the korea herald

i meant to do this like a month ago, but apparently i completely forgot all about it.

when i left cheongju the first time i visited, corneli's host-dad bought me an english korean newspaper.

i skimmed through most of it, so here is a little taste of what's going on in korea (on September 29 at least, lol):

Seoul Signals No Changes in N.K. Policy

"Foreign Ministry officials yesterday indicated that there would be no changes to Seoul's North Korea policies demanding "irrevocable" denuclearization measures from Pyongyang in return for extensive economic and social aid."

N.K. Constitution Empowers Kim

"North Korea's revised constitution states that chairman of its National Defense Commission, a post held by Kim Jon-il since 1997, is the country's "supreme leader," in an apparent bid to give greater authority to Kim."

Families Bid Farewell After Brief Reunions

"Ninety-seven South Koreans and their 233 relatives from the North said painful goodbyes, with no guarantee of whether they would be able to meet again."

"Chung Dae-choon, the oldest South Korean to take part in this year's reunion at the age of 95, kept repeating "this is the last," as he held his son Wanshik's shaking hands before sending him away."

Number of Elementary School Students Hits Low

"The number of elementary school students in Korea has dropped to its lowest level, reflecting the country's dwindling birth rate"

More Elderly Suffer Abuse

"This year alone, a total of 29,969 cases of such abuse were reported as of August."

"Considering most victims hesitate to report their family members, the actual number of abuse could be larger."

No More Suicidal Bridges Over Han River, Says Seoul

"Seoul City has decided to keep a watching eye on major bridges over the Han River for potential suicide attempts."

"The 13 billion won ($10.8 million) project involves detailed guidelines on the prevention, urgent responses and post-factum measures following a suicide attempt."

1,033 reported suicide attempts from 2007 to July of 2009.

Yo, for real. That's absurd. Spending $10 million to keep people from killing themselves? Why don't you take that money and put it towards the poor who are doing everything they can to stay alive and are still dying! As you can probably tell, i was very angered by this article.

Police Breathalyzer Tests Unreliable

"Breath tests administered by police at road checkpoints have been found to be unreliable, with results of breath and blood alcohol tests not matching in nearly 98 out of every 100 cases, a police report showed yesterday."

And that's where i got tired of reading.. korean news is depressing as hell, damn.