Land of the Drunken Tiger

The Korea Times and Korea Herald both report today that the nation's tourism slogan, "Korea, Sparkling," may be dropped.

The "branding chief" says that, and "Dynamic Korea" need to be replaced with another bland name that won't attract anyone. Those weren't his exact words, but that's what will happen.

Has Korea tourism ever had a slogan that would attract tourists? If so, why did they scrap it? It might be better to find something that works, and stick with that.

But with a "branding chief" in place, there is probably always someone under pressure to come up with a snazzy name. The branding chief's suggestion of "Miraculous Korea" sounds more like it is a religious cult.

I would guess cheap airline tickets would probably get more tourists to Korea. Cheap hotels would probably also attract more folks. Cool stuff to do? That's not clear before you get here what would be cool to do. Fixing the situation with North Korea might also help. Unfortunately, there are constantly headlines with North Korea threatening to turn South Korea into a "sea of fire" or some such thing. That is not attractive to tourists.

I'd recommend "Drunken Tiger" (which is also the name of a popular Korean singing group).

Last night I went out with my colleagues. We had great food and drinks before going out singing. I sang Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio in a mix of English and Korean.

I wish I could say some of us got drunk. It would be more accurate to say that the whole company got drunk. I'm not much of a drinker, but I did put away quite a bit of Yogurt Soju. They say it is a girlie drink, in which case I became a full-fledged woman last night based on the amount I drank.

How many are having the Korean soup Heh Jang Guk (해장국), which Koreans have after a night of heavy drinking? I usually get to work about an hour early. I got in about 30 minutes later than usual, I wasn't sure that anyone would be sober enough to open the door.

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Cato Institute, in the Korean press

The Korea Herald reported on a forum held by my former colleagues at the Cato Institute. The Korea Times published an op-ed by Indur Goklany, author of various Cato Institute publications

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WOW! Nice car!

This might help with tourism more than any slogans. Oh, and Kia Motors is launching a new hybrid.

First photo is from the Korea Herald. The second is from the Korea Times.

Obama debating Keyes, 2004, education excerpt

PONCE : Thank you. Let's move to the question of education. Mr. Obama, you've said that you consider education as the most important civil rights issue facing America today. Currently, your children are in private schools. If you're elected to the Senate, will you send them to public schools? OBAMA: Well, my children currently go to the lab school at the University of Chicago where I teach, and my wife works, and we get a good deal for it. But, so - - (laughter, applause) OBAMA: - -it depends on whether we move or not. And that, obviously, hinges on the election and what's gonna happen. We're gonna choose the best possible education for our children, as I suspect all parents are gonna try to do. And that's part of the reason why, consistently when I've been in the state legislature, I've tried to promote those kinds of reforms that would improve what I think is an inadequate performance by too many public schools, all across the state. PONCE : But yo...

Marshall Fritz passed away

I got a note in my e-mail that Marshall Fritz of the Alliance for the Separation of School and State passed away on election day. I met Fritz several years ago when I was at the Cato Institute. He was there to lecture us for not being libertarian enough. We went at it a little and e-mailed occasionally after that. After he read one of my studies and some of my articles he wrote me a very kind e-mail telling me what a great writer and thinker I was. His one regret is that I was wrong in accepting that there was a legitimate role for government in education. CJL Dear Friends of the Alliance: Marshall Fritz passed away Tuesday, November 4, 2008, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Marshall was a true friend and mentor. That's what he's been to me. Even during the last days of his life, when I was privileged to spend some time with him, he set an example of a life well-lived and considered. Like a good teacher, he always showed his love for people by not letting us get away with...

Rating the 10 Magazine speakers

I attended another 10 Magazine speech organized by Barry Welsh. Here are my unofficial grades for the speakers I have heard so far: 1) Shin Dong Hyuk (A+) : The audience was captivated. A few ladies were in tears as he discussed his escape from North Korea, his adjustment to living in South Korea, his difficulty at enjoying life. I first met Shin shortly before the best-selling book (Escape from Camp 14) in America about him was published, and was a bit surprised when he recognized me at an event and struck up a conversation with me even though he is so shy. Even though I was already familiar with his story, it was still great to hear it first hand in an informal setting. I threw a curveball at him, mentioning that that some people have doubted the veracity of his story. He took it in stride. After escaping from a prison camp in North Korea, I guess that there aren't many things that could rattle him. Shin, Lartigue 2) Michael Breen (A): An outstanding mix of humo...

"Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?" --Lord Byron

Frederick Douglass loved that quote. Booker T. Washington would say it sometimes, too. I recently met two women from North Korea. That's right, that North Korea. I asked them many questions but held back somewhat. I suppose they still must be careful and I don't want them to think I'm a spy. Hey, I used to be a host on black talk radio, I was accused of many things then. Plus, if North Koreans are trying to track those folks down I suppose the last thing they'd want would be to have their photos posted on a blog. At some point I will write about meeting those ladies. * * * Yesterday I got interviewed by a Korean reporter about various political and social issues. After I confirm that my interview made it past the station's producers then I'll post the info here. CJL

What if...

According to both English language papers in Korea: 2 of 3 Men Feel Urge to Flee From Home . A poll by online recruiter Career said 66 percent of working men in their 30s and older have felt the urge to flee from their homes and escape today's reality in the past year due to suffocating economic difficulties. Forty-something men turned out to have the strongest desire to run away with more than 72 percent of them saying they wanted to take off, while men in their 30s followed next with 64 percent. 1) What percentage are actually leaving? 2) The survey I want to see is: what percent of their wives would like to see them leave. * * * What if....Jon Huer actually made a point? Regular Korea Times contributor Jon Huer has some haters . I don't count myself among them yet. In the three weeks I have been reading his columns I find myself wondering why (1) he bothered to write (2) I bothered to read. Writers typically write to motivate readers, to inform them, or to get them to ch...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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