The Chosun Bimbo

2008-08-20T16:08:00.003+09:00

One could write forever about the things that people (ex-pats) hate about Korea. By contrast one enjoys hating on said complaining ~~Canadians~~ ~~Americans~~ ex-pats as whining ethnocentric maggots. It's not often that I find something worth complaining about, and I have come to the realisation that my little quandary here is not that I am suffering from cultural difference, but rather a modicum of assimilation....
So on Sunday I felt like a steak, and I also felt like a bit of SK (No luck there, but I'm working on it.) So SK and I headed to that bastion of all things faux-Aussie, The Outback Steakhouse. Now I would assume that Outback has a lot of foreign clientele in Korea, hence the relative high level of English amongst the wait-staff and the English menus.
But God dammit! I'm in Korea so I want to speak (my quite passable) Korean. Plus God Dammit! I'm a male in Korea and I want to be paid the ~~reverence~~ courtesy that my gender ~~deserves~~ gets here in Korea! Alas the wait-person who took our order completely ignored me, despite my ordering in flawless Korean, instead favouring my (female!!!!!) Korean counterpart. Even when I correctly interjected into the little Korea-fest going on across the table from me, as to what side dishes I wanted, it was if I wasn't really there! (And it's not like you can miss the portly, bespectacled figure shouting Korean at you less than a foot away!)
Plus plus God Dammit! None of this looks good when you're trying to impress a girl!
I would like to put this down to the wait-person going for the path of least Resistance in an effort to accurately take our order, but I've managed to feed myself at Outback on numerous solo missions.
(And there 's a whole bunch of stuff I could say it was or allude to here, but that would be complaining.)
I dunno. I guess it's just another one of those wacky moments that keep you on your toes here in The Republic. Suffice to say that I'm one of the good foreign devils over here to teach English ~~(and take all your money / women)~~, it's just sometimes it feels like y'all (Korea / Koreans) are members of a really cool club that won't let me join, even though I do everything you ask of me (and get together the paper work and have a dirty foreigner HIV test).
Still, the Sirloin was fantastic. (Even if half of it had to be put in a doggie bag for breakfast the next day. cf. below).

Kowiana

2008-08-19T15:48:00.002+09:00

Radio New Zealand's Asia Report looks at the recent "Kimchi and Marmite" Conference discussing what it is to be a Korean - New Zealander.
Mp3 here . (10'58")
Worth a listen.

Ill, Pain etc.

2008-08-18T14:06:00.003+09:00

Living alone is far superior to any other living arrangement ever. I am king of my domain, what I say in my house goes, and yes I occasionally do the housework in less than my pajamas. Because I can!
But ever so occasionally a week like the last comes along and it would be handy to have someone else around, if not to just check you're still alive. I alluded previously to the poor state of health I experienced last weekend. I went out drinking on Saturday night to celebrate the Deskbuddy's birthday. The slight twinge at the back of the throat that greeted me on Sunday afternoon I just put down to said drinking, but by Sunday evening, the dull throbbing on the side of my neck, the lower back pain, the nausea, the shallow breathing and the tear inducing pain when I tried to turn my head pointed to something else.
Not deterred, and with classes the next morning I went to bed with the hope that it would all pass and I would be fine.
Yeah, good one.
I struggled through both Monday and Tuesday like this, the symptoms getting more and more painful. Go to work for 9am class. Finish at 12. Be at home and back in bed by 1pm. Finally on Wednesday I managed to haul myself to a doctor - not my usual, rather the closest, a gruff old man who speaks no English whatsoever, but in whom I blindly placed my faith in through a haze of fever and upon sighting his Korea University degree. (Go the Tigers!)
The fistfulls of drugs he prescribed after I forlornly pointed to every spot on my body that was racked by pain took a while to do the trick, Thursday was just as horrible, but by Friday - a public holiday and thus free from classes - there was a bit of an upswing in how I was feeling. Finally having gobbled down all the medication I was given by Saturday night I was feeling a little better. At least I was able to stand up without bawling like a little child.
Last night I was finally feeling up to leaving the house for the first time in 3 days and had a spot of dinner with SK (aren't we getting on together swell at the moment!?). Nothing too adventurous, and indeed the first meal in a week was far too big and had to be put into a doggie bag and had for breakfast this morning. Today I managed to get through the morning's classes without too much hassle, finally got some homework done after a hiatus of 3 weeks, and am back at home without really needing to go to bed. (Though a little nap later in the afternoon might be in order). The lungs are still filled with crap and I think that has something to do with the lower back and shoulder pain I am experiencing.
But I'm alive.
Just.

I'm Alive

2008-08-15T09:20:00.002+09:00

Just.

After two days of some pretty intense (and mind bending) drugs I woke this morning able to:
1)breathe
2)not collapse in a whimpering heap in an attempt to get liquid from the fridge
3)move my head horizontally more than 15 degrees in either direction.

However I'm far from 100%. Will spend Liberation day continuing to rest and hopefully will be back on board for the coming week.

Best Olympic Promo...Ever!

2008-08-11T13:00:00.000+09:00

Courtesy of the BBC

(Via Hard News)

In other news: Leave me alone, I'm sick.

Choi Min Ho - Korea's First Gold

2008-08-10T15:34:00.002+09:00

No embedding of You Tube Olympic Content so here is the link of Min Ho quite literally giving Ludwig Paischar of Austria the smack down in the final of the Under 60kg Judo.

What a Day for The Chosun... Ilbo

2008-08-06T22:59:00.002+09:00

Good news to end the day, this time with The Chosun ~~Bimbo~~ Ilbo reporting from Beijing.
(Via Korea Beat)

'W' In Da Hizzle

2008-08-06T22:35:00.002+09:00

En route to the Olympic Games on Friday, The Pres stopped off in Korea. Jon Stewart reports:

Good News To Start The Day

2008-08-06T07:44:00.003+09:00

Beer at the Chosun ~~Bimbo~~ Ilbo

No Pain....

2008-08-05T21:50:00.003+09:00

So back from 2 weeks of 3 course breakfasts and dinners that never seemed to end I am on a mission to reduce my rather rotund self to something a little more portly.
To aid me in this quest I have undertaken a rather strict diet that means no more chocolate goodies, no more booze (Although I'm sure Vodka doesn't count) and keeping a good eye on my caloric intake.
In addition I bought a new pair of...ahem...running shoes from Nike, and the iPod/Nike+ wireless adapter thingie that keeps track of how far I...ahem...run. (OK, OK, nothing much more than a slow jog / brisk walk thus far). The advantage of the iPod/Nike+ system is that one can see one's progress against a proposed training regime or towards a predefined goal. (My own goal being walk/jog/run 50km this month). on the iPod end a voice comes in over the song playing to tell you distance, time or calories burned.

In addition I have been plotting my routes on Google Maps. It's unfortunate that unlike other large cities in Asia, Seoul doesn't have street maps on Google, just satellite images, but it suffices. (Hell even Penang has a map view!) So far I have completed just under 8km over two days and two routes:

View Larger MapThe routes marked in red and yellow respectively. There are a couple of goals too, for good measure. I would like to get to the Poi intersection in under 60 minutes and do a 6km return journey to COEX (although there is a large portion of that going up hill.)
Stay tuned for updates periodically.

Since I can't have an iPhone....

2008-08-04T12:06:00.003+09:00

Still the King

2008-08-03T23:18:00.002+09:00

And to mark my return to Korea Blogland, a little shit stirring on my part - I am still number one a month later at The Seoul Podcast with 444 downloads.
Yeah boy!
(Which doesn't excuse you from listening to the other fine programming available from Joe and Jen!)

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur: Photos

2008-08-03T17:23:00.000+09:00

Album here:

Penang: Photos and Commentary

2008-08-03T17:03:00.004+09:00

The Family at The Botanical Gardens, Penang.

Don't feed the monkeys,

So of course we fed the monkeys

New Facebook profile picture methinks

State Mosque, Penang

Little India, Penang

Butterworth - Penang Bridge, 3rd longest in the world.

