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!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Korea news links for November 13, 2009: Two percent

North Korea is saying that South Korea will pay a dear price for the naval crash in the Yellow Sea, but lucky for us, that dear price calculated at just 2% interest. Okay, okay... that was about the lamest way I could ever possibly have connected the top two stories of the day.

I'm actually quite happy about the interest rate remaining at 2%, since my mortgage is an adjustable-rate one (that's what they were offering, and it seemed like a good idea at the time). Meanwhile, we saw a huge spike in H1N1 deaths, from 52 to 64, but it's nothing like the 3900 they're now saying have occurred in the US.

North Korea says South Korea will pay a "dear price" for Yellow Sea naval clash, calls it a planned provocation (NYT, WaPo, Reuters, AFP, Bloomberg)
Bank of Korea keeps key interest rate at record low of 2.0% for ninth straight month (AP via WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg, Korea Times)
ROK President Lee Myungbak, in Singapore for APEC summit, says he plans to maintain expansionary policy for the time being (Reuters via CNBC)
Death toll from H1N1 "swine flu" jumps to 64 (Yonhap)
Life expectancy to reach 79.4 years in 2010 (Korea Times, Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Daily)
Kim Jong-il ranks #24 on Forbes list of 67 most powerful people; no South Koreans make the list (Chosun Ilbo)
Math and English sections of CSAT rated harder than in past years (Donga Ilbo)
ROK Defense Ministry considering allowing women to volunteer as rank-and-file soldiers to make up for manpower shortfalls (Korea Times, Korea Herald)
Justice Ministry presses ahead for revisions allowing dual nationality (Donga Ilbo)
Hyundai predicts greater global sales in 2010 than in 2009 (Reuters via CNBC)
French envoy Jack Lang meets with North Korea's nominal Number-two (Yonhap)
When asked about the possible destruction of Earth in 2012, 85% of respondents in South Korea answer, "No, I'm not worried at all... Why? Should I be? ... I mean, I haven't heard about this before. What's supposed to happen? Why aren't you telling me? Is this for real? Speak to me, aßßhole! Oh, God, I should call my family! Leave me alone. Just leave me alone. [inaudible sobbing]" (Yonhap)

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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.

Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Friday, November 13, 2009

Korea news links for November 13, 2009: Two percent

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