Osan AB and the Songtan Area 2006

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OSAN AIR BASE AND THE SONGTAN AREA

2006

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Acknowledgement: Special thanks to Jack Terwiel , Capt, USAF (Ret) of the Osan Retired Activities Office for photos of base (past and present) -- Dan Klopten , Ron Freedman , Harry Tezlaf and Ken Shallenbarger . Special thanks to Jackie Turner , 7th AF Historian, and John Okonski , 51st FW Historian, for their assistance with photos and guidance on the history of Osan AB. Thanks to Curly Knepp , Maj, USAF (Ret) for his photos and direction in uncovering the history of the area. Thanks to Bob Spiwak for his narratives and photos of life at Osan AB.

Thanks to Patrick McDonald & Wayne Wolf for their 2000 photos of Osan AB. Special thanks to JW Cummings for his informative "reviews" of Songtan bar life, shopping and dining out (restaurants and street vendors) in 2000. Thanks to an Unknown Photographer (edbestworldnetattnet) for photos in 2002. (NOTE: We wish to locate JW Cummings for his narratives and the Unknown Photographer (2002) to credit them properly for their work. Does anyone have information on their whereabouts?) Thanks to the 36th Fiends site for the use of its materials dealing with the 36th TFS.

Special thanks to Mr. Oh Sun-soo , Victoria Hotel, for his information on the early development of Songtan. Special thanks to Mr. Jim Price , AIG Insurance, for his sharing of his experiences during his long residence in Songtan. Special thanks to Mr. Yi Kyong Chu , Kasey Lee's Tailors, for his help and guidance in assembling this history. Special thanks to Mr. Son Kwang-chil , Hanyang Kalbi, and Mr. Yi N.K , Korea Hotel, for providing information of the early days of the Milwal-dong area. Thanks to Mr. Kim Sang-do , Electronic Repair Shop, and Mr. Jeong Tae-ho , Young Chon Hotel, for their help in providing information of the early days of the Young Chon Alley area. Thanks to Mr. Kwon Oh-hoon , Dong Sung Realty, for his help on the local area history. Special thanks to Mr. Kim Jae-won , Asia Hotel for his help in providing a wealth of information on the local area.

Special thanks to Ms. Jin Dal-lae and other staff members of the Jisan-dong Ward Office for taking the time to research and provide historical materials on Songtan and Pyongtaek City. Thanks to the Shinjang 1-dong Ward Office for taking time to provide information on the roads in the area. Thanks to the Seojong-dong Ward Office staff and Chief of the ward Office, Choi Yun-su , for their help in providing maps to unravel the confusing boundary issues. Much of the information on Pyongtaek City and the Songtan area was extracted from the Pyeongtaek City History, Pyeongtaek Si Sa .

Thanks to the Songbuk Elementary School for permission to use their photos from their private collection. Thanks to staff of the Songshin Elementary, Taegwang Middle School and Taegwang High School staff for their help in their histories. Special thanks to the Mr. Kim Jong-youp , Vice-Principal of the Hyomyung Middle School and Ms. Choi Jeong-min for their assistance with the history of Hyomyung Middle School and High School. Special thanks to the Mr. Park Hyun-jong , Vice Principal of the Seojong Elementary School, and the staff including Ms. Choi Yun-young , Mr. Kim Hyong-ill and Ms. Pae Eun-hui , for their assistance in assembling the history of Seojong Elementary School.

1970s View of Osan AB (USAF Photo)

SONGTAN EVENTS

January 2006

Pirated DVDs: Vendor Beware The Korean Intellectual Property Office, stepping up its attacks on counterfeiters, will offer rewards to those who report factories churning out fake goods. The agency said yesterday it would offer a reward of up to 10 million won ($9,920) for reports to agency officials, the police or local prosecutors of persons who produce or sell knockoff handbags, shoes or other products without the permission of the copyright holders. The rewards will be paid on conviction in court. The office said tipsters' identities would be kept confidential.

If this step up is true, the life-blood of most embroidery shops will be endangered. The rip-off copies of jackets and other paraphenalia sell for 75 percent what the authorized logos items cost. They are definitely a good deal and to be truthful, most customs into the US do NOT check the items if it is for personal use. It is those individuals who are selling for profit that they go after.

The base periodically runs ads on AFN about the dangers of pirated goods and sending them in the military mail. In fact, one airman in 2005 was convicted for shipping the counterfeit sports jerseys through the APO mails for profit. He had been warned to stop this practice when he was discovered before. He continued and was prosecuted. He wasn't nailed for the counterfeits, but for the illegal use of the mail system after being told to stop his illegal sales using the military mail system. However, for personal use, there really isn't a big push to clamp down on counterfeit clothing or DVDs simply because it would be cost prohibitive to launch such a campaign. The point is don't get greedy and start shipping tons of counterfeit goods back to the US -- simply keep it down to personal use items.

Shinjang Mall near Main Gate. The DVD sellers a short distance beyond the toy stall. (Unknown)

The lackadaisical enforcement of the law on copyright infringement has gone on for years. We remember when they started the big talk of enforcement in 1990. Nothing has happened since. However, on 9 Feb it was reported that The Korean Intellectual Property Office has paid a 3.3 million won ($3,400) cash reward to a private citizen for reporting two cases of counterfeit luxury goods. It was the first payment since the office announced last month that it would pay such rewards.

The recipient, whose name is legally protected, reported two domestic companies that manufacture replicas, including handbags, belts and watches, of brand products that included those by Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Rolex. The counterfeiters have been indicted. Rewards have a limit of 10 million won for reporting manufacturers or distributors of fake goods worth over 30 billion won in aggregate. But the office is not making the rewards particularly easy to collect. Those reporting fake goods are expected to follow the progress of the case, and can apply for rewards only after the prosecution issues an indictment or settles a case with a suspended indictment, the latter an out-of-court settlement. An application for the reward can be made only within three months of one of those two actions by prosecutors. (Source: Joongang Ilbo.)

We have heard reports of a pirated DVD vendor on the Shinjang Mall being hauled off and all his inventory confiscated in the latter part of 2005. It appears that he was reported by his competition -- allegedly a permanent establishment specializing in PlayStation 2 modifications with DVD sales on the side. Don't know the truth of the accusations -- but do know that the other two strip vendors of pirated DVDs were untouched. This appeared to have been a vendetta type sting operation. The vendor allegedly lost all his merchandise and still has to appear in court. We feel sorry that the small time vendors are targeted but the main supply source in Seoul -- suppliers to pirated DVD shops throughout Korea -- is left untouched. Since that time in 2005, this vendor was once again raided and his merchandise confiscated in January 2006. The investigators supposedly had stacked out the vendor's car from a rented hotel room. We feel sorry for the vendor who is deeply in debt over the lost merchandise -- and he is a really nice guy who speaks English and readily tells you if the movie is a bad copy or not. However, he was aware of the risks when he became involved in pirated CD sales. (SITE NOTE: By Aug 2006, he had disappeared from the mall. We assume the debts caused the confiscation of his stock caused him to sell out. He was replaced by another vendor of DVDs.)

But we aren't going to push the matter as we like to watch the pirated English DVDs -- and Korean DVDs with English subtitles. At $5 a pop it's cheaper than going to see these movies at the movie theater in Songtan. (NOTE: Took my daughter to a Korean comedy movie downtown in January and spent $20 on tickets, $10 on popcorn and drinks. Thus one can see that these DVDs of the same movies save a lot of money for me. Also at $5 a DVD, I can afford to trash lousy movies -- and there are many -- without feeling I've been ripped off.)

From the pirated DVD stands, we got our copies of Director Park Chan Wook's "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance", JSA: Joint Security Area, and "Old Boy" -- with English subtitles -- from our buddy down on the Shinjang Mall. We also picked up Kang Je-gyu's Taeguki and Shiri along with Kang Woo-suk's hyped Shilmido. These flicks were released in the states to excellent reviews. However, most of the pirated Korean flicks are a waste of film -- but so are most American flicks as well. For example, "The Art of Fighting" and "Ssunday Seoul" had plots that seemed just plain stupid. Others were popular at the Korean box office like "Welcome to Dongmakgol", Fighter in the Wind, and "The Duelist", but to American tastes one wonders why they even wasted the film. I have about 70 films in my Korean collection and most fall in this category. However, amidst all the losers there are quite a few that are keepers. Even though many movies like "Marathon", My Wife is a Gangster and "Sad Movie" are simple formula flicks, I truly enjoyed them. Anyway, the next time you're looking over the pirated American flicks at Shinjang Mall, check out the pirated Korean flicks as well.

BTW if you have a chance, check out the bargain sales at Emart on CDs/VCDs and you can sometimes get a few bargains on movies for $2-3. Picked up a couple of excellent Korean VCDs for 2500 won ($2). One was in hangul and fell into the category of a low-budget art film, but the acting was so good that it didn't need subtitles to convey the theme dealing with loneliness of an unmarried woman in Korea. The other surprisingly had English subtitles and was excellent as well. Again it's a grab bag, but I enjoy all kinds of flicks -- even children's cartoons.

Emart

February 2006
Heavy Snowfall (Feb 2006) After a week for freezing temperatures, this started to warm up and it started to look like spring was around the corner -- with 4 Feb being the first day of spring on the lunar calendar. Then a cold front from the north brought precipitation and cold temperatures. On 7 Feb heavy snowfall blanketed most of South Korea with weather advisories issued for Seoul as well as Gyeonggi, Gangwon and Gyeongsang province regions. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued heavy snow warnings for Seoul and Gyeonggi Province around 6 a.m. as an average of over 2 centimeters of snow fell in the area. Roughly 4,000 government workers were trying to clear the snow from roads and directing traffic, the KMA said. It estimated that up to 7 more centimeters of snow was expected during the day in the central part of the country.

Snowfall in Songtan: Kids playing and shoveling the sidewalk (7 Feb 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan)

Police said most of the main thoroughfares are open but there is limited traffic on some remote roads. Some roads have been closed in mountainous Gangwon Province with over 4 centimeters of snow reported in certain areas. Snow advisories were also in effect for Daegu and certain parts of North Gyeongsang Province, and heavy snow had been falling for two straight days in South Gyeongsang Province.

