The general grocery stores sell a butane gas cans for 3,000 won per four can pack. Most places charge more than 4,000 won for a four can pack. They also sell butter at the cheapest prices. I bought a 450 gram packet of Seoul Milk Butter for 7,000 won. The owner told me that prices were just raised, so it will cost more next time.
Butane Gas Canister 4-Pack
Butter (middle shelf)
The market is also the best place to buy fruits and vegetables, but you should shop around for the best buys and stores. Most places do not accept credit cards. Some do and charge 10% extra. Some of the larger stores accept credit cards without extra charges. The stores wholesale, and also retail on the side. If they do not accept credit cards, they can cut out the VAT, credit card processing fee, and reduce margins.
I bought a box of 16 apples (medium size, much bigger than at Home Plus, Emart and other stores) for 15,000 won from this store.
At the west end of the market, there are stores that sell meat, mushrooms, ginseng, nuts, seeds, grains and other foodstuffs at prices much cheaper than discount stores.
I also bought a 10 kilogram box of sweet potatoes nearby for 20,000 won. Really good quality.
Some stores are great, some are rip offs. So, shop around.
The Special Independent Prosecutor's spokesman just announced that an arrest warrant and indictment were submitted to the courts for Lee Jae-young on bribery, embezzlement, and perjury charges. Three other Samsung presidents Choi Ji-sung, Jang Chung-gi, and Park Sang-jin were also indicted. The indictment hearings will be held on January 18, 2017.
This week's demonstrations were in remembrance of Jung Won, the Buddhist monk who immolated himself last week in protest and died a few days later, and Park Jong-cheol, a student who died while being water boarded to give up the whereabouts of a student protest leader 30 years ago on January 14, 1987. His death started nationwide protests which ended the reign of military generals posing as Korean Presidents.
TV news and other media are only giving airtime to pro-Park protests. There were almost no coverage of the anti-Park demonstrators, but there were a lot of coverage of the pro-Park protesters. Due to minus 10 degrees Celsius temperatures, both groups had much smaller numbers of protesters.
Those arrested so far in the scandal are listed below;
Ms. Choi Soon-sil (President Park's confidante)
Mr. Cha Eun-taek (former Director of Creative Convergence Center)
Mr. An Chong-bum (former Senior Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Jeong Ho-seong (former Presidential Secretary)
Ms. Choi Si-ho (niece of Ms. Choi Soon-sil)
Mr Kim Jong (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Cho Won-dong (former Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs)
Mr. Moon Hyung-pyo (former Minister of Health)
Mr. Kim Jin-soo (former Presidential Secretary for Health)
Mr. Kim Jong-deok (former Minister of Culture)
Mr. Chung Gwang-ju (former Vice Minister of Culture)
Mr. Shin Dong-chul (former Presidential Secretary)
Mr. Song Sung-gak (former Head of Korea Creative Content Agency)
Mr Ryu Cheol-gyun (Ewha University Professor)
Mr. Nam Gung-gon (former Ewha University Admissions Dept. Head))
For details on some of their crimes, please read the following articles.
Stress and pain can cause eating disorders. So can cognitive dissonance about beauty and health. Now, they are successfully treating people with dissonance therapy!
The slogan for this week's demonstrations is "Come down Park. Come up Sewol Ferry".
January 10 will mark the 1,000th day of the Sewol Ferry sinking and the ship has yet to be salvaged from the bottom of the ocean.
Gwanghwamun Plaza at 6:00 pm
The weather is very mild. There should be a big crowd tonight.
Gwanghwamun Plaza at 7:00 pm
Protest organizers say around 500,000 have participated in Seoul. There should be a few hundred thousand more people before it ends.
Koreans are appalled at all the lying being done by President Park and her associates. Some of the lying is to avoid jail and delay the court process, but most seem to be post truths trying to rally her supporters.
Post truths are opinions that are aimed at emotion (which is the main factor in decision making), even though they may be false or untrue.
The Saenuri Party has done this for decades. Trump did it. To these people, if lying is beneficial to them, they will lie.
I hope the everyone reads up on post truths and how emotions influence voter decisions more than facts.
By stating that North Korea was behind the candlelight demonstrations and other lies, President Park is trying to stir up the fear of North Korea and communism. This works well with Koreans in their 60s and above who lived through the Korean War and military dictator Park's propoganda. That is why President Park's approval rating has risen to 10%. Remember the days of dictatorship? Time and Newsweek with sections blacked out. Long hair was illegal as were mini-skirts. People were framed as spies. Curfew. Martial law. Torture. The good ole days.
There are even TV commentators raging about the opposition trying to stir up indignation and other emotions. Nowadays, they are lying low, but elections are coming up and they will be out in full force. I used to get very frustrated watching all this and knowing, but now, it is starting to get interesting.
The following is a very informative article on President Park and corruption in Korea.
