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!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Daily Kor for Saturday, June 25, 2011

For your edification, Reuters has a Q&A piece on the status of the Korea-US FTA. It's not "news" that ends up as a numbered story below, but it's informative nonetheless.

Most of today's news stories are actually about US Secretary of State Clinton and her meeting with ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sunghwan. South Korea and the US are almost as close as lips and teeth, a stark contrast to the bad old days when we had the likes of Donald Rumsfeld and President Roh Moohyun tearing away at the fabric of the alliance.

Meanwhile, President Lee is meeting with quite a few Korean War veterans to show his and the country's gratitude, this being the sixty-first anniversary of the start of the 6.25 War (Yugio Chŏnjaeng).

Meeting in Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sunghwan signal their two countries will not ease pressure no North Korea, saying Pyongyang must show it has changed its ways before resumption of nuclear talks (Reuters, AP via WaPo)

Two sides sign cooperation agreement aimed at developing impoverished countries, particularly in Central Africa (Yonhap)
Clinton says no hasty decision on food aid for North Korea (Yonhap)
Drawing an analogy with Afghanistan, Clinton calls Korea a good "investment" since end of Korean War (Joongang Daily)

Apple files patent infringement suit against Samsung in Seoul court (Reuters, Bloomberg, AP via WaPo, Yonhap, Korea Herald)
Associated Press Television News says North Korea is rushing to build 100K apartments in Pyongyang by centennial of Eternal President Kim Ilsung's birth in 2012 (AP via WaPo)
EU Chamber of Commerce of Korea presses Seoul to remove non-tariff trade barriers (Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
Finance Minister Bahk Jaewan vows to create business-friendly environment by easing unnecessary regulations (Yonhap)
Financial Services Commission to buy 1.4 trillion won (US$1.29 billion) worth of bad property finance loans to prop up ailing sector (Yonhap)
US President Barack Obama formally nominates Sung Kim, Korea-born career diplomat, as new ambassador to Seoul, replacing Kathleen Stevens (Yonhap)
On anniversary of start of Korean War, ROK President Lee Myungbak salutes hundreds of veterans from Korea, US, and other countries (Yonhap, Korea Herald)
Pyongyang hopes to burnish image with North Korean edition of Candyland™ (Korea Times)

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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)*

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Daily Kor for Saturday, June 25, 2011

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