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!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Korea news links for October 28, 2009: Putting the "careen" in Carina

~~It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.~~ Well, for a minute there it seemed Japan had declared undeclared war on South Korea, smashing one of its destroyers into a ROK freighter, but there were no casualties and the Defense Minister ~~apologized~~ expressed regret, so everyone's happy. Well, everyone except a pig farmer from the southern peninsula, who is so disgusted with South Korea, he defected to the north.

Japanese destroyer accidentally rams South Korean freighter in strait between Kyushu and Honshu; damage to both ships reported, but only minor injuries (NYT, AFP, AP via WaPo, Japan Times)
South Korean pig farmer makes way across heavily armed DMZ to defect to North Korea (links here)
South Koreans go to the polls today in parliamentary by-elections (Yonhap)
South Korea posts a $4.2 billion trade surplus in September, double in September (Yonhap, WSJ)
North Korean diplomat Ri Gun and US diplomats, meeting at a conference in La Jolla, California, hold a "frank but friendly" talk (Bloomberg)
Meeting in Korea, ICANN to announce multilingual Internet address system for websites, including Korean (Chosun Ilbo)
In gesture to US President Obama ahead of his November visit to China, Beijing says it will search for victims of the Guangdong crash of a US Air Force B-29 bomber on an unknown mission that occurred in the opening months of the Korean War (AP via WaPo, Reuters)
As efforts begin for nationwide immunization and ROK health officials appeal for calm, four more South Koreans, two senior citizens, a 26-year-old woman, and a 43-year-old woman, die from H1N1 "swine flu" complications, bringing total to 29 (Yonhap)
Bank of Korea reports that consumer confidence is at an all-time high (Joongang Daily)
High-ranking North Korean defector tells Washington think tank that Kim family succession won't work (Reuters)
Chinese consulate in Houston apologizes for "unwarranted disruption by unaffiliated persons" of a rally aimed at seeking the release of death-row inmate Melvin Tibbs (Dallas Morning News)

No comments:

Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

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.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

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.

Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Korea news links for October 28, 2009: Putting the "careen" in Carina

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts