Zofona > Zofona Seoul > Newspapers on Korea > Korea unbelievable fun

Korea unbelievable fun

Elephants get loose, cause traffic holdups *the korea herald*(21/04/05)

It was the elephants' big day out in Seoul. Six elephants escaped yesterday from an amusement park in northeastern Seoul and wandered around for hours, injuring one passer-by and scaring many others, before they were rounded up. Some of the elephants broke into nearby restaurants and houses, and caused mid-afternoon traffic jams.

Police said the elephants broke loose around 3:10 p.m. during a parade at the Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin Ward, northeastern Seoul. Nine elephants from Laos, aged from 5 to 7 years, were brought outside on a chain for a parade but the chain got loose and one of the elephants lumbered away.

The situation quickly got out of hand as five other elephants also managed to break away, witnesses said. Police from a nearby police station as well as firefighters were sent to the scene but managed to capture only one elephant quickly. Another was brought back to the amusement park by trainers. Four others remained on the loose for hours, causing great confusion in the neighborhood.

One elephant approached a 52-year-old pedestrian, and pushed her with its trunk, injuring her head, reports said. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she was in a stable condition.

The elephants broke windows and damaged utensils at nearby restaurants, and blocked traffic on roads near Achasan Subway Station and Cheonho Street before they were all captured.

+++++++++

Homeless people in South Korea wear designer clothes

South Korean homeless people are the most stylish tramps in the world now. The government of South Korea has recently provided its homeless citizens with outfits from most recognizable designers.

It goes about fake designer clothes here, though. The South Korean customs has recently confiscated a large batch of fake designer clothes. The confiscated goods were supposed to be destroyed, although the government found a better use for the fake clothes.

The Pusan city administration decided to give away the clothes to the local homeless. Having obtained an adequate decision from designers themselves, the authorities handed over about 3,500 garments of fake designer clothes to the South Korean homeless.

The unlabeled clothes have been taken to charity foundations and given away to the happy people. The experiment was a success: the authorities say that they would continue the practice, if the customs officers confiscate fake clothes in the future. Needless to say that the homeless people were overwhelmed with such a gift from the authorities of Pusan. "I do not care about the quality of these clothes. They are very fashionable and I like that," one of the stylish tramps said.