ASIA: Gwangju aspires to be a human rights city
Jun 2, 2014
May 18 Memorial Park
The following statement based on the speech delivered by Mr. John Joseph Clancey (Jack), a lifelong human rights activist and the Chairperson of the Asian Human Rights Commission in Gwangju, South Korea on June 2, 2014
The AHRC has a policy of remaining neutral in regard to party politics. Therefore, the AHRC is not as an organization offering any support for Dr. Yoon’s candidacy. However, I am very happy to be here, in my personal capacity, to support Dr. Yoon in his campaign to be the Mayor of Gwangju. I have known Dr. Yoon since 1998, when the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) launched the Asian Human Rights Charter “A People’s Charter.” At that time, Dr. Yoon was co-chairperson of the Gwangju Citizen’s Solidarity, which collaborated with the AHRC to launch the Charter. Dr. Yoon has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Human Rights Commission since 2001. He has travelled to a good number of Asian countries, to listen and learn first hand about the human rights concerns in these countries, and that some of these countries lack the basic infrastructure to maintain the rule of law. He has also been able to learn about those conditions from the reports made by the AHRC. Both myself and Mr. Basil Fernando, the second awardee of the Gwangju Human Rights Award, in our individual capacities are offering our support to Dr. Yoon. We believe that Dr. Yoon's track record, of concern for the people in need of any kind, including human rights and those working for the rule of law, demonstrates that he has the qualities, the vision, and the desire to support those who are working for these goals across Asia. I have often heard Mr. Basil Fernando referring to the example of the spirit of the Gwangju people in fighting for their rights and democracy. Mr. Fernando was made aware of the unique history of Gwangju by Dr. Yoon.
South Korea has achieved the first stage of democracy. That is something to be proud about. However, the problem about the first stage is that it can easily be threatened and severely undermined by its opponents. Therefore, the only prudent option for safeguarding democracy is to deepen and expand democracy. This can only be done by people who are thoroughly committed to ensure that their societies will entrench the respect for the dignity of each person through measures that will help democracy to put even deeper roots within the country and within the consciousness of every person. This requires the kind of leaders who value democracy as much as they value their own lives. Both Mr. Fernando and I are of the view that Dr. Yoon is such a person. This is the reason why we support Dr. Yoon. He has proven himself to be a man who is thoroughly committed to safeguarding the future of democracy in Korea by valuing the people’s freedoms above all things. Asia is the only continent without a human rights charter. The AHRC selected Gwangju as the place to launch the Asian Human Rights Charter: A People’s Charter in 1998 because of the unique history and struggle of the people of Gwangju. I understand that there is a possibility of having a human rights centre in Gwangju that is concerned about human rights and the rule of law in Asian countries. I hope that if such a centre is established, the people of Gwangju will form links of solidarity with those people in other Asian cities who are struggling hard to develop effective rule of law mechanisms and structures that will protect all people, especially the poor who are the most adversely affected by the absence of any rule of law.
As Dr. Yoon has done, I hope that the people of Gwangju, particularly the young, would go out to visit Asian countries and to learn first hand the problems related to human rights and the absence of the rule of law, as well as to meet those people who are dealing with the victims, documenting the lawless situations, and searching for ways to change the existing structures. I also hope that such a centre can spread the spirit of Gwangju to the rest of Asia, and through the centre, the people of Gwangju will be able to learn more about human rights concerns of their counterparts in the rest of Asia. In such a manner, the centre, as well as the city of Gwangju will become a beacon of hope for Asia. Concerning Asia, I would like to refer to some recent examples. In Pakistan, a young pregnant woman who had married a man that her family did not like, was a given summons to report to the court. Outside of the court building, she was stoned to death by about 20 people, most of whom were her relatives. None of the people standing nearby, including police officers did anything to stop the stoning. This form of murder is called an ‘honour killing.’ About one thousand honour killings take place in Pakistan every year.
In October 2013, two young women in Pakistan who were sisters were taken into police custody and raped while they were in custody. Later, the police officials threatened that if any one made a complaint, they would rape every woman in the village. In November 2013, a prominent lawyer in Pakistan and five activists were arrested by security officials and then were disappeared. That means that they have not been seen again. According to official statistics from July 2010 to July 2013, 590 missing persons were extra-judicially killed in Pakistan. In February 2014, a 56 year old Sri Lankan farmer who was with some other farmers sitting near their fields to chase away wild cattle from eating their crops were confronted by three police officers who had been drinking. The police officers then illegally arrested one of the farmers and tortured him while he was in custody in an attempt to get him to confess to a crime he did not commit. Apparently, this is another example of a case where the police officers needed to arrest someone in order to fulfill the requirement to close a case.
In May 2014, three young men were illegally arrested and detained by police officers in Sri Lanka. All three were severely tortured. One of the men, aged 17 was brought before the local magistrate, but the magistrate did not allow him to receive medical treatment. That young man later died in the remand centre in the arms of his brother. Just three days ago, two girls, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh were raped, and then hung to death. When the family found the girls missing at night they went to make a complaint to the police to seek help. However, the police refused to offer any assistance and even refused to record their complaint. The two girls are from the Dalit community (formerly called ‘Untouchables’) and it is reported that the men who raped the girls did so believing that they could do whatever they liked with the members of the Dalit community.
Many of these abuses can happen because they are done ‘in the dark,’ in the sense that nobody knows at that time that they were occurring. If the people of Gwangju can learn of such incidents that are happening in the rest of Asia, they can then ‘shine a light’ on what is happening, such as by writing emails to the concerned officials in those countries, or writing to the consular offices of these countries in Korea, or having journalists in Gwangju write stories about these situations, it will help not only to stop individual abuses, but will also help people to understand about the breakdown of the rule of law in those countries. Hopefully with increased solidarity between the people of Gwangju and the people in these countries, and a growing consciousness about the reality, steps can be taken to help to create a rule of law situation in these countries. Clause 10 of the Korean Constitution states that people have the right to dignity and the pursuit of happiness. This second part is similar to the United States where people are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This term ‘pursuit of happiness’ is based on a philosophical concept from the 18th century. This happiness was not about more food to eat, or drinking more wine or having a comfortable life, or buying a lot of goods. This happiness was about serving people and helping to build a better society. This was the true happiness that the authors of the Declaration of the Independence, like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and several others had in mind.
I think that Dr. Yoon is an excellent example of someone who is concerned about the pursuit of true happiness. He has initiated many programmes to help others and has also offered support to the programmes started by others. I am sure that all those persons whom he has helped are happy and I know that Dr. Yoon is a very happy man because of all that he has done to help others. I personally hope that Dr. Yoon can be elected by the people of Gwangju as their Mayor. Knowing his good abilities, coupled with his experience in organization and administration, his sensitive conscience about the needs of others, I am sure that he would be involved in setting up a good group in Gwangju that would be concerned about the needs and problems of people in other Asian countries.
Gwangju has a great history of working for the democracy and human rights in Korea. As the world is becoming more integrated, I hope that the people of Gwangju, and their leaders such as Dr. Yoon, can reach out in solidarity to work for the rule of law and human rights throughout Asia. I also hope that the City Council of Gwangju could set a leading example by formally adopting the Asian Human Rights Charter: A People’s Charter and thus help to initiate the process to get governments in Asia to formally draft and adopt an Asian Human Rights Charter. Gwangju aspires to be the cultural centre of Asia. I believe that genuine culture has to be rooted in and supportive of human rights, true democracy, and the rule of law. Given all that Gwangju and its citizens have done so far, I am confident that the citizens of Gwangju are fully capable of being the leaders in the struggle for human rights, true democracy and the rule of law in other parts of Asia. In this struggle, I am equally confident that Dr. Yoon, particularly if he is elected the Mayor of Gwangju, will play a key role in this movement for human rights, true democracy, and the rule of law in Asia.
About Jack: As a lawyer working in Hong Kong, he has been involved in social justice and human rights work since the 1960s. He is currently a member of the election committee that selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
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Visiting and shopping at Hyun’s store for foreign customers
By Blain BekeleWriter & Asst. Editor
Nov 14, 2013
Variety clothes at Hyun's store
Since coming to Korea, I have been doing a lot of shopping mostly in the EWHA area. When walking around EWHA, I have noticed all the shops look alike. They carry the same items and the music and customer service is almost always similar. However, I have found one shop in EWHA that is very different from other shops.
From afar, one of the things that attracted me to this store was the music. The shop’s owner plays NU disco, lounge and some pop rock. It was so different from what I normally hear in Korea or in the USA that I couldn’t help but enter the amazing world of Hyun’s clothing store. Since then, I have been a regular customer and even become great friends with the owner of the shop.
Ms. Hyun at her shop
When walking into Hyun’s store you are immediately greeted with a warm smile from a young woman with multi-colored hair, a 50’s style bandana, retro reading glasses and a very unique clothing style, which cannot be found anywhere else. Unlike other shopkeepers, this owner does not follow you around the store and ask you if you want to buy everything you pick up; instead she gives you time to look around but is always nearby if you have any questions.
Hyun is a 25 years old entrepreneur who sells vintage and retro clothing for free minded people. She opened her business four years ago because she wanted a store where people can find clothing and accessories that would allow them to express themselves. Her philosophy is to find clothes that are not too expensive; she believes people should express their style without spending too much money. Since it is very hard to find products in Korea that meet her standard Hyun brings her merchandise from Japan, Thailand and Jeju Island. Additionally, she buys fabrics and makes her own clothes.
The banner of Hyun's store
For Hyun the biggest challenge of owning a clothing shop is making the compromise to sell highly trending Korean styles in addition to her one of a kind style. If she didn’t have as many financial responsibilities, she said she would not make any compromises with the clothing in her store.
Miss Hyun’s favorite part of owning a shop is the people she meets. She said she is always meeting exceptional individuals that are not fabricated by society. Hyun has a lot of foreigner customers and as a result she taught herself English. Overall, Hyun’s individual flair, and language skills makes her shop very welcoming and enjoyable.
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Gangwon-do One day trip for a great mountains international music festival
By Salai ThangStaff Reporter
Jul 28, 2013
Alpensia resort
A group of foreigners had a trip Gangwon-do northeast part of South Korea on 26th of July, 2013. The trip was organized by Korea Tourism Organization. After 3 hours from Seoul city by bus, the group reached at Gangwon-do Sansumyungsan where they ate lunch, a Korean tradition food called Bibimbap with potato pancke and acorn jello.
The group visited at Woljeongsa Temple, it was established by Monk Ja Jang (590-658). In the temple, there is the Seongbo Museum where you can view the Buddhist culture of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), the Octagon shaped 9-story pagoda and the Stone Seated Buddha figure.
At Woljeongsa Temple
After that the group move on to Woljeongsa where Buddhist temple and fir tree forest beside the stream. It was a nice viewpoint inside the forest with a fresh air, the river was flowing peacefully with a very clear water and a beautiful bridge cross over the river. The group walk over the bridge and took photos.
A bridge cross over the stream before the temple
A few couple of hours then the group move the final destination at Alpensia resort for watching a great mountains international music festival. Alpensia resort is like a magic land, the houses and building are wonderful and very artistic style, there are many houses and concert hall for different programs, including sport stadium and music performance stage and so on.
Alpensia concert hall
There were four excellent violent players, most of them are young and talented persons. They showed off their violent talent skill a different category of each. They are trained as for next generation of classical musicians in Korea, also known as rising stars. The young talented are also experienced of performance on international stages.
Forest near the temple
The great mountains international music festival and School (GMMFS) is operated by the government of Gangwon Province. The group went back to Seoul city after the end of concert. The group had a wonderful time at Gangwon-do, which is surrounded by mountains.
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Shankar Ehsaan Loy Rock During Concerts in Cleveland, Los Angeles
Special ContributionBy Ajay Ghosh
Jun 12, 2013
Shankar Ehsaan Loy Rock
AAPI’s Nine City Music Tour Energizes Local Chapters & Creates Awareness on Childhood Obesity... (Cleveland, OH & Los Angeles, CA: June 10, 2013): During the inaugural live music concerts last weekend in Cleveland, OH June 8th, Saturday night and in Los Angeles, CA June 9th, Sunday night, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the trio from the Bollywood world enchanted the packed audiences with their lively and energetic performances.
"The musical tour is being organized across the nation by the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), coinciding with AAPI’s unique Obesity Awareness Program, CME Seminars and Régional Conférences in Nine Cities across the country,” said Dr. Jayesh Shah, president of AAPI, who had flown in from Texas to be part of this ambitious programs in both the cities. Following the highly successful tour by Shreya Ghoshal last year benefitting AAPI’s charitable works and local AAPI Chapters, the current tour is being led by the popular Bollywood playback singer Shankar Mahadevan.
Performing before a packed audience at the Palace Theater in Cleveland, OH, Shankar Mahadevan, the lead playback singer was at his best. Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani with Loy Mendonsa, who shot to fame with their with their albums, Dil Chahta Hai and most recently, Kal Ho Na Ho, showcased their versatile talents in Carnatic and Hindustani vocal traditions (Shankar),Western rock (Ehsaan) and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtual mastery over the electronic synthesizer (Loy), even as the enthusiastic audience cheered them lustily at the Playhouse Square Palace/State Theater in Cleveland.
The trio then thundered in, and held the crowd spellbound for next three pulsating hours. The orchestra was magnificent, complimenting the artists. The crowd was in raptures, and very soon, people were crowding the aisles to dance, in abandon to the rhythms of the night.
The Bollywood singer ended the show with two of his favorites songs, rendering the entire audience breathless and then the whole group in finale performed on señorita dance and song. Midnight brought an unwanted end to a wonderful evening. “By all means show and regional conference was success,” said Dr. Ravi Jahagirdhar, president-elect of AAPI, who had come from Florida to the two cities in Ohio and California, to be part of these two extraordinary events.
The beautiful ambience at the Theater added to the awesome performance. “It was spectacular,” said Dr. Jahagirdhar, added. “The theme of journey for 100 years of Bollywood music was interesting; Shankar Mahadevan had all audience on his feet. His mix of classical and Western music really provided the audience with a lot of variety on one of the best shows witnessed so far.”
Earlier, the day began with an educational session (CME) in the morning, attended by a large number of delegates from the region. The evening, which had a gala dinner on the stage of a beautiful ornate theater with centerpiece of orange plume flowers, was attended by nearly 300 delegates. Dr. Satish Mahna, Dr. Gautam Sammader and Dr. Sateesh Kathula, and Dr. Alok Aggarwal were among those who had organized the event in Cleveland.
In his address, Dr. Shah acknowledged the efforts of the local committees that made the events spectacularly successful. After a dinner, the guests moved to the large Palace Theater. As the people trickled into their seats, the sponsors were recognized with a slide recognition, and S-E-L videos were displayed, exciting the patrons. A brief ceremony recognizing all who had helped and worked at both the local and the national level was held.
It was yet another long night for the thousands who descended into magnificent Sergerstrom Center for the Arts/Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA on Sunday. As the sun set into the deep blue Pacific, the eager crowds headed to the Segerstrom Center, coming in droves to fill this magnificent concert hall. They came to support the Childhood Obesity Program by AAPI, the national organizer, and to support local schools as a community outreach program, through the universal language of music.
The artistes did not let down the eager music lovers with their feast of songs and music. After a sweet invocation with a hymn, the group launched down memory lane of the past 100 years, to honor the revered gurus of Indian Film music industry. The trio rendered a variety – classical to yoddling, and from crooning to the raw energy of rapid rhythms in quick succession, set against sepia videos and photos of the old Masters in the background. But wait .. the night was young .. as the trio blasted the walls of the hall, belting out one musical number after another, in a “gajra” of songs for an eternity lasting three hours.
The impact was electrifying, as the audience cheered wildly, singing and clapping with the stars of the night. No dance floor there, but who was to stop the writhing bodies in abandon, filling the aisles all around with flying feet. Ecstasy was created and shared in abundance. And as the curtain fell in the finale, the shadows filled up into the night, as the happy mass of sarees suits and jewellery disappeared back into the canyons of Costa Mesa in Southern California. Dr. Hemant Dhingra Dr. Mahesh Vyas, Dr. Bharat Patel, Dr. Sri Iyengar, Dr. Manoj Shah and Dr. Ram Mudiyam were among those who had worked hard to organize the event in the Hollywood city.
Record producers, musicians and multi-instrumentalists, the trio have composed music for over fifty soundtracks across four languages. Among the most critically acclaimed Indian musicians, the world renowned artists have won over twenty awards, including National Film Award, Filmfare Awards, and IIFA Awards among several other awards and nominations. They are often referred to as "Amar Akbar Anthony" of Bollywood film music by several, including eminent critic Rajeev Masand. “Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy probably represent the first trio of composers to entertain Bollywood audiences themselves with their chart-topping music,” said Dr. Seema Jain, vice president of AAPI.
The trio will continue with their performances on Saturday, June 15th, in Dallas, Texas; on Sunday, June 16th, in New York; Saturday, June 22nd, in New Jersey; Sunday, June 23rd, in Atlanta, GA; Friday, June 28th in Washington, DC; Saturday, June 29th, in Tampa, FL. The grand finale of the event will be held on Sunday, June 30th, in San Jose, CA.
AAPI is a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs. For more details on the Nine City Tour and the Childhood Obesity Awareness Campaign, please visit: www.aapiregionalconference.org.
Captions: 1. Dr. Jayesh Shah and Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar with Shanker Mahadevan during the Music Concert in Cleveland, OH 2. Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani with Loy Mendonsa performing before a packed audienceat the Playhouse Square Palace/State Theater in Cleveland 3. Dr. Mahesh Vyas, Dr. Manoj Shah, Sri Iyengar, Dr.Bharat Patel, Ehsan, Loy, Shankar, Dr. Jayesh Shah, Dr. Hemant Dhingra, Dr. Ram Mudiyam during the concert at the Sergerstrom Center for the Arts/Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA 4. Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani with Loy Mendonsa, the Trio of the Bollywood world, on a Nine City Musical Tour organized by AAPI 5. From Right: Dr. Alok Aggarwal, Dr. Jayesh Shah, Shanker Mahadevan, Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, and Dr. Sateesh Kathula
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AAPI’s Nine-City Musical Tour By Shankar Ehsaan Loy Begins On June 8th
Special ContributionBy Ajay Ghosh
Jun 7, 2013
Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the musical trio
New York, NY: Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the musical trio from India, are all set to take the United States by storm during their Nine City Musical Tour starting on June 8th in Cleveland, Ohio. Organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), the musical tour is being organized across the nation, coinciding with AAPI’s unique Obesity Awareness Program, CME Seminars and Régional Conférences in Nine Cities across the country.
Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani with Loy Mendonsa, who shot to fame with their with their albums, Dil Chahta Hai and most recently, Kal Ho Na Ho, which in addition to winning millions of hearts, won the trio several national awards and international recognition, are on the much anticipated Multi-City Musical Program by AAPI.
