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Park Gippeum, 32, a judge with the Seoul Southern District Court, right, tries to handcuff Nexen Heroes mascot Tukdori after it attempted to hug her at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday. Park was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch via a lottery that included other court employees who were invited to watch the baseball game between the Heroes and the Kia Tigers. [JoongAng Ilbo
She hasn’t seen...
5:23 pm on May 29th, 2011 1
She appears to be into handcuffs. That’s a +1.
5:43 pm on May 29th, 2011 2
She must be an appellate court judge(one of two other, I’m sure male judges) and she is there to entertain the male judges. What fun would there be in having her preside over a court room herself?
7:39 pm on May 29th, 2011 3
How does a woman get to be a judge at 32 in Korea? Is it similar to how actresses get roles and “singers” get record deals in the Korean entertainment industry?
10:00 pm on May 29th, 2011 4
If she actually had her own court room I can see old Korean male lawyers telling her off. Heck, even more ajummas than normal would stand up to tell her how their little 30-40 year old prince(son) isn’t guilty.
10:02 pm on May 29th, 2011 5
not guilty…for beating their wives aged 32 years old.
10:08 pm on May 29th, 2011 6
Leon LaPorte,
One word…nepotism.
11:38 pm on May 29th, 2011 7
#6 That’s not exactly what I was getting at and certainly not what I learned in my dealings with the industry, if you catch my drift. Care to try again?
4:20 am on May 30th, 2011 8
#7 — BJ ? Is that at least closer than nepotism?
4:28 am on May 30th, 2011 9
I rest my case you’re honor, why GI’s are scum.
5:03 am on May 30th, 2011 10
Just kidding.
9:48 am on May 30th, 2011 11
“I rest my case you’re honor, why GI’s are scum.”
Just the Korean ones Tom
11:20 am on May 30th, 2011 12
Leon LaPorte, are there actual news items behind your suggestion that these judges go their positions by offering sexual favors?
2:34 pm on May 30th, 2011 13
#12- A 32 year-old female judge either has family connections or knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak.
3:09 pm on May 30th, 2011 14
ArchieB, family connections is certainly a possibility, but Leon LaPorte seemed to pretty directly be saying she likely got there by providing sexual favors, which is quite different from what you’re saying.
You’re saying her family knows where the bodies are buried. LLP is saying she let someone bury something in her body, so to speak.
4:13 pm on May 30th, 2011 15
It’s funny how leon laporte acts like he knows so much about koreak, yet he can’t even speak korean.
4:47 pm on May 30th, 2011 16
How do you know whether or not he can speak Korean?
5:32 pm on May 30th, 2011 17
예. 어떻게?
I also do not speak functional Latin yet I know a great deal about the Roman Empire. I do however know a great deal about Korea. Been here longer than Tom has been in Canada.
/which is a loooooong time
6:11 pm on May 30th, 2011 18
#16 Isn’t it common sense?????? Read number #17 and please do not reply again.
6:14 pm on May 30th, 2011 19
#17 Yeah but the bottom line is Tom speaks English, but you do not speak Korean. It’s that simple. It just seems pathetic how most people here love gang up on Tom yet they rarely come up with better argument. My guess is most people here are either ex military or esl teachers. Wait,….now that explains everything…lol
6:41 pm on May 30th, 2011 20
Yes, Orbit. If you find that Tom offers well developed, logical “arguments”, you would likely find it difficult to guage the quality of what others say.
7:15 pm on May 30th, 2011 21
#20 It’s not just that, it seems like all these people love to argue whenever Tom says something whether it’s a fact or not. Seems like they must have the last word and that’s childish. I just hate people who comment just to argue.
7:22 pm on May 30th, 2011 22
#21 I think you have it 180 degrees out of phase. I notice whenever I (and others) bring a salient point to the discourse, Tom studiously ignores it and drives on with his trolling. Why can we not at time troll back?
7:33 pm on May 30th, 2011 23
Tom is not always wrong. When Tom is not trolling — and let’s be clear here that even by his own admission he is here to agitate — he sometimes says something worth reading.
As for speaking Korean or not, there is a limitation to not being functional or fluent in Korean, and that is that one’s view of things is necessarily on the periphery, filtered through utterances that have been at least in part lost in translation when they are filtered into English.
I can’t begin to tell you how many stories of the latest outrage I’ve heard had, at their core, a cultural or linguistic misinterpretation from someone whose Korean was just good enough to get them into trouble.
Not saying that applies to LLP, but Orbit has a point. But being functional or fluent does not make Korea’s problems disappear; at best, it puts them into a mitigating perspective that one cannot get if they have command over just a few words and phrases.
7:38 pm on May 30th, 2011 24
Orbit, how long have you been reading here?
LP 22 has described the bulk of the experience for years. We’ve all watched Tom troll here for a long, long, long time. Many discussions have gone on about how to handle it — (one of them being to ignore it and not respond) — and different things tried. Nothing stops it.
So, by now, you get what you see. By now, Tom is like an annoying, alcoholic, crack-addicted cousin at the family Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday get together. You’ve known him all your life. You’ve tried to get used to him….but….
7:44 pm on May 30th, 2011 25
USinKorea is in the house. I’m sure he’ll be looking into Orbit’s IP to make sure he’s not a sock of Tom’s.
7:54 pm on May 30th, 2011 26
@25: But Orbit’s English sucks, so I doubt he’s Tom. Tom makes a lot of mistakes – but at least he keeps things coherent.
8:05 pm on May 30th, 2011 27
Checked already…No, he’s not.
8:11 pm on May 30th, 2011 28
Orbit’s strident defense of Tom is quite interesting. It sort of came out of nowhere. What is that IP?
Anyhoo. Tom does often make good points but as I said, when he’s stuck in a logical corner he ignores the argument and drives forward with impish mirth and suspect utterances. He will not answer a true challenge to his dogma (in that he’s much like a religious person), unless it regards his Chi-Com ancestry.
As far as my Korean; I’ve forgotten more than 90% of waegooks will ever know.
Yet I digress, we all love Tom. Where would we be without him? God bless Tom and the United States of America!
8:19 pm on May 30th, 2011 29
#26 so is your life
9:00 pm on May 30th, 2011 30
#29 proves #26.
That is really, really funny.
9:28 pm on May 30th, 2011 31
wow so these people can speak GREAT english, yet they ended up in korea as a mere g.i. and esl teachers? I am so impressed. lmao
9:52 pm on May 30th, 2011 32
Orbit isn’t posting from a proxy and he isn’t in Canada.
9:55 pm on May 30th, 2011 33
#32 quit hacking my computer
10:07 pm on May 30th, 2011 34
Orbit how are things? At least Tom uses a mirror server. You should randomize your MAC address a little better. Try HMIADCE it’s free…….
Well best of luck say hi to your dear leader…….
10:36 pm on May 30th, 2011 35
33 – It’s not hacking. To prevent help curb against people posting under two different names (and doing other negative things through comments), every time you post a comment, it comes with your IP address so moderators can check it if need be.
Since Tom has been known in the past to post under different names (to boost his credibility in an argument and whatnot), and has used proxies, a couple of long-timers wondered above if you were Tom using a different name.
I simply told them you were not (as far as can be determined).
12:06 am on May 31st, 2011 36
of course i’m not. i would never name myself tom.
12:56 am on May 31st, 2011 37
Orbit is a Chinese. He is trying to mask himself using mirror sites. Not too hard to retrace though. Also another hint is the name he uses. Orbit. – the Chinese finally, After other third world nations, put a man around the earth ~ though I would hardly call it orbiting~~~ But its a start. I loathe China and its population who consider themselves superior to others – until they walk onto the shores of America where they’re treated like the 2nd class citizens they actually are.
1:01 am on May 31st, 2011 38
http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/china_organs_regime_admits_to_organ_harvesting_prisoners.htm
or you can look up: china organ harvesting prisoner
God love them. But its ok for their “bored” computer techs to reach out to blogging sites like ROKDROP. You guys don’t need to try and subvert the conversations here – that never works – just ask us questions about how great Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the US and other countries are… We’ll let you know what your missing.
Orbit – come on
5:36 am on May 31st, 2011 39
#35- Tom isn’t the only one.
5:39 am on May 31st, 2011 40
As for whatever the original argument was, well, no one needs to understand Korean or live in Korea very long to understand how much corruption there is in the legal system. Even Koreans despise that aspect of their society.
9:59 am on May 31st, 2011 41
#37 I’m chinese because my nickname is Orbit? lmao Wow how stupid can you get?
10:49 am on May 31st, 2011 42
#31,
You’re not the scholarly type, apparently.
#33,
Worried your friends at the shop know you like to dress up like a Sailor Moon and take pictures of yourself?
Like they said, they are the moderators. They can see your IP address. Don’t freak out, it’s pretty inoffensive. They need that info to block out spammers and rabble-rousers.
10:53 am on May 31st, 2011 43
#40,
“Even Koreans despise that aspect of their society.”
Well, at least the ones who aren’t well connected.
Fact is, it won’t change anytime soon. Networking is important in Korean culture…and with networking comes nepotism.
11:14 am on May 31st, 2011 44
South Korean politics and judicial appointments and what-not are still riddled with corruption. It’s a problem in Korea, t’is true.
But after analyzing Hawaii politics and what-not for the past five years, I’m not so sure it’s a problem unique to Korea.
2:38 pm on May 31st, 2011 45
Even in the USA, the fact that someone is a judge at the age of 32 would raise some eyebrows. Obviouslysomeone that young had some outside help with gaining the position.
A lawyer once told me that younger judges tend to side exclusively with the prosecution as they don’t have enough “real life” experience to put themselves in the shoes ofaverage people.
4:14 pm on May 31st, 2011 46
Americans calling Koreans corrupt, when their corruption bankrupted their country.. Wow.. Pot calling the kettle black. LOL
4:44 pm on May 31st, 2011 47
Tom makes a valid point (the one I sorta just made): while corruption is a problem in Korea, it requires no small amount of chutzpah for Americans to be looking down from a high horse and criticize that corruption if at the same time they fail to realize how rampant corruption is in the United States.
In the two states where I’ve followed lived long enough to follow politics carefully, California and Hawaii, governmental appointments are routinely based on cronyism. Up above, our military friends are talking about how “it’s not what you know but who you know.”
How different is this from Korean kwan•gye or the Chinese guanxi?
In America we have fraternities, alumni associations, etc., that reinforce said cronyism.
Moreover, we have so much quid pro quo in government that to get elected you have to do the bidding of corporations and/or unions in order to get their money and get re-elected. This is billions if not trillions in corruption.
At the same time, however, I think it is unfair to jump to the conclusion that this woman, simply by virtue of her age (and possibly her gender) must have used corrupt means to get where she is. Making such broad-based assumptions based on superficial identity is something that ESL teachers, for example, would cry bloody foul over.
6:34 pm on May 31st, 2011 48
It’s a given that politicians are corrupt – anywhere in the world.
I think the difference between Korea and the US in terms of corruption is what happens at the lower levels.
Try bribing a Korean inspector to give your f’d up drainage system a “go” and try the same thing in the US. You’re success rate will be much higher in Korea.
7:24 pm on May 31st, 2011 49
American family court scares the crap out of me.
9:11 pm on May 31st, 2011 50
#45,
I’m not American, so whatever. You obviously don’t know how things work in Korea. I know for a fact that many positions here are sold to the highest bidder (or given to a relative). Nepotism and bribery is bad in the US, but it’s de rigueur here. Hell, was it just 10 years ago that the kids of many of the top politicians in Korea were married to members of the Chaebol families?
9:11 pm on May 31st, 2011 51
Leon LaPorte #1, lol! I like to stick my bat up her center field.
9:16 pm on May 31st, 2011 52
Well, at least it’s one judge we know won’t get caught partying at the Room Salons.
9:18 pm on May 31st, 2011 53
Frankly, my guess is that although she’s probably very smart, the appointment was political, a means to pad her resume for when she runs for political office.
9:28 pm on May 31st, 2011 54
Somebody asked how it is possible for her to be a judge. As of a couple of years ago, in the Korean system once you graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, which is a two-year program, the top grads were offered slots as judges and prosecutors, while the others were left to find standard lawyer positions.
So, I would give this attractive judge the benefit of the doubt and say she earned that slot by beating her peers at the JRTI. In a code system like this one, there’s no concept of a judge having to be old or experienced like we have in the Anglo-Saxon system.
Also, I heard they have gone to a JD system in Korea recently and I’m not sure how that has affected JRTI or the hiring of judges.
9:32 pm on May 31st, 2011 55
Thanks, Wedge (#53). I have met quite a few highly capable SoKos in various high-ranking positions for their (relatively) young age, and I thought Judge Park here deserved the benefit of the doubt. I was only vaguely aware of the type of system you mentioned, so it’s nice to hear that there is a plausible system whereby she deserves the benefit of the doubt.
10:47 pm on May 31st, 2011 56
#53,
You’re right. I had forgotten about that. But, is this system still in affect? I thought they had scrapped it when they narrowed down the number of universities which can offer law degrees.
12:23 am on June 1st, 2011 57
#54: An assistant judge or whatever her title is isn’t considered “high-ranking” in Korea. Certainly her position is not at all easy to get since you have to pass the notoriously hard bar exam and then graduate somewhat near the top of your JRTI class, but she’s no higher ranking than an entry-level prosecutor or law firm associate. She’ll move up the ranks as she gets older like the rest of society here. In line with my previous comment, judges in the West tend to have had long careers as defense lawyers and/or prosecutors before becoming judges; they don’t become judges when they are in their mid-20s like in Korea.
#55: No idea how things work now in Korean legal education as I haven’t asked any lawyer friends about it recently. Maybe Brendon Carr can enlighten us. Either way, at her age this gal would have come up under the old system.
12:52 am on June 1st, 2011 58
Tom L.,
Top Things to Do Other Than “stick my bat up her center field”
Don’t play shortstop.
Use a rubber on her mound.
Don’t let your backdoor slider decrease your box score.
If there is no putout, use your knuckleball.
Don’t let her take a doubleheader and make you the catcher.
4:28 am on June 1st, 2011 59
Leon LaPorte 17, to understand the Roman Empire, you have to know both Latin and Greek.
4:36 am on June 1st, 2011 60
#58 Good point. Most upper class were bilingual.
5:34 am on June 1st, 2011 61
Wedge thanks for info, just learned something new about Korea that I didn’t know before.
6:24 am on June 1st, 2011 62
#60,
Being bilingual hardly makes one upper-class. It’s the norm where I’m from, which is why I speak four languages.
PS. One does not really speak Latin or ancient Greek as these are dead languages. To put it in simple terms, a language is much more than its lexicon.
7:57 am on June 1st, 2011 63
So, Teadrinker…
It’s safe to say you are bi?
4:33 pm on June 1st, 2011 64
#62 When did I infer being bilingual makes one “upper class”?
I simply stated that the upper class were for the most part bilingual. Big difference.
But, far be it for me to deny you a chance to brag on yourself. You go girl!
#63 I reckon it would make him quad
6:42 pm on June 1st, 2011 65
Teadrinker 62, are you sure Latin isn’t a spoken language?
2:37 am on June 2nd, 2011 66
#63,
Would be funny if I only spoke two languages.
#65,
Latin is a dead language, nothing more, nothing less.
3:37 am on June 2nd, 2011 67
It is still funny…
…as you are just twice as bi.
None-the-less, I, too, am an accomplished polyglot with a mastery more languages than even you…
English, Americanese, Canadiani, Australian, New Zealandish, etc
11:47 pm on June 2nd, 2011 68
Chickenhead #58, As always the Master! Don’t let your backdoor slider decrease your box score, when I read that I almost fell off my chair. There was something that I wanted to do to her, uh I forgot, it’s on the tip of my tongue, aha that’s it!