Skip to main content

Korea Fighting!

Years ago I read an article about a man who kept a detailed diary about his life. I think it was 70 years of diaries. Nothing was too insignificant for him to mention.

I remember reading it and wondering, "Yeah, but will anyone ever read those boxes of diaries about him going to the bathroom?"

I guess he often wrote about himself writing...

These days I'm having the opposite problem...

I'm living it up so much that I don't have time to write...

Can you really enjoy life and record it all?

If I had time I would blog about...

* going swing dancing
* getting treated at the Kkunnori restaurant in Jamsil by two friends who insist I'm the luckiest man alive because I know them.
* then getting treated to an hour or two at the Luxury noraebang near Kkunnori.
* the "call" button in Korean restaurants
* Koreans ordering too much food whenever they eat together
* Meeting with Gong Byeong Ho (공병호) for the first time in 10 years.
* how damn energetic Seoul is
* how much fun it is drinking here. I'm sure you can have fun here without drinking, but it would be like going to Vegas without gambling.
* myself being too cheap to buy a real camera.
* and being too cheap to buy myself a new computer (the good thing is that I'm out cruising Seoul instead of cruising the Internet)
* and being too cheap to even buy a new iPOD.....noticing a pattern here?
* drinking Strawberry soju last night--wasn't much soju in it and/or I'm getting used to the taste of soju
* the centers in subways where you can recharge your phone for free (as long as they can find the rechargers)

From today's newspapers

* the hilarious brawls Korean politicians are having--over legislation. If the nation's security were at risk then I could understand the brawls.
* The government is looking for a new slogan. My latest suggestion: Korea Fighting! As in, Korea fighting Japan, Korea fighting history, Korea fighting for its image, S Korea fighting N Korea, Korea fighting itself...
* the South Korean president told the national assembly he won't intervene in the legislation. I guess he doesn't want to rassle with anyone.
* The hilarious fight I saw yesterday between two Korean friends inside a restaurant.
* Seoul inviting Korean war veterans--a gesture I support, but that goes against those in tourism who don't want Korea to be pictured as a war-torn country
* the smoking rate increasing among Korean men--I wonder if it is really increasing or because the government crackdown has slowed that more are willing to admit it again
* yesterday's solar eclipse...an alert friend sent me a text telling me it was about to happen, my co-workers all risked going blind....
* Koreans are trying to polish their image...but advertising on CNN for a week is a mistake, they should go with Fox News or a different channel that people actually watch.
* the 34th annual forum hosted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry...is a 35th really necessary?
* Non-Koreans often complain about some signs not being in English, but Koreans and the Korean government go out of their way to accommodate English speakers
* The Korean government is determined to get Koreans out of their cars and onto bicycles...not sure how the chicks who always insist on wearing high heels will adapt. Plus, the monsoon season might not be the best time to promote such a policy.
* I actually agree with criticism from a Chinese newspaper that the NBA season is too long--the NBA should stop acting like this is the 1950s with teams stopping in different cities different nights, instead have teams stop in different cities for 3 or 4 games a week in one city like baseball.

But then, if I blogged about all of those things then who would read them all?

CJL

Popular posts from this blog

Walter E. Williams hosting Rush Limbaugh tomorrow

Check your local listings! By the way, my co-host Eliot Morgan and I interviewed Professor Walter E. Williams on the Casey Lartigue Show on April 28 and June 9 . We discussed reparations for slavery and the minimum wage mandate. To access the clips above at rapidshare: 1) scroll down to the bottom, hit the "free" button. 2) scroll down to the bottom, type in the password, hit download, then listen... Or, you can download the clips from yousendit, available for one week: June 9, WEW, segment 5 http://download.yousendit.com/F8A128C94CEAD09C June 9, WEW segment 6 http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=9800ABE6204647B3 April 28 http://download.yousendit.com/72FB5F4718BC06A1 CJL

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h

2020-05-21 Goodbye, Katty Chi

I had heard through the grapevine and now it has been verified: Human rights activist Katty Chi has passed away. She is one of the first people that I met when I got involved in this cause. The first time was in 2012, at an event at the South Korea's National Assembly. She was super cool, one of my favorites as I used to say even when she was alive. And that is the important time to say such things, when people are alive. Whenever we met, I would say to her, "You know what happens when you meet me?" She would say, "Yeah. Time to take a photo?" I'm glad we did. And from Hyun S. Song, a close colleague of hers: And from Liberty in North Korea, the definitive announcement, August 4, 2020

2018-06-17 Jang Jinsung at TNKR Donor Appreciation Night

What’s better than having a well-known North Korean refugee author speak at your event? Having TWO well-known North Korean refugee authors speak at your event! TNKR held a special "Donor Appreciation NIght" featuring author Jinsung Jang. To make the night even more incredible, author Kang Cheol-Hwan 강철환 also joined the session. It was like a North Korean refugee superstar session. * Mr. Jang is author of several books, including "Dear Leader." * Mr. Kang is author of The Aquariums of Pyongyang. We were delighted to hold this session, co-sponsored by UniKorea, for donors and fundraisers who help keep TNKR alive. TNKR will be holding more events like this, set up a fundraiser so you can also get invited. https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/fundraisers Support TNKR: http://lovetnkr.org/donate/

Kakao Story character in blackface

Kakao Story is a popular app made by Kakao Talk (a wildly popular instant messaging system in South Korea). Scrolling thr ough my Kakao Talk updates, I came acros s t he following and figured out how to snap a photo of it. * Today is "Black Day" in Korea. That's the day that people who didn't celebrate "White Day" on February 14 (when women give men gifts) or "Valentine's Day" on March 14 (when men give women gifts) eat black noddles to mark their loneliness. I suspect the NAACP would not be amused by this Kakao Talk character--CJL