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!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Daily Kor for Friday, May 25, 2012

Group home: artist rendition of city to be constructed
by Hanwha Group in Besyama, Iraq (story #8)

Only seven more shopping months until Christmas.

ROK Supreme Court orders Japanese firms Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel to compensate forced Korean laborers for suffering during colonial era (AP via WaPo, Joongang Daily, Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald, Donga Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo)
ROK Unification Minister Yu Wooik (유우익) says inflammatory rhetoric from North Korea is sign of rising instability of Pyongyang regime (WSJ)

Seoul warns Pyongyang of "new actions" and "grave consequences" if it goes ahead with nuke test (UPI, Yonhap)

GM Korea says it has no plans to shift production to Europe (Reuters)
Incheon International Airport wins Airports Council International's "Best Airport Worldwide" award for seventh year in a row (Donga Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo)
Lee Myungbak calls for "shared growth" and "balanced development" that favors not just individual firms but other sectors and regions in order to prevent social instability (Yonhap)
Sluggish real estate market brings growth of household credit to two-and-a-half-year low (Reuters, Yonhap, Korea Times)
US to sell $1.1 billion worth of Seahawk choppers and harpoon missiles to ROK military (UPI, Yonhap)
Hanwha Group wins $7.75 billion order in Iraq to build entire city for 100K families (Joongang Daily)
Riots break out in Pyongyang when rally participants mistakenly believe newly unveiled statues are made of chocolate (AP)

...

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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)*

Friday, May 25, 2012

Daily Kor for Friday, May 25, 2012

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