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The connection between Korea and Kazakhstan should come as a surprise to no one. The reason why this might be considered newsworthy is because of the size of the project.

Moreover, if Korea can be a major player in future-oriented technologies like environmentally friendly power production, it might be invincible.

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After bashing iOS 6's maps app a little bit, I thought I'd talk about things I like on the new iPhone 5, which is actually a lot.

I'll admit that when I first saw the leaked pictures of the iPhone 5's four-inch screen, I was a little disappointed. I wanted something a tad wider, not longer.

As it turns out, I think longer was a better choice. The phone still fits neatly in my smallish hands, and I can always flip it 90* for a truly wider viewing area. More to the point, the long screen is an ideal fit for watching programs without wasted black bar space. Note in the picture here the same show on Hulu on the iPhone 4 (top) and on the iPhone 5 (bottom). Forgive the picture quality; the iPad 2 is not exactly known for its photo-taking capabilities and my Nikon wasn't handy. Sphere: Related Content

Rice imports from United States has never been a popular idea in South Korea, and finding arsenic in American rice is certainly a good excuse to cut them off.

The truth is we're not really sure how much arsenic occurs naturally and whether or not these levels really detrimental to the human body when consumed as part if food. After all, it could be something that's completely natural and our bodies are accustomed to those trace amounts.

On the other hand, if this really is something that is no big deal at all, it might become something like Mad Cow where people are against it whether there really is justification for it or not.

Basically, if this can be used as a political tool against American imports, it will be. That is not to say there's nothing to this story; the fact is right now we really don't know.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-21/south-korea-suspends-bidding-for-us-rice-imports

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Having just registered a bunch of students to vote in Hawaii who might not be able to because of complicated rules on what ID will work, I sympathize with Sarah Silverman's message here. Would be funny if it weren't so serious.



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Apparently not everybody is impressed with the maps from iOS 6.

I guess a lot of us miss thel Google maps app that used to come with the iPhone.

Click here for some of the more amusing ways in which iOS 6 has mucked up the world.




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I kinda sorta expect perfection when I buy an Apple product. If there are to be dings, scuffs, and scratches, I'll be the one who puts them there, thank you very much.

So I was a bit dismayed when I took my iPhone out if the box today and saw the above imperfections where the aluminum back meets the glass part (toward the bottom, there are no such flaws). While aesthetically they are hardly noticeable, it makes me wonder if there's some other, less visible problem lurking below the surface. You know, the kind of problems that can pop up when you're trying to make five million units of something in a very short time, at a factory thousands of miles away in China.

This is not a worry without basis. Two years ago, about six weeks after purchasing my iPhone 4, it started buzzing ceaselessly. The Apple geniuses (boy, doesn't that sound sarcastic) had never seen the problem before, but they switched me out to a new unit as soon as they got one shipped (they were still in short supply). Since then I had no problems. Perhaps I'll consider the same. (In my lengthy experience, Apple is very good about adequately fixing or switching out things that seem to have something wrong with them, which is good because even Apple makes lemons.)

Anyway, this is my first time having Siri on my own phone. With my iPhone 4, I was used to squeezing the mic and saying things like, "Call David Park mobile," and I proceeded to do the same with Miyoung.

"Call Miyoung mobile," I told the phone.

To which Siri replied: "Fine. From now on I'll call you 'Young-mobile.'"

Big fat 5 phone FAIL.

UPDATE (December 7, 2012):
It took a while (no fault of Apple's) but I finally got a replacement. About three weeks ago, while studying at Starbucks in Kahala Mall, I walked into the Apple Store to ask a question about when my iPad's one-year warranty ends and I also pointed out the flaw in the back of the phone as well as its tendency to get hot when doing routine tasks. The genius there said the chips in the back may be an indication of mismatched parts, and who knows what else might be wrong with the device. He told me my phone would likely be "swappable" but I was unable to do it at that time because I hadn't done a recent backup.

Fast-forward to yesterday when I finally had the time to sit down and back up while waiting for a Genius Bar appointment at Ala Moana Shopping Center. The Apple Store genius there seemed a bit more skeptical, but she agreed that the weird chips in the back might be sufficient to swap it for a fresh one. I hardly had to convince her that I was paranoid that my first-day batch iPhone5 might have problems lurking within its hardware, like my first-day batch iPhone4.

The upshot is, I got a brand new device that is mark-free. It was nice of them to do this, considering that I had made a large ding in the corner of my iPhone5 prior to getting a proper case for it. This new one doesn't seem to have the heating problem of the first one, but we'll see.

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At some point the stories on Psy's 2010s answer to the Macarena will be too numerous for me to note them here.

http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0921/Gangnam-Style-How-a-quirky-South-Korean-hip-hop-artist-conquered-the-world

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When the Hyundai Excel first hit the Korean market, it was known for being very affordable. The econobox's reputation floundered, however, when those early exports came to be known for breaking down and being just all around cheap. This hurt the Korean carmakers who failed to understand that even the lowest of income earners wanted value and not just cheap.