In Songtan, the snow was about only 6 inches deep in the parking lots. The barren trees looked beautiful with a buildup of snow on the limbs. As soon as the snow stopped, the kids were out building snowmen and having snowball fights. The traffic along Route 1 to Pyeongtaek was not impacted as the snow melted by mid-day on the roadways. However, the streets on the hills surrounding Osan AB were becoming slick forcing taxis to take the long way around to get to the base. By mid-day, the snow was starting to melt off and the streets had turned into a dirty brown slush pit.

Snowfall in Songtan: Kids making a snowman (7 Feb 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan)

March 2006
Cold Snap and Yellow Dust (Mar 2006) Just as the weather was warming up and the farmers were getting ready to start rice planting, a cold snap hit on 11 Mar. The cold air from inner parts of Asia dropped temperatures to below zero during the night. This cold snap impacted on the on-going farmer protests over rice imports that were starting up as spring arrived. During this one week period, a small amount of snow covered the ground but quickly melted away.

Songtan Girls High School view of snow in parking lot. (Mar 2006) (Boram O'Sullivan)

South Korea's weather service issued a yellow dust advisory for all of the country on 12 Mar with the exception of Jeju Island and parts of southern Jeolla Province. South Korea is troubled by the yellow dust phenomenon every year from February through April, as dust is picked up from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and carried over to the country by easterly winds.

The Korea Metrological Administration (KMA) said the level of minute dust particles in the air had been steadily increasing to 500-700 micrograms per cubic meter. Thus my freshly washed car now sported a new coat of dirt that combined with the morning fog and plastered every vehicle with dirt. The weather service issues yellow dust advisories if the density of minute dust particles exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter for more than two hour. It upgrades this to "warning" if the density hits 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter and such conditions last in excess of two hours.

"Since the level of dust is expected to increase in the afternoon, it is advisable for people to be cautious when engaging in outdoor activities," a weather official said. He said children and senior citizens need to be careful about going out along with people suffering from respiratory ailments.

April 2006
Yellow Dust (Apr 2006) On the weekend of 8-9 April the yellow dust became so bad that the sun could be seen as a round ball behind the haze and viewed without sunglasses. On 8 Apr, the ROK issued a health warning over the yellow dust problem. Almost all the people in Seoul were wearing surgical masks to filter out the dust. In Songtan it was not so prevalent though most of the ROKAF gate guards were wearing the masks. Every car was covered with a layer of the fine dust as though one had just driven through a long stretch of dusty back roads.

On 30 April another yellow dust alert was issued as the dust again hit Korea -- the ninth time for the year. Cars across the country were blanketed with a fine coat of dust and the skies were hazy.

According to the Stars and Stripes, those wishing to track the problem could do so on real-time English-language charts on the Web sites for the U.S. Army and 18th MEDCOM at http://www.seoul.amedd.army.mil in cooperation with the Korean Meteorological Agency. By simply clicking on the name of any of the U.S. bases in South Korea, a community member could find the exact dust threat.

According to the Stars and Stripes on 10 Apr, "Annual spring dust storms � called �hwangsa� in Korean � carry heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, copper and aluminum, from the Gobi Desert in northern China and southern Mongolia. The one- to 10-micron dust particles can aggravate bronchitis and cause pinkeye, sinusitis and ear infections, according to South Korean and U.S. officials. Recent studies also have shown the dust can cause respiratory problems and high particulate air pollution levels have been linked to higher mortality rates, Lt. Col. Lee Hee-choon, preventative medicine consultant at the 18th Medical Command, said last week. �For humans, it can exacerbate, and now we know that it can even cause respiratory conditions, such as asthma,� he said. �We only thought that it exacerbated an existing condition but recent evidence suggests that it actually causes� the problems. The dust also can cause other diseases, Lee said. �The Foot-and-Mouth Disease that affected some of the cattle here in Korea was also thought to have been carried by the dust particles,� he said. When the dusts spike each year, so do hospital visits and community complaints. In 2005, Area II officials promised residents a better system for informing them when the dust hit dangerous levels. Medical officials said they had the information but needed to find a way to better communicate with the community. �This year we�ve been a little bit more proactive,� Lee said, adding that the medical command�s leadership �wanted to get the word out in a more systematic fashion.� The storms hit each spring, Lee said, blanketing South Korea on an average of 12 days over a few months."

(SITE NOTE: Though the self-service car wash is only a block away and costs only a 1000 won, I'm just too lazy to wash my junker. However, some snide Americans in our complex started writing comments on the dust -- so I had to wash it. If not, I would have simply waited for the next showers to clean the car. What is most frustrating is to wash the heap and then have the dust blow in to coat your car. The dust is everywhere. My plants on the veranda had yellow spots on the leaves. After rain showers, in some places, it looked like someone had spilled yellow paint. The "yellow dust" is some nasty stuff.)

Shinjang Mall: Back Alley Photos

(L) Near the intersection leading to Main Gate at Shinjang-2 dong (R) Alleyway with Volvo Dealer near the intersection to Main Gate (Mar 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan)

(L) Jungang Market Road: "Power Shop" site of former Seoul Glass Shop (Jun 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan) (R) Seoul Glass Shop (1958) (51st FW Archive) (SITE NOTE: The "Seoul Glass Shop" was in the same location from the late 1950s until the 1980s.)

New Mokchon Road Expansion for additional parking (Jun 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan) (SITE NOTE: Location of the old Mokchon Railway Crossing and now the pedestrian underpass is located on the site. The area used to be known as "Pink Town" from the strings of red lights on both sides of the tracks. It was also known as "Keoji Chon" (Beggar's village) in the 1970s as it was the poorest section of Songtan.)

May 2006
Election Time (May 2006) The local elections were around the corner scheduled for 31 Mar. Along Route 1, large banners (3 stories tall) were strung on buildings. Even on the building next to the overpass at Shinjang Mall was one of these tall banners. About the middle of the month, the active campaigning started -- in accordance with the electioneering laws. That's when the trucks with large billboards of the candidates and blaring music started driving around the city through all the apartment complexes.

3-story banners and streamers across the street for political candidates (28 May 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan)

(SITE NOTE: No one was safe from the "glad handing" as candidates circulated to "meet the people." Because I look Korean, even I got approached. I was sitting at a table in Hanyang Kalbi outside the Main Gate with a mouth full of lettuce and bulgogi when a candidate approached to hand me his cards. Unable to speak all I could do was mumble and point to my mouth and nod to say "I'm sorry." He handed me his campaign card which I accepted looking foolish with a mouth full of food.)

The week before the election, the trucks were everywhere and the "volunteers" in blue or red T-shirts with their candidate's name on them were on every street corner. Some of the "volunteers" performed dance skits to attract attention, but most simply bowed as the cars passed by while the mini-truck with posters on the sides blared music. Sometimes the candidates would be seen with a sash with his number on it.

The "volunteers" for political candidates perform dances on street corners or display their candidates number on their backs. Note the trucks in the left photo. (28 May 2006) (Kalani O'Sullivan)

Though most Americans could care less about local elections, this is a make-or-break election for the Uri Party and approval of President Roh Moo-hyun's programs and the fate of the ruling party hangs in the balance. To simplify it for the Americans, the GNP represents the conservative -- which is basically Pro-American perspective -- while the Uri Party represents the left-leaning "progressive" side -- which is basically Anti-American in perspective. There is a shift in the wind and the ruling Uri party may face a second crushing defeat. All surveys show that the people are disenchanted with the Roh administration and the ruling Uri Party over economic, domestic, international and North Korean rapprochemente policies.

The point is that the Roh administration's "self-reliant defense" strategy -- promulgated by the Uri Party -- has directly impacted every GI serving on the peninsula -- creating uncertainty, frustration and even hostility in the form of protests at Camp Humphreys and outside the Osan AB Main Gate less frequently. This election may break the back of the Uri party that has been the thorn in the side of the USFK for the past three years. Though Americans can only sit back and watch -- it is interesting the games that Koreans play during the electioneering. (SITE NOTE: Though Roh has effectively already become a "lame duck President" -- a defeat in the 31 May elections would send a message that the people no longer support his ruling party or his government's policies. However, the sad thing is that damage Roh and the Uri Party have wrought on Korea's relationships with other countries may be irreparable -- though diplomatically, everyone is all for putting on band aids. Most consider the US-ROK alliance in shambles -- with people like me stating that it is in its death throes.)

Polls indicate a shift in the voting stance to a more conservative outlook amongst the populace -- and growing frustration with Roh Moo-hyun's political, diplomatic and fiscal policies. The recession has stretched into its third year. The policy of appeasement to the North is being questioned as nothing is gained in return. The polls indicate that the GNP will garner the majority of positions throughout the country. Early polls show that the Uri Party can only hope to gain two of the 16 National Assembly seats up for grabs -- and one of those in Daejon is a maybe. The Uri Party would lose its majority in the National Assembly and could only hope to strike a deal with the MDP -- which it slapped in the face when it split away from the MDP to form Roh's party.

In the months leading up to the elections, major figures of all the parties have faced scandals of kickbacks and corruption. The biggest Uri figure was the Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan who resigned after a "golf scandal" -- not for his playing golf, but the shady characters who he was playing with -- one of whom was to be fined the next day for illegal dealings. Many of the Cabinet ministers resigned to run for local office, but the scandal came that the ones appointed by President Roh were considered unfit or inexperienced. President Roh proceeded anyway to appoint a former official who was convicted for illegal slush fund transfers, but this did not stop Roh. A GNP leader was chastized for "groping" a female reporter's breasts as he mistook her for a bargirl. A MDP party leader was found with a trunk full of cash -- that he claimed he had no idea why it was put there by his "supporters." All parties have faced repeated political scandals. No one's hands are clean. That is what makes this an interesting election. It is not a choice of voting for the right candidates, but not voting for the wrong candidates. This is not a choice of finding good candidates, but not voting for bad candidates. (See Political Events for articles on the political situation in Korea.)

