Tall tales on human rights situation expected from PH gov’t on 4th UPR

A press statement by KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights on the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council
November 14, 2022

There is nothing new with the Philippine government’s report on the human rights situation in the Philippines, when it is subjected to the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.

We expect the tall tales and big words – “transformational reform,” “real justice in real time” – which are empty rhetoric. The same words were used during diplomatic briefings, statements, and reports to the UN Human Rights Committee.

But facts, experiences and implementation of policies on the ground reveal the realities.

According to the UP Third World Studies Center, from July 1, 2022 to November 7, 2022, 127 individuals died in Marcos Jr.’s drug war. Majority of them were killed by state agents, despite the Philippine National Police’s claims of “bloodless” anti-narcotics operations under the Marcos Jr. administration.

There is almost no successful prosecution and zero final convictions of perpetrators in the sham drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte. The drug war review panel has been reporting investigations on a number of cases – but then again, investigations on extrajudicial killings incidents since 2016 can barely be considered as “real justice in real time.”

Karapatan agrees with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, in his statements in September 2022, that the Philippine government has not demonstrated that it has conducted or is conducting national investigations on the thousands of cases of extrajudicial killings in the drug war that mirror the probe previously authorized by the ICC’s pre-trial chamber. And hence, the ICC chamber should commence investigations, despite the Philippine government’s refusal to be subjected to such.

Karapatan documented 442 civilians, mostly peasants, indigenous and Moro peoples killed during the Duterte administration’s counterinsurgency campaign. At least 222 of them are human rights defenders. Ten civilians have been reportedly killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the first three months of the Marcos Jr. administration, while four defenders have been forcibly disappeared.

According to a report in June 2020, the Task Force on Administrative Order 35 mechanism, which has been mandated to solve cases of political violence in the form of extra-legal killings (EJKs), enforced disappearances (ED), torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security of persons, handled 385 cases since 2001, with 270 cases of extrajudicial killings, 28 cases of enforced disappearance, 7 cases on international humanitarian law, and 80 cases of torture. During the said period, Karapatan has documented 1,953 extrajudicial killings, 252 enforced disappearances, and 1,570 victims of torture.

In the TF’s ten years, it has attained convictions in only 13 cases, that is about only 3% of the 385 cases. It was also cited that in at least 127 cases, perpetrators have been cleared through acquittals and dismissals in court, or through dismissals by the Ombudsman, or through dismissals or provisional dismissals by the prosecution. This number comprises 33% of the 385 cases being handled by the AO35 IAC, while the rest continue to be under investigation.

Injustice and the climate of impunity clearly prevail, and the Marcos Jr. administration perpetuates it by continuing Duterte’s draconian policies. There have been no reversals of police memoranda on the drug war, nor is the administration backing down on the existence and operations of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

To date, there are 842 political prisoners in the Philippines, with 15 of them arrested and detained under the current administration. The government continues the practice of filing trumped up charges against political dissidents through spurious search warrants, planted evidence, perjured testimonies and inaccessibility of due process, and thereby putting more human rights defenders in jail.

Red- and terror-tagging, along with the use of terror laws, have become the default responses of the government against any form of dissent and criticism. Freedom of expression and press freedom remain in peril, with journalists among those killed in the first months of the Marcos Jr. administration. There is gross disregard of international humanitarian law as bombings, forcible evacuation and forced or coerced surrenders of poor civilian communities continue.

All these occur amid an intensifying economic crisis and the pandemic affecting the poorest of the poor, with high inflation rates, unemployment and underemployment rates, dirt-poor wages and decreased public funding for social services.

The Marcos Jr. administration cannot hide behind empty platitudes, nor can it be window-dressed by a Joint Program with the UN. It cannot sugar-coat the dire lack of effective domestic mechanisms for redress, nor can it spin tales using a religious fundamentalist network, trolls, and disinformation machines. The bare, glaring realities are there.

In this 4th cycle of the UPR on the Philippines, we expect various States to once again call for an end to the killings and all human rights violations. We expect stronger demands for justice and accountability. We expect stronger advocacy for the issuance of standing invitations to UN Special Procedures. We call on the UN Human Rights Council to walk the talk in their recommendations in the UPR, and finally pave the way for the long overdue independent investigation on the Philippine human rights situation.

Marriage and human sexuality

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
November 6, 2022

THAT gospel episode where Christ was asked about marriage and divorce (cfr. Lk 20,27-38) gives us an occasion to clarify the true nature and purpose of both human sexuality and marriage. It’s a clarification that, I believe, is most urgent these days, considering the widespread ignorance, confusion and error these aspects of our human life now suffer.

