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!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Daily Kor for March 3, 2010: See you in Sochi!

Daily Kor is back! The Olympics are over, and we can finally have some real news. And don't write me letters about #12: it's a joke and my own clergy would get a kick out of it.

Two F-5 fighter jets crash into Mt Hwabyŏngsan near Kangnŭng during poor visibility, killing three pilots (BBC, Reuters, AFP, Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
Pyongyang presses Washington for direct nuclear talks (Reuters)

North Korea vow to bolster nuclear deterrent (AP via WaPo)
Pyongyang says ROK-US war games threaten nuclear disarmament (AFP)
Beijing and Washington seek to put tensions behind them (AP via WaPo)
Seoul offers new incentives for disarmament (AP via WaPo, Reuters)

Seoul-Pyongyang talks include Kaesong Industrial Park restrictions and ROK attempts to discern identity of four who apparently crossed voluntarily into North Korea (Yonhap, Korea Herald, Korea Times)
North Korean heir-apparent Kim Jong-un reportedly directed artillery exercise (Bloomberg, Donga Ilbo)
Kim Yuna and a jubilant and triumphant ROK Olympics team receive heroes' welcome in Seoul (AP via WaPo, AFP)

ROK Olympic medalist and coaches, including Kim Yuna coach Brian Orser, to be financially rewarded for performance in Vancouver (Yonhap)

ROK President Lee Myungbak says North Korea must "show sincerity" toward the international community and "change its mindset" toward South Korea (AFP)
Hyundai's overseas sales rise 27% on Toyota recall woes (Reuters)
South Korea to allow mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) from September (Yonhap)
South Korean consumer prices rise 2.7% in February (Bloomberg, Yonhap)
North Korean soldier defects by crossing DMZ in Kangwon-do Province (Yonhap)
Shin-soo Choo of the Cleveland Indians may have career interrupted because of military commitment (AP via MSNBC)
One True God defeats kami spirits in ladies' single figure skating (CBN)

1 comment:

SUPER EAGLEThursday, March 04, 2010 1:44:00 AM
i remember when i was watching kim yuna's thing and she crossed herself and said a prayer before going out on the ice i turned to my friend and said, 'whoa! was she praying to win just then? did she ask god to make her win!?'

then he got all offended and indignant. it was awesome.
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.