November 3, 2002

Old fishing boats to become artificial reef
Busan is promoting a plan to convert old fishing boats into a fishing reef. This plan would cut back on budget costs and put the boats to effective use. The plan comes in light of South Korea's fishery agreements with Japan and China, which requires the restructuring of the industry and the closing of many fishing businesses.
According to a study by the local government, using fishing boats to create artificial reefs, will save disposal costs (up to 10 million won per boat) and help stimulate the local fishing industry.
Translated by Kim Hye-jin

Snakehead fish farming business in danger
The largest gamulchi (snakehead fish) farming operation in Busan is in danger of closing because the price of fish food has risen and fish farmers are not able to offer competitive prices.
According to the Gamulchi Fish Farming Union, the price of gamulchi has dropped by 20 - 30% because of competition with low priced imported fish. As a result, almost 40 market stalls around the Nakdong River area are experiencing financial difficulties and are on the verge of closing down. Kim Yong Su, the president of the Gamulchi Fish Farming Union, stated that gamulchi is the most nutritious fish at the old market. Snakehead fish have recently gained notoriety in the U.S. as imported Chinese snakefish began devouring indigenous fish in several states.
Translated by Choi SooHee



Busan poor may be shivering this winter
According to the Korea Coal Association and the government of Busan, coal consumption has gradually decreased over the past five years, which may lead to cold homes for the poor this winter. Because of the decrease in coal consumption, 28 out of 80 briquette factories across Korea have gone bankrupt, including one of the largest factories in Busan. In Busan, only two factories remain open. Authorities stated that coal consumption has decreased because briquettes have been replaced by gas and oil, and this decrease may make it difficult for the poor to purchase briquettes. The government of Busan stated that they are aware of this potential problem, which is exacerbated by the fact that some places sell coal mainly to greenhouses. They also said that they intend to help the poor with the briquette shortage this winter.
Translated by Park Joobin

Busanites demand deferred payment for transportation cards
Pusan Bank has released a combination credit card and transportation card which combines the former BC Credit Card and Digital Busan Card. To date however, only about 2,000 cards have been issued, because Busan uses a prepayment system instead of a deferred payment system, which is used in Seoul. Busan's prepayment system limits citizens' choice, so Busan consumers insist that they need the combination system of prepayment and deferred payment, like Seoul.
According to Busan City, transportation cards are used by 60 % of the subway users and 69% of bus users. Officials of the Kookmin Card (which serves as a deferred payment system in the greater Seoul area) say that they are working with Busan's bus union and public transportation! corporation to implement deferred payment system in Busan.
Translated by Song Ji-mi


Kwangan Bridge - popular, but illegal, fishing spot

Kwang-an Bridge is gaining popularity with fishermen, despite the fact that it is illegal to fish from the bridge. On Oct. 8th at around five o'clock, approximately 10 fishermen
were leaning over a parapet of the lower layer of the bridge. As they were completely
absorbed in fishing, they failed to notice that a police officer was approaching
them.

When the police officer told the fishermen to leave the bridge, the fishermen packed up their fishing bags and took their buckets, filled with 20 to 30 centimeter long fish, home.

It is illegal for people to walk across, park on, or stop their cars on Kwangan Bridge, so, naturally, it is illegal to fish off the side of the bridge. Usually police officers give warnings to people who violate these laws, but if it is a recurring problem, they issue tickets.

A police officer stated that they issued parking tickets to fishermen who were parked on the bridge, so now many fishermen walk or ride a bicycle to the bridge. He said that although
he understands the fishermen's behavior, that they should not come on the bridge
for safety reasons.
Translated by Kim DongChan

New apartment structures in Busan

Tower shaped (Y-shaped) apartments will replace the standard apartments that are now common in Busan.

In Seoul, tower shaped apartments are common, but the construction of Centum Park Apartments in Haeundae will mark the beginning of a new trend in architecture in Busan.

Hanra Construction designed the structure of tower shaped apartments, which consist of three underground floors for parking, 35 floors above ground, and an outdoor park area.
These apartments have more floors than standard high-rise apartments, and are expected to be in high demand because they offer good views and lighting.

SK and Yoorim Construction plan to begin selling tower apartments in November.

