Over at Asia Pages, Jodi discusses her impressions of Madame Butterfly, which, as you know, is playing at the Seoul Arts Center.
In her discussion, she mentions David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, which was turned into a pretty decent film by, who else, David Cronenberg. Cronenberg, of course, is Canadian, a fact that is completely [...]
For Korean speakers
Fluff video courtesy KBS TV on Korean adoptees returning home to the Fatherland. Might be of interest to some of you.
UPDATE: OhMyNews is on the story now. The paper goes into further detail about what took place—during an outdoor “hiking” class, the teacher, a Korean-American, was apparently pulling the bra straps of the girls, touching their necks, heads and shoulders (telling them he was knocking off bugs) and staring at certain parts of their [...]
While it has not made much of a splash in the news yet, Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is in the middle of a two-week campaign in the Seoul area to try to move public opinion on North Korea’s human rights violations.
As part of that campaign they cornered Park Jae Kyu, who was unification minister under [...]
(NOTE: Since the Marmot’s Hole is going to be my primary blogging home from now on, I’m going to stop using the ‘guest blogger’ tag. You can still see the writer’s name at the top of each post.)
There are only seven days left until election day and there is a lot of Korean political news to cover.
Sphere: [...]
An annual Pentagon report to Congress on Chinese military power has raised the possibility of Chinese intervention in North Korea, reports Yonhap (Korean).
Help wanted!!!!
The EFL Geek would like to get a podcast project off the ground to help those studying the Korean language:
Well I’m nowhere near qualified to start a podcast for learners and unfortunately I don’t have any Korean friends I could call on for this. I am however willing to host the podcast, purchase a [...]
The thoughts and prayers of the the Mrs. and I are with Plunge and his family right now.
One of the things I noticed on my last post on Japan’s imperial past and Europe’s failure to satisfy the standards of historical reflection to which the Japanese are routinely held is that there are some who apparently believe that Europe’s imperial record is somehow, someway more “civilized” than its Japanese counterpart. A kindler, [...]
So I am going to work this morning. As I walk down the stairs of my apartment building, I see a little boy who lives in the same building standing just outside the front door. He has his pants pulled down to his knees. An impressive arch of urine is emanating from his little “pepper” and [...]
Suwon is apparently much more fun than we’ve been led to believe—police there have booked 25 individuals for engaging in “drug-fueled orgies“:
The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday arrested the 25 and booked three others. The man identified as Yoo (43) allegedly met 14 women between September 2005 and this April and engaged in what [...]
We like Bai Ling around here for things like this, and especially for things like this (NOT work safe), even if women apparently feel differently.
Sphere: Related Content
Was checking out Ji Man-won’s site System Club (one of those bookmarks I don’t admit to in pleasant company) when I came across Anna Fifield’s latest piece in the Financial Times on the growing disconnect between Washington and Seoul. Scroll down for the English. Here’s just a sample:
“The US and South Korea are [...]
(by guest blogger, R. Elgin)
Considering the shameful attack upon Park Geun-hye and the choice of attack, one suggested motive for trying to slash Park’s face could be related to the idea of one’s face and fortune in Korea. I’ve heard several Koreans comment upon so-and-so’s face and the fact that they had a scar [...]
The ROK Navy’s 14,000-ton “light aircraft carrier” Dokdo, seen here today in Busan, is undergoing sea trials. She should be battle ready by July of next year.
Sphere: Related Content
I think Iceberg deserves praise for his fine appreciation of the beauty of nature, don’t you?
Barbara Demick suggests that kimchi critics are keeping silent:
UPDATE: In the comments section (and on his own blog), the always insightful Kushibo points out that a failure on the part of the United States, Britain, France, et. al to face up to their own pasts does not, in and of itself, proclude said parties from confronting the Japanese about its “engineering of collective [...]
For English teachers who’ve gotten screwed on their contracts, I guess there is some sort of collective karmic justice.
Over at Frog in a Well, Pak Noja (Vladimir Tikhonov) posts a letter from the village head of Daechu-ri, Pyeongtaek. The letter is obviously interesting, but perhaps more interesting is Pak’s observations:
I guess I should share with you the English text of a letter sent by Mr. Kim Chit’ae (Ji Tae), the headman of [...]
