May 16th, 2013 at 1:27 pm » Comments (3)

Michelle Rodriguez poses with a fan during a red carpet event for her film “Fast & Furious 6″ in Seoul on Monday. /Newsis

May 15th, 2013 at 3:51 pm » Comments (0)

Hmm– Seoul City wins U.N. prizes for citizen-friendly policies:bit.ly/17v1E20 — KingSejong (@KingSejong) May 15, 2013

April 29th, 2013 at 11:10 pm » Comments (26)

No word on whether Mr. A learned this behavior from USFK soldiers or perhaps foreign English teachers… A substitute homeroom teacher in Seoul was recently terminated for allegedly masturbating in front of high school students after allegedly hitting one of them for listening to music in class. The 55-year-old, identified only as Mr. A, had apparently become upset after one student in his self-studying class refused to remove his earphones upon request. He then proceeded to “severely beat” the student, as well as possibly another student, while the rest of
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April 27th, 2013 at 6:46 pm » Comments (38)

I do not know why these officials are complaining when plans to leave the Dragon Hill Lodge, the helicopter landing pad, and a new US embassy annex have long been agreed upon: – Somebody at Seoul City Hall is bitching about the fact that USFK is keeping some facilities—including a helipad, the Dragon Hill Hotel and the US embassy– in Yongsan even after the move to Pyeongtaek. In particular, the official told New1 that rather than restitution Yongsan residents for the losses they’ve suffered from decades of US troops being
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April 20th, 2013 at 1:21 pm » Comments (5)

This photo was taken in 1960 from an airplane by my father, Leroy Smothers, probably during one of his trips between Korea & Japan. It shows a portion of the Han River near Seoul, which is off-picture somewhere. I have not found any identifying landmarks in this photo, so the exact location is uncertain. This might be where present day Sungsu Bridge and Dongho Bridges are located – if so, Seoul is off-picture at the top. The Han River near Seoul has changed quite a lot since this 1960 photo
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February 28th, 2013 at 1:32 pm » Comments (9)

February 8th, 2013 at 1:18 pm » Comments (7)

Riders have fun in Seoul’s first open-top double-decker tour bus during a trial run in downtown on Wednesday. [Chosun Ilbo]

January 21st, 2013 at 6:56 am » Comments (33)

The story below about a high rise brothel in Samseong-dong is currently the top story over at the Korea Times: Police said Sunday they had uncovered a suspected brothel operating in a nine-story building, and fronted by a hostess bar and hotel, in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. Officers said they found more than 100 females working there as prostitutes. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it arrested the 35-year-old bar owner, surnamed Jung, in its raid on Jan. 10 for hiring the women as “hostesses” since June 2010 and asking them
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January 19th, 2013 at 6:19 pm » Comments (10)

From the USFK Facebook page: The Eighth Army deputy commanding general for operations thanked the citizens of Seoul’s Gangnam District for their support of the Republic of Korea-United States Alliance. Maj. Gen. Walter M. Golden, Eighth Army deputy commanding general for Operations, was a guest speaker Jan. 8, at the annual Gangnam New Year’s Reception at COEX, the site of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and the 2010 G-20 Summit. Hosted by Gangnam District Mayor Dr. Shin Yeon-hee, the reception was attended by more than 1,500 residents of the affluent
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January 14th, 2013 at 1:29 pm » Comments (0)

Tourists carry shopping bags in Myeong-dong, Seoul on Friday. [Chosun Ilbo]