News Roundup

From the oh so terrible Korean Times

Foreigners to Be Fingerprinted From 2010
"The government plans to require all foreign nationals visiting Korea to have their fingerprints registered starting as early as 2010 to fight terrorism and crimes committed by foreigners.

If the measure is implemented, Korea will be the third country to do so, following the United States and Japan.

The Ministry of Justice said Saturday that it will propose to revise the Immigration Law so that all foreign nationals, either for short-term stay or long-term, are obliged to provide their biometric information to the Korean authorities when they come to the country. It will submit the revision bill to the National Assembly in the second half of next year, and the new regulation, if passed, will take effect as early as 2010."

Non-Natives Can Become English Teachers
"Non-native English speakers from India and other countries that use English as an official language will be able to teach at public schools from next year.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Justice said Sunday the government is opening the door for English teaching positions wider to secure more foreign English teachers at primary and secondary schools nationwide.

The government has so far allowed English teacher assistant jobs at public schools only to native-English speakers who had completed more than two years of their college courses; and the nationality of the eligible applicants was limited to seven countries ― the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

``There are about 50 countries that have adopted English as an official language. However, we will not open the door to all teachers from the countries,'' Oh Seok-hwan, an official of the education ministry, told The Korea Times. ``Only foreigners whose countries have trade agreements with Korea can apply for the positions. These include India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines,'' he added."

US Agency Uses 'Sea of Japan' Again
"A U.S. government agency in charge of translating foreign data has again started using the ``Sea of Japan" label, less than a month after it first dropped that reference in favor of the ``East Sea" label when describing waters between the two Asian nations."