Friday Fun: Korean Movie Theaters!

Feel like seeing a flick this weekend?

Holiday Travel Rage Is Nuts

No, literally nuts.

Quirky Asia Files: Ceremonial First Pitch, South Korean Style

Ki Bo-bae is an Olympic archer.  So, really, what did you expect when you asked her to throw the first pitch, right?

My all-time favorite, though, has got to be this one.  She's a rhythmic gymnast, people!

Nerd News: Private Tutors in South Korea

A few thoughts.

Friday Fun: A Tale of Two Korean Videos

Video the first: this bit of completely crazy North Korean propaganda:

Video the second: the South Korean Air Force takes on Les Miz:

Love and Loss in 16th-Century Korea

The excavation of a Korean tomb from 1586 yields a remarkable (and remarkably moving) find.

Elephant Learns Korean

Or, at least, to mimic it.  No word yet on whether it's figured out how to sing "Gangnam Style."

LOL: Gangnam Style at the United Nations

Psy gets UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to do that dance. Oppa UN Style!

LOL: "Gangnam Style"

On the off chance that you are not one of the 200 million+ people who have seen this already on YouTube, here's the now-infamous "Gangnam Style."  This crazy song has gone globally viral, and it is as weird as all get out even for K-Pop.  So!  Do you think it's as annoying as that other earworm of the moment "Call Me Maybe"?

Legally Blind South Korean Archer Smashes First World Record of the London Games

The opening ceremonies haven't even assaulted our eyes yet, and already world records are falling in London.  Congratulations to Im Dong-hyun!  (This also sounds like a glorious sports movie.)

The Difference Between North and South Korea

Sometimes a cartoon by a famously snarky artist makes the point best.

Life Imitates "Jurassic Park": Cloning Woolly Mammoths

South Korean and Russian scientists want to try cloning woolly mammoths.  Gee, what could possibly go wrong?  

Awesome: A Foodie's Vacation Video

Check out this video compilation of some gorgeous food photography from South Korea and Japan. Warning: music alert!

MM in the Kitchen: Bibimbap

A delicious Korean recipe.

Nerd News: Japanese Studies at Seoul National University

A program has finally started.

Nerd News: Academic Crackdowns in South Korea

They're not what you may think!

Nerd News: South Korean Schools to Go Paperless

Paper-free and fully digital by 2015?  Samsung is going to be quite involved.

Quirky Asia Files: Chopsticks to China

Here's a neat little tale about a Georgia company making chopsticks to send abroad because China's got a chopstick shortage.  The company also exports to Japan and Korea.  Well, whaddyaknow?  (I like bamboo chopsticks instead of wooden ones, but to each their own.) Belated link xie-xie to Sushiphagos the Progenitor of Alessandra!

Musick has Charms to Sooth a Savage Audience

Watch both videos and be amazed.  The lesson of "don't be fooled by appearances" is ever-applicable.  Pass the Kleenex!

Quirky Asia Files: Judaism's Popularity in South Korea

Fascinating!  Here's a blurb:

The Talmud is a bestseller in South Korea - even the government insists it is good for you, and has included it on the curriculum for primary school children. 

Lee Chang-ro heads a literature research team at the Ministry for Education. He says: "The reasons why Korean children are taught Talmud are pretty obvious. Koreans and Jews both have a long history of oppression and surviving adversity with nothing but their own ingenuity to thank. There are no natural resources to speak of in Korea, so, like the Jews, all we can develop is our minds."