tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308100102011-04-22T04:55:32.137+09:00A blog on U.S. politics and foreign affairs, literature, and philosophy, set in New York and, now, SeoulBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-160343461469658182008-08-29T10:17:00.002+09:002008-08-29T10:21:13.394+09:00

Here's a good piece on Burma in the New Yorker by George Packer. Burma's military junta, although it resembles North Korea's government minus the personality cult, is far more inept that North Korea. For one thing, it allows or even encourages some of its citizens to leave the country. As Packer writes, "The endgame seems to be a regime virtually without citizens."So, Burma could be a good test

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-29516213134776711612008-08-27T16:13:00.002+09:002008-08-29T10:22:33.685+09:00

It's not yet September, but it's already feeling icy in East Asia. Check out this article about the anti-Korean sentiment on display in Beijing during the Olympics. As the article points out, it is too soon to tell whether or how this will affect relations between the two countries. But, I think it is worth noting how far from cosy bedfellows China and Korea remain a mere 16 years since resuming

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-38525317207401672662008-08-21T16:18:00.003+09:002008-08-21T16:25:39.779+09:00

Here is an excellent summary of the background, outcome and effects of the Boumediene v. Bush SCOTUS decision, which I wrote about earlier. There is one point that I disagree with Dworkin on, however: I think that Justice Kennedy's wording is not sufficiently broad as to extend the writ to prisoners held in Afghanistan or Iraq. Kennedy makes a point of saying that Guantanamo has been in US

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-46658256328571685842008-08-21T10:52:00.004+09:002008-08-21T16:26:38.046+09:00

Michael Phelps and Barack Obama represent a new, different kind of American ethos than, to take two people at random, Mark Spitz and Bill Clinton. Phelps and Obama are standard bearers of the post-baby-boomer nation, one that is no longer so ridiculously self-absorbed or patronizingly anti-establishment. I'm generalizing here, but bear with me. Contrast Michael Spitz, who, "sounding brash and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-74559940234450624572008-06-27T11:02:00.000+09:002008-06-27T11:03:34.685+09:00

David Kaplan's most recent article for the Atlantic highlights the few things that Rumsfeld got right. His amazing blunder in Iraq is contrasted with his strategic success in reorganizing the military's global presence. Rumsfeld lowered the number of troops stationed permanently outside of the U.S., at bases in Germany, Japan and Korea, for example, and established instead many smaller,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-35245397031162100352008-06-27T10:20:00.001+09:002008-06-27T11:04:02.295+09:00

There is another protest planned for this Saturday at Kwang Hwa Mun in Seoul. The flier claims that 5 million people will be present. I may check it out.Here, also, is a nice article on the level and variety of anti-American sentiment displayed at these protests. The old anti-dictatorship protests in Korea, to which this new generation of demonstrations is constantly compared, were virulently

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-8975006958023187882008-06-27T10:08:00.003+09:002008-06-27T10:22:12.848+09:00

Here. A major step towards reintegration, and perhaps reunification? Or another propping-up of a criminal regime. Time will tell...

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-13049714803999142982008-06-24T18:03:00.002+09:002008-06-25T11:08:25.265+09:00

In its ruling on Boumediene v. Bush, on June 12, the Supreme Court decided 5 to 4 to grant the writ of habeas corpus to detainees being held at the naval station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, even though they have been designated enemy combatants and they are being held outside of the territorial United States. This means that some detainees can challenge their detention in federal court.What is

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-56780488576569951542008-06-24T14:55:00.002+09:002008-06-24T14:59:05.601+09:00

In my previous post I mentioned the candlelight vigils being held in Seoul currently. They are not planned in advance, but are organized over the internet with little warning. According to the awkwardly nomikered "The People's Countermeasure Council against Full Resumption of Imports of U.S. Beef Endangered with Mad Cow Disease", 65,000 people attended the June 6 protest and 20,000 people were

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-37978476472848618042008-06-17T18:11:00.001+09:002008-06-20T15:12:25.820+09:00

Last year, I wrote a few posts on the pending U.S.-Korea FTA. A consensus was eventually reached between the negotiators, and the agreement is currently waiting to be ratified by the respective legislatures.If you go back and read my old posts, you will at least agree that the issues surrounding this agreement are complicated. It seems to me, for instance, that the U.S. should ratify the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-68735940121666558482008-06-17T17:27:00.002+09:002008-06-18T10:08:23.270+09:00

An observation: Did you know that, in "Chinatown", it is the director, Roman Polanski, who plays the man with the knife, the one who slices Jack Nicholson's nose and says "Hey kitty cat." (Check it out here.) You remember, of course, that Nicholson's nose stays bandaged and then scarred for the rest of the film. This is an extremely awesome, and literal, example of the director leaving his mark

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-81278562086813811172008-06-17T17:12:00.002+09:002008-06-17T17:20:18.366+09:00

So, finally I'm going to write my endorsement of Obama, which has been a long time coming. I've been a big fan since before Iowa, but, anyway, it's time I finally wrote something about it.There are many, many things I like about this guy. I like that he is not concerned with the old divisions--the baby-boomer divisions--in America. I like that he is reaching out to voters who don't usually have

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-88534912478310619212008-06-17T15:55:00.001+09:002008-06-17T15:55:51.799+09:00

McCain's Navy record given scrutiny here.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-39031216384214648962008-05-08T17:21:00.002+09:002008-05-08T17:28:07.177+09:00

Here is a helpful little snapshot of the working conditions of migrant workers in Korea. According to Lee Cheol-seung, the head of the Office of the Gyeongnam Migrant Worker’s Council, migrant workers' "working conditions hover just above the level of slavery.” This is the point of supporting open migration: these workers are obviously necessary for the South Korean economy (otherwise they

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-29499344222417112502008-05-07T19:19:00.001+09:002008-05-08T09:27:56.435+09:00

Bird flu hits Seoul! Stay indoors and away from windows! The birds are no longer the birds you knew. They must be killed on sight, the brains destroyed or severed from the spinal cord and the corpses burned. When there is no more room in Hell, the bodies of the birds....You get the idea.UPDATE: Here is a better article explaining the situation.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-43895848453045645692008-04-30T10:46:00.001+09:002008-04-30T10:48:11.995+09:00

In a previous post, I advocated a sort of open market for migration. Perhaps now I should seek to clarify my points a little. As it happens, Korea provides two concrete examples of policies that conflict with my open migration proposal. It will be worth examining these two examples in order to figure out what my proposal means, in practice.South Korea faces a similar if more pronounced version of

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-44847075186244343932008-02-15T12:03:00.002+09:002008-02-15T12:10:12.637+09:00

Does the word 'nothing' have the same meaning as the word 'sholimotid'?

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-78692676118827904212008-02-15T11:02:00.002+09:002008-02-15T11:05:02.565+09:00

Four things you can learn about Korea from the fact that I am much more likely to bump into pedestrians while walking in Seoul than in New York:1. Koreans walk on the left--although they do, like normal people, drive on the right.2. Koreans, unlike New Yorkers, who all walk at the same brisk pace, have two different paces. One pace, a slow, contemplative, one might say Confucian pace, represents

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-36466856716469465432008-02-11T20:30:00.001+09:002008-02-15T11:08:54.859+09:00

In an incredibly odd turn of events, a man set fire to Namdaemun last night. Namdaemun (South Gate) is/was the 600-year-old, wood-and-stone gate that once to protect the edge of Seoul but now sits at its very center. Namdaemun is probably Korea's most revered national landmark, a remnant of the Chosun Dynasty, the glory days of Korea.I went to the gate today to see it for myself. The entire

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-90675090880375475382008-01-26T11:43:00.000+09:002008-01-26T11:46:32.280+09:00

Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, a "pro-immigrant, low-immigration" think-tank, introduced the term 'post-American' to refer to someone who has renounced the sanctity of the American nationality, and supports throwing open our doors to immigrants. His writings (here and here, for instance) have mostly to do with the debate about whether or not to offer amnesty to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-40704327271817482322007-12-21T09:23:00.000+09:002008-01-26T11:53:18.609+09:00

Read this article, and see if you don't agree with my previous post.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-10378570697296140332007-12-13T13:59:00.001+09:002008-06-24T14:59:46.551+09:00

In a recent post, I said that "we need people in the streets." What do I mean by that? Is setting up formal protests on the Mall really going to change things? I'm afraid not; not unless we've got someone like Dr. King up in front of Lincoln. Cindy Sheehan ain't gonna cut it.I don't know if you remember, but there were massive protests in both New York and DC before the Iraq invasion. Even though

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-11184384269318064142007-11-05T23:39:00.000+09:002007-12-13T14:08:01.511+09:00