Following the highly successful tour by Shreya Ghoshal, benefitting AAPI’s charitable works and local AAPI Chapters, the current tour is being led by the popular Bollywood playback singer Shankar Mahadevan and troupe. Following the inaugral concert in Cleveland, the trio will perform on Sunday, June 9th, in Los Angeles, CA; on Saturday, June 15th, in Dallas, Texas; on Sunday, June 16th, in New York; Saturday, June 22nd, in New Jersey; Sunday, June 23rd, in Atlanta, GA; Friday, June 28th in Washington, DC; Saturday, June 29th, in Tampa, FL. The grand finale of the event will be held on Sunday, June 30th, in San Jose, CA.
"Many of our industry partners liked this concept where they could get prime time with a few hundred doctors for product promotion/theater, non CME lectures, exhibits, booths,” Dr. Jayesh Shah, President of AAPI, says. “These multi-city mini-seminars and music concerts are a novel concept for education and recreation that will raise funds for the local chapters of AAPI, the national AAPI and the AAPI Charitable Foundation.”
In its efforts, AAPI has been joined by the Indo-American Psychiatric Association in America and the Association of Cardiologists of Indian Origin. The Seminars and workshops are being led by accomplished faculty of leading Cardiologists, Cardiovascular Surgeons and Psychiatrists. Each of the nine medical-educational-programs is expected to have an audience of 250-400 Physicians, which will be followed by Obesity Awareness Walks, annual gala event and entertainment with over 2,500 audience at each location.
Each member of the trio brings his own talents and experiences to the group, combining the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition (Shankar), Western rock(Ehsaan) and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtual mastery over the electronic synthesizer (Loy). They continue a tradition quite common in Bollywood music, that of partnerships between music composers contributing and pooling their individual strengths, often combining deep knowledge of Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical music with technical expertise as composers and orchestral arrangers. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy probably represent the first trio of composers to entertain Bollywood audiences themselves with their chart-topping music.
Record producers, musicians and multi-instrumentalists, the trio have composed music for over fifty soundtracks across four languages. Among the most critically acclaimed Indian musicians, the world renowned artists have won over twenty awards, including National Film Award, Filmfare Awards, and IIFA Awards among several other awards and nominations. They are often referred to as "Amar Akbar Anthony" of Bollywood film music by several, including eminent critic Rajeev Masand.
Shankar Mahadevan, who was born and raised in Mumbai, learned Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music in his childhood and started playing the veena at the age of five. He studied under Srinivas Khale, a popular Marathi music composer. After graduating in 1988 with a degree in Computer Science Engineering, he worked as a software engineer on Oracle Version Six. He is the main vocalist of the trio. After working for a while for Leading Edge Systems, Shankar ventured into the field of music. He earned his first award as a playback singer in a Tamil movie, collaborating with A. R. Rahman and winning a National Film Award . A prominent star in Tamil cinema, he gained further recognition upon the release of his first music album, Breathless, in 1998.
Ehsaan Noorani is the middle name of the trio. He is the lead guitarist. Ehsaan has studied music with Bismarck Rodrigues, an experienced guitar teacher from Mumbai. He provides the SEL brand an energetic burst that is often experienced in their on-stage performances. Ehsaan is the first Indian to have endorsed a signature line of Fender guitars, one of the largest and most reputed guitar manufacturers in the world.
Loy Mendonsa is the keyboardist. He played keyboard for famous music composers such as A. R. Rahman. Shankar Ehsaan and Loy came up from the ranks of the non-film music scene, performing rock, blues, jazz and pop before entering the film music industry. Following Dil Chahta Hai, their next big venture was Dharma Productions' Kal Ho Naa Ho, directed by Karan Johar. The album broke all the previous records as a best-selling album. The music won many awards including the National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Since then, they have frequently collaborated with Dharma Productions and its owner and director Karan Johar, including his next directorial effort Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which broke the audio sales record of Kal Ho Na Ho.For more details on the Multi-City Tour, please visit: http://www.aapiregionalconference.org
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Walking with Korea Pop Stars and a concert event
Salai ThangStaff Correspondent
Nov 19, 2012
Girl band K-Pop called 'Sistar'
The Korea Tourism Organization organized a special event for tourism promotion called ‘A Walk with Hallyu Stars’, followed by a mini concert event was held at the Olympic Park (in front of World Peace Gate) in Seoul, on November 17, 2012.
South Korea is promoting tourism as visit Korea from 2011 to 2012. Surprisingly, most of visitors are from Asian countries and increasing more and more in nowadays. K-Pop is one of attraction for tourist, especially for Asian young people. A part from walking and concert, souvenir was give away to the visitors at the event.
In the early day, the weather was predicted to be bad, however, the organizer announced it will proceed regardless of rain. No rain was felled but temperature was pretty much colder on that day than previous days. You can have a look more pictures of the concert in below link. Click at >> K-Pop photos
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Global Digest members visit to historical Namhansanseong Fortress
Neil Paul ValentinoStaff Correspondent
Oct 3, 2012
Inside Namhansanseong Fortress
Kwangju City - Global Digest group members visited Namhansanseong Fortress in Kwangju Kyeonggi-do, South Korea. Namhansanseong Fortress is a popular and very beautiful park to visit hence, many people come here because of its center and low level, easily reach and climb and not like other mountains which rough and high and difficult to climb to the top, down the road there is a great overlook where you can see a outlook view of the valley below.
The group of four people departed from Seoul City at around 12:00 pm and took the subway train until we reached line 8, Namsanseong station and rode a taxi to our destination, Despite of unfriendly driver, we had experienced wrong direction and we were able to start from other mountain which was our way to find Namhansanseong Fortress after almost 2-hours of high climbing. Finally, at about 3:00 in the afternoon, we have reached the west gate entrance of the Fortress and began to start after a little meal.
Climing steps beside the wall of Namhansanseong Fortress
Although, tired and inexperienced to journey on this kind of mountain climbing and visit, we were able to walk and see the west gate of the fortress and started to climb the 3.7 kilometers from west gate until reaching the top of the very beautiful and ancient fortress. One of a kind scene you would see the overlook from the top of the fortress, we were able to take many pictures and seen the whole Kyeonggi-do area, not only the seoul region but also the Incheon Nakjo zone.
We were able to see many native Koreans, adults and young along with their families and few foreigners have seen on that monday holiday as part of the Chuseok Day to Korean people or called ”Thanks Giving Day”. Beautiful trees can be seen in the area like acacia trees which grow thick during spring, but it will dry after autumn because of its very cold winter season. Many people visit to climb the mountains because it of its very beautiful place to relax, easy to climb and so good to exercise as well. Moreover, there are some people who were able to relax and sleep for a while inside the mountain park.
