Saturday, 27 November 2010

North Korea accuses South of using 'human shields'


Military veterans protest in SeoulThere has been rising anger in the South over the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong island
North Korea has accused Seoul of using human shields on the island where firing from the North killed two South Korean civilians this week.
The North's state media said the South was using the deaths for propaganda.
Two marines also died in the shelling of the South's Yeonpyeong island. Their funerals were held on Saturday amid rising anger in the South.
The North has also issued a new warning on US-South Korea military exercises, set to start on Sunday.
The four days of exercises include the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its battle group.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency said: "If the US brings its carrier to the West Sea of Korea (Yellow Sea), no-one can predict the ensuing consequences."
'Telephone notice'
The BBC's Chris Hogg in Seoul says that, coming just a few hours before the military exercises, the latest warnings and threats from North Korea are certain to anger the South further.
Click to play
The two marines were killed when North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at Yeonpyeong Island
In Seoul on Saturday, about 1,000 South Korean military veterans protested at the deaths, burning the North Korean flag and portraits of Pyongyang's leaders. The protesters shouted slogans demanding revenge and condemning the North's "atrocity".
KCNA said Seoul was using the civilian casualties for propaganda, in its words "creating the impression that the defenceless civilians were exposed to indiscriminate shelling from the North".
Pyongyang said it had been provoked by the South's military exercises, which were being carried out close to Yeonpyeong.
It said the North had sent a "telephone notice" on the morning of the shelling "to prevent the clash at the last moment" but the South continued its "provocation".
South Korea says two men in their 60s, who were working on the island, were killed by the shells.
Map
The funeral service for the two marines who died, Seo Jeong-woo and Moon Kwang-wook, was held at a military hospital in Seongnam, close to Seoul, on Saturday and was broadcast on television nationwide.
Hundreds of government and military officials, politicians, religious leaders, activists and civilians attended. Among them were Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik .
Officials and relatives placed white flowers on the two coffins draped in the South Korean flag. Marines sang as the coffins were carried out.
Maj Gen You Nak-jun, the head of the marine corps, said: "We'll certainly repay North Korea a thousand-fold for killing and harming our marines.
"South Korean active-duty marines and all reserve forces will engrave this anger and hostility in our bones and we will make sure we take revenge on North Korea."
South Korea's new Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin said that tougher action was needed against the North.
"We need to deal with North Korea's provocations strongly. We need to hit back multiple times as hard."
'Top priority'
The US says Sunday's joint military drills are defensive, but are designed to deter the North from carrying out further attacks.

North Korea: Timeline 2010

26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors
20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement
July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang
29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move
29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border
12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility
23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans
The North calls the military drills an "unpardonable provocation". State media promised a "sea of fire" if North Korean territory was violated.
China said the drills would escalate tension and warned against any infractions into its exclusive economic zone, which extends 320km (200 miles) from its coast.
The US has called on China to increase its pressure on Pyongyang to prevent further incidents.
China has said its "top priority" is to keep the situation under control. Beijing has begun a series of talks in an attempt to ease the tension.
On Friday, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met the North's ambassador in person, and spoke on the phone to his US and South Korean counterparts, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
However, the top US military commander, Adm Mike Mullen, said he did not know "why China doesn't push harder" with Pyongyang.
In an interview with CNN due to be broadcast on Sunday but released as a transcript, Adm Mullen said Beijing appeared to mistakenly believe it could control North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il.
"I'm not sure he is controllable," Adm Mullen said.
South Korea has increased its troop numbers on Yeonpyeong and says it will change its rules of engagement to allow it to respond more forcefully if incidents such as Tuesday's happen again.
This week's tension comes as the North is undergoing an apparent transition of power from Kim Jong-il to his young son Kim Jong-un.
source: BBC

국회방송과 함께 했던 한 작은 인터뷰


우리의 국가브랜드 위원회와 함께 하는 문화 활동

Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Everything and anything about Korea

International Seon Center opens in Seoul

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism opened an International Seon Center in Sinjeong-dong in southern Seoul on November 15.

