I give up!

I was in Incheon today for some sightseeing, and ended up taking lots of photos. Normally, I'd attempt a photo essay of my day.

However, the colonials have fucked with my laptop to a point where even ridiculous levels of compression for my images (making them quite grainy) doesn't help. Blogger will continue to generate errors and improperly process each uploaded photo. I cannot even upload a SINGLE 30K photo right! As I have only one more full day left in South Korea, and as I don't count on taking photos tomorrow, I will wait until after I get to the US before I attempt to upload.

My California DSL from Verizon is a slowpoke, but at least it doesn't suffer from outright censorship and political attacks - even after 8 years of W.

For now, I'll talk a bit about my Incheon day. I decided to do the downtown area - Sudoguksan Museum of Housing and Living (dedicated to shantytowns of 1960s and 1970s), Museum of Korea Emigration History, Chinatown, and Jayu (Freedom) Park. My routing took me from Seongnam on the Bundang Line, transferring to Line 2 at Seolleung, then transferring to an Incheon-bound Line 1 train at Sindorim; I could get off either at Dongincheon (East Incheon), second to the last stop, or at Incheon, the absolute final stop. This routing, costing me 1,800 won with T-Money (1,900 won if paying cash), and taking almost 2 1/2 hours, was the longest subway ride of my life, and certainly the most expensive ever for me in Seoul.

• I loved the Sudoguksan Museum. Sudoguksan ("Water Works Hill") used to be a shantytown well into the 1990s, but now is a neat, modern apartment complex, with the museum as the only reminder of the area's past. I loved the exhibits - from the living quarters to the objects used at that time to even government announements, ranging from political propaganda to something more mundane. Of course, during the height of the Cold War, with the Korean War memories still fresh and the Communist Bloc still packing some serious punch, fear of the North Koreans was a very potent, valid factor - and the military dictatorship in South Korea used that to the fullest to control the society. (The US withdrawal from South Vietnam drove up the paranoia even further.) I loved seeing all of that, though I'm really getting steamed about 2MB thinking the same circumstances exist today, and therefore justifying all his censorship and oppression. The most lesson from all of this: due to the shared hardships and facilities (water and toilets were certainly communal, and so were the various access alleys), there was a true sense of community in the shantytowns, one that I can certainly never find in Southern California suburbs where everyone's locked up behind gated communities, mega-mansions on cul-de-sacs, and/or luxury cars.
  
• The emigration museum wasn't as great as I thought, and buses running there were quite confusing (it's a bit too far for walking), but I liked it nevertheless. As it was opened in 2003 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first official government-approved Korean migration - a party of 102 to Hawaii - it was funded by the Korean-Americans, and has a very Korean-American tint to it. While it pays tribute to the 7-million-strong Korean disapora worldwide, the emphasis is on the US, with some emphasis given to Canada, Mexico, and Latin America too but virtually none for anyone else (especially the longstanding Korean communities of China, Japan, and the former USSR, as well as newer ones in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere).
• Incheon has a subway line and an extensive (if not user-friendly) bus system. The lone subway line, running north-south, connects to Seoul's Line 1, running east-west, at Bupyeong; ticketing is integrated, so this line, run by a city-owned public corporation just like other South Korean subways, could be considered part of the Metropolitan Seoul Railway System. The buses take T-Money as well, but they do not offer free transfers to/from the subway. Nice things about the buses, however: many are low-floor modern automatics, and fare is a flat 900 won (T-Money) and 1000 won (cash) payable only at boarding (no fare terminal at the exit door for calculating distance surcharges).
• Seoul's Line 1, for that matter, is the original 1899 Seoul-Incheon rail line that is now quadruple-tracked for its entire stretch. All stations have four platforms, allowing both local and express services, but of course, express services only stop at designated stations. Express trains must share tracks with freight trains, so they only run 5 times per hour, meaning that it's often faster to take the next local than to wait for an express. Like the rest of Line 1, Korail runs the vast majority of trains, including all expresses, though I saw more Seoul Metro trains than expected. Also, Korail seems to reserve its newer trains for the Cheonan Branch, so the Incheon Branch's Korail trains are quite old and lack visual station announcement displays.
  
