Kono Statement

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Strong words of condemnation from the Korean government in response to Japan’s efforts to revise the Kono Statement, a landmark admission and apology for Tokyo’s imperial atrocities, in particular the systematic sexual enslavement of Korean women.

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At a UN Human Rights Council meeting held on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, South Korean Ambassador to the UN. Choi Seok-young strongly criticized the Japanese government's attempt to announce the results of its re-investigation into the Kono Statement. The Korean ambassador said that although the UN has been urging Japan to take responsibility for its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, Japan has yet to offer its sincere apology to the former comfort women. Ambassador Choi added that the Japanese government's attempt to reverify the Kono Statement is tantamount to denying the historical truth and responsibility for Japan's atrocities. The Kono Statement is Japan's first admission of its military's organized sexual slavery. He emphasized that if Japan does not correct its past wrongdoings now, it would be passing down the burden to the next generation. The Korean ambassador to the UN also pointed out that sexual violence against women committed during wartime is a serious crime against human dignity, which should never be condoned. In response, Japan reiterated that it does not intend to revise the Kono Statement and that all legal issues concerning comfort women have been resolved through the Treaty of San Francisco. The peace treaty signed between Japan and the allied forces after World War II had allocated compensation to victims of Japanese war crimes.

2. Claims to Dokdo

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Japan is once again making territorial claims over the Dokdo Islets and demanding that Korea halt its regularly scheduled naval firing drills that began today. Seoul brushed off Tokyo's claims and decided to proceed with the drills as planned.

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The South Korean Navy is holding firing drills on the East Sea. The site is located 50 kilometers east of Jukbyeon Port in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. As requested by the navy, the International M
aritime Organization has designated the area as a no-sail zone. The IMO notified Japan about the designation on June 11. On the edge of the zone, lies a 22-kilometer, or 12 nautical mile section of the sea surrounding Dokdo. This body of water marks Korea's maritime border. However, Tokyo has contacted the South Korean embassy in Japan demanding that Seoul cancels their navy exercises.

[Soundbite] YOSHIHIDE SUGA (Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary (June 19)) : "From the Japanese government's point of view with regards to our territorial right over Takeshima, this is unacceptable. It is most regrettable."

Tokyo claims that the naval drills are being held on Japanese territory, referring to the body of water near Dokdo, which in fact belongs to Korea. Seoul immediately rejected Tokyo's demand. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they will not consider Tokyo's demands because the drills are taking place on waters surrounding Dokdo, which is part of the Korean territory. The Ministry of National Defense also stated that the drills have nothing to do with Dokdo and will continue as scheduled. In 2012, as well as last month in June, the South Korean Navy held a series of exercises in the same area. However, Japan did not seem to take issue at the time.

3. Raid Warning

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Documents pertaining to the prosecution's search and seizure of the Geumsuwon religious compound were leaked to the Salvation Sect ahead of the raid. It is still unknown how the documents ended up in the supposed stronghold of Yoo Byung-eon's religious group.

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Some 70 prosecutors and investigators raided Geumsuwon in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province on May 21 for search and seizure. This was when Yoo Byung-eon was presumably hiding out in the religious compound. Yoo had refused the prosecution's summon and an order to appear in court. But now it's been revealed that the Salvation Sect had apparently obtained the prosecution's internal documents about the raid at that time. Titled "the organization of Geumsuwon warrant execution team," the papers contained information about the names and grouping of investigators, entry time and search targets, and overall search plan. The information was certain to have come in handy for Yoo's followers to aid his flight or to conceal evidence.

[Soundbite] Salvation Sect Official (Voice Modified) : "At the time of the raid, when they were forcing into the compound, someone handed this to me for reference."

Both the religious sect and the prosecution cannot confirm how and when the documents were leaked. The prosecution maintains that the leak was unintentional. The prosecutors claim that the documents did not contain any classified information and that a sect member is presumed to have picked up what an investigator had lost on the street. The prosecution is belatedly trying to find out what happened as it was reported that Yoo's followers had obtained the prosecution's internal papers. The prosecution failed to find Yoo and his eldest son during last month's Geumsuwon raid. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

4. Arrest Warrant

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Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for a former official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who accepted bribes and committed irregularities in order to get a job at the Korean Register of Shipping.