Team members of Global Digest
Namhansanseong Fortress is a wonderful Provincial Park and a great place to visit for those who love mountan climbing because of its easy accessibility to all, most especially to adults and children, tourists and those people who want to have a good relaxation. Likewise, there are lots of restaurants behind-the- scenes, near the village and very comfortable steps to walk to the top of the awesome fortress.
Sooner or later, we have found out that going to a very beautiful Namhansanseong fortress is so easy to visit by taking Government bus no. 9 from the subway station up to the the north gate of the Namhansanseong fortress without taking a taxi anew. Surely, anyone who visited the beautiful historical park will come again and will bring friends to experience and see the popular and historical Namhansanseong Fortress.
The Global Digest members left the place by 6:30 in the evening taking Bus no. 9 and comfortably went back to Subway line 8 after taking a dinner from a korean restaurant.
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International Students had a visit to Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
By Salai ThangStaff Reporter
Aug 14, 2012
The Third Infiltration Tunnel
Approximately 50 international students, who are studying in South Korea, had a special trip to Demilitarized Zone(DMZ), one of the last remained division line between communist block and liberal democracy, a legacy of the cold war, on August 10, 2012.
The group first visited to the Third Infiltration Tunnel. It was discovered in 1978, dug under the DMZ by North Korea. The tunnel, only 52 km away from Seoul, aptly represents East-West Cold War tensions. In 2002, shuttle elevators and the DMZ screening room with sophisticated equipment were built in the tunnel, offering east access to various sights in the tunnel.
Dorasan Station
The group second place visited to Dorasan Station. It is located just 700 meters from the Military Demarcation Line of the civilian passage restricted area DMZ, it is the north-most station of the disconnected inter-Korean railroad in South Korea.
The group third place visited to Imjingak. It is a place where the sorrow caused by the Korean War occurred in June 1950 and the conflict between the South and the North. It is said sorrow of the dispersed family remains in Mangbaeddan. Approximately 3,800,000Korean and foreign visitors at Imjingak Resort visit every year as the Peace Tourist Spot.
Imjingak
The trip was sponsored by the National Health Insurance of South Korea. Before the trip the National Health Insurance Company had 3 hours training course to the students about how to apply health insurance in South Korea.
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A trip to Korean traditional sites
By Salai ThangStaff Reporter
Jul 15, 2012
At the Chiljang Temple
With the invitation of UNHCR, numbers of Foreigners, including Migrant workers, Refugees, Refugee Applicants, and Humanitarian Status Holders had a trip to Korean traditional sites in Gyeonggi-do province on Jul 14, 2012.
The trip was sponsored by KBS through the Korean Red Cross Yongsan - Mapo Community Service Center especially for refugees who are living in South Korea. They visited to Ansoeng, Kyunggi (Chiljang Temple, Namsadang Performance Hall, Seoil farm).
The program consists of experiencing Korean traditional culture and food. The first visited site was at a Korean Buddhist temple called ‘Chiljang Temple’. And then they had lunch with Korean traditional food – ‘Seoil farm’, it was known as an organic foods produced by traditional fermented bean paste.
The second site was at the ‘Namsadang’ and ‘Taepyeongmu’, where they watched Korean culture show and traditional dance performances, which included Taepyeongmu (Great peace dance). After the performance, the visitors went back to Seoul at home.
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Bhutan
Touching the lives of people immensely
Special ContributionBy Dhan Raj Gurung
May 16, 2012
The Buddhist Kingdom, also known as the Thunder Dragon
Since our country is new democratically the present government is a first elected government. We have only two parties and two new ones are preparing to get registered. Hope four will give good option for public to choose the best one. We are having new election in the coming year. We are praying that God will let the good party that favors Church will come up to form the government.
Economically our nation is improving but still extreme investment from the government has led to 60% debt from GDP. We pray that things will improve for the good of the people here. Scope of business is small due to land lock location and small population.
Social evil is rising, more rape, drug abuse, forgery, corruption, etc, are on rise. Government is taking various measures to control and it is little improved. Unemployment rate has gone up to 3.5 %, more and more youths are jobless leading to other social miss-orders. Divorce is skyrocketing in the society and many children have been victimized from it.
Religiously Buddhist tradition has been strongly holding society together. There are lots of conferences being conducted for the people in open air throughout the country and it is blinding people spiritually with a pride of religious cultural tradition.
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South Korea
The best tour agency: Sunburst Tour is here for you
Salai ThangStaff Reporter
Apr. 11, 2012
South Korea's winter season near Yong Pyong
The best tour agency in South Korea, Sunburst Tour is launching its special summer tour for you.
Special Sunburst Tour provides the tour at exciting and sensitive demilitarized zone, as well as, transportation such as Bus and Van, and English language guide. Van has different kinds of option, ordinary class to high class vans. They also provide special pick up service from airport to hotel, which will extra charge apart from tour package.
Visitor can make online reservation and they can pay tour package fee upon arrival in Seoul. Visitor should also make hotel reservation separately, apart from tour package. There are five-star hotels, average hotels, residential hotels and motels.
At the Sunburst Tour, they have 51 tour programs, among them, NLL/DMZ Tour was the most popular, next popular was Seoul City Tour. In NLL/DMZ Tour, visitor can see the real life style, houses and social welfare condition, of North Korean people in boarder area.
The Korean traditional houses at the Haeinsa temple
Approximately, 1800 tourists made reservation at Sunburst Tour yearly. Most of them are businessmen. The uniqueness of Sunburst Tour is they service Free Individual Tour(F.I.T), which individual visitor directly contact at their office for selecting their interest tour trip. F.I.T is very much convenience for visitors and most of them like this program.
Sunburst Tour is founded in May 2009. They specialized in F.I.T, City Tour and Business Tour. Reservation can made in 24 hours, and you can contact there different languages service for English, Japanese and Chinese. Tel.: 82-2-3789-2266 or 82-2-3789-22667. You can visit at www.toursunburst.com.
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Bottom 10 worst countries to live! Top 10 best cities to live
Jan. 31, 2012
Vancouver, the best city to live
Bottom 10 worst countries to live are Somalia, Sri Lanka, Zimbawe, Bangladesh, Burma, Iraq, North Korea, Haiti, Sudan and Nigeria.
In sixty years since independence Sri Lanka one of the top asian countries have descended to the bottom of the list.
