A new Korean film called Silenced, or Dogani (The Crucible), has prompted a national outcry in South Korea, with citizens demanding tougher penalties for sex crimes and stronger laws to protect children and the disabled from sexual abuse.

The graphic movie, based on a bestselling novel of the same name, exposes the injustice of the outcome of the 2005 Inhwa case, where female deaf students as young as seven years old were raped and sexually abused by school authorities at Gwangju Inhwa School, a school for hearing impaired students. To add to the horror, justice was never served for these girls (of the four convicted school officials—which included the school’s principal, who bought his way out of jail—only two were prosecuted and were only sentenced light jail time), and the public turned a blind eye to the case until writer Gong Ji-young brought the marginalized story back to the center in 2009.

Seen by more than 4 million viewers—including South Korea’s President, Lee Myung-bak—and covered by major media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Jezebel, Silenced has made a progressive impact by recently helping Korea’s National Assembly to pass a reformed bill on sexual crimes, reports The Korea Times. The “Dogani Law,” named after the Korean title of the film, significantly increases the prison sentence (up to life imprisonment) for offenders abusing children under 13 and the disabled.

Protesters fighting so that there won’t be another “Dogani.”

Furthermore, the “Dogani Law” has also abolished a controversial clause, “inability to resist,” which had required victims, specifically those who are disabled, to prove that they were physically or mentally inept to resist properly when the crime was being committed—a loophole that gave sex offenders a way out.

With the government passing tighter laws, the police are also conducting an extensive re-investigation of the Inhwa case after more accounts of sexual abuse have been noted with some reporting that students without families were killed and secretly buried near the school, according to The Korea Times. Today, the Gwangju Inhwa School has officially shut down.

To help the stories of the students affected by the Inhwa case stay on the surface, please watch the film and share their story with friends and family. You can also purchase a “Break the Silence” charity tee, and all profits will be donated to the Holder Center in South Korea, an organization that has been providing shelter for actual victims of the Inhwa case.

“Break the Silence” charity tee

Silenced is scheduled to show at various theaters in North America this Friday, November 4th. See below for locations/showtimes:

Orange County
Century 20 Huntington Beach
7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach, CA

San Jose

Century 20 Great Mall

1010 Great Mall Drive, Milpitas, CA

New York

AMC Ridgefield Park

75 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ

Seattle

AMC Southcenter

3600 Southcenter Mall, Tukwila, WA

Philadelphia

AMC 309

1210 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales, PA

Atlanta

AMC Colonial

825 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd., Lawrenceville, GA

Chicago

AMC Showplace Niles

301 Golf Mill Center Niles, IL 60714

Dallas

Cinemark 24 Legacy

7201 North Central Expressway, Plano, TX

Portland

Century Eastport

4040 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR

Las Vegas

Century Suncoast

9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas, NV

Vancouver

Cineplex Silvercity Coquitlam

170 Schoolhouse Street, Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Toronto

Cineplex Odeon Sheppard

4861 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, Canada

For more information, please go to http://www.silenced2011.com/

[Photos: bluesky/Kwangnam Ilbo]

Residents of Gangjeong, the village of Jeju Island designated as the site of a naval base, have been vigorously protesting the construction of the military project which began in 2006. The island rests 56 miles off of the mainland’s southeast coast. With support from protesters beyond the island, development has been halted seven times. Notable figures have also joined the cause, including Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned professor at MIT, and feminist activist Gloria Steinem.

Activist Gloria Steinem protesting with villagers in Jeju-do

Protest primarily arises from two factors. One is that the area—recognized as the “Island of World Peace”—would inherit environment issues pertaining to the massive construction. The other lies in the fact that many believe the base to house a missile defense system to be used by the United States—an avid supporter of the military development. This would create a conflict for Koreans who view the U.S. as their main security partner and China as their top trade partner, reports the Washington Times.

A villager in Gangjeong tries to halt construction

Hundreds of supporters who are against the naval base are scheduled to hold a protest in front of the White House this Thursday, October 13, when South Korea’s President Lee Myung-Bak visits President Obama for an official State Dinner.