Our main problem with respect to our understanding and attitude toward human sexuality is that this has been reduced to a purely biological and human aspect of hormones, passions, urges, instincts, sensual stimuli and genital activity, and a naturalistic sense of decency and nothing more.

This is giving it an incomplete, inadequate if not distorted and dangerous treatment. We need to bring it to the terra firma of its true nature and character, its authentic beginning, purpose and end, away from the swamps and marshes of the sensually, if not genitally, dominated aspect.

Sexuality is reduced to sex. Worse, sex is made the end-all of our sexuality. All other considerations are made secondary, and even ignored, ridiculed and finally rejected. Thus, there is that growing, headlong drift toward an erotic and pornographic culture, at first hidden and later open.

Because of this phenomenon, sexuality is not anymore inspired by reason, let alone, by faith and love. Instead, the savagery of the passions and urges is given free rein, with the matching fruits of all kinds of anomalies and perversions.

Many people are abandoning even the basic natural idea of masculinity and femininity. That our sexuality is first of all a gift from God, meant to enable men and women to complement each other not only for human development but ultimately for the final communion among ourselves and with God, is forgotten.

As to marriage, there is no doubt that we need to revisit its true nature and purpose, since this basic human and Christian institution is now besieged with so many misconceptions and malpractices.

There is a need to realize and appreciate more deeply that marriage, not only as a natural institution but also and especially as a sacrament, is a path to sanctity not only for the husband and wife but also for the family, and from the family, for the society and the Church in general.

We need to see the organic link among these key elements: the marriage between man and woman, and the family they generate, as well as the society of which the family is the basic cell and the universal Church of which the family is considered the domestic church.

Seeing that link, we would appreciate the strategic role that marriage plays in the life of men and women in the world. We would appreciate the tremendous potential good that marriage can give to all of us.

That is why everything has to be done to make marriage achieve its fullest dignity. And that means that we have to purify and elevate the love that is the very germ of marriage to the supernatural order.

That love has to develop from simply being natural and body-emotion-world reliant to being more and more spiritual and supernatural, driven by grace rather than by merely natural forces.

With the sacrament of marriage, the love between husband and wife is already guaranteed to have all the graces needed to make that marriage reach its fullness. What is needed is the faithful and generous correspondence of the parties concerned to those graces.

The art of holy insistence

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
October 9, 2022

YES, there is such thing as the art of holy insistence. This was shown, for example, in that story Christ told his disciples about someone who went to his friend-store-owner in the middle of the night asking for bread because a friend of his just arrived and was hungry. He was refused at first by the store-owner, but due to his insistence, he was given what he asked for. (cfr. Lk 11,5-13)

The lesson Christ wanted to impart to his disciples in this particular gospel is encapsulated in these words of his: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

And the reason why such insistence is recommended is because God is always a father who can never be indifferent to the needs of men. He may ask us for some requirements or choose to test us for a time, but he in the end will always give what is best for us. This point was articulated by Christ in a most dramatic way when he said:

“What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

This truth of our faith is also highlighted in that gospel episode about a Canaanite woman who begged Christ to drive the demon that vexed her daughter. (cfr. Mt 15,21-18) Christ at first did not respond favorably. He even sounded harsh on her. But due to the faith-driven insistence of the woman, Christ finally gave in.

We should just be insistent in our petitions to God. No matter how hard or even impossible our requests would seem, we should not hesitate to go to God to present such petition. God will always listen and answers us in the way that is best for us, which may not be the one we like or expect.

We should never think that we are bothering God by asking for some favors. Our prayers will never go unnoticed with God who is all generous with us. In fact, he will give us much more than what we may be asking for.

So, let’s just be insistent and persevering in our prayer. Besides, doing so will eventually give us new lights, insights and impulses that will leave us amazed at the goodness and kindness of God, his mercy and all-embracing love. It will rekindle or at least fan into a flame our dying fire of love for God and for others.

When we persevere in meditating on the words of God found in the gospel, for example, we would be astonished at how old familiar passages and ideas acquire new meaning and open to us practically a whole new world of insights that can inspire us to action and different initiatives.

And if God seems to ignore us, we have to realize that he is simply testing us for a number of reasons – to strengthen our faith, to purify our intentions, to grow in the other virtues, etc.

