Abortion

People make mistakes. But they do not necessarily need to be stigmitazed for that. Pregnancy is one of the cases. A woman might get pregnant for failed contraception or just for mistake and she should have a choice of what to do with it, because that is a part of her body and the baby would change her entire life. If abortion is banned, she would have no choice but giving birth to it. The baby is unwanted and could be raised by an unprepared mother or single mother. He is likely to turn out to be an  emotionally ill or unstable person due to the lack of  proper parenting. Also when she cannot access to legal and professionally-performed abortion, she is likely to end up in suffering from maternal injury or death caused by unsafe and illegal abortion. Thus it is safe to say that for the sake of her health and baby's happiness abortion should be legalized at all level.

Cat Lady

It is an unbelievable incident taht a lady was kiiled by a 9 year-old boy with a brick. At fist blush, people are easily trapped into thinking that 'No way! a little boy would never intend that!'. But truth is that nobody knows. I might sound a little negtive, but let's face it. This bizarre world is full of crazy people beyond our imagination. So who can say for sure that he did not intend killing her. Mary Bell was only eleven when she killed one of her friends. 9 years boys know everything, what is worng or right, and what he should do or should not do. Gravity test? What is he? Stupid? He knows that his behavior is dangerous and must not be done unless he does not have thinking ability. Event if he did not intend it, it would be still wrong to not punish him for his young age. If the consequences  are  same the punishment should be same. If not, it is unfair and it would never prevent any young munderers like Mary Bell. We should show the world that  we never let any criminal off in the name of justice.

Paris' Terror

When I learned about the Paris attack by IS terrorists, I was shocked. I never expected that this kind of barbarism would happen in this real world. Of course, all kind of crimes, terrors or any other heinous things beyond our imagination can be happening right now even as I speak, but I thought not in the European countries. They just caught them off the guard. Now people believe the brutal terrorists are all surrounding us taking the form of angels. We do not know who they are or where they are. I often get frightened when in a movie theater. Whenever people come into it, I stare them and see if they have guns or whatever that could hurt me. I might be a little paranoid but this world keeps proving that anything can happen to anybody. It is a frightening world and something must be done now.

Government-issued textbook

Korea is a democcratic country. What is a democracy? It is a system of government in which people choose their rulers by voting for them in elections. Yes, great Ms.Park was elected by a narrow margin, even though I did not vote her. Does that constitute that she can do whatever she wants ignoring citizens' high voices? She is just doing that only for her own sake or I'd rather say her dead father's sake. She has many backups, Saenuri party members, but she should remeber that when she loses credit from the cetizens, she loses everything. I am not much a political person, so I didn't give a damn about( I am sorry if you are offended by that) Ms. Park, parties or what is going on in that world. However, when I saw her in the video totally enraged, I was assured that this is the very reason that she became a president and also she is a such a lousy person as a president. She did not even try to listen to our voices but pushed ahead what she wants. If she is a good president or medium president, she must come up with a solution to balance out different opinions, not getting blind with her own benefit.

Meok bang craze

Meok bang is definately all the craze recently. I myself  have not watched it before but I have heard it a lot. Actually we use the word 'Meok bang' in our daily lives as a coined word. For exmple, " Let's go Meok bang this weekend!" It means to eat a lot of food. It is not confiend to 'eating broadcast'. I believe this craze represents the Korean culture and social aspect. Koreans are too much into their looks, so they, in particular girls or women, are ruluctant to eat at night or even in the daytime. Instead they watch Meok bang broadcast and feel satisfied just like eating the food themselves. Also, some people watch the show to relieve their stress or just for fun. For me, it does not intrigue me at all because I cannot eat the food that the broadcaster is eating. Then what is the fun in it? And my pet peeve is someone who eats loudly. The sound gets me irritated and usually a Meok bang broadcaster east very loudly to get people to think that he is enjoying the food. But for me it is just irritating.

Midterm Topic - LGBT Rights and Gay Marrigage

I believe that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy the full range of human rights without exception including marriage. Although LGBT rights and same sex marriage have been openly discussed and supported more and more as shown in the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states in the US, all kinds of discrimination and hatred toward LGBT people are still prevalent, for instance, regular subjection to verbal abuse and denial of employment. Korea is particularly a conservative country as for LGBT rights. It is time for us, Koreans, to help those left in the dark come out of their shell and at the same time to make social milieu more opened to them by legalizing their rights. One of the controversial issues on gay rights would be legalization of same sex marriage, which is a compelling example of pros and cons of gay right. There are some reasons why we should ensure LGBT's rights and their marriage. First, they are exposed to too much of discrimination solely because of their sexual orientation. Any of us have no rights to violate other's human rights based on their gender identity. Second, even though the UDHR does not explicitly mention sexual orientation or gender identity, evolving conceptions of international human rights law include a broad interpretation to include the rights and the protection of the rights of LGBT people around the world. Third, same-sex marriage is a civil right. In 1967 the US Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man. Likewise, we have to follow the US in its steps to protect LGBT people and support same-sex marriage. In addition, any form of hate crimes or violence based on sexual orientation should be investigated impartially.  