Mum and Mark get off the Trishaw for dinner

Dinner at Olio, Batu Ferrenghi, Penang. Lamb Tagine with lashings of Naan bread.

Grandparents on their trishaw ride

Park Royal, Batu Ferrenghi, Penang.

Pauline at the Tropical SPice Garden

Granddad

Nana doesn't look too impressed....

At The Tropical Spice Garden

Penang Butterfly farm

Atop Penang Hill

David Brown's House at the top of Penang Hill

Devonshire Tea - The Aftermath

Singapore and to Malaysia.

2008-08-02T15:18:00.001+09:00

A reasonably pleasant Sunday morning arrived, in spite of my desire for a sleep-in I got up at 8 and pissed around packing and repacking my bags. I think I will have to get a new suitcase as my current one is falling apart under the strain and I dread arriving back in Korea and watching all my belongings come along the baggage carrousel one by one because my bag has imploded.

Checking out at lunch time I left my bags with the porter at the hotel for the day and pretty much walked the length of Singapore's southern coast - well at least it felt like that, On the map it's all so close together, but in reality it is quite a fair way. Anyway after getting out of the metro station at city hall I snapped a few pics of the Singapore convention centre thingie - you know, the one that looks like a pineapple bikini top.

From there I headed to the Singapore Lion (I'm such a tourist) via City hall, The Supreme Court, and that bastion of Colonial wonderment, The SIngapore Cricket Club. There wasn't a game going (Although it looked like one was going to be played at some stage with the pitch being freshly rolled and stumps being pushed in at either end).
From The Lion, I headed back across the Anderson Bridge and along the Singapore Canal, admiring the art deco of the China Bank building, to the point where Raffles first landed. From there it was off to China Town via Speakers Corner where, disappointingly, there was no one speaking, only two dudes doing the gardens.

Bearing in mind my disappointing run in Little India I was determined to find something to eat. And Chinatown delivered. Thai Green Curry and a plate of spring rolls, washed down with a bottle of Tiger beer.
Nice

By this time it was getting latish, but there was no need to rush entirely, so on my way back to the hotel to pick up my bags I stopped in at the Funan Digital Mall for about three quarters of an hour. Not much to report really. Despite the abundance of unlocked 3G phones and a couple of really cheap Eee PCs (Of which I really should have picked one up for Mum at
S$300 odd), there was nothing you couldn't pick up at Yongsan at Seoul.
Interesting nevertheless. Wandering back to the hotel I stopped off at Starbucks for a cooling Frappucino, and resisted the urge to buy a beef pie

I made it to the train station at a little after 7. Little did I know that I would have to put in a patience testing 3 hour wait for the train to leave the platform, the last of which in the train twiddling my thumbs. (No that's not a euphemism). Needless to say I got through Immigration at Woodside and entred Malaysia a little before 12am UCT+8.

Leaving the luggage at the end of my sleeper was the least of the factors preventing anything like a decent sleep. The bed was reasonably comfortable, but with the curtains drawn the heat got trapped in my little compartment very quickly. It seemed as if there was always a coming of going of one person or another past my bunk and I am generally unable to sleep very well on anything moving. All these factors conspired to make a grumpy little Stafford upon arriving at Kuala Lumpur Sentral this morning. Shell shocked (knackered) I spent the first hour outside, cigarette in hand waiting for the place to open up for the day so I could at least get a cup of coffee. I am happy to report that as of 11:30 I have found the Starbucks and have been here since at least 8:30.

I could do with a shower, but did change my shirt en route to KL. Before me lies a couple hundred more kilometers of train travel, a ferry ride, and a taxi ride to get to the Park Royal in Penang. On paper it pits me against the parents who have a similar schedule and dstance to travel, but in reality I fear they will get to the hotel a bit before me and wonder where the hell I am. Anyway, should be good for a laugh.

