South Korea steps up COVID-19 curbs ahead of peak holiday season

SEOUL - South Korea said on Sunday it will tighten social distancing rules across most of the country this week, warning that its worst-ever COVID-19 wave might spread further in the summer holiday season.

The curbs will be increased to Level 3 on a four-level scale, which will mean a 10 p.m. dining curfew and ban on gatherings of more than four people, from Tuesday for two weeks for most areas except for some small counties.

"What's most concerning is the virus' recent spread in the non-capital areas," President Moon Jae-in told an intra-agency meeting reviewing efforts in the campaign against the coronavirus.

"There has been an increase in movements nationwide, especially around vacation spots."

South Korea managed to largely avoid major COVID-19 outbreaks with an extensive testing and tracing campaign for the first year of the pandemic.

But the latest spikes in infections have dented public confidence even though there have been relatively few critical cases and deaths.

The government early this month imposed the toughest Level 4 curbs, which include a ban on gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m., in the capital Seoul and neighbouring areas.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Sunday reported 1,487 cases for Saturday, the highest increase recorded on any weekend.

South Korea's total infections have risen to 188,848, with 2,073 deaths. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin Editing by Robert Birsel)

-reuters

Seoul closes bars and clubs over fears of second virus wave

SEOUL — South Korea's capital has ordered the closure of all clubs and bars after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a second coronavirus wave.

The nation has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus, but the order from the Seoul mayor on Saturday followed the new infection cluster in Itaewon, one of the city's busiest nightlife districts.

More than two dozen cases were linked to a 29-year-old man who tested positive after spending time at five clubs and bars in Itaewon last weekend.

Health authorities have warned of a further spike in infections, with around 7,200 people estimated to have visited the five establishments identified.

"Carelessness can lead to an explosion in infections," Seoul mayor Park Won-soon said, adding the order will remain in effect indefinitely.

Park asked those who visited those clubs and bars to come forward voluntarily.

Of the 18 new South Korean cases reported on Saturday, 17 were tied to the Itaewon cluster, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The jump in new infections comes as everyday life in South Korea has slowly started returning to normal, with the government relaxing social distancing rules last Wednesday.

The nation endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside mainland China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strick social distancing had been widely observed since March.

But it appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive "trace, test and treat" programme that has drawn widespread praise.

Facilities like museums and art galleries have returned to business and some professional sports, including baseball and soccer, have started new seasons, while schools are set to reopen starting next week.

South Korea reported 34 new cases on Sunday, taking the total to 10,874, its largest daily increase in a month.

Agence France-Presse

North and South Korea exchange gunfire at border: Seoul

North Korean troops fired multiple gunshots towards the South in the DMZ dividing the peninsula on Sunday, prompting South Korean forces to fire back, Seoul said.

The rare exchange of gunfire comes a day after North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un had made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks following an absence that triggered intense speculation about his health and fears about the stability of the isolated nation.

A South Korean guard post was hit by several shots from the North, the joint chiefs of staff (JCS) in Seoul said in a statement, adding no casualties were reported in the South.

"Our military responded with two rounds of gunfire and a warning announcement," the JCS said.

The South Korean military later said the North Korean gunshots were "not deemed intentional", according to the Yonhap news agency.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said he believed the shots had not been fired on purpose, telling ABC's "This Week" it was likely they were "accidental".

The two neighbours remain technically at war, after fighting in the Korean War was halted with an armistice in 1953.

Despite its name, the demilitarized zone is one of the most fortified places on earth, replete with minefields and barbed-wire fences.

The last time the two sides exchanged fire on the border was in 2014. North Korean soldiers also shot at a defector in 2017 but the South did not fire back.

- Swirling health rumours -

Easing military tensions on their border was one of the agreements reached between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.

But most of the deals have not been acted on by North Korea, with Pyongyang largely cutting off contact with Seoul.