Relocation of briquette factory will likely be canceled

Busan’s downtown coal briquette factory may not be moved to Gangseo district as scheduled. An officer of Gangseo district stated that the factory would not be profitable and would have many negative side effects. Therefore, he believes that that the Construction and Transportation Ministry should re-examine this project.

Busan officials promoted the relocation of the briquette factory because they expected that five percent of people would use briquettes as their primary source of energy, but briquette consumption decreased sharply to one percent in 2000. As a result, Gangseo district is no longer interested in the project.

Busan officials insist that a briquette factory is necessary because briquettes are a common energy source for poor people who would face an energy crisis if briquette manufacturing were discontinued. They have admitted, however, that fewer factories are needed than they had initially anticipated, and have not yet indicated what they plan to do with the remaining land.

Busan and Fukuoka to be 'Green Partners
Busan and Fukuoka will hold a “Green Partner 2002” tree planting exchange this fall. The City of Busan announced that the event would take place as part of the 2002 Year of Korea-Japan Exchange.
The City of Busan is scheduled to plant three thousand pine trees along the coast of Higashigunata in Japan. Participants include people from Pusan city, borough, and township, along with 50 members of Keumjeong Morning Soccer Club.
And 50 people from Fukuoka plan to visit Korea to plant about a thousand trees, including cherry trees, Rose of Sharon (Mugungwha.), and pine trees at Seok-dae-dong in Haeundae, Busan on Nov. 9.
This event is held to encourage friendship between Korea and Japan through civic exchange events and to encourage participation in city reforestation campaigns.
Kim Jeong-min

Fear of wiretapping widespread

Politicians are changing their cellular phone numbers frequently because they fear wiretapping, a fear that is becoming widespread amongst both politicians and the general public, although there is no evidence that wiretapping is a reality.

According to authorities who have denied the existence of wiretapping, it is difficult, if not impossible, to tap phone lines without permission from a judge; however, phone security equipment purchases are increasing amongst both politicians and businessmen whose jobs require secrecy.

Lee Hue Chang, the presidential candidate for the Hannara Party, stated that he owns three or four cellular phones and changes his phone number often in order to avoid wiretapping. He also owns two cellular phones that are impossible to tap.

A policeman stated that he uses a cellular phone rather than a ground line when he needs to discuss important things because cellular phones are more difficult to tap.

As fear of wiretapping increases, some people are demanding an investigation into its existence and possible security measures to prevent wiretapping.

Translated by Lee Leehwa

Disabled man lights himself on fire

Only two days before the opening ceremony for the Busan Far East and South Pacific Games (FESPIC) for the disabled, a disabled man in his thirties attempted to burn himself to death.

On October 24th, at 1:35am, Mr. Kim doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire. His family found him and carried him to the emergency room, where he remains in serious condition with third degree burns covering his entire body.

According to the police and Mr. Kim’s family, he attempted suicide because he blamed himself for his disability and has been unable to find a job.

Another Mr. Kim has been unable to find a job since his high school graduation ten years ago. Recently he applied to a small company through an employment agency for the disabled, but failed to get the job because of his disability.

Kim Hye Jin

Haeundae Beach 'dogged' by exrement problem

According to Haeundae Discrict Office, the number of people who walk their dogs at the beach is increasing these days, as are the resulting complaintsfrom residents. The blame is placed squarely on the owners of the dogs who have not been properly cleaning up after their dogs' excrement. Some owners have simply been burying their dogs' feces in the sand, while others allow their dogs to run freely on the beach, scaring children and disturbing other beach goers. A number of quarrels between the dog owners and residents have erupted.
Due to public resentment of the environmental damage and public disturbance, residents of Haeunda-gu Jung 1 dong held a meeting October 21 with the District Head and asked for appropriate measures to be taken.
Kim Intae, a local resident, said "It seems quite simple, as we host guests from many other countries and regions, it is important that we protect he image of Busan. Our lifestyle is now improving, but the responsibility that goes along with these changes has not followed suit."
Haeundae District Office has posted signs which instruct dog owners to control their dogs, not leave a mess, and not create a public public disturbance. currently there are no laws pertaining to dogs on the beach, but officials are considering creating ones that will prohibit dogs from the beach area and fine owners who disobey.