Thoughts on being an interpreter

Lately I think I hit a slump. I do not want to study. I just want to sleep and watch a bunch of movies. Maybe it is because I do not find any ahievement in doing what I do now. I stay just in the same place no matter how much I study. Actually,I do not think I have done enough. I did waht I do because I had to do. I did not do it for its own sake. The problem is that I do not find any fun in it. I used to be an enthusiastic person full with passion, but as time went it just faded away or I am not doing what I love. I will just have to go in for what I do  and get out of the slump. I believe I can. 

Thoughts on China's military extravaganza

I do not think Chinese military parade this time was a good decision for them. First of all, there are tons of people suffering from hunger and low quality of life due to huge income gap in China. Thus, the priority should be to take care of them and expand welfare budget not the one for military extravaganza.  Second, it would evoke a fierce arms race. The parade was apparently to brag about their military power to all countries by  showing off all kinds of weapons. It possibly would make other countries feel intimidated and strenghten military build-up. To sum up, The Chinese movement, which showed off their military power by causing inconvenience to its citizens and poured massive national budget, is not reasonable. Nobody know that it would trigger increased arms race.

Thoghts on refugees

 Fisrt of all, I feel really sorry about the refugees and the whole mess and chaos happening right now in the faraway lands. However, for me how the European countries cope with the refugees seems quite rigid. For sure nobody knows when the chaos would end, but it will end anyway in the future. Do we have to pay all the money and efforts into bringing them into their countries, which might cause much more problems and division domestically and internationally? I believe the first thing we should do must be to supress those who are evoking all the problems. With that money and political will put in the refugge accepting policy, we can eliminate the trouble makers. For the sake of the refugees, it is better to give them freedom and lives that they used to have in their own country. Many chllenges would rise in front of them when they imigrate into other countries such as  discrimanation, language problem, financial strait, and others. For the refugee accepting countries, there would be various issues to wrestle with, particuraly limited budget and steep tax for the citizens. Therefor, I bielive we must seek for other way.

(Editorial) Highest suicide rate

[Editorial] Highest suicide rate

The latest OECD Health Statistics held dismal news for Korea. The country’s suicide rate stood at the top among the 25 of the 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states for which figures were available.

The average suicide rate among the 25 countries stood at 11.9 persons per 100,000. At 29.1 persons per 100, 000, the suicide rate in Korea was more than double the average OECD figure for 2012. In fact, the country has topped the list since 2003 when the suicide rate reached 28.1 persons per 100,000, peaking at 33.8 in 2009.

Korea’s suicide rate first spiked in 1998 when it reached 21.7 persons per 100,000, as the country struggled with the Asian financial crisis of 1997. In 1995, the suicide rate had stood at 12.7 persons per 100,000, about the OECD average.

It is easy to blame the still high suicide rate on the continued aftermath of the financial crisis. However, economic difficulties alone do not sufficiently explain the high rate of suicide -- there are countries with lower gross domestic products that have much lower suicide rates. Nor can the phenomenon be dismissed as a matter of personal problems, attributing the high suicide rate to the prevalence of untreated depression.

Perhaps an explanation for the high rate of suicide can be found in the contradictions of Korean society. Despite its phenomenal economic development in the last 60 years or so, Korea suffers from a growing income gap and social immobility.

The worsening income disparity means a greater sense of alienation and comparative sense of loss. In a close-knit society such as Korea, such disparity is felt with great immediacy. This year’s biennial OECD report on well-being shows Korea ranking nearly at the bottom in health status, work-life balance and subjective assessment of well-being categories.

Korea also scores at the top when it comes to elderly poverty. The youth happiness index, on the other hand, ranks at the bottom. Not surprisingly, Korea ranked at the top for suicide rate among the elderly population in OECD countries. Meanwhile, suicide is the No. 1 cause of death among young adults here.

Overall, it appears that Korea as a nation is not a happy one.

Ultimately, people’s quality of life must be improved to create a happier nation. In the meantime, the government should focus on preventing suicides. Japan, which had similarly suffered from a high suicide rate, turned the tide in 2010 through active government intervention. It passed a law on suicide prevention in 2006 and spends 300 billion won ($255 million) a year toward that end. Japan’s suicide rate in this year’s OECD report stands at 18.7 persons per 100,000.

The Korean government instituted the first five-year plan for suicide prevention in 2004 but has not implemented a new plan since the second five-year plan expired in 2013. The annual budget for suicide prevention stands at a mere 8 billion won. There is much room for improvement in the government’s efforts to prevent suicide.

* This article intrigued me because....

Korea has surprisingly advanced in just six decades in various areas including economy. Sense of ethics and life standard, however, seem to have not caught it up yet. There continuously have been many compelling issues such as unemployment, income disparity and many others. In particular, suicide is the case in point. I have been interested in this issue because suicide might be the problem that my friends, families or I could face in the future. And what is interesting about this article is that it sheds new lights on the cause of high suicide rate in Korea other than financial aspect.

 

Q1. Why do you think many Korean youth commit a suicide?

Q2. Have you ever considered killing yourself? If so, why?

Q3. We have seen many Korean celebrities kill themselves. Why do you think they kill themselves? Which case was the most striking to you? Why?