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, May 4, 2010

Daily Kor for May 4, 2010: Planes, trains, and automobiles

Memo to North Korea's elite: Have a coup. You know you want to.

North Korean leader arrives in China with his good arm in a begging pose (Reuters via WaPo, AP via CNBC, WaPo, BBC, WSJ, AFP, LAT, Yonhap, Korea Times, The Times, Donga Ilbo, Joongang Daily, Chosun Ilbo, Korea Herald, Monster Island)

Dear Leader seeks lifeline (Reuters)
Limping seen as sign of Kim Jong-il's declining health (Bloomberg)

Kia Motors' April sales up 49 percent from previous year (Reuters, Reuters via CNBC, Bloomberg)

Hyundai up 28 percent (Reuters)

South Korea to review security after Chonan sinking (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon wins ruling Hannara Party nomination (Korea Times, Joongang Daily, Korea Herald)
Ochoa's retirement puts Jiyai Shin at #1 in women's golf rankings (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
Hyundai Sonata breaks into top-ten rankings of car models sold in US (Yonhap)
South Korean climber Oh Eunsun defends claim of being first woman to reach peak of all mountains over 8000 meters (AFP)
Inspired by his love of Hollywood and Seoul gangster films, Kim Jong-il tells his handlers to let him do a perp walk on arrival in Beijing (UPI)

1 comment:

AnonymousTuesday, May 04, 2010 4:24:00 PM
Reports of KJI in China were all over the 9pm TV news on Korean TV last night. I saw that short clip of him outside the hotel maybe 10 times in 5 minutes - including super- (manacing-looking) slow-mo along with a few grainy stills.
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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.

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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.