North Korea's discussions with the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal are also at a standstill, despite three meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

The uncertainty around the process would have increased had Kim been incapacitated or dead as rumoured in recent weeks.

Speculation about Kim's health has been swirling since his conspicuous no-show at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political calendar.

His absence triggered a series of unconfirmed reports over his condition, while the United States and South Korea insisted they had no information to believe any of the conjecture was true.

However, North Korean state television on Friday showed Kim walking, smiling broadly and smoking a cigarette at what it said was the opening of a fertiliser factory.

A senior South Korean presidential official on Sunday brushed off rumours that Kim had undergone surgery during his absence, saying they had enough grounds to believe he had not.

Trump on Saturday welcomed the leader's return.

"I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" the president tweeted.

Before Kim's reappearance, Pompeo said last month that he remained hopeful a nuclear deal could be clinched with North Korea.

"Regardless of what transpires inside of North Korea with respect to their leadership, our mission remains the same -- to deliver on that commitment that Chairman Kim made with President Trump... (the) verified denuclearisation of North Korea," Pompeo told reporters.

"We are still hopeful that we'll find a path to negotiate that solution to get the outcome that is good for the American people, good for the North Korean people and for the whole world."

Agence France-Presse

Cyber-bullied K-pop star found dead at her home

SEOUL, South Korea — A popular K-pop star who had long been the target of abusive online comments was found dead at her home Monday, South Korean police said.

The body of Sulli, a former member of top girl group f(x), was discovered by her manager at her home on the outskirts of the capital, Seoul.

Police said in a statement that the 25-year-old had been suffering from "severe depression".

The exact cause of her death was still under investigation.

South Korea has one of the world's highest rates of suicide which, according to recent government figures, is among the top causes of death for those under 40.

Sulli, whose real name was Choi Jin-ri, was known for her outspokenness and drive for women's rights, for which she had suffered online bullying and harassment.

She debuted in 2009 for f(x), which quickly became one of the top K-pop girl groups worldwide.

She suspended her career in 2014 after struggling with cyber-bullying and left the group a year later to focus on acting projects.

Sulli was active on social media and recently hosted a TV series where celebrities discussed their experiences with online abuse.

Her death sent shockwaves through the K-pop fan community.

"I always adored and respected you for your boldness. All I can say is rest in peace," a fan commented on Sulli's Instagram account.

"In heaven, you don't have to act strong or pretend everything is okay," another fan said. "I hope you will only think about yourself there."

source: philstar.com

South Korea's pride parade marks 20 years in blaze of color

SEOUL, South Korea — Tens of thousands of LGBT South Koreans and their supporters paraded through central Seoul Saturday for the capital's 20th gay rights march, with ruling Democratic Party members taking part for the first time.

The parade, some 70,000 strong according to organisers, made its way through the South Korean capital with participants dancing on open truck beds and waving rainbow flags.

"People who used to be invisible are here to show that they exist," said Jeong Min-hee, a 26-year-old participant.

"It's so much fun, I'm very excited and it feels so good to be in solidarity with others."

South Korea is Asia's fourth biggest economy and a capitalist democracy, but lived through decades of military rule when evangelical Christianity was widespread and framed the communist North as evil.

Christian churches still have enduring political influence in the South, and they are now targeting sexual minorities, activists say.

"The conservative Christians consider both -- communists and sexual minorities -- as deserving to be demonised in South Korean society," said Lim Bo-rah, a senior pastor at an LGBT-friendly church in Seoul.

But changes in society are afoot. Members of the ruling, left-leaning Democratic Party (DPK) participated in the event for the first time this year and CASS, one of the South's largest beer brands, on Friday became the country's first major company to openly support gay rights.

The South Korean President Moon Jae-in -- a former human rights lawyer -- has spoken only vaguely on gay rights. His political rivals and LGBT activists say he is trying not to alienate supporters.

As the front-runner in the presidential race in 2017, Moon said in a television debate that he "opposed" homosexuality in the military.


