The Mystery of the 90,000 Vanishing Books

The JoongAng Daily printed a fascinating article today about the community spirited citizens of Daejeon and their wonderful abuse of the local subway book lending scheme:

As part of the “Library for Citizens” program launched at subway stations across Daejeon in April 2007, Daejeon Express Transit Corporation stocked bookshelves with 800 books. In less than two years, acquisitive readers have cleaned them out. Only 30 or so books remain.

770 books missing in two years? That's not bad going..... But wait.....

When the second stage of construction on Daejeon’s subway line No. 1 was completed, the transit authority provided 22 subway stations with about 30,000 books that had been mainly donated by citizens. Whenever books went missing, the authority restocked them.

It was an uphill battle.

So far, the authority has added some 66,000 books. However, there are only 6,000 books left; 90,000 books have vanished.

90,000 books? A stunning feat by the literary underworld of Daejeon. They must have been fascinating novels and works of non-fiction for people to want to steal them. They were pinched for the love of the written word, weren't they?

When the value of recyclable paper shot up last July, about 2,000 books went missing every day.

Oh dear.... Well, at least the thieving bastards care about the environment....

Faced with rampant pilfering, the transit authority plans to launch a campaign to restore books for the library. To add muscle to the effort, the authority will place teams at each station to impress upon would-be petty thieves the need to keep public property public. The teams will meet once a month starting in February. About 500 people, including transit officials, civic groups and citizens, are expected to participate.

Labels reading, “These books are public property of Daejeon citizens. Let’s be conscientious and make sure that books are returned after reading,” will also be attached to all books, the authority added. To aid the consciousness-raising effort, the transit authority plans to set up separate boxes beside the shelves to hold returned books.

Good luck to them, hopefully the bookworms will win out and the public transport traveling citizens of Daejeon will be able to read to their hearts' content.

Marilyn Monroe in Korea

Trawling through Youtube I stumbled across a couple of interesting videos of Marilyn Monroe's visit to Korea in February 1954. Wikipedia says that she performed ten shows over four days to over 100,000 servicemen.



According to marilynmonroememories.co.uk:

While on honeymoon with Joe Dimaggio in 1954 they were invited to a cocktail party which was being given by the international set of Tokyo. A number of high ranking American army officers were there, and during the course of the evening one approached Marilyn and mentioned about a quick trip to the American troops fighting for the United Nations in Korea by Marilyn would be a great moral booster for the soldiers.

Marilyn was thrilled and agreed at once to the trip, Joe however thought it could be dangerous and was not happy about Marilyn going but Marilyn dismissed his fears by saying “it was the least anyone can do”.

So Marilyn was flown to Seoul, and then taken by helicopter towards the war area, snowflakes were falling during the flight, and the hillside was frosty. Marilyn Monroe asked if the helicopter could fly low so she would be able to wave to the soldiers. This she promptly did by lying face down on the floor of the helicopter, lowering her body outside the sliding door, while two soldiers sat on her feet. It is said that Marilyn was late at the DivisionHQ because she asked to fly over the troops a number of times.

Marilyn's travel outfit had been an olive shirt and pants, but she changed into a plum coloured dress covered in sequins before performing “Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend” on stage. Many soldiers were taking photographs of Marilyn on stage, and one soldier near the front was informed by Marilyn “honey, you forgot to take it off” (he had not removed the lens cap).
This live performance by Marilyn was one of the most recorded events at that time. That evening Marilyn attended dinner in the General's Mess.

By the time Marilyn reached 3^rd Division she had moved from one unit to another meeting as many soldiers as she could, however it was noticed by the officers that the higher ranking officers were taking too much of her time, and after this was mentioned Marilyn Monroe was surrounded by enlisted men at meal times.

The amphitheatre of the 160^th Regiment was another place that Marilyn performed, snow was falling lightly as Marilyn made her way to the stage. The troops were so moved by her being there that they stormed towards the stage and the performance had to be halted. A commander rushed on to the stage and told everyone “to get back as no one will see Marilyn Monroe until you do”!! It is worth noting that the other places that Marilyn performed for the troops at did see smaller riots, one soldier had to be taken in an ambulance as he had been trampled on.

A 2003 article from the L.A. Times talks of the effect Korea had on Marilyn:

In February 1954, she was at the height of her early popularity. She had yet to travel to New York to study acting with Lee Strasberg, which would lead to her classic roles in “Some Like It Hot” and “The Seven Year Itch.” But she would later say it was on the Korea trip, which produced near-riots among the servicemen, that she fully understood the effect she had on fans.

Korea “was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she would say. “I never felt like a star before in my heart.”

Photos on flickr here.

Catfish Soup in Yuseong

Visiting Daejeon (대전) for the weekend, I found myself hankering for something a little bit different food-wise. So I wandered the streets of Yuseong (유성) looking for grub. Just near exit seven of the Yuseong Spa station (유성 온천 역) I came across a Japanese restaurant with a curious sign out front:

생물메기탕! Fresh catfish soup! Only 10,000 won a portion!

Delight of delights; a new delicacy to try... Turns out the 10,000 won deal is only at lunch time and for dinner they add on an extra 5,ooo for good measure, but I wasn't deterred. I was shown to my own private room and was treated royally.

First off a little raw fish salad to get the party started:

The fish was fresh and succulent, not too chewy and well complimented by the assorted leaves, seaweed and slices of pepper all covered in the traditional sweet chili sauce.

Next to come - the main course accompanied by a fabulous array of eleven 반찬 (side dishes).

The catfish soup was bubbling hot and topped with a seasonal treat, a large handful of 냉이 (shepherd's purse). The broth was simple, but very tasty and packed full with bean sprouts, tiny prawns and large chunks of catfish.

A delicious meal, with only one small drawback; like most fish soups that I've had in Korea, there was a lot of skin, a lot of bone and not too much flesh. Still it was definitely worth trying and the raw fish salad was a very welcome bonus to the meal.

어가원 (the restaurant) is worth a look if you are in the area and in the mood for something a little different. They specialize in tuna, but the catfish is a far more interesting option. Contact them on 042-825-6665 for more information or directions.

Attitudes and Feelings Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive

Trawling through Youtube I came across the most amazing Korean drama from a couple of years back. 태도 (Attitudes and Feelings Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive) manages to bring emotions to the fore and touch us with heartwarming drama. Even though it clocks in at just over fifteen minutes, 태도 is an epic story of forbidden love, family ties and mysterious Canadians (English subtitles included):

Bobby Lee and Madtv should be commended for their interpretation of Korean dramas.

No Dokdo Song for EV Boyz

Sad news this morning as the EV Boyz confirmed they would not be singing about Dokdo in the near future. Speaking on Sara Kim's Soul of Asia they said that it was "too soon" to sing about Dokdo, explaining it was too much of a "hot topic".

However, they have announced that new songs are in the offing including "Soju Chingu" and a video and single release for their song about Taco Bell. 

I leave you with their live version of the Taco Bell song:

Top five 독도 (Dokdo) songs on Youtube

After seeing The Marmot's Hole's wonderful New Year's Eve tribute to Dokdo (HT to King Sejong for the Youtube link), I was inspired to go looking for what other songs about the Liancourt Rocks there might be. So now for your viewing and listening pleasure I bring you the top five Dokdo songs on Youtube.

At Number Five:

신독도는우리땅 (New Dokdo is Our Land)

This seems to be the inspiration for the english "Do you know Dokdo?" song, similar music, same melody lines (strangely the words seem to fit better in the Korean version). A joyful celebration of all that is Dokdo, watch out for the catchy chorus and the enchanting references to seafood at the start of the second verse. The video features beautiful shots of those enchanted islands to which all our hearts belong.

At Number Four:

D.O.K.D.O. by Twelve Tone

Bringing a fresh twist to patriotic songs about Dokdo, Twelve Tone have used their combined talents to give us their hip-hop/rap interpretation. Not only fun, this song adds in an extra 10 second slice of education at about one and a half minutes into the song, before magically transforming into a ballad for the last thirty seconds or so. The video features beautiful shots of the islands that we all hold so dear, plus the odd inflammatory image of Japanese politicians.

At Number Three:

독도는우리땅 by random foreigners on 무한도전

Ah, MBC, you spoil us with your poorly edited video clips of foreigners singing songs about Dokdo. Fortunately there are Korean subtitles for those of us unable to make out a single word of this beautiful musical tribute and I think we all must admire the little girl at 14 seconds in who is able to pronounce the word 땅 with impressive clarity and diction. Took me a long time to get the double d pronunciation right.... While watching the video you may be disappointed by the lack of stunning visuals of the islands that charm the whole of Asia, but hold on! Wait for the thirty second mark and you'll be treated to almost a full ten seconds worth of Dokdo glory! Ooh, MBC, you little teasers!

At Number Two:

Welcome to Dokdo, Korea! from onmam.com

Something a little more traditional taking the number two spot, taking Arirang to new heights with this Dokdo inspired version of the theme. Some brave soul has worked hard to put english subtitles on the video, so feel free to sing along with lines such as: "The rough wind will blow as usual today", "Did you have a nice sleep, Dok-Do?" and "Even though we might get tired and have a break during the way". Classic lines for a classic song. The song drives an important message home and we are reminded in eight different languages on screen that "DOK-DO is the territory of Korea!" Needless to say this beautiful tribute is accompanied by some stunning pictures of the twin hearts of the East Sea of Korea, plus some hand-holding. Mesmerizing.

And At Number One:

독도는우리땅 Boys and Puppets Version by Dori Elementary

Five boys, four puppets and a lot of heart. This version is just a lot of fun, surprisingly no lovingly crafted shots of Dokdo, Lord of Islets were included in the video, but the kids show so much love and passion for Dokdo that no pictures are necessary.

So there we have it, the best of Dokdo on Youtube; awe-inspiring, heart wrenching, beautiful songs showing us how much we love Dokdo. Honourable mention must go to this version though, for its innovative use of a computerized anti-japan demonstration on Dokdo, complete with flag burning!

Doctor Who?

Matt Smith has been named as the new Doctor.

It's hard to imagine what he'll be like, but at 26 years old he's facing a huge challenge playing the iconic timelord.

Dr WHeasel is most displeased....

New Year's Day Sunrise on Namsan

6.00 am on New Year's day, a saner person would have stayed in bed for at least another three hours, but Euna and I braved the vomit strewn streets of Itaewon and made our way up to the top of Namsan mountain to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it seemed that half the residents of Seoul had decided on the same course of action.

Wading through the hordes of visitors we headed to the base of the tower; squeezing our way past thousands, nay millions of families, elderly couples and drunken twenty-somethings in high heels and trendy suits. We came for the sunrise, but we stayed for the bizarre sight of thousands of Seoulites worshipping the sun.

There were no bloody sacrifices, just a lot of pushing and jostling as everyone tried to get their camera-phones in the perfect position to capture the sun. Walking through the crowds our nostrils were assaulted with the stench of soju and happiness and when the sun poked it's head over the horizon there was a real sense of celebration; a joyous moment shared between the multitude on top of the mountain. Half were early risers starting the New Year with a bang, the other half finishing off their New Year's Eve and stumbling around in inappropriate footwear. All of us were glad to see the sun rise on 2009.

Happy New Year.

More photos here.

Copyright Infringement Wednesday (New Year's Eve Edition)

New Year's Eve, looking forward to sitting in front of the television, wanting something decent to snooze in front of; I perused my DVD collection looking for the very best film my shelves had to offer. The Dark Knight? Sweeney Todd? Truck? No, these were not good enough..... then I saw it, the film I had to see this afternoon:

T-D: Terminator Dog (터미네이터 독)

A dog that's a terminator? A sequel, a prequel, a spin-off from the James Cameron classic? Not exactly. A quick search on google revealed nothing except a link to the Brian Yuzna classic "Rottweiler".... A closer examination of the DVD and I saw that the original title was indeed included though not in the most obvious of ways:

Bottom right hand corner, just after the heart warming statement that T-D: Terminator Dog had been shown at the Ninth Puchon Fantastic Film Festival (Pifan), is the original title of the film "ROTTWEILER". Even on the Pifan website, the film is listed as "로트와일러 Rottweiler", so the distributors have deliberately altered the name of the movie after its original festival presentation.

But what of the cover picture? That shot of the robotic dog is not exactly what I would call a rottweiler (looks a little bit like a wolf to me) and is more than a little reminiscent of the dvd cover for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Has somebody been to the plagiarist school of cover art? The original image for "Rottweiler" is much less copyright infringing, so why not use that instead? Probably because it's not very good, but that is beside the point.

Well for 3,000 won, you get what you pay for... a crap Brian Yuzna film about a naked convict being chased by a cyborg dog with blue eyes.

I leave you now with the inspiring spanish language trailer for "Rottweiler" so that you too may share in the joy of the Terminator Dog:

How I Spent My Christmas Day....

It's Christmas Day, what better way to spend it than to dress up as a Minotaur and scare children...

A happy, happy Christmas!