Deepening our belief in angels

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
September 27, 2022

WE might wonder why on the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, celebrated on September 29, the gospel reading used is about the vocation of Nathanael as one of Christ’s apostles. (cfr. Jn 1,47-51)

As that gospel narrates, Nathanael who was praised by Christ as a man with no guile since he said that famous line, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” referring to Christ, finally came to believe in Christ when Christ told him that Christ saw him under the fig tree. That was when Nathanael recognized Christ as the “Son of God, the King of Israel.”

The only reference to angels in that gospel episode was when Christ said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man,” addressing these words to the bewildered Nathanael.

So, the thought can come to us that the reason Nathanael came to recognize Christ was because he must have seen some extraordinary things while he was under the fig tree. And the possibility of angels ministering to the Son of God who is also the Son of Man must have taken place there.

Whatever may be the case, we cannot deny that there must be some relation between being transparent and simple like Nathanael, even to the point of being childishly impertinent, and the capacity or the privilege to see some extraordinary events.

It’s always worthwhile to remain simple and humble like children because, as Christ himself said, the things of God are hidden from the wise the learned and are revealed instead to the little children. (cfr. Mt 11,25)

In any event, it is also important that our belief in angels and archangels grows strong and abiding. In fact, we have to popularize their devotion. The archangels, for example, are great allies that we can count on especially during our difficult moments. They are so close and so identified with God that we can refer to them as God’s organic or vital extensions of his own self, if we may describe them that.

Remember what Christ said about angels in general? It was when he talked about the angels of little children whom the disciples wanted to shoo away from Christ for being a disturbance. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” he said. “For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Mt 18,10)

Angels, to be sure, are real beings. They are not fictional, figments of our imagination, projections of what we like to have. They are pure spirits who have entirely identified themselves with God. They are not God themselves, but creatures of God who upon their creation have chosen to be with God for all eternity.

And among them are the archangels. They are especially chosen by God to undertake some special tasks. They help us in our constant struggle against temptations and sin, in receiving some special messages from God and in healing some difficult sicknesses.

It’s important that we be aware of the existence of these very powerful archangels who, for sure, would be most willing and most happy to help us in their own way. We just have to enliven our faith in them and develop the appropriate devotion.

Observing the International Day of Peace in the context of the 50th year of Martial Law

A statement by the Citizens Alliance for Just Peace on the 50th year of Martial Law
September 21, 2022

Today, September 21, 2022, the world will observe the annual International Day of Peace. Forty-one years ago, in 1981, the United Nations issued the “declaration on the right to peace” which affirmed peace as a sacred right of all people and a primary prerequisite for the material wellbeing, development and the progress of countries. The UN also emphasized that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each state.

While this year’s theme, “End racism. Build peace.” is not directly related to the internal armed conflict in our country, the United Nations´ message of ending discrimination and intolerance resonates in our context in terms of the rampant red-tagging and vilification often directed towards critics of the immediate past administration and even under the current dispensation. Many government officials especially those involved in the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) have resorted to demonizing human rights and peace advocates as “communist terrorists” instead of nurturing a culture of dialogue and principled negotiations.

In the Philippines, September 21, 2022 is also the 50th anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law by the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. In those dark years, many fell victim to human rights violations. Many others also died defending our democratic rights. Marcos Sr. imposed Martial Law to “nip the communist insurgency in the bud,” however, it only fanned the flames of the armed conflict between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Now, 50 years later, and after succeeding administrations intensified their respective counter-insurgency programs aimed at defeating the communist rebellion, the armed conflict has continued to rage particularly in the countryside causing internal displacement in the most vulnerable communities. This long-running conflict only mirrors how deeply embedded are its roots in social and structural injustice.

This is compounded by the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA), with its vague and broad definition of terrorism. Red-baiting is now paired with terrorist-labelling. The draconian law grants police and military personnel the power to detain suspects “for investigation” without a warrant or charge up to 24 days. Moreover, the ATA virtually negates the accountability of law enforcement agents for violating the rights of suspects.

The NTF-ELCAC and the ATA have brought about stepped-up political repression against the political opposition, trade unionists, community organizers, journalists, artists and writers, peace and human rights advocates and ordinary people. This includes red-tagging of social activists including church people and churches; attacks on indigenous communities and their schools; and harassment of humanitarian aid groups and their workers. Sadly, the wielding of both the NTF-ELCAC and the ATA continue under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.

It was thus a breath of fresh air when Sen. Loren Legarda called for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations and a review of the ATA at the Senate floor. Her speech is a call for sobriety, unity and openness amidst an atmosphere of hatred and war that is being pushed by war mongers even among her colleagues.

