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!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Daily Kor for February 11, 2010

Yonhap's English service has gone AWOL on me today, tossing up a "401 서버 오류" message when I log on. And on a day of all days when there isn't much real news going on, a lot of political stuff in fact, like Park Geunhye and the president sniping at each other. And then there's the story of the preening Chung Dong-young — words cannot describe how I loathe that man — rejoining the Democratic Party. I think he'd be happy to join the North South Korean Workers Party, but I think he wants to actually be president someday. God help us all.

Meanwhile, more mea culpa from the DPRK leadership to the citizenry for stealing their money and making their lives miserable. I like where that's going (the eventual demise of the House of the Raisin Son), so I put it on top.

North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il "apologizes" for inflation caused by last year's currency revaluation (Bloomberg, Chosun Ilbo)

South Korean officials say North Korean food crisis will worsen after a poor grain harvest in 2009 (AFP)

MOFAT predicts ROK and EU will officially seal free-trade agreement in April (People's Daily, Korea Times)
Pyongyang says it will return to six-party denuclearization talks only after UN sanctions are lifted (RTT)
Public health officials fear a Hepatitis A outbreak in April and urge those at high risk to get vaccinated (Korea Herald)
South Korea pledges $12 million in aid to Uzbekistan (Korea Times, Korea Herald)
US-based Korean national caught up in SAT scandal banned from leaving the country (Korea Times, Korea Herald)
Erstwhile Democratic Party leader, former Roh Moohyun cabinet member Chung Dong-young, rejoins the left-leaning party (Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
Park Geunhye lashes out at President Lee Myungbak over Sejong City remarks (Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
National Tax Service says women have accounted for 40% of all taxpayers for the first time ever (Chosun Ilbo)
China's men's soccer teams defeats South Korea, 3-0, in East Asia Championship match in Tokyo (ESPN)
Authorities in blizzard-crippled Washington DC discover that series of statues is actually tourists frozen in place (WaPo)

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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)*

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Daily Kor for February 11, 2010

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