What we’re reading right now.
Leave it to Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert to make the most of this heavily circulated picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun beaming from ear to ear while at a, ahem, lubricant factory. “Folks, it turns out beneath that sad expression, Kim Jong-eun might just be Kim Jong fun,” an ebullient Colbert says. “I have never seen him—or anyone, really—so transported by the pure joy of lube.” You can smile through the segment here.
Speaking of Colbert, a wag of the finger to Kim Won-jung, the South Korean ice hockey player who’s better known as figure skating champion Kim Yuna’s boyfriend. The 30-year-old who plays for the country’s military team Daemyung Sangmu as a way to serve out his mandatory military service, is apparently being stripped of his military “athletic status,” after he and three other hockey players were involved in a car accident while going AWOL to visit a massage parlor. The players will serve their remaining military service in their units, officials said.
In case you didn’t get the memo, apparently, it’s cool now to be Korean. Just ask Wall Street Journalist online columnist Jeff Yang, who made the case in this CNN piece.
Korea is apparently conquering the world in the kitchen, too, according to Serious Eats, which declared, “kimchi is the new miso.”
Did we mention Koreans are also good at golf? Over the weekend, Mirim Lee beat out Inbee Park to capture the Meijer LPGA classic title, earning her first LPGA Tour win. Lee admitted later she was “100 percent” nervous being in a playoff with Park, whom she called a “hero in Korea.” But that didn’t stop the 23-year-old LPGA rookie from sinking a birdie on the second hole of the playoff and sealing the win over her countrywoman.
LA Weekly recently scoured Los Angeles’ public and charter schools to find those “hidden gem” institutions that are getting students performing at high levels and aren’t necessarily located in exclusive, wealthy neighborhoods. Making its list of “6 Awesome LAUSD Schools in Affordable Neighborhoods” is Charles H. Kim Elementary School in Koreatown. The K-5 school, with a mostly Latino and Asian student body, offers Korean bilingual, Spanish/English dual language, and gifted classes, and has been named a California Distinguished School. Its namesake is a pioneering Korean American entrepreneur who started the prosperous Kim Brothers Company, which incidentally you can thank for the invention of the nectarine.
What’s worse than being pursued by a mosquito? How about being pursued by a guy with an Asian female fetish. Paula Yoo, who has had to swat away her share of both annoyances, says unfortunately “yellow fever” is thriving in the online dating world.
Kakao Talk and terrorism–what the #@*? Chinese authorities are making the link.
South Korea prepares for the big papal visit this week.
It’s amazing what you can do with Photoshop and lots of free time. Kotaku reminds us of this as it features some of the work done by the Korean language Facebook page called “We Do Phoshop,” which solicits Photoshop requests from readers, but doesn’t always deliver exactly what’s asked. Examples here.