-'We were invisible'-


"We decided to participate because we wanted to show that LGBT people and their allies exist even within the ruling party," said Kim Min-seok, one of some 30 DPK members who showed up at the parade, waving the party flag.

"I often felt we were invisible within the DPK -- many members wouldn't even think about the possibility of our existence", Kim said.

The participation of the ruling party's members was announced prior to the event and sparked intense controversy, triggering the spokesperson for the main opposition, conservative party Min Kyung-wook to say the Democrats should "come out" as a "queer" party.

Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea but there is currently no legislation outlawing discrimination.

It is also the world's only advanced economy to make consensual gay sex between soldiers a crime under military rules.

It is a marked contrast to Taiwan -- which also has Confucian cultural components, a history of dictatorship, and has enjoyed an economic boom in recent decades.

But earlier this month Asia's first gay marriages took place on the island after it legalised the change.

Activists say the difference is religion: South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups that offered comfort and salvation that appealed during times of deep uncertainty following the Korean War.

Now more than 20 percent of South Korea's population are Protestant Christians, surveys show, compared to about five percent of Taiwanese.

Thousands of Christian protesters turned out to protest the event on Saturday, holding up signs that read "Repent and come back to Jesus. He loves you."

A cross-section of society were present, including buddhists, Korean-American adoptees, asexuals and parents of sexual minorities.

In previous parades, "young LGBT people would come to us and cry in arms whenever we gave them free hugs," said Lee Sun-young, who works for Parents and Families of LGBTAIQ people of Korea.

"We always remember them. I hope they know that the world is changing, although slowly."

source: philstar.com

Lead singer of South Korean boy band SHINee dies in possible suicide

SEOUL | The lead singer of top South Korean boy band SHINee died in hospital on Monday in a possible suicide that robs fans of the globally-famous K-Pop genre of one of its biggest stars.

Kim Jong-hyun, 27, was found unconscious next to burning briquettes on a frying pan inside a serviced residence in the South Korean capital Seoul, a police official told Reuters.

“His sister was first to call the police assuming that he might commit suicide,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive subject. Yonhap news agency said the singer sent a final message to his sister asking her to “let me go.”

Kim spent nearly a decade in his leading role as one of five members of SHINee, one of the most popular boy bands in the country, as well as a solo artist. His death is a blow to the massive worldwide fan base that Korea’s “K-pop” music has attracted in recent years.

Thousands of Korean children dream of becoming household names like rapper Psy, whose 2012 “Gangnam Style” video was a global YouTube hit, often putting up with punishing schedules in the hope of one day making it big in the music industry.

K-pop is the rage in Asia, especially in China and Japan, and the industry has made inroads in the West, with a song by the group BTS maintaining a spot on the Billboard 200 for a seven weeks as of the end of November.

The genre has become one of the defining icons of Korea and forms a major part of what’s been called the Korean Wave, or hallyu, that has made South Korea a global player in culture, in addition to electronics, cosmetics, and other industries.

K-pop’s international appeal is such that South Korean President Moon Jae-in used K-Pop celebrities at events, including a state dinner, in China last week in a bid to smooth out a year of difficult diplomacy with a star-laden charm offensive.

Another member of SHINee, Choi Min-ho, was brought in to make an appearance with U.S. first lady Melania Trump during a state visit to Seoul in early November, only to steal the spotlight from her when a loyal fan’s enthusiasm went viral in a video of the event.

source: interaksyon.com

South Korean president's son faces tax probe

SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors said Wednesday they would refer President Lee Myung-Bak's only son to the tax authorities as they handed down indictments over a project to build Lee's retirement home.

Although Lee Si-Hyung was not among the three people indicted, prosecutors said his tax records would be checked for the possible imposition of gift tax on funds he received from family members to help purchase land for the home.

"We've decided to pass on documents to the National Tax Service," special prosecutor Lee Kwang-Bum told reporters.

