Loose change for February 21, 2009

 Economic news 

• The Vietnamese government will no longer limit the number of people allowed to take Korean-language tests needed for those seeking work in South Korea.
• The New York Times talks about how South Korea is part of a shift in global exporting nations.

 North Korea news and stuff 

• The US is not prepared for life after Kim Jong-il. Neither is Kim Jong-il.

 Other Korea-related stuff 

• Korea may be closer to cloning human embryonic stem cells. Really this time!
• Did South Korea miss a chance to buoy Pyongchang's 2018 Winter Olympics bid by its medal-winning athletes not having "KOREA" emblazoned across their chests? Frankly, I think the letters might have created wind resistance, just enough to turn gold into silver.
• The Korea Times produces its 948th article talking about how South Korean education needs more creativity and less rote memorization. 
• Has the iconic ajumma been the engine for Korean social progress since the end of the Korean War? (I'm not so sure about engine, but many ajumma have been road kill over the past six decades) 
• South Korea has dropped from #2 in the medal standings at the beginning of the week to #6 as of this morning. If this trend continues, it will be the worst-placed country sometime around late 2011. 

 Miscellany 

• Apolo Ohno is trying to get a seventh medal to break the record for the most medal-winning winter Olympian in US history.
• Former US Secretary of State, former General Alexander Haig, the one who tried to take "control" of the US government when then-President Reagan was shot, has died at the age of eighty-five. The funny thing is, back in the 1980s I thought he was already eighty-five. Anyway, the guy fought in Korea during the Inchon Landing, so he has my gratitude. Bloomberg also has a good write-up, as does UPI.
• Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin thinks "The Family Guy" is not funny for making fun of her daughter with Down Syndrome.
• This fatal incident in which an elderly South Korean woman was killed by a school bus underscores the horribly dangerous conditions that exist for pedestrians in Honolulu. Loads of places where there are crosswalks at major streets but no traffic signal, with Honolulu drivers being notoriously bad about stopping for people walking in front of them. The "Aloha spirit" stops at the car door, apparently.
• The Wall Street Journal addresses the "myth" that the Internet can be a techno-utopoia that promotes democracy and freedom and hugging between former enemies. 
• The New York Times has a focus on airline travel meta-search sites such as kayak.com or fly.com that do your ticket searches for you. But their "frugal traveler" talks you through how he does it.