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!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Daily Kor for Thursday, June 23, 2011

Would you want to live on one of the Five Islands of the West Sea (서해오도)? You know, the ones that North Korea occasionally attacks because they no longer think the Northern Limit Line (or NLL, the de facto maritime border since the end of the Korean War). How about visiting? Now before you say Hell, no!, please consider that the above picture was taken on the lovely island of Paengnyŏngdo (백령도). It's Tumujin (두무진).

Now before you say Hell, yes!, please consider that the picture at right was also taken off the waters of Paengnyŏngdo. That's a great white. Great whites are a rare sight in Korea, usually seen only in English classrooms. [rim shot]

South Korean government announces new processing center for incoming North Korean refugees (Monster Island, AFP, BBC, Yonhap)
South Korea to invest 910.9 billion won (US$848 million) to develop Sŏhae-odo, the "Five Islands of the West Sea" located in the Yellow Sea near North Korean shores, to include improved housing and medical services as well as tourism (Bloomberg, Yonhap)
MSCI index keeps South Korea and Taiwan at "emerging market" status, says two Asian tigers will be able to join ranks of developed markets in benchmark index only after making currencies fully convertible (Reuters, FT, Joongang Daily, Bloomberg)

Why MSCI said no to ROK and ROC
ROK Finance Minister Bahk Jaewan concerned that inflation is persisting (Reuters)

Speaking in Seoul, actor and activist Richard Gere criticizes China for what he describes as widespread abuse of Tibetans (AP via WaPo)
President Lee Myungbak congratulates UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon on election to second term (Yonhap)

BBC profiles Ban Kimoon

Hyundai Heavy Industries says ship orders will be nearly double this year from a weak 2010 (WSJ)
Samsung loses bid in court to examine Apple's future products in defense of patent-infringement lawsuit (Bloomberg)
South Korean and US academics create digitized archive of Korean War (Yonhap)
New AmCham chief is "optimistic" about ratification of Korea-US free-trade agreement (Yonhap)

President Lee calls on National Assembly committee to ratify FTA (Yonhap)

South Korea gets international approval to build second research facility in Antarctica (Yonhap, Korea Herald)
Ministry of Education admits Korea English Job Fair in Vancouver was disorganized failure (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)*

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Daily Kor for Thursday, June 23, 2011

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