Tembin Aftermath

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Tembin has now left the Korean Peninsula after being downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm and dissipating in the East Sea. It did, however, leave damage in its wake throughout the country.

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The season's 14th typhoon Tembin claimed the lives of two people and injured three more in Korea. In Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, strong winds struck down an iron structure pinning down two women in their 50s. One of them died and the other sustained serious injuries. In Cheonan, South Chungcheon Province, a man in his 60s was buried to death while removing a tree from a waterway. Heavy downpour has also inundated 43-hundred hectares of farmland in the South Jeolla Province areas of Jindo, Yeonggwang and Mokpo. Houses were also damaged. Three residential buildings were destroyed and 75 buildings were submerged nationwide. Along the coastline of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, 119 people of 78 households were displaced and evacuated to nearby elementary schools and community centers. Electricity was cut off at one point for 190-thousand households across the country. Transportation was also restricted. Some 120 passenger ships traveling 80 or so routes did not operate yesterday in eleven regions including Incheon and Jeju Island. Around 250 flights were also canceled. 130 schools nationwide also closed for the day or adjusted their class times.

2. Coast Hit Hard

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The nation's southern coast in South Jeolla Province bore the brunt of the two recent storms. Fish farms in the area were destroyed and fields located along the coast are now flooded with seawater.

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An embankment finally reveals itself as the seawater recedes. Its thick layer of concrete is severely cracked, as if it had underwent an earthquake. Part of a seawall has collapsed, while a 100-meter section of a coastal motorway has buckled. All of these infrastructures were battered by a tsunami during the recent typhoons.

[Soundbite] "The waves soared high like mountains. The marsh water reached up this far."

Rice fields located close to the seashore have turned white, as if they were sprinkled with salt. After the seawater subsided, there were salt remnants, which were scattered around the field by the gusty winds and have damaged the crops. In Goheung alone, the area of damaged rice fields reaches 850 hectares.

[Soundbite] Kim Jae-hak (Farmer) : "The edges got rolled and withered, and the stems are turning white now. My estimate is that 100% of this has been damaged."

Pomegranates also fell victim to the salt damage ahead of their scheduled harvest. About half of the fruit has gone bad, making them unsellable.

[Soundbite] Kim Sun-tae (Pomegranate Farmer) : "The color of these changed because of the seawater rushing in. It's useless. Everything else is going to end up this way."

Many of the local crops, such as peppers and sesame seeds, have turned black. The scope of the salt damage is expected to grow as more time passes.

3. Jeju Revisited

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On Jeju Island, which was slammed by Typhoon Bolaven, damage from Tembin turned out to be less serious. But thousands of households on the island still lost power and planes and ships stopped running, leaving many travelers stranded.

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Jeju Island was completely isolated from the outside world yesterday morning, with Typhoon Tembin approaching. Some 150 flights were cancelled in Jeju International Airport due to the storm and wind shear alerts. The flights were slowly resumed later. The operations of passenger ferries of five routes connecting Jeju with other regions were suspended. Six thousand households on the island saw blackouts as at one point, wind speeds surpassed 20 meters a second. Electricity for all houses were thankfully restored. Nineteen schools were temporary closed. For 42 others, classes ended earlier than usual. All of Jeju's famous olle trails were temporarily closed after being damaged by the typhoon. Given the urgency of restoring the trails, authorities have postponed the opening of the final, 21st route, from next month to late November.

4. Jeolla Battered

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North and South Jeolla Provinces took a one-two punch with Bolaven's strong winds and Tembin’s torrential rains. The hea
vy rain in particular did a number on the region.

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Roads have turned into rivers. Dozens of cars are trapped in the flood. Tow trucks have rushed to the scene, but they turned out to be of no use. Torrential rain of 43 millimeters per hour flooded Gwangju's largest industrial complex as well.

[Soundbite] Jeong Mun-seop (Victim) : "We can't deliver the clients' orders at all. Trucks should be going in every hour but they can't even budge."