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The special investigation unit of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office has requested an arrest warrant for an official from the Korean Register of Shipping. The official has only been identified by the surname Yang. Prosecutors are charging him with accepting bribes and committing corruption. When Yang was still working for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in November of 2011, he received a job offer from the then-chairman of the Korean Register of Shipping. Back then Yang was conducting an audit at the organization. The former chairman offered him a high-paying role with the organization after his retirement from the ministry. In return, Yang agreed to omit negative comments in his audit report on the Korean Register of Shipping. The prosecutors say that the job offer constitutes bribery. Six months after the audit report, Yang began his high-paying job at the Korean Register of Shipping. The investigation revealed that the HR staff at the firm told their then-chairman that Yang was not qualified for the job because he had served as a public official in a technical post. But the former chairman dismissed their concerns and hired Yang. The probe has also uncovered irregularities with regard to ship safety involving the chairman of the Korean Register of Shipping. Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for a former CEO of a shipping company who received over 19,000 U.S. dollars from a ship repair firm in return for using cheaper engine components. The CEO purchased the ship in January 2013. The CEO has also been charged with purchasing calligraphy works from the then-chairman of the Korean Register of Shipping for approximately 5,000 U.S. dollars. He did so in return for a favor involving a ship's registration inspection.

5. Green Tides

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Green tides have appeared in the Nakdong River about a month earlier than last year. Authorities are scrambling to prevent the algal blooms from seeping into the river's water source, while environmental activists are blaming the government's river renovation project for causing the explosion of algae.

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The Nakdong River is the irreplaceable water supply source for the southeastern region's ten million residents. But stretches of dark green algae are covering the entrance to the water intake plant. Fish struggle to breathe in the suffocating water. The Korea Water Resources Corporation try to break up the blankets of algae with water, but its effectiveness remains questionable.

[Soundbite] Korea Water Resources Corporation Official : "We've set up some nets to prevent the green tide from entering the water intake plant."

An algal bloom alert is issued when the blue-green algae and chlorophyll A are detected above the allowed level. This year's alert was issued 42 days earlier than in 2013. Environmental groups blame the government's four river renovation project for causing the green tide. They claim that eight new dams built under the renovation project have been obstructing the river flow since 2012.

[Soundbite] GWAK BIN-NA (Korea Federation for Environmental Movements) : "If the dam's water-gates are opened to relieve the water blockage, the green tides will be noticeably reduced."

But the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office points finger at climate change.

[Soundbite] KIM HUI-GWAN (Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office) : "It's hard for us to predict climate change. We can't offer clear explanations."

Even though the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office claims that the green tides have not affected the quality of potable water in the region, it still has launched a team in charge of the green algae issue to devise countermeasures.

6. Double-Deckers

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The transport authorities will launch the operation of double-decker buses in the Seoul metropolitan area so that more passengers can be seated when traveling between Seoul and its suburbs. Here's more.

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The government has announced plans to operate double-decker buses in the Seoul metropolitan area to create more seats for passengers. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will dispatch 20 double-decker buses as early as next year. The buses will circulate the busiest routes during rush hour. The ministry is discussing funding plans with the government of Gyeonggi Province and local bus companies. The Gyeonggi Provincial government tried introducing double-decker buses last year but faced opposition from bus companies who sought to avoid higher maintenance costs. Beginning in September, rest stops on Korean highways will be subject to ratings. The Korea Expressway Corporation will calculate ratings of 170 highway rest areas nationwide using results from public surveys. The firm will compose a list of the top 18 rest stops - 10 per cent of all highway rest stops in South Korea. Top-rated rest stops may put up signs citing their excellent ratings. This year the Korea Expressway Corporation will only disclose rest stops with the highest ratings. However, next year they will release the ratings of all rest stops.

7. Comfort Women Art

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Korea’s elderly victims of Japanese wartime sex slavery have opened an art exhibition, as they hold out for a satisfactory apology and compensation from Japan. These women have expressed their pain through artwork to let the world know about Tokyo's wartime atrocities.

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A naked girl is crying under a fully bloomed cherry blossom tree. The late Gang Deok-gyeong has portrayed herself in this painting. She was taken to a brothel for Japanese troops at age 16. She couldn't fall asleep whenever the images of a Japanese soldier flickered. The late Kim Sun-deok painted herself with flowers covering her that haven't fully blossomed. Korea was weak when it was annexed by Japan. This was Kim during her lifetime.

[Soundbite] Late KIM SUN-DEOK (Sex Slavery Victim) : "There's no guarantee they won't do it again. We the victims must make Japan issue an apology."