• Chinatown was great. It's more of a tourist trap, as most of its former residents have moved to Taiwan or North America over the military dictatorship's anti-Chinese laws. But it's been revitalized to attract Chinese and domestic tourists, and offer a chance for any interested parties to experience Chinese culture. My favorite feature was an alley depicting several dozen scenes from the Romance of Three Kingdoms (三國誌), a Chinese historical fiction war saga; most Korean men consider it to be required reading, and just about every South Korean, regardless of age or gender, is familiar with the major characters and their personality traits. If there is any shared element between Chinese and Korean cultures, Three Kingdoms must be it.
  
• Freedom Park is on a hill right above Chinatown. Opened in the late 19th Century as Korea's first Western-style urban park, it was turned after the war into a showcase of South Korea's "democratic, free" society (even though democracy/freedom took decades to achieve, and it's now slipping away again). Major emphasis is on US relations. There is one large monument from 1982 that marks the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the US and a Korean government, with emphasis on its evolution into a strong military alliance in the Cold War era. Nearby is a great statue of General Douglas MacArthur, who commanded the Incheon Landing on September 15, 1950, during the war; it was a Hail Mary move, for sure, but it proved to be very decisive, and South Korea and the UN forces were able to break out of their tiny corner around Busan, retake Seoul and the rest of South Korea, and even take most of North Korea, before the Chinese interference.
• Today, however, General MacArthur was overseeing some Korean chess games - four, to be exact, played and kibitzed by elderly men. Just like its twin Chinese chess, Korean chess can get pretty exciting. I noticed some peculiarities. First, pieces come in three sizes - large (king), small (palace guards and pawns), and medium (all else). The river rule doesn't apply, so all non-palace pieces may attack, including the elephant (equivalent to the bishop). Speaking of the elephant, in Korea, it moves one space straight then two spaces diagonal, more of a super-range knight than a bishop; in most games, it is traded for a pawn in order to weaken the opponent's pawn structure, but in some games, it may actually do some attack moves. And lastly, the cannon, which must always jump over a non-cannon to move (different from Chinese cannons, which jump only for captures and otherwise move like a wagon/rook for a non-capture move), and which may not capture a cannon, is an element not found in Western chess, and its capabilities and rules bring a whole new dimension into the game.
• Seoul Metro, to its credit, posts some inspirational words from non-Protestants as well - but they are almost exclusively from the company's Buddhist employee group. A Protestant inspirational message, seen twice today at Line 2 platforms, was strongly defending corporal punishment. In the Confucio-Christian South Korean traditional culture, the saying "Spare a rod, spoil a child" is taken very seriously, and the Republicans still strongly support continued corporal punishments. Younger parents around my generation are bucking that trend, however; nevertheless, a badly beaten/injured child is more likely to be told "just how bad did you behave? you asked for it" rather than have his/her parents questioned.
• I'm gonna admit this. Due to all the propaganda, I feel so PO'd when riding Seoul Metro sections of the subway, that I even feel a temptation to do some serious numbers to its trains. 2MB and the National Intelligence Service, if you're reading this, go ahead and label me a terrorist, and whisk me away. I know you want to anyway, and you just need an excuse. Fucking assholes! Seriously, the real terrorist is someone who either wants to lynch the next President of the United States, or funds such persons - and 2MB certainly falls into the latter category.
  

I'm glad to have enjoyed three nearly continuous months of all sorts of crazy things in South Korea. But I'm also glad that it's ending now, as the government bastards are really gonna get to me otherwise. Now it's time to go back home, carry the spirit of my past three months onto my everyday American life, and have a good time.

And speaking of carrying the spirit, my Hyundai Genesis order is proceeding. I had to call the purchasing service at its toll-free number (not toll-free to me, as a US toll-free number is NOT toll-free from outside North America), but at least I could call the number. Already, a car matching my preferences has been found, though it's silver with black interior; I'll hold out for a red one if I can.

Human Rights

2MB is now ensuring that I can't even access BBC. Firefox will load BBC headlines, but any attempts to read actual articles now go nowhere. 2MB, why not just stop being chicken, and actually put up an official firewall banning BBC (and other subversive foreign democratic websites) from South Korea, showing your true colors as an undemocratic tyrant? After all, South Korea already runs a firewall - to keep North Korean websites out.

I'm staying in today, my only time skipping a meditation session for a reason other than travel. I'll probably stay in all day and watch some Go matches on TV, and maybe do some offline writing. In the meantime, tomorrow, December 10th, is International Human Rights Day, and I am looking at observances both here in South Korea and back in the US; I will support these observances - if only in spirit - as my sign of severe displeasure against the past 8 years of W rule in the US, the continuing rule of W's puppet 2MB in South Korea, and tyrants elsewhere in the rest of the world.

• In Seoul, activists from within South Korea and around the world run the House of Sharing, a museum/shelter for survivors of Imperial Japan's Comfort Women program. The website tells lots of painful stories of the former sex slaves, who have been neglected by their own families and government for decades. Thanks to their own courage, however, as well as help of pro-democracy activists and media (including the Hankyoreh, which publicized the plight of the Comfort Women in the early 1990s), the Comfort Women now have a voice. Since 1992, they've been protesting every Wednesday at noon in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, and will continue to do so until their seven demands - including official apology from Japan - are met. Tomorrow's protest will coincide with the International Human Rights Day, and will include special events. I think supporting them will be the best thing I can peacefully, safely do to support the everyday South Koreans, and strongly condemn the New Right sellouts who see these former sex slaves as willing volunteers.
• Back in the US, an AP report on Yahoo! indicates that gay rights activists are planning on doing something along the lines of the massive immigrant walkout of 2006. They are fed up with continuing passage of gay marriage bans nationwide - especially Prop 8 in California. They'll make sure to get heard by withholding their economic contributions (both work and spending), and by volunteering for worthy nonprofits. Many of the participants will be sympathetic straights, and some employers do expect significant work slowdown for the day. While this will certainly make some symbolic impact (how much, I don't know), some activists do point out that a more effective strategy will be to permanently direct spending money away from homophobic companies and toward gay-friendly companies. And by retiring my BMW, I'll be doing just that.

The Korean-American community, overwhelming supporters of both the treasonous New Right movements within South Korea and the homophobia in the US, will certainly see my wrath. They are enemies of democracy worldwide, and I will gladly point that out for the rest of my life.

Before I leave for Hong Kong

In less than six hours, I'll be gone from this cut-rate Republican colony. I never thought I'd feel more free in Chinese territory than in Korea, but tonight, I probably will. The next several days in Hong Kong will be absolutely great, I am sure.

Here are two photos that pertain to my last few posts, taken from a Korail subway train.

For some reason, this older poster survived the changeover to the new ones. This is from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), formerly the Korean Central Intellgence Agency (KCIA), which is South Korea's state thought police. Up until a few weeks ago, this was what I could expect to find in every subway car, from three (SMRT) to six (Seoul Metro) in each car.

Its message says "National security is national competitiveness." The lower left lists the hotlines: 111 for NIS, 113 for local police, and 1337 for the military. The lower right lists the rewards: 150 million won for spy ships, and 100 million for spies. "Spies" include those from North Korea, as well as industrial espionage from the likes of China.

In a highly publicized case, Chery Motors of China sent industrial spies to GM Daewoo, stole the engineering specs for the Matiz microcar, and ended up manufacturing an unauthorized clone named QQ. The QQ is a death trap in crashes, but is much cheaper than the real Matiz, and as a result, GM Daewoo can't sell the Matiz in China, and is at a competitive disadvantage in other Third World markets where both the Matiz and the QQ are available.

Here is the current poster, which started popping up overnight, and replaced the design above just about everywhere.

Its message says: "Please stay straight - national security awareness in the Republic of Korea." The hotlines and the rewards stay the same; however, there is an additional reward of 30 million won for reporting domestic left-wing activists.

