Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Korea ranked first among all members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the number of accidental deaths among adolescents under the age of 15, a U.N. report showed.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2003/09/22/200309220004.asp

[whatthefunk]

Funny how they completely avoid the topic by turning the article around to discuss child deaths by mistreatment.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[billbile]

Indeed. What could be a more worthy sacrifice of a few children's lives...

[On the other hand]

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[billbile]

Well, it would be good to see them go into what kind of accidental deaths these are, and how they could be prevented. Like that four year old who was electrocuted the other day because of the power chords that run out into the street and are dangerous enough anyway; however on this day it was raining and the kid put his hand in the wrong place and ZAP!

Which makes you wonder why the people who put those dam power chords out there like that don't ever think ("hmmm, now let me see...I have children...what if that hapened to my children?").

[On the other hand]

Kiwi:

Yes, but I don't think anyone reading the article is going to forget that Korea had the highest rate of accidental deaths just because the article also mentions other countries. What, you want the last paragrpah to read: "Just to remind you again, Korea has the highest rate of accidental deaths for teenagers"?

If this were all a big nationalist cover-up, I don't think they would publish the stats at all, much less make Korea's rating the headline.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[kiwioutofthenest]

Well the stats are hardly surprising, i mean the amount of four year olds that are sent to the shop for milk alone is incredible....they run all over the road.....even when their mothers are with them, the women is totally preoccupied with her refection that leaves the kid to wander all over

[On the other hand]

[FierceInvalid]

Can't say as I'm too surprised. I often see stuff with parents/children here that blows my mind. I was standing in the stairwell of my school's building once and there was a woman talking on her cell phone, back turned to her toddler child, who she had standing on the bannister. If that kid fell, she never would have known, and it could've easily been curtains. The handrail couldn't have been much more than 10cm wide. Of course you see this kind of thing everywhere, but it seems to me more often here.

I'd imagine many of those deaths are traffic-related too.

[Cthulhu]

Even though Korean kids are amazingly ignorant of how dangerous their darting in among cars is, I think (as Fierce Invalid touched on) that kids die in cars more than on the street from cars. Kids are never buckled up in the back seat and I've seen babies simply held in their mother's arms in the front seat. Even a minor accident can be curtains for kids. People have to learn that seat belts aren't just for the front seat and aren't just for adults.

[Corporal]

Yeah, I wonder about that seat belt thing too. At what age do they decide it's suddenly necessary to wear one? Koreans as a group really need to be educated in the laws of physics.

[Scott in HK]

It is the same in Hong Kong (about seat belts and car seats)...but I think it should be remembered that the same was true in Canada not so long ago. We didn't all start wearing seatbelts or using car seats because of our knowledge of physics...but because the Government first made a law and then started to enforce it with large fines. It is only now that we think it is normal...and even now...people have to be reminded about the proper way of putting them in.

Korea and Hong Kong just need to catch up. The change is not coming from physics textbooks but from government who always has to force people to do things that are good for them....HK is even thinking of going smoke free...