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, March 14, 2010

Kissinger released from Seoul hospital

I'm going to get him a t-shirt that reads, "I was admitted to Severance Hospital and lived to tell about it."

From AFP:

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger was discharged from hospital in the South Korean capital Seoul on Sunday after being treated for a minor stomach problem, officials said.

Kissinger, 86, was admitted to Severance Hospital on Saturday after complaining of stomach pain, according to the hospital and the US embassy.

"Mr. Kissinger has just been released from hospital, healthy," a hospital spokesman told AFP on Sunday.

"I understand he had a minor stomach ache."

The former top US diplomat had been in Seoul since Wednesday to address a security forum. He also met President Lee Myung-Bak on Friday.

Not the most exciting piece of news, but it's news. He should count his blessings that this didn't occur during the early days of the H1N1 scare. (His original hospitalization was mentioned here.)

2 comments:

SUPER EAGLESunday, March 14, 2010 5:36:00 PM
somewhat ironically, i just got home from the opera 'nixon in china'. i don't know if this is just in the vancouver production, but madame mao shoots poor henry kissinger right in the face. (it doesn't have to be historically accurate. it's a metaphor.)
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kushiboSunday, March 14, 2010 6:30:00 PM
Whiskey tango fu¢k!

Who wrote that?!

Poor guy. Heretofore, I thought the worst thing that had happened to him in the entertainment field was him dropping his glasses in the toilet while visiting Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

Burns:
Thank you so much for visiting our plant, Dr. Kissinger.

Henry:
It was fun.

Smithers:
We'll let you know if your glasses turn up.

Henry:
Er, yes, well, I'm sure I left them in the car.
[sotto voce] No one must know I dropped them in the toilet; not I, the man who drafted the Paris Peace Accord.
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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.