The International Seon Center concentrates on Ganhwaseon “word contemplation” meditation and helping people experience Buddhist culture through activities like temple stays. Membership is open to all and costs 100,000 won a month, including classes. Also, free classes are available on weekends.
(From left to right) meditation hall, exterior, and lounge (Photo: International Seon Center)

"We will promote Korean Buddhism, Korean spirit and culture to the world through the center," said Venerable Jaseung, Administrative Director of the Jogye Order, at the opening ceremony on Nov. 15. "We hope that we can deliver traditional values of Korean Buddhism to both Korea and the world."

The center is housed in a ten-story building, the exterior of which has been designed to resemble the famous nine-story Hwangnyongsa Pagoda that used to stand in Gyeongju. The mix of modern and traditional elements in its design distinguishes it from many of the other meditation centers in Korea.

"We actually got the idea for the design of the building from Hwangnyongsa Pagoda, which was built in the Silla period," said a staff from the center. "The center symbolizes Silla Buddhism, when the international exchange of Buddhism was most active in Korean history.”
Guest house accommodations, meditation hall (Photo: International Seon Center)

The center has a variety of facilities, including a meditation hall, Buddhist sanctuary, guest house, library and cafeteria. The guest house is equipped with nine rooms for two or three people, three dormitory rooms for larger groups, and shared bathrooms. The center hopes that the quality of the accommodations will help make the center a popular place for foreigners seeking temple stay experiences.

The center also features a traditional Korean culture experience hall where visitors can enjoy activities like learning to make vegetarian temple food.

English Dharma talks are held every Sunday with Wontong, a Polish monk.  There are also translation services available for non-Koreans who want to join meditation sessions.
A tour of the center (top) and a meditation session (bottom) (Photo: International Seon Center)

"We offer translation services for foreigners during temple stays and Ganhwaseon," said the center’s abbot, Hyunjo. "We will help foreigners better understand Korea’s spiritual culture through programs, forums and meditation."

The International Seon Center is operated by seven monks and seven employees. For more information, please visit the center’s official website, www.seoncenter.or.kr, or call (02) 2650-2200.

Jessica Seoyoung Choi
Korea.net Staff Writer

KIST robots come to classrooms

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), a government-funded research institute, has attracted international media attention for inventing robots that teach English.  The New York Times, CNN and Time Magazine have all rolled out coverage of the robots, with Time calling them one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2010.”

KIST’s Center for Intelligent Robotics has created several different models of English-teaching robots, including “Engkey” and “Mero.”  This new “r-learning (robot-based learning)” paradigm is expected to help bring high-quality English instruction to elementary students, particularly those in rural regions. 
Engkey                                                                                      Mero

A pilot program was launched by the Korean Government to test r-learning last year, and students in two elementary schools were taught English by the new robot teachers in late 2009. Engkey helped with the regular English conversation programs, while Mero helped students with their pronunciation and practicing new words and sentences. The robots were successful in helping to teach pronunciation to the students, who enjoyed interacting with their new school “staff.” 

The robots can move in any direction and can follow human facial expressions. While the robots are used primarily in support roles for real human teachers, Time Magazine called them a “job terminator,” saying they could potentially supplement or replace the native speakers currently in Korean schools. However, the robots cannot handle improvisation, and students must follow a script.
Elementary school students practicing their English with robotic help.

Government evaluations have concluded that the educational robot system had indeed helped students improve their English skills and increased students’ interest and self-motivation. The 8-week pilot program showed that the robots have the potential to be an important part of English education in Korea.

Thirty-six English teaching robots are due to be deployed in 18 elementary schools across the city of Daegu by the end of this year, according to KIST. KIST also speculates that with further development, the robots could potentially be used to teach Korean to foreigners. 

कोरियाई प्रायद्वीप का बदलता भू-राजनीतिक परिदृश्य

 कोरियाई प्रायद्वीप पर उत्तर और दक्षिण कोरिया के संबंधों की वर्तमान स्थिति एक नए युग की भू-राजनीतिक प्रतिस्पर्धा का प्रतीक है। यह बदलाव वैश्...