Top 10 best cities
Reputable analyst firm Economist Intelligence Unit published a ranking of the best cities to live in 2011. Quality of life in 140 cities across the company's experts evaluated on 30 parameters, including safety, health, social stability, education, infrastructure development, availability of goods and services, the environment and the diversity of cultural life. Let us begin with the last, 10th place.
10th place. Auckland, New Zealand, 95.7 points.
At the 10th spot is the city of Auckland. This is the largest city in New Zealand with a population of about 1.3 million people, a quarter of the total population.
Today Auckland is the economic and cultural center of New Zealand. To historic attractions the city is not rich, but here its scenic beauty, Auckland affects many hearts of those here comes first. One of the attractions - Sky Tower high-rise Tower (Sky Tower) 328 feet tall - the tallest building of the South Hemisphere. Auckland is surrounded by three marine bays in the precincts of the city has 48 extinct volcanoes.
9th place. Adelaide, Australia, 95.9 points
9th place belongs to the capital and the largest city of South Australia, the fifth-largest city with a population of over 1.1 million people - a city Adelaide. It is named in honor of the queen - the wife of King of Great Britain and Hanover, William IV, sits on the throne from 1830 to 1837 years.
The city is located on the ocean. The central part of Adelaide high-rise, with several modern skyscrapers is small, and the rest of town has one or two storey in nature. Perfect cleanliness, accuracy and flawless finish of buildings - the card of Adelaide.
Here, tourists are attracted to Adelaide, the third largest in Australia Kangaroo Island - Wildlife with a colony of sea lions and perfect for fishing the coast. Average income per worker Adelaide is no different from the corresponding figure for the country, however, quality of life and property values here are significantly lower than in other major cities in Australia.
8th place. Perth, Australia, 95.9 points
Perth - the largest city and capital of Western Australia with a population of About 1.2 million people, located on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The city is considered one of the main economic centers in Australia. Here mined gold, diamonds and nickel. It was here that are the largest in the world discovered deposits of gold and nickel in the vicinity of Kalgoorlie, as well as the world's leading diamond-district Kimberley, which is the main South African rival, and Yakutia diamond deposits.
Perth is called "the pearl of Australia." Old buildings, convenient pedestrian zone in the heart of Perth, the beautiful views of the river make Perth very attractive for tourists.
Many are involved with mild and equable Mediterranean climate of Perth, beautiful beaches, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
7th place. Sydney, Australia, 96.1 rating
Australia's largest city in the south-east coast - Sydney. He twice the area of another huge city - New York, and the main problem for all travelers - as time to see how possible.
The number of parks and green oases, making Sydney unlike other major cities on the planet: close to the skyscrapers in the City - 34 acres the Royal Botanic Gardens.
In summer the whole of life in Sydney is moving from the City to the beaches here more than 20 the city's beaches and harbors a dozen.
Sydney in the evening incredibly handsome promenade lights on skyscrapers permeate water harbor. One of the most recognizable buildings in Sydney - building the Sydney Opera House.
Another main attraction of Sydney - the Harbour Bridge. This is the most big bridge city and one of the largest steel arch bridges in World.
6th place. Helsinki, Finland, 96.2 points
Helsinki - the capital and largest city of Finland with a population of 578 thousand people. Streets curve around bays, bridges connect the islands, and ferries communicate with the remote islands. Helsinki smelling sea and in ports is constant noise from incoming and outgoing ships.
Helsinki is the hub of business, education, culture and science Finland. In Greater Helsinki University are 8 and 6 technology parks. View of the city center. One of the Helsinki attractions - the Cathedral. 70% of foreign companies operating in Finland are located in the city.
5th place. Calgary, Canada, 96.6 points
Calgary - largest city in the province of Alberta in Canada, in foothills and prairie, about 80 km east of the watershed of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The city is one of the sunniest in Canada - the sun shines an average of 2,400 hours there each year.
Calgary is located in the transition zone between the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Canadian prairies, so it is quite a relief hilly. Center height above sea level, Calgary is approximately 1048m.
Life in Calgary, one way or another, revolves around oil. Its deposits discovered in the early 20th century. Despite this, the city is considered by many organizations one of the cleanest in the world.
Olympic Plaza area. In the distance you can see the famous landmark - Calgary Tower (Calgary Tower), the height of 91 m. It is designed so that, gently swaying in the wind, even at very strong gusts to maintain its stability
4th. Toronto, Canada, 97.2 points
Toronto - Canada's largest city and provincial capital of Ontario. The current name of the city received in 1834. Canada's most cosmopolitan city, about 49% of the population are immigrants.
In Toronto and is also the longest street in the world - Young Street inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records and has a length of 1896 km. It is the largest zoo in the world. The area of the zoo total 283 hectares. Here, in conditions close to the natural environment habitat contains about 5,000 different animals.
«CN tower» - the world's tallest tower, built in 1976 year. Its height is with a spire 553 meters and 446 meters at an altitude of is enclosed observation deck.
Toronto Islands - a perfect place for recreation and picnics. This love get local residents and tourists. The main attraction is the Niagara area of Toronto waterfall. It is situated between Lake Ontario and Erie on the border with the U.S.
3rd place. Melbourne, Australia, 97.5 points
Melbourne - the second largest city in Australia with a population of about 3.8 million and the capital of Victoria. The city is considered one of the main commercial, industrial and cultural centers in Australia. It is also often referred to as sports and cultural capital of the country.
Melbourne is considered to be the most beautiful city in Australia. There are exquisite Victorian architecture and wonderful nature.
Besides, who wants to see all at once in Melbourne, is on the rise. Rialto Towers Observation Deck. This skyscraper, whose height is 253 meters.
2nd place. Vienna, Austria, 97.9 points
Vienna - capital of Austria, situated in the eastern part of the country. The population of the suburbs of Vienna is about 2.3 million. This is one of the most charming cities in Europe, lying on the banks of the Danube.
Vienna - a world-renowned center for music, thanks to a long line of well-known musicians who lived and worked in this city: Mozart Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert. Here there are palaces and majestic squares, picturesque streets and numerous parks. One of the most recognizable buildings in the city - City Hall
Imperial Palace - winter residence of the Austrian Habsburgs and the main residence of the imperial court in Vienna. At the present time - the official residence of the President of Austria. A total of 2600 rooms and it Rooms.
Located near the capital of the Vienna woods - a mountain massif in Austria. This is a wonderful natural recreation area - a forest area with own towns and hotels, spas and hot springs
1st place. Vancouver, Canada, 98.0 points
So, we got to the 1st place. According to market research firm Economist Intelligence Unit, the best city on earth to live Vancouver is.
