Its been almost three months since we moved back to LA.  After getting us settled, I started on my job search.  I've been searching on-line and contacted some of my friends from law school.  However, as of yet, I have not had any offers much less any interviews.  Its been rather frustrating.  I knew that all the years I've been in Korea would work against me, but I didn't think it would be this bad.  Its been nice being home and being here for the boys, but if I don't find work soon, our savings will run out.  Dong-Soo's salary isn't enough to support two households - we have bills here and he has to pay his bills in Korea.  And so, I am reaching out to all you who read my blog - if there is anyone who is need of a lawyer who speaks, reads and writes Korean fluently (doesn't have to be a law position), please let me know.  Thanks!

 

We're back in LA.  Yeah!  It is sooooo good to be home, but after being away for 12 years, there is still a lot of new things to get used to.  We've been hear for a little over two weeks now and during this time, we found a home, bought a car, got the kids enrolled in a "hagwon" so that they are able to at least converse a little when they begin school, and received all our stuff from Korea.  The living room is still full of boxes that need unpacking, but things are coming together.  I'm tired, but its a good tired knowing that we're on our way to getting settled in our new home.  The boys are adjusting, but Zack still misses home in Korea and all his friends.  We have been at Immanuel Bible Church for the last 2 Sundays.  The boys have made friends quickly there.  In fact, we went swimming yesterday with some of the kids from church and attended our first flock meeting at the Pat and Sunny Ahn's.  It was also good for me to get back into touch with good dear friends.  It has been 12 years and everyone looks the same except that we're now all married and have children.  However, it was just like being back in college sharing and laughing with old friends.

Although its good to be back, we have been separated from DongSoo.  He has been away the last week on business in HAWAII- life is tough.  He is on a plane as we speak back to Korea.  He will be joining us in LA at the end of August or early September.  For the first year, he will be traveling back and forth, and hopefully, next year he will be able to stay for an extended period of time, i.e., until we decide to go back to Korea.  Yes, our move to LA is not permanent.  We plan to move back, but who knows.  God may have other plans for us.  Please continue to pray that our separation with DongSoo will not be long, and he will be able to join us here soon.  Also pray that the boys will adjust well and that I will also be able to find a job soon.

Its nice to be back home, and hopefully I will be able to see all of you soon.

Being a US lawyer in Korea, I have found myself being very critical of the legal system here.  In fact, it has come to the point of immense frustration, and I wonder how the judicial system of this country has lasted this long.  Although there are steps being made to rectify the problems, the process is tedious and slow.  I had my first experience with how hard it has been to make any changes.  Korea has been well known for developing at a rapid rate.  The economy has become the 13th largest in the world.  The city of Seoul is filled with skyscrapers, and you will find it hard to find someone, even grade school children, who do not have a cell phone.  However, the rapid growth has led to more crimes, especially violent crimes.  The number of kidnappings and child molestation crimes have risen considerably.  Korea used to take pride that you could allow your children to roam free without worries.  Now, parents take time out of their busy schedules to pick up their children from school and shuttle them around to their afterschool activities.  "Soccer moms" were hardly existent in Korea, but now parents are afraid to let their children ride elevators in their own apartment buildings unattended.  All this to get to my point.  Do you happen to know the sentence for a person found guility of child molestation in Korea?  In the states, such crimes involving children would carry a sentence of at least 25 years.  In Korea, its rare if they receive a year in prison.  Most often only get probation.  I hope your jaws are dropping.  Murderers get the maximum of  3 years, and there is a statute of limitations of 15 years for crimes of murder.  All this has come to light recently when two young girls were reported missing on Christmas Day last year.  Their bodies were found recently dismembered and buried.  The man who committed this crime has admitted to killing more women in the past.  Although he has yet to be tried, the attorneys in our office probably bet that the gets no more than 3 years for each woman he has killed.  The public has never been informed of how many years these criminals will live behind bars, and much to my dismay, many don't really care.  The reason is that judges are left to their discretion to determine the sentence for each criminal.  There are no sentencing guidelines which mandate a minimum sentence for a crime.  Therefore, sentences can range from 3 years to 10 years for the same crime, and one can receive a harsher sentence for a lighter crime depending on the judge you get.  You should know that judges are appointed right after graduation from law school, which is an undergraduate program in Korea.  Thus, these judges have had no real life experience with the law, but they are already handing out judgments.  To mend this situation, the judicial branch set up a sentencing commission to come up with a guideline that all judges will have to follow.  My brother-in-law has been appointed to this commission.  However, when we discuss the problems, my brother-in-law sees no light at the end of this long tunnel.  He has come across numerous obstacles which makes him wonder if the country really wants such a guideline.  The major problem is that the public does not even know that such a commission exists - the attorneys in my office are not aware that a commission was established.  I could go on and on about the obstacles, but it would take many pages and many hours to lay them all out.  Maybe this isn't the proper venue, but I just recently visited my sister and her family, and after talking with my brother-in-law, I had to find someway to vent my frustration.