Watching a CNN special on John McCain yesterday I was reminded of my grandfather and a conversation I had with him shortly before he passed away. He had been trying to read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat, but ultimately gave it up because, as he said, “it wasn’t for his generation.” Seeing friends, acquaintances, [...]
Filed under: America, Opinion, Politics | Tagged: America, CNN, elections, globalization, McCain, Politics, president | Leave a Comment »
A piece in the Korea Times about Seoul’s subway vendors caught my eye this morning. You see them regularly on the trains here, hawking their wares to mostly indifferent passengers. I do see occasional purchases, and my wife likes to buy stuff from them if for nothing else than to support them. The last item [...]
Filed under: Daily life, Korean Society, Seoul | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday as people in my office in downtown Seoul gathered around the TV to watch Obama deliver his speech in Denver, a colleague from Sudan turned to me and said, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth, “who would ever have suspected that 49 years ago an African man in Kenya would father [...]
Filed under: America, Opinion, Politics, Seoul | Tagged: elections, Obama, Sudan | Leave a Comment »
As democrats cheer their candidate in Denver celebrating American democracy, another kind of democracy is taking shape in Korea, where masses have been turning out since the inauguration of the new government to check state authority. It is a movement whose solidarity finds its base in a communal “we,” as opposed to America’s “I,” and [...]
Filed under: Korean Society, Opinion, Politics, Seoul, buddhism, history, religion | Tagged: beef, Beijing, buddhism, China, democracy, Korea, olympics, protest | 2 Comments »
An interesting read in the Asia Times about the changing dynamic between Pyongyang and Moscow. The six-way talks over North Korea’s nuclear programs are usually presented as at most bi-lateral, or tri-lateral discussions between the US, China and NK. Russia’s role always seemed a little nebulous to me – what are their interests in NK.
Filed under: Headlines, Korean War, North Korea, Politics | Tagged: pyongyang, Russia | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday in Seoul thousands of Buddhists from around the country rallied to protest what they say is the government’s religious bias against their faith, as demonstrated by recent slights against Buddhist leaders and a cabinet stocked with the president’s fellow church members. In contrast to the anti-US beef protests last month the mood yesterday was [...]
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There’s a mini-propaganda war going on between Chinese and Korean netizens as rumors and allegations fly across the blogosphere, with the latest bout revolvoing around rumors that Michael Phelps descends from Koreans who arrived in North America over a thousand years ago. The “Korean blood that flows in his veins,” goes the rumor, is what [...]
Filed under: Politics, history, sports | 2 Comments »
Ummm… hmmmm… really? According to the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea ranked third among OECD nations in terms of its adaptabiltiy to globalization in a study conducted by the Confederation of Danish Industry. Some of the benchmarks used include education levels, growth and development, and export capacity. I’m assuming the anti-US beef protests last month occurred [...]
Filed under: Identity, Korean Society, Opinion, Politics, immigration | Tagged: globalization, immigration, Korea | Leave a Comment »
Top selling South Korean soju Jinnro side by side with North Korea’s best, Pyongyang Soju. Between the two, I have to say the Northern drink tastes better and packs a stronger punch. Hail the Dear Leader! Bought this at Unification Village, in Paju City, an hour north of Seoul and across the river from [...]
Filed under: Korean War, North Korea, Politics, food | Tagged: DMZ, Korean War, North Korea, soju | Leave a Comment »
An opinion piece in the Korea Times wonders at demonstrations of Anti-Korean Sentiment among fans at the Beijing Olympic Games. Chinese spectators at the stadiums have often booed South Korean athletes, while cheering their opponents. In the Aug. 16 Korea-Japan baseball match, most Chinese supported the Japanese team. The same thing happened again the next [...]
Filed under: Korean Society, Politics, history, media, sports | 3 Comments »
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