Vancouver is located on the west coast of Canada, on the shore picturesque bay at the foot of Pacific Coast ranges North American Cordillera. It's third-largest city in Canada with a population of 2.433 million people and the largest settlement in British Columbia. Vancouver with altitude of 500 meters
One of the most beautiful cities in the country surrounded by thick pine forests, snow-capped mountains and fjords.
This is one of the most beautiful cities in the world ocean. There is a spacious and beaches, and lush parks, magnificent architecture and buildings. Tourists around the world are attracted by comfortable hotels, many museums, shops, restaurants and sports facilities.
Vancouver has a mild climate, being part of a unique ecosystem - temperate rainforest, so the summer is mild and not hot, but in winter it snows rarely. The famous Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, which is located on the hill Little Mountain.
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Srilanka
TOURIST BOYCOTT SRI LANKA
Special ContributionBy Massey Subra
Dec. 27, 2011
A British national Kuram Shaikah Zaman was killed in Srilanka
Well, we have been telling the world how bad and dangerous Sri Lanka is not only for Tamils but for foreigners too. But people do not heed our warnings. As we all know the tourism industry is controlled by the mafia and drug dealers who in turn are controlled by the Rajapaksa cartel.
The suspects involved the murder of the British man and the rape of his wife did so on the instruction of the President who wants to teach the British a lesson.
But why do people visit a nation that has no Human rights. I personally think that tourists who go to Sri Lankan are doing so at their own peril and danger. They ought to know that this country has no respect for people and there is no independent law enforcement of judiciary. The nation is run by a bunch of criminals.
But look at it this way, knowing the abuse of human rights and laws and the killing of innocent Tamils by the thousands, when a tourist go they are basically endorsing the criminal policies of the nation and its people. So then there is nothing to regret. When people are indifferent to crimes against humanity that same crime must descend on them as law of the universe. How can people go to Sri Lanka and enjoy where the horribly murdered and unsettled souls of 40,000 Tamils haunt the nation.
People, does not matter where they live who they are must feel the pain of their own kind and to think they are quite remote from the pain and struggle of other unknown people are bound to face the same fate.
My dilemma is when such horrible things happen, the President seems not to pay attention or bother with it. I guess he thinks if I can do it any one can do it. It is one way of justifying his crimes as “Normal”
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South Korea
A trip to Korean Cultural Heritage sites
Salai ThangStaff Reporter
Dec. 1, 2011
A Korean metal printing system at Jikji musuem
The Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation organises two-day trips to various UNESCO cultural heritage sites in Korea throughout the year and these trips are provided to groups of people who do not have much opportunity to experience Korean culture.
Thanks to a UNHCR Seoul office contact, a group of Myanmar people were able to visit the Southern Korean peninsula, a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site, the Jikji museum, Haeinsa Temple and Upo wetland on 26-27 November 2011.
Jikji is the abbreviated title of a Korean Buddhist document; literally, it means "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings." It was printed during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1377, and it is the world's oldest extant movable metal print book. So, UNESCO confirmed Jikji as the world’s oldest metalloid type in September 2001 and included it in the Memory of the World Programme.
However, whilst Jikji is the only remaining example of the metal printed book it has been discovered that the Chinese developed metal printing technology earlier than Korea but unfortunately there are no Chinese examples in existence.
China historically concentrated on wood printing technology rather than mental printing technology to produce large numbers of books for their big population, the trip guide said.
The Haeinsa temple where Tripitaka Koreana can found
The next site the group visited was Haeinsa temple. Haeinsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in the Gaya Mountains, South Gyeongsang Province South Korea. Haeinsa is most notable for being the home of the Tripitaka Koreana, the whole of the Buddhist Scriptures carved onto 81,350 wooden printing blocks, which it has housed since 1398. UNESCO recognized not only the wooden printing blocks, but also the storing house with its incredible ventilation system.
The translation of the Tripitaka into Chinese language took 900 years, said the trip guide. Haeinsa is one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea, and represents Dharma or the Buddha’s teachings.
Upo Wetland museum
The last site the group went to was Upo wetland. Upo Wetland (includes Upo, Mokpo, Sajipo and Jokjibul) is the biggest natural continent wetland in South Korea. It is located on 128°25' east and 35°33' north. In July of 1997 it was designated as an Ecological Conservation Area by the Ministry of Environment.
The Upo Wetland is also known as a transit-point for migrant birds going from Siberia to Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 160 species of birds. Male Mallard birds are one of the interesting birds; when they are mating their heads are the color blue.
Warning: please don’t try to catch and eat the birds, otherwise you have to pay a fine of $20,000 and face 2 years in prison, according to Korean government law. The Korean government promotes their Cultural Heritage sites across the nation and cooperates with the international community.
The Global Digest editor Barry Welsh edited to this story.
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South Korea
Organic firm WWOOF KOREA and its upcoming international conference
By Salai ThangStaff Correspondence
July 27, 2011
WWOOF KOREA's Executive Director Kim Hyeran(R) and Japanese staff Kota
The international organic food firm and NGO, WWOOF-KOREA, is putting energy into promoting a branch in South Korea.
WWOOF KOREA was started in 1997 by Mr. Changyeol Lee. He organized WWOOF KOREA two years after visiting WWOOF Australia during 1995. Mr. Lee’s work has been taken up by Kim Hyeran as Executive Director of WWOOF KOREA. Mrs. Kim also visited WWOOF Australia as well Canada for 4 years and 1 year respectively.
WWOOF Korea is a way to provide an organic firm for the people in Korea. Here people can directly find out about the famous organic firms, said Kim. WWOOF Korea is also a way of networking and introducing an organic lifestyle to the people.
WWOOF Korea involves the exchange of information, food and culture between host framers and customers in urban areas. The host is responsible for providing 3 meals a day and the customers can stay there for several weeks. So far, in the Korean branch, customers have stayed for between 2 days and 6 months. Normally, most of the customers stay there for 1 or 2 weeks, Kim said. According to their policy a maximum of one year’s stay can be allowed. There was a case in Australia where a longtime customer eventually married the host, said Kim smiling. And the annual fee for customer registration is USD50.
WWOOF KOREA has two kinds of services, inbound and outbound. For inbound activity the company takes engagements to host foreign customers. Customers participate in the organic firm’s activities with the host and can ask them what to do.
