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 1, 2009

Korea news links for November 1, 2009: Flashback weekend

I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, but I always find it frustrating how the Korean press basically shuts down on the weekend (except for Yonhap), as if no news happens. It's kind of embarrassing when Xinhua (which updates its Korean news quite regularly) has a better work ethic than the Korean media. Sure, the stuff coming out of government ministries basically grinds to a halt, but there's other stuff.

Anyway, that's the story behind today's lack of stories. The big item carried in the media was the death of the former head of intelligence in South Korea, Lee Hurak, best known for a secret but historic seven-point agreement between the two Koreas aimed at eventual unification. More on that here.

Lee Hurak, former KCIA chief who brokered landmark inter-Korean agreement in 1972, dies at age 85 (Yonhap, USA Today, AP via WaPo, Korea Times, Monster Island post)
United Nations set to adopt annual resolution submitted by EU and Japan on North Korean human rights (Yonhap)
South Korea considering raising its H1N1 alert system to its highest level (Yonhap, Korea Times)
Vaccination schedule for schoolchildren moved up; will begin November 11 for those in high-risk groups (Donga Ilbo)
Japan, China, and South Korea hold ministerial meetings in Kobe, Japan, to coordinate disaster readiness and control (Xinhua)
Despite no reported cases of H1N1, North Korea
Online Pornography Prevention Task Force says they will need at least one more year to complete their comprehensive study of nudity and sex sites (Yonhap)

2 comments:

DouglasSunday, November 01, 2009 2:33:00 PM
Re: #7, I'm sure they're doing a thorough and in depth study of the problem. No doubt deep into the night and on weekends too.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousThursday, November 05, 2009 4:32:00 PM
Also re: #7,

If it's Japanese porn... well, they are gonna need more than a year.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Share your thoughts, but please be kind and respectful. My mom reads this blog.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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.