Busan Design Center Construction To Begin Soon

Construction of the Busan Design Center is slated to begin this December and last through 2006. City Hall has said the Centum City is the most appropriate place to build the Center, but they are still considering the possibility of building in Dongnae, in order to provide an economic boost to that part of the city. The final decision will be made next week by the Design Center Construction Committee.
The Design Center will function as a hub for the local fashion industry and will support the development of smaller design business and promote specialty companies and entrepreneurs.
Local officials will submit final proposals for construction of the center and a Construction Committee will make a final decision concerning where to build the center will be made shortly thereafter.

Youngsan and Sungsim to Merge
YoungSan University and SungSim College of Foreign Studies will combine to form one university beginning next year. The Sungsim Foundation announced on October 16 that the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development has given permission for two learning institution to merge into one. The foundation, which owns both schools, has been pushing for merger as a means of increasing the enrollment at Youngsan. Sungsim, located in Pansong-dong, is a two year junior college which was founded in 1983 and has graduated a total of 18,833 students. Youngsan is a four year university, located in Yangsan (Gyeongnam province), that was founded in 1997. Sungsim will no longer accept incoming freshman, but will serve as Youngsan's second campus. It is expected that Youngsan will begin accepting 500 additional students each year beginning in 2003.

Subyeon Park is a mess

Subyeon Park in Minrak Dong is littered with construction materials and garbage, but the district office and the landowners have turned a blind eye to the contamination.

The land was designated for a shopping mall, but the construction company went bankrupt during construction, so three floors of steel framing remain standing amongst weeds, garbage and scrapped cars.

Although the Suyong Gu district office built the Minrak Flower Complex in 1994, the sign cannot be seen behind the heaps of garbage. Furthermore, the road is filled with illegally parked or stopped cars that make it difficult to drive.

Nevertheless, some merchants have set up small stores that sell tea, Korean-style noodles, liquor, and snacks.

An officer of Suyong Gu stated that the land will be developed next year, and he will inform the landowners that they must get rid of the trash and old cars that litter the area. If his first strategy does not work, he said that he would hide the pollutants behind a steel wall.

Lee Lee Hwa

Busan experiences growth in the expatriate community

American professors Jeff Lebow (Pusan University of Foreign Studies), John Bocksay (Dongui University), Andrew Pearson (Busan Catholic University), and Korean instructor Lee Sang Kwan are busy completing the fourth issue of The Beat, an English newspaper that is published monthly.

Last summer, Jeff, John, and Andrew decided to create an English newspaper for foreigners living in Busan. They wrote and compiled articles about Korean culture and life in Busan, published 2,000 copies of the free newspaper, and on August 1st, the first issue of The Beat hit the streets.

The October 1st edition of The Beat, which included a special report on the Asian Games, disappeared quickly from distribution centers. The popularity of the newspaper prompted the creators of The Beat to design a homepage (www.busanbeat.com).

Jeff Lebow, the creator of Pusanweb (www.pusanweb.com) and one of the founders of The Beat, said, “I think that this kind of magazine is very useful and interesting for English speakers in Busan. I’m surprised that a city this big has not had a regular English magazine prior to this.”

The November 1st edition of The Beat will be available throughout the city in Seomyeon, Nampodong, near Busan Station, and the PNU area at selected bookstores, restaurants, bars, and universities. A complete listing of places where the paper is distributed can be found on the Beat website.

Another local expatriate group is The Busan International Women’s Association (B.I.W.A.), a charitable organization that is composed of 150 foreign housewives. Every fall, the members of B.I.W.A. hold a charity bazaar and publish a newspaper named Dove. They also have their own internet homepage at www.biwa.co.kr.

A Busan city official stated that the number of foreigners living in Busan has increased dramatically from 6,000 in 1994 to 15,497 in 2001. Busan now houses expatriates from 71 different countries.

As the number of expatriate activities in Busan increases, the city government intends to create The Busan Foreign Residents Representative Committee to provide support for the foreigners.

The international advisory ambassador stated that as Busan is becoming an international city, it is important for the citizens to make foreigners feel welcome and comfortable.

