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!

Showing posts with label Korea finder. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Korea Finder (special spare change edition)

One of the many things I did on my recent return to Korea was fishing my coin-filled honey jar from my car so I could take it to a local bank in Hawai'i and cash it in (literally).

As a contest for regular readers, I'd like to have people guess the value of the coins inside (all US). If at least a dozen people participate, I may consider giving a free Starbucks coupon to he person who guesses the closest, as long as it's within 5% (one guess per person).

This could be more fun than McD's Olympic gold sweepstakes.

Contest closes within one week or after I go to the bank, whichever is later.

UPDATE:
Though I originally posted this on July 31, at 6:23 p.m., I'm going to try to leave this at the top of my blog until I finally have time to go to the bank.

...

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Korea Finder 2011-01

Who knows where this is located?

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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Korean Finder 2011-06

This is a tough one. You either know it or you don't. LOL..

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Korea Finder 2011-05

Can you tell me where this is?

Note: Mark is disqualified, for reasons I outlined here. Sorry, Mark.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Korea Finder 2011-01

Can you identify the location in the following picture?

I don't know if I'll make this a regular feature (my last attempt was a failure), but I thought a Korea Finder, inspired by ROK Drop's, would be fun to try this a few times. My only rule is that Mark is not allowed to win because, well, it simply reminds me of the following "Far Side" cartoon:

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.