When is Eid in Korea 2014?

EID MUBARAK  or (이드 무바락 여러분! )

In many Muslim countries Eid  is celebrated with the sighting of moon in Saudi Arabia including Korea. Hence, this year, it's going to be celebrated on 28th. July, 2014.

 Eid prayers (congregation) will be performed at 10:00 a.m  in the Seoul Central Masjid, Itaewon.

On Eid, Seoul mosque gets crowded because it caters to not just Seoul area but all adjacent small cities and towns in Gyeonggi province so try to get there early to find a place inside the mosque.

In case, you have not been able to pay Zakat and fitra yet then it can be donated to the mosque which will use it through Korea Muslim Federation, either contact the  office located next to the prayer hall or use the donation box at the entrance of Women's prayer room..

Samina Baig - Successfully Completes 7 Highest Summits in 7 Continents!

The last leg of this adventure took the siblings to Russia to attempt Mt.Elbrus!

Samina's bother Mirza Ali Baig wrote on his blog:

"..... very delighted to share the great news of Mt.Elbrus summit!
Me and Samina reached the summit at 9am local time, thus the adventure diplomacy, gender equality, women empowerment project came to an amazing end(ing) with great success!
Samina became the first Pakistani and the first Muslim woman to climb the seven summits in record age of 23 and in record time..."

Congratulations Samina Baig and also Mirza Ali Baig!

Teen Pilot Haris Suleman Died in a Plane Crash

Haris poised to become the youngest commanding pilot to fly around the world died in a crash Wednesday off the coast of American Samoa.

The plane carrying 17-year-old Haris Suleman, and his father, Babar, crashed just after takeoff in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, reports Fox  59. They actually took off at night and that was risky.

The father and son set out to spend 30 days flying to cities across the world. According to the Indy Star, the two left their home in Indiana on June 19. The progress of the Sulemans could be followed on Haris’ @worldrounder Twitter feed and on the blog Around the World 4 Education. The trip would take them to 21 different cities.

On the Suleman’s blog, Haris writes that he hoped to follow in his father’s footsteps and go into engineering at either Purdue or the University of Texas. When asked what he would be doing after the journey was completed, Suleman said he was going to take the SATs.

On Babar Suleman's facebook page, he wrote:

• Babar Suleman Eddie Gold, I think Haris likes Pago Pago..... 

The pair were flying in their private plane in a round-the-world trip for charity. The charity in question was Seeds of Learning, according to media reports, the two had raised $500,000 of their $1 million goal.

The famiy was eagerly waiting for their return before Eid, it is such a tragic loss, prayers for the bereaved family and may God bless their souls. Special prayers for Babar Suleman - who is missing!

Haris wrote about their trip in Huffington Post HERE. In a post he wrote:
  
"...Although I am a little bit nervous, I can't imagine a better way to spend my summer. If all goes well, I will be going back to school for my senior year with some tall tales to tell!"

Babar Suleman's blog: flyaroundtheworldin30days.com chronicles their journey in detail. Read it HERE.. Babar Suleman in his first post  - Birth of an Idea writes:

"PROLOG: September 5, 1971…..Sargodha Train station…. early morning, Chenab Express train unloading a bunch of very young, aspiring fighter pilots, in the incubation phase…pre-cadets…piled off the train, dumped their luggage into a 3-ton military truck and clamored into waiting blue Air Force buses for the ride to Pakistan Air Force College Sargodha….. a ride of their life time……. to be assigned to their houses or squadrons…. a new beginning … to boldly go where they had not gone before…. a little apprehension, a little fear and a whole lot of excitement at what lay ahead…. yes I wanted to be a pilot ! A fighter pilot ! …but what did that mean…."

Source 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/23/haris-suleman-teen-attempting-world-flight-record-killed-in-plane-crash/

Jobs for Pakistanis in South Korea (EPS Workers)

First of all, click HERE  (official website of Korea to hire unskilled workers through EPS) and then HERE (news article in a leading Pakistani news paper)!

I have often been asked on how to get a job in Korea - it depends on many factors but first and foremost, one's country of origin, Korean language proficiency and then their educational background.