Those indicted on various charges relating to breach of trust included the former head of the Presidential Security Service, Kim In-Jong.

The indictments followed a one-month investigation by special prosecutors into alleged irregularities in the purchase of a plot of land on the southern edge of Seoul.

The land was to be used to build a retirement home for Lee, who will formally leave office in January having served the single presidential term allowed under the South Korean constitution.

The lot was jointly purchased by the president's son, Lee Si-Hyung, and the presidential security service, which would have needed to house its agents on the site.

But the cost was allegedly not split evenly, with suggestions that the security service paid too high a price for its share, while Lee's son got a below-market rate for the residential plot.

In the course of their probe, the prosecutors grilled the president's brother, Lee Sang-Eun, who had given his nephew 600 million won ($542,000) to secure the land deal.

First Lady Kim Yoon-Ok was also questioned -- although only in writing -- over a similar-sized loan she made to her son.

The presidential Blue House has denied opposition claims of financial chicanery.

But in the face of mounting criticism, the president scrapped the whole project and decided to move into his existing private house in southern Seoul after leaving office.

source: interaksyon.com

Maui Taylor’s Korean film to premiere in Seoul on Tuesday

Maui Taylor gets a chance to walk the red carpet in Seoul for the premiere of her Korean film “The Taste of Money” on Tuesday, May 15. The highly anticipated film by Korean director Im Sang-son will screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which will begin the next day.
“The Taste of Money”, Im’s follow-up to the highly lauded 2010 Cannes entry “The Housemaid”, is Maui’s first taste of the international film scene. The petite actress was last seen in the 2008 film “Torotot”.
“It was the people of Viva Films who presented me to these Korean film producers,” she says. “They were looking for a Pinay actress to play the role of Eva, a nanny from Cebu.”
Maui plays the pivotal role of the Filipina housemaid whose sexual relations with the old patriarch of her employing family in Seoul puts everyone’s lives into a tailspin.
She landed the part after the producers saw her performance in the 2004 film “Huling Birhen sa Lupa”.
“Pinanood nila ‘yung movie, and they all agreed that I was the one. Wala nang auditions na nangyari. Kaya sobra akong natuwa,” she says. “It’s my first time to make a film this big, and kilala sa mga international film festivals ang director namin na si Im Sang-son.”
Maui started filming for “The Taste Of Money” in Seoul in November 2011 during winter.
“Grabe ang lamig sa Korea,” she recalls. “May swimming scene pa ako, at sobrang lamig ng tubig.”
Fortunately, some scenes were also shot in Cebu. The principal photography for the film lasted four months.
Maui witnessed how the Korean film industry is very strict with the hours of filming.
“We only shot for 10 hours a day, and no overtime. Sometimes we would only shoot like three or four scenes a day lang.
“Masyado silang mabusisi sa mga eksena. Kapag naisipan ng director namin na ibahin ang scene, lahat maiiba. Kaya inabot kami ng four months,” she says.
During those four months, Maui had opportunities to fly back home during breaks in her schedule.
“Pabalik-balik ako dito sa Pilipinas. May weeks kasi na hindi ako makukunan ng eksena. Kaya uuwi muna ako. I would only fly back to Seoul kapag ready na ang mga scenes ko na i-shoot,” she explains.
The entire experience thrilled Maui to no end: “Feeling ko Hollywood star ako. I was given a VIP treatment sa set.”
The 29-year-old actress had a well-appointed three-bedroom apartment all to herself. She had a living allowance on top of her talent fee, which financed her shopping sprees in the cosmopolitan city.
On set she had an English-speaking personal assistant, a necessity given the fact that most of the actors and the crew were not conversant in English. In fact, it was Maui who reached out by learning Korean.
“May dialect coach ako because in most of my scenes I had to speak Korean. Kaya I learned so many words and somehow nakakapag-communicate ako sa kanila on the set. Pero I still needed my P.A. to interpret some of the words spoken to me by my co-stars,” she shares.
Maui had a great time working with her Korean co-actors, especially the two senior stars of the film: Baek Yoon-sik (known as the “Al Pacino of Korea”) and Yoon Yeo-jeong (the lead actress in “The Housemaid”).
“Mababait sila. At first na-intimidate ako sa kanila kasi they are big stars in Korea. But once I got to know them, normal din pala sila. Mahiyain din pala sila,” she says.
She confesses she had a crush on Kim Kang-woo, reportedly the highest-paid actor in Korea: “Grabe, ang guwapo niya!”
Unfortunately for her, her love scenes were with the much older Baek Yoon-sik, not with Kim Kang-woo. She says: “Palabiro si Kim Kang-woo. Kaso he’s married na kaya hindi na ako puwedeng umeksena sa kanya!”
The project came as a breath of fresh air for Maui, who was coming off a bad breakup when “The Taste of Money” was offered to her.
“Tama lang na dumating ang trabahong ito para hindi ko maisip ang malungkot na lovelife ko,” says the actress, who remains loveless at the moment.
“Right now, I am just dating. Nothing serious yet,” she notes. “I just want to meet other people muna. Ayoko munang maging serious sa love.”
source: interaksyon.com

