Evidently tired of being picked out easily by authorities (warning: extreme tatoo’age) and of the brutish stereotype portrayed in pop culture, the criminal underworld has begun an “image-is-everything” makeover. Seoul Metropolitan Police have rounded up one such organized crime group operating in Itaewon which has been selecting its members using strict appearance-based standards. They evaluated for such factors as good looks, tall height, and unblemished skin. This is a departure from the past when new candidates only needed to be good with a stick and actually be really, really tough. Now, in an effort to be all Disney, they’re basically looking for Super Junior with the ability to be trained. (read more…)

[Life imitating art? 상사부일체]

In a surprise move, the Seoul Metropolitan Police have removed the buses that barricaded the lawn in front of City Hall. After sealing off the public space for fear of protests following the Roh Moo Hyun funeral last week, the police relented after a week of criticism from civic groups, activists, lawyers, and we think, angry kids who wanted to splash in the fountain. And in a completely related move, the police resumed their regularly scheduled activities. (HT to Roboseyo at Sparkle)

[source: Korea Times]

A Ph.D candidate from George Mason University, Curtis Melvin has infiltrated the reclusive, impenetrable mystery that is North Korea and is revealing secrets previously known only by spies and Kim Jong-il himself. (read the rest…)

[Rachel Maddow MSNBC]

Microsoft unveiled its new search engine Bing on Tuesday night in a promotional event at the Seattle Space Needle. Bing is being billed as the next step forward in search. Its “decision engine” helps users filter out the clutter by collating information in a formatted form (as opposed to just listing links), and this, Microsoft believes, is going to help them take a larger share of the search market. (read more…)

Strict-constitutionalist and voice of reason Dr. Ron Paul explores the alternatives the U.S. might want to consider as they alert 30,000 U.S. forces on the peninsula and move Raptors and Aegis warships closer to the region.

[Youtube]

(source: Marmot’s Hole)

The online company MegaStudy Co., Ltd. received a write-up from Choe Sang-Hun in the New York Times today:

“Megastudy.net, the online tutoring service Mr. Son started in 2000, may be the perfect convergence of South Koreans’ dual obsessions with educational credentials and the Internet. In this country, where people’s status and income at 60 are largely determined by which college they entered at 18, South Korean parents’ all-consuming task is to ensure that their children enter an elite university. And that requires a high score on the college entrance exam.

By tapping into those anxieties, which deepen during recessions, Megastudy has become South Korea’s fastest-growing technology company, with sales expected to grow 22.5 percent this year, to 245 billion won ($195 million), even as the country’s economy is projected to contract.”

Read the rest [NY Times]

It’s as though the North Korean regime is forever pushing the envelope of their brinksmanship, as if saying to the world community: “If you thought last week was crazy, well, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”

In just the space of a week they displayed a rash of military bluster, taunting the nations of the region with their nuclear and missle threats and swinging recklessly toward possible war.

Reuters reported that 12 F-22′s, the most advanced stealth air supremacy fighters in the U.S. arsenal, have landed in Okinawa, Japan on Saturday for a four-month deployment. (read more…)

This has turned out to be an unexpected opportunity for South Koreans seeking American citizenship, but it could also be a forboding dove-tailing of resources and current events. The Wall Street Journal reports that a little publicized U.S. Army recruiting program has seen their recruiting office inundated with inquiries from South Korean nationals seeking to join the ranks. (read more…)

[photo: Kim Sang Hoon]