Café Seoul Season 5, Episode 3: Blackface Again?

Yes, we know that we’re late in getting this episode published. We promise you that when we recorded this episode the issue was current!  You try editing one of these episodes when the only time you have to do it is when your toddler is sleeping and that’s also the only time YOU can sleep!

 

But yes, this episode you can hear two guys who aren’t black discuss blackface in Korea. As we try to keep our privilege in check, we find that blackface is a huge problem even today, and it keeps happening and it frankly makes us angry.

 

She was wearing WHAT??!?!?

More excuses before discussing this episode, the Bunker was unavailable this time so we recorded from Jesus Coffee in the Mapo-gu Office area. It’s also kind of noisy so we’re sorry.

News of the Weird

• Apparently Westerners have shorter intestines than Koreans, says one domestic digestive powder producer

So, what if you’re both?

• Korea to begin coinless society feasibility trials
• Trump says Korea used to be a part of China, recieves well deserved backlash.

On the Pulse – An in depth discussion on blackface. The original sketch can be seen here

Café Seoul Season 5, Episode 2: What, Me Worry?

So, North Korea has been in the news again with their saber-rattling… but our reaction is pretty much summed up by this picture:

 

Every time North Korea starts something, I’m like…

News of the Weird:

• Questionable Journalism skills alert: Lawmaker proposes plan to include migrant families in the definition of multicultural so that they can also get government support, meanwhile he expects special treatment from police regarding his breaking of traffic laws
• Airbnb host bans host who refused Asian guest
• Doctor dragged off United flight has questionable past

On the Pulse

Why does nobody in South Korea care when North Korea starts acting up? We have a long discussion about this question, but it meanders so much in the beginning because we’re actually itching to talk about Star Trek, but we bring it back and actually have a decent discussion about it in the end. Long story short, it’s because North Korea is threatening just for show, as a means of projecting itself as powerful to their own people. But now with Trump in office, can they continue the same strategies as always?

Note: The air was bad when we made this episode, so you can hear a lot of coughing and hacking. Apologies!

Café Seoul Season 5, Episode 1: News and Fisting

Oh my gosh! Rob and Eugene are back after such a long long long long long long break! Yes! Season 5 is now underway, and as of this writing (on April 29th) there are actually 2 more episodes in the pipeline to be edited. So fear not, there is lots of Café Seoul headed your way so you can get your fix.

As we were planning the show, we decided that we’d do an entire episode of News of the Weird, and skip On the Pulse. because we’d been away so long. That WAS the plan, but in the first half of the show, we actually ended up having a very long discussion about whitewashing in western media and specifically about Marvel’s Iron Fist… so we’ll call that On the Pulse for this episode

So… why didn’t they just go with that guy in the center?

News of the Weird

• Seoul offers free driving lessons for “expats”
• Manager at UK firm loses job for refusing to bow to Korean boss
• Egypt to export stray dogs to Korea
• Pyeongchang unveils new slogan
• Korea makes ‘fertile women map’ in effort to increase birth rate 
• Is this menu racist?
• American flags at pro-Park Rally
• Samsung ends top down corporate structure
• Doctors take selfie with cadavers
• Artist sells trophy during music awards
• Public wedding ad angers Korean young people

And yes, at the end of the podcast, Eugene did mispronounce Rob’s family name, but his BS excuse is that he was mimicking how it should be pronounced in Rob’s native Canadian, know watm tokin aboot?