South Korea, using its confrontation with North Korea as an excuse (a valid excuse, technically, as the war never ended with a peace treaty), maintains the National Security Law, which allows severe punishments for any and all seditious activities, including and up to death. The list of seditious activities has varied over the years, depending on the ideology of the government. In recent years, merely being left-of-center was protected under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience, and in any case, nobody in South Korea has been executed since 1997. However, 2MB has vowed to put an end to all of this, use the death penalty extensively for seditious activities, and include leftist political leanings as part of that.

This is exactly the same police state that the US neocons, the colonial masters of 2MB, have always dreamed of, and almost made reality in the US.

I was very tempted to cross out the "Republic of Korea" portion and scribble "Third-rate colony of the discredited US Republican neocons" in instead. And while SMRT trains have lower ceilings, and therefore fewer places to post these thought police posters, the higher-ceiling Korail trains feature a few more of them, though neither match Seoul Metro's enthusiasm.

Travel around Seoul today: I traveled to downtown for meditation. I made sure to stay away from Seoul Metro at all costs; my routing involved Line 8 to Line 5 into downtown. After meditation, I took a bus, then Line 1, to Yongsan for a cheap Thai lunch, before taking the Korail Jungang Line to pick up Line 5 again and retrace my route back to Seongnam. Given that my farecard is scanned only at the origin and destination stations, my fare is always calculated based on the most efficient route possible between them, regardless of my actual route taken; if the "best" routing includes Seoul Metro lines, Seoul Metro will get a cut of my fare. It stinks, as many downtown routings make most sense using Seoul Metro. But I am still avoiding Seoul Metro if only to feel a bit more empowered. For the Line 1 section into Yongsan, the most logical routing would've involved getting off the bus at Seoul Station, whose subway station is Seoul Metro; I refused, and traveled another stop to Namyeong, the first Korail station south of downtown, and entered it using Korail turnstiles. A train pulled in, but it was a Seoul Metro train - actually, the very rare one made up of old extra insert cars; I refused to board it, and waited for the next Korail train, even though I only needed to go one stop, wholly on Korail tracks, and Korail would've gotten all my money anyway.

I felt much better as I returned to Seongnam, but I still don't feel line taking another lengthy ride to the airport, using the subway and staring at the thought police posters. I'll shell out a small fortune and take a deluxe bus instead; thanks to the colonial currency depreciating like there's no tomorrow, I can afford the bus ride anyway.

Other items:

• There is a bill under consideration (probably from the Republicans) which would allow taxicabs to drive on bus-only lanes. Cabbies welcome it, as they consider themselves to be part of Seoul's mass transit network. Bus operators and drivers oppose it, as Seoul has way too many cabs - even more than places like New York or London - and the cabs will jam up the bus lanes. Every Seoul bus now carries a banner expressing strong opposition to this bill.
• Throughout downtown Seoul, there are many television displays, sort of like the ones from Times Square. Most are owned and operated by Chosun Ilbo - which I now consider to be as much of a propaganda organ as North Korea's Rodong Shinmun. The City of Seoul likes to use them as well to spread city news and propaganda. They make me sick to the stomach.
• Seoul certainly saw some poorly-executed but nevertheless beneficial traffic and other improvements. I'll give 2MB, the former mayor, credit. However, he was trying to do this not to serve the citizens of Seoul, but to (1) buy crucial support for the presidential run, (2) build up his resume while at it, and (3) ensure that his hand-picked successor, current mayor Oh Se-hun, would succeed him. Oh is pretty much wrecking the entire city as I speak.
• A decal on a Bundang Line train showed strong opposition to widespread standardized testing in public schools, part of 2MB's plans which echo his master W's "No Child Left Behind"program. No Child Left Behind was a program with a great premise, as it vowed to improve schools and keep them accountable to students and parents, but instead, it ended up creating an examination hell just like the ones here in South Korea. Students are no longer learning; they are just preparing for meaningless tests. South Korea currently devotes its entire public education curriculum to such meaningless test preparations, and 2MB's plans will only worsen it.
• Another aspect of 2MB's education agenda is school choice. Standardized testing will allow parents to pick the most desirable school for their children. Sounds good, but as school choice is really a means for America's Christian extremists to send their children to propaganda schools at public taxpayer expense, it's also a means for South Koreans to kill off the public schools they don't like. In conjunction with this, the numbers and lists of all unionized teachers at each school will be made public. The connotation: schools with lots of unionized teachers will feed your children leftist propaganda - so stay away, and force them to close, and force other schools to fire their unionized teachers.
• Speaking of fears of leftist propaganda, the textbook publishers have agreed to roll over dead and cave in to the demands made by the colonials, for a more right-wing history textbook. News reports I am hearing clearly identify the Republican colonial government and the various New Right organizations as the main driving forces, though the "Ministry of National Defense" (which is more like a subdivision of the US neocon command, as it will defer to the US in wartime, and even though the US would like to relinquish command, it doesn't want it) is also strongly behind this. It looks like "New Right" doesn't just refer to the New Right Foundation, but rather the entire South Korean-style neocon movement, where it's patriotic to sell out to Japan and the US Republicans, and treasonous to be an independence fighter or a nationalist.
• Speaking of the military, South Korea's Marines, whose first major accomplishment is "quelling the Communist uprising of Jeju Island in 1948" (which wasn't all that Communist at all, in real life), is truly a subdivision of the United States Marine Corps. The slogans are merely Korean translations of the USMC ones, including "Once a Marine, always a Marine." The colors and the decals are identical as well. I know the USMC - it is certainly the most reactionary of the military branches - and the "ROK" MC can only be worse.
• The international crises - a terrorist bombing in Mumbai, and a pro-democracy uprising in Bangkok - do make major headlines. This is NOT a time for 2MB to terrorize his subjects, but rather, to respond appropriately and ensure stability and democracy to prevent future events like this. Sure, Thailand has a long tradition of modern democracy, and a streak of sovereignty that remained unbroken through the colonial era (only China and Japan can claim that elsewhere in Asia), but the military and corrupt politicians have been too vocal. Over here in South Korea, the military had two major coups in recent memory, and even though democracy has been safe for the past two decades, it's now destroyed thanks to 2MB, and the reactionary military commanders may get emboldened to again start killing the very people they are sworn to protect.
• Last, but not the least, Seoul's extensive subway system can be too much for some. I had to give directions to some fellow passengers - and Seoul isn't even my primary home anymore. (And I don't want it to ever be one again - and it looks like my next return to Seoul can wait a few months.) But it felt good to interact with the good everyday South Koreans again. I was also reminded of other overwhelmingly complex subway systems around the world - namely the New York Subway and the London Tube, both of which I know well. The major difference is that both New York and London are run by one agency (though New York used to be three separate systems), while Seoul uses two city companies to run the system, thanks to the utter ineptitude of Seoul Metro. If Seoul Metro were actually any good, it would've gone on to oversee Lines 5-8 as opposed to having to create SMRT just for those newer four lines.
  
• As I progressed back toward Seongnam, another leggings salesperson came on board - but this was a man in a business suit, with a trousers leg rolled up to reveal that he is wearing what he's selling. Same 4,000 won price. As the quality appears very good, and as it's getting bitterly cold in Seoul, I may have to grab a pair at the next opportunity.

Hong Kong, here I come.

Seoul: Bongeunsa

A good but quite tiring day today.

My meditation this morning had me feel nauseated and fainting. It must've been due to my body trying to get rid of all the toxic stuff that I had built up during the past few weeks, over the mixed results of the US elections. I did my best to unwind afterwards, by talking my thoughts out. I did not bore everyone else with my political beliefs, but I did publicly announce that I will retire my BMW and get a Hyundai Genesis. My master then engaged me in some car talk - and he was impressed with my knowledge of both American and South Korean cars. (He personally prefers German cars, particularly Mercedes-Benz, however, and suggested that I look into the C-class, but I am not a fan of the C-class. Besides, here in South Korea, a Genesis is just too much of a car for someone of my age and standing, but back home, the fact that the Genesis is a Hyundai, a cheap econobox brand, will work out to my benefit.)

