VANK distorts American culture rabble rabble rabble.

I read yesterday about the Joongang Ilbo and their furor over the travel tips a Japanese government site offered visitors to Korea. By chance---don't ask---I came across "Cyber Passport," a site set up by the loony (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Voluntary Agency of North Korea Voluntary Agency Network Korea to introduce people to foreign cultures because quite obviously there are no other resources on the internet that provide information in English on other countries. Well, at least no other resources that use "East Sea." We've already seen some Korean textbooks and dictionaries, so you just know that a Korean encyclopedia written on other countries isn't going to turn out well.

So anyway, of course the North Korea entry hits on the 5,000 years of history, the UNESCO World Heritage sites, and not much else. Oh, and it goes without saying that Dokdo is on the map, too, swimming in the East Sea. The entry on the US is kinda funny. First, it lists the language as "Spanish." The overview is as follows, emphasis mine:

The United States is a federation formed by the combination of 48 states in the mainland and 2 states of Alaska and Hawaii. The 50 stars in the Star-Spangled Banner, the national flag of the United States, represent these 50 states. As the country is constituted by many races from all around the world with various cultures, the United States is often called the ‘Melting Pot,’ or the ‘Salad Bowl.’ The Immigration Museum located on Alice Island shows the country’s history of immigration. Next to Alice Island is Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty stands to symbolize the freedom and democracy of the United States. Today, the United States is the economic power boasting the greatest GDP in the world with more than 12 trillion USD (Source: the World Bank, 2007). The country has expanded its economic influence by entering Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with various countries including Australia and Singapore. Moreover, large enterprises of the United States, such as Coca Cola, Starbucks, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut are spread out to all around the world. Represented by Hollywood films, the popular culture of the United States also has great influence. Movie directors, George Lucas, who produced ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Johns,’ and Steven Spielberg, who produced ‘E.T.’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ are enjoying global fame.

I didn't read every single country, but I'm sure you can find gold all over the place. It points out in the entry on South Africa:

In Cape Town, you may find ‘Gay Quarter’ as well as the nearby ‘Sandy Beach’ which is very famous among gays in the world.

China:

Greasy Chinese food goes well with tea.

Australia:

The Republic of Kiribati is an archipelago, consisting of the Gilbert Islands where the capital city of Tiara and Babana Island are located, Line Islands and Phoenix Islands. The national flag of Kiribati represents its natural image of the rising Sun over the blue ocean and the frigate bird. This country is also famous for the coastal lines darted with the dense coral reefs. Except some islands, virtually all islands are surrounded by thick coral reefs. And Christmas Island in the Line Islands is referred to as the world’s largest and fantastic coral island. Kiribati is mostly composed of Micronesians who generally believe in Roman Catholicism and Christianity. Therefore, Christmas and Easter are major official holidays for the Kiribati people. They also love music and dance and their South Pacific Art Festival is considered to be the most important traditional festival with the active participation of neighboring countries like Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The UK:

Northern Ireland is a place where the Titanic was built. The Titanic was an extravagant passenger ship that sunk in 1912.

And Sudan:

Sudan...

LMFAO, that about sums the Sudan up.