On 20 May Park Geun-hye was slashed while campaigning for the party in Seoul by an attacker who had been released from prison and was unable to make a living. Immediately following the attack, the GNP saw its support rating increase to 48 percent from 45.4 percent. Support for the ruling Uri Party decreased from 20 percent to 18.9 percent in the 21 May opinion poll. The Democratic Labor Party went from 10.5 percent to 9.7 percent, and the Millennium Democratic Party from 4.3 percent to 3.8 percent. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)

Going into the elections nationwide, GNP candidates enjoyed a healthy support rating in 11 out of a total 16 key contests, while rapidly closing the gap with their Uri counterparts in Daejeon and the southern island province of Jeju. Later polls showed that the GNP had taken the lead over the Uri Party in Daejon and Cheju Island which were previously considered neck-and-neck races. Voters in the central provinces of Chungcheong seemed to be lost after their longtime favorite party, the United Liberal Democrats, fell on hard times and merged with the GNP following the retirement of its charismatic leader, Kim Jong-pil in 2004. Ahead of the May 31 local elections, opinion polls show the number of swing votes in South Chungcheong Province come to between 30 and 65 percent, the largest among the nation's 16 key election battlegrounds and many were swayed by the Park Geun-hye attack. In other words, the "progressive" parties ALL lost support from the voters, while the conservative GNP gained 2.6 percentage points. It looked like a GNP sweep was pending.

On 31 May 2006, voters handed the Grand National Party an overwhelming victory in Korea's local elections, confirming the forebodings of doom circulating in President RoCo-hyun's Uri Party. In races for the mayors of seven independent cities and governors of nine provinces, the GNP took 12 of the 16 races, including that for Seoul's mayor and Gyeonggi governor. The Uri Party succeeded in only one race for the governor of North Jeolla province. To add insult to injury, the once powerful Democratic Party (whose dissidents walked out and formed the Uri Party three years ago) won the races for the mayor of Gwangju and the governor of South Jeolla province. In the elections for Daejeon Mayor and Jeju Governor, the contest was so fierce that it was hard to predict a winner until the final vote count. In the end, the GNP prevailed in Daejeon mayor race, while Jeju Governor Kim Tae-hwan was reelected to the post as an independent after severing ties with the GNP. The chairman of the Uri Party resigned accepting responsibility for the humiliating defeat.

The GNP cleaned up at the head offices of all 25 district governments in Seoul, as well as win nine of 10 district posts in Incheon. A total of 230 district head offices were available in the local elections, as well as 3,621 seats at regional assemblies throughout the country. The GNP took approximately 70 percent of the lower-level positions nationwide.

The GNP victory showed the degree of dissatisfaction with the Uri Party and the Blue House -- rather than an approval of the GNP per se. In essence, the GNP victory is not for what it did, but what it could do to turn around the depressed conditions in Korea. The GNP swept the races in Seoul and Gyeonggi province as well as in its stronghold in Korea's southeast Gyeongsang provinces. None of Mr. Roh's former aides or ministers who resigned to contest local elections appeared to have been successful. Political analysts were unanimous in attributing the results to voters who looked at the races not as individual contests but as a referendum on Mr. Roh's presidency. His national popularity has been mired in the 30-percent range for an extended period. Following the Uri Party defeat, the ruling party leader Chung Dong-young resigned on 1 Jun, taking responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in local elections that the major opposition party won by a landslide. With his resignation, the former Unification's minister's star for a run for the Presidency in 2007 faded. In addition, President Roh will have to distance himself from the Uri Party -- and is now a true "lame duck" President -- a President in name only.

The Democratic Labor Party -- even in its center of power in Ulsan -- and People First Party made no inroads in this election. The turnout was estimated at 51.2 percent by the National Election Commission, above its expectations. The party chairman resigned to accept responsiblity. Slightly less than 50 percent of eligible Koreans voted in the local elections four years ago.

Weather Forecast: Rainy Season then Hot weather (May 2006) According to the Korea Metrological Administration, this year's rainy season is expected to begin on June 19 following a sultry start to the month. It will continue for about a month until mid July, with more rain than usual expected. The rainy season is coming earlier than normal, influenced by a high-pressure system from the North Pacific Ocean. During the rainy season, precipitation will range from 106 to 279 millimeters per day. Temperatures will also be higher than a usual, averaging 16-23 degrees Celsius.

Ahead of the monsoon season, stifling hot days will be smother the peninsula in early June. In July even after the monsoon season eases, further torrential rainfalls are expected in certain regions due to unstable a+tmospheric conditions. However, temporary low temperatures are also forecast along the eastern coast of the peninsula. In August when the hot season begins in earnest, there will be frequent sudden of showers because of continued instability in the atmosphere. During the summer, about 11 typhoons are likely to form in northern Pacific waters as usual, and two or three of them will affect the peninsula.

Over at the blog The Lost Nomad, he bewailed that this unseasonal rain forecast spells trouble for his bass fishing as June is normally his best month of fishing. He can only hope the forecast is off.

EPILOGUE: The "stifling hot" weather did not appear in early June. It was rather pleasant, though it got a little warm a few days. It was nothing like last year when every fan we had was operating. Then on the weekend of the 10th and 11th of June, there was the most freakish thunderstorm weather we had never seen in Korea before. Thunderstorms rolled into the area one after another -- and long-timers in Songtan said they'd never seen weather like this before. This is going to be a strange summer season.

JUNE 2006
Movie: "Da Vinci Code" Comes to Songtan On May 18th Ron Howard's "Da Vinci Code" was released in Korea. For the week of May 26-1 June it was number 1 at the box office in Seoul. It was also number 5 on the NY Times Box Office ratings. Throughout the world there had been a lot of hype and controversy over the showing of this film so I wanted to see how controversial the movie really was. It wasn't -- it was a safe and not descript movie without any controversy. It was simply a film.

By the way, for all the ballyhoo about the Prior of Scion as a secret society in France was based according to experts on a hoax. A son of a valet with visions of grandeur created an intricate hand-written geneology showing his lineage through Frankish kings. One of these Kings was called the "King of Jews" who traced his lineage to the House of David, Jesus' descendant. The story goes that the geneology was tied together with a list of names supposedly of the Grand Masters of the Prior of Scion with the last name being a noted surrealist. Then the "secret" lists were "found" in the National Archives. A popular book was written "Holy Grail, Holy Blood" which in turn formed the basis for the "Da Vinci Code." The author of the "Holy Grail, Holy Blood" admitted meeting with the two men responsible for the hoax and one admitted that it was a hoax perpetrated by the other. The other laughed and changed the subject. The perpetrator died in 1963. Thus one shouldn't put any store in the book's claims. For example, The Roslin Chapel supposedly derived from the "Rose line" at the Church of St. Sulspice but actually it comes from the Celt language, "ciffs with rushing water." The "Rose line" at the Church of St. Sulpice also comes from a sundial arrangement to plot the time for religious ceremonies -- not the line that sets the prime meridian used on maps.

As another by-the-way, art historians cringe when people call Leonardo Da Vinci as simply Da Vinci. "Leonardo" is his name. He was born out of wedlock and recognized through his artistic talent. He is from the town of Vinci. Thus the name "Leonardo" from Vinci.

On 3 Jun, it came to the Lotte Cinema, the new multi-theater on Seojong Tourism Road, at the same time it was playing on base at the Base Theater. I wanted to go to base, but my daughter opted for the one downtown because of the Korean subtitles. (My mistake as all the French dialogue had Korean subtitles -- and was saved only because I had read the book so I knew what they were talking about.) The theater was only half-filled with many empty seats on the sides. There was a lot of pre-hype about the movie in Korea (as the marketing strategy for the movie had intended) and the fanatical Christians -- mostly Catholic -- filed a suit to ban the film in Korea. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the application filed by the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) against the film's local distributor, Sony Pictures Releasing Korea, to prevent the film's screening. The staunch Christians probably opted to not see the movie with their kids -- considered a blasphemous movie. However, besides the editorials, there wasn't much of a furor in Korea even though Korea has 13 million Protestants and 4.6 million Roman Catholics.

To start off, I must say that I was a bit disappointed -- but no movie can ever match a blockbuster book. A film can never replace the imagination and the mind's pictures created by words. The book had elaborate twists and turns in the plot that had to be "unkinked" for cinematic purposes to keep the action moving. As a movie, Howard had to cut out a lot of the details to keep things flowing -- which really didn't affect the major theme. However, I found it discomforting that the end changed slightly from the book. In the book, the girl Sophie Neveu finds she has a brother and grandmother who had remained hidden from sight at Roslin Chapel to protect them. In the movie, Sophie discovers her grandmother as a sort of throwaway admission, but no brother. Though it seems that Howard toyed with the idea in the shots of the young man who opened the Roslin chapel, it must have ended up on the cutting room floor. Howard also chose to make the Bishop's Opus Dei an accepted part of the Catholic Church -- albeit secret, while the book had Opus Dei as a financially powerful sect that the Church wanted to permanently disassociate itself with and paid Bishop Aringarosa off. Also the "archives" dating back thousands of years at Roslin Chapel to explain the different threads of the plot was not in the book. But these were minor details that did not impact the plot of the movie.

The movie was filled with veteran actors -- but I wondered if it would not have been better to use relative unknowns. Tom Hanks did a credible job as Robert Langdon -- but I kept getting flashbacks of his other movies crowding my brain from the 1980s sophomoric "Bachelor Party" to "Castaway" to "Apollo 13" to "Private Ryan" to "Polar Express" (cartoon). Hanks seems to be trying to expand his repetoire to all genres of films -- now trying his hand at murder mysteries. Though he did a fine job of acting, I couldn't help but wondering if a classically-trained Shakespearean actor might not have been better suited in the role of the intellectual professor.

French film star Audrey Tautou was nice but forgettable in the role as Sophie Neveu, the code-breaker whiz-kid granddaughter of the slain Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere (Jean-Pierre Marielle). The twists and turns end up that she has been trained from childhood to take over the secret order. In the book, her grandfather desperately attempts to reestablish contact with her through letters and phone calls over the years, but she has refused to reestablish contact. This is not developed in the film -- and boiled down to clips of her running away from Sauniere's mansion. Sadly, in the book there were hints that there was a growing romantic interest between Sophie and Robert Langdon in the book -- and even at the end of the book, there was a hint that the budding relationship would continue as a sequel -- but in the movie there was nada, nothing, zip -- except a sort of a paternal relationship.

Classical British actor Ian McKellan was superb and perfectly cast as the Holy Grail-obsessed knight Sir Leigh Teabing. His performance as an eccentric scholar comes across as someone who is having the time of his life explaining the intricacies of the mystery and being embroiled in a "holy cause" -- and then bounces into insane madness at the end with the same flair. A superb actor who is a joy to watch. Some may remember McKellan's stellar performance as Gandaff in "Lord of the Rings" or his being in my opinion miscast -- though popularly acclaimed -- as Magneto in the "X-men" movies.

