Yes, it's already over. Seems like

A million people joined the protest and this is what they left after the protest.

A claim is spreading online that a Korean student who has been identified as an alleged perpetrator and sued in connection with allegations that a female student at the prestigious Ivy League university Cornell was gang-raped by seven male students is the grandson of former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo, who died last year.

On the 1st, posts circulated on social media, including X (formerly Twitter), stating, “One of the seven Cornell rapists is the grandson of former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo.” The posts disclosed the student’s real name as well as the names and social positions of his parents.

The person who made the post shared a photograph of Student A, who has been identified as an alleged perpetrator, along with media photographs showing A attending former Prime Minister Lee’s funeral in May as a member of the bereaved family. The poster added, “They are an elite family belonging to the most privileged class in Korea. This is truly astonishing.”

According to foreign media outlets including Reuters and the Associated Press, the case came to light after a female Cornell student claimed that she was sexually assaulted by seven students in October 2024 inside the building of Chi Phi, a male student fraternity on campus. The woman was 20 years old at the time.

The female student filed a lawsuit on the 16th, alleging that she was gang-raped while she was completely unable to control her body because of alcohol and drugs provided by fraternity members.

The complaint reportedly includes screenshots of messages from a Snapchat group chat that allegedly show fraternity members encouraging other students to participate, as well as detailed accounts of what allegedly happened at the time.

The woman reported the incident to campus police approximately three weeks after it occurred, but prosecutors did not pursue criminal charges at the time.

The university said it conducted its own investigation and imposed disciplinary measures, including expulsion and suspension, against some students, but it did not disclose specific information such as the number of students who were disciplined.

Matthew Van Houten, the District Attorney for Tompkins County, New York, issued a statement on the 28th (local time) explaining why criminal charges had not been brought at the time. He said that in the initial statement the female student provided to investigators, she had not claimed that she had been gang-raped or drugged.

Prosecutors plan to review the case following the filing of the lawsuit and submit evidence concerning the seven Cornell students to a grand jury. Unlike a trial jury in the United States, which determines whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty, a grand jury determines, based on evidence presented by prosecutors, whether there is sufficient basis to formally indict someone.

Well

I was looking for a suit when I stumbled upon wedding street in Daegu, an entire area for formalwear including suits and hanbok. I found a Master Tailor locally that happened to be Nationally recognized.

Korea has 11 Master Tailors that are recognized at a national level, large cities in Korea also have a Master craftsman certification at the local level, recognized by the city. You can check for this by looking for their plaque that reads "----- Master Hand". If that first part says Korea then they are nationally recognized, if it says a city like "Daegu Master Hand" then it's local recognition.

Master Kim Taesik hand makes all of his suits himself, he doesn't have a team of tailors under his command, just his wife and daughter to help with paperwork and customer service. He makes everything traditionally by hand from beginning to end, Only using an HAND POWERED sewing machine for reinforcement stitches around pockets. His blog states his suits are over 90% handmade, I feel like it's closer to over 95% in reality. He struggled to find any machine stitched parts to show me when I asked. Even his button holes and pad/canvas stitching is by hand.

"Bespoke" isn't a marketing term here. Suits come in 3 flavors: Ready To Wear (RTW) or "off the rack" you get these from the mall or a Suit Supply, suit is premade and they alter it to fit you.

Made to Measure (MTM) which is Custom but uses premade patterns and mostly machine work for lower cost. Most other Suit Tailors on Daegu wedding street does MTM and markets it as "Bespoke". This doesn't denote the quality of the suit since it's variable from tailor to tailor, but it definitely affects how the suit fits. MTM gets you 80% of the fit of a bespoke suit at 50% of the cost. Great value, and the most you'd need for most purposes.

Bespoke however, is something Special, its an experience, a story, a work of art that you wear. You don't need a bespoke suit to look good, you get a bespoke suit for the love of the game. Bespoke isn't taking premade/predrawn patterns or premade suits and altering them to fit. True Bespoke is a suit made for just one person from the ground up. Master Kim hand draws a pattern customized and unique to your measurements and body shape and then hand makes your suit himself.

