The South Korean government has announced plans to send troops and police officers to Afghanistan to protect S.K aid workers. The move comes two years after the S.K government withdrew it’s 200 troops following a hostage crisis in which the Taliban killed 2 kidnapped aid volunteers while demanding a troop withdrawal. On the health-care front, the S.K government is considering raising its alert status for influenza A (H1N1) to “Red”, its highest level. The anti-epidemic alert could mean school closures and travel restrictions across the country. In less dire news, Korea is pushing for a state-developed, standardized English test that will replace English proficiency tests in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and TOEFL and TOEIC by 2012. The Minister of Education is quoted in the Korea Times as saying “The new exam surpasses other similar exams in its credibility because of the fact that it is supported and approved by the state.” Life is also getting tougher for expats as as poll says that expatriates recommend marrying a Korean spouse in order to make the transition into Korean society. Other benefits of marrying a Korean is their apparent ability to squirrel away a few won is quite impressive. A Tttobokki vendor in Ulsan managed to save 160 million won ($135,329) over the years, one a day at a time.

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