December 26, 2006 – 3:04 pm
While I would personally love for Korea to get a waiver interviews for tourist visas (to avoid the hassle of going to the embassy), I don’t think it will happen anytime soon.
Exhibit A (Chosun):
Police have busted 42 prostitutes for using forged documents to get a U.S. visa. Police in Seoul also detained a broker identified [...]
December 25, 2006 – 10:46 pm
By Brendon Carr
Marmot’s Hole Guest Blogger
In the comments to Election Commission Wants Everyone’s Mind to be a Blank Slate Before August 21 here on the Marmot’s Hole, a tangent emerged which could hijack the thread, something which happens from time to time. The topic is, I think, of general interest, and so for purposes of [...]
December 25, 2006 – 6:28 pm
Let me take this moment to wish all the readers of this humble blog a very merry Christmas and a happiest of holiday seasons.
PS: In case anyone was wondering, yes, I’m still alive, but an urgent work project has kept me from touching my blog for the last week. Sorry for not notifying you [...]
December 24, 2006 – 4:51 pm
I went to a wedding at Munhak Stadium in Incheon with my wife’s family yesterday. After the ceremony and requisite after-ceremony trip to the buffet line, we all gathered in the outside were the Mungyeong and Ansan branches of the family went over old times.
As we were getting ready to go, my mother-in-law gave my wife a [...]
December 23, 2006 – 9:50 am
Coming soon to a high-rent district near you (Chosun):
The crudely named U.S. chain restaurant Hooters, which uses scantily-clad waitresses to sell food, will open its first outlet in Korea in January.
Hooters Korea, the local arm of the U.S. chain, said Wednesday it will open a branch in the Apgujeong district of southern Seoul on Jan. [...]
December 22, 2006 – 6:04 pm
Another politician in the National Assembly has gotten the boot for corruption. This one was a pretty big fish:
The minor opposition Democratic Party (DP) faced a crisis Friday, as its chairman, Rep. Hahn Hwa-gahp, was stripped of his National Assembly seat after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for taking illegal political funds in 2002.
The [...]
December 22, 2006 – 11:26 am
UPDATE: I missed this before, but both parties are talking about getting the NEC to change its regulations.
ORIGINAL POST: I agree with the Korea Herald, this is dumb:
The National Election Commission has told the media to hold off on publishing interviews on candidates and likely candidates for the next presidential elections. In doing so, the commission [...]
December 20, 2006 – 6:47 pm
Tomorrow is the Big Trip to the Embassy. We will apply for my daughter’s passport in the morning and my wife’s visa in the afternoon. My big worry (which I haven’t gotten any help on, despite a couple weeks of attempts) is figuring out how to prove that the embassy has my wife’s I-130 on [...]
December 20, 2006 – 2:34 pm
This is interesting (Chosun):
The U.S. has said the question of North Korea’s frozen accounts in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia could be resolved early if North Korea punishes counterfeiters of U.S. dollars and destroys their equipment.
Of course! It must be rogue elements in North Korea who are running a high-end printing operation without anyone in Pyongyang [...]
December 19, 2006 – 8:15 pm
One Free Korea links to this WSJ piece on the underground railroad helping to get North Korean refugees out of China.
In an interview with one activist, the Journal quickly gets to the point:
This being The Wall Street Journal, we went straight to the bottom line. How much, we asked our visitor at a recent editorial [...]
December 19, 2006 – 7:51 pm
From the Hanky:
South Korean delegates have taken different accommodations than their U.S. and Japanese counterparts [in the Six Party talks]… …The reason South Korea has opted for different accommodations from the U.S. and Japan may be to defuse potential implications that the three nations may be planning to take joint steps to place pressure [...]
December 19, 2006 – 7:22 pm
The Chosun has a brief piece on what it calls election superstitions.
Being an American political hack, I will just compare those superstitions with some American counterparts.
You can win only when you win North Chungcheong Province - I have heard this before and belief in it would certainly explain some of the pandering we see to Chungcheong [...]
December 18, 2006 – 7:51 pm
I just saw this at the Chosun Ilbo:
A member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament believes the EU’s involvement in six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear program is crucial in ensuring a more diversified approach. On the U.S.-based Nautilus Institute’s website, British representative Glyn Ford posted an essay claiming that all participating [...]
December 18, 2006 – 12:34 pm
Somehow, I don’t think this was the kind of criticism Matt was expecting.
December 18, 2006 – 11:45 am
Now that’s some archery (HT to reader)
December 18, 2006 – 11:15 am
…this is not me:
Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality. That’s why most of the medical (not socio-spiritual) blame for today’s rise in homosexuality must fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products.
Normally I would say “fecking nut”, however looking [...]
December 18, 2006 – 11:04 am
In news I should have posted on last week, it looks likely that overseas Koreans will be given the chance to vote in next year’s presidential elections (Chosun):
The National Election Commission on Tuesday proposed to the National Assembly amending the election law so Koreans temporarily staying abroad can vote. If the bill passes, 1.1 million [...]
December 17, 2006 – 9:23 pm
I realize he is not as interesting as some of the pictures of women Robert posts but he does have a certain panache. Next time I’ll make a snow woman instead . . .
Sphere: Related Content
December 17, 2006 – 12:08 pm
Once again, Morimitsu Onishi has written an entertaining report on the current state of politics, nationalism and North Korea in the NY Times. As Onishi points out, the current government in Japan has used North Korea as justification for revising a “pacifist” constitution and, as per a new law last week, to promote [...]
December 16, 2006 – 9:25 pm
Curzon of Coming Anarchy recently celebrated his 1,000th post.
Curzon did me the honor of calling me and this blog his inspiration for blogging. The funny thing is, since Coming Anarchy has taken off, it’s become an inspiration of mine with its insightful posts and—a true rarity these days—active-yet-well-behaved discussions in its comment section. [...]