Alfred Molina is a veteran actor I've enjoyed watching on TV and screen for over twenty years with roles running the gamut from dark villans like Cezar in the classic "Ladyhawke" (1985) to the multi-armed pop-Spiderman villian Doctor Octavius (Doc Ock) (2004). He's one of my favorite character actors. Molina plays Bishop Aringarosa. However, he gives only a credible performance as a fanatical cleric who takes matters into his own hands to find and destroy the corpse of Mary Magdalene -- to eliminate any possibility of DNA evidence linking her as the wife of Jesus with present day descendants. However, he doesn't get to really show off his talents except for one scene where his outburst at a meeting of Bishops highlights his fanatical devotion to his cause.

Paul Bettany played the albino Opus Dei monk Silas who kills everyone he's ordered to. Unfortunately, Bettany doesn't quite pull it off as a "massive" psycho killer redeemed by the Bishop Aringarosa. Perhaps it is because he is simply not sinister enough. His sophisticated roles in films such as the technical meanie in "Firewall" (2006) or as the cello-playing surgeon-botanist in "Master and Commander" (2003) proved his acting talents, but this role as a self-flagellating, psycho monk walking with a limp from his "cinche" (device to inflict pain) just did not work. Too be truthful, the lame actor Caine of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) fame would have done a better job as the mindless killer monk. The part only needed a mindless gargantuan of a monk who could give kids nightmares -- not a psychoanalytical profile of why the monk killed people.

Of course, Jean Reno as Captain Bezu Fache of the French Police is an actor type-cast as the tough guy with a soft heart. I became a fan of his after he starred in "Leon" in 1994 -- and loved the scene in the movie when he pulverized the reluctant airfield controller to get the information he wanted. It was Reno at his best -- cooly brutal.

German actor J�rgen Prochnow is the Swiss Bank Director Vernet. His scarred face is instantly recognizable -- from spaghetti westerns to tough cop roles to dramas. He is a superb actor. However, in this film, he only gives a stilted performance that amounted to nothing more than a cameo role -- but could have been so much more. (SITE NOTE: Sci-fi buffs may remember that he got those facial scars in an accident filming the first "Dune" movie in 1984 while portraying Duke Atredeis.) There were a lot of the other minor actors I recognize from other films but just don't know their names. Howard assembled an international cast, but most of the French actors were unknown to me. For example, though I recognized the renowned French actor Jean-Pierre Marielle as the slain Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere, I did not recognize French actor Jean-Yves Berteloot as Remy, Sir Teabring's butler.

Of course, being a history buff, the shots of the Louvre, the Roslin Chapel, the Church of St. Sulpice, and the fantastic footage filmed in London and Paris just dazzled me. The super-imposing of the historical figures that floated like ghosts over the modern day figures was a stroke of cinematic brilliance. The one scene of Westminster Abbey and the historical montage in fast-forward was perfect -- but it was a shame that the movie took so long to discover this technique. The most stirring scene was at the end when Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) figures out the mystery of Mary Magdalene's final resting place and like the Knights Templar, kneels at the foot of her tomb which turns out to be at the base of the inverted pyramid at the Louvre.

After the movie was over, the Korean crowd was muted as they left the theater, giving the impression that they somehow found the material disconcerting -- or simply confusing. For my daughter, she was confused by all the biblical characters bandied around -- and had actually confused Mary Magdalene with Mary. This didn't make sense to her as Mary was Jesus' mother, but in the movie she thought they were trying to say that she was Jesus' wife. Over a bowl of mandu ramien after the movie, I tried explaining how in the movie the prostitute was really descended from the line of Israelite kings and not a prostitute at all. I completely failed to get the point across. I'm sure that there were many other Koreans who got confused in the same way -- because they had not read the book.

The intellectual topics of the "divine feminine" ; the symbology of inverted "v's"; chalices and blades as sexual symbols; the spiritual power of sexual connection; analysis of the "Mona Lisa" and "Last Supper" paintings -- plus the use of language clues ("Sangreal" (blood = blood of Christ = cup = holy grail) into "Sang Real" (Royal blood) -- caused eyes of Korean folks in the audience to cloud over and numbed their minds. In addition, the reference to Job 3:11 on the stone in the Church of St. Sulpice left everyone blank -- including my daughter -- unless you read the book or memorized the bible. All the subplots to define the characters -- Langdon's fall into the well; Neveu's seeing her grandfather in a pagan sex ceremony; and Silas killing his father -- are interesting but really do nothing to flesh out the characters. The main characters, except for Teabring, all remained two-dimensional cut outs.

As for my opinion, I give the movie four-and-a-half stars (out of five). But I liked Dan Brown�s book better -- and probably the 40 million readers of the book worldwide would agree. Of course, I still got the DVD (pirated version at Shinjang Mall with both Korean & English subtitles) as I think the movie is a keeper.

Supreme Court Overturns Law for Blind Masseurs (May 2006) The Korean Supreme Court on 26 May declared a law granting visually impaired people the exclusive right to work as massage therapists unconstitutional. The freedom to choose occupation trumps the right to a special place in society, the court wrote in its ruling. A masseur attempted to light himself on fire on 30 May during a protest in central Seoul according to the Korea Times. Four masseurs jumped off the Mapo Bridge and into the Han River during a weeklong protest in Seoul starting on 1 June. Also several dozen blind people jumped on a subway track at Myongdong station, disrupting the trains for 40 minutes on 30 May, according to Yonhap News. To the blind masseurs it is a life-and-death issue as being a masseur was the only profession legally reserved for them.

The ruling caught servicemembers by surprise as few were aware that legal masseuses and masseurs were ever required to be blind in the first place. However, as those who have lived in Korea for a while knows, Korean laws are basically statutes that are enforced selectively. For example, prostitution has been illegal in Korea since 1949, but Korea still has a sex industry that reportedly accounts for a staggering 4.4 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This blind masseur law is another of those laws that has sat on the books without enforcement. According to the Korea Times, there are about 1,073 legal massage parlors operating nationwide and some 6,000 visually handicapped people are estimated to work as masseurs. However, the many thousands of other ILLEGAL massage parlors that have gone untouched over the years. (Source: Korea Times and Stars and Stripes.)

We have known that many of the "spas" and "massage rooms" in Songtan and hotels in the Shinjang Mall area that were nothing more than fronts for the sex trade. However, we never knew -- as probably everyone else also -- that only blind masseurs were legal in the past. And if the USFK had known, it would have been reason for ALL massage parlors -- even those on bases in the past (i.e., Kunsan AB in 1990s) -- would have been off-limits.

"Sports Massages" are common throughout areas frequented by the military in Korea. The Stars and Stripes described "sports massages" as "the kind that feel a bit like getting delightfully pummeled by a football team." There are legitimate "sports massage" establishments which feature the massage tables in an open room here in Songtan. In Shinjang Mall area, the one we know of is the Queen Sports Massage operated by Ms. Kim, the owner of the New Seoul Hotel. It is a reputable sports massage parlor -- unlike a few "sports massages" we have heard rumors of in the Songtan area with cameras at the entrance to warn of police raids and "hidden rooms."

World Cup Fever (May-June 2006) On the streets of Songtan in May 2006, the Red Devil t-shirts were starting to appear. The hopes for the National Team rose when they defeated the US and Mexico in February in friendly matches. When Korea played Senegal in the first of four evaluation matches in May, EVERY Korean watched -- even those who don't like soccer -- as Korea battled to an indecisive 1-1 draw.

After the Cinderella victories of the Korean baseball team at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Koreans hoped for a repeat in the World Cup. Preparation rallies were being held in Seoul to get ready for the June World Cup -- and the expectations were that if the team performed well in their first game, the Red Devil fever would spread like wild fire. Newspapers showed photos of children at the Seoul World Cup stadium "practicing" their chants for the home team. One could hear Koreans already practicing shouting "Daehan Minguk" (Republic of Korea) with the now infamous battle cry "Oh Pilsung Korea" (Oh victory Korea). For the 2006 World Cup, the Vertex Dance -- akin to the line dancing at country bars -- has been designated as the quasi-official contortion to get people's spirits going. (See Vertex Dance: TV. A short animated clip from Samsung PAVV TV that shows former manager of the Korean national football team Guus Hiddink and the current coach Dick Advocaat dancing the "vertex dance" along with Pim Verbeek and football video analyst Afshin Ghotbi.)

T-shirts for the "Red Devils"

World Cup Fashion; Shin Mina (top center)

(SITE NOTE: Surprisingly, even the BX stocked up on the red "Go Korea" shirts for men, women and kids. We wondered who had this brilliant idea to stock this -- as most GIs don't care one way or another for the Korean National Team. When my daughter saw it, she asked the question, "Why is this stuff in the BX?" In Korea, the World Cup games was NOT to be broadcast in English so it definitely was NOT being targeted to foreigners in Korea. Every World Cup match will be telecast on one of South Korea's over-the-air networks SBS, MBC and KBS; and in Japan on NHK, TV Asahi, TBS, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV -- but all in native languages. ESPN and ABC hold the cable and over-the-air television rights in the United States -- but AFN will NOT air the World Cup.)

After the retirement of the core of the 2002 team, the team had a rocky start reorganizing itself. Previously both Portuguese Humberto Coelho and Dutchman Jo Bonfrere were hounded from the coaching job by a highly critical media and fans expecting the same brand of free-flowing football under Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman now in charge of Australia. Though popular, Dick Advocaat, the new head coach, hasn't reached the national hero status of Guss Hidink, the Dutchman who came to Korea and won the hearts and respect of all Koreans by taking the previously unheralded squad to the 2002 World Cup semi-final. In July 2005, Dick Advocaat took a job as coach of United Arab Emirates, but quit in September to take over South Korea's national team. South Korea have improved under Advocaat's guidance, racking up wins against powerful opposition such as Serbia, Croatia, Iran and Mexico, but doing well in Germany will require finding another gear as the competition is against the world's best.

