It would be better if she simply highlighted the kinds of accidents or dangers that can befall a person working in another country and get more people to be aware of the need to check their insurance etc.  

And in that area, there are probably more than a few rather unscrupulous and greedy landlords. He probably felt that this was due to him since a fire had wrecked the place. Nothing at all to do with Bill not being Korean. I sense that this is becoming an anti-Korean thing, when in fact several things – including the questionable investigation etc – are really just things which happen with some regularity to ordinary Koreans.

It’s also speculation but if Bill’s girlfriend is from say, a family involved with gangsters or in trouble with them, owes money etc – she could well be the one that someone would want to hurt or scare, not Bill. Remember that she died as well. Atually, most Korean families would highly disapprove of a daughter (said to be young, in the podcast) living with a man – and in this case, a foreigner – in an area with a very bad reputation amongst many Koreans. But of course, if their family was involved in gangster-type activities, they wouldn’t be concerned about that stuff. That seems to indicate something about the girl’s family. If this DID involve some gangsters, perhaps that was the reason for the lack of police interest in vigorously investigating the incident, and not because a Westerner was ONE of the 2 victims.

Also why didn’t any of Bill’s friends bring someone to interpret? They’ve been living and working in Korea and yet they can’t get a single Korean or even non-Korean friend who could adequately interpret Korean to English? It is often the case that many hospitals in Korea do not have doctors/staff who speak English well. They are not responsible for having such staff just as the Western country in which I lived does not have a duty to have stafff that speak other languages besides English.

Good point raised however that foreigners should be aware of differences in laws and customs in Korea. For example, the “blood money” thing is how many cases involving Koreans are settlled. It’s a culturally accepted thing, possibly in other Asian countries as well.

Also there are comments about how Westerners are given sugar-coated lies about working in Korea – yet Bill was persuaded by another Westerner who had lived in Korea to come here. In fact, I’ve personally heard how many Westerners were first introduced to the idea of coming here by their friends, aquaintaces in college etc. to get the “easy jobs, good pay for easy work, lots of vacation ” etc. Their own (Western) friends etc did not warn them of the pitfalls, even though they’d experienced living and working in Korea. One can not only  blame recruites (ie Koreans) for the misinformation and unrealistic promises. Actually I’ve met lots of people who’ve stayed over a year, or several years, and yes, have expreienced problems with employers etc – yet they continue to renew contracts or go search for jobs with better conditions, year after year after year. Why? Priobably because their home countries fail to provide them with attractive enough jobs for their levels of qualitfications and job skills, even though these people consider the working conditions, rights, legal rights etc better in their home countries. That is the failure of these Western countries, not Korea.

Korea – and other countries but particularly Asian ones such as China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan – provide handy valves for Western countires especially America with its economy being hammered the way it is, to relieve job competition and pressure among young people. Many unemployed yet educated (have univ. degrees) young people unhappy about no jobs or low-paid jobs in say, America would lead to some unrest – not to mention higher jobless rate- which govts do not want. They are more than pleased to have these graduates go off to another country. Perhaps there are secret policies for embassies to do nothing lest they get in bad with the host (job -providing) countries. You can bet it’s much worse in China – and that’s why Korea is the preferred destination for EFL. I don’t know whether the American embassy does much for Americans in China – but I doubt they do. So many foreigners seem to have so many grievances/complaints about Korea and yet, the number of them coming here is surging, and many of them stay here quite a few years. Nobody points out how their own country has failed to give them job opportunities and the kind of high savings that allow them to pay off student debt. Instead there’s a lot of blaming Korea and criticizing Koreans.

However the girlfriend’s background sounds somewhat questionable although that part is also hearsay (about the girl’s brother being the victim of a kidnapping hoax). It’s possible that she was the real target - IF this was indeed a deliberate arson attack upon that specific couple. There was a roommate living there right? Although he was away on vacation, is it not possible that HE could have been the intended victim of the (alleged – no proof or evidence at all) attack. Therefore, it could not be said emphatically that this is a hate crime committed by Koreans. Of course, nobody saw any Korean suspiciously attempting to open Bill’s window etc – so hw does anyone know it was someone Korean? If it was someone Western who – let’s say, started the fire – would people be crying “hate crime”? Again zero evidence. Flammable liquid under the couch – does not show who put it there or even how much or what type of liquid. It could have been a cigarette lighter that a visitor (possibly even the roommate’s visitors, or the roommate) lost under the couch.

Without facts to support even a vague scenario, it’s irresponsible to suggest it was a hate crime committed (by inference) by Koreans. Please note that more hate crimes have occurred in Western, white countries against non-white/non-Anglos/non-Westerners. Britain? Check. USA (where lynching first occurred)? Check. Several European countries? Check. There seems to be a lot of shouting (from other expats, am not referring to Bill’s family etc.) about Korea being a haven of hate crimes against Westerners.

Bill’s mother keeps mentioning Christmas lights not being evident in the apartment – however, that does not mean that something else would not have started a fire. Initial combustion may not have come from an electrical short or overheated device. it could have been a chemical reaction of some kind. No offence but Bill’s mother is not an expert, or fire investigator  – simply looking at a burnt apartment and seeing no Chrismas lights does not mean anything.

The investigation appears to have perhaps not been properly carried out however, it is not for the family to point the finger at Koreans committing hate crimes against Westerners.