Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

remember this case? i'm just wondering.. what was the result of that case? did the US government give them money or something? what happened.. i can't remember? i'm in a discussion about it with a korean girl i know.. and i just don't know what ultimatly happened?

[richinkorea]

Great topic two months ago.

Good discussion on loney planet, couldn't find it though.

Why don't you tell us the version the K girl was giving you ?

[Tiger Beer]

Well, basically the story is that two korean girls were accidently dead because they were hit by a US army vehicle.

She believes the US military was at fault and those people should be punished.. etc.. etc.. and she explained that the US gov't didn't follow procedure and do certain steps that were necessary to ensure safety.. etc.., etc.

Actually, I was and am still trying to figure out what justice she intends on them. I told her in the USA, that if someone wrongfully dies by accident death in a case responsible by a government agency. Generally the family will expect some kind of financial settlement.

So I was just trying to figure out if the US Gov't offered money.. or if they just completely ignored the case altogether..

[The Donkey]

From what I remembered the US Gov' gave them cash..something like $200,000 plus started work on a memorial or a foundation, something along those lines.

[rasta man]

I was going to post on this. Yesterday at our uni I came across a memorial to those kids still with candles burning and wanted posters for the GIs still being circulated and handed out to students.

Come on people GROW UP!!!!!!!!!

What galls me is how the Koreans are still up in arms over this but there have been NO memorials, demonstrations etc for the 200+ people killed in the subway fire at least on my campus. Why aren't the Koreans demanding the heads of the people responsible for this? 200+ people were needlessly killed yet they seem to make a bigger deal over an accident in which the victims have been adequetly compensated and the USFK and the US administration has apologized for on numerous occaisions. THIS IS SICKENING!!!!!!!!!

I have lost all respect for the students here on this issue, their lack of knowledge on this is incredible. Then again this is Korea and independent thought is unheard of here

[Tiger Beer]

Thanks for that info! I thought it was something like that..

Her, and most Korean people seem still be pretty upset over that (even now).. I was trying to explain that maybe we just have different legal systems.. as usually tragic accidents in the USA there is cash settlement.. plus I remember even Bush gave a public apology.. couldn't remember though..

Anyhow, touchy topic to bring up.. I'm still not sure how she thought it should be dealt with.. I was trying to find out if by Korean Law people go to prison for accidental death like that.. I'm kind of curious about that now..

We both agreed that it was a tragic circumstance and situation.. but she seemed to expect.. hmm.. not sure.. something more..

I tried to explain the time that my 11th grade classmate accidently killed an 8th grade girl.. (car into bike).. anyhow.. it was a tragic accident.. and everyone who knew the two families felt horrible! (i knew them both).. but generally we wouldn't put the woman in prison.. the guilt and the tragedy was horrible enough..

She seemed to be convinced though that the US military was doing something wrong which caused it.. and they.. i guess.. they intentionally meant to kill the two girls? i still don't quite understand.. generally she assumes that all US military are heartless cold and take joy in killing innocent Korean civilians.. and this behavior has got to stop.. (thats the impression i got anyhow)..

overall though the conversational was pointless and we resolved absolutely nothing.. just made for an uncomfortable conversation.. like two brick walls talking to each other..

[richinkorea]

Much of the commotion was made by the communist party. It was right before the election. It was the perfect cause to get Roh elected. The North has a lot of sway in SK politics.

[The Lemon]

[richinkorea]

Well done Lemon !

[matko]

Yeah Lemon, good job.

It's sad really. I lost some Korean friends over this because I had the gaul to send them some news links that contradicted their comments. I mean, I'm Canadian and I just pointed out some FACTS that they just refused to accept and decided that they didn't need an American sympathizer as a friend.
Oh well, I guess they weren't real friends to begin with.
However, there were some Korean friends who actually appreciated and understood what I was telling them.

[rasta man]

great job Lemon, keep up the good work on this one.

It does make me wonder which country's media is worse in spreading lies and propaganda. The Korean media on this or the US on Iraq.

Bottom line is we have 2 country's where its citizens are being totally kept in the dark regarding the facts of 2 major issues that can (and will) cause a great deal of harm to their countries if present polices are allowed to continue

[Tiger Beer]

I have to salute and give you kudos as well Lemon..

Oddly this is the conversation I had with my Korean friend BEFORE we started talking about the US military accident.

I was telling her that would be kind of cool if the US military left. (My opinion being they serve no purpose and can't possibly protect Seoul if they are in the killbox anyhow).. so she said why do Americans think that we hate them (and want to leave)? She told me we don't hate Americans. Then she said why does the US media make it sound like we hate Americans?

I told her well its because of all the demonstrations, everyone vocally tells the USA to *beep* off and leave, all foreigners have felt that vibe from time to time, etc.. like my good friend who teaches in KwangJu.. some kids asked him 'are you american or canadian' he smiles back and says mi-guk-saram-im-ni-day (i'm american) and they socked him in the gut. Anyhow, there is a pretty obvious anti-american sentiment..

