The last six weeks have seen some peculiar turns in the case of Andre Fisher. The High Court ruling allowed for 3WM to come into contact with an assortment of individuals—some grounded and helpful, some bordering on cretinous and dishonest—who are working on and associated with the Fisher case. Again, because of the sensitivity of the case, 3WM cannot specifically name individuals but can say that certain legal obligations under Korean law were not honored by parties whose business it is to know and abide by the law.
More specifically, over the last six weeks, 3WM has faced intense obstruction (including profanity laced attacks) in attempting within the legal parameters to unearth some sort of clarity regarding the conduct and procedures that have been involved in the investigation and defense of the Fisher case.
Anonymous eye-witness accounts have also been provided to 3WM, reporting what is tantamount to legal officials breaching the law, obstructing both Fisher himself and individuals attempting to assist him.
Photos and write-up by Kyle McGregor At the TGS, Costume Play (Cosplay) is at its best. The quality of the anime or game inspired costumes assembled ranges from skilled amateur to professional. Nothing to be seen here was to the inexperienced a disappointment; Stiletta in her black catsuit was sufficiently alluring, yet dangerous at the same time. The Pepsi Nex model was nicely hot and futuristic, as well as worthy of a spot on a Japanese cosplay magazine cover. Here were the highlights of the show by way of costumes, the booth models though attractive were mostly not wearing stand out costumes.
No sign of any female English teachers from Japan or Korea taking a vacation to play female warriors, just great fun for boys and lovely Japanese maidens as signposts for male fantasy. European models were sometimes previously invited to add flair and international sex appeal to the show, but, this year TGS was a mainly Japanese affair. Some of the event organizers explained to me that with the downward world economy it wasn’t the brightest idea to bring in “foreign models”.
By Konrad Kostecki Sadly today, unless one happens to be a history buff, most people’s knowledge of the Korean War is based on watching reruns of MASH. I remember myself having zero knowledge of the Korean War, not to mention of Korea, prior to coming here. Well, that is life; we live and learn but it helps if a writer comes along and brings the history closer to us, more alive in a fictionalized form and yet accurate, based on real events. Such presentation of history is more exciting and palatable to the general public who might otherwise scoff at dry, academic writing. If Jeffrey Miller’s intentions in writing this book included renewing interest in the Korean War and making the subject accessible to non-historians, he has overwhelmingly succeeded.
For this week on Funky Seoul Corner we go to New York City by the way of Atlanta, Georgia. Musicor was an active N.Y.C. record label during the 1960s and 1970s. This label was a rather large one that featured talent from many musical genres, from soul to latin, from rock to country. Perhaps two of the biggest stars on this label were Gene Pitney and George Jones, both of whom garnered many hits for Musicor during the 60s.
And for this week’s 45 we go to 1967. Lee Moses, an Atlanta-native who relocated to New York City, cut three 45s for Musicor in 1967. One of these 45s was “Bad Girl.” “Bad Girl” is raw soul. On this track Lee Moses is on vocals and, I presume, rhythm guitar. (Lee was noted for his guitar work as well as his vocal skill.) As you might guess from the title, this tune is about the triumvirate of romantic relationships—lust, love, and trust.
By Iwazaru Below is part 2 of my interview with Prof. Hosaka during which he talks about his visits to the island, events surrounding Dokdo during and after the Korean War, the Korean populus’ emotional reactions to the dispute, how the Korean government should proceed and the reaction of Japanese citizens to Prof. Hosaka’s stance on the issue.
With increasing numbers of participants coming to do more than window shop, money had to be a factor. And as anyone who lives in this neighborhood knows, the entire local businesses take a lot more of it in on Fest Saturday. Yet at first the money did not seem to be a breaking point. Lance explained how he rented his store’s music gear out to the venues that needed it and that all of the bands played for free. Any festival booty made from selling T-shirts went back into promotion and nuts and bolts cost. Lance disclosed to the NSA and the neighborhood venue owners that he’d take home about 1 million won (about $900) a fest; primarily from renting out the sound systems that the venues had to equip with so that the musicians could play. At this point the dots could be happily connected and a somewhat beleaguered win-win situation seemed to be close.
Then something snapped. The head of NSA for Haebangchon, “Paul” began to go around to the individual venues asking,
By Jesse Coy Nelson There were so many points in life that once having relevance for Scott now held little importance. Part of the reason for this was because he came out of his recent concussion with the inescapable feeling that he had lost something.
What did he care for teaching? Was it as his father labeled it?
“You’re running to the other side of the planet to avoid taking on the full responsibilities of real life. You’re delaying.”
While such a sentiment coming from an ignorant man who might very well mistake France for China or vice versa on a world map, who had no interest in anything outside the U.S., normally carried little weight with Scott… yet the truth was, he had never aspired to be a teacher. It was not his goal. Perhaps it was like what Cap said? Cap was in his mid-fifties, a regular fixture at Mandy’s, an expat bar in Changwon. Cap had his philosophy down pat when it came to foreign teachers in South Korea.
In a series of words in billboard-like signs, “Ever After 9/11″ explores the post-9/11 American psyche on the 10th anniversary of the day after everything changed, including the meaning of words. Artist Julia Kim Smith and poet David Beaudouin cull words from fairy tales, the traditional morality stories, and from political rhetoric, arguably the new morality stories, and present them as icons to be reconstructed into modern tales which draw from both the past and present.
