Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

The ghosts of Chusok past

Only a few times have I had to pile onto a train to head south for Ch'usŏk or Sŏllal (Lunar/Chinese New Year), and on the way back one time, I actually stood up the whole way so an elderly woman could take my seat. But I don't think it was ever as bad as the stuffing of people into buses shown in these pictures of Chusok past, courtesy of Naver (HT to Korea Beat).

It's a great photo essay from the 1970s and 1980s, showing people trying to get tickets, showing people who couldn't get tickets, and others trying to do whatever they could to get "home." I also like the pictures of the old Chusok gift sets, including the Dongwon tuna. I think I might have bought a coffee set once, but only because I wanted some of the coffee.

Anyway, my question is: Where's the Spam™?!

2 comments:

busycornerSunday, October 18, 2009 7:01:00 PM
If the gift sets are so old what's the StarKist mascot Charlie Tuna doing in th middle.

They just bought the company 18 months ago
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kushiboSunday, October 18, 2009 8:24:00 PM
Ha ha, but the only similarity between the Dongwon mascot and Charlie Tuna is that they're both fish. And since they're both hawking tuna, that's hardly earth-shattering.

Charlie Tuna wears glasses and has a little beret, whereas the Dongwon tuna is wearing a chef's hat and has had Lasik.
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Ask Kushibo.

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That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

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九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.