Walking to work this morning I passed an elderly Catholic nun who I often see strolling along the street outside my home. Bracing against the cold and thinking about how hard it’s going to be to kick my coffee habit at the onset of winter my mind turned to the ubiquity of religion in South [...]
Filed under: Korean Society, buddhism, history, religion | Tagged: buddhism, history, Korea, religion, spirituality | Leave a Comment »
An Associated Press story notes that Voice of America has been granted permission by the Lee Myung-bak administration to broadcast into North Korea from transmitters in the South for the first time in three decades. That makes the signal much clearer than VOA’s long-running shortwave broadcasts from far-flung stations in the Philippines, Thailand and the [...]
Filed under: Headlines, Korean War, North Korea, Opinion, Politics, media, religion | Tagged: America, human rights, Korean War, media, North Korea, Politics, pyongyang, religion | Leave a Comment »
The key is avoiding the traffic out of Seoul. Do that and its smooth sailing all the way to Busan, with a stop along the way to peer at the stars in Mt. Jiri National Park and a quick tour of Taejeon on the way home. About 10 kilometers past the town of Hwagae – [...]
Filed under: Korean Society, buddhism, hiking, history, religion | Tagged: buddhism, Korea, religion, spirituality, travel | Leave a Comment »
According to Yonhap, the financial downturn has boosted sales of books on finance, employment and religion, the last of which saw a 185 percent spike in sales last year. Cooking too was a big seller as more families are staying in to eat rather than dining out. “Books are hardly luxury items. They are one [...]
Filed under: Daily life, Headlines, Korean Society, education, entertainment | Tagged: education, entertainment, internet, religion, Seoul | Leave a Comment »
There’s a homeless guy I pass in the train station every night on my way home from work. He reeks, in a tattered winter coat and pants that end in shreds around his cracked black feet. He stands motionless, bedroll in hand, staring into space as throngs of well-dressed Seoulites hustle about giving him a [...]
Filed under: Asia, Daily life, Korean Society, Opinion, Seoul, buddhism, religion | Tagged: buddhism, confucianism, family, homelessness, Korea, religion, Seoul, soju, spirituality, travel | 1 Comment »
An article in the IHT by Norimitsu Onishi about the buraku of Japan and their slow rise out of the traditional depths of Japan’s ancient social hierarchy, a rise — and article — that took inspiration from Obama’s election in the U.S. What caught my attention was a short graf in the middle that referred to [...]
Filed under: Asia, Identity, Korean Society, buddhism, history | Tagged: history, Identity, Japan, Korea, media, Obama, Politics, religion | Leave a Comment »
You’d never guess. It’s not New York, Tel aviv or Cairo. Years ago I was travelling in the north of Thailand and found myself in the city of Chiang Mai. For those who’ve never been, Chiang Mai is everything that Bangkok is not. There I met a young Israeli, a former soldier and Sephardic Jew [...]
Filed under: Asia, Identity, Opinion, Politics, food | Tagged: food, Gaza, Israel, Politics, religion, Thailand, travel | Leave a Comment »
Several years ago I got into an argument with a co-worker over the Israeli Palestinian conflict. I don’t recall what triggered the exchange, but he in effect dismissed my position as “typical Bay area bull shit” and said Israel should have wiped the Palestinians off the map. Looks like he’s getting his wish. Korea, where [...]
Filed under: Asia, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged: Gaza, Israel, parenting, Politics, religion | 5 Comments »
New Year’s eve. As Israeli missiles begin to fall on Gaza, my family and I are at the Outback Steakhouse in southern Seoul waiting for a table. It’s my first time here and the first steak I’ve eaten in about twenty years. Despite the recession, the place is packed and we stand alongside a number [...]
Filed under: America, Asia, Daily life, Identity, Korean Society, Seoul, immigration, religion | Tagged: Identity, immigration, Politics, religion, Seoul | 1 Comment »
An article in the Hankyoreh reports that an island off the southwest coast of Korea is seeking to gain official recognition from UNESCO for an ancient shamanic ritual practiced there as part of the world’s cultural heritage. Jindo, in South Jeolla Province, is home to the ssitgimgut ritual, and advocates there are pushing the United [...]
Filed under: Asia, Identity, Korean Society, history, religion | Tagged: Jindo, Korea, religion, shaman | 1 Comment »
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