My return to my apartment took me through Yongsan Station, where I saw the following:

The Democratic Party (not the victors of the US election, but the center-left opposition here in South Korea) had a number of activists in front of this station, as well as this video truck. It was making claims that the 2MB government worked for only the richest 1%, and that the party will work for the other 99%. Normally, I would've offered a word or two of support, especially after 2MB funded McCain-Palin and Prop 8. But today, I was too tired for even that.

Word also has it that a few National Assembly members of the ruling right-wing Grand National Party has introduced a new bill designed to vastly expand the government's surveillance powers. The Democrats and other left-wing parties are unanimously opposed, and even some within the Grand Nationals are opposed as well. The proponents argue that better data-gathering leads to a more informed, more responsive government, but the opponents rightfully argue that the laws will be turned against domestic political opponents. In South Korea, online activities require submitting one's National ID number, which is linked to current registration and residence information, so it's easy for the authorities to tag someone undesirable and break down his/her door at 4 in the morning.

Later in the afternoon, I visited Bongeunsa, a temple between the COEX Mall and the Gyeonggi High School (considered the best public high school in the entire nation).

The entrance post is topped off by an elephant, which was sculpted by Markus Kuehn of Hildesheim, Germany.

Due to the temple's proximity to the COEX Mall, many foreigners - particularly Westerners - visit this place. I am pretty sure that many find the strong South Korean Buddhist tradition surprising - especially the Americans, who are used to seeing Korean-Americans lock themselves up in extremist Christian megachurches and campaigning on behalf of the Religious Right.

Every Korean Buddhist temple has a Daeungjeon (大雄殿), or Hall of Great Hero, as its main hall, and this is Bongeunsa's version.

The faithful are gathering here to pray for good scores for their children. In five days, high school seniors will take the college entrance examination; the score will be the overwhelmingly most important factor in determining whether one can go to a college or not - preferably one in Seoul, and even more preferably a top-tier school like Seoul National University, Korea University, or Yonsei University. Success is pretty much guaranteed for someone who makes it into those top three schools.

A close-up of the wishing area, with incenses and candles burning. Candles can be bought at the temple entrance.

The banner in the back identifies this year as the Year 2552 on the Buddhist calendar.

A headstone in front of a minor hall. It says that the building was dedicated in March, of the Year 1993 in the "Western" (Christian) calendar and Year 2537 in the Buddhist calendar.

While Sakyamuni and Kwan Yin tend to be the dominant statues in Buddhist temples of other Asian nations, Koreans tend to put Maitreya as their biggest statue. Here's one that is approximately 50 to 60 feet tall, toward the back of the temple. In front is a marble area for prayer; it's a must to take off one's shoes before stepping on the marble.

Once I hit the road, I will visit an even bigger Maitreya, a bronze example standing 100 feet tall; it is the largest statue in the entire Korean peninsula. (The second largest is one of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang, and barely taller than this Maitreya.) In fact, my Bongeunsa visit today was intended to be a teaser as I prepare for my road trip.

A contrast of old and new. In front, there is an old bell pavilion for the temple. In the back can be seen the COEX Mall, the Inter-Continental Hotel, and other modern developments.

Two nice examples of Korean drums. The fish-shaped drum on the right is quite unusual.

The parting shot. Here's a Kwan Yin, guarding a water spring located in the dead center of a circular lake on an island. Even as California acts to take away my rights (with immense help from Korean-Americans, at that), South Korea's Buddhist tradition, and the very concept of Kwan Yin, continue to inspire me. Now that I have decided to buy a Hyundai and name it after Kwan Yin (the first time I am ever naming my car), every sight of Kwan Yin will have an even bigger significance.

I finished off at the temple's gift shop, initially looking for a Kwan Yin pendant for my car, but I ended up empty-handed. However, I bought a small wooden Happy Buddha for 4,000 won (USD $4), and will eventually send it to Christy Cole of Christy's Art Blog, who loves the Happy Buddha. I could've bought a slightly larger one for 10,000 won, but doubt that it would survive the mailing to Christy in Louisiana.

I walked through COEX Mall to take the subway and return to the apartment. The sights of young fashionistas in Ally McLesbian miniskirt suits and cute tunics with hosiery made me feel good; I look forward to making the exact same fashion statements when I return to the US, and my Kwan Yin-inspired Hyundai will prove to be a great fashion accessory too. And while most foreign women out and about sightseeing tend to dress down, I was able to spot a tall Western brunette in a flimsy floral minidress at the mall.

I am still feeling quite exhausted. I need to save my energy and take care of myself if I am to survive the road trip in a week. There will be a blizzard in the eastern mountains tonight - the first one of the season - and while it is unlikely that a blizzard next week (if it happens at all) is bad enough to derail my itinerary, it does remind me that I need to be careful.

Seoul: Jamsil again

Only one photo today, though I had a good day in Jamsil.

I started out by window-shopping at Lotte Department Store, before visiting Lotte World's cinema and sitting through Eagle Eye, a very interesting action flick about the post-9/11 Orwellian surveillance in the US. I must say, however, that writing the Korean caption for the English soundtrack seems to be a work of art in itself, as concepts not familiar to South Koreans must be left out or substituted (i.e. speeds in miles per hour will be translated into kilometers per hour equivalents), vulgar language needs to be translated into something much milder (so that younger audience can be admitted), and so forth.

I followed with a round of bowling, which left me soaked in sweat - fast - due to the higher humidity here in Seoul. I then considered entering Lotte World Adventure, the largest indoors theme park in the world, upstairs, but decided against it, as it seemed to be a poor value.

I ended my Jamsil visit today across the street, at another branch of Kyobo Bookstore, where I bought a few metaphysics books and window-shopped a bit more.

This is my only photo today. I was able to find the entire five seasons of my favorite skinny neurotic miniskirt-suited lesbian lawyer! These are Region 3. Didn't buy these though, as I already have all five seasons of Ally back home (themselves imported from the UK, and therefore Region 2 and PAL). My DVD player at home is code-free, and also converts PAL to NTSC.

I can also spot another series, The X-Files, featuring one of my favorite lesbian power icons, Gillian Anderson (who may/may not be lesbian, but is certainly a lesbian power icon without doubt). Speaking of Anderson, she'll be starring in a new movie, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, already showing in the US and UK, and opening here in South Korea tomorrow. I'll make sure to watch that too.

On another topic: as I walk around Seoul, I see plenty of coffee houses. While some are familiar American names like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean, most of them are the local chain by the name of Angel-in-us Coffee. It's a nice name, but when I saw it at first, I misread it as "Angelina Jolie" - and I continue to be reminded of Jolie whenever I spot an Angel-in-us. That's not good; everyone knows I am a lifelong card-carrying member of Team Aniston, and have very low opinions of Jolie!

Some current events here in Seoul tonight, according to SBS News, state that the Bank of Korea is hesitating about the planned issue of the 100,000-won (USD $100) banknote next year. The controversy is currently over the back side of the note, which will feature a 19th Century map of Korea; the original banknote design omitted Dokdo/Liancourt Rocks, for fear of offending Japan, though a later revision added it in at the urging of nationalists and citizens' groups, and nobody at the central bank can decide which one they would rather accept. I think it's very telling of the current Lee government's tendency to sell out to right-wing governments overseas at any cost. Another reason (though unannounced) that I think is likely: the front features an image of Kim Ku, a leftist independence fighter that the New Right Foundation calls a "vicious terrorist on par with Osama bin Laden."

Another is the presidential radio address, started for the very first time this Monday and to be continued every other Monday. This is a good development in concept, but without a chance for the opposition party to deliver a response, as is the case in the US after the presidential radio address every Saturday, it's only going to be another propaganda tool for the Lee government to manipulate the public opinion with.

News from back in the US, according to live news feeds in the subway, state that Obama's lead over McCain has widened to 14%, after consistently pulling 9-10% ahead in recent polls. This better hold! I'm already quite bummed about the Canadians giving their own W puppet, Stephen Harper, a larger minority government.

Family registers

I previously mentioned that in my upcoming South Korean trip, part of my work will involve digging through family vital records.