Farmlands were also submerged. The level of the rainwater rose up as high as an adult's waist, making the rice paddy look like a reservoir. More than 4,000 hectares of farmland in South and North Jeolla Provinces as well as Gwangju are flooded. A house which was severely damaged by Typhoon Bolaven has been abandoned, left to be battered by the downpour. Since the arrival of Typhoon Bolaven in South and North Jeolla Provinces as well as Gwangju, the rough estimate of damages to the region comes to around 132 million U.S. dollars.

5. Girl Kidnapped

[Anchor Lead]

Police are on the hunt for a pedophile after a 7-year-old girl was kidnapped from her family’s living room and brutally raped. She was later found naked by the side of the road, and has been receiving emergency medical treatment for internal damage. The crime is the latest in a shocking series of violent incidents that have terrified the nation.

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A pedophile kidnapped a seven-year-old girl who was asleep in the living room of her home. He even took the girl's blanket. The girl's parents, who were sleeping in another room, reported to the police when they found out that the girl was missing. The police launched an investigation immediately. The girl was found ten hours later on a sidewalk near the Yeongsan River. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital to undergo surgery because her organs were damaged.

[Soundbite] Victim’s Parent (Voice Modified) : "I never imagined that my daughter would be a victim. It's driving me crazy."

The girl's house is located just 50 meters away from an elementary school.

[Soundbite] Neighbor : "It's unsettling. I wish we had surveillance cameras here. There’re cameras at the school but they don't cover this area."

Police presume that the perpetrator has a criminal record of sex crimes given his audacity in entering someone's house to kidnap a minor.

6. Victim Aid

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In Korea, child victims of sexual assault usually receive insufficient compensation to deal with the years of physical and emotional scars, but it’s hoped that a recent ruling will begin to change that.

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Kim Su-cheol had walked into the grounds of an elementary school drunk. He then kidnapped an eight year old girl and then raped her at his home. The case has been gradually forgotten, but the victim and her family still live in pain. The girl has been receiving psychotherapy for two years now. Doctors say that she will continue to suffer from depression and anxiety in the coming years.

[Soundbite] Victim's Parent (Voice Modified) : "She refuses to go to school. She won't go near anyone else but me. Not even her own dad."

But the government relief fund merely amounted to around 13,210 U.S. dollars. The victim's family filed a suit, and accordingly, the court ordered the Seoul city government to pay compensation. The court’s ruling was based on the fact that while the school should have been void of such crimes, the school's faculty and administration did not fulfill their responsibilities of protecting and supervising the students. After a two year fight in court, the family was able to get compensation amounting to six times the government support. Other victims that took no legal action for compensation only received government relief funds. For example, in the Jo Du-sun case, the victim only received 5,284 dollars, while in the Kim Gil-tae case, the victim received 17,613 dollars. The low compensation that the victims received is due to the lack of governmental funds. The nation’s relief standards are also merely a seventh of what the victims would have received in support in Japan.

[Soundbite] Lee Yeong-wu (Korean Crime Victim Support Association) : "The fundamental measures are well implemented and centers are in operation, but we lack government funding and donations."

As a result, the recent ruling is to play a major role in urging the government to take a more active role in supporting the victims of violent crimes.

7. Hiring Season

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September is just around the corner, which means the beginning of the hiring season for the second half of the year. Though public agencies are offering fewer jobs this time around, high school graduates have a higher chance of getting a spot.

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Despite the heavy rain, this job fair is packed with job-seekers. They receive help on how to pass aptitude and personality tests, what to say at job interviews, and even how to put on makeup; all this to land a job.

[Soundbite] Jeong Hye-mi (Student) : "I had no idea it would be so difficult when I was preparing alone. Now that I'm here I realize how lots of people are eager to look for jobs and that I think that I should be well prepared."

Though these people have all it takes to get employeed, from good grades to high English test scores, and all types of certificates, they still feel anxious. The CJ Group on Thursday announced its plan to hire 4,400 new employees. Most of the nation's conglomerates, including Samsung and Hyundai Motor, are to start hiring next week. The nation's top-10 conglomerates are expected to hire some 42,000 people in the second half of the year, which is up 17 percent from the same period a year ago. The number of newly recruited high school graduates will likely increase at least 24 percent year-on-year, surpassing 15,000 people. However, the job market remains tight as public agencies have cut their hiring plans by more than 30 percent compared to last year, while many securities firms are not hiring at all.

