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, July 2, 2011

Daily Kor for Saturday, July 2, 2011 (PRELIMINARY)

I'm in the middle of a temporary move requiring me to put everything in my dorm in storage for a couple months, so this is a preliminary posting of the day's news stories, with only the overseas news bureau highlights. Later today I'll scour Yonhap and other domestic sources.

Korea-EU free-trade agreement goes into effect (AP via WaPo, WSJ)
South Korea's exports rose 14.5 percent in June from a year earlier (Bloomberg)

South Korea raises export forecast 8.6 percent to $557 billion (Bloomberg, Reuters)
GM-Daewoo sales up 10 percent from year earlier (Bloomberg)
Kia Motors' sales reach 217.3K in June, up 21.8 percent from year earlier (Bloomberg)

Samsung announces plans to fold flat-planel display business back into semiconductor business (WSJ)
Lone Star gets $466 million dividend from beleaguered Korea Exchange Bank (Bloomberg)
Asiana Airlines to launch Seoul-Honolulu route (AP via Forbes)

Kushibo's note: Yay!

North Korea assumes rotating presidency of UN nuclear disarmament group (AP via WaPo)
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk says he is "dumbfounded" and "shell-shocked" by Senate Republicans who are blocking action on free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama (AP via WaPo)

US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attaches amendment to Korus FTA legislation that would ban any organization that provides abortions from receiving Medicaid family planning funds (Huffington Post)

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda says Japan and South Korea will work as "partners" in G20 meetings and other international forums (WSJ)

Kushibo's note: This is not today's gag headline, even though it sounds like it

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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, July 2, 2011

Daily Kor for Saturday, July 2, 2011 (PRELIMINARY)

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