You can't begin to understand living in Seoul until you take the Line 2 subway during rush hour. Packed from fin to gill with commuters, this train makes a loop through the city, from city hall--the Japanese-colonial-era building in the heart of old Seoul--through Gangnam--the brand-new commercial district south of the river--and back again. Everyone wants to get to Gangnam, where I work. Since

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-34644716011494849782007-10-15T11:57:00.001+09:002008-06-24T15:01:05.945+09:00

I would not usually link to a Times op-ed piece, but I'm doing so now, not because this one is particularly timely or well-written, but because Frank Rich makes a point that I almost never hear made. Namely, WE are to blame for our country's failures. We, all citizens, are the U.S.A. We are culpable for the lives taken, in Iraq and elsewhere, as well as for the complete loss of respect and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-50918453473840830112007-10-12T10:47:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:04:50.246+09:00

Observed: Whereas in Manhattan, pedestrians always have the right of way and cars always obey the traffic laws, in Seoul it's the opposite. In Seoul, nobody crosses the street, even if it's totally clear, until the light turns green. On the other hand, if the street is clear, taxis don't think twice about running a red. Why the difference?I think this little thing actually provides a pretty clear

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-65549959827090655912007-10-11T10:00:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:04:29.927+09:00

So, I brought some banchun to work yesterday, and it was a huge success--mostly because someone else brought a heap of bulgogi (trans: delicious beef), and I was able to eat it qualm-free. I can get used to this.While I'm here, I'll let you in on another related observation I've made about Korean eating habits: Koreans generally do not talk while they're eating; they save the conversation until

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-24923487105222905462007-10-06T14:54:00.000+09:002007-10-06T14:55:10.841+09:00

If there can be life forms that are not carbon-based, then can there be language that does not have syntax?

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-85554942337902190962007-10-04T17:17:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:04:12.684+09:00

If anyone still doubted whether the U.S. is torturing prisoners, or whether there are legitimate legal concerns about it, they should check out this article. It seems that in 2005 the Justice Department endorsed, in secret, the legality of torturing prisoners deemed to be terrorists. First, if this wasn't already old news, we should leap out of our seats and say, "What has the world come to!?! My

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-11894763002508025012007-10-04T14:36:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:03:58.179+09:00

What I've learned since I started working at an office in which I'm the only foreigner:The major difference between Korean cuisine and Western is, not the high quantities of garlic, hot-pepper paste, or cephalopods, but the fact that all the food is shared. I went to a great little Korean place on Sixth Street in Racine, and the food was pretty authentic (and delicious). The owner even made her

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-27911537456299280572007-10-04T10:20:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:03:41.921+09:00

Well, who'd of thought it, but kudos to President Bush, or, perhaps Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, for finally netting a diplomatic success. In Beijing yesterday, the parties to the six party talks signed an agreement in which North Korea will disable its nuclear program in exchange for increasingly normalized relations with the U.S. and Japan and economic aid (full text). In

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-38954145536770266772007-09-26T00:54:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:03:03.027+09:00

On the day that Abe Shinzo resigned, I was plying the waves of the Tsushima Strait in this hydrofoil-equipped jet ferry, making my way from Busan to Fukuoka, Japan, for my one-day, visa-related stop over.Now, putting aside the purpose of my trip (which was rather banal), there are a number of really interesting things to report. First is simply the fact that I decided, in the face of modern

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1645551371953624882007-09-24T05:07:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:02:37.955+09:00

A year ago at this time, North Korean scientists were preparing to detonate a nuclear weapon underneath Mt. Mantap in the north-east corner of Korea (which they did on Oct. 9). Now, the Six-Party talks have been restarted, South Korea resumed shipment of fuel oil in July and the two Koreas leaders will meet in Pyongyang on Oct. 2 for only the second time since the Korean War. (The first such

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1472898235680982912007-08-25T15:12:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:02:19.270+09:00

Elizabeth Costelloby J.M. CoetzeeViking, 2003The Sorrows of Young Wertherby Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1774)Translated by Michael HulsePenguin, 1989What is it to read a good story? What is the feeling you get when you read something good?With Werther, this: a slow march, a punctuated (by the letters, the dates, the entries) testimonial that serves only to set you in the right frame of mind (who's

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-71029875462516895622007-08-25T12:37:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:02:01.537+09:00

Here is my best picture from Thailand. (Siam Square, Bangkok, August 3, 2007)

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-54574753784211355272007-08-18T00:10:00.000+09:002007-08-18T00:14:42.250+09:00