Lady Gaga wows S. Koreans as global tour kicks offSEOUL - US pop diva Lady Gaga wowed tens of thousands of South Koreans at the opening show of her gl

SEOUL - US pop diva Lady Gaga wowed tens of thousands of South Koreans at the opening show of her global tour Friday with signature flamboyant outfits and a provocative performance.

The star dazzled some 50,000 fans at the Olympic stadium in Seoul, with the audience wearing paper bracelets reading "18 above" issued by organizers in response to Seoul banning under-18s attending.

The limit was imposed after a state ratings board judged the much-anticipated concert unsuitable for younger audiences, and ticket-holders had to present ID cards to enter the venue.

Lady Gaga rode onto the stage on horseback, wearing a glittering black bodysuit and an enormous black metal headpiece as screaming fans waved thousands of glowing sticks and chanted her name.

"I was told that your government decided that my shows should be 18 or over... So, I'll make sure it will be!" Lady Gaga shouted, to cheers from the crowd.

The professional provocateur's show included throwing dancers and herself into a giant fake meat grinder and staging scenes of machine gun fire and simulated group and lesbian sex.

The concert was the first in her "Born This Way Ball" tour, which will visit several Asian countries before going on to Australasia and Europe later this year.

It follows the success of her album "Born This Way," which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011.

The "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance" singer belted out more than 20 hits in a 100-minute show on a stage featuring a castle-shaped structure topped with an illuminated cross.

The star, rated one of the 100 most influential fashion icons by the US magazine Time, showed off some 10 different outfits, ranging from a dress and a pair of heels fashioned out of raw meat to a skirt made of a piano keyboard.

Before the concert, dozens of Lady Gaga lookalikes in extravagant costumes inspired by the singer took souvenir pictures as hordes of fans waited in line outside the stadium, which was guarded by police and security guards.

Some male fans wore leather corsets over black and white suits and black sunglasses with metal spikes, while scores of others put on facepaint to honor the singer known for her otherworldly dress sense.

The concert prompted opposition from religious groups who accuse Lady Gaga of advocating homosexuality and pornography.

The Korean Association of Church Communication vowed last month to take "concerted action to stop young people from being infected with homosexuality and pornography" by the US star's concert.

Outside the stadium on Friday, two foreign Christian protesters held placards reading "Lady Gaga. Go home!" and "Sexual purity, virginity, fidelity", while about 20 South Korean Christian activists prayed.

In another part of Seoul about 100 Christian activists gathered for a rally.

"Lady Gaga... is a wounded soul that is in desperate need of restoration. Therefore Christians should love and bless her. We should hate the evil spirit behind her, not Lady Gaga herself," they said in a leaflet.

source: interaksyon.com