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!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Daily Kor for January 1, 2011

Today marks the 115th anniversary of the Gregorian calendar becoming official in Korea. It's still 2010 here in Hawaii, but I know a lot of people have crossed over into 2011, so I thought the above greeting, snagged from the Yonhap site, would be an appropriate message.

I'll probably ring in the new year at Waikiki, which is probably less interesting than what Kim Jong-il did on the 31st: checking out the tank division that is the vanguard of the Sŏn-gun (Military First) policy. 2011 promises to be an exciting year.

Defense strategy specialist Retired General Ahn Kwangchan named to head newly created national crisis management office (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
More than 100,000 ducks and chickens culled after outbreak of H5N1 bird flu virus (AHN, Bloomberg, Reuters, Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)

Three additional outbreaks of hoof-and-mouth disease confirmed (Yonhap)

South Korean authorities to gain access to Swiss bank accounts in effort to crack down tax evaders (Yonhap)
Government allows newspapers to start up cable TV channels (WSJ, Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily, another Yonhap)
Police arrest Pyongtaek bakery shop owner behind dead-mouse-in-cake hoax aimed at hurting rival during height of Christmas cake sales (Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
National Police Agency to set up task force to deal with "habitual drunks" who obstruct police business and public order (Yonhap)
Pyongyang faxes new year's greetings to those likely to support sending aid to North Korea (UPI)
In speech to We're Waiting club in Jackson, Mississippi, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin demonstrates how fellatio can be an acceptable alternative to sinful vaginal intercourse (Fox)

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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)*

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Daily Kor for January 1, 2011

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