Marmot Watch
Because it sometimes takes too long to scroll down the Marmot’s front page, here’s the RSS feed.
Posted 13 hours ago: Nice day today. Hope you all enjoy it. [
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Posted 27 hours ago: I came back this evening after I ran into Professor Lee In-ho, former Korean ambassador to Finland and Russia and lecturer, whose lecture “Rewriting Korean History” explained just how South Korea’s flawed political and educational systems have led to the anti-Americanism in South Korea and the glorification of the North Korean state by South Korean teachers and students. Dr. Lee, ... [
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Posted 36 hours ago: If New York’s got yellow cabs, and London black cabs, Seoul will have orange cabs from next year. Or so a hearing on “Seoul Taxi Design” held at the Seoul City Hall annex yesterday decided. Actually, one of the professors who participated said it wouldn’t be orange, per se, but rather a more traditionally Korean version thereof. I kinda like ... [
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Posted 37 hours ago: The interview of the very self-sacrificing founder of the anti-English Spectrum cafe I linked to last week has been translated for your reading enjoyment, thanks to Korea Beat. Here’s just a sample: But it has not been easy for him to work his office job and this one, as he has for over four years. To track down the locations ... [
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Posted 37 hours ago: Here’s a shocker — according to a poll conducted at the behest of the Northeast Asia History Foundation, Koreans viewed China and Japan much more negatively than Chinese and Japanese viewed Korea. 59.8% of Koreans believed Sino-Korean relations were poor, a major deterioration from 34.5% in 2007. This compares with 16.4% of Chinese who view the bilateral relationship as poor, ... [
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Posted 38 hours ago: Reuters reports on dog meat… North Korean-style. Now, as you know, Fido is usually served in a soup or stew in the South… something a little like this: Good stuff. (HT to reader) [
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Posted 40 hours ago: Here’s a miscellany of links to start your morning right. Over at Japan Focus, there’s a very interesting story about the 1948 protests by ethnic Koreans in Japan following the US-ordered closure of Korean schools. Of particular interest is the not-particularly-high-esteem — at times racist contempt — in which the Koreans were held by US occupational authorities and, one might ... [
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Posted 41 hours ago: Again, I know this is not my beat. This asinine idea though inspires me. Per the Korea Times: A policy group is advising U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to make permanent the current six-nation talks that are focused on North Korean denuclearization. According to the Brookings Institution, a progressive think tank in Washington, these talks should become a permanent regional framework. ... [
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Posted 41 hours ago: Song Seung-hwan, the producer of the hit non-verbal performance NANTA, is in trouble following a comment on MBC program Wednesday in which he made a comment judged by many to be racist. Song was discussing his salad days, when he and his wife moved to New York in 1985. Song ran a street stall selling watches, while his wife worked ... [
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Posted 41 hours ago: Artistic safes make an appearances at the Apgujeong branch of Hyundai Department Store in southern Seoul yesterday. Accented with crystal beads and bold colors, the department store said this is the first time it’s sold safes since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. JoongAng Ilbo Good job Hyundai! Way to get people comfortable with paying for a pricey item! [
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Posted 3 days ago: A GI in Osan has been sentenced to five years for smuggling 30 pounds of marijuana into Korea and assaulting two investigators during a sting operation. Gachi Gapsida. [
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Posted 3 days ago: Congratulations, Ok So-ri — your misfortune has become big Internet news, courtesy the Chosun Ilbo, Reuters, BBC and Drudge Report. For the convenience of those surfing in via Google, here’s the Ok So-ri Saga in list format: A Summary of The Adultery Law Review Constitutional Court to Review Criminal Adultery Ok So-ri Video Stand By Your Man (?) She Seduced ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: Amusement park employees dressed as Santa Claus learn Christmas carols yesterday during a Santa Academy class. - JoongAng Daily No word yet on the rumor where they keep the white beard. [
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Posted 3 days ago: CNN has run an interesting interview with Korean actor Lee Byung-hun. (HT to reader) [
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Posted 3 days ago: On a slightly less Catholic note, a Buddhist monk acquaintance of mine highly recommends the work of painter Rim Hyo, whose creations will be on exhibit at the Cheong-a Gallery (02-406-2524) in Bangi-dong thru Dec 6. You can view some of his work at his homepage. Really good stuff. [
