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

News links for October 3, 2009

ROK Coast Guard seizes four Chinese boats poaching in South Korean EEZ (Yonhap)
Public demands more government assistance for eight-year-old girl brutally raped and mutilated by repeat offender (Donga Ilbo)
President Lee calls for greater effort and more neighborly compassion to get nation through economic crisis (Korea Times)
Hyundai US sales rise for third straight month (Bloomberg)
Bank of Korea puts W1.7 trillion worth of crisp, new 50,000-won notes into circulation for Chusok (Chosun Ilbo)
Baffled doctors fear Yonsama is slowly turning into a middle-aged Japanese woman (Jaekyung News)

4 comments:

UnknownSaturday, October 03, 2009 11:23:00 AM
Yeah, I think Bae Yong Joon has had some work done on his face. It's starting to make him look weird.
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AnonymousSaturday, October 03, 2009 2:50:00 PM
It's not a terribly content-heavy comment, but wanted to say I like how you quickly summarize the story and then put the link in the source in parentheses. I've been trying to figure out a classy/unobtrusive way myself to provide links that I don't have time to blog or analyze fully but nevertheless think it important to share. Hopefully you don't mind if I start borrowing your method?
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kushiboSaturday, October 03, 2009 4:04:00 PM
Edward, I'm more concerned about the weird hairstyle. But then again, while in Hawaii, my clean-cut style has turned all long-haired surfer type.
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kushiboSaturday, October 03, 2009 4:29:00 PM
Adam, thanks for the compliment. Feel free to copy The Kushibo Method™. I used to work in broadcast news, so it's a style I developed. I try to be concise but informative, while providing an avenue for more information.
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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.