- UPDATE: Korea is reportedly thinking about sending peacekeepers to Haiti.
- Good-bye, the ajumma of yesteryear? “From leather jackets to thigh-hugging jeans, a drastic change in fashion is what’s leading today’s ajumma makeover. Ajumma have typically been portrayed as pushy and brave women who dash for seats on the subway or fight for bargain sales in a grocery store. But not anymore, at least for the emerging ajumma generation.” The humanity.
- “Made in Korea” democracy for export? Interesting interview with Korean Legislative Studies Institute president Youn Jung-suk.
- Korea is offering about US$10 million in aid to Haiti. Speaking of which, if the French would like to occupy Haiti, they’re more than welcome to it.
- Foreigners have trouble with online shopping in Korea, reports Ye Olde Chosun.
- That’s not the way to treat a stout.
- Saw “Moon” and “District 9” on Hana TV. Really liked both, even if there’s no way in hell a Korean would name a moon base “Sarang.”
- Somebody rediscovered Andong. I didn’t even know it was lost.
- Ladies-only bus stops, parking spaces and taxis? Seriously?
- Now these… these are some great photographs.
Odds and Ends: Jan 19, 2010
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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, but Koreans name their churches “Sarang.”
Dude… Korea already has a serious population problem as it is… and you are limiting the areas where you can bust a move on a lady????
Looks like former Misuda panelist, Eva Popiel, is off the market.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/18/2010011800691.html
Damn… she was my favorite one too…
Online shopping in Korea for foreigners – stick with GMarket’s English interface…it works well. Nothing else does for me.
For anything else, pizza, movie tickets, etc., get your cellphone, a couple or credit cards and/or check cards (from Korean banks of course), translator, separate browser windows (for registering on strange sites), and blood pressure medicine, you’ll need all of them at least once. Even if you are registered and fluent, the shitty security add-ons will inevitably break.
I’m a very easy-going, chill guy, but if the gf recommends buying movie tickets online, my BP rises 20 points in 3 seconds just imaging it. Last weekend when it was recommended, I just put on my jacket and shoes and hoofed it to the theater and bought my tickets for later in the day at the ticket counter. Problem solved. And oh, Sherlock Holmes was a good flick.
Nice pictures of Andong – a city that I will always remember with a certain distaste in my mouth. As a young soldier I went there with a Korean friend – we couldn’t find any night clubs or discos (yes – Korea at the time was in the disco phase) so we went to the only place we could get something to drink – a pojangmacha. My friend asked me what side dish I wanted with our makoli (apologies to the Marmot for mentioning that tabooed drink) and I, because of my limited Korean, could only tell him whatever he wanted. He ordered boiled frog – whole. I only had one and I remember all the old men – Andong is, after all, a yangban society – carefully watched to see if the strange young foreigner would be able to eat one. It literally exploded in my mouth. The nastiest taste! I only ate one but drank a great deal of the forbidden drink in an effort to get rid of the taste.
Concerning the new look ajumma, let me be the first to coin the phrase “apuma“.
#4 That’s disgusting. I never saw or heard about frogs being eaten in Korea Only when I went to live in HK I saw it being sold in the neighbourhood markets, boiled – but you could still see the shape. The smell used to make me retch.
I find that frog tastes like chicken. Really, really good chicken.
Ajummas going cougar…next thing will be ajoshi going emo, the world is coming to an end
“Damn… she was my favorite one too…
”
Yep, I’m with you on that one, looks like RK missed the real news.
Great mix of English and Japanese.
Actually, she’s not English at all. 에바 포피엘 is Japanese on her mother’s side and her father is a British citizen of Polish descent. Contrary to popular belief, all the best-looking British women are NOT come of Anglo-Saxon or Celtic stock, e.g., Jane Seymour (half Dutch, half Jewish) and Rachel Weisz (Hungarian Jewish descent).
Catherine Zeta Jones is of Celtic stock, and her beauty surpasses those two. Immensely.
C. Zeta Jones doesn’t even look like a caucasian but yes she’s hot
That’ll be the legs.
