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, February 7, 2010

Daily Kor for February 7, 2010: Superbowl Sunday! (tomorrow, well, today, but actually tomorrow... are you following this?)

Blech, it's another weekend, and that means slow news. Which means you get a lot of "future" stories, telling you what such-and-such person or agency says they're going to do, not what they've already done. I hate stories like that. It also doesn't help that tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday, so nobody's really doing anything. Thank God for the workaholics at Yonhap.

And of course, on slow news days, the mundane becomes news, so we get lots of reporting on Stupogant™ 2.0 (i.e., Robert Park) being in Beijing. Expect to see big news tomorrow when he lands in Los Angeles, followed by big news when he finally touches down in Phoenix or Tucson. I'm surprised they're not reporting on the size of his stool already. Or are they?

[right: Looking gaunt and weakened from his ordeal in North Korea, Robert Park is offered a giant vanilla popsicle.]

Korean-American missionary who entered North Korea, now in Beijing and headed home (AP via WaPo, Bloomberg, Yonhap, Christian Post, )
Bank of Korea downplays fallout from recent jitters (Reuters via CNBC)

South Korean stocks to face continued correction next week (Yonhap)

High-ranking UN envoy to North Korea Lynn Pascoe will discuss six-party talks and UN sanctions on visit to Pyongyang next week (Yonhap)
South Korean government considers recall of Toyota Prius over safety issues (Joongang Daily)
Owners of imported vehicles may face higher premiums than before as insurance companies bring foreign vehicles in line with rate scales for domestic cars (Joongang Daily)
Seoul launches basic structure for "floating island" in the Han River (Yonhap)
ROK government says inter-Korean tourism talks to be held as expected next week (Yonhap)
Prosecutors to declare war on loan sharks (Donga Ilbo)

sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads

Thousands of Buddhist monks expected to visit temple located on North Korea's Mt Kŭmgangsan next month (Yonhap)
Congressional inquiry into Major League Baseball steroid use continues following belated admission my Mark McGwire (ESPN)

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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)*

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Daily Kor for February 7, 2010: Superbowl Sunday! (tomorrow, well, today, but actually tomorrow... are you following this?)

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