Foreigners? Come on in, and out the exit!

I went to E-Mart (a large Korean grocery/department store). Bought a pair of earphones because the pair that came with my iPOD stopped working a few weeks ago. I just couldn't bring myself to buy another pair. That's because I have about 5 pairs of earphones back in storage in Virginia. It was getting kind of bad because I could only hear Ray Charles in the duet song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Sounds good, but Ray can't carry the song alone...But the option was to spend $1,500 on a ticket to Virginia to get several pairs of earphones.

* * *

After E-Mart I stopped at a PC room to check my email.

Seemed okay when I first walked into the building. The name of the place is "Game Holic."

There's even a welcome mat at the front of the door of the place.

But....OOPS!

But wait...was it a grammatical problem? I don't mean "f" in "foreigner."

As in..."No! foreigner, please." Please, what? Please, come in?

In many cases, when Americans ask a question like, "Wouldn't you like to eat some ice cream," Americans will answer either, "Yes, I would," or "No, I wouldn't." Koreans would answer the opposite.

* * *

A few days ago in Suwon I stopped at a book store, with "Book Store" written in English on the side of the building. Imagine my surprise when I found only Korean books in a store with "Book Store" written on the side of the building. At least the sign wasn't written, "No! english books." Or would that mean that there were English books there?

* * *

At the PC room I wasn't in the mood to be Martin Luther King Jr., but I decided to walk in just to check their reaction. The employee on duty was playing a game, but he hopped up and rushed to me. Seemed nice enough, he was ready to seat me.

I've always admired those civil rights activists from the past who demanded to be served at all-white restaurants, knowing full well in many cases that the white employees would spit in their food. I asked the guy in Korean if they had a business card I could have but he said they didn't have any. So I decided to go to a different place. This one is named "Thank U". I did thank them when I came in...

* * *

Back during the mid-1990s there was a minor controversy in Itaewon (an area where a lot of non-Koreans live). There were various drinking establishments there that had competing "No foreigner" or "No Koreans Allowed" signs. A friend of mine at the time had his birthday party at one of the "No Koreans Allowed" places (I think it was called the Nashville Club). A Korean friend who joined at the last minute stopped in his tracks when he saw the sign, "No Koreans Allowed."

I told him, "No problem, we'll get you in." Actually, I didn't know about the sign before we arrived, but was willing to raise a ruckus to get him into the place. I've always been a libertarian at heart recognizing the rights of owners to prohibit undesirable customers, but I also recognize that it isn't unlibertarian to make an argument to owners that I'll do everything I can to embarrass them if they don't change their ways.

So at that time at the Nashville I didn't mind playing Martin Luther King Jr.--or in that case, the late Pee Wee Reese (the Dodgers white shortstop who wrapped his arm around Jackie Robinson at a time other players avoided him).

I was ready for a battle...instead, we got a welcome mat that wasn't pulled under our feet. We walked in, sat down, and ordered food and drinks. We were both surprised to see so many Koreans inside. I later learned that the sign was (allegedly) put there to keep groups of Korean males from entering the place and harassing Korean females hanging out with non-Koreans. So it may be that the place today would let me in by myself, meaning the sign should have been written, "No! korean, please."

* * *

CJL

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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