[Soundbite] Byeon Ji-seong (Job Korea) : "In general, there’re fewer job openings than last year. Finding a job may be difficult in the second half of the year."

Experts say job-seekers should show off their knowledge and skills in unique ways to land a job.

8. Second Transplant

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For the first time in Korea, doctors have successfully re-transplanted a kidney into a second recipient.

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Fifty-nine year old Kim had end stage renal disease (ESRD). At this advanced stage of kidney disease, the kidneys have lost nearly all their ability to do their job effectively, which is why Kim was relying on dialysis until his kidney transplant. But the kidney he received is not the same as the kidneys used in a typical transplant. Six years ago, another 40 something year old person had received a kidney from a relative. The transplant recipient suddenly had a cerebral hemorrhage, which led to brain death. The kidney that the patient had received has been transplanted for the second time when Kim became the recipient.

[Soundbite] "Kidney Transplant Patient: I'm very thankful to have such an opportunity."

For the first time in Korea, a medical team at Ulsan University Hospital has succeeded in transplanting a formerly transplanted kidney into a second recipient. The transplant of one kidney into more than one recipient is known to be a very difficult operation, and has only been performed successful six times in the world. The transplant was successfully performed by removing the kidney from the former recipient, including the surrounding parts of the organ to minimized the surgery time and prevent damages to the kidney. Currently, around 12,000 patients are on the waiting list for organ transplants. Yet, only a little more than ten percent of those on the wait list actually get the transplants in time. The success of transplanting a kidney into a second recipient will open the door for many patients on organ transplant wait lists with more hope and chances.

9. Kitchen Men

[Anchor Lead]

Korean men are not known for helping out in the kitchen, but today we’re going to meet some guys who are out to set a new trend.

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This is the kitchen of a hotel in Seoul. Most of the people slicing and frying here are men.

[Soundbite] Park Chang-wu (Chef) : "Men are free from having to wear makeup and they have short hair, which makes it easier to cook than for women."

Culinary schools have many male students these days.

[Soundbite] Gang Gyeong-ho (Student, Culinary School for Fathers) : "In fact, we eat what our wives cook all the time at the excuse of earning money. At least, I sometimes want to cook for my family to make my loved ones happy. "

[Soundbite] "I'm going to cook delicious samgyetang today for you to boost your stamina."

In the past, one or two out of 10 students were male. But nowadays they make up about half of all students. This father’s chicken and ginseng soup called samgyetang is ready. Photos are taken to remember the moment.

[Soundbite] Im Taek (Student, Culinary School for Fathers) : "I cook for my wife and daughter once or twice a week. I also pack lunches for my daughter."

When we visit his house, he's busy fixing breakfast for his family. After retiring last year, Lim Taek got into cooking while he was preparing to become a travel writer.

[Soundbite] Choe Yeong-sun (Im’s Wife) : "He doesn't cook when we ask to. But he loves to cook. We enjoy what he cooks and we praise him for it."

He says it wasn't until he started shopping for groceries and cooking himself that he was able to understand how hard it must've been for his wife to cook for the family all this time. Lim has become so passionate about cooking that he even personally packs lunches for his working daughter.

[Soundbite] "We talk more this way. We chat about how we’ve spent the day while cooking and eating. We’ve bonded more thanks to cooking."

[Soundbite] Lim Taek (Husband) : "As men get older, our presence fades in the family. I normally perform a much smaller part in the family but whenever I do cooking my presence fills up the house. It's amazing."

Now we're going to meet Seo Hee-tae, who works as an orchestra conductor. He says he’s cooked for himself since he was studying abroad. Since then, cooking has been his hobby. Today Seo has prepared Korean and Italian cuisine for his friends, who are getting together for the first time in a while. Good food is a must at any gathering. That's one reason Seo is so fond of cooking.

[Soundbite] Kwak Kyung-taek (Film director) : "He looks handsome when he cooks. As a filmmaker, I think he looks great."

[Soundbite] Seo Hee-tae (Conductor) : "Inviting people to my home, cooking for them and having meals with them is a genuine way to show that I care about them. It makes me really happy."

Traditionally, you wouldn’t catch a Korean man in the kitchen, but that is slowly changing.