So far, around 30 to 40 countries have participated in WWOOF KOREA, mostly from Europe, but there is now an increasing amount of participants from Hong Kong and Singapore. The customers’ most favorite Korean foods are “bulgogi” (Korean beef) and bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetables). European people are often surprised about the Korean food system.
At the outset WWOOF KOREA was mainly for outbound services: Korean people going abroad to join overseas hosts. But, nowadays, both inbound and outbound services are popularly operated.
WWOOF KOREA is has an upcoming big event, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements from September 26 to October 5. Approximately 20 countries are expected to attend and participate in the event.
“Korean farmers are very polite and hospitable, please come and get experience here,” Kim warmly invited.
She believes Korea’s organic lifestyle is very good compared to other countries. For example, Australia has a big gap between urban and rural areas. On the other hand, the Japanese are more interested in organic firms than in Korea, because we have 100 years of modernization, Japanese staff member Kota said.
They are very positive about their future. The number of Japanese visitors joining WWOOF Korea has increased, said Kota.
Recently WWOOF KOREA has become affiliated with the Korean government and obtained non-profit NGO status. Furthermore, WWOOF KOREA received small project fund from the government last year. They have 3 fulltime and 2 part-time staff members. WWOOF originated in Europe. Around the world, approximately 10,000 WWOOF farms are available and over 50,000 people experienced one in 2009.
The Global Digest editor Barry Welsh edited to this story.
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South Korea
Travel: the right agency for your travel in Korea, DMZ, City tour
By John S ThangMay 17, 2011
Yuna and James Kang
Travel was established in February 2010 and has recently become popular for its excellent service and logistical skills. James Kang told the Global Digest in an interview that at the outset the organization had around 50 potential names but they finally chose “Travel” as the name for their organization. The idea behind choosing as the name is that they view all their customers.
Tour sites
A sensitive location between North and South Korea, the Demilitarized Zone tour is a very popular site, and the specific atmosphere of the DMZ tour is only available in Korea, James enthusiastically said. Others DMZ related sites are Imjingak, which was historically a railway connecting North and South Korea, the 3rd Tunnel, which was built by North Korea to invade South Korea after the Korean war and it was founded in October 17, 1978 by South Korea, Dora Observatory, which is a place where you can see the North Korean village Gaeseong industrial complex clearly, Dorasan station, which is South Korean’s northern-most train station built in 2002 in order to connect to China and eventually to Europe.
On the other hand, inside South Korea there is the Seoul city tour, a Ski tour in the winter season, and other tours introducing different aspects of Korean culture.
Currently the Travel group is looking forward expanding its business by adding new tours such as a medical tour, an exhibition and convention tour, and a tour to various popular companies as well as potentially arranging tours involving popular Korean dramas and K-pop groups amongst many more other options.
On the medical tour Korean traditional Ginseng has been found to be the most popular medicine for its good nutrition and health benefits, as well as for its perceived beauty and cosmetic purposes. There is another Korean traditional medicine tour where you can have oriental medical treatments like acupuncture.
Also, the medical tourism includes the tour program such as the latest modern treatment, plastic surgery, removing ring on your face, and anti-aging medicine, which make you younger, at least for 2 years you can be keeping young, said Mr. James.
The fundamental focus of Travel is to maintain and deliver a high quality experience with fantastic service.
Therefore, all their employees have training and weekly meetings. Their goal is to be the top tour operator of inbound and outbound tour programs in South Korea and currently they are amongst the top 10 travel agencies in Korea for their city tour. Travel trainees were trained to be very sincere, sympathetic and helpful toward their customers.
At the Travel service they have worked to remove language barriers and many employees speak other languages. For example, Yuna can speak English fluently and she can catch all kinds of English accents from British and U.S. to Asian and African accents. There are also other language interpreters for Japanese, Chinese and Russian and several others. The Travel service is completely foreigner-oriented.
Due to their excellent service the Travel agency gave tours to 15,000 tourists last year, among them, as many as 10,000 from Asia. This year they expect to give tours to 30,000 tourists.
Through the Travel service you can easily book flight tickets and hotel reservations; they also have a pickup service to and from the airport. The Travel director James Kong is very much confidence for their service and told that Korea is a very much safe country right now and Korean people are passionate, warm and loved minded people.
Referring to the 2002 World Cup event which was held in Korea he said many people will still remember the Korean people’s spirit since that time. Furthermore, South Korea has developed it economy rapidly and has its own unique culture from thousands of years ago.
James Knag is the founder and incumbent director of Travel. Before he started this business he worked as a manager at the Seoul Loyal Hotel for 14 years. He graduated with a BA in Hotel and Tourism from Kyunghee University. He has more than 20 years experience in the field in Korea.
Yuna has served as a manager for Travel agency for more than a year. Before that she worked as a sales supervisor at the AIG financial Company. She realized that white color office jobs were not her where her interests lay. Subsequently she found that her interests lay in green color jobs involving both mental and physical aspects such as outdoor tour service. In-fact, her true feeling is that she has a desire to introduce the Korean people and their land and culture to the world’s visitors. She has also lived in Canada for a year.
Relationships between senior and junior employees at Travel are flexible and have a good reputation; they care for each other very much, said Yuna and James.
The Global Digest editor Barry Welsh edited to this story.
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Malaysia
Malaysia prepares for Korean tourists
By John S Thang
Malaysian Tourism minister Dr. Ng Yen Yen
Korean men were very attractive said Malaysian Tourism minister Dr. Ng Yen Yen, during launching ceremony of Asiana Winter Charter Operation in Seoul, on Oct. 11, 2010.
A minister said, 280,000 Korean tourists are targeted this year, out of 8 millions Korea outbound travelers in this same year.
Malaysia was attracted to Korean tourists for golfing, bird watching, diving, cave exploring and high-end luxurious tours. From this year, Malaysia will made more attractive programs for Korean tourists, such as English for learning and homestay program. Homestay program will include activities: tradition dance and tree planting among others.
For long-term stay, Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program is especially suitable, living in a country that offers high standard but low cost of living with excellent infrastructure and transportation system, according to the minister’s statement.
However, the Korean people express skepticism about Islamic extremist gangs in the Southeast Asia Nation. In Sept. 16, 2007, two Japanese were allegedly raped in Kualalumpur.
Malaysia and South Korea tied in 1960. To date, South Korea is Malaysia’s 7th largest trading partner. There are 30,000 Korean residing in Malaysia. Korean restaurants and markets are popularly available, the minister said.
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