Korea Republic World Cup squad

Goalkeepers:

Lee Woon-Jae (Suwon Bluewings)
Kim Yong-Dae (Seongnam Ilhwa)
Kim Young-Kwang (Chunnam Dragons)

Defenders:

Cho Won-Hee (Suwon Bluewings)
Choi Jin-Cheul (Chonbuk Motors)
Kim Dong-Jin (FC Seoul)
Kim Jin-Kyu (Jubilo Iwata)
Kim Young-Chul (Seongnam Ilhwa)
Lee Young-Pyo (Tottenham Hotspur)
Song Chong-Gug (Suwon Bluewings)

Midfielders:

Baek Ji-Hoon (FC Seoul)
Kim Do-Heon (Seongnam Ilhwa)
Kim Nam-Il (Suwon Bluewings)
Kim Sang-Shik (Seongnam Ilhwa)
Lee Eul-Young (Trabzonspor)
Lee Ho (Ulsan Tigers)
Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United)

Forwards:

Ahn Jung-Hwan (Duisburg)
Cho Jae-Jin (Shimizu S-Pulse)
Chung Kyung-Ho (Gwangju Sangmu)
Lee Chun-Soo (Ulsan Tigers)
Park Chu-Young (FC Seoul)
Seol Ki-Hyeon (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

In 2002, South Korea made it to the semifinals in a march that was a succession of cinderella victories. No one had given them much chance of every getting to the quarter-finals, much less the semi-finals. However, this year Korea struggled in its qualifying group for this year's tournament. South Korea will be taking part in their sixth successive World Cup finals in June, but even their most die-hard fan would be hard pressed to expect a repeat of their fairytale foray into the semi-finals on home soil in 2002.

While Midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United and Defender Lee Young-pyo of Tottenham Hotspur brought experience and a dash of world-class talent to the mix, the bulk of the squad comprises youngsters plying their trade in a comparatively dull domestic league. While Forward Cho Jae-jin (Shimizu S-Pulse) was a rising star on whom the Korean national team places high expectations, unfortunately Forward Ahn Jung-Hwan of Duisburg, the hero of the 2002 World Cup, had only turned in lackluster performances in the early warmups.

The so-called Red Devils finished second in Asian qualifying behind Saudi Arabia. Even so, the South Koreans could have provided a strong challenge. Former World Cup champion France was to face Switzerland, Togo and 2002 semifinalists South Korea in Group-G at June's World Cup in Germany. In Group-G, France and Switzerland were the favorites to advance, but Korea couldn't be ruled out. Togo in its first time to the World Cup was not expected to be much of a challenge.

However, the last two exhibition games against Senegal and Bosnia-Herzegovina raised cause for concern. The drop-off in the quality of play was huge when players such as Park, Manchester United's midfielder, the team's heart and engine, were not on the field. If one player's presence made such a difference in the performance of a 23-man team, there was no chance for that team to go far. Opponents would key in on that player and take him out. In addition, there were weaknesses noted in the defense and midfield positions. The third "friendly" warmup game before the World Cup with Norway ended in a 0-0 draw -- ostensibly because key players were not involved and the playing field was not what the team was used to.

Regardless, hundreds of Korean fans gathered at Seoul Plaza at 2 am in the morning to root for their national team in front of the big screen TV. Though the public had raised its sights to the stars and World Cup victory, the experts were not so confident. Nearly nine out of 10 South Koreans expected their national team to reach the round of 16 in June's FIFA World Cup finals in Germany, according to a survey released on 31 May. The survey of 1,094 people, conducted by Sports Forum 21 and Global Sports Marketing, two Seoul-based private sports research centers, found that 88.3 percent of South Koreans forecast their team to survive the first round -- despite all the signs against it.

Unfortunately, the last friendly warmup game was with World Cup qualifier Ghana on 4 June. This time, the team had all its starters and it suffered a humiliating 3-1 loss -- much to the chagrin of the avid Red fans. AFP reported that Ghana, which ranks number 48 in the world rankings, "settled into the game quicker, appearing faster and more comfortable on the ball than the South Koreans, who are listed 19 places higher in 29th place." While Ghana is well preprared for this year's tournament, "South Korea will need to show a marked improvement before taking on France, Switzerland and Togo in Group G if they wish to progress to the second stage." From Advocaat, the BBC singled out this blunt assessment: "Attack, midfield, defence, there wasn't a single good point."

On 4 June nearly 20,000 soccer fans gathered at Seoul City Hall Plaza shouted "Daehan-minkuk," (Republic of Korea), while watching the Korean team's warm-up match with Ghana on big screens. The only ones not appreciating the events were some guests in nearby upscale hotels who demanded refunds because they could not sleep. Police estimated that about 15,000 people gathered at the World Cup Stadium and 1,000 people around Kyobo building in Gwanghwamun and nearby Cheonggyecheon Plaza. A "red wave" also flowed at other major cities, such as Gwangju, Daejeon and Daegu, as many citizens, many of whom wore in red T-shirts, the same color as the Korean team players' jerseys, turned out to cheer the Korean team. SK Telecom, the nation's biggest mobile carrier, supported the Seoul City Hall Plaza rally and other out-of-home cheering events.

Before match, SK Telecom, SBS and MBC arranged big screens and show stages for the assembled people in front of the Seoul City Hall Plaza. Korean pop singers, such as Lee Hyo-lee, Psy, Jang Yun-jung, Baek Ji-young, Lee Sun-hee, and Lee Jung-hyun appeared performed on the stage to boost the cheering atmosphere. However, immediately following the loss to Ghana one started to hear complaints that in 2002 the "cheering" of support was spontaneous, but now the "cheering" was all "packaged" -- with commercial activities promoting the "cheering" with specials and hired performers. However, there would be many free big screen shows for "cheering events" without commercial backing. The payments for big-screen public showings to the Korean Broadcasters Association ran between $5,000-$50,000. Most small towns have cancelled previous scheduled showings because of the costs.

Dick Advocaat, Korea Soccer Coach

Soccer is a bit of a mania in Songtan. On Sundays, stop by the Jisan Elementary School -- where the road is blocked by so many cars of the adult players holding soccer games there -- from spring through fall. Thus there are a lot of fans roaming the streets. As the start of the World Cup in Germany neared, more and more Red Devil t-shirts and faces painted with Korean flags appeared on the streets. The local TV featured more and more commercials with the key soccer players -- just like the coach Dick Advocaat and his commercial for a credit card company. Just about every other commercial featured a soccer player -- from eatting ramien to drinking beer to sports thirst quenchers. As a minimum a commercial on TV had a soccer ball somewhere in the spot. The World Cup mania started to heat up.

Retailers, including upscale department stores like Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae as well as discounters, all welcomed the quadrennial soccer competition beginning June 9 with various promotional events. They ranged from sales of soccer paraphernalia, such as Red Devils T-shirts, caps and uniforms, various souvenirs and raffle tickets. Retailers, especially discounters like E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Samsung Tesco Homeplus stepped up their marketing of PDP television sets and LCD TVs. Hyundai Motors had a car speeding over a World Cup crowd in its spot, but my favorite was a telephone advertisement with a gorilla and man watching the World Cup. The gorilla gets excited and boots the TV out the window by mistake. Food and beverage companies, such as Papa John's pizza chain, Coca-Cola, and beer maker OB, launched large-scale marketing campaigns to woo local consumers. Rapidly expanding Papa John's went so far as to include former Korean soccer coach Gus Hiddink in its advertisements. Coca-Cola, whose sales had been straining under a growing consumer aversion to drinks laden with sugar and calories, was playing up the World Cup fever through television commercials starring Korean soccer players. Just about every commercial had a soccer linkage...it was surreal.

As the day of the first match for the ROK team on 14 Jun, there was great expectations. Their hero Gus Hidink coached his Australian team to a rout over Japan. The fifth-ranked US team suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to an aging Czech team. Then the coach of the Togo team resigned over a cash bonus dispute a day before the ROK-Togo match. Things looked promising and the spirits of the ROK perked up.

My students wearing body-paint on their faces and Korean flag decals on their foreheads -- and even enjoyed teaching me the "Daehan miguk" chants. In Seoul, the crowd started assembling around 5pm with the pre-game shows of singers singing the standard 1980s hit, "We are the Champions." In Songtan, there was a "cheering" rally held at Leports Park in Ichung-dong. My daughter attended the rally with her friends. The game started at 10pm and Togo drew first blood with a shot that deflected in off the goal post -- though the ROK team had more shots on goal. Lee Chun-Soo came back to tie it on a penalty kick and then Ahn Jung-Hwan, brought in as a relief, scored the winning goal. Ahn, the hero of the 2002 World Cup Games, did it again in a 2-1 win over Togo.

The second game was with France and ended in a 1-1 tie. Because it was broadcast at 3am, there was not as large a showing, but many Koreans woke up especially to see the game -- like my dummy daughter who had to go to school in the morning. An estimated 500,000 soccer fans took to the streets across the nation early on the morning of 19 Jun to watch South Korea play France in their World Cup game. Seoul Square in front of City Hall was filled with people in red T-shirts cheering for the national football team during its match against France in Group G of the World Cup in Leipzig.

The French drew first blood in the first half, but the South Koreans came back in the second to tie the match after a shot deflected by the goal post was nudged in by Park Ji-sung. Thierry Henry put France ahead in the ninth minute, but Park Ji-sung scored the tensely awaited equalizer 36 minutes into the second half. With the match, Korea was well placed to advance to the round of 16, topping group G with four points (one win against Togo and a draw). France had two points after two draws, the Swiss one point with one draw, and Togo none with one defeat. Tension was building toward the next match with Switzerland.

700,000 gathered in Seoul Square on 18 Jun at 4am in the morning. Despite warnings of rain, the crowd were in high spirits. However, the match ended in a 2-0 win for the Swiss, though the ROK team did not have many attempts at goals blocked by the outstanding goal keeping by the Swiss. The ROK team did not have anything to be ashamed of their performance, but they simply came up short. The crowds though disappointed accepted the defeat and simply dispersed. There was no flag-waving or editorials -- simply stoic silence. However, soon the shock wore off and the Korean netizens were furious venting their rage at the officials biased calls, claiming their team had to fight �11 men to 14.� The complaints varied from claims that the officials awarded the Swiss free kicks on legitimate challenges and closed their eyes to Swiss handling of the ball.

