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!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Daily Kor for December 22, 2009:
National Haiku Day

In honor of today being National Haiku Day (in the US that is; every day is Haiku Day in Japan), all of today's stories will be presented in haiku. I apologize in advance if it appears I'm treating any of the following stories in a glib manner, but this is a plan I hatched around Thanksgiving, and I'm writing this intro on November 28 without any idea what December 22's news stories would be, and I'm sticking to it no matter what.

Weapons to Iran?
Tehran insists it's not true!
What a conundrum
(Reuters, UPI)

To the NLL
sails the dauntless ROK* Navy
Defend it, they shall
(AFP, People's Daily)
* pronounced "rock" for that perfect 5-7-5 structure

Violent iPhone apps
South Korea says "let's rate!"
But Apple is coy
(Korea Herald)

North Korea's foe
super tuberculosis
vanquished by the South
(Xinhua)

Seven from the North
come in a rickety boat
perhaps they're safe now
(AFP)

Morning Calm travelers
congregate as eight million
lots of tourist bucks
(Xinhua, Yonhap)

Nuclear slyness
The IAEA cares not
for this is the South
(Asia Times op-ed)

We survived oh-nine
But in the future looms doom
A crisis in '10?
(Reuters)

Look up to the sky
Next year another space launch
may be in the cards
(Xinhua)

The summit may fail
for Lee Myungbak remembers
those held since the war
(AFP)

The dollar gains strength
and the won further weakens
Kushibo is pissed
(WSJ)

Military lines
improved and renovated
to help North and South
(CNBC, Yonhap)

A difficult task

writing all news in haiku

I'm sick of this now

2 comments:

Rodney from PilsenTuesday, December 22, 2009 10:51:00 PM
Well done, sir. I enjoy your comments on events daily, but this was a nice change of pace.
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kushiboWednesday, December 23, 2009 2:03:00 AM
Well, thank you. I enjoyed doing this, but like that other major holiday that's December twenty-something, this is something I glad I have to do only once a year.
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Share your thoughts, but please be kind and respectful. My mom reads this blog.

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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.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Daily Kor for December 22, 2009: National Haiku Day

2 comments:

Daily Kor for December 22, 2009:
National Haiku Day