North Korean Freedom Day

From “Improve Human Rights Status of North Korean People”:

"The Federation of North Korea Freedom, a religious and human rights organization based in Korea and the U.S., held a ceremony to celebrate the 'day of North Korean freedom' in front of the congress building in Washington on April 28. People paid respect to the victims of the Yongcheon explosion in advance of their demonstration"

A Tale of Two Marches

Thanks Jason, from chosunhoon's Xanga site, for the link to this article, contrasting media attention on the "North Korea Freedom Day" march and the Pro-abortion March:

Freedom and Truth for Korea

One More Fallen Hero

First Korean American Casualty in Iraq

Brad Shuder, resquiat in pace.
(image from El Dorado Hills Mourns Soldier Killed in Iraq)

Read more about this American hero: Brad S. Shuder: Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps

Personality Cult

From 'Train blast victims died saving leaders' portraits':

"North Korea's state-run media today claimed that many of the 161 people who died in last week's train explosion in the town of Ryongchon had struggled heroically in the last moments of their lives to save portraits of the ruling family"

The Consequences of Aborting Little Girls

Via A Conservative Blog for Peace:

A Dangerous Surplus of Sons? Two political scientists warn that Asia's lopsided sex ratios threaten world peace

Aigo!

Re: Koreas still at odds over aid: Seoul's first shipment to be delayed as late as Friday

It seems the DPRK was not happy with not receiving TV sets!

Very Little Local Coverage

I haven't seen much local press coverage of North Korea's rejection of aid from the South. Here's one exception: North spurns trucked goods.

The Paterfamilias: the Saving Grace of Asia

In Asia, Father Knows Best: Family Values in Japan and China

Persecution in SE Asia

Southeast Asia's persecuted Christians:

Stunning!

Re: North Korea stuns South Korea with disaster aid rejection

President Bush's said of Kim Jongil: "I detest the man." How can one not detest a man who denies help to his own people? The true friends of the North Korean people are those who'd like to see the end of the Kim Dynasty's reign. The "Sunshine Policy" does nothing but perpetuate the regime and thereby the suffering of ordinary North Koreans. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II brought down the Soviet Empire by refusing to compromise with Evil; we need such moral fortitude on this peninsula today.

Humanitarian aid? Yes, of course! Legitimization of the regime? Never!

Juche or Stupidity?

In N. Korea Denies Aid Trucks From South, we read that out of pride, the North Korea regime is rejecting help from its Southern brethren. I can only agree Neil Cavuto, author of Pride Goes Before a Fall, who says the following:

"It’s hard to know the facts here. [North Korea] is still too proud, or stupid, or both to say.

"This much we do know. Hundreds were killed or injured in what by all accounts was a horrific train collision.

"We don't know what caused it, or the real casualty count from it. We do know that it was so bad that North Korea even now is reeling from it.

"But the country's so stubborn, so thick and so vehement that it continues to turn its back on those who want to help.

"South Korea says it will send men, money and equipment. North Korea says, no, no and no.

"The U.S. promises chemical specialists to monitor dangers in the area. North Korea says stay away from the area.

"Russia offers aid. North Korea offers a decline.

"Even friendly neighbor China gives food and supplies. North Korea will only accept them at the border....

"It's a pity the long-suffering people there can see neither the helping hands, or the terse, jutted finger, shooing that help away."

Tragedy upon Tragedy

North Koreans face deadly side-effects as aid groups warn of aftermath
Children suffer as N Korea struggles: Death toll from train explosion likely to rise as aid workers tell of lack of medicine and equipment at hospital

Caritas in the DPRK

Catholic agency rushes aid to North Korean blast scene

Eastern Orthodoxy

Dear LLB of the laughing linden branch,

As per your request, I've posted Some Thoughts on Eastern Orthodoxy on my other blog, Ecclesia et Mundus.

Since I'm by no means an expert on Eastern Orthodoxy, I'd like to recommend two blogs to you. The first is Xeniteia, published by Pavle Jurodivyj, an Eastern Orthodox believer living in Korea. The second is chosunhoon's Xanga site, published by Jason, a Korean-American Catholic convert with a strong interest in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Editorial

While I disagree with the following editorial's slant, it shows an interesting perspective from the US: As South Koreans Look Ahead, U.S. Policy Is Stuck in the Past

Terror Threat

The threat comes from the "Anti Korean Interests Agency," " an anti-Korea group suspected to be comprised of Thai citizens deported from South Korea because of overstayed visas" (see Terror letters threaten S.Korean flights).

A Love Story and a Conversion Story

This posting is a response to the following comment from Papabear:

”Hi, just wondering if you would be willing to post a story about how you and your wife met, the obstacles you two faced, and so on... is she a cradle Catholic?”

Here goes:

My wife and I first met on my very first day in Korea on August 29, 1997. I had been sent by the State University of New York in Buffalo to help establish some joint programs with the University of Ulsan. My wife, Hyunae, was working as a secretary in that university’s Language Education Center. We had in common that we had both been Spanish majors.

It was not until about eight months later, on a staff excursion to a mountain that we had a chance to spend any real time talking to each other. After that, we started dating and about a year later I proposed. She never really gave me an answer (Korean can be an ambiguous language), but about nine months later, on March 1st, 2000, I was introduced to her family. Any hesitation her parents might have had vanished, and I was accepted as a future son-in-law.

On June 10th of that year, we had our wedding photos taken (done well before the wedding day in Asia). On June 11th, my wife was baptized at the Anglican church I was attending (I was formally still a member of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, but that denomination did not exist in Korea). On June 12th, we had a civil marriage at the US Embassy and the local Jong-ro Ward office in Seoul. While already married in the eyes of the state, it was not until August 9th, 2000 that we were married in the eyes of God with our parents and siblings present at a small ceremony at a Lutheran Church in Orland, California.

After a honeymoon in Zihuatenejo and Mexico City, we moved to Pohang, where I had started a new job. We started attending an Anglican church in that city. It had a very, very small congregation (five or six people any given Sunday), and was thus very, very personal. Some conflicts developed, as we were not the fervent believers nor tithers that the rest of the congregation were.

The day after Easter, 2002, a week before we were to be confirmed in the Anglican Church, we decided to find another “church home.” The “deal-breaking” issue was a petty one on my part; I believed the new priest of our congregation made some disparaging remarks about my lack of tithing. Out of my wounded pride came the best development in our life: our conversion to Catholicism.

In Korea, there were not many choices for churches. I ruled out the Presbyterians because in Korea their style is more akin to that of Pentecostals. From my Lutheran upbringing I had learned the value of the Liturgy: that was what led me to the Anglican Church in the first place. At the time I believed in Branch Theology and the Via Media of Anglicanism and basically considered myself an Anglo-Catholic.

My wife suggested that we become Catholics. Her sister had become Catholic by marriage and like most Koreans, my wife had a very positive opinion of the Catholic Church (very different from the predominant anti-Catholic sentiment that still exists in America). I preferred Eastern Orthodoxy, but the nearest parish was about two hours away.

So, we started attending a local Catholic parish and I ordered many books from amazon.com. The two books that really convinced me were The Spirit of Catholcism by Karl Adam and An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Cardinal Newman. On Novemeber 30th, 2002, we were received into the Catholic Church and are due to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on June 6th of this year.

The only obstacles we face now are those caused by our own egos and by our prideful attachments to our cultures. Both sides of our family and the majority of people in both of our countries have been accepting of our international and intercultural marriage. The birth of baby Joy Anastasia on June 17, 2003 cemented our sacramental bond even more.

It is the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist and the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary that has allowed Hyunae and I to practice the Christian Faith as Catholics with a fervency that we never dreamed possible as Protestants. The exciting thing is that we still have such a long way to go in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Why I Wear a Suit to Mass

I reflected on the above while dressing for Mass this morning. There was a time when I deliberately wore simple clothing, such as flannel shirts and corduroys, to church. This was when I was a Liberal Protestant. I thought it not good to be ostentatious. I suppose I also wanted to show solidarity with the Masses, The Wretched of the Earth, to borrow Franz Fanon's phrase. Even after several years of having jobs in which it seemed a good idea to wear a suit, I stubbornly continued to dress down on Sundays.

Then after marrying a Korean, I was required to wear suits to the Confucian Chesa (sacrificial meals in honor of the deceased) held at home on important holidays and death anniversaries. All the males wore suits, to a ceremony even Confucious himself knew to be nothing more than a symbol of filial piety.

I came to realize that I wore suits for my bosses, my students, and ancestral spirits, but not for Jesus Christ. Once I became a Catholic and accepted the Real Presence, that Christ Himself was present in the Holy Eucharist, that the Mass was the ultimate Chesa, then I decided that wearing a suit would be a sign of respect for Our Lord.

While the older men at my Parish wear suits, I seem to be the only "young fogey" who holds on to the custom. There are times when I don't wear a suit to Mass, and I harbor no ill will for those who dress more casually on Sundays, but I'll continue to see my attire as one more way I can offer my best to Him Who died for my sins.

Shamanism

Re: Shamanism Returns from Hiding in South Korea

Shamanism is Korea's only truly native religion: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity all being foreign imports. It has been looked down upon by Koreans themselves since at least the early days of the Choseon Dynasty (1395-1910), but seems to be enjoying a bit of a rennaissance.

The Insight Guides Korea (Korea, 7th Ed) explains Shamanism by way of the popularity of Christianity in Korea:

"If you have ever wondered why Christianity has flourished in Korea, the shaman may provide the answer.

"Consider the spiritual world of ancient Korea: a world inhabited by spirits who were malevolent, whimsical, and often unable to be appeased by ritual observances. The country's misfortunes over the years and the oppressive cast system which made life such a misery for much of the population only added to the pessimistic passivity of ancient Koreans. When Christianity came along, it offered a way out - the biggest, most powerful spirit of them all who could take away the fear of the other spirits." (page 71)

Today, the practice of Shamanism in Korea is much wider than one might think, and its belief system still influences Koreans, no matter what religion they formally profess.

Xenophobia in China

Fareed Zakaria, in The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, makes the enlightening point that the West has very little to fear from the reforming Chinese government, but lots to fear from the xenophobic and ultranationalistic Chinese people.

China's crazy blame game lists some of the conspiracy theories popular in China these days from the article:

- Cigarette smuggling is an attempt by international tobacco companies to disrupt government tax revenue.

- Junk clothes are dumped into fishing villages by unscrupulous Western businesses to pollute the environment.

- Hollywood movies spearhead the cultural invasion into the pure and beautiful minds of Chinese youth.

- Japanese tourists lure Chinese women into hotel rooms to humiliate China on the anniversary of the outbreak of war between the two countries in 1931.

- Trade is a battleground. High imports of competitively priced plastics or grains in one year are meant to cripple domestic industries, while a low tide of high-tech transfers constitutes an embargo on China.

- SARS is a gene-based weapon manufactured by the United States for use against the Chinese, according to a new book just published by Social Sciences Publishing House in Beijing.

What if...?

What if Kim Jong-il had been killed?
For Kim and North Korea, a sign of mortality

NK Blast Update

First, reading Scores of Children Among N.Korea Train Dead only hightens the sense of tragedy.

Second, reading Aid worker sees “Chernobyl” chance for N. Korea (the "aid worker" in question none other than Dr. Norbert Vollertsen) hightens the hope that out of this tragedy something good might happen.

Thanks for the Link

To The Marmot's (Final) Hole, quite possibly the sine non qua of the Korean blogosphere, who had these kind words to say:

"Catholics, on the other hand, may like Katolik Shinja; actually, non-Catholics will probably like it, too. Maintained by POSTECH professor Joshua Snyder, it mixes politics, Catholic issues and much, much more. Should have linked to this guy long ago."

Also linked was a great new blog, Xeniteia, belonging to an Eastern Orthodox believer named Pavle Jurodivyj, who is living here in Korea.

NK Blast

Re: Blast Prompts N. Korea to Issue Rare Plea

My server has been down so I have not had a chance to read much about this story, much less post anything. Our prayers go out to the victims and their families.

The True Meaning of Reform

Re: Delay Press Reform No Longer

What "press reform" really means is "suppression of the press," or at least conservative papers like The Chosun Ilbo, The Dong-A Ilbo, and The Joongang Daily.

Korean Catholics and Life Issues

UCA News Online published an article today with some extremely discouraging statistics regarding Korean Catholics:

Nine out of ten of Koreans, "regardless of religion, said [abortion] should be allowed either with or without conditions."

"As for the actual practice of abortion, 34.2 percent of Catholic women respondents and 40.1 percent of women of other religions said they have had an abortion. More Catholics than people of other religions, however, said they have had more than three abortions."

"[T]hree of 10 Catholics believe life begins at birth, though the Church teaches life begins the moment the egg is fertilized."

I'm reminded of an exchange my wife once read posted on the website of a local OB/GYN. It was between a woman and a doctor, both members of our parish. It began with the traditional Korean Cathoilic greeting of "Chanmi Yesu-nim" (Praise Jesus) and went on to ask about methods of artificial birth-control!

Another terrible episode: My wife's pregnancy with our first child was confirmed when she was hospitalized for asthma at a local Catholic hospital. Seeing that I was a foriegner, the doctor asked her, "Do you want to keep it?" A Catholic hospital!

I pray that our bishops and our priests will devote their efforts to creating a culture of life among Korean Catholics.

Omnes Sancti et Sanctae Coreae, orate pro nobis.

Disturbing

Korean and Japanese Scientists Create Mouse Through Virgin Birth

A New Blog

Through the comments on this blog, I'm happy to have found a fellow blogger with a "really conservative viewpoint and a Korean wife" at JTB in Texas. A liberal friend of mine once attempted to disparage me by saying that I was "just like that Phil Gramm guy."

From Waegwon to New Jersey

Korean monks reinvigorate U.S. monastery whose numbers have dwindled

Self-congratulatory and Dangerous Nonsense

The latest English-language editorial from OhmyNews is entitled The Genius of OhmyNews: The "Every Citizen is a Reporter" model of journalism is dogging conservative news at every step. How's that for modesty?

The problem with the "'Every Citizen is a Reporter' model of journalism" is that journanalim is a profession, like medicine or law, that requires rigorous training and demands a strict code of ethics. How about "Every Citizen is a Doctor, a Lawyer, or an Airline Pilot" models?

Here are some of the more ridiculous, and frightening, quotes from the article:

"In the heavens of the New Media world, no star shines brighter than that of OhmyNews, South Korea's Internet-based experiment in citizen journalism."

"OhmyNews blew apart the conservative news hegemony in the country and led the way for the election of President Roh Moo-hyun in 2002. And now, Roh's Uri Party has swept into power in Parliament by a victory in the National Assembly elections, also compliments of the steady voice of OhmyNews."

"Every real journalist, at heart, is a social engineer, and OhmyNews founder Oh Yeon Ho is no exception."

"According to the UCLA Center for Communications Policy World Internet Report,... [s]even in ten Korean users believe that most or all of the information on the Web is accurate or reliable."

"We do not regard objective reporting as a source of pride. OhmyNews does not regard straight news articles as the standard. Articles including both facts and opinions are acceptable when they are good."

"John Dewey would've loved OhmyNews."

If this is the future of journalism, we all have lot to be worried about. Welcome to mobocracy!

Whale Meat

I was glad to see my Korean hometown Ulsan get some international press coverage in Stone age art suggests whale hunting. I've seen the petroglyphs the article describes, which were made between 3,000 and 8,000 years ago. Amazingly, after thousands of years, Ulsan remains the center for delicious, succulent whale meat (gorae gogi), a politically incorrect delicacy.

"Conservatives" and "Progressives"

Cho Se-hyon, in Old man blues, makes the following observation:

"The word, 'conservative,' has become an ugly and despised label since the self-appointed 'progressives' and 'reformists' have taken over power in this country. Thus, anyone - usually old men and women - who is wary, for instance, of communists in North Korea as well as in the South is a conservative, chauvinistic pig who is anti-people and anti-unification."

I've noticed my students using the above words in the same way, often hurling the label "conservative" as an epithet against the local Gyeongsangbukdo population or their professors (That's sure different from the US!). "Progressive," conversely, is often used as a synonym for open-minded and fair.

Bearded Catholic Farmer Elected to National Assembly

Kang Gigab

A biograhical note on Mr. Kang Gibap of the Democratic Labor Party from Hunjangûi karûch'im:

"Raises livestock in Sacheon, Gyeongnam; been active in Catholic Farmers' Association, was the vice president of Korean Peasants League (Chônnong/Junnong) and became a proportional candidate with the Junnong mandate; famous for his beard, likes to wear a modern hanbok (kaeryang hanbok). Has been active in resisting the opening of agricultural markets, and was breaking barricades in Cancun."

Haemi

The following link was provided in my church bulletin yesterday: www.haemi.or.kr.

Haemi is sacred ground for Catholics. Three thousand Catholics were martyred there in the 19th Century, a century in which Korea gave about 10,000 martyrs to the Church Triumphant. Of these, 103, the Martyrs of Korea, have been canonized as saints of the Universal Church, including their leader, the patron of this blog, Saint Andrew Kim Taegon.

Rapporteur

Christian Solidarity Worldwide Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas, quoted in Christians welcome new UN rapporteur on North Korea:

"The people of North Korea suffer under one of the most ruthless and repressive regimes in the world and it is high time the spotlight was focused on this unspeakable suffering.

"In due time the international community will see the evidence of the extremes of inhumanity and barbarity that are inflicted on the people and, no doubt, wish it had acted sooner. After 50 years of rule, it is a welcome development to have an international monitor appointed and we hope this will encourage North Korea to finally move towards respecting international human rights law and basic principles of human dignity."

Election News Roundup

Pro-Government Uri Party Wins S.Korea Vote
Victory for Roh's party in South Korea vote
Uri Dominates General Election; Secures Parliamentary Majority
[Editorial] Proceed With Reform!
[EDITORIALS]A turning point for the left

Corporal Punishment

From Ruminations in Korea via The Marmot's (Final) Hole comes the shocking
Video Clip of Teacher Assaulting Student, originally published in Video Clip of Assault Gets Teacher Fired .

My wife tells me scenes like that were not uncommon in her all girls high school.

I'm not at all against corporal punishment, and contrary to the popular misconception held by many Koreans, it is still practiced in many US states.

The video above, however, clearly shows assault, not corporal punishment. The student was humiliated, if not injured, and the teacher absolutely humiliated himself.

Sex Ratio Imbalance

Re: China fears bachelor future: China is facing a demographic crisis. It is heading towards becoming a nation of bachelors, with official statistics predicting as many as 40m single men by 2020.

Korea is facing the same problem, due to selected abortions.

Linguistic Fun

Essentialist Explanations is a link that came to my attention by the fellow "language geek" at A conservative blog for peace, always a source of interesting links. Here are some of my favorites:

(Caveat lector: Do not proceed reading if your sense of national or linguistic pride is so malformed that it is easily wounded by good-natured humor.)

English is essentially bad Dutch with outrageously pronounced French and Latin vocabulary.
--Eugene Holman

English is essentially a bizarre dialect of Chinese, pronounced entirely in the first tone.
--John Cowan

English is essentially a language that uses vowels no other language would accept.
--Luís Henrique

American English is essentially British English without the redundancies, including the monarchy.
--Ivan C. Amaya

American English is essentially your Queen's English as bastardized by colonists, or is it as colonized by bastards?
--ilvi

American English is essentially Irish English as spoken by non-native speakers.
--Benct Philip Jonsson

American English is essentially English after having been wiped off with a dirty sponge.
--J.R.R. Tolkien

Australian English is essentially Cockney without the refinement.
--Öjevind Lång

The Queen's English is essentially Modern Anglo-Saxon as passed on by generation after generation of stiff necked Norman nobles with their noses in the air.
--ilvi

Men efter all Englisk äre basiklig Svensk förpoisonat of Frensk (ellor skould dat be Danisk?).
--Jonathan Knibb

Inglish iz issenshali a langwidje dhat, wen rittun fonetkli, iz ilejibul tu netiv spikerz.
--Peter Bleackley

Spanish is essentially Italian spoken by Arabs.
--Benct Philip Jonsson

Castilian Romance is nothing but Latin spoken by Basque lips and transformed by evolution in an environment of Basque habits and of Basque phonetic tradition.
--P. Ormaechevarria, via David Mediavilla Ezquibela

Argentinean is essentially Italian spoken so that other South Americans can catch on.
--ilvi

Mandarin is essentially Chinese as spoken by Mongols.
--Daniel von Brighoff

Korean is essentially bad Japanese, also as spoken by Mongols.
--Daniel von Brighoff

Conversely, Japanese is essentially Korean in the mouths of little children.
--Daniel von Brighoff

Korean is essentially being caught in a syllable-diagraming exercise gone horribly, horribly wrong.
--David Boshko

Korean is essentially Mongolian with a Chinese vocabulary.
--Danny Wier

Japanese is essentially Tagalog spoken by Koreans trying to do an impression of Americans from the point of view of Chinese people.
--Andrew Johnson

Cantonese is essentially what everyone else in China calls swearing.
--Kiri Aradia Morgan

Vietnamese is essentially Chinese spoken as fast as you can.
--Alex Stanich

Spoken Vietnamese is essentially Chinese with 6 tones, unpronounceable consonants, and sounds you have to say while inhaling.
--Jonathan Walton

Written Vietnamese is essentially Wade-Giles as invented by an opium-smoking Frenchman.
--Jonathan Walton

Nativeamericanlanguagesessentiallycramlotsofideasintooneword.
--Clint Jackson Baker

A New Blog

Dave in Korea

"The Passion" Well Recieved by Korea Christians

"KOREA: 'Passion Of Christ' Viewed As Realistic, Horrible, Good Teaching" in today's UCA News Online

Bring Back the Monarchy!

As a monarchist, I support the re-establishment of the Yi Dynasty as the rulers of Korea. This could be a way out of the current politcal miasma. Here are the remaining Korean royals, from Front Page - Apr. 13, 2004:

The living family members of the Chosun dynasty that are still living, present the garb of the king, the queen and princesses during the Chosun dynasty royal apparel fashion show, sponsored by the American Woman’s Club held at a hotel in Seoul Tuesday morning. Lee Seok (center), the grandson of Gojon, the last king of the dynasty (left), Dokgo Jeong-hee, the wife of Lee and Lee Hong (right) a great-granddaughter of Gojong.

See no Evil

From Former Ambassador Says No to Bush's 'Axis of Evil':

"Is North Korea the last outpost of the 'Axis of Evil'? Donald Phinney Gregg, former U.S. Ambassador to Korea and Chair of the Korea Society, said 'No on all counts,' in a lecture given under the Henry E. and Nancy Horten Bartels World Fellowship, a program designed to bring prominent international leaders to Cornell."

D-2

Conservatives rebound, progressives squirm ahead of South Korea election

Easter in Seoul

From Celebrating Easter:

"Catholics attend a mass celebrating Easter Sunday at the Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul yesterday. The cathedral also sold Easter eggs decorated by children to raise funds for its Sunday school classes. Myeongdong Cathedral became the country's first significant Gothic architectural structure when it was built in 1898. [YONHAP]
Right: Over 60,000 Protestants belonging to different churches around the nation gather at a special service called the 2004 Korean Churches Easter Service at Seoul's Sangam World Cup Stadium yesterday. By Cho Yong-chul"

Politics & Christianity in Korea

Passion of Religious Could Influence Polls: Conservative Christian Groups Warned to Stay Out of General Elections

Easter Mass

St. Paul's Parish, I-dong, Pohang, South Korea

Easter Mass was beautiful; the choir sang the Kyrie in Greek and the Gloria, Santus, and Angus Dei in Latin!

He is Risen!

A Poem

A Prayer on Good Friday

Grant me today
that I may call upon you
with the deepest and lowest voice.

May I weep over the darkness
embedded within Mary's griving heart,
encountering your unavoidable departure
for the sake of even more souls.

May I also prostrate myself before you
in deep humility
just as Peter bitterly wailed
over his betrayal.

O Lord of love,
You overpowered death
by drinking the bitter cup of death.

May I not boast of imprudent love
without imitating you.

May I be a somber point in the darkness
lying within the stone tomb today
together with those deeply despairing souls
who loved you so deeply

May I be a bright point in the darkness
for having fallen asleep with you,
I shall awaken with you
O Lord of light.


by Sister Claudia Haein Lee

Cui bono?

Re: US Inciting Civil War in Iraq

The above editorial appeared in the leftist Hankyoreh. My question is, why on earth would the US want to incite a civil war in Iraq? Who benefits?

This could just be a misuse of the word "incite."

Canon

Budaechigae has an exquisutely beautiful rendition of Pachelbel's Canon on the Korean Gayageum (click Gayaguem Canon) and a lot of information on the zither-like instrument.

Repression in Red China

China arrests another Catholic bishop
Holy See says Bishop Jia’s arrest is “inadmissible”

"Headquarters for the People's Action to Eradicate Leftists"

The blunt name of the above organization is mentioned in an editorial, Red-Baiting By Christians Groups, from the leftist Hankyoreh.

First Kerry, now...

N Korea endorses Roh's party in South's poll, calling on voters to "'totally bury the pro-US conservative parties including the Grand National party [GNP] and the [Millennium] Democratic party,' and help the 'pro-reunification candidates win in the election'".

It is helpful to remember that in Korean politics, "pro-reunification" means being in favor of propping up the North Korean regime so that it does not collapse and thereby postponing reunification. Being labelled anti-reunification means that you want to avoid any support for the North Korean regime and hope for its people to someday have freedom and food, and reunification with the South.

I am a False God

This quiz came to my attention via Big Hominid via Budaechigae:

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I guess I can go on teaching English here in Korea in good conscience.

Thanks for the Link...

...Budaechigae (see Hi Joshua from Katolik Shinja).

Migrant Workers' Art

From The Ugly Korean in Pictures:

Mixed-Race, the Next "Hot Issue"

From Jennifer Makes a Name For Herself on ArirangTV:

Love-Hate Relationship

Koreans on US: Can't live with 'em, or without 'em

South Korea & India

Re: How South Korea Conquered India: LG set out to change the local culture on sales targets and dealer relationships.

When foreign businesses have tried to change local customs in Korea, it's decried by some as a kind of "imperialism." Now, South Korean companies are doing the same thing in India. However, just as foreigners have brought postive changes to Korea, so it seems that the Koreans are helping Indians out of their economic malaise.

Evil

Via chosunhoon's Xanga Site:

Confronting Evil: North Korea Freedom Day by Chuck Colson

Misconceptions

"Foreigners' Mistaken Ideas About Korea" is a popular theme among my students. Koreans' Mistaken Ideas About America by Kim Dae-joong is an article that discusses two populer misconceptions Koreans have about the U.S.: (1) that it is planning an invasion of North Korea, and (2) that its troops cannot easily be pulled out South Korea.

The theme is similar to an excelent article that appeared more than two years ago: The New York Times Review of Books: Occidentalism.

I've Seen It!

For my review of The Passion of the Christ, please read my Thoughts on The Passion of the Christ.

Underpopulation Crisis in Korea

This in an issue I try to get my students to think about. They owe it to their nation (see South Korea moves to reverse population collapse and Plummeting birth rate calls for drastic measures).

Musashimaru, One of the Greats

From Musashimaru, Sumo's Ambassador-at-Large:

Musashimaru, the second American sumo wrestler in history to become a Yokozuna (Grand Champion)

Years ago when I first arrived in Korea, I used to watch sumo wrestling on NHK with my colleagues. We didn't understand a word and didn't even know the names of the wrestlers. We thought Musashimaru looked like an Italian-American and called him "Frank." His real name is Fiamalu Penitani and he's from Hawai'i.

Freedom of Religion in China

There still is precious little (see CHINA: For religious freedom, patience may be the virtue), but it is estimated that there are 100 million Christians in China (see Bibles for China): almost one tenth of the population!

Folks Helping Out North Koreans

From "chosunhoon" of chosunhoon's Xanga Site (Musings of an orthodox Catholic... ...concerned for N. Koreans), an excellent blog from a Catholic convert here in Korea, comes a link to The Fourth River Project, run by Ben Torrey, son of legendary (in Korean Christendom) Anglican Priest Reuben Archer Torrey III, whose mission is to bring the gospel to North Korea.

The Blame Game

Here's an article, External Forces at Work in N. Koreans' Plight, which blames outside forces, especially the US, for the abyssmal human rights situation in North Korea!

To the Sun!

The above article is from the Weekly World News, and is best read as a piece of satire. They plan to "go at night, when it's not so hot."