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Courtesy of the Budaechigae via the Infidel is this picture of ROK Army soldiers:
No that is not water they are washing their faces with, but feces from the cans at the bottom of outhouses. I further checked out the link where this picture came from and I found even more interesting pictures:
I don’t know where these pictures came from or how old they are, just that they were published on the above link from some Japanese guy named Suika Dorobo. They don’t appeared to be staged or Photoshopped either. If anyone can tell by looking at the pictures how old they are or if these are real photographs, please feel free to comment.
However, maybe the next time someone in Korea takes a cheap shot at the US military over Abu Graib, they will think twice about it instead.
6:32 pm on January 7th, 2007 1
Hello,
The first story broke at the beginning of this year:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200501/200501210019.html
I believe the first photo was from the ROK Marines base in Pohang.
Yours,
Joshua Snyder
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6:33 pm on January 7th, 2007 2
These pictures were part of a story about cruelty in the ROK military that I think came to light after the soldier shooting a few weeks back when a junior soldier shot and killed several of his colleagues (is that the right word?) These are not staged…and there are some worse pictures floating around out there….and many more worse stories. Hazing in the ROK milatary gives new definition to the word. Of course, it is not ALL over, but it is (or has been) fairly common. If this kind of treatment IS indeed common…it may be less suprising (however sad it may be) that someone got killed over it…
Changes are supposedly being made to bring some sensitivity to the ROK military…we’ll see
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6:33 pm on January 7th, 2007 3
GI,
You sly devil! These are pictures of Muslims being tortured and humiliated at the Abu Graib prison near Bagdad.
The Koreans are a gentle and kind race…
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8:35 pm on January 7th, 2007 4
I don’t think these pictures are related to the story you spoke of because these do not look like basic training soldiers due to their uniforms. I think these are from a different unit and probably a little old, but still this kind of gives a glimpse into the treatment of ROK soldiers. Personally I feel it is up to Korea how they want to enforce discipline in their Army since it is their sons serving in it, not me. I don’t agree with how they do it, but it’s their military and they do things their way.
However, what I do take issue with, is that you don’t see the focus on this by the Korean media like they did over Abu Graib. I still see editorials in the Korean media taking cheap shots at the US Army over Abu Graib when Korea has stuff like this going on in their own military that is 10 times worse then Abu Graib and on a much wider scale. How come there is not wall to wall coverage of this with pictures every day like Abu Graib? I don’t know about you but I would much rather be on a dog leash or wear bloomers on my head then be subjected what these ROK soldiers are subjected to.
I’m just trying to point out the hippocracy of it all.
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8:42 pm on January 7th, 2007 5
I’m sorry GI Korea, this is not a related comment to this disgusting article, but more severe one.
It seems the Chinese comunist party had a secret meeting called “622″ on June 22, in order to supress the outbreak of two well-known plagues, the bird flu and *Ebora*, and to conceal any disclosure to the public. Surely, they should, since if this goes wide open, severe riots would rise. The party decided to spend up to 6.3 billion yuen for this activity solely. If this figure is accurate, this means the party is really serious. For those red-aristocracys, Money is more important than normal Chinese people’s life.
Since the URL below is translated into Japanese, I guess you can’t read it. However, you should be able to clearly recognize the word “EBORA” in the picture.
http://www.epochtimes.jp/jp/2005/07/html/d56250.html
I think I don’t have to emphasize how Ebora is dangerous (you watched the “Out Break”, didn’t you?). As for the bird flue (H5N1), it is determined very poisonous to human being also. Some of Chinese web sites are claiming that death toll rose 121 already. The following URL is an English translated version of this news:
http://www.rense.com/general65/chinadesperatelyhiding.htm
How Chineses are good at importing many things! I hope they are not expertized to export these viruses to the other coutries this time. I wish, I pray, I would even swear that I love Koreans if Chinese won’t export the viruses to Japan….
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8:43 pm on January 7th, 2007 6
I think those pictures are quite dated. Also, they’re marines not army.
Most of the commanders who saw to it that training like that happened during the dictatorships were trained by the Japanese. You know, those Japanese who brought civilization and respect for authority to the peninsula etc etc.
Japanese influence in ROK marines can be seen in a lot of their music, and in the style of (font for the) hanja they often use.
Suika Dorobo is at best dishonest. I decide to take a look for myself and so for a little sampling I look into the first pic I see, here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/a6m5/28135782/
That is not an “imitation.” It is a Japanese import, clearly stated as such on the website of the Korean company that sells it:
http://www.ht.co.kr/html/product/productdetail.asp?productno=325&pcode1=1&pcode2=2
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4:01 pm on January 8th, 2007 7
oranckay, I followed the two URLs you posted.
To be honest, I don’t get it not at all. What makes you to believe that this imiated (or imported; I don’t care) snack issue is related with the Korean Marines’ cool habitat eating human feces.
I strongly support their freedom to eat foods whatever they like.
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4:01 pm on January 8th, 2007 8
1) The Japanese government has already found duck meats contaminated by the bird flu which were imported from China. So, I do not have to swear.
2) As for the ebora in Suchion, China, it’s been rumored this could be another kind of plague, something related pig.
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4:08 pm on January 8th, 2007 9
It’s the credibility of the author. As mentioned earlier, that picture is dated (probably back to 1980’s), yet it’s almost implied and misrepresented as current. The Japanese author has the habit of misrepresentation including that snack as portrayed as copy right infringment of a Japanese snack, when in fact, it isn’t. It was properly licensed and imported from Japan, by Haitai, as clearly stated on their website. If this author clearly has the habit of misrepresentation, why should I belive what anything he tries to say?
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4:26 pm on January 8th, 2007 10
The credibility of the author? that’s the point oranckay was claiming? To be honest, unless you, Tom, didn’t post this, I didn’t get it for ever. Thanks. Great.
These pictures are famous. Not only several commenters in the GI Korea blog site, but also many Korea-watchers had seen them before the original posting by GI-Korea.
So, are you guys trying to say that because those photos were old (back to 1980’s or so; I don’t know and care), what the photos really portraying have lost the true meaning? That’s a typical distorting technic only valid for Koreans. It isn’t applicable for people living outside of Korea. Why are you Koreans so good at to drive the discussion to a wrong way?
Maybe, you Koreans still really don’t get why Korea-watchers, like me, are enjoying to sneer this kind of funny or strange stories in Korea. That’s not the story itself. I tell you what. It is very enjoyable that Koreans are always trying to proud of something, to hide something, defend something, but failed miserably.
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