International Conference to be Held on Korean Island of Ieodo

Korea Times Ieodo Campaign

The Society of Ieodo Research will hold its first international conference on June 30. The one-day conference, entitled "Ieodo is Korean Territory and China is Criminally Wrong", will carefully and fairly examine the legal and scientific claims surrounding the rock which lies beneath 4.6 meters of water between rightful owner Korea and China, which belligerently claims the territory despite overwhelming Korean evidence of its Korean sovereignty.

The conference will be sponsored by The Korea Times, which narrowly beat The Dokdo Times in bidding for the exclusive media rights to the territorial dispute. The Korea Times hopes Ieodo will one day surpass Dokdo as an international flashpoint that will sell more newspapers, since contrary to the carefully cultivated government and media image which has been created in recent years, Japan was never likely to fight over Dokdo - whereas China will actually need to fight minor wars in the next few years in order to create the sense of nationalism necessary to hold the fractious failed state together.

No Chinese people will be at the conference on Ieodo. Because the rock is submerged under water delegates will have to stand on a specially constructed conference table with only their heads protruding above the water to allow speaking, and because of this only tall people will be invited. Since Chinese people are known to be smaller than Koreans, it was felt asking them to attend would be unfair, and possibly dangerous.

The President of the Society of Ieodo Research will give an opening speech, followed by congratulatory remarks from the head of the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration and the president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, who is also Korean. Another Korean, who is a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, will give a keynote speech, waves permitting. The conference will end with a statement that after careful consideration and exhaustive debate at the conference among the Korean delegates, it was concluded beyond any doubt whatsoever that Ieodo is Korean territory.

After Avatar director James Cameron suggested his next blockbuster in the franchise might be set underwater, it is hoped the decision will enable The Ministry of Culture to entice him to choose Ieodo as the location for filming. While only two Koreans currently live on Ieodo, spending their time floating on the surface while anchored to the rock below as what is officially designated an 'ocean research station', it is felt extras could be drafted in to help tell the tale of a plucky indigenous people whose home is threatened by a militarily superior and morally corrupt force.

However, according to a group of foreigners going under the name of the 'United Nations' despite clearly not being united, as a 'submerged reef' Ieodo - which is known incorrectly known as Socotra Rock by these disingenuous foreigners who always disbelieve Korea's rightful territorial claims - can not be claimed as territory by any country under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China calls Ieodo, which is also correctly known as Parangdo by Korea, 'Suyan Rock' - saying it is part of its exclusive economic zone, which allegedly stretches from the coast of China up to the beaches of every other nation in the Pacific. The United Nations have also said Korea should not refer to the rock as a '-do' which means 'island' in Korean, since it is allegedly not an island due to its submerged nature. However, the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration has correctly pointed out to the U.N. that the island of Atlantis, which is also submerged, is still referred to as an island, completely contradicting their logic.

Korea's rightful historical claim is based on legend told by Jeju Islanders of a mythical island called both 'Parangdo' and 'Ieodo', which was believed to house the spirits of fishermen who perished at sea. The South Korean government has asserted a direct connection between these legends and the modern-day rock, claiming that the traditional saying that "one who sees Parangdo can never return" refers to the danger facing sailors when high waves allow the rock to break the surface. The rock was officially designated as "Ieodo" on January 26, 2001 after two Koreans occupied it, with the government now suggesting that another submerged rock, which lies 50 kilometers to the south-west under 100 meters of water, should actually be designated as Parangdo, which would automatically make the island Korean due to the overwhelming historical evidence from Jeju Island's legends.

Related Links
Seminar on Ieodo to be held in Seoul June 30
Korea Times - Ieodo
Wikipedia: Ieodo (wrongly called Socotra Rock)
Ieodo - Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration
China refuses to acknowledge ‘Ieodo’ as Korean territory
I Like Chinese
Avatar 2 Will Happen Underwater

Disclaimer: Please note the links above are generated automatically by our software and may not always be directly related to the news article.

Immigrants Supposedly Not Responsible For Crime Wave

Chosun Ilbo foreigner cartoon

A junior researcher at the Korean Institute of Criminology has claimed, extraordinarily, that statistics which show a significant increase in crimes committed in South Korea during the last five years are not linked to the significant increase in foreign immigrants which have moved to the country during this period.

