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!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Daily Kor for January 23 and 24, 2011

More news on the Somali pirate raids. The Marmot's Hole has video of the operation to retake the Samho Jewelry, while AP reports that the successful recapture of ships by South Korean and Malaysian naval forces may be changing how nations deal with pirates (although the EU says that such raids endanger the hostages).

After raid frees Samho Jewelry crew, Somali pirates vow to kill South Korean hostages if they are captured in future (Reuters, Chosun Ilbo)

South Korea holds five Somali pirates who will face trial (UPI, Yonhap, Joongang Daily, Korea Times)
Samsung Heavy Industries says it has developed anti-piracy system for ships (Yonhap, Korea Times)

South Korea defeats Iran, 1-0, in Asian Cup quarterfinals, faces Japan in semifinals (Yonhap, Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Daily)
Bank of Korea may upgrade growth outlook for 2011 (Yonhap)
Lee administration mulls development of vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (Yonhap)
Seoul's cultural programs for international residents fall victim to budget cuts (Yonhap)
South Korean Internet speeds fastest in world, seven times global average (Korea Times)
iPhone sales top 2 million in South Korea (Joongang Daily)
Op-ed: With recapture of ROK vessel from Somali pirates and Korea Republic defeat of Iran in Asian Cup, are South Koreans pissing off Muslims too much? (Korea Times)

1 comment:

LastnameKimTuesday, January 25, 2011 2:54:00 AM
Re #1: It just shows you how smart the Somali pirates are. If they kill the Korean hostages in the future, it will make it that much less of an incentive for the Korean companies to pay them their ransom. I'm aware that most of the crew are from southeast Asian countries, but still, if you kill off the Koreans, they are in a worse position to negotiate with the Korean moneybag-holders. Idiots.
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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.