Sunday 30 June 2013

Traffic safety in South Korea should be subject to large improvements!


I’ve in one of my blogs mentioned the tremendously heavy traffic and strange driving style here in Korea but especially in Seoul! Driving here is not pleasant and the attitude of the Korean drivers is at the least said, inappropriate!
Pedestrians and all type of bikers are in most danger.  According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries caused an estimated 1.24 million deaths worldwide in 2010. Half of all road traffic deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and adults aged between 15 and 44 years account for 59% of deaths. 3 out of 4 deaths are among men, 92% occurred in low and middle income countries, with South-East Asia and Africa having the highest rates.

Our dear friend Jaeyeon Lee was last Monday in a car accident, a truck drove into her from behind, pushed her of the road and the car finally landed in a rice field. Since then she’s in the hospital, subjected to many tests. Thanks to good fortune and a safe car (now totally wrecked), she survived but she has severe pain in all her joints and neck and she is of cause shook up. Her convalence time is uncertain.
 
 
Sung Nam Hospital entrance.
 
 

 Jaeyeon's new "apartment"

 
But she keeps on smiling and being strong! Get well soon! Your SM
 
 

I'm not so very happy!!!
 
That accidents happen we’re all aware off but that the high-tech and well developed country of South Korea is still as high as it is, is not acceptable. I think it mainly depends on the bad driving attitude, overtaking left and right, waving massively on the highway in order to gain a couple of meters in the long queues, taxi drivers watching TV while driving …….. and so forth!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Korea Times


Korea ranked third out of the 34 OECD countries in terms of the frequency of car accidents.
 
By Yun Suh-young

The rate of traffic accidents among the elderly was especially high; five times the OECD average and higher for children’s accidents which ranked number one among the OECD countries.
__________________________________________________

Seoul – A truck driver killed three cyclists while watching television!

A truck driver who killed three South Korean professional cyclists in a road accident has admitted he was watching a television mounted on his dashboard at the time, police said.

The police found the TV switched on when they and other rescuers arrived at the scene of the accident and the 66-year old trucker has been detained on suspicion of dangerous driving.

 “Although the law bans drivers from watching television while driving, there isn’t any specific penalty when caught, so we can’t do anything about it,” a police spokesman told AFP. Offenders can however be charged with another road traffic offence if they cause an accident while watching the screen.

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) TVs are not unusual in vehicles in tech-savvy South Korea. They are programmed to cut out when the vehicle is in motion but can be configured to stay on.

Some taxi drivers in Seoul install the televisions and glance at them while driving, apparently unhindered by the police.

A total of 5.505 people were killed in 226.878 car accidents in South Korea in 2010!

Sunday 23 June 2013

Book signing Event – by Anders Grenstad

 
I, as the publisher of: The flying “Dutchess” – around the world and into the unknown, wanted to have an event to celebrate the fact that that Anja’s book actually was printed.
A book signing it was going to be!
With the help of many wonderful people Anja and I have a relationship here in Korea I even had a table filled with fabulous finger foods! Thank you all!
The weather was favorable and my outlining of the event worked wonderfully. After some mingling, I held a speech to the author and I requested she’d read a few lines from her biographical book! Then it was time for her to get to work and write dedications in the copies the families picked up.
I know she had a great time with the many people she loves around her, and being in the center of attention is something she appreciates…….
For me it was wonderful too for I’m very proud of her accomplishment and didn’t want to let it pass by without making it to a special occasion for my “Dutchess”.   

Copies, ready to be signed by the author!





Welcome speech and some reading from her book!



 




Our happy friend and printer Charles Chong from Oriental Press.










But before the reading and book signing we started up with mingling...



 




 

 
 
 
Everybody helped me to fill the table with wonderful foods!



 



Queuing for the book signing,




 






 























 



 

Sunday 16 June 2013

Hail and Farewell in Panmunjom

Decorated and appriciated outgoing delegates.
Sometimes it’s hard to grasp how fast time passes by. This past week we had two new families coming in for the rotation of the Secretary to the NNSC Swedish delegation, Major Alan Blücher and the Operation officer Lieutenant Colonel Per Sandgren. Both men have been caring out their tasks for the past 24 months and are the coming week returning back to Sweden.

The rotation went as I understand very well. I myself had the pleasure of welcoming the new families who’ll be taking over.  Major Per Ljungnér and his wife Christina and Lieutenant Colonel Jan Eldeblad with his wife Gunilla and their daughters Linnea, Louisa and Wilma. We had the chance to have an evening together and of cause I already showed them Namdaemun, THE PLACE, in Seoul J

At Namdaemun, literally the "Great South Gate" with wonderful newly arrived women!
 



A joint typical Korean luncheon in
"food street" and of cause.....

 




I couldn't deprive them of my favorite building, the flowers and decorations floor in “the green house”!

Last Friday the Hail & Farewell was celebrated in Panmunjom, with appreciation of the delegates leaving and welcoming the new staff. We had laughter, a mutual lunch and the ringing in and ringing out at “Bell Hill” in the Swedish Camp.
 
Ready for the changing of commands, outgoing.............24 bell rings!
Incoming, 1 bell ring for first month has just started!