A journey to the Levant
From the Financial Times – In the world race for food crops, Daewoo has secured a 99 year lease of 1.3m hectares of farmland as countries are concerned about long-term supplies.
This is a bit scary, and the report also mentions this make create a “neo-colonial” system. What will happen in Madagascar when they get short in food supplies, when prices will Soar in Africa, but remain relatively low in Korea, thanks to these overseas farms.
While surfing “The Korea Times”, I have noticed a whitesmoke ad in Korea. WhiteSmoke is a Israeli startup aiming to help individuals writing English essays/e-mails and more.
Korean screen captur:
From The Korea Times: Link
115,852 out of 773,077 Foreign students in the US come from South Korea.
South Korea surpassed China and Japan.
Korea’s #1 National Treasure, Namdeamun gate in Seoul has burnt last night. Quite sad.
Wiki article
The Marmot’s Hole pointed me to the following Chosun article:
“Foreign Minister Song Min-soon visited Palestine and Israel on Sunday. The Palestinian Authority sent a welcome delegation to meet Song at the border. It provided a Mercedes-Benz sedan flying the South Korean flag and the Palestinian flag and traffic was controlled en route. In Israel, Song was taken to a meeting in a limousine provided by the host government. But the Volvo sedan looked nothing like the sort of limousine that would normally convey a visiting chief diplomat. Not only did it have a scratch mark on the outside door and the letter V missing from the Volvo logo, one of the front tires also got flat during the journey.”
“On arrival at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Song was greeted by a flawed South Korean flag, which had the four trigrams placed at the wrong corners. What Song experienced in Israel was in stark contrast to the warm hospitality he received in Palestine, which has not yet reached full statehood. Israel reportedly apologized for its blunders. But cynics suspect Israel made an “intentional mistake” to express its displeasure that Song visited Palestine before Israel. We doubt that Israel, a country known for precise thinking and action, committed this protocol lapse by mistake. When a senior diplomat receives cold treatment overseas, the people of his nation naturally feel insulted. Whether it committed its errors intentionally or not, Israel lost many points in what until now had been a favorable opinion in Korea.”
It is funny me to read that, since for me this is a symbol of Israeli sloppiness. The flag looks similar, the car is a Volvo. I am sure it was not intended, just the negligence of several officials (who will not be fired for this).
I have found yesterday in the Korea Times’ community forum 23 short Korean stories translated to English.
All Translated, edited, adapted by Lim, Sunjae, a former English teacher.
Contents:
1. A Potato – By Kim, Dongin (김동인) in 1925
2. A Korean Mariners’ Song – By Kim, Dongin, 1921
3. A Crazy Artist – By Kim, Dongin, 1930
4. His Toes Look Just Like Mine – By Kim, Dongin, 1932
5. A Woman’s Honor & a Fee – By Hyun, Jingun, 1929
6. The Sudden Rain – By Kim, Yoojung, 1935
7. The Camellia Flowers – By Kim, Yoojung, 1936
8. A Most Genuine Love Story – By Chae, Mansik, 1938
9. The Scene of A Weird Tree – By Chae, Mansik, 1939
10. A Mona Lisa Frozen to Death – By Chae, Mansik, 1925
11. The House of A Wild Apricot Tree – By Lee, Hyosuk, 1937
12. A Tragic Story of a Mountain Valley – By Lee, Hyosuk, 1941
13. A Reunion – By Kim, Eesuk, 1964
14. An Outgrowth – By Kim, Eesuk, 1964
15. Yongchil, the Fool – By Choi, Taewoong, 1939
16. Springtime – By Choi, Taewoong, 1937
17. A Hobby & a Daughter – By Hyun, Jingun, 1929
18. Old Kim Is Mad – By Choi, Taewoong, 1961
19. The Sun´s Legacy – By Yu, Juhyun, 1957
20. A Seaside Village – By O Youngsoo, 1953
21. An Horrible Story in Hidden Valley – By O Youngsoo, 1961
22. Sorry Kim – By Song, Byungsoo, 1957
23. The Black Kite Mountain Valley – By Song, Byungsoo, 1974
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