Let us mark the International Day of Peace and the 50th year of Martial Law on September 21 with the call for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace talks. Peace is a continuing aspiration of our people. Calling for the ways of peace through principled negotiations is to reject a militarist solution, of martial rule in any guise.

Thus, the Citizens Alliance for Just Peace, the biggest network of peace advocates in the country, enjoins the public in this historic occasion by calling on the GRP and NDFP to return to the negotiating table and together put an end to the increasing human rights violations and the loss of lives as a result of this conflict and arrive at a just and enduring peace in the country.

Issued and signed on this day, 21 September 2022.

Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., D.D.
Co-chairperson, PEPP

The Rt. Revd. Rex B. Reyes, Jr.
Co-chairperson, PEPP

Dr. Carol Araullo
Convenor, Pilgrims for Peace

Ms. Karen Tanada
Convenor, Waging Peace

Mike Pante, Ph.D.
Act for Peace

Even Christ needed to pray

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
August 2, 2022

“JESUS made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.” (Mt 14,22-23)

As can be clearly seen in this gospel passage, even Christ had need to pray. As God, we can say that he had no need to pray. As man, of course, he had to. But Christ is one divine person. When he prayed, we have to understand that he prayed both as God and man.

This consideration can only mean that prayer is an essential and indispensable element in God and man who has been created in God’s image and likeness. We need to realize that prayer is an essential and indispensable element in our life. Without prayer, we would actually violate our humanity.

We need to understand that we need prayer more than we need air or water or food. Prayer is what connects us and likens us to God. Prayer is what makes our life a life with God as it should be. We should, therefore, cultivate a life of prayer, making prayer like an instinct, such that whatever we are doing, whatever situation we may be in, we should be praying.

To be sure, prayer can be done anytime, anywhere. Praying is not simply a matter of reciting some vocal prayers or participating in liturgical prayers. It is not only a matter of meditating on some truths of our faith. All of these are very important, of course, and highly recommended. They are the basics to learn if we wish to develop a working life of prayer.

The ultimate prayer is when our very consciousness always has God in Christ through the Holy Spirit as its core. This may be described as contemplative prayer which will have its definitive state in heaven when we see God face to face and when our identification with him becomes perfect. This is when we will have the beatific vision.

We have to understand that it’s when we pray, that is, when we truly pray and not just going through the motions of praying, that we would be engaging ourselves with the most important person in our life, God himself. He is absolutely our everything, without whom nothing and no one has any importance.

It’s when we pray that we manage to relate who we are, what we have, what we do, etc. to our ultimate end which, to be sure, is not something only natural but is also supernatural. Nothing therefore can rival the importance of prayer. In other words, prayer is irreplaceable, unsubstitutable, indispensable. It’s never optional, though it has to be done freely if we want our prayer to be real prayer.

The absolutely important thing that makes prayer real prayer is when we manage to give all our mind and heart to God in whatever thing we do or in whatever situation we may find ourselves in. That’s why St. Paul once said, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes 5,17) That’s simply because our whole life has to be a prayer, since it is meant to be in constant and intimate relationship with God.

So, even our work and all our earthly concerns can be made into prayer as long as we have the proper motive and frame of mind.

‘Absolute Savagery’

Philippine solidarity groups denounce Myanmar junta’s execution of four democracy activists

Statement by the Burma Solidarity Philippines (BSP) on military junta’s execution of activists in Myanmar
July 29, 2022

We, members of various civil society and solidarity organizations belonging to the Burma Solidarity Philippines (BSP) coalition, today join the world and the international community in strongly condemning the illegitimate military rulers of Myanmar for its ‘barbaric’ execution of four pro-democracy activists and extend our deepest condolences to their families and heartfelt solidarity to the peoples of Burma/Myanmar in their continuing quest for genuine democracy, peace, and social justice.

The international community, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), must hold the junta accountable for its casual disregard for human life and for its continuing violation of human rights as part of its crackdown on dissent after illegally seizing state power from the democratically elected civilian government in February 2021.

Among the four who were sentenced to death after series of secretive military trials were democracy campaigner Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Jimmy, and former lawmaker and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw, an ally of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. All 4 were accused by the junta of aiding ‘terror acts’ which reportedly stemmed from helping the protest movement sparked by last year's military coup and bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Solidarity movements like the Burma Solidarity Philippines (BSP), have been calling out the ASEAN to swiftly act to de-escalate the political crisis which has now become a full-blown human rights crisis, and ‘to save the peoples of Myanmar’ from the onslaught of its errant member Myanmar under its coup rulers.