For new developments and/or more information on how you can help Jeju Island, go to http://www.savejejuisland.org

[Photos: Kim Ho-Cheon/Yonhap/Reuters; Gloria Steinem: Regina Pyon,/SPARK]

According to recent reports, the South Korean ministry will commence broadcasting thoughts of a North-South unification via internet, radio, and television beginning on September 26. The South Korean President, Lee Myung-Bak, has emphasized the importance of a unification, even proposing a tax if the situation should ever occur. Without further expanding, President Lee stated in June that unification “won’t take such a long time.”

However, both North Korea and the South Korean public’s opinion seem to waver from that of President Lee’s own ideas. North Korea claims that the South intends on “unification through absorption” leading to the demise of its socialist system. The South Korean public also displays a lack of interest towards unification, partly due to financial aspects. The state-run Korea Institute for National Unification estimates a start-up cost of 55 trillion won ($50 billion) to 249 trillion won if unification arrives in two decades.

[Photo: Yahoo! News / AFP]

Hines Ward, the wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers met up with the South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak during his visit to Pittsburgh during the G20 summit.   According to Hines’ tweets, he presented the South Korean president with a “signed football of Mr. Rooney, Coach Tomlin, and myself.”  Ward also noted that the South Korean President is “a big Steelers fan now.”

Hines Ward described his experience by saying he “Had an awesome visit with Korean President Lee. Again I was another President’s right hand man. I got a chance to welcome him to our great city of Pittsburgh and wished him the best trying to improve the country of Korea. I also added that I will continue to bring a positive light on bi-racial kids of Korea. Also, the first lady was very beautiful.”

Hines Ward started his public bridge to his Korean roots after he had won his first Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Hines Ward is of Korean descent and his life story became an inspiration for many bi-racial kids who live in South Korea.  He has donated $1M to the Hines Ward Helping Hand Foundation to help children who suffer from discrimination.

More from the The Korea Times
President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok met with Korean-American football star Hines Ward and leaders of the Korean community in Pittsburg upon arrival there Friday to participate in the G20 economic summit.

It was the first meeting between Lee and Ward, since the Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver was invited in February 2008 to Lee’s inauguration ceremony in Seoul.

Lee told Ward that he and U.S. President Barack Obama are both fans of the Steelers. Ward said he felt grateful for being invited and gave Lee an autographed football, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Ward has often expressed his love for the Korean people. Recently, he donated $1 million to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation, and donated another $1 million to help multicultural and Korean people in the United States.

During his visit to a Korean War memorial altar set up in 1991, Lee met with U.S. veterans who fought in the 1950-53 conflict.

Lee said South Korea will never forget those who sacrificed themselves to defend the country and promised to promote exchange programs with veterans and their families.

Lee’s meeting with the veterans is significant as Seoul and Washington are preparing joint events to mark the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war next year.

On Monday, first lady Kim cooked traditional Korean food and served it to some 50 U.S. veterans and their families in New York.

Early this year, the Korean government launched a 48-member committee to prepare for the 60th anniversary. The panel will work with government agencies and groups of war veterans on commemorative projects.

“Korea will work with American veterans to help post-war generations understand the war and be grateful for the countries that defended our country as members of the United Nations,” a presidential spokesman said. “We will also focus on sharing our experience of rapid economic growth with the world and promoting cultural and economic exchanges.”

For more on Hines Ward on Korean Beacon, click here.

You can now follow Korean Beacon on Facebook or Twitter.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met with South Korean residents in the U.S., requesting them to help strengthen the alliance between South Korea and the United States, the presidential office said Tuesday.

President Lee met with a group of 13 representatives of South Korean communities in New York and its surrounding areas on Monday(local time), praising their efforts on establishing a steady and lively Korean-American community in the area, the presidential office said.

“President Lee expressed hope the (South) Korean residents here will work as a bridge that will help strengthen the mutual trust and understanding between Korea and the U.S.,” the presidential office said in a press release.

The president also called for unity in the Korean-American society and contribution to the U.S. and the outer world as members of the international community, presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.

President Lee is currently paying a seven-day visit to the United States, during which he is to participate in a UN summit on climate changes in New York and the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.

Source: China News Agency

Yesterday afternoon at the White House Press Conference with President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, the two leaders of the world walked to the wrong lecturn.  Apparently President Obama saw the notes in Korean and quickly realized that he needed to switch lecturns.  It was a funny moment and it all worked out in the end.