Translated by Kim Dong Chan

Kyung Nam, Ulsan schools need more libraries

Regional education officials are concerned about lack of reading materials for school students. This problem exists in spite of an education campaign to improve students’ reading ability.
“Reading campaign” may be an inaccurate slogan, because many schools in Ulsan and Kyoung-Nam lack sufficient library facilities and reading teachers.
These insufficient library facilities mean that many students do not have reading materials, or even if they have some, they get just 30 minutes to look at them during their lunch break.
As of October 26, according to education authorities, there is no library in 22.4% of the schools in Kyoung-Nam (194 schools out of a total of 867), and in 31% of the schools in Ulsan (54 schools out of a total of 171). Elementary schools—whose students need to learn the importance of reading—have especially low library rates.
High schools are ! hit hard, too. In Kyoung-Nam Jin-hye Girls' High School, there is only one specialist reading teacher.
According to officials, during the coming five years, they will budget 25.5 billion won in Kyoung-Nam and 5.25 billion won in Ulsan for libraries. They will also increase support for the foundation of libraries (at 510 schools in Kyoung-Nam and 21 schools in Ulsan). They also plan to spend 6% of the total budget for reading specialists.
Song Ji-mi

Consumers call into question KT’s promotional methods

The KT Corporation has been accused of tricking customers who used other company's long distance calling services into switching to KT.
KT allegedly accomplished this deception by sending out notices which were supposedly from the government. Because of these notices, consumers have complained about KT’s deceptive marketing.
The notices claimed that according to the government, local and long distance phone calls were billed together, so consumers have to change their long distance service to KT.
At present, there are three telephone corporations: KT, Dacom and Onse.
In the case of long distance calls, when a phone subscriber resisters with the company he wants, he can call without an access number.
The headquarters of Busan KT said that they have sent out a document and order not to apply unreasonable pressure. Nevertheless, some sales representatives have used trickery to increase sales.
Hong Shin-ae

Steel structures protect fish

On October 30th, the first artificial steel structure for fish was placed in the Gigang Sea. This structure is 14 meters long, 9 meters high, and cost 300,800,000 won.

The structure should be beneficial to the marine environment because ions are produced as the structure oxidizes. Ions are an essential nutrient for plankton.

In December, thousands of artificial steel structures will be placed in the Gigang Sea, off the coast of Haeundae.
From 1987 to 2001, thousands of concrete structures were placed in the sea.

Kim Jong Eun

Container Depot fights setbacks

Yang San Inland Container Depot (ICD) is facing difficulties in cargo management.

The problems come because of decreasing amounts of cargo and because of the imminent opening of a new pier which may take away business. Company officials are seeking measures to solve the crisis.
According to the Korean Container Pier Authority, Yang San ICD, which was built with a large amount of government assistance (180 billion won), began operations in April 2000.
Its purpose was to improve the marketing structure and to relieve traffic jams, but it has not succeeded in fulfilling its function.
As of September, Busan Pier has increased cargo 10% every month. But Yang San ICD has steadily decreased.
As 16 out dockside container yards still exist in Busan City, if companies carry their cargo to Yang San ICD, they have to pay a 15,000 won toll, as well as spending extra time.
Yang San ICD officials have proposed to Busan City that the municipal highway toll be free. Furthermore, the company has to prepare! to deal with the competition coming from the new pier.
Song Ji-mi

Chinese fishing violations decrease

In the second half of the year, incidence of illegal fishing by the Chinese on the Korean side of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) is decreasing compared with last year.

According to two governmental fishing regulatory offices, between June 30 and October 29, 31 Chinese ships have been detained and charged with violation of EEZ Fishery Laws. Just one year has passed since the implementation of the Fisheries Agreement between Korea and China, and already the number of detainments is only about 57% of last year's 54 in the same period.

In particular, from September 15 to now—the dragnet fishing boat off-season—the number of captured Chinese ships is just 16. It is a great decrease compared with last year's 42.

Violations of these captured Chinese ships include non-licensed operation, violation of signal board attachment, size of mesh, and some other operations conditions violations or deviation from procedures.

One officer in the Ocean and Fishery Department said, "The decrease of crime seems to be because of the inspection a! nd cooperation of fishery guidelines between Korea and China, and China's self-regulation."
Ha Sun-ha

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