How about the head?
British aren’t americans we don’t tag everyone with double barrels like Wangkon who states his “nationality” as Korean American, like can some tell me exactly where is the country Korean America. We don’t have Korean British or Chinese British or Polish British. We do have dual nationals in which case we would state British/Polish not Polish descent. Her father is British full stop.
I may well be mistaken about English, but your stating her fathers British is hardly conclusive evidence that she’s not, given approx 5/6 of British are also English.
Your source which I’ve found doesn’t also indicate how far the “descent” is could be ten or more generations for all we know mixed up with lots of anglo saxon in the mean time, the polish descent merely being assumed by family lore based on the name being polish in origin.
For that matter being polish doesn’t automatically rule out being anglo-saxon, although the name being eastern polish rather than western is suggestive of slavic heritage.
PS what popular belief is that, its certainly not english, where were more likely to cite norse stock.
Pedant.
“Catherine Zeta Jones is of Celtic stock, and her beauty surpasses those two. Immensely.”
She’s from glamorgan the english part of wales so nothing certain there, celts, angles, saxons, picts, romans, norse, normans etc are so mixed up pretty much no one can be sure who they are without genetic analysis.
Actually my handle is partly derived from celt.
Now i don’t wanna sound antagonising constantly but if Mrs. Zeta Jones look celtic, i may easily pass for the long lost member of Super Junior.
CZJ looks of pure Mediterranean stock, the kind you see in Anatolia, Lebanon, Israel, Armenia etc. i find it interesting how most Britons conveniently seem to never mention the fact probably a good 10% of their population is actuallly made of “dark” types (first name coming up to my mind is Victoria Beckham)
C’mon guys, being Britain such a harbour of multicultularism, you should be proud of it
Like I said if you’re British you’re British, the mix is so normal so we wouldn’t typically mention it. As for Vicki she doesn’t seem particularly “dark” once you get rid of the perma tan. I’d have though Naomi Campbell a better example of a “dark” type Brit.
Arghaeri, that’s interesting: so being white is not an essential part of Britishness anymore ?
Don’t tell Morrissey, he might off himself (well that might be a plus actually)
She’s dark haired, but she’s not swarthy. Course her mum could be Anatolian Irish.
Anyway, the real sultry birds are the Persians, Circassians and Aryan Indians. They also have problems with online shopping in Korea.
British are as mixed as you can get. It’s a good thing generally and means that Britons produce some of the most varied cultural, technological, artistic, culinary and economic innovations around. Britain is a multicultural-multi ethnic society.
Anyway, on another note I really hope they don’t go with the female only taxis. That would really suck, though many Korean taxi drivers are terrible drivers, all of the female taxi drivers (albeit only a few) I’ve been driven by are far better than almost all of the lunatic male taxi drivers I’ve take me about the place! Usually Korean women are terrible drivers so it is a bit weird that female Korean taxi drivers have been in my experience fantastic and we could do with a lot more of them.
Keith (Gordon, is it you ?) that must be the reason why the UK economy is actually now smaller than Silvio’s Italy’s…great achievement indeed:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/6418344/UK-economy-overtaken-by-Italy.html
i don’t know how many Korean women would want to become a taxi driver, considering the shitty money they seem to make., the taxi drivers i mean
Gangpai, I would not rely on ‘The Torygraph’ for accurate information. The Torygraph is a silly tabloid paper. Whilst the British economy is in dire straits at the moment (and the Eurozone has been very resilient to the current economic crisis) things will settle down in the next couple of years. If you want more accurate reporting on economic matters I’d suggest The (London) Times, or the FT.
Gangpai, I would not rely on ‘The Torygraph’ for accurate information. The Torygraph is a silly tabloid paper. Whilst the British economy is in dire straits at the moment (and the Eurozone has been very resilient to the current economic crisis) things will settle down in the next couple of years. If you want more accurate reporting on economic matters I’d suggest The (London) Times, or the FT.
I’d also bet that the female taxi drivers make as much money as the Ajumma who work in markets and other service jobs.
Umm, yes it does. It states her father is Polish. Full stop. And I seriously doubt his family is descended from randy invaders swaggering down Piccadilly Circus. No, more likely than not, his grandfather was probably a Polish officer serving with the Free Polish Forces in England during WW2, who after the war, decided to bring his entire family to the U.K. Poles are a pretty tight knit and tend to be pretty clannish, which is why the Polish community in Chicago is par none. More likely than not, her father is a second-generation Polish immigrant — fully British — but also fully Polish.
When you have a history where generation after generation, one culture tries to obliterate and dominate other cultures vis-a-vis jus primae noctis, of course you’re going to have as a result, every variation and manner of concocted mix you can conceive of.
And of course no one would mention it, b/c after awhile, it becomes logistically (and emotionally) difficult to keep track of who raped your mother, and who raped your grandmother, and who raped your great-grandmother, etc., etc., as if anybody wanted to hear either.
This rubric though, doesn’t apply to recent immigrants to the U.K., especially those hailing from Europe, Asia, Africa etc., where primae noctis didn’t come into play. As a result, people who’ve emigrated from other lands — especially within the last century — have the privilege of not only dual citizenship, but also ascribing to dual or even multiple cultural identities — and why shouldn’t they as this is not only their prerogative, but also the essence of multiculturalism.
Accordingly, you’ll find Brits like Parminder Nagra of “ER” and “Bend it like Beckham” fame describing herself as “British, or ” British Indian,” or “Indian British,” or just “Indian,” according to her dictates and fancy. The same goes for hyphenated Americans, as well as any immigrant group who’ve embraced a new culture and society that also embraces multiculturalism.
And of course, the same ideal applies to the likes of my neighbor who’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that she’s one-quarter English, one-quarter Welsh, one-quarter Scottish, and one-quarter Irish. Isn’t that her prerogative?
What you really mean though is that thanks hundreds of years of jus primae noctis, there are no longer any purebred indigenous ethnic groups on the British Isles. And wasn’t it Longshanks who said: “The trouble with Scotland is that it’s full of Scots!”, and “If we can’t get them out, we’ll breed them out.” (God I love that movie!)
Interesting stuff! I never really got a feel for languages, the only one I’ve picked up quickly was Bahasa.
As a Brit, my cultural identity is more important.
I’m half English + Scottish (my surname came from Normandy in 1066, and half Scot) I’m British. I’m not an obnoxious mischief-causing one.
I’ve always had loads of fun in England, Scotland and Wales. Not tried other colonial bits yet!
Hugs
K
Keith…you’re probably right about the money but i always found the idea of getting stuck all day in traffic jams one of the most demanding and least appealing jobs ever…i can’t picture many ajummas wanting to do that, after all being in some other traditional service jobs provide them with a bit of social life too
as for the incoming depression i think in a couple of years we’re all gonna settle into the abyss
the FT is a fine paper, but i really miss Buiter departure, not many voices of sanity left around
I don’t like giving financial advice for obvious reason, but this one is such a no brainer that it scarely qualifies as “advice.”
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-19/buffett-wants-to-raise-posco-holdings-company-says-update3-.html
Wangkon…provided dudes like Chanos are not right about China, which i suspect they might. My fian…ehm she-who-must-not-be-named
was trying to convince me to drop some money on Posco on the very same news, maybe i was stupid not to
India looks like a timebomb too, the subprime of Asia
“‘미수다’ 에바 “일본 공개 사과하라!” 주장 화제”
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/12/18/2007121800355.html
Goodness, does Eva want to become the biggest foreign superstar Korea has ever seen or something to that effect? She wants to marry a Korean guy, and now she’s willing to confront japanese girls on 미녀들의 수다 over korean greivances against japan. You go girl!
#30
Regarding Mr James “China = Dubai x 1000 – maybe worse” Chanos:
1. As Tom Friedman said recently: simple rule of investing – never short a country that has over $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves.
2. It may very well be that the real estate market in places like Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai are over-inflated. However, the reason why the US sub-prime mortgage happened is because of the so-called “NINJA” loans – no income, no job or assets. In China, there is no such nonsense. Also, in the US, thousands of these mortgage time-bombs waiting to happen were repackaged into derivatives by the big banks. Again, in China you don’t have that.
NK
overall i think this is going to be Asia golden 20-25 years, but still there might be a brief depression 1997 style before resuming growth. That might be feral to stock market valuations for some time, especially when Western economies are still in the deep caca.
India looks to me like a disaster waiting to happen, enormous foreign debts and very little to show for it
#34
If there’s anything I learned from fiscal 2009, those dips, when they happen, are a time to buy.
For now, I’m looking at specific sectors and targeted companies.
Among other things, I think China-related renewable energy plays are incredibly promising moving forward. There’s all kinds of signs pointing to the fact that China has recognized green technology (solar, wind, car batteries, hybrid vehicle, etc) as their own “Sputnick moment”.
I’m also tracking the rare earth element mining and supply chain sector.
WOW, the Korea Times sucks even more now that they want me to install some bullshit “reader”. What happened to just reading text…or using crap like flash? I thought shit like this was getting better…not worse.
“Umm, yes it does. It states her father is Polish. Full stop.”
Wow that’s a miraculous change, you quoted it yourself as “british citizen of polish descent”. Where’s the full stop exactly?
As to level of descent you’ll not I said “could be…for all we know”
You offer absolutely no evidence to the contrary “that you do know” only a guess.
As to “ius primæ noctis” what relevance has a european myth, relating to the middle ages, with little evidence to support it, got to do with modern Britain, and “keeping track of raping grandmothers” LOL what planet are you on.
“doesn’t apply…to recent immigrants to the U.K., especially those hailing from Europe, Asia, Africa etc.”
umm, you mean doesn’t apply to anyone, thanks for the clarification
“And of course, the same ideal applies to the likes of my neighbor who’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that she’s one-quarter English, one-quarter Welsh, one-quarter Scottish, and one-quarter Irish. Isn’t that her prerogative?”
umm, you mean she’s just told everyone she’s British
“Accordingly, you’ll find Brits like Parminder Nagra of “ER” and “Bend it like Beckham” fame describing herself as “British, or ” British Indian,” or “Indian British,” or just “Indian,” according to her dictates and fancy.”
Parminder Negra, emigrated to the US, and is falling in with surrounding cultural mannerisms. Whilst some may do so, that doesn’t make it the cultural norm in the UK, and quoting a line from a historically distorted movie baed in the thirteenth century, really!!!!
I’m calling shenanigans. The obvious question is, why would Buffett, or for that matter any other investor, be signaling his moves before actually making them? Does anyone seriously believe that Buffett is going to buy more shares in POSCO after publicly saying he liked the company? Basic questions a financial industry pro such as yourself ought to be asking, don’t you think?
Buffett didn’t say what you think he did – that recurring reading comprehension problem of yours. That reported Buffet statement came from POSCO, and the stock has since fallen once Buffett himself said that he has no interest in buying any more shares.
Seeing how you ducked softball questions from pawi, and also seeing how much time you spend NOT DOING YOUR PURPORTED JOB everyday, I have to wonder whether you’re in the financial industry in any capacity other than day trader.
I don’t doubt POSCO is a fine company, and I own its shares, so I’d do well with a rush of new money into the market.
Stick to taco trucks.
Well provided Wangkon doesn’t need my defense i can say when i was working in the financial industry i was spending half of my day munching m&m’s and talking about strippers, maybe that’s the reason why my career never progressed past the level of modest currency flow trader
seouldout,
1) Thank you for being so concerned about my career. I had you pegged all wrong!
2) I’ve personally made a good deal of money on Posco stock and so have my friends whom I have recommended the stock to. It also dishes out a healthy 3-4% dividend that juices up any returns. I thought I was providing a service to TMH readers. It’s sorry to see that you disagree.
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