Foreigners entering South Korea will be subject to tougher background checks in an effort to weed out terrorists and drug smugglers. The Ministry of Justice announced that fingerprints and facial images of foreigners will be collected at airports and ports.
The prints and images will be compared to a database which contains 230,000 foreigners with criminal records. Foreigners with criminal backgrounds or on an Interpol criminal watch list will be deported.
From the second half of next year the fingerprint screening will be required for all foreigners entering the country. Diplomats will not be included. Fingerprints are already required in the US and Japan. Most of the OECD states are adopting similar policies.
The country is starting the program earlier than planned to be prepared for the G20 Summit in Seoul in November.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Korean Movie: 싸이보그지만 괜찮아 (I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK)
You can watch it here with English subtitles: I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK
I only watched this movie because Rain was in it. It's an okay movie, but it's kinda weird. (Rain plays the role of a guy in a mental hospital).The movie came out in December of 2006. It was the number one movie on opening weekend. The movie fell by 76% the 2nd weekend and was pulled from most screens shortly after.
Rain was nominated for and won Best New Actor at the 43rd Baeksang Awards.I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK won the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival
Plot:
Convinced that she is not entirely human but in fact part android, Young-goon's health begins to deteriorate as she gives up eating food and instead decides to "charge her batteries" by administering electric shocks to herself via a small transistor radio. As her mental state continues to deteriorate, the troubled young woman takes to donning her grandmother's dentures and carrying on extended conversations with various machines around the mental health facility. Of course Young-goon isn't the only person suffering from a mental malady in this hospital, and it's not long before Il-soon, a young man with a penchant for wearing masks and a reputation for being anti-social, is admitted as well. A good-looking young man who sets about convincing his fellow patients that he has the power to absorb their personality traits, Il-soon gradually begins to develop a tender romance with the troubled Young-goon. Later, when hospital officials determine that the only way to save Young-goon is to administer electro-shock therapy, the treatment has the unusual side-effect of convincing the would-be android that she has been fully recharged and possesses the ability to fire bullets from her fingers. In reality, Young-goon's physical deterioration has become truly alarming. With little time to lose before the love of his life slides beyond the point of no return, Il-soon enlists the aid of his concerned fellow patients in getting Young-goon back on the path to good health
Cast:
Im Su-jeong as Cha Young-goon
Rain as Park Il-soon
Choi Hie-jin as Choi Seul-gi
Lee Yong-nyeo as Young-goon's mother
Yu Ho-jeong as Il-soon's mother
Kim Byeong-ok as Judge
I only watched this movie because Rain was in it. It's an okay movie, but it's kinda weird. (Rain plays the role of a guy in a mental hospital).The movie came out in December of 2006. It was the number one movie on opening weekend. The movie fell by 76% the 2nd weekend and was pulled from most screens shortly after.
Rain was nominated for and won Best New Actor at the 43rd Baeksang Awards.I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK won the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival
Plot:
Convinced that she is not entirely human but in fact part android, Young-goon's health begins to deteriorate as she gives up eating food and instead decides to "charge her batteries" by administering electric shocks to herself via a small transistor radio. As her mental state continues to deteriorate, the troubled young woman takes to donning her grandmother's dentures and carrying on extended conversations with various machines around the mental health facility. Of course Young-goon isn't the only person suffering from a mental malady in this hospital, and it's not long before Il-soon, a young man with a penchant for wearing masks and a reputation for being anti-social, is admitted as well. A good-looking young man who sets about convincing his fellow patients that he has the power to absorb their personality traits, Il-soon gradually begins to develop a tender romance with the troubled Young-goon. Later, when hospital officials determine that the only way to save Young-goon is to administer electro-shock therapy, the treatment has the unusual side-effect of convincing the would-be android that she has been fully recharged and possesses the ability to fire bullets from her fingers. In reality, Young-goon's physical deterioration has become truly alarming. With little time to lose before the love of his life slides beyond the point of no return, Il-soon enlists the aid of his concerned fellow patients in getting Young-goon back on the path to good health
Cast:
Im Su-jeong as Cha Young-goon
Rain as Park Il-soon
Choi Hie-jin as Choi Seul-gi
Lee Yong-nyeo as Young-goon's mother
Yu Ho-jeong as Il-soon's mother
Kim Byeong-ok as Judge
Friday, August 27, 2010
Korean Movie: 1번가의 기적 (Miracle on First Street)
You can watch the movie here with English subtitles: Miracle on First Street
I liked this movie. I wanted to see it because I met one of the actors, but I'd never seen anything that he acted in. I was curious about his acting ability. Its funny when you meet a celebrity but you don't have a clue who they are!!