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Posted 3 days ago: A couple of weeks ago, the JoongAng Daily’s Jason Kim — formerly of Seoul Selection and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet — penned a piece on Yakhyeon Catholic Church. If you’re unfamiliar with the place, give Jason’s piece a read and by all means, give the church a visit — it’s a short walk from Seoul Station. ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: Ye Olde Chosun reports that actress Bae Doo-na — whom I kind of dig — has released a photo essay book that promotes Seoul. Said Bae: She expressed her love for the city she lives in, saying, “When I was traveling in other countries, some foreigners who didn’t even know it well made belittling remarks about Seoul, and I felt ... [
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Posted 3 days ago: I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry at this. [
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Posted 4 days ago: Well, Money Today — quoting National Statistical Office stats — reports that if all the land assets in Korea were to be sold, you could by all of Canada twice and still have money left over. To attach some numbers to that, Korea’s total land assets are worth about US$3.58 trillion, while Canada’s are worth US$1.56 trillion. Purchase Canada twice, ... [
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Posted 4 days ago: One can almost admire the way in which the Financial Times manages to get under Korea’s skin. Today, the Korea Herald went after the FT for its recent articles on Daewoo Logistic’s acquisition of half of Madagascar’s arable land: Regarding the editorial criticism by British newspaper of a Korean firm’s long-term land lease in Madagascar for agricultural development as “neo-colonialism,” ... [
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Posted 4 days ago: If Bill Clinton can be America’s first black president, why can’t Barack Obama be America’s first Asian-American president? The following is a translation of part of a larger article that will appear in December issue of the Korean journal Jayugongnon (자유 고론): Yes, America now has its first African-American president — and you might ask when might we expect an ... [
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Posted 4 days ago: Some fascinating rare photos taken by a Chinese military photographer during the Korean War. (HT to Tom Coyner, whose personal website seems to be down at the moment) [
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Posted 4 days ago: For those of you into running gags, you might want to peruse the English Joongang Ilbo as recently they are following the fine tradition of abusing the word “Probe”: Prosecutors probing Roh’s brother in securities case — November 26, 2008 Hongik art professor cries for probe into fellow profs — November 22, 2008 Meanwhile, it looks like some translator must ... [
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Posted 4 days ago: Apparently Kim Jong-Il is still alive since, according to Associated Press, “North Korea’s Kim Jong Il paid visits to machinery and soap-making factories, state media reported Tuesday”. Here the Dear Leader is seen supervising the manufacturing of soap. [
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Posted 4 days ago: Shockingly, none of the four winners of the inaugural Dokdo essay contest, sponsored by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, penned a defense of Japanese claims on the rocks. Or at least that’s what the headline would suggest. [
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Posted 5 days ago: This of course begs the question, “Which one speaks better English?” [
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Posted 5 days ago: With the North Koreans closing the border with the South (not that it was particularly “open” before), Seoul is making plans to pull South Korean citizens out of the North. The ruling Grand National Party, too, is none too pleased with Pyongyang’s nonsense, with GNP chairman Park Hee-tae calling the intra-Korean deals struck by the Kim and Roh administrations to ... [
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Posted 5 days ago: You know, I look at a headline like this, and all I can think of is, well, at least the economy’s still growing… unlike some other economies. [
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Posted 5 days ago: From Reuters: A South Korean court on Monday rejected claims that the 2003 sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) to U.S. investment firm Lone Star was illegal, a verdict that may clear a key hurdle to putting control of the bank back up for sale. The ruling, which prosecutors will appeal, may end a long-running debate on whether KEB was ... [
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Posted 5 days ago: Evidently, Will Smith was interviewed recently and regarding the Oldboy remake, was quoted as saying: We’re looking at that right now. Not the film though, it’s the original source material. There’s the original comics of ‘Oldboy’ that they made the first film from. And that’s what we’re working from, not an adaptation of the film… Apparently, my gut feeling on ... [
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