The biggest claim was that the refs were "out to get Korea" by awarding the Swiss a goal on what appeared to be an offsides. In the 32nd minute of the second half, when Korea was a point behind Switzerland, Xavier Margairaz, a Swiss midfielder passed the ball to his colleague on his right. The ball was reflected, however, by a Korean defender, Lee Ho, and was directed to Alexander Frei who was dashing forward and the ball was tipped into the goal in the next few seconds. Although the linesman raised his flag, the referee Horacio Elizondo (Argentinean) ignored it and approved the goal, igniting the flame of the �offside controversy.� The SBS commentator Shin Mun-seon stated that he did not view it as an offside violation -- and was recalled by SBS under pressure from the public who branded him a "traitor."

But to most, the Korean team simply was outclassed -- as most critics said they were from the start. Despite this, the Koreans played a good clean game -- and had nothing to be ashamed of. They simply got beaten by a better team. Soon after the loss, Dick Advocaat congratulated the team for their efforts to make it to the World Cup and stepped down. Advocaat said he was content with what he achieved with the squad. The Dutchman will coach the Russian club, Zenit St. Petersburg. ``We didn�t have a little bit of luck, as much as we had in 2002,�� he said. ``We beat Togo, in the game we had to win, and drew with France. In the Swiss match, the Swiss team deserved to win, but we played one of our best games in the second half. Unfortunately there were some strange calls from the referee about the offside and hand balls.�� Advocaat also confirmed he�s bringing World Cup squad members Lee Ho and Kim Dong-jin to Zenit to join him.

The assistant coach Pim Verbeek was chosen to succeed Advocaat. Verbeek played an important role in South Korea's 2002 World Cup advance to the semifinals at the side of then manager Guus Hiddink. When Advocaat took the reins of the national team last September, Verbeek was once again second-in-command, earning him the reputation of the most knowledgeable foreigner on the Korean team. The next appearance of the national team is in Aug 2006 for the Asian Games.

To the rest of the millions of TV viewers, there was a sigh of relief as the non-stop soccer advertisements were wearing thin. Every manufacturer tried to cash in on the soccer fever and suddenly it stopped -- much to the relief of the viewers. The TV broadcasters were also happy as they reaped $65.1 million in profits from all the advertising.

Korea emails were blocked from the FIFA site TWICE after fans deluged the site with hate mail -- in attempts to crash the site with overloads -- in order to protest, first, how they were ripped off by the judges ruling; and second, after FIFA dropped Korea's ranking to 56th place after their loss early in the World Cup.

Oh ... and Italy won the World Cup ... but for the average Korean, they had stopped watching the soccer matches weeks before.

June 2006
Food Poisoning at 30 schools and private institutions A massive food poisoning occurred for several days beginning June 16 in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, causing about 3,000 students at some 30 schools to have nausea, diarrhea, stomachaches and fever. Students got sick after eating meals supplied by the nation's largest food distributor, CJ Food System. (NOTE: Initial reports on 23 June listed 1,700 students affected. The figure increased to 2,300 by 26 June. The figures were revised to 3,000 in the August reports.)

About 50 workers at an environmental research complex in Inchon have shown food poisoning-like symptoms after eating meals in their cafeteria. Workers from two other private companies also became sick from cafeteria food. (Source: Seoul News.net.)

On 23 Jun, the South Korean Government said it was investigating an outbreak of food poisoning in Seoul area and Gyeonggi-do schools, which has affected 1,700 children. The Education Ministry said students from 25 schools in Seoul had suffered from symptoms including nausea, diarrhea, stomach aches and fever since the 16th of June. The government launched a full-scale inspection of some 10,000 school cafeterias across the nation to check sanitation and food distribution procedures. Health officials shut down the cafeterias at dozens of schools in the Seoul area, saying they did not meet cleanliness standards. Prime Minister Han Myeong-Sook, chairing a government meeting, has called for an investigation of food distributors who supplied meals to schools. The blame was laid at the foot of the CJ Food System which provided meals to the schools, but no specific process or contaminated food product could be pinpointed. (Source: ABC.net.)

The National Assembly immediately passed a revision bill on 23 Jun aimed at diversifying school meal suppliers, which have been largely dominated by a few large companies, and encouraging local governments to provide financial support for better operation of school cafeterias. The government and ruling party decided to convert the system of food suppliers from a declaration system to a licensing system, and hand out a budget for those schools that switch from consignment to direct management. Big catering companies are mostly distribution-centered businesses, so they take responsibility only for problems concerning distribution. The new law changed it so that the catering companies take overall responsibility for meals, and inspect food safety together with food suppliers. (Source: Korea Times and Donga Ilbo.)

My daughter, along with other students, also fell ill to diarhea and upset stomach at Songtan Girls High School after lunch on 19 Jun. They released my daughter and other affected students from school for fear of contagion in the much publicized food poisoning scare. We took her to the doctor's office who prescribed medicine, bland foods and rest. My daughter attended school the next day without any major recurrence of the illness so we did not think more of this topic -- until a friend visiting Seoul fell ill with the same symptoms a few days later.

A friend of mine, Hans Peterman, a Korean War vet on a ROK-sponsored vets tour, also came down with the same symptoms as food poisoning and ended up in a hospital suffering from dehydration on 24 Jun. It turned out that of the group of 59 about 12 came down with some of the same symptoms after a formal luncheon in Seoul. It was strange that all these cases of dysentary and stomach problems all happened around the same period as the student food poisoning outbreak. Hans wrote:

"I become very ill with diarrhea and vomiting on our second day, Sat. 6/24. It began at 0700, and by 1430 I gave up, asked the hotel for a doctor. They had none available, so a staff member took me to the ER at a nearby hospital, Soon Chung Hyang University, where they determined, after a series of many tests, to have severe dehydration. they IV'd me, gave me bottles of orange juice and ionized water and turned me loose at 2000 with medication for the next three days. They did an excellent job on me, (A doctor even called me a couple of days later to check up on me.) I missed, of course, all our planned activities for Sat. and then half of the events for Sun. and Mon. while recovering at the hotel. ... I wasn't the only one afflicted. Our leaders said that at least a dozen of our group of 54 (29 veterans) had gotten sick. I found out also that two other gentlemen had come down with identical problems as mine, although they didn't go to a hospital. We compared notes and we all experienced the onset within hours after a formal big-wig luncheon on Fri. 6/23. I can't recall what we had at the luncheon but I am convinced that that is where it all started."
ROK Fails to Determine Cause of Infection (Aug 2006) The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on 8 Aug that it failed to determine the cause of the massive infection due to the lack of evidence. A causal connection between the virus and the food given to the students was NOT found. But the center said it has identified the norovirus as a major cause of the massive infection since it was found in 124 of the 2,873 patients who suffered from the food poisoning. "Noro Virus, which is being indicated as the cause of this incident, is not included in food poisoning regulations; even if it is detected, related companies can not be punished." Minister of Health and Welfare Rhyu Si-min expressed his perplexity at this, saying, "There is no technology that can detect the Noro Virus in advance."

Simultaneous exposure to the virus is believed to have caused the viral infection. The health authority also said it was still unable to determine the connection between the source of the virus and the food provided by CJ Food System.

According to the announcement, the government is likely to take administrative and legal action against CJ Food, which provided food and operated cafeterias at most of the schools that were affected by the incident. The KFDA plans to revoke CJ's business license, and the Seoul metropolitan government will issue orders to close its branch offices if the company is confirmed to be responsible for the outbreak

CJ Food System, the nation's largest food caterer and food supplier, has been under fire for providing food ingredients and operating cafeterias at most of the schools hit by the food poisoning. Taking responsibility for the incident, the company decided to shut down its catering business at 93 elementary, middle and high schools and 35 universities across the nation.

CJ decided on 23 Jun to suspend the supply of food ingredients to 1,700 cafeteria operators around the nation. The decision came a day after the company halted operation of its 536 cafeterias in schools and companies nationwide. The KFDA plans to revoke CJ's business license, and the Seoul metropolitan government will issue orders to close its branch offices if the company is confirmed to be responsible for the outbreak. (Source: Korea Times.)
(SITE NOTE: It was noted that in America in Sep 2005, the presence of ecoli bacteria on LETTUCE in premade salad mixes were found. Dole prepackaged lettuce salad mixes (Classic Romaine variety, the American Blend, or Greener Selection) with Romaine lettuce, red cabbage, and carrots were found to be contaminated. This astounded many as this was never thought possible for green produce -- only hamburger and other meat products. This resulted in nationwide recalls of the prepackaged salad batches suspected of being contaminated. Symptoms of E. coli illness include stomach cramps and diarrhea. Bloody diarrhea may develop. E. coli disease sometimes leads to a serious complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure. People typically become ill two to five days after eating contaminated food. E. coli disease should not be treated with antibiotics, which can cause additional complications. (Source: About Ecoli.))

July 2006
Protest at Osan AB Fizzles (July 2006) On 4 July, anti-American activists began a five-day march from Seoul to Pyeongtaek to protest plans to expand Camp Humphreys. Fifty members of the Pan-National Committee to Deter the Expansion of Pyeongtaek U.S. Base were to walk 91 kilometers from the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae to the town of Daechuri. They will hold rallies outside the Defense Ministry in Seoul and a detention house in Pyeongtaek where some of their colleagues are being held in custody. The coalition also said popular actors Choi Min-sik, movie director Bong Jun-ho and other prominent figures from various sectors have joined their 571-member group. However, this march was over-shadowed by the FTA protests and the pending missile "test" launches by the North. There did not appear to be much support for the march -- except by the farmer groups, but they were tied up in Seoul with the FTA protests.

Activists planned a march on 7 July with about 200 people who were to march from Suwon Train Station to Suwon Air Base and from Osan Subway Station to Osan Air Base's main gate. They were expected to stay overnight outside Osan -- and most likely a counter-demonstration by the Merchant's Association would probably be scheduled as the area would most certainly be declared off-limits and cut into the area business. On 8 July the march was to continue to Pyeongtaek City Hall, then to Pyeongtaek Train Station and from there to Daechuri. On 7-8 March nothing appeared in the Tongil News that would normally monitor the march. Instead all the attention was detracted by an expected 100,000 that were expected to demonstrate against the FTA in Seoul on 9 July.

The planned march fizzled and the only indication of a protest was the large banner at Shinjang mall that stated the the Shinjang Mall Merchants "Emphatically Object" to any protests that damaged their business. Notice that it was not a condemnation of the protest -- only a condemnation of effects to their business. In other words, the meaning was to protest somewhere else. A somewhat confusing message.