It was a painful lesson that later gave birth to Hyundai's and Kia's vaunted ten-year warranty, along with a matching reputation for reliability, economy, value, safety, and eventually even style. It has been an amazing turnaround for two companies that were the butt of all sorts of jokes (e.g., Hyun-die and "KIA = Killed in Accident").

So it is a bit of a step backward that two Korean models are on a list of cars with the greatest number of injuries in an accident.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Injury claims data show something that crash test results can’t, and that’s the role that vehicle size plays,” said Kim Hazelbaker, HLDI senior vice president. “In most crash tests, the advantage of greater size and weight is masked by using a fixed barrier [in a test]. As a result, crash test results are comparable only among similar vehicles.”

These numbers demonstrate which vehicles' occupants are the most likely to be injured in when it comes to real crashes, the institute said.

“We know that in the real world, if all else is equal, a larger, heavier vehicle does a better job protecting occupants than a smaller, lighter one,” Hazelbaker said.

The Suzuki SX4, a small crossover, had the second-highest risk of injury to its occupants, posting 26.6 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years.

Other vehicles that scored poorly by the institute's measurement included the Chevrolet Aveo, Mitsubishi Galant, Kia Rio, Nissan’s Versa and Sentra, Hyundai Accent and the Dodge Avenger.

I should add that the Chevrolet Aveo would also count as a Korean car.

Anyway, it's for reasons like this that my mother buys things like the Chrysler Town & Country or Hyundai Santa Fe (or, back in the day, a Chevrolet Caprice). All that metal surrounding you can offer some protection (even if some larger cars are actually dangerous in an accident).

Frankly, though, a lot of the problem could be solved if there weren't so many people driving Chevy Suburbans, Ford F-150s, and Hummers. I'm so glad that that last company has met its demise.

Maybe they should call it the Hyundai Accident.

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The Associated Press is reporting that, whoever becomes Prime Minister in the near future, we should expect to see a rise in nationalism in Japan:

One is a former prime minister known for his nationalistic views. A second is a hawkish former defense chief. And a third is the son of Tokyo's outspoken governor whose proposal to buy and develop a cluster of uninhabited islands claimed by both China and Japan has set off a territorial furor between the two countries.

A look at the top candidates to lead Japan's main opposition party — and potentially to become Japan's next prime minister — suggests that Japan may soon get a more nationalist government. That could ratchet up already tense relations with China and South Korea over territorial disputes that have flared in recent weeks and brought anti-Japanese demonstrations to dozens of Chinese cities.

There is little sign that Japanese have grown more nationalistic, but the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is expected to get clobbered in elections that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says he will call soon. Voters are angry over Noda's push to double the sales tax and his party's failure to bring promised change to Japan's stodgy politics.

Among the contenders is Monster Island favorite (um, that's sarcasm) Shinzo Abe, a former PM:

Abe riled Asian neighbors when he was prime minister in 2006-07 by saying there was no proof Japan's military had coerced Chinese, Korean and other women into prostitution in military brothels during World War II. He later apologized, but lately he has been suggesting that a landmark 1993 apology for sex slavery may need revising.

Abe also has recently said he regrets not visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, including executed war criminals, during his time as prime minister. This issue is important: Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni in the early 2000s put relations with China into a deep freeze.

It's really too bad, not only because the right wingers apparently fail to represent the real Japan, but also because it could mean a long-term souring of Seoul-Tokyo relations as the new government panders to the right.

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With the ridiculous popularity of Gangnam Style, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone sat down and explained this in the English-language press.

Henceforth I shall direct people to this AP article instead if explaining it myself, though it has the potential to ruin the goofy fun associated with the ironic dance.



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I like getting new toys, and I'm happy to be getting the new iPhone 5 that will replace my iPhone 4 (I'm not such a fanboy that I get a new phone every year; in both Korea and Hawaii I've replaced my LG handsets and Apple iPhones about every two years since my first phone in 1998).
With my status still set at "preparing," I'm not sure if they can get it from China to here (Hawaii) in just three days, if it takes the same route as other Apple products I've purchased online. My engraved iPod Shuffle went from China to Alaska to California and finally here, taking four days.

But I have faith in Apple to meet their commitments. In fact, last year "M's" iPhone 4S arrived here in Hawaii the day BEFORE the release date, despite similarly sparse information.

This isn't Apple's or FedEx's first rodeo.