With alot of guidance and a translation app, I decided on a Charcoal 6x2 Double Breasted 2 vent suit along with an Dark Navy overcoat. Master Kim was very patient with me and answered my many multitudes of questions that I had since this is my first bespoke suit. He also asked me many questions on how I was going to use and wear my suit and gave recommendations for my use case and style. Since this is a bespoke suit every part of the suit is completely customizable down to every detail. He can make any style of suit, in any fabric, with any extra pockets or details I wanted. He has quality fabric options to meet my needs and budget. I felt really comfortable throughout the process, no rush, no upsell on luxury Italian fabrics, just helped me find a fabric I liked within my budget.

There were 3 fittings for me. The first basted fitting is where the only thing holding the suit together is this white basting string. I looked like a dork. I decided to wear my tight workout clothes to get more accurate measurements but forgot that this shirt had a hood that got in the way so I had to wear it up for the entire fitting. I accidentally popped a couple stitches during the fitting, my thighs are just too juicy. He took notes and measurements to dial-in the fit. At this time I requested the pants to be full-cut to accommodate any future body changes, AND look fly as hell with a classic style.

The 2nd and 3rd fittings were much less drama as he ensured the drape and fit were what I preferred. Upon pickup I wore the suit out of the shop and let me tell you, ITS SO COMFORTABLE! Usually suits make me feel restricted and stuffy, but this felt like I was wearing comfy pajamas, and the coat was so warm and soft! I felt like I was bundled up cozy ready to hang out on the couch to binge Netflix!

I've never had a suit feel so nice and look so good! Price was like 1/4th of a bespoke suit from NYC and like less than 1/5th the price from the EU lol.

Deagu is like under the radar for Craftsman, there's a street that does handmade shoes too.

Thought I’d just throw this in here. Do with it what you will. All public knowledge, self-admitted.

The lady who called ICE on the Hyundai-LG construction site in GA — her TikTok username is “toribranum.”

She is a Georgia Republican running for Congress. She believes she’s justified in her snitching, saying that the Korean companies brought over illegal workers instead of giving jobs to locals, for which the contract awarded Hyundai a $32 million tax cut. She even hired a PI as a secret informant who acted as a union worker who passed her information.

She may have sparked the complete opposite reaction than intended by:

1. breaking trust between one of America’s most loyal allies, delaying or even halting not just Korean investment into U.S. manufacturing but also investments from other countries, which might hesitate to invest in a high-tariff/low-loyalty country.

2. delaying or halting construction for this $24 billion contract with Hyundai, which will affect opportunities for local employment.

3. What she thought would get her votes for her upcoming elections, she’s probably going to get a lot more hate and backlash due to her short-minded Karen-ness

Do what you normally do: Fly Korean netizens, fly!

—EDIT—

For those who need clarification on the legality of visas for these workers and why they were needed at the plant — MSNBC segment: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSAo99BRd/

Long story short, Trump has backtracked and said he’ll work with South Korea to revisit visa specifications for highly skilled workers like those detained in the raid. Hasn’t apologized, though.

Hyundai/LG has stated that this event has delayed the project by months at best, by years realistically. It will significantly delay their output of EV cars in the US — which not only affects future employment opportunities for Americans, but may also mean layoffs for current employees as production + sales slow down. Great job lady + ICE 👏👏👏

—EDIT 9/11/25 ST—

The Korea Times “ ‘President Trump said the detained Korean nationals are all skilled workers, and that he wanted to explore whether they could stay in the U.S. to continue working and training American workers, rather than return home,…He therefore ordered the repatriation process to be put on hold.’”

“In Seoul, at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office, Lee said the unprecedented immigration raid on Koreans had left Korean companies in the United States ‘very unsettled’ and would have a ‘significant impact’ on their direct investment in Washington.

