February 27, 2008 – 7:24 am
So sez the Joongang Ilbo:
다크 투어리즘(Dark Tourism)=휴양과 관광을 위한 일반 여행과 달리 재난과 참상지를 보며 반성과 교훈을 얻는 여행. ‘그라운드 제로(사진)’, 유대인 대학살 현장인 폴란드의 ‘아우슈비츠 수용소’, 수백만 명이 학살된 캄보디아 ‘킬링필드’, 원자폭탄이 투하됐던 일본의 히로시마와 나가사키가 이 여행의 대표적인 사례다.
Unlike trips made for recreation or tourism, these trips to the scene of a tragic [...]
February 26, 2008 – 9:53 am
Ah, Pachabel’s Canon in D. Done by a Korean kid on YouTube. To the tune of 38 million views and counting.
[youtube]http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8[/youtube]
Oh, yeah. I remember watching that video and just thinking, “You rock, kid.” Then The New York Times did a piece on him, his true identity was unmasked (or un-hatted?), and he rocked all the [...]
February 25, 2008 – 5:53 pm
The open letter has got to be one of the most pretentious exercises in a columnist’s bags of tricks. The whole idea of writing a personal letter to some world leader or another to give him or her advice just drips with self-importance.
So, being the big-head that I am, I naturally had to try one [...]
February 25, 2008 – 4:37 pm
Everyone’s favorite half-Korean Bean Pole boy is going Hollywood (Korea Times):
Hearthrob actor Daniel Henney, 28, will costar in the new X-men spin-off film “X-men Origins: Wolverine.”
Henney will star as Agent Zero of the Mutant Weapon X program, a mutant who can control electricity and has specialized tracking abilities, according to Twentieth Century Fox Korea.
Lest you you [...]
February 25, 2008 – 3:17 pm
UPDATE 2 (from Tom Coyner in the comment section): RAS Lecture on ROK Journalism CHANGED to N Korea Philharmonic Diplomacy venue & time CHANGED to Seoul Foreign Correspendents Club, Press Center 18 Floor, 8:00 PM
Tonight, Tuesday, February 26th: RAS-K Lecture-Meeting,has been changed due to B.R. Myers of Dongseo Univeristy and Ed Reed of The Asia [...]
February 25, 2008 – 9:27 am
Update: Looks like a middle school student updated Shin Ae-ra’s Wikipedia entry:
She and her husband has gotten wide popularity and repect from Korean public by adopting babies. In Korea, adoptation is nearly existed because of strong recognition only for bloody children. They also have donated several children in other nations.
Actors Shin Ae-ra and Cha In-pyo, [...]
February 24, 2008 – 10:14 pm
While we’re on the subject of Roh’s retirement, a sneak peek at his retirement home (pic below).
The village, where his retirement home is located, is in a festive mood, with the people there preparing a big party to welcome him. The new house, however, is not without controversy with allegations that 49.5 billion Won (USD [...]
February 24, 2008 – 8:39 pm
Approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes from now, presidential power will officially pass from Roh Moo-hyun to Lee Myung-bak.
February 24, 2008 – 1:14 pm
Today’s NYT features a short ad-in-disguise for US travel company Snow Lion Expeditions, which has teamed up with Koryo, a British organization that runs regular guided tours into North Korea, to offer Americans an equal opportunity to financially support the North Korean regime in exchange for tickets to the Arirang Mass Games and craptacular tourist sites [...]
February 24, 2008 – 9:56 am
Over at the Coming Anarchy, Curzon has posted on the history of circumcision around the world. Introduced to Korea after WWII apparently by Americans, circumcision has become the norm with over 90% of high school boys having undergone the procedure as children, not infants. Find out why here at this most definitely NSFW link. [...]
February 23, 2008 – 10:14 pm
OK, it’s not the Chosun Ilbo, but it’s nice that someone noticed my AWSJ piece.
February 23, 2008 – 3:50 pm
Officials at Osan Air Base say their guys didn’t do anything wrong when they detained two Korean civilian employees who attempted to enter a high-security area:
Base officials said that while detaining the men, one of the civilian’s cheeks was scratched because he moved while being taken to the ground.
The movement caused the security forces member [...]
February 23, 2008 – 2:09 pm
A 600-year-old pine tree in Mount Songni, North Chuncheong, national treasure no. 103, photo: JoongAng Ilbo
The JoongAng Ilbo recently ran an article that discusses how “Another National Treasure Is Decaying” — in light of what has happened recently with the burning down on one of the best-loved Korean cultural treasures. Perhaps there is more to [...]
February 23, 2008 – 10:19 am
Another weekend. Another open thread.
February 23, 2008 – 12:45 am
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXYwNDrU8k[/youtube]
Kids are pretty people and there are some cute and talented ones like Ha He-ro singing “Hey Jude”. I’m not sure but I think he said to “rub her into your heart . . . “
Sphere: Related Content
February 22, 2008 – 7:33 pm
Turkey has launched a “cross-border land offensive” — what the old folk used to call an “invasion” — into northern Iraq:
Turkey’s military said on Friday it had launched a cross-border land offensive backed by fighter jets into northern Iraq on Thursday evening to hunt down Kurdish PKK guerrillas.
Turkish television reported, without citing sources, that 10,000 [...]
February 22, 2008 – 7:24 pm
Andrei Lankov has penned a VERY interesting piece in the Asia Times on possible Chinese intervention in North Korea and what it means for everyone involved. It’s a long piece, but well worth the read. Here’s just a snippet:
These days everybody who thinks about the fate of North Korean has to consider the Chinese takeover [...]
February 22, 2008 – 6:53 pm
An airman at Osan Air Base was released after an 18-year-old girl accusing him of rape recanted her story:
South Korea’s top news story on Thursday turned out to be a lie, after an 18-year-old South Korean woman told police she fabricated a story about an Osan airman raping her because she didn’t want to tell [...]
February 22, 2008 – 1:23 pm
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, inventors from China and South Korea are filing more patents for inventions than ever before (AP). “South Korea overtook France to come fourth behind Germany (27,731) and Japan (18,134) on the patent ladder.” Per the WIPO:
“The growth in patent filings by a number of countries in north [...]
February 22, 2008 – 10:15 am
Seoul Selection is looking for professional journalists looking to do stories about the city of Seoul. From our Seoul Selection website:
Seoul Selection is looking for professional journalists interested in writing stories on the city of Seoul. Eligible for the Western press tour are print media journalists and travel columnists of established media companies in Europe, [...]
