My apologies to Richardson and the readers of this blog for months of silence (I will write an explanation at some point). But here is some good news from South Korea if you are a gun nut like I am:
South Korea’s defence ministry has announced plans to sell up to 86,000 M1 Garand rifles to [...]

Remember the mad protests about American beef in South Korea? The mass hysteria of biblical proportions (”cats and dogs living together!”) that gripped the country and led to its otherwise sensible president to apologize regarding the “hurried” negotiation over resumption of the importation of American beef?
Well, now, apparently, American beef is welcome in ROK again:
Now, [...]

There was a time when German soldiery was feared for its vaunted combat effectiveness. The Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld, who later achieved immortality as the prophet of military transformation (The Transformation of War) made his early reputation as a combat historian with an insightful comparative study of WWII German and American combat effectiveness [...]

[Update 11/19/08] Apparently, Korea is not the only “gun-free” society to experience knife killings. Some demented, resenful criminal in Japan is going around knifing people to death. Where is the anti-knife outrage?
[Original Post] Although Richardson and I do not speak for each other, we generally share similar views about many things, including Korea-related topics and, [...]

As a former immigrant, I revere America’s car culture. Automobile, to me, means freedom — to go where one wishes, rather than to be limited by the rail tracks or bus routes that the government determines. This freedom of mobility might increase in China as more Chinese buys cars, including foreign cars. This is certainly [...]

Namdaemun (the Southern Great Gate), which was perhaps the most renowned historical landmark in Seoul, suffered arson.
A little bit about the perpetrator:
Chae Jong-gi, a former fortuneteller who was angry about the amount of compensation the government had paid him for the loss of his house to a development project, showed up at Namdaemun.
He wore mountain-climbing [...]

Hoping you’re all having a Merry Christmas, no matter where you are. It’s a good time to take stock, appreciate the things we have, and plan to help those who are in need.

Reading a lot? Travel? Sending radios into North Korea on balloons? No, building a desk with hutches for two. Like other projects in the past (especially building a 30’x80’ pole barn that needed 21 post holes jack-hammered 3′ deep into sandstone), I’ve no desire to repeat this one any time soon, although I am pleased [...]

I recently ran across the Wordsmith.org Anagram Server. Enter words or phrases up to 29 characters and a large list of anagrams is generated, which is where “Errant Hook” comes from – it’s an anagram of “North Korea.” I thought that was particularly fitting due to the word “errant,” and because it sounds like [...]

WaPo lumps Ayaan Hirsi Ali along with Camille Paglia and Michael Moore (!!!) as being one of “idiosyncratic, opinionated, talented, flawed, impossible… iconoclasts, troublemakers, provocateurs, opportunists, polemicists.”
What???!!!
Let’s review who Ayaan Hirsi Ali is:
She scripted an 11-minute film about the Koran and domestic abuse of women that resulted in the throat-slitting assassination of its director, Theo [...]