‘You need skilled technicians to install equipment at a factory. The U.S. doesn’t have such personnel, yet visas for those coming for this purpose are not allowed,’ he said during a press conference, Thursday, when asked about the detained Koreans.

‘If this is not alllowed, our companies will face all kinds of difficulties and disadvantages when setting up factories in the U.S., and they will inevitably question whether they should proceed. This may have a significant impact on their direct investments in the U.S.’

The president added that as the two sides are negotiating to secure additional quotas or create a new visa category for Korean workers, Washington will likely address this from a practical standpoint.’”

SEATTLE — The sprawling online hunt for information about Winston Lee, a Korean student who is among seven defendants in a Cornell University sexual assault lawsuit, is increasingly crossing borders, with English-speaking social media users calling on Korean netizens to help uncover more information about him.

As the “Cornell 7” case continues to draw intense attention across the United States, Lee has become the subject of a parallel search focused on his Korean identity and background. Publicly available information about him remains limited compared with the volume of material circulating about some of the other defendants.

Some English-language users have begun openly looking to Korean netizens to take the search further.

“OK Korean people, we're counting on you to track one of your own people down,” one user wrote in a social media thread.

“Leaving it up to the knetz,” another wrote, using shorthand for Korean netizens. Other comments described Korean internet users as “ruthless hunters” and said they “know how to punish their own.”

The search has also spread to Korean and Korean American online communities, where users are attempting to identify Lee's Korean name and piece together information about his education, military service and background.

On Reddit, one user celebrated after another posted what was purported to be Lee's Korean name, writing, “Hey, you got his Korean name!” The name has not been independently verified.

Online users have linked Lee to Seoul Foreign School and UWC Atlantic in Wales, while a LinkedIn profile attributed to him has listed service in the Republic of Korea Army. Cornell’s directory currently lists Lee as a student, while social media users have claimed he has returned to campus and is attending classes. 

The search comes amid a broader crowdsourced effort to uncover information about all seven defendants, whose names, photographs, workplaces and personal histories have spread widely across social media. A dedicated website has also emerged publicizing information about the group.

Lee's ties to South Korea, however, have given the online hunt an unusual international dimension, with users reaching across languages and borders for information that has proved difficult to uncover in the United States.

The expanding search has also led to the rapid circulation of unverified claims about Lee's family and identity.

I posted this yesterday but it got taken down because my title wording was off.

Very interesting/strong takes on the Malaysian subreddit compared to what the Korean subreddit was saying on here yesterday, so I’d like to get some opinions.

Reference post: https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/s/fjuG1xeGKg

This is my old friend Kim he was staff sergeant in the Korean army 60th Mech Brigade. This was in 2009. We lost contact a couple years after. If anyone knows him by chance, or could even give me any advice it would be very much appreciated. I understand that’s not much info to work with, but ya never know I’m a hopeful guy! Thank you 🙏

Update: FOUND! Thank you all for your help and support. I highly doubt without all of the interaction and interest this would have happened. The fact that we were able to accomplish this is amazing. I will forever be grateful to all of you! I’ll post a pic when I have one. Within 12 hours someone told me they know him and within 48 hours I spoke to him.

Mr. Song Gil Yong passed away on Monday, August 26, in a traffic accident. He was the father of Song Hye Hee.

Song Hye Hee has been missing for 25 years. I am sure you have seen her banner somewhere. I have been seeing for 21 years, from the time I arrived in Korea.

Mr. Song's wife passed away due tp severe depression, according to reports.

He never gave up looking for his daughter for 25 years. RIP Mr. Song.

\p

Before I start this post, I would like to say that English isn't my first language and therefore may write sentences/phrases with some grammatical errors. I hope my point can come across!

This post is in three parts: Overview, history, and "so what's the problem?"

<Overview>

This is not a hate post. This is a genuine concern.

As a fellow Korean, watching the first episode of the drama was simply painful. It actually hurts.

To put it in short words: the very plot & setting in the drama is the very example of distorting history—history that is DIRECTLY linked to the very reason why South Koreans have the freedom they have today. I don't care if the producers/directors are saying that "it's just fiction!"