Everybody would have heard of teaching positions in Korea but almost all sorts of jobs are there and yes, it's competitive and there are limitations. 

Pakistan is among one of the 15 countries from where low skilled or unskilled workers are hired under Employment Permit System aka EPS to work in South Korea in small and medium sized industries in sectors such as livestock, agriculture, fishery, construction, etc. Applicants must fulfill the following conditions according to the EPS website:

• Person aged between 18 and 40
• Person who passed EPS-TOPIK
• Person who fits for medical checkup decided by Korean government
• Person with no criminal record in relation to serious offence punishable by imprisonment
• Person who does not have previous record of deportation/eviction order from Korea
• Submit Job application form and necessary documents within the valid term of EPS-TOPIK (2 years)
  ※ If valid term of EPS-TOPIK(2 years)　has expired,　candidate shall pass EPS-TOPIK again.

Every year, a quota is set by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) Korea, to import these EPS workers. This quota is further distributed among EPS member countries with respect to the percentage of illegal workers from that respective country. If illegal workers ratio is high , lesser workers are imported and if the ration is low then higher number of workers are imported. Hence, one MUST return to their native country.The returnees can always apply again and usually are preferred over the new workers.

Minimum wage per hour for 2014 is set for about 5USD per hour or 5,210 won per hour. Under the Labor Standard Act of Korea, all workers are eligible to get this amount irrespective of their nationality.Moreover, all workers are eligible for 4 major kind of insurances once they enter through EPS, More on this: click HERE.

Job seekers for Korea must reply on EPS website, HRD Korea and Overseas Employment Corporation only. No  other agency or person can help you get the job. If anybody claims - report them to police and do NOT give money to anybody for seeking jobs. Such people are FRAUD!

Korea has MOU with the following countries:
Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, China, Cambodia,Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Timor-Leste. 



Sources
https://www.eps.go.kr/ph/index.html

http://www.minimumwage.go.kr/eng/sub04.html

http://www.helloeps.com/tvrkmwbyjwesgxjqrcr8/

http://www.moel.go.kr/english/main.jsp

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afcdefd4-1c1c-11e3-b678-00144feab7de.html#axzz38Nz0fhDX

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Peshawari Chappal vs."Robert" Sandal - A Controversy

Sir Paul Smith, the well-known British designer behind the popular label,  launched a high-end sandal earlier this summer that looks like the Peshawari chappal, a popular shoe worn by millions of Pakistani men on formal and informal occasions. A pair that costs between 10USD to 15USD  has a price tag of about 600USD .

Colonizers had the mentality and  the metal to rob nations of their freedom, of cultural heritage and it hasn't stopped even in the 21st century. Old habits die hard!

When the shoe originally went up for sale, there was no reference to Pakistan or Peshawar (the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, formerly the North-West Frontier province), where this design originally originated from!

Paul Smith’s current listing for the chappal previously known as Robert no longer sports the name “Robert,” and now features on overt reference to being “inspired by the Peshawari Chappal.”

"JERKS" is the right word for this company - shame on them!

Pakistani Siblings on an Expedition to Climb Seven Summits on Seven Continents

 Pakistani mountaineers Samina Baig and Mirza Ali successfully scaled Mount Mickenly (Denali) the highest mountain of North America on 28th June 2014 at 7.20 pm local time. Mirza Ali wrote on his FB page that :

 " .....  it took us 15 and half hours for return climb! after having extremely harsh weather for .nearly five days at Camp IV 17200ft. it was just one day weather window and the Mountain and nature was very kind to accept us to be on top of the mountain otherwise the weather situation was extremely harsh and unpredictable."

The sister-brother mountaineer duo, which hails from Shimshal in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), has been on an eight-month expedition to climb seven summits on seven continents since the end of November 2013.
They successfully climbed the 6,962-meter Mount Aconcagua in Argentina in December 2013 to complete the first leg of their expedition, which aims to promote gender equality and world peace.

They have covered six continents and only the last leg of their expedition is remaining!

Wish them the very best!