Taipei and the Flight to Singapore

2008-07-21T10:21:00.005+09:00

Arriving late to Taipei I checked in to the Evergreen Transit Hotel at Taipei airport. Fairly simple amenities for the price (NT$2000), but awfully convenient, and kind of strange too. It's somewhat reminiscent of that Tom Hanks movie where the guy is stuck in the transit lounge of some American Airport. It's its own little world in the transit area, shut off from the outside world with only duty free shops stocked with liquor, perfume and cigarettes to look at. Luckily there is a Starbucks next to the Hotel and a Subway Sandwich which ran out of bread just as I came to the counter. So apart from a (average) airline meal, dinner consisted of a Grande Latte and a chocolate chip cookie.

Switching on CNN I learned that there was severe flooding in southern parts of Taiwan and a cyclone warning. However it's effects weren't apparent in the Formosan capital.
I managed to fall asleep quite late, well after midnight, considering I arrived at half nine, but the Gene Hackman / Owen Wilson vehicle "Behind Enemy Lines" was on, and such cinematic classics should not be ignored regardless of where in the world you are.
Adding to the annoyance I was up before my 5:30 wake up call and so had plenty of time to change my shirt, shorts and socks before another Latte and a cranberry scone for breakfast before boarding the flight for Singapore at 10 past 7.
The flight, frankly, was fucked.
Sitting next to me, the most obnoxious Englishman I have ever met. Drunk, (At 7:30 in the morning bear in mind) asking me every five minutes where I was from, what I was doing in Taiwan and where we were going. Highlights of the flight included him stumbling into the emergency exit door to the gasps of many passengers (we were at 30000ft and the door key did fall out of it's holder), standing up and exclaiming that the plane was about to explode and enquiring as to where the parachutes were and other ramblings about his Taiwan gangster connections in between preventing me from doing any of the study I had planned and lashing out and whacking me in the face while he was asleep.
Did I mention that at one stage he thought we had landed and toddled off to the exit with his carry on luggage, and the fact that he was told not once but five times by the EVA flight attendants to turn his phone off. (He himself admitted to being banned from flying on KLM, and having been removed from an EVA flight the previous week. Whether this is actually true is up to some debate, but given his actions today, not too much of a stretch.)
The flight attendants were generally ineffective and at one point asked me if I wanted to change seats, which stupidly I declined, I could have had half the flight in Business class probably, and who continued to ply him with Whisky and cokes despite the hour and his increasing intoxication.
Anyway for the second portion of the flight I plugged in the iPod and feigned sleep for the most part and it was a little more quiet, arriving in Singapore in time for lunch.

Singapore
Singapore has a lot going from it right from the moment you step off the plane. I was able to book and pay for my hotel from the airport, and then get a shuttle inexpensively. (Had to pay cash though, for some reason the credit card was having a bit of a fit, but is OK now.) The first order of business was to pick up my ticket for the train to Kuala Lumpur whch had to be paid for by 4pm. So from The Grand Central, where I'm staying, on Orchard Road, I took a taxi to the KMRT railway station on Kepple Road and picked up said tickets. Then the second (but arguably most important) order of business: Raffles Hotel and a Singapore Gin Sling. People have their own lists of things they would like to do before they die, their very own Bucket Lists if you will, and I'm no different. I am lucky in that I am steadily ticking things off my list and I'm not even 30 years old yet. On my list, alongside "Live in a different country" and "See the Pyramids of Giza" (Both of which have been crossed out) is "Drink a Singapore Gin Sling in the heart of the British Empire: Raffles Hotel, Beach Road, Singapore". And this afternoon at about 1600 Zulu I just did that.

The Gin Sling, originally a women's cocktail (Hence it's girlie pink colour) goes down a treat and I finished mine in about three mouthfuls. As is the rule - anything that goes down that easy will inevitably sneak up on you and kick you in the ass, so I just had the one and moved on.
Other things on my list include getting fucked up in Amsterdam (Stay tuned for Spring vacation next year) and kill a hobo. (No immediate plans for that one.)
It was a short taxi ride from Raffles to Little India where, despite the sudden, intense, but short rain shower I didn't find anything that took my fancy in terms of dinner which was the impetus for going there. The other reason for visiting the Indian quarter was to look at the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and the intricate stone work around it's entrance:

