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Otto Silver

Inchon Galbi. #1!

PANELISTS
Cathy and David Harris (SeoulLife.net)

MAIN TOPIC
Starting a Family in Korea

NEWS AND STUFF
Sogogi-gate Round up

Chronology of major events in S. Korea-U.S. beef talks

Well, I Guess This Was Only a Matter of Time…

Protesters mock the police by going on “Chicken Cage Tours”

More Mad Cow Conversation Fodder

Bomb English discusses the topic

Beef, Wonderful Beef (Marmot)

The government has asked the United States to ban the export of beef from cows over 30 months of age. The beef deal will be put on hold until the United States responds. Money Today notes that should the United States respond with an extended middle finger, the restart of beef imports could be delayed for a long time, creating a good old-fashioned trade dispute.
Yonhap reports that that the government is asking people to avoid calling the current situation a “renegotiation.” US trade journal “Inside US Trade,” however, reportedly reported yesterday that USTR has been “negotiating” with the Korean government for the last several days.
US beef producers said they would temporarily label the age of meat exported to Korea.

Why Oh Why Can’t We Have a Non-Schitzophenic Media? (GordSellar)

Blinded or not blinded by a water cannon?

Beef and the FTA. The Korean Viewpoint

Costco to the rescue (Fencerider)

They, so far, are planning to sell U.S. beef

What’s New in Metro Seoul This Morning? (Joshing Gnome)

Some interesting tidbits there.

Cover story: “Our Father is a ‘Frienddy’ (i.e. friend+daddy, 프랜디): The newest abortive attempt to create a stupid portmanteau that assaults the ears and eyes like dental drills and lye
‘Even Granny Can’t Stand It!”: Photo of an old woman at an anti-US beef rally
Scientists in Jeju have put clementine genes in an orange. Get ready for deliciousness.
“Korea’s English Ability is Rock Bottom”: 20th out of 21 tested countries
The “Ten Liters of Gas Hoarding Movement” attempts to capture the lightning that was the “Gold Hoarding Movement” during the financial crisis by getting people to eschew their needlessly big cars.
Korea’s Consumer Confidence is 50th out of 51 countries tested (Korea being second-to-last is becoming a theme)
“Easy Math Tests Threaten the Nation’s Economy”
“Did Bus Riders Observing A Female College Student’s Habitual Sexual Degradation Have “Group Alcohol Intoxication?”: Talks about a guy named Lee who groped sleeping college girls four times while other passengers ignored the incidents. Choice quote from someone related to the police: “Even though these people said they thought it was the actions of a couple, It’s impossible to understand how they could allow such things to happen in a public place.”
Convenience stores are apparently very happy about the extra business they’re receiving due to candlelight rallies against US beef. Not mentioned: how do candle-makers feel?
The 9th Seoul International Film Festival Poster has poop on it.

American Hacker Attacks Korean Bank

What are we coming to when Korean conmen won’t pay their American hackers their full pay?

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO WHAA?

Canned Wine

Seuma’il, Sshipal Balgaengi! (Smile, F*cking Commie!) : gordsellar.com

Guess who’s trolling all the CyWorld homepees?

South Koreans not doing too well on English tests. (Brian in Jeollanam-do)

“Considering all the time, effort, and money spent teaching toward tests in lieu of teaching toward communicative competence, to have such low scores is kind of ridiculous.”

Need Better Test Scores? Have Some Placenta! (Korea Beat)

In Korea, 25% of International School Students Are Koreans! (Asian Offbeat)

Skyrocketing gas prices force cabbies to start pushing their taxis (Galbi Jim)

Who Dares to Eat This Hamburger? (Korea Times)

“International Zone” at KAIST (Korea Beat)

Dog dragged behind truck in Daegu (Galbi Jim)

Choi Hong Man Exempt from Military Duty

Bae Yong-joon needs a haircut

Looking more like an ajumma every day

EX-PAT COMMUNITY

Job Ad for English instructor for construction industry (Lao Ocean Girl)

I can’t believe it took me that long. (Geek in Korea)

Foreigners who have been here six years and can’t read??

The Party Pooper: Paulina 쌩쑈

Misuda “star” protests Korean beef. Netizen comments unkind.

Big Hominid begins his walk across America

Where is Cheongju Again? – I, 외국인 (Weigugin, Foreigner) 外國人

Similarities between the Japanese and Korean concepts of the “outsider.”

Can you figure out the Korean equivalent of these?

Gaijin Bar: decrepit establishment that no right-minded Japanese would ever visit. Identifying marks are soggy beermats, pay-as-you-order drinks, live TV sports and military guys placing each other in friendly headlocks.

Gaijin Card: ID that non-Japanese must carry on their person to prove that they have the legal right to be in the country.

Gaijin House: cheap-ish, communal lodgings for anyone looking for a place to bed down for a short-term period.

Gaijin Power: getting your own way by feigning or flaunting ignorance of the social code.

Gaijin Talent: foreign guest who adds novelty value to a Japanese TV show by being able to speak Japanese. Take Patrick Harlan, or ‘Pakkun’: an American feted by Japanese for being a Harvard graduate who puts his Ivy League education to good use by doing pretend kung fu kicks and interviewing B-list Hollywood actors.

Now, if you place a disparaging English word – crap, for example – in place of gaijin in each case, you’ll find that the meaning doesn’t change. In some cases, the meaning becomes clearer. The connotations are perfectly obvious: gaijin means, in cases one to five: flighty, suspicious, transitory, ignorant, quaint. Better make sure the drinks are paid for and demand rent on a weekly basis.”

Guncam Video

PLUGS
Ex-Pat Living (The Korea Herald)
SEOUL Magazine
ZenKimchi.com
KOTESOL

NEXT WEEK
Topic: Kiss My Kimchi
Panelist: Brian (Kiss My Kimchi)

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