Category South Korea
Crypto Currency as the New Gold Standard?
In 2017, the corrupt president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, was lawfully removed by a national uprising of orderly, peaceful protesters. Ordinary housewives, business people and manual laborers gathered in public squares across the nation, held candlelight vigils and cleaned up their litter when they were done. In 1998, when South Korea suffered a liquidity […]
I Do Care (About Money) – A Song Translation Project
“I 돈 Care” is a song by comedy group “The Brave Guys.” That “돈” part of the song title means “money” in Korean and is pronounced “don,” which is close enough to “don’t” to make the whole thing a nerdy, bilingual pun. It is legitimately a funny song, and I’m aware that nobody in Korea […]
Just a Tool Kit?
Before my first semester of high school an as-yet unknown English teacher sent me a message commanding that I should read four books during vacation and prepare detailed reports on each, due on the first day of class. At the time, I thought this was a pretty intense increase of difficulty compared to middle school. […]
Immigrants and Equality
If you look carefully at the current immigration debate in the US, it pits immigrants, business interests and a thin layer of middle class do gooders on one side against nationalists and working class people in general on the other side. What struck me about this arrangement is that it’s exactly the same structure you’ll […]
In the Name of Smaller Car Fires
I have participated in five track days at full sized road courses. The first time was in a 1990 Eagle Talon at the Reno-Fernley Raceway. That car had sporty brake pads and stock rotors. It made around 230 horsepower and weighed around 3000 lbs. I pulled that car into the pits after my second session and […]
Race Report!
Man it feels good to get back on a racetrack! My lovely new Brocinante, recently recovered from open chassis surgery, finally made her debut in the arena, and what an arena it was. Injae Speedium, a new circuit in the rugged mountains of northeastern Korea, slots into that sweet spot between beautiful and diabolical. Just […]
Fear and Loathing and Elderly Korean Cars
Have you ever owned a beautiful thing while knowing that, just beneath the surface, that beautiful thing is rotting away? Have you ever made a beautiful thing ugly? Have you ever described a 15 year-old Korean psuedo sports car as beautiful? I bought my 2002 Tuscani about six months ago. It had obviously been cared […]
A Letter to My Students
Dear Students, Welcome back to Mokwon University. I hope you had a wonderful vacation and I hope you’re rested for the new semester but what I really hope is that you take the opportunity to do something cool in 2016. It’s true that cool stuff is more fun but that’s not my biggest reason […]
Rocinante Gets Sharper Teeth
Crappy econo-box racecars, versions 1.0 and 2.0 The great and legendary Rocinante, my 2002 Hyundai Avante (Elantra), spent an entirely unacceptable 12 months in stock configuration. How I bowed my head in disgrace as beloved ancestors sneered at my pathetically stock ride. “Bah,” my mother said. “These springs sag like your spirit. Your Rocinante rocks […]
안전성
어린이를 보호해야 합니다. 안전한 놀이공간이 없으면 어린이들이 상처나 멍 생길 수 있습니다. 어린이는 매우 안전한 환경이 없으면 실패를 경험할 수 있습니다. 불은 위험하고 연기가 나오기 때문에 어린이들은 불놀이를 하거나 기계를 만지면 안됩니다. 이는 어린이의 눈을 아프게 하고 기침을 유발합니다. 작동하는 기계 또한 위생상태가 좋지 못하고 위험하기 때문에 어린이들의 안전을 위협하고 있습니다. 허나 어린이들 거절을 나타내면 […]
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