Bush may have talked tough about a “war on terror,” but he was only playing a game. How could it be otherwise for one who’d avoided Vietnam, barely bothered with his obligations as a pilot in the National Guard and had as his vice president for two terms that notorious draft-dodger, Richard Cheney, whose avoidance of military service during Vietnam did not stop the first President Bush from naming him defense secretary. These guys didn’t know what war was all about. They were too frightened to think of sacrificing political popularity by making people join the army whether they wanted to or not. They preferred to engage in torturing terrorists at Guantanamo . No downside there.
By Mizaru I am trying to get centered and find the words for putting it all together: “Please Call,” “Towers Attacked,” “Ground Zero,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Sensible Retaliation,” “The Military will Strike,” “Markets are Rolling Again.”
Because the 21st Century is here and life is carrying much anxiety that people are just sensing and putting up with. Because Korean ‘beer buddies’ in Daejeon expect me to be missing or at lease broken in front of them. They look at me for a second, look down to the floor shaking their heads like a defeated puppy until their favorite dance video returns to the television as originally scheduled. Because the New York Yankee logo is still popular enough in the local PC Bangs or the international prayer services. Because I finally got an email answer from James (Big Marvin); it was actually Nelson Rivera (Goody) covered in ash like a deranged but upright polar bear and humping it out; out of the World Trade Center rubble that was clouding up the all night cable channel that I didn’t think I would ever turn off.
By 3WM
Back in March of this year, I called them and requested a reservation to the US. The person running the show, a Mr. Kang Wystan…sent me an email with a suitable schedule and a price of 1,649,000 won…not exactly the cheapest but given the times we are in, it was OK. I sent an email back and said I would like to make the reservation…he responded by saying that I had to pay the amount that day by 5pm to keep the reservation. He sent me his bank info and I went to the bank and transferred the money, before 5 and called him to let him know I sent it. All seemed ok until I didnt get any confirmation email. I didnt give it much thought, my bad, the warning bells should have gone off. I sent him several emails and phone calls, until over a week later he sent me a confirmation of the itinerary and a confirmation number.
By Megan O’Brien
Sandwiches are always better when someone else makes them: who is cutting, building and flavoring your sandwiches? In general, the art of making a fulfilling sandwich is a thing that is sometimes lost here in Seoul. However, there is a little spot perfectly located right smack on the HBC main drag that has been able to fill the void of a decent sandwich shop. Casablanca owned and operated by Wahid and his brother, Karim. Wahid and his brother hail from Morocco and recently, after observing the overwhelming 5pm rush of sandwich pursuers as the shop doors opened, I was able to ask Wahid a few questions which he coolly answered while skillfully multitasking through orders and payments and sandwich preparations with a pleasant smile on his face.
I don’t know about anyone else, but it has been raining at the most inconvenient times for me. I’m not even kidding. The moment I step foot outside, it starts raining. I guess it’s to be expected with it being monsoon season and all. Either way, I’m not digging it one bit. Despite me being a Houston girl, I am so not a fan of heat and humidity. I guess that makes me a wuss?
I know it has been raining harder for some people than others in Korea, and I really do hope that things get better for those who are dealing with the flooding I’ve been reading about. Here’s wishing for sunnier days and nicer weather!
Well, you got your nicer weather, Jen. Just when it’s time for most of us to get back to work. Figures. At least you weren’t alone in your suffering.
By John M. Rodgers Some 215 kilometers or 133.6 miles off the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula sits an isolated cluster of rocks that were formed several million years ago by lava from underwater volcanic eruptions. Among the 35 islets stand two larger ones, Suhdo (the West islet) a sharp-sided rock nearly 100 meters high and Dongdo (the East islet) 174 meters high, which make up Dokdo (meaning “lonely island” in Chinese characters though some say the translation in Korean can mean “rocky island” as “dok” can mean “dol” (rock) in a different Korean dialect). Lonely or not, Dokdo has been at the center of a territorial dispute with Japan for more than a century with the last decade providing some of the most heated strife due to the Japanese government’s insistence that the island is theirs and the inclusion of this assertion as fact in school textbooks.
By Iwazaru “What do you think about Dokdo? Who does it belong to?” one Korean student asked Professor Yuji Hosaka during a Japanese Culture and Language course he was teaching in 1995. Little did he know that this one question would change the course of his life. How did he respond to the student’s question? “I couldn’t say because I didn’t know,” says Hosaka. Thus, what began as a simple bit of curiosity developed into a deep desire to objectively uncover the truth of whether Korea or Japan had the historical right to claim the 35 islets off the eastern coast of Korea. His fifteen years of research in Korea and Japan resulted in three books about the subject—“Dokdo, Our History,” “Dokdo of Korea” and “On Old Japanese Maps there is No Dokdo”—he attained the post of professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Graduate School of Policies Studies at Sejong University in Seoul and he is the head of the Dokdo Research Institute, also at Sejong.
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The last six weeks have seen some peculiar turns in the case of Andre Fisher. The High Court ruling allowed for 3WM to come into contact with an assortment of individuals—some grounded and helpful, some bordering on cretinous and dishonest—who are working on and associated with the Fisher case. Again, because of the sensitivity of the case, 3WM cannot specifically name individuals but can say that certain legal obligations under Korean law were not honored by parties whose business it is to know and abide by the law.
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