By John Kay
How can the Government of Orissa with one hand help ease environmental clearances for POSCO’s project while at the same time be responsible under the law to enforce POSCO’s compliance with environmental regulations? Is that not like being both the prosecuting and defense attorney? We can see that the Government of Orissa represented and embodied by the Nodal officer is quite literally working not for the best interests of the people of Orissa State but instead is working for POSCO. The Government of Orissa has, using the wording of one of the quotes above, made its best efforts (by hook or by crook; by fair means or foul) to move any obstacles, whether legitimate, legal or moral, to one side to let its pay master’s project trundle on regardless.
By Megan K. O’Brien
On Saturday, June 18th some folks in Seoul organized an event that they called the Fermentation Trail-abration. The Fermentation Trail-abration was a redux of the previous Fermentation Celebration which had been held at Craftworks Taphouse and Bistro back on March 12th. At the first event, there was an 8,000 won cover and you were able to try all sorts of fermented and not so fermented foods; for example, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, cheese, beer, vegan kimchi, makgeolli, kool-aide pickles.
Well, the previous event had been so popular that the Fermentation Celebration organizers put together another one, only this time the event was spread out over the Haebangchon neighborhood and involved different venues, block party style. The Trail-abration was 20,000 won to support the cause and get your fill of fermented foodstuffs.
By 3WM
R-16 Korea World B-Boy Masters Championship — sponsored by Korea Tourism Organization—will take place this year on July 2nd and 3rd at the Seoul Olympic Hall of Olympic Park.
Going into its fifth year, R-16 B-Boy World Championship is considered one of the top five most revered b-boy tournaments in the world. Featuring b-boys from different parts of the globe carefully selected through regional preliminaries, and international rankings, it’s a World Cup for b-boys designed to determine the best of the best.
More than 200 b-boys from 16 different nations will participate at this year’s R-16 Korea. Due to the event’s positive feedback from previous years, international preliminaries were held from April 1st to the end of June in nine different countries including Japan, China, Russia, Vietnam and Kazakhstan.
Bloodbrothers of a Different Type: Vancouver Urbanites riot and The Big Man passes in the same week
EXPAT LIFE 3 comments!By Mizaru
It is a stretch and a deeply flawed metaphor but I can’t help reckon of how Springsteen side-kick Clarence Clemons (The Big Man) died during the same week of the riot in Vancouver after the Canucks lost game 7 of The Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins. Here are corresponding stories to each Back There cultural history date from The New Yorker: “Bloodbrother” and “Canuck Hospitality.”
The saxophone and the hockey stick each have to be held with two hands for full use and strong breathing is necessary, and that must be where the similarities end. Of the seemingly very “Oh Canada” nationalistic whack jobs on the streets, Vancouver police chief Jim Chu called these disturbers, “Anarchists who had a plan” and if you have ever been to a Springsteen concert the aftermath with the rock ‘n’ roll acolytes outside of that arena is not about a planned break out in violence but something equally intense like being around a boot camp that just succeeded in breaking open your soul.
By Jen Lee
By Scott Freeman
Now that the weather is warming up, I felt it would be time to plug Billy Stewart’s “Summertime.” Now, I’m not a big fan of this Gershwin tune in particular. Most versions I have heard have bored me to tears. But Stewart’s version is all-together different. Released on the Chess (Chicago) label in 1966, “Summertime” peaked at #7 on Billboard’s R&B chart and at #10 on the Pop chart respectively.
Without a doubt, this tune was Billy Stewart’s biggest hit of his recording career. In a nut-shell, this track showcases Stewart’s dynamic vocal prowess. Soul Singing 101—that’s a fact! His liberal use of trills and scat throughout this track helped solidify his distinctive talent. Whenever I listen to this 45, I feel that Billy and his band are right there with me. Its live sound and high energy truly make this a song to hear during the summer months of the year.
By 3WM
Probationary Theatre is proud to announce our mainstage production running for 3 weeks, starting June 24.
“Some Girl(s)” by Neil Labute.
Clever, funny, and provocative the internationally acclaimed playwright Neil Labute turns his unflinching view to love in this brutally honest look at the screw ups guys make in relationships on their way to becoming men.
Guy is 33. His career as a writer is flourishing and his beautiful young fiancé is waiting to get married and live happily ever after – so what’s his natural reaction? To get nervous and call up old girlfriends. And so begins one mans search through 4 hotel rooms to find the perfect girl (who he’s already broken up with).
TICKETS 15,000WON
By John Kay
This is part 2 in a 3-part series on the POSCO-India captive port/plant and mine project.
Toward the end of last year I signed up to receive a regular news letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Pretty soon after emails started to arrive I reached the conclusion that human rights violations must be a daily event in Asia, if these emails were any indication. Soon though I was suffering from a form of news fatigue as I read about the massacres of people on their way to vote in The Philippines, death threats and disappearances of journalists, human rights activists and whistle-blowers in Sri Lanka, and the abuses suffered by refugees at the hands of the authorities in Thailand; all seemingly without hope or an end in sight.
On January 28 of this year, I received an email from civil society groups in South Korea condemning POSCO’s planned steel mill/captive port and iron ore mines project in the eastern state of Orissa in India. An alarm went off within me and I was no longer fatigued but indignant and alert.
