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jay-shi
Joined: 09 May 2004
Location: On tour
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 Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: Korean Couple Drown �Due to Poor English� |
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http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706080024.html
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Korean Couple Drown �Due to Poor English�
A Korean couple who had been living in the U.S. for 20 years drowned this week after driving into a river, apparently because their English was too poor to explain their plight to emergency services. Dallas police in the state of Texas said they pulled a Hyundai sedan from the Trinity River in South Oak Creek on Wednesday morning. Kim Young-hwan and Kim Sook-yeon, who were reported missing on Monday, were found in the car.
On the day they disappeared, the Kims apparently went driving in heavy rain to look at a location for a new pizza restaurant.
Police assume the couple was swept into a torrential stream in a low-lying area where rain had washed out pools. The bereaved family say the husband called 911 on his mobile phone but the operator hung up on him because Kim�s English was not fluent. The couple then reportedly called an acquaintance saying, �Water is coming in, help me.�
([email protected] ) |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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20 years in the country and you can't communicate "HELP I'm at xxxxx"?
Sticking exclusively with the "community" caused their death. Unless every 911 switchboard ought to have linguists from all 400 or so languages and dialects on duty.. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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Had they been driving an American car, they would be alive today.
Maybe. |
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Treefarmer
Joined: 29 May 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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the operator hung up on him!!!
jesus christ, you'd think you'd be pretty patient with people lacking english skills if you work for the 911 switchboard, it's probably important |
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| Unless every 911 switchboard ought to have linguists from all 400 or so languages and dialects on duty.. |
The London Met tried that one, not sure if it's still running. And remember it could happen to anyone of us. There is an English speaking police service in Korea but it ain't 24 hr add to the fact that half the time I haven't a clue how to describe where I am, 'Help I've been stabbed!' 'Where are you?' 'Near Family Mart! Quick! ughhhh'. |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Treefarmer wrote: |
the operator hung up on him!!!
jesus christ, you'd think you'd be pretty patient with people lacking english skills if you work for the 911 switchboard, it's probably important |
How does the family know this?
Once I see transcripts of the call, then I'll get outraged... |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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i betcha the panicky guy said a few words in english then switched to korean...
the funny thing is, if he spoke spanish the 911 emergency operator would have followed procedures and connected him to someone who spoke the language |
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Treefarmer
Joined: 29 May 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Alyallen wrote: |
| Treefarmer wrote: |
the operator hung up on him!!!
jesus christ, you'd think you'd be pretty patient with people lacking english skills if you work for the 911 switchboard, it's probably important |
How does the family know this?
Once I see transcripts of the call, then I'll get outraged... |
it says that they called their family after the 911 failed
i'm not really outraged, stuff like this happens a lot, i've had to call 999 in england and have had real idiots answering the phone |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm getting "America" and "not eating Korean food" are responsible for their deaths. A warning to all pure Koreans about the dangers! |
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yawarakaijin
Joined: 08 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 11:49 pm Post subject: |
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Totally off topic. This one is directed at mindmetoo. It may have been answered before but is that your gf? If so, do you enjoy rubbing it in? You can take that comment any way you like, LOL   |
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Haggard
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:15 am Post subject: |
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Korean media morons painting the couple as victims of a heartless 911 operator:
The bereaved family say the husband called 911 on his mobile phone but the operator hung up on him because Kim�s English was not fluent.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706080024.html
The truth:
Mr. Kim also called 911. But the 911 operator couldn't understand what he was saying. A woman, presumably Mrs. Kim, can be heard screaming in the background. The sound of what appears to be rushing water can also be heard.
The operator repeatedly tried to find out what was wrong with the caller and where he was calling from. "What language are you speaking?" she asked. "Are you speaking Chinese or something?"
But the line went dead before she could get any information. The 911 operator tried to call the man back but got voice mail.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/dmn/stories/0607dnmetmissingcouple.1f033c19.html
The truth and the Korean media go together like red wine and lugnuts. |
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Guri Guy
Joined: 07 Sep 2003
Location: Bamboo Island
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:13 am Post subject: |
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The sh*tty Korean media strikes again.
It is a tragedy that the couple died to be sure but to try and blame it on Americans or the 911 operator is ridiculous. |
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Smurfette
Joined: 21 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:38 am Post subject: |
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| Well if after 20 years you're not fluent........I say it's just a case of Darwinism..... |
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:46 am Post subject: |
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| I'm no fan of the Korean media but a few questions spring to mind. The police couldn't trace the call location because it was a cell phone but the next day after the couple were reported missing they contacted the phone company and located the call to a phone tower. Could this not have been done sooner? Maybe not, maybe these things take time and I've been watching too much CSI. But what could/did the operator do after they lost the call? Maybe nothing, I'm not familiar with that area or any emergency services. I also think this has nothing to do with English speaking ability and if the press are carrying this '911 hung up because they didn't speak English' shite then feck em. But how can 911 or 999 use technology to locate cell phones? There are services in Korea that let you spy on the location of your partners phone. |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:04 am Post subject: |
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| ED209 wrote: |
| I'm no fan of the Korean media but a few questions spring to mind. The police couldn't trace the call location because it was a cell phone but the next day after the couple were reported missing they contacted the phone company and located the call to a phone tower. Could this not have been done sooner? Maybe not, maybe these things take time and I've been watching too much CSI. But what could/did the operator do after they lost the call? Maybe nothing, I'm not familiar with that area or any emergency services. I also think this has nothing to do with English speaking ability and if the press are carrying this '911 hung up because they didn't speak English' *beep* then feck em. But how can 911 or 999 use technology to locate cell phones? There are services in Korea that let you spy on the location of your partners phone. |
I do believe that cellphone technology is behind in the U.S. compared to Korea. Korea is so much smaller, so switching to new cellphone towers is a cakewalk compared to doing it in say Texas.
I think the reason why they didn't call right away was the simple fact that they didn't know what the hell happened. The couple apparently didn't speak in English and the call was cut off. Maybe the authorities should have called the cellphone company sooner but considering how long it took for them to find the car AFTER the rainstorm, I sadly think the result would have been the same...
from the article:
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Mr. Kim also called 911. But the 911 operator couldn't understand what he was saying. A woman, presumably Mrs. Kim, can be heard screaming in the background. The sound of what appears to be rushing water can also be heard.
The operator repeatedly tried to find out what was wrong with the caller and where he was calling from. "What language are you speaking?" she asked. "Are you speaking Chinese or something?"
But the line went dead before she could get any information. The 911 operator tried to call the man back but got voice mail. |
What I found odd is that these people were missionaries and whatnot. Doesn't that require a fair bit of English knowledge? I think they understandably got freaked out and just jumped into Korean. But after 10 years...hmmm....It's still a sad way to go....
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It was a devastating end for a couple who came to the United States more than a decade ago from South Korea, seeking a new and better life for them and their three children. They had dedicated themselves to mission work, said Danielle Kim.
Ms. Kim said she and her sister had taken a trip to Afghanistan last year. Recently, her parents had gone on a mission trip to an Oklahoma Indian reservation. They were dedicated members of Binnerri Presbyterian Church in Richardson.
"My father had a vision," Ms. Kim said.
"They are a faithful Christian family," said Kyong Kim, an assistant pastor at their church. "They were committed to mission work. They worked so hard." |
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