being Korea, logic has no place in decisions of importance.
• In what can only be described as history repeating itself, lenders in Korea are dipping further into pockets than allowed by law.  A few major players own the biggest share of the market and have been skirting the law to get their helpings of the lending and debt pie. This is exactly how the subprime mess in the USA came about and there should be no doubt as to how this might play out here.
• Google is in the news today in Korea.  CEO Eric Schmidt is in Seoul and rumors abound as what Google will buy, sell, setup, finance or otherwise promote. More news on this later, but Google buying search engine Daum has been bandied about, as has Google setting up a K-Pop youtube channel.  Staking another claim for Android with investment in a local tech firm is also rumored.
• And finally, if finding the double barber poll haircut with the happy ending is proving too difficult for you in Korea, perhaps a short vacation trip to Taiwan will cool your jets. Taiwan has officially opened a red-light district.