Little India is a funny remnant of Singapore's history as a British Colony, and judging by the names (and Stars of David) on various buildings now occupied by Gold merchants, Phone card sellers and Tandoori restaurants, I would say it was once a Jewish enclave.
Despite the intermittent and light rain I walked back to the hotel down Serangoon Road, past Buffalo Road and down Selegie Road back on to Orchard Road. It's funny being back in a Commonwealth country. The number of East Indians is a dead giveaway, but so are a number of familiar (Australian) brands like Harvey Norman, and Spotlight as well as the enormous number of "foreigners", that is to say, people of caucasian decent, mostly speaking English without the grating North American accent attached to it.

Answer me this: Why is it that in Singapore I can buy a prepaid SIM card with 100 minutes on it for SGD$8? and yet in Korea (And New Zealand for that matter) Phones and things are expensive businesses marked with unnecessary expense and restriction?
Just one of the things I noticed wandering around Singapore today.

I had dinner close to the hotel: Wonton Soup, Noodles and Roast Pork in an open air foodcourt for SGD$5.00. Back at the hotel I have just finished watching Australia beat South Africa in a close match in the Tri-Nations (Can't remember the last time I watched a game of Rugby from the start to the finish - will give me something to talk with Mark about tomorrow). I have done some (very) preliminary planning for my first assignment due on Tuesday - will do that on the train to Butterworth on Monday - and am thinking of toddling off to bed shortly as I am buggered having had about 8 hours sleep since Thursday.

View Photos here:

Singapore

Vacation

2008-07-18T13:16:00.002+09:00

Don't know what I'll have whilst sailing the Straits of Malacca (Looking for Pirates!?) In terms of an internet connection. I'd like to get some photos up while I'm on vacation. (Saves me from doing it when I get back.) So there may or may not be posts beyond this one in the next week - 10 days. I can't think my grand/parents will be too impressed with me, head stuck in my Macbook, while I'm supposed to be socialising either.
That said, I will be twittering, seeing as SMS messages while roaming only cost me USD$0.15 / message. You can follow The Chosun Bimbo on Twitter here.
All I have to do now is load the iPod up with some podcasts - after all I have a 7 hour train journey on Monday, time when I'll be doing both this weeks (and next weeks) readings and my first assignment which is due in on Tuesday - so much for watching the Malaysian countryside whizzing by. All I can say, is I hope they have a smoking car.
I caught up with Ken in Suwon last night and chowed down on beautiful steamed scallops and various other rich seafoods, (So much so that my poo is a little sloppy this morning) as well as the requisite Soju, Beer and my share of 3 cheap bottles of whiskey. I did manage to get home by midnight though (Had to pack, didn't get much cleaning done though. I have a feeling the dishes are going to reek by the time I get back!) It was good to see im after a hiatus of some 6 months, both of us just way too busy for our own good.
And finally a much deserved welcome back to Andy who will grace these shores once again from Monday - we miss each other in Singapore by something like 4 hours. Good to have you back mate.
Wish me luck. Hopefully I won't get attacked by Pirates or killed by Gurkers.

Embassy Mailbag Double Whammy Edition

2008-07-16T13:51:00.006+09:00

[Update:] I don't know what's happening with the pictures, but have neither the time nor the inclination to fix it. Just use your imagination...
All my Christmases seem to have come at once when I opened my email this morning to find not one, but two emails from The New Zealand Embassy! NZ tax payer dollars at work aye!? The first email (Original rubbish HTML email colours removed so as not to provoke bleeding from the eyes)

Aloha!
Seoul Summer
Survivor
Party
Saturday 19 July 2008
7pm Waterfall Garden (Poolside) Grand Hyatt Hotel
[blah blah blah]
70,000KRW for NAZA & ANZCCK members/ 80,000 KRW non-members
Pay at the door
RSVP online by 16 July by clicking one of the following links:
ANZA Korea or ANZCCK

The second email contained a copy of this quarter's "Korea Update" the important bits of which are reproduced here: [A few sarcastic comments in Bold]

