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!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Daily Kor for November 22, 2009: Our dear leader is not the Dear Leader

Story #1, about the South Korean monks visiting North Korea for a chesa for the founder of their order, is a repeat from yesterday, when the monks had headed off for Kaesŏng. But I liked the picture below so much, that I decided to run it again, post-ceremony. Indeed, the room pictures below may be the only one in North Korea where the dominant portrait is not the Dear Leader or the Great Leader. This all makes me wonder how much or little religious freedom this isolated group has.

As usual on the weekend, it's a slow news day: Government offices shut down, reporters don't report on reportable things, and criminals stay home and watch OCN with their kids. It also doesn't help that yesterday's Daily Kor was several hours later than usual, with some of yesterday's stories rightfully belonging in today's news roundup. So if you're really Jonesing for some news, go check out yesterday's edition.

Buddhist monks from South Korea join ceremony marking the 908th anniversary of the death of Ch'ŏnt'ae Order founder in Kaesŏng, North Korea (AP via WaPo)
Fresh from his tour of the Far East, US President Barack OBama says Asia trip was about jobs and calls for more American exports to Asia as a way of expanding US employment, a possible prelude to a support of the ROK-US free-trade agreement (WSJ, Bloomberg)
Deadly fire in Pusan indoor shooting range on November 14 claims twelfth victim as 37-year-old Japanese tourist dies from burns (Yonhap)
Two North Korean diplomats arrested in Sweden for smuggling 230,000 packs of Russian cigarettes (Korea Times)
North Korean state news media blames Seoul for lack of progress in bilateral ties (Yonhap)
Naver reveals that 98.2% of Anti-English Spectrum's online members are English teachers keeping an eye on the "racial" group (Yonhap)

2 comments:

Darth BabaganooshWednesday, November 25, 2009 10:32:00 AM
Naver reveals that 98.2% of Anti-English Spectrum's online members are English teachers keeping an eye on the "racial" group

What? So, AES is just Lee Eungah and one or two of his buddies?
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kushiboWednesday, November 25, 2009 10:39:00 AM
It would indeed be funny if that were the case. Nonetheless, they need to be taken down, even if it is just two or three guys in a Tico.
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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.

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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.