Global Community

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Busan to host internatinal rock festival

By John Redmond Busan Metropolitan City will sponsor the 12th Busan International Rock Festival at Samrak Riverside Park for three days beginning Aug. 5. The event will feature local and overseas acts from the U.K., Japan, Taiwan, Germany and India. The festival was put together by the Organizing Committee for Busan Culture & Tourism Festival under the slogan “Samrak (Music + People + Nature),” and is a leading music event in Korea, representing the openness, youth and coastal city characteristics of Busan. It is organized with the goals of showcasing new musical talent, revitalizing the music industry and celebrating indie bands. Along with the international film festival in October, the Busan International Rock Festival has played a vital role in promoting the artistic affluence of Busan, the largest port city in South Korea. It is widely recognized for strengthening ties between renowned musicians worldwide. This fun and widely attended event is a must-see for any rock fan in Korea. The lineup includes D’Hait, Rots, Dickpunks, Romantic Punch, Go Go Star, One Dr

Adoptee urges Korea to reconcile painful past

By Kim Young-jin Her birth mother’s care package, which arrived that first winter after she arrived in the United States from Korea as an infant, was ostensibly a Christmas gift. But nearly four decades later, Jane Jeong Trenka says the gift, a traditional Korean dress, was also a sign that her mother was desperately trying to contact her and her sister after an adoption process that was far less than transparent. Trenka, now a Seoul-based advocate for adoptee rights, says while her mother chose to give them up due to her husband’s alcoholism, she was misled into thinking they would eventually come back after studying for a time in Minnesota. Her papers, which she acquired with the permission of her birth family, also say that the two were deserted by their mother, who later said no such thing occurred. “It was not an ethical adoption,” said Trenka, the 39-year-old head of the group Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK). She is among the more than 200,000 Koreans who have been adopted abroad since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War

(479) Electricity

USFK striving to become good neighbor

By Lee Tae-hoon Less than 10 years ago, it was not uncommon for protestors to throw rocks and bricks at U.S. soldiers while tens of thousands of citizens gathered together for candle-light vigils, shouting “Yankee, go home.” Stephen M. Tharp, a spokesman at United States Forces in Korea (USFK), sadly remembers 2002 as the year when his colleague Lt. Col. Steven Boylan was stabbed by a group of three youths chanting anti-American slogans. “Anti-Americanism reached a whole new height especially toward our service members as the presidential election drew near in 2002,” Tharp, chief of the USFK strategic outreach public affairs office, recalled. He noted that the anti-American sentiment peaked following a series of incidents at that time, including the deaths of two 14-year-old girls run over by an American armored vehicle and the controversial disqualification of skater Kim Dong-sung at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Many Koreans believed American skater Apollo Anton Ohno stole the gold from Kim, who finished first but was disqualified for blocking Ohno, by d

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(476) Over the counter medicine ― OTC

Tibetan activist in Seoul fights eviction order

By Kim Young-jin A Tibetan activist is preparing to protest against a development company in Myeong-dong, central Seoul after being told to vacate his popular family-run restaurant. D.P. Lama, better known locally as “Minsu,” said he and other tenants in the area would protest if the Myeong-dong Special Development Company attempts to evict them by force. Their protests would coincide with ongoing actions waged by already-evicted tenants and activists in the redevelopment zone. It is also the latest chapter in an ongoing, sometimes volatile debate over tenants’ rights. “I can’t stop the builders,” Minsu said. “What I am talking about is this system that basically leaves people to die. It needs to be changed to give tenants some rights.” Any protest by the well-known human rights activist is likely to draw keen attention given the popularity of his Potala restaurant, a bastion for Tibetan culture here. The controversy began in April, when tenants north of Myeong-dong Cathedral ― mostly small businesses ― were told to evacuate by May. Activists said the dev

Roofers to screen ’Inside Job’

By John Redmond The film “Inside Job” that provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008 is to be screened at Roofers in Itaewon on July 31. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the event will be a gathering of people who are interested in viewing documentaries and discuss the topics presented in the film afterwards. The documentary takes a closer look at what caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. “Inside Job” won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2011. There is no cover charge. To get to Roofers, leave Itaewon Station, stop 630, on line 6, leave via exit 3 and walk straight. You will see Dunkin Donuts on your right. T