Prime Ministers Visit to Korea

As the first visit by a foreign leader since the inauguration of the new President, Prime Minister Helen Clark��s visit to Korea from 15-17 May provided a valuable opportunity to register New Zealand��s interests at the highest level at an early stage in President Lee Myung-bak��s Administration. The leaders agreed that New Zealand and Korea are natural partners and focused on the scope to further develop the partnership that now exists. In addition to developing a relationship with Korea��s new administration, a key outcome of the visit was confirmation that preparatory talks on a possible FTA would take place later this year. [And yes, you'll take our beef Mr Lee]

In addition to her meetings with President Lee and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Prime Minister attended a reception in her honour at the New Zealand Residence; addressed a well-attended breakfast meeting hosted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ANZCCK) and the Korea-New Zealand Business Council (KNZBC); hosted a private dinner for senior Korean and New Zealand business people; visited the Ubiquitous Dream Hall and Ewha Womans University, which feature products using New Zealand technology; viewed environmentally friendly technology at Hyundai Motors research and development facility in Gyeonggi Province; and climbed Mt Bukak.

[My erstwhile ex-employer, ever the publicity - whore manages to get his visage in here even though he has nothing to do with Korean Film...I won't point hime out, but long time readers will recognise him...]

Elsewhere:

Visit by Rep Park Guen-hye to New Zealand

Former Grand National Party (GNP) chairwoman Representative Park Geun-hye visited New Zealand from 17-22 May at the invitation of the New Zealand Government. Representative Park had meetings with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade Minister, Social Development Minister, and other Members of Parliament. She had separate functions with the Korean community/business people in New Zealand. Representative Park also met with relevant officials in film, science and technology, and education sectors. She visited the Parnell Rose Garden to lay a wreath and meet with the Korean War Veterans. This was Representative Park's first visit to New Zealand since 1968 when she visited New Zealand with her father, (then) President Park Jung-hee.

[Who knew!? Park Jung Hee visited little ol' NZ!]

Even More Elsewhere:

New Zealand Korean War Veterans Visit

A group of 26 New Zealand Korean War veterans, widows and family members arrived in Korea for a ten-day visit on 13 April. The New Zealand group was part of a larger group including veterans from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Their visit was scheduled so the group could attend numerous memorial services in Korea including Kapyong commemorations on 18 April. For many of the veterans it was their first time returning to Korea since their service during the war.

Kapyong Commemorations

The memorial services for the Battle of Kapyong were conducted on 18 April. The first service was a combined Commonwealth service at the Commonwealth memorial in the town of Kapyong. From there the veterans and accompanying military personnel moved first to the Canadian memorial and then to the New Zealand and Australian memorials where a joint ANZAC service was held.

ANZAC Day Commemorative Service

Approximately 200 people attended the annual ANZAC Day dawn service on 25 April at the Korean National War Memorial. This year��s ANZAC Day service was organised by Australia and was followed by a breakfast for all those in attendance. While ANZAC Day is a normal school day in Korea, many Australian and New Zealand children were able to be present at the event.

And finally my erstwhile ex-employer gets his own section:

New Zealand Embassy Participates in New Zealand School Experiment Day and Children��s Gala Day

The New Zealand Centre for Culture and Education (NZCCE), a private educational establishment in Seoul, hosted two major events ? the New Zealand School Experiment Day and a Children��s Gala Day ? on 12 April and 5 May respectively. The New Zealand teachers at the NZCCE taught various subjects from the New Zealand school curriculum to the children who came for the event on 12 April which lasted for 2 hours. In addition, a special class to provide information about New Zealand and its education system was run for the parents who had come with their children.

Following last year��s inaugural event, NZCCE successfully held the 2nd Children��s Gala Day with over 500 guests on 5 May. The children at the event enjoyed New Zealand children��s games including skittles, 4 square and ��rob the nest�� along with face painting and making pois. Jane Mulryan, New Zealand��s Deputy Head of Mission told a story: The Littlest Whale written by Margaret Albert, a well-known New Zealand children��s writer. In addition, New Zealand Trade Commissioner, Andrew French, ran a quiz game. The New Zealand Embassy supported both the Experiment Day and the Gala and gifted the Centre with New Zealand children��s books for these events.

