According to Gyorgy, who invoked the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the relevant Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files, the CIA knew of the 1957 Mayak accident all along. They kept it secret to prevent adverse consequences for the fledgling American nuclear industry. Only in 1990 did the Soviet government declassify documents pertaining to the disaster.
According to different sources, the amount of radioactivity produced by this disaster is between twice and six times that of Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Because the leakage was more limited, this is classified as a Level 6 (of 7) disaster on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Chernobyl is rated at Level 7.
In 2003, Russian authorities closed down the Mayak plant. Lake Karachay, which is close to the plant is seen as one of the most contaminated spots on the planet.
In the past 45 years, about 500,000 people in the region have been irradiated in one or more of the incidents. Some of them were exposed to more than 20 times the radiation suffered by the Chernobyl disaster effects victims.
Oldboy
Oldboy is a 2003 movie by Park chan-wook. This movie is based on the 1997 Japanese comic book. It is a mystery action movie about the contest of Oh Dae-su who was confined in private jail for 15 years (even he does not know why he was caged) and Lee woo-jin who confined Oh because of revenge. This movie deals especially and in detail with human hatred and revenge, and uses nice visual techniques to deal with sensational material.
The movie was nominated for many international movie festivals. It won 31 awards including Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.
Cheese on toast
Cheese on toast is a type of food sometimes called grilled cheese. It is often eaten as a light snack. It is popular because it is easy to make quickly, and uses few ingredients. It is made by grilling cheese on toast.
Cheese on toast is often made with cheddar cheese. Other items (such as grilled tomatoes and butter) may be added to the dish.
Deoksugung
The Deoksu Palace (Deoksugung ; 덕수궁, 德壽宮), is one of the five grand palaces of the Korean Joseon Dynasty.
When the Japanese invaded Joseon in 1592, King Seonjo escaped from Hanyang (present-day Seoul) and fled to Uiju. When the war finished, he returned to Seoul.
But there was no place for him to stay, because all of the palaces(such as Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace, Changgyeong Palace) had burned down during the war.
So, he lived in this place, which was originally the home of Prince Wolsandaegun who was King Seongjong's elder brother.
King Gwanghaegun who succeeded King Seonjo renamed this palace Gyeongun Palace (Gyeongungung ; 경운궁).
The palace became a secondary royal residence after the king moved to Changdeok Palace.
Queen Dowager Inmok was confined to the palace, and it was renamed West Palace(Seogung ; 서궁).
After he was overthrown by King Injo, it was returned to itsoriginal owners.
After two years, King Gojong returned to power and he chose to live in this palace.
He renamed this palace Gyeongun Palace again.
An electrical system and fencing were installed at the palace, and the name of the palace was changed to Deoksugung Palace: meaning the palace of virtuous longevity.
He remained at the palace even after he had relinquished the throne to his son, Emperor Yunghui (or Emperor Sunjong ; 융희제, 순종)
From 1910 until 1945, when Korea was under the colonial rule of Japan, the palaces's buildings were destroyed and made into a public park.
Infinite Challenge
Infinite Challenge is a famous Korean TV show. Its Korean name is "Muhan Dojeon". It started in 2005 as "Mu(mo)han Dojeon" and titled "Muhan Dojeon" in 2006.
There are seven people on the show now; Yoo Jae-suk, the MC, Park Myeong-su always seated second, Jeong Jun-ha whose nickname is 'eating god' because he eats a lot and fast, Roh Hong-cheol who can speak quickly and has swindler character, Jeong Hyeong-don who is called "MiJon gae-oh" that means remarkable in everywhere, HaHa who is called "little baby", Jun Jin was a member for about 2 years and went military service. Instead of him, Gil who is singer of South Korea's Hip-hop group Leessang appears in this show.
This show is the first real variety show in Korea. The seven members of the team try new challenges for each episode. For example, they held an end of year concert to raise money for unfortunate neighbors, made a drama, met and played games with world famous stars like Thierry Henry and Paris Hilton. These were all produced by Kim Tae-ho, the producer of Infinite Challenge. He wants to keep the program new and exciting so he has recently tried to add a new member of the team.
Bean Pole International
Bean Pole International is the name of a South Korean clothes brand. It was started by Cheil-Mogic, one of the Samsung Company group, in 1989.
The brand name "Bean Pole" signifies happiness and hope, by symbolizing a man riding a bicycle in the novel "Daddy Long-Legs". The picture of a man riding a bicycle is the logo of Bean Pole. In addition, it also signifies the tradition of the Boston Ivy League universities.
In the 21st century Bean Pole became a nationally famous brand in South Korea. It has six sub-brands including Bean Pole, Bean Pole Ladies, and Bean Pole Golf. They have become an international company selling clothes to China, the United States and Europe. They hired Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Henny to appear in advertising to promote the brand name.
Nakseongdae
Nakseongdae is the birthplace of the famous Goryeo-Era general, Gang Gam-chan (강감찬, 姜邯贊 ; 948-1031). Legend says that when Gang Gam-chan was born, a star fell from Heaven. Because of this, his birthplace was named "Site of the Falling Star" (Nakseongdae).
The people of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) built a three-story pagoda at the house of Gang Gam-chan's birth to praise him for his great deeds. He is famous for defeating 400,000 invading Khitan soldiers. Damaged parts of this pagoda were rebuilt by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 1964, and the pagoda was named Seoul Cultural Property No. 4 in 1972. Two years later, a shrine was built for Gang Gam-chan. The pagoda, which was originally located at 218 Bongcheon-dong, was moved to be with the shrine.
Hwaseong Fortress
Hwaseong Fortress () is the wall that surrounds the centre of Suwon. Suwon is the capital city of Gyeonggi-do, a province in South Korea. The fortress was built by Jeongjo, the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty.
The wall is about 6 km long and it has four gates.
Jeongjo had he wanted the fortress to do. He wanted to show loyalty to his family. He wanted to protect his father's burial place. He wanted to strengthen his power and protect the southern area of Suwon. He also wanted to reduce conflict between different political parties.
Construction started near Mount Paldalsan in January 1794. Construction was finished in September 1796. Chae Jae-gong supervised the building process. Chae Jae-gong was a former minister in the government and the magistrate of Yeongjungchubu County. Engineers made new tools to help build the fortress. The Geojunggi was one of these new tools. It is a traditional Korean crane. They also made potter's wheels were created. They were used to move and put together large stones for the wall.
After the original fortress was finished in 1801, a construction archive called the Hwaseong Seongyeokuigwe was published. This archive recorded what the fortress was like when it was first built. This helped construction workers know how to rebuild the fortress after it was damaged, so it would look like the original wall.
The fortress was partly damaged twice. First, it was damaged when Japan controlled Korea in the early 20th century. The fortress was also damaged during the Korean War. Today, most of its original features have been restored.
The fortress is on both flat and hilly lands. This is uncommon in neighbouring China and Japan.
The fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Yi Sang-jae