Oil Spill

[Mandalynn]

Hey Mike,

Thank for the info, can I have an English verison please? Im not up to par on my abreviations yet.

Cheers!

[nics.trip]

This is from the Korean Times
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...117_15359.html

"Taean needs more volunteers. The county office openly called for volunteers and related equipment such as oil absorbent, rubber boots, gloves, plastic buckets and clothing. ``It was such an unexpected disaster and it was larger than we could ever prepare for,'' an office spokesman said. He said the office is even considering buying the absorbents from Japan or the United States.

The Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other civic groups offered meals to the volunteers who work for absorbing the oil stains in the beaches.

For more information needed for offering help, visit www.taean.go.kr or call 041-670-2345 for equipment and 042-825-1646 for volunteering."

[email protected]

[nics.trip]

From the mirad of phone calls my co-teacher has made I've found out they really need people to clean at Mallipo Beach in the Daeun National Park area.

First take a bus to Kunsan (군 산)
Second take a bus to Daean (태안)
Third take a bus to Mallipo Beach (만리포 해수욕장)

Here is a list of numbers which can be called if people get stuck-
041 -670-2646
041-670-2647
041-670-2648
041-670-2648
They will be expecting foreigners to turn up, but there may not be an english speaker on the end of these numbers (or there might not be a confident one).

Bring warm clothes that can be binned; waders (long waterproofs and boots) gloves, buckets, a quality face mask (for noxious fumes) etc.

[Hypoxic]

The website is currently asking people to NOT go down to the site for volunteering. The response for volunteers has been so overwhelming that there are just too many people there. Having too many people there can also cause damage to the ecosystem.
They are asking people to refrain from going, and to please wait until they make another announcement for volunteers.
Donations to help the cause can be made in the meantime.

[nics.trip]

Its good to hear they are getting a big response, although I can imainge they are having a few co-ordinating problems...you are very right about too many cooks (particularly ones that may not know what they are doing) causing more trouble than its worth...Can you please post the link for the website so we can keep track of when and where people may be needed???

[skinsk]

I've basically heard the same as Nic, after contacting a reporter. He suggested going down if we wanted to help, and bringing supplies, but said there would be places to deposit the oil.

What website said they didn't need volunteers?

I'm considering heading down Thur or Fri, as there would likely be fewer volunteers then than on the weekend.

[Hypoxic]

From the site (http://www.kfem.or.kr/kbbs/bbs/board...e&wr_id=1239):

" 검은 눈물을 흘리는 서해안 !! 서해안의 눈물을 닦아 주세요 ! "

1차 시민구조활동 참가단 모집이 마감되었습니다.
(현재 시간 12월 11일 오후 11시 35분, 이후 신청은 다음 공지까지 기다려주시기 바랍니다.)

"There are black tears being shed!! Please, wipe those black tears!"

For this current week, we have enough volunteers.
(Need for more volunteers concluded on December 11th at 11:35am, please wait until we make an announcement later for more volunteers.)

I would imagine that by the weekend they will need more, but I would guess that the weekend would bring more volunteers. Regardless, I'm keeping a close eye on it, and the wife and I will likely be going down with the KML this weekend. Maybe we could all coordinate.

There are remote areas that are in dire need of cleaning, but they are so difficult to get to (no transport to them at all) that it is likely that volunteers won't be going there, and professionals will have to be summoned from elsewhere to help get to those areas.

[Hypoxic]

Been keeping an eye on things all night. The volunteer groups (all of them) are asking people to wait until a call for more volunteers is made. I've registered the KML for "group 2" (the second round of volunteers). If anyone is interested I can add you to the KML group to join us as a volunteer group. We're limited though.
Please, please, please remember too many volunteers is a bad thing. Please register before just deciding to go down. There must be a method to the help, no matter how badly we all want to go down there. I want to be there right now, but that's simply not a practical way of dealing with this desvastating disaster.
I honestly believe we'll all have our chance to help out as the problem is massive.

[skinsk]

From the US Embassy:

The Korean government continues to confront a major challenge following the large oil spill off the coast of Taean County. So far more than 9,000 soldiers, policemen, and volunteers have been mobilized to mop up the oil and contain the environmental damage.

Members of the expatriate community who wish to contribute to the effort to combat the oil spill can do so in several ways:

1) Donations of goods: Authorities and volunteers need any of the following items you can donate:

-- used winter clothing
-- old towels or any other old cloth that can help absorb oil
-- personal protective gear such as face masks, rain coats, rubber boots, and gloves.

To send donated goods, address them to:

The County Disaster Relief Center
96, Nammoon-ri, Taean-eup, Taean-gun, South Chungcheong Province
Tel: 041-670-2645 through 2653

2) Volunteering:

The Taean County Relief Center is receiving applications from individual volunteers or organizations via telephone (042-670-2645 through 2653) or through its website at www.taean.go.kr.

Applications should be made at least one day in advance so that the relief center can assign volunteers to the most-needed area.

Please note that volunteers are required to bring with them their own protective gear including raincoats, boots, and gloves. Please note also that there is no interpretation service available for foreigners, so a basic command of the Korean language is needed.

3) Donation of Money:

Donations of money to assist in the clean-up operation are being received by the South Choongcheong Provincial Government at the following account:

Nonghyup Bank, Account No.: 471-01-002107, held in the name of: The Governor of South Choongcheong Province.

The U.S. Embassy thanks you for considering these assistance measures.

End text of message.

[normalcyispasse]

Be careful, folks: Volunteering is illegal.

"If you are a foreigner working in Korea and volunteering on the side could you be fined, even deported? Don't laugh. Volunteering may put you in danger.

The law governing these matters is the Immigration Control Act of Korea. The law stipulates that a foreigner must obtain, in advance, permission from the Ministry of Justice for "activities corresponding to a status of sojourn different from his own."

To register an activity, you must apply to a local or district immigration office with jurisdiction over the area in which you live. The application should be made in person, but could be made by proxy in special cases. You must have your passport, alien registration card, downloadable application forms, and other documents that pertain to your visa category, which are detailed on the Web site. You also have to pay a 60,000-won fee. If your application is accepted, you will receive a stamp in your passport and amendments on the back of your alien registration card.
The process is required for each activity that may go "beyond the current visa status.""

http://news.empas.com/show.tsp/cp_kt...E%26%3C%2Fb%3E