I just hope it gets here soon. M's iPhone 4S was stolen and she's using her three-year-old 3Gs until I get my new phone and temporarily (until she can upgrade) lend her my two-year-old iPhone 4, for which I waited in line for four hours one chilly June morning on the day if their release at the AT&T stores. I kinda miss the camaraderie of the waiting-in-line thing. A very cool guy brought us coffee and donuts at the Los Angeles County store in California.

One thing I learned, though, was to not buy iPhones and other subsidized smartphones in California, where you're taxed at nearly 10% for the UN-subsidized price, over $50 on a $649 device. Note that in Hawaii it was about nine bucks. Sphere: Related Content

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First it was The Today Show, and now it's Saturday Night Live. The preposterously silly Gangnam Style dance has infected the stalwart hit-and-miss comedy show of our time, SNL.



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If Psy is flying all the way to New York City for NBC's Friday morning concert series, it is hardly a surprise that he would make a surprise guest appearance on their evening show the next day.

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In various K-blogs, we've frequently been told the falsehood that only Koreans care about Tokto, but this writer in the Huffington Post says America should care about this issue affecting relations between two major allies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/alexis-dudden/koreajapan-standoff-why-a_b_1885534.html

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I meant to post this a while ago, when I first saw it at ROK Drop, but here are some cool pictures snapped by a USFK soldier in Korea shortly after the war (some are also of Japan, presumably when the photographer was on R&R).

What I think is particularly interesting is those soldiers waving the Republic of China (today's Taiwan) flag. It appears they are soldiers of the People's Republic of China who asked to be repatriated the ROC, but at first I thought it might be evidence that the Nationalists had sent troops to fight for the South.

http://imgur.com/a/3RYz3

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It's official: Gangnam Style is the Macarena of our times.

To get a feel for how much this moves forward the South Korea's national image, can you tell new for sure which Spanish-speaking country produced that 1994 super phenomenon?

http://toyotaconcertseries.today.com/_news/2012/09/10/13785811-south-korean-rapper-psy-joins-today-concert-lineup?lite

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On the occasion of International Suicide Prevention Day, the WSJ points out that Siuth Korea's suicide rate -- already the world's highest -- has shot up further.

It's a significant increase in double-digit percentages, and one wonders whether it represents new methodology for reporting and/or determining suicides rather than a real increase in the actual act itself. But there's no getting around that it remains a serious problem (something I've addressed many times here).

I am a little disappointed in WSJ reporter Evan Ramstad's suggestion that Siuth Koreans wouldn't pay attention to the suicide problem were it not for this international day of recognition. Suicide is something that weighs heavily on all sectors of society, prompting the government, for example, to spend tens of millions if dollars to retrofit every subway station in Seoul with a barricade to prevent suicides or accidents when people on the platforms end up on the tracks.

My point is that much more should be done, but they certainly aren't ignoring the issue.

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2012/09/10/south-koreas-blight-suicide-gets-worse/

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Largely thanks to how the Korean government restructured and reformed itself in the wake of the 1997-98 economic crisis, the ROK has done better than many other countries at riding out THIS economic downturn.

But even if Korea Inc's fundamentals are strong, any country that relies on exports to countries in recovery (e.g., the US) or panic mode (e.g., the EU) is going to be hurting.

So it seems natural that Seoul would have to employ a stimulus like this one. And I, for one, will not complain about my mortgage ticking down 25 points.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-10/south-korea-plans-5-billion-of-growth-measures-as-exports-cool.html

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US Secretary of State Hillary Ridham Clinton has warned Japan and Korea that if they keep fighting over Tokto she's gonna turn this car around right now.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE88803Z20120909?irpc=932

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If I were a South Korean film maker, I'd fill my movie with stylized violence and/or gratuitous sex (also stylized), because it is those Korean films that seem to earn so much praise and so many statues from Western critics and audiences.

I mean, "Old Boy" was as much responsible for making the Hallyu Korean Wave a thing as Ihyori or "Winter Sonata."

It also doesn't hurt to pander to the Italian judges by giving it an Italian title. My movie, regardless of its content, will be the Italian translation of, "We're Americans, Do You Have Any Butter?"

Anyhoo, I'm not so sure how much time the Venezianos should be spending watching movies when they're city is slowly sinking into the Adriatic. But that's me.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8870CT20120908?irpc=932

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I'm actually not sure what number this is, but the question involves where I took this picture earlier today. The only hint is that I'm on a hike. Sphere: Related Content

The NYT seems to agree with me that the upcoming rubber-stamp congress in North Korea is set to announce major economic reforms.

If this is true, it could mean that Kim Jong-un and his handlers' faction have their ducks in a row and are about to stick it to the military, despite expressions if support by KJU for his father's Son'gun ("military first") policy.

Surely even the generals can see the writing on the wall in the Middle East and back rooms of power in Beijing, and they might actually grudgingly continue to support The Young General.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/world/asia/north-korea-may-be-preparing-economic-reforms.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all


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