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!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Daily Kor for Thursday, June 30, 2011

Apparently Biblical flooding (story #2) wasn't enough to stop the chinboistas from coming out and joining the protests about tuition (prompted by genuine student interest) and making it about the FTA with the United States, as chinboistas are wont to do (story #3a).

Now before you raise your hand, and say, "Kushibo, what the hell?! Why do they only protest American things?!" Well, actually, there was also considerable opposition when the Chile-Korea FTA was passed as well. So let's just put that meme to rest, too.

Associated Press signs memorandum with North Korean regime to open news bureau in Pyongyang (Monster Island, AP via WaPo)
Monsoon lashes Seoul and Kyŏnggi-do Province with 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) of rain (Joongang Daily)
Republicans opposed to renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance intended to help workers displaced by trade pressures threaten to stall ROK-US free-trade agreement (LAT)

More than 15,000 protests march in opposition to high college tuitions and FTA (Yonhap)
US President Barack Obama stresses need for FTA passage in order to reduce trade imbalance with South Korea (Yonhap)
National Assembly passes Korea-Peru free-trade agreement (Yonhap)

North Korean military vows to retaliate for anti-DPRK signs posted at front-line South Korean army units (AP via WaPo, BBC)
Financial Services Commission says banks will be asked to reduce lending in floating-rate loans, in effort to curb record household debt (Bloomberg)
South Korean manufacturing confidence falls to eighteen-month low (Bloomberg, WSJ)
Moscow says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has no plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his trip to Vladivostok near Russia-DPRK border (Reuters)
Senior prosecutor quits in protest of new law allowing police to open criminal investigations (Joongang Daily)
Unable to swim, hundreds of cars and buses watch helplessly as sedan drowns in flooded roadway (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)*

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Daily Kor for Thursday, June 30, 2011

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