The movie was released in 2007. It was the 2nd most popular movie in the 1st quarter of 2007.
I liked this movie. I wanted to see it because I met one of the actors, but I'd never seen anything that he acted in. I was curious about his acting ability. Its funny when you meet a celebrity but you don't have a clue who they are!!
The movie was released in 2007. It was the 2nd most popular movie in the 1st quarter of 2007.
Plot Summary:
Pil-je (Lim Chang-jung) is a gangster who is sent to evict residents from a poor neighborhood so that luxury apartments can be built. He has a change of heart after he befriends some of the locals.
Cast:
Lim Chang-jung as Pil-je
Ha Ji-won as Myung-ran
Joo Hyun
Jeong Doo-hong
Lee Hoon<-----I met him
Kang Ye-won
Park Chang-ik
Park Yoo-seon
Ko Tae-ho
Seo Ji-hee
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
‘Yield to ambulances’ campaign kicks off
I hope this campaign works better than the "walk on the right" campaign in the subway which was a complete failure (while I was there in 2009).
In the USA its a LAW to move over for any emergency vehicle. This includes police, fire trucks and ambulances that have their sirens and lights on. If you fail to yield you could be fined.
________________________
A campaign urging motorists to yield to ambulances kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday.
In an emergency the first few minutes are crucial as to whether the person has a chance to survive. Only 32.3 percent of ambulances make it within 5 minutes. The average time to reach the patient is 8 minutes according to studies.
There was a survey named "etiquette regarding ambulances" in which 74.5 percent of 1000 respondents said that there is not enough space to yield. 12.5 percent said they do not know the right way to yield. 74.6 percent said they never had a chance to learn about the etiquette.
(Shouldn't etiquette be mentioned in a driver's manual? Maybe that is something they should consider. In the USA we have driver's manuals that we can read to be able to pass our driver's license test. I looked at the SC driver's manual and it tells you how to yield to emergency vehicles.)
The campaign will run through November in Seoul.
In the USA its a LAW to move over for any emergency vehicle. This includes police, fire trucks and ambulances that have their sirens and lights on. If you fail to yield you could be fined.
________________________
A campaign urging motorists to yield to ambulances kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday.
In an emergency the first few minutes are crucial as to whether the person has a chance to survive. Only 32.3 percent of ambulances make it within 5 minutes. The average time to reach the patient is 8 minutes according to studies.
There was a survey named "etiquette regarding ambulances" in which 74.5 percent of 1000 respondents said that there is not enough space to yield. 12.5 percent said they do not know the right way to yield. 74.6 percent said they never had a chance to learn about the etiquette.
(Shouldn't etiquette be mentioned in a driver's manual? Maybe that is something they should consider. In the USA we have driver's manuals that we can read to be able to pass our driver's license test. I looked at the SC driver's manual and it tells you how to yield to emergency vehicles.)
The campaign will run through November in Seoul.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
69 year old who failed driving test 960 times gets free car
Cha Sa-sun, 69, was given a free Soul vehicle from Hyundai-Kia Motors group in a campaign to give away cars to people in need. Cha is known for failing her driver's license test over 950 times.
Cha finally passed her driver's license test earlier this year after trying over 950 times since 2005. Her story drew a lot of attention even in the foreign media.I rememeber talking about this story with my kids in class.
Netizens had to post over 100 messages to root for her in the campaign in order for her to be considered to win. Netizens ended up posting over 1,000 messages a day in support of Cha.
Cha finally passed her driver's license test earlier this year after trying over 950 times since 2005. Her story drew a lot of attention even in the foreign media.I rememeber talking about this story with my kids in class.
Netizens had to post over 100 messages to root for her in the campaign in order for her to be considered to win. Netizens ended up posting over 1,000 messages a day in support of Cha.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Top 20 experiences in Seoul picked by foreigners
http://www.miceseoul.com/tour/recommended-places.html The website has a lot of information about all of the places.
Last week I wrote an article about the top 20 experiences in Seoul. The list hadn't been released yet, but now I have the top 20 list. (I put a star by the ones that I experienced)
Gyeongbokgung*
N Seoul Tower*
Hangang River Cruise
Makgeolli
National Museum of Korea
Hongkik University
Digital Media Center
Namdaemun market*
Jjimjilbang
Lotte World*
galbi-gui / Grilled Spareribs
Jogyesa Temple*
Fitting Hanbok
Insadong*
Itaewon Street*
Baseball*
Samcheongdong
Myeong-dong*
Bukhansan National Park
Samcheongdong Gallery
If you've visited Seoul or lived in Seoul as a foreigner what were your top experiences? (my top experiences are listed in the July 30th article)
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