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, May 28, 2012

Daily Kor for Monday, May 28, 2012: Memorial Day edition

[source]

On this Memorial Day (in Korea, but not yet here in the US), I'd like to highlight a bit of somewhat Korea-related news: the final voyage of the USS Iowa. The decommissioned battleship that saw action in World War II and the Korean War has set sail (figuratively) for its final destination in Los Angeles, where it will become a museum.

As anyone who has visited Pearl Harbor can attest, military vessels-turned-museum pieces are very cool. In Honolulu we have the USS Missouri (which I haven't visited yet) and the Bowfin (a WWII-era submarine which I finally got to see a year ago with a group of Japanese tourists). On Memorial Day, however, I will be returning to Magic Island for the annual lantern floating festival. I guess this is Buddha's Birthday weekend, so that is a nice tie-in.

North Korean state media reiterate claim that drought conditions are imperiling rice crop (UPI, Korea Herald)

Rodong Shinmun urges North Koreans to use every ounce of water possible to irrigate rice paddies (Yonhap)

Saudi Arabian Mining Company awards $1.5 billion aluminum refinery contract to Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Reuters)
Land & Transport Ministry says construction firms with record of bribery will receive penalty points in future government contract bidding (Yonhap)
Visitors to Yeosu Expo during three-day Buddha's Birthday weekend break 100K-per-day visitor mark for first time on Sunday (Yonhap)
Twenty-year-old South Korean student Jin Kwon-young is "highest ranking undergraduate" at Harvard University commencement ceremony (Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald)

With no intended irony whatsoever, Jane Han of the Korea Times writes about why US colleges reject Korean applicants, concluding that "in the eyes of admissions officers, students from Korea look as if they came off an assembly line"

Korea Republic wins spot in women's volleyball at upcoming London Olympics (AP via WaPo)
North Korea's Real Doll factory goes into full production (Xinhua)

...

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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)*

Monday, May 28, 2012

Daily Kor for Monday, May 28, 2012: Memorial Day edition

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