But I tried to tell her that.. and she said.. 'no no no.. Koreans and Americans are friends and allies. We love Americans. You can't judge the Korean people based on a few bad experiences!"

I agree with her.. I can't.. and I don't.. I do like Korean people ALOT.. but somehow we tapped into the military incident with the death of two Korean girls..

hmmm... two brick walls talking to each other.. she just doesn't realize you can't just hate and love Americans and tell them "get the hell out and please protect us we love you' at the same time.. well, you could.. but.. kind of mixed message to me..

let the US military go.. they will still 'protect' you.. but let them get the hell out of Korea so they don't have to deal with this petty stupid shit from their ally that loves them so much!!!

[Zyzyfer]

On top of what Lemon said, keep in mind that the incident happened way back near the end of the World Cup, if I'm not mistaken. I distinctly remember reading about it, waiting for the almighty uprising to occur, then noting that nothing was happening due to it when there was a naval incident between North and South Korea. The issue went to sleep, then suddenly sparked up out of the blue.

Because of that, I pretty much lost my sympathy for the situation. If you want to hate, hate while the hating's still fresh, but don't go saving it for a later date.

And dancing around this subject when my girl wanted to discuss it one night...that was a doozy and a half. Thankfully, she only asked once, and we never discussed it again.

One of my uncles, who's ex-Navy, brought up the topic with me during Christmastime, and I told him the Korean side of the story, and he agreed that the situation was bad, but he also made the quite valid point that soldiers don't choose to come over here. Sure, they could quit the military if they really didn't like it, but they can't just say "Hey guys, I feel like being stationed in Bali for 2 weeks, thanks!"

[Dr. Buck]

Some good observations on that post Lemon, especially about the exploding head . . .

My take on it:

This last month I was cruising through Kangwando while on my school's spring break. My plan was to scout out some trout streams and make few casts, do some hiking and snow camping, and if time permitted, check out the place where the two girls collided with their terrible fate.

From a bit of tedious net research and deciphering lots of bad Rominization of Hangul, I made a circle of the area where the accident happened in my Korean road atlas. It's in Hyeon Cheon Li, Gwang Jook Myun, Yanggu Gun in the province of Kangwando. It was somewhere on the road to Yi Jung Bu Joyang High School.

Well, up there, judging miles on the map, is a deceiving mind game and you have to be sharp with your topography. As the crow flies, it looks likes its 15 minutes away, but as you drive around mountain, and mountain, and mountain, your destination in 2 and a half hours away.

And I didn't make it to the accident site to verify a few things that I wanted to personally clear up once and for all as this twisted argument as has raged throughout the country. Instead I opted for trout fishing because its easier on the soul.

Yet, I still wish I would have taken the time to check the location out and see for myself. To reenact the scenario and make my own decision then and there.

There's a few things I learned on this backwoods mountain roadtrip that relates to this tragedy. Some of them are general observations.

1. I encountered many country-folk pedestrians that were walking in the middle of the road and they hardly made a move to get out of my way as I cruised up on them. This perhaps relates to Korean driving laws. Check out the US Embassy website about driving in Korea and their explanation about how the pedestrian is nealy always in the clear, legally. Well, this creates a mentality among the population that the driver will always make way for the stray pedestrian. Of course, that is not realistic--not in any country, and especially not in Korea.

2. One news report concerning the accident mentioned a sidewalk--that the vehicles mowed them down on a sidewalk. As far as I know, this is absurd. I seen a photo from one news source and it looked like a typical country road to me. From what I noticed, most mountain villages do not have sidewalks. Most Korean country roads have an extremely thin gravel strip along the shoulder of the road. Usually, that is backed by a corrugated steel barrier, or a cement waterway ditch designed for flood control (I have nightmares about my right front tire plunging into one of those). Whatever, as a pedestrian, you do not have much room to move on a typical Korean country road.

So there it is: two girls that by the matter of sociological conditioning, do not get out of the way of vehicles approaching behind them . . . and in the last two seconds when they finally do notice that there is a danger, they find they have no room to move . . . and add one G.I. who is not paying attention . . .

There is also the matter of the the vehicles moving only 5-10 miles per hour . . . . but I'll save that for later if this thread gets mental enough.

That's my take on it, and correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said, I'd like to cruise up there and see the accident scene for myself--I passed up my chance--call me a voyeur--but I simply don't trust what I hear from anywhere on this issue. Sort of the mentality, "if you're going to do it right, you got to do it yourself." If anyone has the initiative to put their gas money where their mouth is, then I'd love to hear about what they describe if they head on up to that area and check it out.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Hey!

I always wondered about that...

Korean traffic psychology and Western traffic psychology are completely different!

I wonder if both the driver and the girls each thought (aasumed) the other would move.