A little birdie (not a kiwi!) tells me that someone might get in a spot of trouble for making their staff work a public holiday without extra pay or a day off in lieu (For the second year in a row), but then again that's just hearsay. Some how I don't think it will be Andrew French though.

Look at Me!

2008-07-16T13:42:00.002+09:00

American TV, unable to think up anything remotely original, and in the footsteps of The Office, and Lief on Mars (Not strictly a comedy, but funny nevertheless) has picked up the funniest programme to come out of Australia (Melbourne) in a long time: Cath and Kim.

Looks like rubbish.

Busy.

2008-07-15T19:43:00.003+09:00

The week just gets more and more jam packed with stuff to keep me occupied, and I am quite looking forward to sitting down on that plane come Friday evening.

Nevertheless there are one or two things that I need to bring to your attention.

The first is Miss Vietnam.

The second is ~~The Liancourt Rocks Takeshima~~ Dokdo. Halfway through the summer protest season gears have shifted now that the status of American beef is a non-issue. (No really have you heard anything in the media in the last 7 days? I didn't think so....) It seems that Japan has, as they do at this time most years, finalised their school textbooks for the coming year and again has laid claim to the rocky outcrop of ~~Liancourt Rocks Takeshima~~ Dokdo in the ~~Sea of Japan~~ East Sea.
[Insert collective groan here]
Having collectively groaned I am of the opinion that Dokdo is indeed Korean territory albeit through an act of omission. At the end of WWII The Allied Powers decided that Japan's authority over most of the territory it occupied was to be suspended. Malaya and Singapore returned to the British, The Philippines fell under the protection of The US and so forth. Included in the ruling was Dokdo. However, under the Treaty of San Francisco ~~Liancourt Rocks Takeshima~~ Dokdo was never mentioned. Ergo, my limited knowledge of International Law of the early 1950s would lead me to believe that the first ruling by the Supreme Command of Allied occupation Powers, to wit, Japan looses Dokdo, stands.
In addition the Japanese name of ~~Liancourt Rocks Dokdo~~ Takeshima literally means "Bamboo Island".
Where's the bamboo?

Zemanta Pixie">

Translation Gems

2008-07-15T09:46:00.003+09:00

We have an Instant Messaging client at work so that teachers can communicate with each other and the powers that be can send their decrees down from on high.
Invariably the messages are in Korean, and while I can wrap my head around most of the messages therre is the ocassional one that requires the assistance of Google Translate:

At Mouse!
Where: The library.
Why: Because of foods (cookies, pizza, bread)
Disclosed: The library restrictions (?)
Eat a book because galah
A children's library use and availability of food, water, so bring a map (please ask for another dream)

Brilliant!

Stuff

2008-07-14T22:40:00.003+09:00

A lot of stuff on this week before I go jaunting off through Malaya and the colonies, but come back tomorrow or Wednesday and we'll sit down for a nice cuppa and a wee chat.
Toodle loo!

It Has A Korean Keyboard Option

2008-07-11T15:39:00.004+09:00

[Update:] Incase you don't wanna watch the video here's the screen cap:

It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!
It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!
It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!
Proof that the 3G iPhone (may) be coming to Korea - this video unboxing from Engadget done from The Westin in Sunny Auckland Town (My home town and first cityin the world to get the iPhone 3G) shows a Korean option under International Keyboards.
Check it out at 10:23 and 11:53

It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!
It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!
It Has A Korean Keyboard Option!

What!? Another Australian Invasion?

2008-07-10T20:22:00.003+09:00

So after my previous post I did a bit of digging. Turns out the previous video was one of two ads comissioned by an ABC programme in Australia where every week two ad agencies have to put together a pitch to sell the un-sell-able.
Here's the whole segment with the competing Australian Invasion ad:

Australian Invasion.

2008-07-10T16:07:00.001+09:00

I definately did a double-take when I saw this: