Marmot Watch
Posted 5 hours ago: President Obama’s failure to make headway in ballooning Democrat voter registration through granting illegal immigrants amnesty “immigration reform” is apparently causing headaches for Koreans in the US. Some good news: the Filipino market near Hyehwa Catholic Church will stay where it is, at least for now. A Pentagon report said, duh, that South Korea and Japan can build up nuclear ... [Link]
Posted 5 hours ago: Or so reports SBS, citing Al Jazeera. SBS says that according to a document obtained from the US National Archive by the Arab broadcaster, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered a subordinate unit to conduct large-scale field tests in North Korea to learn the effects of a certain pathogen in 1951. Here’s what the al-Jazeera text (the video is ... [Link]
Posted 6 hours ago: So, have you been abandoned by your GI husband? Well, if you live in Dongducheon — something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, coincidentally, even after getting a nice new train station — help is just a phone call away: U.S. Army officials have started an “Abandoned Spouses Hotline” here in hopes of helping women left stranded — both intentionally and ... [Link]
Posted 11 hours ago: Abortions were once so frequent and popular in South Korea that the country gained the dubious honor of being declared the “Abortion Republic,” at least according to the AP (March 18, 2010). Even though the Korean government in 1953 had banned abortions except for in cases of rape, incest, or severe genetic defects, abortions were performed almost openly and for ... [Link]
Posted 28 hours ago: Christ, this is ugly. Yonhap reports that the Foreign Ministry is investigating a report in the Canadian gyopo press that several Korean exchange students in Toronto sexually assaulted a teenage Korean girl at a Korean church they attended in March of last year. According to the report, the Canadian police have arrested three suspects, but another three are on the ... [Link]
Posted 29 hours ago: The KT interviews Korean singer Jang Sa-ik. You can find Jang’s homepage here. I was lucky to interview him a couple of years ago — one of the nicest, most unpretentious artists I’ve met. If you haven’t listen to his music yet, you’re really doing yourself a disservice. [Link]
Posted 30 hours ago: Meet Christine Park, GM’s main designer for the interior of the Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept. Here’s the interior. For the curious, here is the exterior. Here is a video of Christine explaining her interior design philosophy (something about being inspired by a lotus flower). . GM had also utilized another Korean designer. The 2010 Chevy Camero’s chief exterior designer was ... [Link]
Posted 44 hours ago: In September 1878, a series of powerful storms that eventually eventually developed into a typhoon claimed a number of ships in the waters around Korea and Japan - one such ship was the Barbara Taylor. Although the weather had been foul when the ship departed, it had experienced few problems until it was passing through the Korean Strait on Sept. ... [Link]
Posted 45 hours ago: The Mad Cow Demonstrations of South Korea were a thing of legend for which we are only beginning to pay for but demonstrations over U.S. beef exports and BSE are still a hot issue in East Asia. Taiwan’s legislature has voted to ban certain U.S. beef imports due to concern for safety: . . . Taiwan’s legislature (vote) comes amid ... [Link]
Posted 2 days ago: given the countries that come after them, I’m not sure that means much. [Link]
Posted 2 days ago: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has filed defamation charges against the netizen who posted a video of Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na seemingly avoiding a hug from Culture Minister Yu In-chon during a post-Olympic welcoming ceremony at the airport. In its complaint to police, the ministry said the minister was just trying to congratulate Kim as he gave ... [Link]
Posted 2 days ago: Here’s one to file under “Why It’s Difficult to Be a Conservative Sometimes” — The Kyunghyang Shinmun reports that GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo, delivering an address to mark the formation of a new conservative education-related group, said education had grown biased over the last decade of leftist rule, and because of this, there were many groups springing up who ... [Link]
Posted 2 days ago: At a closed-door meeting with lawmakers, defectors and others at the US embassy last month, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell reportedly said that Kim Jong-il has just three years left to live, based on a collection of medical opinions. [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: I have heard of the extremely long nights in the arctic but an extremely long year? Copied from Vladivostok Times – March 16, 2010: VLADIVOSTOK, March 15, vladivostoktimes.com The opening ceremony of “Year of Visiting Korea 2010-2012” will be held on March 19 in Vladivostok. This is the first out of twenty main events devoted to 20th anniversary of establishment ... [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: Not even remotely Korea-related, but entertaining nevertheless. [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: I knew I was forgetting something in my guidebook: Among them are U.S. soldiers, who on recent visits by a reporter to the area made up a noticeable number of the Hill’s clientele despite the threat they face of being discharged from the military for having homosexual relationships. This cluster of trendy bars, with names like “Queen” and “Always Homme,” ... [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: Curzon takes Hojuland to task for its “Korean” foreign policy: Basically, foreign policy is supposed to be handled by adults with a cool head, and an undergraduate with a basic foundation in realism or diplomacy could have picked apart the multiple and sophomoric stupidities in the conduct of Korean foreign policy. Which brings me to Australia and its reaction to ... [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: Be absolutely sure to check out the Boston Globe’s Big Picture photo essay “On the Spot with Kim Jong-il“: 31 KNCA photos of KJI offering “on the spot guidance” at various venues across the Workers Paradise. (HT to Tom Coyner) PS: Anyone know where he gets his shades? [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: Arirang TV is reportedly running a series on Korean-Americans who have made it big in Migukland: Arirang TV is airing the documentary series “Dream It! – You Are the Next Generation” every Friday to offer a peek into the lives of successful Americans of Korean descent. There are currently more than 2.4 million Korean-Americans living in the United States, and ... [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: It seems the overseas interest in this tragedy/outrage has prompted the government to act: From next year, gamers and other Internet addicts will be able to install free software programs into their laptops to limit their access time to the Internet, the Office of the Prime Minister said Monday. The plan was unveiled following the increase in addicts here, which, ... [Link]
Posted 3 days ago: OK, I have completed the single player campaign on Battlefield Bad Company 2, and pronounce it awesome. Without a doubt one of the most enjoyable shooter experiences I’ve had. Very visceral. More Battlefield: Bad Company 2 News & Previews Makes for a rather nice contrast with COD: Modern Warfare 2. I can’t really say which one I enjoyed more, in ... [Link]
Posted 4 days ago: Have you ever wondered how we get up-to-date news out of North Korea and at what price? In the past we got all of our information from defectors, the rare visitors to the North or by government intelligence organizations but according to Sohn Kwang-joo, the chief editor of Daily NK, technology now allows us to glimpse into North Korea with ... [Link]
Posted 4 days ago: Apparently an American diplomat (with Homeland Security) has fled South Korea under charges of bilking a Korean woman out of 194,000 USD, according to Associate Press. If convicted, he would have ten years to devote to learning Korean etiquette. [Link]
Posted 4 days ago: Could a filibuster provision help Korea avoid, uh, parliamentary drama? Park Chan-wook editorial in the JoongAng Daily asks the question: Could the filibuster system improve the National Assembly’s procedures? Representatives Kwon Young-jin, Park Sang-cheon and Yoo Jeong-bok each submitted bills to introduce filibusters to end the extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties and resolve the subsequent legislative gridlock. ... [Link]
Posted 4 days ago: Just a snap from Heyri Art Valley in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. You can see the rest in the upcoming issue of SEOUL. [Link]
Posted 4 days ago: Not since Luke & Laura has there been such an epic drama. Korean Private Equity history has seen Lone Star, and their stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), go through a lot of drama. Over the years Lone Star has tried to sell their 51% share in KEB but have faced obstacle after obstacle. Well, seems like they are really ... [Link]
Posted 5 days ago: As some readers have noticed, it looks as if other countries — like America — have problems with history and schoolbooks too. [Link]
Posted 5 days ago: Thanks to Jim Guterman, Boston.com brings to us a picture extravaganza (The Big Picture) of KJI on his rounds with just a little less supernatural powers at work. [Link]
Posted 5 days ago: As some readers have noticed, it looks as if other countries — like America — have problems with history and schoolbooks too. [Link]
Posted 6 days ago: Unrelated to March Madness in the USA — oh, and BTW, G’town will be playing West Virginia in the Big East finals — Joe is putting together ZenKimchi’s March Madness 2010: It’s time for ZenKimchi’s March Madness, sponsored by hi EXPAT! Korean foods from different regions compete for fame and glory on the international stage. Which cuisine will reign supreme? ... [Link]