Every article and painting they left behind holds the pain of the euphemistically-termed comfort women.

[Soundbite] KIM EUN-YEONG (Curator) : "The international community acknowledges the sex slavery issue but this is yet not the case in Japanese society. We believe a painting will speak louder than a hundred words."

The paintings shout to the world that the sex slavery issue was much more than what concerned girls of a colonized country. It surely was a clear war crime that defied universal human value perpetrated by Japan.

8. Russians' Homecoming

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Ethnic Koreans living across Russia descend on their home country of Korea in large numbers to mark the 150th anniversary of the forced relocation of Koreans to Russia.

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A passenger ferry reaches Korea's Eastern Sea Port after sailing 18 hours from Russia's Vladivostok. These ethnic Korean visitors reside in Eastern Russia. They are visiting South Korea 150 years after their ancestors first moved to Russia. Koreans first began to move to the Maritime Province of Siberia to avoid famine in 1863. When Korean freedom fighters against Japanese rule also joined the relocation, the population peaked to 200,000. However, in 1937, Joseph Stalin forced the 200,000 Koreans to relocate to Central Asia where living conditions were harsh. Many died during the brutal journey there.

[Soundbite] Ethnic Korean Descendant : "Joseon people who came to make money in the former Soviet Union were killed as they were seen to be on Japan's side, which was untrue of course."

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 gave way to the birth of many new countries. And Koreans were once again a target of ethnic discrimination. However, they did not forget the spirit of their ancestors who fought against Japanese invaders in Russia.

[Soundbite] Grandson of Freedom Fighter Choi Jae-hyeong : "I'm proud of my grandfather. We descendants are living well thanks to the independence movement launched by our ancestors."

130 descendants of the ethnic Korean community in Russia have come to South Korea for an 11-day visit. Among other places, they will tour a Korean-Russian village in Gwangju city.

9. Healing Forests

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Just strolling through the woods can be a truly healing experience. There's lots of scientific evidence that forests have the ability to heal people mentally and physically. No wonder so many people turn to forests to find spiritual and physical comfort.

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This recreational forest is located in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province. The murmuring stream and the lush trees surrounding you on all sides make this place a perfect retreat. These people came here to get in close touch with nature as part of a forest experience program. They perform warm-up exercises to adapt better to the forest environment. They also meditate in order to fully absorb the energy of the trees.

[Soundbite] KIM YEONG-RAN (Forest Healing Guide) : "Everything here is green. There is lots of greenery and phytoncide in forests. It helps you feel refreshed and chases away fatigue and stress."

All this explains why forests are drawing so much attention these days for their healing properties. Some schools even create their own wooded areas on their grounds to promote emotional development in children. Phytoncide emitted by forests is known to help alleviate the symptoms of eczema by disinfecting and calming the skin. In addition to the healing experience, forests are also gaining attention for their educational effect. These kindergarten kids came here to play at a special forest playground. Forests offer a perfect environment for children to unwind and learn about nature. Even looking at tiny bugs is an exciting experience for them. They sing songs to express their excitement. Today the kids are dying handkerchiefs using natural dye found in forests. One of them is red clay. The children soak the clay in water to make it look almost like paint, and dye their handkerchiefs. This program provides children with opportunities to touch flowers and trees with their hands and even bond with forest bugs. It's a fun learning and playing experience for them.

[Soundbite] LEE HYE-JEONG (Kindergarten Director) : "The kids have become more cheerful and healthier. Even those who are prone to colds look much healthier after playing in the forest. Our children are becoming stronger this way."

Forests are also a popular place among pregnant women and their husbands. They visit forests in expectation of their newborn child.

[Soundbite] KIM YUN-JI (Mother-To-Be) : "I wa ted to spend some time in close proximity to nature. I am exposed to too much smoke in the city, so I applied to this program to become closer to nature and I was selected to participate in it. "

The prospective fathers try their hands at massaging their wives. This helps the spouses bond. Spending time in a forest promotes the release of serotonin, which is a hormone that improves your mood and helps you get rid of depression or anxiety.

[Soundbite] KIM YEONG-RAN (Forest Healing Guide) : "At first they feel awkward and unfamiliar. They also tend to rush things. But as they learn about this program, they gradually become more relaxed. They start looking more at ease. When the program is over, they thank us. It's good to see them like that."

If you're looking for ways to get rid of stress and regain your health, a visit to a nearby forest can be the answer.