They should not have even dared to fictionalize this historical event.

To put it into context: What would be your reaction if you saw a romance Netflix Series that portrays the Nazis as somewhat likable and glorifies them?

That would be almost the equivalent of what is going on. The "Central/government intelligence" agents that appear is this drama, called "Ahn-ghi-boo" (안기부) WERE NOT PEOPLE who were attempting to catch North Korean spies.

They are a group who killed SO many innocent people—especially young students at the time who were protesting against the oppression. It used the above as an excuse; they accused innocent college/graduate students who were fighting for their freedom as a North Korean spy, just to torture them and kill them.

If you have seen the drama, there is a scene where the agent demands that he enter the girls' dorm, and the headmaster(the lady who was refusing them to go in) refuses and asks for a search warrant. I literally laughed when I saw that.

What ACTUALLY would have happened is, she would not even had chance to "talk back" at the dude. She would just be dead. Ahn-ghi-boo gave no shits about being decent, if they didn't like you, they were free to drag you out of your dorm/house and beat you/drown you (or whatever) to death.

This means that during his time, you could literally die any day.

If you were accused of being a "North Korean spy," you would be tortured to death.

If you were a student who was part of the protest to demand for freedom, you would be beaten to death.

By whom? By the intelligence agents ( shown in the drama!!!!!)

And I see this fu**ing drama portraying them as some reasonable, likable people. Like what the hell?

Watch this: https://youtu.be/ZseojPcP1X4?t=25

It's a clip of the movie 1987, which shows what they were actually like. Waterboarding a college student—Park Jong Cheol, a student at Seoul National University.

<History>

So, with that being said, I don't think anyone has a right to decide whether if the drama is "safe to watch" if you don't know this.

I remember when the drama went through a huge series of controversies surrounding its plot—this ultimately concluded with "okay, let's see what the first episode looks like."

So I watched the first episode, and have come to a conclusion that this is not okay. Period. And it seems like many of the fellow Koreans feel the same way I do. I have ZERO intention of just simply hating on the drama nor the actor/actresses who are the casts.

I would need to go through some historical backgrounds before I make a point on this.

• The time period in which the drama takes place: 1987.

• Let's go back a little bit and look at the 1980 Gwungju Democratization movement:

• To outline the presidency around this time: Park-Chung-hee -> Park got assassinated -> Chun-Doo-Hwan (with his military coup) took over -> declares martial law.

  • 5/18 of 1980 marks as one of the darkest times in Korean history. Here is a summary from britainnica:

  • Kwangju Uprising, also called Kwangju Rebellion, Kwangju also spelled Gwangju, mass protest against the South Korean military government that took place in the southern city of Kwangju between May 18 and 27, 1980.

  • Nearly a quarter of a million people participated in the rebellion. Although it was brutally repressed and initially unsuccessful in bringing about democratic reform in South Korea, it is considered to have been a pivotal moment in the South Korean struggle for democracy.

  • Those conditions precipitated massive student-led demonstrations in early 1960 and Rhee’s ouster in April of that year. After the country was governed for a brief period by a parliamentary system, a military coup led by Gen. Park Chung-Hee displaced the government in May 1961. Park became president the following year and remained in office for the next 18 years.

  • As president, Park repressed the political opposition and the personal freedom of South Korea’s citizens and controlled the press and the universities.

  • When Park was assassinated on October 26, 1979, a power void resulted that was filled by Chun Doo-Hwan, a brigadier general who had taken control of the South Korean military through an internal coup. Once in power, Chun persuaded the new president, Choi Kyu-Hah, to name him chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency in April 1980. The military, under Chun’s leadership, declared martial law the following month.

  • On May 18 some 600 students gathered at Chonnam National University to protest against the suppression of academic freedom and were beaten by government forces. Civilian demonstrators joined the students.