Typhoon Ewiniar Hits Korea (July 2006) On 9 Jul, the weather was cloudy with a few sprinkles in the area. The weather was unusually muggy and rain clouds were in the sky. Although it still had not landed in the Korean Peninsula, typhoon Ewiniar was already causing damage. On July 9, in Yeongnam region, which encompasses Daegu and Gyeongbuk Province, seven people were killed or went missing, including an 80-year-old man who was swept away and killed by surging water levels causing by torrential rains. With Ewiniar expected to reach Jeju Island by the night of July 9, the entire country was under typhoon alert. The number of casualties nationwide stood at six dead with two missing.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center stated Ewiniar grazed Okinawa to on 8 July. Pusan reported 141 millimeters of rain from 8-9 Jul, while strong winds (20mps) caused flights cancellations into and from the southeastern port city. Ewiniar moved up the West Sea at 37 kmh in a northwesterly direction.

Changing course slightly to the east, Typhoon Ewiniar came ashore near Jindo in South Jeolla province at 10:50 a.m. 9 July and began a leisurely transit of the peninsula, losing steam as it went inland. But the storm was still powerful enough to dump 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain in some parts of the nation's south. The Cholla area received the most damage. The Korea Meteorological Administration upped the typhoon alert in southwestern parts of the country -- Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and nearby islands like Hongdo. Jeju and South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces saw heavy rains of between 100 to 200 mm on 10 Jul, with over 300 mm of precipitation in some parts of the island. About 60-120 mm of rain fell in North Gyeongsang and South Chungcheong provinces, and 20-80 mm in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces.

Heavy rain began flooding Chungchong provinces, Kyongsang provinces, brought in by air currents accompanying the typhoon from the southwest. Amid lightning and rain storms up to 40 millimeters of rain per hour fell.

By 3 a.m. 10 July, the eye of what was left of the storm was over the ocean east of the country. The storm put Kunsan Air Base, Osan Air Base, and Chinhae Naval Base in its �hot zone�. Ewiniar passed 107 miles west of Chinhae on the southeast coast at 6 p.m. 10 Jul and 15 miles north of Kunsan at 7 p.m. 10 Jul.

Osan and Kunsan ABs were spared Ewiniar�s wrath. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center stated the fourth storm of the northwest Pacific�s tropical cyclone season moved north into the Yellow Sea and skirted the Korean peninsula farther west than originally forecast. The storm passed southeast of Osan around 6 pm on 10 Jul about 130 miles west packing sustained winds of 58 mph and gusts of up to 75 mph at its center. However, at Osan most people commented -- "What typhoon?" Though it was windy, the main damage was that of small tree branches -- mostly twigs -- that were blown off, but no real damage in Songtan. There was very little rain and only the moderately strong winds -- not a typhoon-like experience.

The typhoon dissipated 11 hours after it hit the southern part of the peninsula, turning into a warm low pressure system some 80 km east of Seoul at 10 p.m.. The storm then moved into the ocean and completely disappeared overnight.

Ewiniar means "Storm God" in the Chuuk language of Micronesia and burned itself out in Manchuria on 11 Jul at 9 a.m. After Ewiniar passed, another typhoon named Bilis became a possible threat, but it was much smaller and categorized as a mid-grade typhoon that touched the west coast of Guam and turned northward at the Philippines towards Taiwan. �The name "Bilis" means �speed� or �fleetness� and was contributed by the Philippines.

Heavy Rains Wrecks Havoc on Korea (Jul 2006) Heavy rains were predicted for the area from Typhoon Ewiniar, but it bypassed Osan. In Songtan, on 15 Jul it had sweltering hot weather as the humidity climbed with temperatures in the 80s. Though our apartment is normally very cool, even on the hottest of days, it got to be so hot on 15 Jul, we turned on the bedroom air conditioner to get some sleep. According to the blogs, other Americans in Korea were operating their air conditioners full time. On the Lost Nomad blog, he posted an unusual weather reading. It was a humorous note to the question, "Can it possibly be anymore humid?" The humidity showed 100 percent.

Weather Reading (15 Jul 06) (Lost Nomad)

But the Gangwon Province did not find it humorous. A storm front had moved down from the north in the wake of Typhoon Ewiniar and lingered over the area for four days. The rivers started to swell and disaster was looming. On 16 July, weather officials issued heavy rain warnings for most of Gangwon Province and Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and parts of Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province. The downpours came in the midst of the annual monsoon season. At least 37 people were killed or missing in torrential rains that pounded South Korea's central and northeastern region on 16 Jul. The heavy rains around central area of South Korea caused the Han River to overflow and all 12 riverside parks of Han River, including the ones in Jamsil and Yeouido, to be inundated with water. It is the first time this has happened since 2002. The overflow brought traffic to a standstill on Olympic Boulevard.

Most of the victims were reported in Inje and Pyeongchang in the nation's eastern Gangwon Province where rains of more 500 mm caused floods and landslides. The landslides blocked roads causing the traffic to simply stop dead in its tracks forcing people to sleep in their cars and buses. The traffic backed up and there was no way to turn around. Trains were also stopped as the waters rose over the tracks in places and aircraft at the Gangwon airport was grounded. Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul reported one person dead and three others missing. In Anyang, south of Seoul, a 10-meter section of a stream dike collapsed, flooding 500 houses. Officials warned that several other streams in the province were also feared to overflow their banks.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated in Gangwon Province, most of whom took shelter in town halls and schools. The TV was filled with scenes of people sleeping on the floors of classrooms, people wading through flooded streets, rivers washed out, bridges reaching the overflow stages, dump trucks pouring stones into the bases of bridges to stop erosion, forkcranes trying to clear mudslide damages, homes demolished by landslides, and dams pouring out water it could not hold back. The rain also flooded more than 1,000 houses and 985 hectares, or 9.8 million square meters, of farmland. Yanggu in eastern Gangwon Province had the most rain with 512 millimeters. Cheongil in the southwestern province received 469.5 mm, while Inje and Chuncheon received 393.5 mm and 303.5 mm, respectively.

On 16 Jul the storm started to move south. Weather officials predicted that the rain front would affect the country till the about 19 Jul. On 19 Jul, the storm abated though the skies over Songtan were still overcast with drizzles. Four more bodies were found in flood-hit areas in the northern part of country overnight today, pushing the death toll to at least 25. Another 24 people are unaccounted for. Two of the dead were previously listed as missing and another two were recovered after being swept by rain-swollen rivers in Inje, Gangwon Province, the National Emergency Management Agency said. Three people who were reported as missing were found alive. The national disaster agency expected the number of casualties to increase as the search for survivors continued in Gangwon Province where over 7,800 people were isolated due to the rain-swollen streams.

The government also designated 18 locations nationwide as special disaster zones, where flood victims would receive special aid and financial compensation. The designated areas include seven counties and districts in Gangwon Province, such as Hongcheon, Inje and PyeongChang.

In Japan, the same storm resulted in at least 10 people dead and another 10 were missing after heavy rain lashed western and central Japan causing mudslides and flash floods. The deaths extended over four prefectures--Nagano, Fukui, Okayama and Shimane.

However, the damage in the North was reported as much worse. The Associated Press reported on 19 Jul that floods and landslides in the DPRK had left more than 100 people dead or missing, as the DPRK's official media acknowledged heavy rains had caused "tremendous losses." The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the harsh weather in the DPRK caused flash floods that damaged 11,524 houses, leaving more than 9,000 families homeless.

Monsoon Rains Continue (July 2006) On 25 Jul the USFK issued flood warnings and braced for heavy rainfall. The rain is to come courtesy of Typhoon Kaemi that headed toward the eastern Chinese coast. According to a news release, residents in areas I, II and III received up to 10 inches of rain by 29 Jul. Area IV, on the southern portion of the peninsula expected 4-6 inches of rain. Rain damage continued throughout the country as the already drenched soil received more rain. The seasonal rains lashed Seoul, central Gyeonggi, Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces with up to 300 millimeters in two consecutive days. Most of the damage was in the southern parts of Gyeonggi Province. Heavy rainfall broke part of the Anseong stream bank in the southern part of Pyeongtaek. Up to 2,700 residents in the area were given a flood warning at 1 p.m. on 28 Jul.

Experts said that this summer's torrential rain over the last 40 days will be recorded as the heaviest rainfall in history after 611.7 millimeters of rain fell in 1987. The seasonal rain front started in June 14, dumping 686.7 millimeters as of 6 p.m. 28 Jul. For the month of July, rainfall has been over 3 feet at Seoul (38.48 inches), or three times the normal rainfall of 12.73 inches.

In Songtan, the rains continued non-stop from the 25th of July. The rains at times made driving dangerous as cars sprayed water on the windshields while driving. The conditions worsened on the 28th when the base went to road condition red and stopped vehicular traffic to the base on the morning of the 28th. On 28 Jul the sewers on base were overflowing down near the BX and the streets were filled with running water -- meaning it was a big splash hazard for pedestrians. There were reports that the Chinwi River overflowed its banks as well as the streams down in Pyeongtaek. There were photos on the news of water spewing from underground vents into the Anseong River. On the 29th the rains continued but not as heavily as on the 28th and road conditions were downgraded to Amber. Our apartment is unusually cool because it is out of the direct sunlight most of the day with breezes from cross-ventilation. However, when the winds stopped and the rain fell, you just had just sit and swelter. On the 29th we turned on the airconditioner for the first time -- not because of the heat, but because the humidity was so high that the outdoor security lights showed the moisture hanging in the air like a fog.

On the Jul 30th the rains stopped and finally there was sunshine, but the ground everywhere was soaked and mushy. After the skies cleared up on the 30th, I took my dog Shelly out to walk the streets playing with my history hobby, but just glad to get out of the house. However, the humidity was still a little high as the ground water was evaporating. Shelly enjoyed finally being able to get out and smell everything, but was panting in the heat. (I carry a bottle of water and a plastic cup for her in my backpack.) Stopped into a little shop for Naengmyeon (cold noodles). Shelly sitting under the table conned the owner and man sitting at the next table out of their eggs from their naengmyeon. We were just glad the rainy spell was over!!!