The military junta in June announced that it will resume executing prisoners with 113 more who have been sentenced to death, although 41 of those were convicted in absentia, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-governmental organization that tracks killing and arrests of activists in Myanmar. At the same time, 2,120 civilians have been killed by security forces since the military takeover according to AAPP.

The execution of the 4 martyr-activists in Myanmar is a clear indication that the military rulers of Myanmar have zero intent to heed international appeals to even try to implement the five-point consensus it has committed to achieve with the ASEAN last year calling for dialogue among all concerned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties.

The execution is just another proof of the junta’s absolute savagery in ruling the country and the people through lies, impunity and massive human rights violations. The international community, including the ASEAN, must instead ensure that the junta will not be accorded any semblance of legitimacy.

Certainly, the execution of activists is a death sentence to democracy in Myanmar and may derail any attempts to peacefully resolve the crisis but we hope that this would serve as an eye-opener for those who have been treating the junta with kid gloves. Another dialogue initiative, without a clear framework for exacting accountability from the military rulers will only mean condoning and becoming complicit of the junta’s murderous actions.

We call on the ASEAN and the international community to help in amplifying the demands of the peoples of Myanmar for the immediate return to democracy, investigation of crimes against humanity, release of all political prisoners and those who were tortured and illegally detained, and protection to human rights by applying more pressure to the junta.

Today, the Burma Solidarity Philippines stands united with the peoples of Burma/Myanmar.

The cost in pursuing heaven

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
July 27, 2022

CHRIST said it clearly. To pursue the kingdom of God, we should be willing to rid ourselves of things that can cause us some drag in that effort, or to sell off what we have at the moment to get the real thing.

Thus, he said: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Reiterating the same idea, he continued to say, “Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” (Mt 13,44-46)

There will always be some sacrifice involved in pursuing our ultimate goal which is to be with God, our Creator, in whose image and likeness we have been created, and in whose life we are meant to share. In this regard, let’s try to be generous, not sparing in our effort. It’s all worth it!

We have to be wary of our tendency to get attached and trapped in the things of this world at the expense of our real treasure. We have to remember that it is actually the best deal we can have to “sell off” what we have in this world to be able to get the real thing.

Some words of Christ can be relevant in this regard. He said: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Mt 19,29)

All these Christ-dictated indications do not mean that we have to hate the things of this world. The things of this world are also God’s creation and therefore are good. God created them in such a way that they become pathways for us to go to God. They too deserve to be loved in a certain way. They are means to get to God, and not the end itself. Thus, we should be careful not to get entangled with them.

How important therefore that we realize that our first priority should be God and our relationship with him which should be sustained with the constant effort to know, love and serve him! We should be ready to throw away everything else that can stand in the way.

We have to make some adjustments in the way we order our objective needs. We have to distinguish them from our subjective likes and desires that can only be the product of some personal or social preferences. In this we have to employ the appropriate means, the relevant programs and operations. We should be demanding on ourselves insofar as this matter is concerned.

We have to do some drastic effort here because we cannot deny that nowadays, there are just too many things that can seduce us and take us away from God.

We need God first of all, and, in fact, all the time. He is our most important objective need, much more and infinitely more than we need air, food, rest, pleasures, etc. For without God, we are nothing. But with him, we can have everything. That is why, St. Teresa Avila boldly said: “He who has God lacks nothing. God alone is sufficient.”

Act of Terror and Brutality

Tatmadaw execute four pro-democracy activists

A press statement by the Asia Democracy Network (ADN)
July 25, 2022

The Asia Democracy Network and its members all over Asia condemns the execution by the Myanmar Junta of four Myanmar activists. The four activists – former NLD lawmaker and hiphop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw, democracy campaigner Kyaw Min Yu also known as "Ko Jimmy ", activists Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw – were executed by the Myanmar Junta for their roles in the anti-coup protests, an act which the Junta deemed as "terror acts". All four were sentenced to death by hanging in closed-door and largely unfair trials held sometime January to April this year, with their exact date of execution kept secret.

Such brutality is an escalation of the Tatmadaw's reign of brutality in Myanmar, something which has already claimed the lives of more than 2,100 since the coup started, according to Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP). We ask the international community to be more resolute in their actions regarding the situation of democracy in Myanmar. This hesitance to act only provides the Military Junta to claim more lives and enact more suffering to the people of Myanmar whose freedoms continue to be held captive. We send our condolences to the family of the four victims, and we pledge our resolute effort and solidarity with pro-democracy forces in Myanmar who continue to work to attain freedom from the Tatmadaw's brutality.

ADN
Seoul, South Korea