I found some relevant Wikipedia articles, which deal with the scope of family registers in both Koreas as well as China and Japan. In fact, Japan's koseki (戶籍) system formed the basis of South Korea's old family register, which was used until this year. The koseki uses the family as the basic unit of record, and is fraught with many privacy issues; in Japan, regulations had to be enacted to safeguard sensitive information, including birthplace, lineage, and transgender status.

China runs the hukou system, which works similarly. Taiwan has a slightly more liberal version of hukou, where address of registration can arbitrarily be changed.

Nevertheless, South Korea's new individual-based registry system is a first in East Asia. It enjoyed the strong support of feminist and liberal groups, and drew condemnation of Confucian conservatives and the Moonies (who even launched a new political party promising to restore the old system). Again, I'll report more on it when I am in Seoul and in possession of my vital records.

There are no equivalent systems in English-speaking nations, which have traditionally been more stringent about collecting and maintaining personal data, though the post-9/11 US police state may be buckling that trend.

Wikipedia
Korean Women's Development Institute

Canada bans US peace protesters

Photo courtesy of CodePink

A week ago, Medea Benjamin and Colonel Ann Wright, both of CodePink, were denied entry to Canada. They were on their way from Niagara Falls to Toronto, in order to attend a peace activists' meeting, as guests of Canadian peace groups.

The Canadians based their denial of entry on the NCIC database, kept by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations. Benjamin and Wright were listed on that database, because of their civil disobedience actions and the resulting misdemeanor charges. This is a purely political move by the US side, to turn these courageous women into criminals for exercising their free speech rights. And for Canada to deny them entry, based solely on this, is tantamount to giving up its own sovereignty in border affairs.

Both women have been able to enter Canada freely as recently as August. In addition, they have entered other countries, including W's puppet states, without problems, as well.

The stakes are getting high for me too. Not only have I met Benjamin at the CodePink New Year's Eve party in San Francisco last year (where I debriefed her on her South Korean trip the previous month), but I've since turned her into a Facebook friend as well. I know her as a fearless, feisty woman who will fight for what's right. If that's considered criminal by the W regime, it's one thing. But for Canada, which has been sympathetic to the US peace movement, especially during the Vietnam War, to now consider her a criminal as well, solely based on the information provided by the W regime, it's a huge change. Perhaps the winds are blowing in a different direction, now that there is a Conservative government in power.

Benjamin and Wright have been invited to speak at the Canadian Parliament - if they can be allowed entry, that is. I hope to see that happen soon. Until then, all my Canadian vacation plans - including ones to Banff, Jasper, Toronto, and more - will be on hold.

CodePink

Protect America Act of 2007

Passed this past week, this Orwellian-named new law gives the Executive Branch unlimited surveillance powers for six months. Many Democrats caved in, in order to avoid looking weak on national security - and in the process, becoming willing accomplices in W's mad power grab on the way to totalitarian fascism.

The best editorial on this travesty of a law was found, by fellow blogger DiAnne Grieser, on Bangkok Post. It clearly states that this is not the law W needs, at a time when he is trying to keep all his internal memos and conversations secret, citing "executive privilege." It further states that giving up freedoms, in the name of security, must be done with adequate judicial oversight.

Bangkok Post

Widespread Internet monitoring

At least that's what Lamar Smith, Republican Congressman from Texas, is proposing, with support from fellow Republicans such as Dan Lungren of California.

Smith wants to require all ISPs to log all activities indefinitely. Under the cloak of preventing child pornography and curbing terrorism, this proposal, called the Safety Act, goes far beyond, and ends privacy on the Internet as Americans know it.

This is an outgrowth of a failed previous attempt at a similar legislation, by Republican Senator Jon Kyl of the Fascist Third-World Banana Republic of Arizona.

From now on, nobody will ever tell me again that the Republicans are the party of small, lean, responsible government. The Republicans are all about big, authoritarian government - and so are the neoliberals, the self-proclaimed "libertarians" who support 99% of the Republican agenda.

For more details, and action ideas, please read The Seminal. And thanks to Rick Albertson of Democracy Cell Project for his action alert there.