By Marie Kulik with Iwazaru
At 8:30 a.m. on the morning of April 21, a man sexually assaulted a woman by rubbing his body up against her in a packed subway car going from Jamsil Station in south eastern Seoul to Seoul National University of Education Station on line No. 2. Undercover police witnessed the crime and apprehended the man. The suspect, surprisingly (or not), turned out to be a judge on the Seoul High Court by the name of Mr. Hwang. He submitted his resignation to the Supreme Court the next day.
Shocking as it may be to have a judge molesting a woman in public, the fact is that sex offences are on the rise. Specifically, sexual assault on the subway, serious and otherwise (or the rate of people having a good go at it) has risen by 77.6% in 2011, compared to years previous.
From Jake at Expat Hell
At another website, the topic of “Korean Life Hacks” was discussed by a great many long term expats. The subject of saving money, making your life more convenient or possibly even making extra money outside of the normal workforce were discussed. I personally have a great deal of expertise in this field and the scheme mentioned below is just one of the ways I funded an outrageous lifestyle while living in the ROK and later the purchase of a large condo in Thailand.
I have more stories of cutting corners and making extra money which I will share at a later time. My background is in graphic design. I won’t elaborate more, but simple to say, I dabble in a bit of everything.
I first started making and selling Harvard ID cards to Korean kids back in 2004. At the time I thought it was just a novelty that would wear off eventually and a few kids would have a few good laughs tricking their friends with their new “student cards.”
By Scott Freeman
Funky Seoul Corner #3 features another 45 from Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. (F.S.C. #1 was also a Detroit record.) What a lot of people don’t realize, or forget, is that Detroit was a hot-bed for musicians and the recording industry throughout the 1960s up until the 1968 Detroit riots. Most people can only think of Motown as coming from Detroit, but the reality was that there were tons of little labels in Detroit during this period. Many of these labels had only a handful of releases; some others fared better, perhaps staying afloat for a few years before returning to obscurity.
By 3WM
July marks the kickoff of the actual summer heat. If you are thirsty for new summer items, the night flea market will hit the spot on your summer night with cold libations, cool knickknacks and a unique setting.
The warm nights are too precious to not enjoy them outside, so check out the first POJANGMACHA DELUXE (small tented drinking dens) and the refreshing ROOFTOP.
There will be a DJ and a 1000 won auction to keep things interesting. For seller applications (KRW 20,000), visit the BLING website.
By John Kay
I think everyone has heard the phrase, If a tree falls in the forest but no one sees, does it make a sound? The eastern Indian state of Orissa is not located in the media fashionable Middle East and North Africa (MENA); it has no strategic significance nor does it have any deposits of oil. But the issues of corruption, inequality, human rights, democracy and dignity that have brought people out on to the streets of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria are the very same issues that have driven the inhabitants of Sundergarth, Keonjhar and Jagatsinghpur districts to oppose POSCO’s proposed captive port/plant and mine project continually over the last six years. The only difference being that India is supposed to be the world’s largest democracy, whereas the MENA are for the most part still ruled by monarchs or autocrats. The local fight against the amassed might and wealth of POSCO-India, the government of Orissa and the government of India, and their attempt to illegally push through this proposed port/plant and mine project is like the proverbial Zen tree in the forest.
It is my belief that a tree, whether or not anyone hears it, does make a considerable noise when it falls in the forest. Just because you haven’t heard of Orissa, Jagatsinghpur district, the Adivasis and their righteous opposition doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. If POSCO and the corrupt government of Orissa get their way, it is very probable that the Adivasis, their culture and way of life, not to mention the forest that they help sustain and that sustains them will be totally destroyed. This is one of the main reasons I’m bringing this injustice, this unfinished David and Goliath story, from unfashionable and underdeveloped Orissa in Eastern India to your attention.
Korean College Tuition Protests: NOT My Father’s 1980s
From the Scene, Korean Life, Student Writing 1 comment.By Ji-Hyun Kim
I am a second-year college student who, like everyone else in Korea, has been keeping an eye on the current situation regarding tuition and the demonstrations that have been taking place in Seoul. Personally, my father was one of the people who led the protests against the government back in Korea’s chaotic 1980s. It seems like my grandfather was worried that the “blood” might be running through my veins because he called a few days ago and asked me if I was joining the protests. I said, “No grandpa, I was not on the streets, I’m not on the streets, and I don’t plan to go, either.” And I did not say that to comfort the old man.
Yes, we all want lower tuition, but not in this way. My university is one of the four universities that went out to Gwanghwamun on the night of June 10th as the “representatives.” Beforehand, the student government officials held a vote asking students to choose whether or not classes should be boycotted on the afternoon of June 10th in order to attend the demonstrations. Simply, did we want to skip class for the cause? The participation rate didn’t reach 30%.
By Scott Freeman
For this week’s installment of Funky Seoul Corner we go back almost 50 years. Lorez Alexandria was a soul/rhythm and blues vocalist whose recorded work spanned four decades—from the 1950s through the early years of the 90s. “Baltimore Oriole” was a track Lorez originally recorded for the King label (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1957. But the
45 you now see before you is from 1963. She decided to record this track again for Argo (Chicago, Illinois). The Argo version has an afro-soul, jazz-tinged vibe to it. The airy flute you hear throughout the track mimics bird sounds—a nice touch, indeed and the lyrics are top-notch poetry! The tune describes the relationship between a Baltimore Oriole and a Blackbird. To be sure, the song has suggestive and titillating overtones: “I’d like to ruffle his plumage.” They just don’t say it like that anymore. Class, elegance and sophistication all wrapped up in one tune—that’s how I would sum it up.
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