Dear reader (whoever you are),I'll again ask your forgiveness for being away for so long, but I have good excuses this time. I finished my year in Korea on July 26, and I caught the first plane for Bangkok the next morning. I was in Thailand for a week, and I'm in Racine now. Also, I'll be in New York for a few days starting on Aug. 18. If my paths will cross with any of you, be sure to drop me

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-7777131891071169712007-07-17T15:29:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:01:42.738+09:00

In my Darwin v. God post, I was getting at something like this:Science has, at least since the Enlightenment (if not much longer), confined its ken to facts and descriptions of the natural world. In appealing to evolution to criticize a certain human practice (in this case, religion), Science has taken on a normative project. Instead of merely describing or investigating facts, and informing what

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-7005222149496716782007-07-15T14:02:00.001+09:002008-06-25T11:07:36.707+09:00

Well, after much effort, I got a piece about Guantanamo detainees published in the Racine Journal Times! It's not the NYT, but a step in the right direction. Here is the link; who knows how long it will hold:Is Guantanamo legal?(But, as usual, God or fate has assured that my head doesn't get too big. They spelled my name wrong!)

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-3853839997204167532007-07-11T13:50:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:01:23.555+09:00

Some people have been asking why terrorists would try to strike Scotland, and if so, why not Edinburgh. Far from mysterious, their motives show them to be politically savvy, even it they are armatures with explosives.Some people linked the attack in London to Salman Rushdie's. Prior to that attack, the London Times recorded the recent wave of anti-Rushdie sentiment here. But a far sounder motive

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-18547541243672866102007-07-06T16:44:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:01:13.753+09:00

Here is a piece I wrote about PyeongChang's now-unsuccessful attempt to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. On July 4, the IOC chose Sochi. So much for Korean unity...When the International Olympic Committee delegates arrived in PyeongChang on Feb. 14, a fresh layer of snow was quietly blanketing the city, giving way to sunny skies for the duration of their visit. If the weather continues to be this

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-82118117321643572202007-07-04T20:29:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:01:03.558+09:00

I just insulted an old lady, in front of her daughter, in such a way that she will probably be fuming for an hour and may lose whatever remaining respect she had for foreigners, perhaps for the rest of her life.What did I do? I answered her question without using a verb. In Korean, when you respond to someone older than you, you must use a polite verb form; using a simple verb without an

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-78381837864111430042007-06-27T16:54:00.001+09:002008-06-25T11:07:59.092+09:00

Yesterday in the NYT, Morris D. Davis, an Air Force colonel and chief prosecutor for the military commissions set to try the Guantanamo inmates, defended U.S. policy and practice regarding detainees. He pointed out that they are now been held in "clean, safe" prison facilities and that the military commissions provide them with all of the basic legal rights customarily given to international war

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-7048221471730030792007-05-31T13:06:00.000+09:002007-11-06T00:00:22.538+09:00

I'm not going to offer a critique of Richard Dawkins latest book, The God Delusion, because I think that has been done adequately already, by H. Allen Orr in The New York Review, among others (and because I have not read it all--I left my copy in the States). But I do wish to discuss one reason why he thought it necessary for him to write the book in the first place. Why did Dawkins take it upon

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-17223950046795363182007-05-22T19:30:00.001+09:002008-06-25T11:08:13.573+09:00

Whenever I try to justify U.S. foreign policy to someone from another country, I can do pretty well talking about development aid, free trade and our efforts to liberalize markets. I even have some success defending the Iraq fiasco. But all he needs to do is mention "Guantanamo" for the conversation to fall flat. What can I possibly say to justify that?This is reason enough to shut the whole

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-11606737065717920332007-05-19T16:59:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:59:55.178+09:00

Jerry Falwell died on May 15th in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was born and where he founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty University and the Moral Majority movement. He was 73.One of the figurehead firebrands at the front of the evangelical spiritual and political movement in the U.S., he was criticized (or reviled) for his occasional shocking soundbites. (Here is his post-9/11 gem: '

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-33207874090494499042007-05-03T21:21:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:59:38.655+09:00

Why I Am a Catholicby Garry WillsHoughton Mifflin, 2002I used to think that the importance of religion was the personal, spiritual relationship with the Almighty, and that the various forms of organized religion were various forms of BS standing in the way. Lately, however, I've reversed this formula: I think that public, collective ritual is more important; a mystical relationship is secondary

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-91477524717521679962007-04-28T15:01:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:59:17.721+09:00

On Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed a spending bill, already passed by the House, that ordered an October 1 pullout of US troops from Iraq. Bush has said he'll veto it. While I think October might be too early, I do think it is time we set a date. Rather than either immediate or indefinite withdrawal, setting a pullout date is the best policy for Iraq. Here's my thinking:If we set a date, we

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-44327691488759839712007-04-28T13:19:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:59:05.622+09:00

North Korea is the linchpin of East Asia--the stability of the region rests on Kim Jong-Il's maniacal shoulders. But, paradoxically, all this weight ensures the relative stability of the North Korean regime. No one can afford to have North Korea topple. So, it probably wont. The situation is remarkably clear--there is almost no reason not to deal with Kim, prop him up even. And Bush, who

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-28605255555186397002007-04-28T12:38:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:58:48.348+09:00

The Aquariums of Pyongyangby Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre RigoulotTranslated by Yair ReinerBasic Books, 2001 (new edition 2005)For a book that documents, in graphic detail, the ten years the author spent in a North Korean labor camp, this was not overly disturbing to read. Let me clarify: Although some scenes, if properly imagined, can turn your stomach inside out, and although this is a book that

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-39792176032146319132007-04-26T01:31:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:58:25.888+09:00

Here's another something I wrote for Shannon's ADP site. It was originally posted on February 20.The US has been reluctant to really deal with North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union on the assumption that it would, at each crucial stage, soon collapse. It has not collapsed. As Richard Bernstein notes here, if Clinton had followed up on the 1994 Agreed Framework, we could have an embassy

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-49994320308958873422007-04-24T11:11:00.000+09:002007-04-24T11:16:34.246+09:00

Shannon Powell's NGO is now all over the Internet, not just on Facebook. Here are the links:TheAmericanDemocracyProjectDemocratic Party siteFacebook

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-63367861360154948982007-04-20T11:32:00.000+09:002007-04-20T11:35:46.052+09:00

On a lighter, but perhaps related, note:My translation of a poem by Jeong Hyeon-Jong, from his book I AM THE STAR MAN. (See, I am learning a little Korean.)IslandBetween all people and thingsthere is an island.I want to go to that island..

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-28231455448748072682007-04-20T11:25:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:57:58.397+09:00

After the shootings at VT, people here and Koreans in the U.S. are worried about a backlash. While I really hope that is unlikely, this serves as a big reminder that racism in America is not gone, and that East Asians are not exempt. An interesting article here shows how much fear there is. When it was released that the shooter was an Asian, all the communities prayed "let it be some other Asian.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-42586156426690602092007-04-14T15:50:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:57:34.731+09:00

I might as well post this too. I wrote this in February, but it is still interesting, if probably completely wrong. Let me know what you think...In 1914, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, setting off the powder keg of ethnic conflict that was Eastern Europe. While I don't mean to suggest that bin Laden was directly responsible for the Iraq invasion (any more,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-74511180643733157862007-04-14T15:48:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:57:19.450+09:00

The Bush Administration finally (and barely--25 minutes before the deadline) signed a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea on April 2. This was a major breakthrough--I had though that the negotiations might completely fall apart--and an important one for U.S. foreign policy in East Asia. Coupled with the recent thaw in relations with North Korea and the recently announced reduction of U.S.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-81396353367807769172007-04-14T15:40:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:56:54.589+09:00

Dear Reader,Here is a little thing I wrote about the then-pending Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the U.S. and South Korea. I originally posted it, on February 18, on my friend Shannon Powell's American Democracy Project site, which can be accessed through Facebook. It is now outdated--a deal has been signed, it now awaits only Congressional approval. Please read this, and then read my

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-19298188921062684362007-04-14T15:23:00.000+09:002007-04-14T15:39:39.167+09:00

Dear reader,I've been away for a long time because I was lazy. My apologies. My goal now is to mention all the little things I've learned about Korea--and am learning daily.First entry: On all the Seoul subways in the morning, little old men like cockroaches run up and down the cars (one per train) collecting the newspapers that people leave in the seats or on the racks. They collect them in huge

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1155446098946309142006-08-13T14:09:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:56:32.675+09:00

While we're on the subject, here is a painting by Korean artist Kim Dong-Yoo, called "Marilyn Monroe vs. Chairman Mao," that sold for over $300k at Christie's in Hong Kong in May.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1155445266778998742006-08-13T13:55:00.000+09:002006-08-13T14:09:01.720+09:00

Here is the video for one of the big Korean pop songs out right now. I think it is good, if sappy. But seriously, I legitimately like a lot of Korean music. I'll post others when I find them.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1155432449944379042006-08-13T10:22:00.000+09:002006-08-13T10:27:29.956+09:00

Apparently I like to live in places that think they are the center of the world. Compare this kangido map, made in Korea in 1402, to this 1976 New Yorker cover.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154768793701844692006-08-05T17:48:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:55:47.045+09:00

Well, as I was getting soaked in Seoul from the remnants of Typhoon Glenda, the North was fairing much worse. At least 150 people have died, but more daunting than this, perhaps, are the North Korean officials who don't seem to have any idea what they are doing--and the looming food shortages.Well, so much for just talking about the weather. Everything here, it seems, gets political.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154767569014205752006-08-05T17:10:00.000+09:002006-08-05T17:46:09.026+09:00

Let's see--when last I wrote, I was still unsure about nightlife in Seoul and I was still a virgin (as far as traveling to Japan is concerned) and I had never ridden a rusted, rickety bike through idyllic Korean hillsides. Well, I'm happy to report that I can no longer say any of these things! On Saturday night, we went out in the Hongdae area of Seoul, which, after admittedly only one night,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154146180344526532006-07-29T12:56:00.001+09:002008-02-15T11:46:34.074+09:00

Here is an interesting op-ed on the possibility of Korean reunification in the current political climate. Writing as if looking back from the future, the author claims that the event that signaled the change of historical tide in the Korean Peninsula came on July 22 from Shenyang, China [when] The Chinese government made an extraordinary decision that it would recognize the North Korean defectors

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154115209198520792006-07-29T04:09:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:54:55.429+09:00

Seoul was a heady mix of Chicago, L.A. and Washington, with a large dose of East Asia thrown in. I rode the bus in today, and we made it to the middle of Namdaemun Market before the torrential rains set in again. As we stumbled, in heavy rains with broken umbrellas, trough the alleyways, tunnels, escalators, and teeming stalls selling every imaginable low-end consumable, I finally felt like I was

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154033331433675582006-07-28T05:40:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:54:18.719+09:00

I already got my first typhoon! Well, not really--we are just getting the "vapors" of it as it hits mainland China. I guess it was pretty bad in Manila.It has been raining heavy here for the past two days. I got wet, but this is nothing worse than the hurricanes that periodically ravage New York.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1154025803086400192006-07-28T02:47:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:53:34.754+09:00

Check it out. Chicago decides to raise minimum wage for retail workers:The City Council brushed aside warnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to approve an ordinance that makes Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a ''living wage.'' The ordinance, which passed 35-14 Wednesday after three hours of impassioned debate, requires mega-retailers to pay wages of at least

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1153973452404833462006-07-27T13:07:00.000+09:002006-07-27T13:10:52.406+09:00

My previous post, and no doubt this one as well, says "Wednesday, July 26" despite the fact that it is already Thursday from my point of view. Keep this in mind. And if anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1153971975524734732006-07-27T12:42:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:52:58.707+09:00

[This post has been delayed a bit due to lack of internet connection. It should be dated July 25.]Koreans are very lovable, and, for the most part, very western. Maybe I should say specifically American, since I have a co-teacher who is English, and some things, I think, make her feel slightly out of place (e.g. they drive on the right and they speak—and expect to be taught—American English). On

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1152757137725833752006-07-13T10:55:00.000+09:002007-11-05T23:52:25.345+09:00

Korea has never, at least in modern history, been both independent and whole. In the nineteenth century and before, Korea was a fiercely isolated “hermit kingdom”. But, because of its small stature, it owed its economic stability and military protection to China, in exchange for which a tribute was regularly paid. Unlike Japan who, having first tasted Western modernity, embraced and mastered it,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30810010.post-1152314735860159872006-07-08T08:13:00.000+09:002006-07-08T08:25:35.870+09:00

Dear reader:This blog will be an attempt to keep track of my own thoughts--but I will not post anything that I do not think will be of general interest. Also, since I will be moving to Bucheon, Korea (outside of Seoul) in two weeks, and since a blog is de rigeur for the expat community, I thought I should have one. I will record my views on politics, literature, and philosophy, as well as link to

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11313486897688054698noreply@blogger.com4