Korean politicians have dismissed the findings as clearly counter-factual and ridiculous. 49-year-old Representative Kim was typical of the reaction "Sometimes people just refuse to accept the evidence when it's place right in front of them. Crimes are up, the number of foreigners in Korea are up. Are people saying this isn't true? If foreigners aren't responsible for this crime wave, then who is?" he added.

A few people from well-known liberal universities with inferior academic records have suggested that social breakdown amongst Korean people themselves, caused by changing demographics and a so-called 'lost generation' of youth who have been unable to find jobs due to the economic downturns in recent years and overseas outsourcing, may be responsible for some of the rise – but this is has been dismissed by right-minded people.

However, 62 year-old Professor Kim from Seoul International University says that while the statistics speak for themselves, the theory may have some validity, albeit for different reasons. "There has been a move away from a traditional Confucian society" explains the professor, "and women's liberation has led to more single-child families, and men who have more time on their hands while their women have a life of their own. Boredom may be a small factor in the increase, aside from the foreigners."

But the foreign crime wave has led to a debate in Seoul over how to address the problem. While the Chosun Ilbo and other newspapers have been trying to warn their readers of the foreign threat under headlines such as "Korea Must Beware of Growing Crime by Foreigners", the liberal National Human Rights Commission has suggested that the government and its Internet regulator take measures to remove racially discriminating web comments, although the Chosun Ilbo has so far refused to stop writing this type of story.

Unfortunately, until Korea devices a way of catching these foreign criminals, there may be no way of proving just how many of them are responsible for the foreign crime wave afflicting Korea.

Related Links
Korea Must Beware of Growing Crime by Foreigners
Concerns increase over online racism
Gov't told to remove racially discriminating Web comments
'Korea may face internal terrorism from frustrated minorities'
'Unregistered migrants have little to do with rise in foreign crimes'
Crimes by Foreigners 'Remain Low'
Study exposes prejudice against illegal immigrants

Disclaimer: Please note the links above are generated automatically by our software and may not always be directly related to the news article.

Whistle-Blowers Who Exposed University Corruption Punished

Four professors at Sogang University in Seoul, who exposed another professor's embezzlement of government funds, are embroiled in deepening legal action after they were fired by the university for damaging its reputation.

"We pride ourselves on being the most corrupt university in Korea", said a spokesman for the institution, whose motto is 'corruptio optimi mirabile'. "The entire basis of our financial model is premised on misappropriating government money, and we face tough competition with other universities, defense contractors and chaebol for that embezzled cash, which these reckless individual actions will now endanger."

It isn't clear what caused the professors' bizarre ethical outburst, but the university also fears that if the behavior spreads across campus it could endanger their academic-grades-for-cash program.

The university said Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court to protest a decision by the Ministry of Education-affiliated Appeal Commission for Teachers, which earlier recommended that the school withdraw its decision to dismiss the four professors over their ethical outburst, instead suggesting that two of them should be suspended from their offices for three months, and the the other two have their wages cut for the same period.

While sources say the government is reluctant to take an overt role in the affair, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said that they hoped the decision by the Appeal Commission for Teachers - which is effectively a government agency under their control - to support the punishment of the reckless professors, would send a strong message to other individuals potentially suffering from an outbreak of moral behavior to seek medical help.

There is a fear among some senior ministers that the reckless professors may even endanger Korea's economic model, which is based on the principle of the 'redistribution of wealth', where money is taken from poor taxpayers and redistributed to rich corporations, preferably in large brown envelopes. "This system keeps the poor in their financial place and ensures their continued enslavement to the chaebol system." said a former Director of Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Finance who retired last year, speaking on condition on anonymity, "Imagine what would happen if the working poor got richer and decided they didn't want to be indentured employees any more - it would be chaos."

Even if it mainly remains a largely private arrangement between those in government and their friends in the private sector, it is generally agreed that the embezzlement of government funds - which was designated 'Important Intangible Cultural Property (No. 108)' in 2005 - is a vital aspect of Korea's cultural heritage which the professors have recklessly endangered.

Despite their attack on Korean society, the reckless professors inexplicably claim they "did nothing wrong". A Sogang University administration official meanwhile maintains that the school will dismiss the professors "through proper judicial proceedings", stressing that the professors "severely tarnished the school's image, and disgraced members of the Sogang community."

Related Links
Sogang Univ. in court battle with whistle blowing professors
Redistribution of wealth

Disclaimers: This article was supported by a grant from the Cultural Heritage Administration. Please note the links above are generated automatically by our software and may not always be directly related to the news article.