The one thing I found disturbing was that my baseball hats all sported mold because the non-stop rainfall with high humidity and overcast skies that made the apartment a mold farm. Bags in the storage area and everything not in well-ventilated areas had mold. Even the uneaten dried dog food in Shelly's dish had mold on it.

What was most distressing was the mold also developed on some of my precious house plants that I keep on the veranda. The Korean wild orchids soil was coated with a layer of mold that looked like someone had spread creamed cheese over it. One small plant turned into what looked like a cotton ball. The worst off were the succulents (coral plants and cacti). There was just too much water in the air and the soil wouldn't dry out -- lost three of them to what appeared to be root rot. The begonias also croaked. All of the plants suffered from the lack of sunshine due to the prolonged rainy weather. As our apartment is in the shade most of the day, there was almost no sun for the plants due to the rain. The plants all looked peaked from the two solid weeks of overcast skies. (NOTE: In August I bought new plants for 7000 won -- recycling the pots, but even these showed signs of heat stress as well -- some leaf tips withered and brown. This means that not only my plants but nursery plants suffered as well. Because of the root rot lost more plants.)

EPILOGUE: (22 Aug 2006) My plants continued to die, but I suspect that it might have been my fault as well. I bought some houseplant food (liquid) in the BX. I used it on the plants and they ALL started dying. It might have been a combination of the root rot and the shock of this new plant food which I'm pretty sure I mixed correctly according to the directions. Not all the plants died but they all have suffered. Talk about someone who was a bit piffed. Some showed signs of recovering from the heat stress, but then withered after I used the BX plant food. Thus I can't blame the weather completely for my disaster. What a shame...

CDs are IN; Video Tapes are OUT but CHEAP!!! (July 2006) As I have mentioned before, I'm addicted to movies -- but I don't want to pay the inflated prices of the BX. Thus I buy pirated DVDs -- shame on me -- for $5 a copy or "buy-4/get one free". However, I was walking down a road off Jeyok Road and I noticed a faded sign that said "3 tapes for 1000 won." I went in and sure enough the tapes were in the back room. At those prices, you can simply chuck it in the trash after watching it. Now that DVDs are the medium of choice, video tapes are being trashed by the video shops.

Anyway, I bought $10 worth of tapes (30) and got 5 free as "service." That's 35 tapes for $10 -- or 35 cents each. That's a bargain for a movie nut such as me.

However, the main reason I was interested in the video tapes was that I'm also a Chinese movie addict -- not the modern Jackie Chan stuff, but the traditional movies where guys fly through the air, battle with a thousand soldiers (and win), and break castle walls with a single blow. Villans are pure evil -- not after sex or money -- but the pure joy of power and prestige. Pure fantasy!!! My biggest gripe with DVD Chinese movies in the BX is that they are flunky 1960 flicks (dubbed in English) that are just plain stupid and a waste of money. The pirated DVDs on Shinjang Mall have some Chinese movies, but most have turned out to be Korean-Chinese joint venture films that are of the formula-flick variety. Thus this shop was a bargain treasure trove.

If you see the shop and stop in to buy tapes, recommend you look at the tapes carefully. If the label looks faded like its been in the sun too long, don't buy it. It's too old. The first tape I watched went into the trash can immediately as it was from the 1970s and the tape quality had degenerated. I trashed it instead of risking dirtying my VCR heads. A lot of the tapes fell in this category.

The second tape turned out to be a part I of the Dune triology (under a different name) that I already have on CD -- so I hit eject. The third tape was the 6th Day with Arnold Schwartzenager that I had seen a bunch of times before on TV, but had forgotten the title. I hit eject again.

The next was a thirty-year old made-for-TV kung-fu movie with really terrible action scenes made with speedup camera work. It was from the 1970s Bruce Lee generation with simplistic sound effects and visual effects. Its amazing how far Chinese movies have progressed in sophistication dealing with special effects. These were popular on Korean TV back in the late 1980s-early 1990s, but simply too tedious to watch now. I hit the reject and trashed it along with the other six tapes in the set.

Then I found a movie to my liking. This was not a movie with super-heroes flying through the air, but it had nice head-chopping, people being drawn and quartered, slaves branded on their foreheads, etc. with blood flying everywhere. It was called The Emporer's Shadow. Though there was no English subtitles, the acting was good and you could figure out that the Emporer was cold and heartlessly cruel because he had to be in order to remain Emporer. Plots to kill him abounded. When courtiers disagreed, he simply threw them over the waterfall to their death. When he survives an assassination attempt by one of his own generals whose identity is not discovered, hundreds of peasant workers are slaughtered as scapegoats because he could not be seen as weak. In the end, he is forced to personally kill his only true friend who saved his life in his childhood. Then the Emporer marches alone though the assembled masses of civil servants and troops. Alone he climbs to the top of a pyramid to light a fire to ask the gods for the protection of the nation -- and falls to his knees to sob all alone. An Emporer is always alone. I liked it!!!

I even found the Once Upon a Time in China #4, 5 and 6 that did NOT star Jet Li, but had the other supporting actors from the series. #4 had pretty good action for a Class B flick, but #5 started to get tedious with its slanted shots to give it an artsy feel. #6 like all sequels had become totally boring with its made-for-television photography and lack of discernable plot. (NOTE: I have Once Upon a Time in China #1, 2, and 3 with Jet Li on CD.) But then in my newly found treasure trove, I found a surprise film: Once Upon a Time in China and America starring Jet Li. It was an awful film made for both American and Asian consumption. It contained every horrible stereotype and cliche from good/bad American Indians to good/bad cowboys to bandits and of course, the Chinese in America. What was really funny was watching the bandit leader using kungfu kicks in cowboy boots. It is no wonder Jet Li does NOT list this film on his film credits. Regardless I'm still glad I saw it -- bad or not.

I went back and bought another $10 worth of tapes -- seeking all the Chinese movies I could find and a bunch of comedies. That's a total of 70 tapes for $20 -- with the DVDs I get only 5 DVDs for $20.

Then I found in the batch, a 1990s Michelle Yeoh kung-fu flick with an almost non-existent plot but where Michelle still exhibited her fantastic kungfu flexibility as she takes on a bandit leader in a battle of martial art skills. Of course, I also picked up other flicks with Jet Li, Donnie Yen and other Chinese stars. These included movies with Jackie Chan who incidentally I've been watching since his first supporting roles back in the mid-1960s when he was -- how would you put it -- more plain in appearance (big nose with a shaved head). Accidental Spy and Rush Hour were the standard Jackie Chan fare with risky stunts and lots of action that I'd seen before.

I even got two samurai flicks in the batch. One was a so-so 1980s flick with Sonny Chiba as the bad guy that followed the worn-out Japanese plot of all the samurai dying to protect the young lord from the villians. The other was really terrible Sho Kosugi flick, Shogun Mayeda, in which the only saving grace was the acting of the legendary Toshiro Mifune, but even that couldn't save this honker from the trash bin.

As to American flicks, I finally got to see the entire HBO "Gettysburg" movie which years ago I only got to see a portion of on TV. I picked up some old "007" movies along with some comedies such as the Eddie Murphy "I Spy" flick and the hokey Beethoven I to III series. Also picked up some good melodramas. There were also a group of losers that went straight to the trash.

In the end, I had one trash bag of throw-away tapes -- some that I watched one time and trashed -- and others that I simply trashed immediately after seeing the poor quality. Even with the trashed losers, it was cheap if you're a movie addict like me. All in all, I was very happy with the purchases. In the end, out of the 70 films, there were 20 "keepers" which to me was a good deal. Thus for movie addicts, there are bargains out there that you can stumble upon. You just need to keep your eyes open.

To get to the shop, go down Youngchon Alley and go across Jeyok Road. Go down the road past the small market. The "Scene" Video Rental" shop is on your right.

Small protest at Shinjang Mall (July 2006) There was supposed to be a protest on 7 Jul in front of the Main Gate after marching from the Osan Train Station to Songtan. However, because of the rains, the protest fizzled. They held a small protest in Anjung outside Camp Humphreys during a clear spell on 22 July after typhoon Ewiniar passed. Then came the monsoon rains came and the protests again were stalled. The protestors are mainly "fair-weather" protestors who only show up on clear hot days. Being summer vacation, the college-age activists are on break and free to protest.

On 31 July, a small group of perhaps ten people chanted in front of the Osan AB Main Gate protesting the "Strategic Flexibility" policy of the US in Northeast Asia. Unfortunately for these protestors, the situation is out of their hands -- and there is nothing more to be said on this issue. The US will forge ahead with its policy -- while the ROK has "abstained" from giving its approval. The die has been cast and in the October Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) expect to hear some bad news for Korea. The concerns for life at Osan by contractors may become an issue.

The Shinjang Mall businesses position on these protests is that they "emphatically disapprove" of these protests that affect their businesses. Protests tend to shut the Main Gate and stop GIs from spending their money downtown.

(L) & (R) Protest in front of Main Gate at Shinjang Mall (31 July 2006) (Tongil News)

(L) & (R) Protest in front of Main Gate at Shinjang Mall (31 July 2006) (Boram O'Sullivan)

New Protest Target: Osan AB at Shinjang Mall??? (Jul 2006) The protests at Anjung-ni and Daechu-ri have been met by resistance from the area merchants and local residents. Though most of the farmers support the other farmers in Daechu-ri, the land promised to the US military is all but a lost cause. There have been small protests but the government started to demolish the abandoned homes in the area starting on 30 June. On 31 July, the residents of Daechu-ri along with Unification activists staged a candlelight vigil -- led by Fr. Mun Chon-Hyun, our favorite radical activist priest. (See Anti-US Expansion Protests in the Pyongtaek Area (Jan 2006-???).)

It seems that there may be a shift in focus for the protests. Instead of protesting the Daechu-ri farmers' plight, the latest Unification activists protest dealt with "strategic flexibility" dealing with the regional role of the USFK forces -- over the objections of the ROK government.

On 31 July the Tongil News ran an article on Osan AB along with the small protest there. The article talked about the bomb storage areas presenting a danger to the surrounding communities and the A-10 being the center of the environmental damage to the Kooni Range (now given back to the ROK)

OSAN AIR BASE AND THE SONGTAN AREA 2006

RETURN TO MAIN TABLE OF CONTENTS

SONGTAN EVENTS

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

JUNE 2006

June 2006

July 2006

OSAN AIR BASE AND THE SONGTAN AREA

2006