OLD AND NEW

ostensibly traditionally Korean (though probably owing at least some to the period of Japanese colonial rule) and "modern" and globalized all mixed together in one image (courtesy of Robert Koehler).

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

sometimes the result is unexpectedly good.

FILIAL PIETY (XIAO)

is back (more here)!

PRINCELINGS

Interesting photo and analysis over at Foreign Policy. Worth a quick look.

RAGE

in a Chinese airport

JAPANESE GOODS BOYCOTT

Discouraging the purchase of Japanese (or other foreign) goods has a long and storied history which extends back at least to the "Korean Products Promotion Society" of Cho Man-sik.

I seem to recall posters in the 1980s calling for boycotts of American cigarettes (which cause cancer) and American beef.

Then again in the late 90s, there were renewed calls for the consumption of Korean goods rather than foreign goods (one poster declared that Kim Ku smoked Korean tobacco; so should you).

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

for the day: "Use caution when eating escolar." Graphic warning ahead:

To be frankly and bluntly specific - and I'm sorry for this - consumption of escolar causes explosive, oily, orange diarrhea. People have reported that the discharges are often difficult to control and accidents can happen while passing gas. I personally know someone who ate an escolar steak one night, unaware of its side effects. The next day he was riding the elevator to his office when out of nowhere his bowels unleashed a surprise attack on his pants. As he said later, "Thank God I had my gym bag with me, which had a clean pair of underwear in it." This explains why escolar is also called the "olestra fish" and the "ex-lax fish."

What might this have to do with Asia? Sad to note, escolar is all-too-often mislabeled as tuna (or "super white tuna" or "king tuna") in sushi restaurants. A recent survey of fish outlets (including sushi restaurants) determined that an astounding 74% of fish in sushi restaurants are mislabeled. And,

84% of fish samples labeled “white tuna” were actually escolar...

Shudder