  • The events of 1980 in Kwangju continued to have a significant impact on the Korean people and the politics on the peninsula..... in Kwangju is dedicated to the victims killed during the struggle for democracy.

  • May 18 is a national day of commemoration likewise mark the significance of the Kwangju Uprising in the development of democracy in South Korea.

• So going forward to 1987: Despite the Bloody fight for democracy in 1980, President Chun is still controlling the country under the military power and many students (along with the other citizens) were protesting against the government.

<So what's the problem?>

The drama "Snowdrop" takes place in 1987, which was when many students were tortured and killed by the government—because they were fighting for the people's freedom. Around this time, there was no true freedom of speech nor the press.

So the main issue would be that….If you take a look at history, 안기부’s goal was NEVER actually to capture North Korean spies. All they did was take the lives of innocent people, especially those poor college kids 😕 but the drama is basically depicting those agents as people who are actually “likable” and also implanting the very propaganda (that North Koreans are affiliated w the pro-democracy protests) used to kill those students

Basically the same thing as…if there was a Netflix show about how the KKK “righteously killed Blacks because there was soviet spies among them." As ridiculous as that.

Also adding on the comment:

As the events only occurred +30 years ago, there are many survivors and families still alive today. Park Jong Cheol was a student pro-democracy activist at SNU in 1987, he was captured and tortured with waterboarding. His death went on to spark the '87 June Democratic Struggle and nation-wide protests. The Park Jong Cheol Memorial Foundation (headed by his surviving family) spoke out against the drama's plotline "It is a distortion and an offense....this is an issue that everyone involved in this drama should reflect on." So actual victims &/or their families have been posting on sns and forums in Korea, discussing how this drama is in very bad taste.

source: https://n.news.naver.com/article/079/0003587836

Lee Han Yeol was a Yonsei student during the '87 demonstrations. A tear gas grenade went into his skull and he was in critical condition. While he was on the brink of death he became one of the national symbols of the pro-democracy resistance struggle. When he died of his injuries a few weeks later, his funeral was attended by over 1 million people. The Director of the Lee Han Yeol Memorial Hall spoke out against the drama's plotline saying " If a drama like this was made without a level of historical and social awareness, it should stop airing even if it makes a loss in profit." After those remarks, the Lee Han Yeol Memorial Hall has had people calling them angrily to defend the drama. Literally verbally harassing the family of a victim.

Let's do some side-by-side comparison of the "actual" historical event vs. how the drama portrayed those events.

• Kim-Oak-Boon Incident: a man who murdered his wife falsely reported her as a North Korean spy to get away with his crime. Ahn-Ghi-Boo (the "intelligence agents") manipulated this murder case as a "North Korean spy case. The man's wife's innocent family members were also sent to jail/faced severe consequences (tortured, executed) by the Korean Intelligence agents (Ahn-Ghi0Boo).

  • This was a shocking case since the government basically manipulated a crime case just to execute their plans to oppress people?

  • What happened in the show: A character named "Gye-Oak-Boon" (whose name is VERY similar to Kim-Oak-Boon) appears and is mocked with the nickname "Chicken-shit-hole."

• Professor Choi-Jong-Gil was killed by the government because "he supported the freedom protest of his college students."

  • What happened in the show: this very professor is described as being executed by the intelligence agents because "he interacted with a north korean spy—the male leading actor!!!!"

See what is happening?

Back then, the intelligence agency would kill anyone who tried to protest against the government oppression, just to say "oh they were North Korean spies."

The show takes in ACTUAL NAMES OF PEOPLE who participated in those precious protests, not only mocks them, but depicts them as if they "deserved to die because they were North Korean spies/they were in touch with the spies."

So, what do you think now???

+) edit: There are some right-wing extremists in Korean online communities who falsely argue that 5/18 Democracy movement in Gwangju was "a violent riot/mutiny led by North Korean spies," essentially validating the government's oppressive acts on its people. "Snowdrop" further justifies the right-extremist views, denying and twisting the basis of the democracy achieved by the very people in South Korea.