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, February 12, 2010

Daily Kor for February 12, 2010: International Ganging Up On North Korea Day

Who would have thought that getting arrested in a country that is trying to prevent touchy relations with your country from getting worse would be a "get out of jail FREE" card? Well, I guess the four Kazakhs and the one Belarussian who got caught transporting North Korean weapons in Thailand knew.

South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers say sanctions on North Korea will remain Pyongyang returns to six-party denuclearization talks (Reuters)

Tokyo and Seoul agree to bolster intelligence-sharing on North Korea (Yonhap)
ROK National Assembly panel passes bill requiring close monitoring of North Korean human rights abuses (Korea Times, Joongang Daily)

UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon sends a personal message to Kim Jong-il (Yonhap)

Japanese FM calls for new ties with South Korea, one hundred years after annexation which left a "great wound" (UPI, Yonhap, another Yonhap, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
Bank of Korea holds policy rate at 2.0%, citing new concerns in global economy (WSJ, Bloomberg, Yonhap, Joongang Daily, Korea Times)
Two Koreans will not have joint march at 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics opening ceremony (AP via WaPo)
Thailand deports "probably guilty" crew of North Korean weapons plane to preserve good relations with their home countries (AP via WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg)
North Korea reportedly plans to open twelve foreign investment zones (Channel News Asia)
South Korea and Uzbekistan herald new era of economic and political cooperation (Yonhap, Joongang Daily)
Honda says it has no plans to recall vehicles in Korea (Yonhap)
Blue House asks Park Geunhye to apologize for "defaming" President Lee (Korea Times)
Democratic Party delays move to impeach prime minister (Korea Times)
Chinese envoy Wang Jairui, failing to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, spends day in Pyongyang visiting the Tower of Juche, the Kim Il-Sung statue at Mansudae, the USS Pueblo, the Arch of Triumph, and the Pyongyang Wax Museum (Xinhua)

No comments:

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, February 12, 2010

Daily Kor for February 12, 2010: International Ganging Up On North Korea Day

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts