So it's okay for women to drink and drive?

A new gas station opened in Seoul aimed at women drivers, with a number of amenities:

SK Energy, the nation’s top refiner, opened a gas station targeting female drivers in Bangbae-dong, southern Seoul yesterday. The purple-and-white station features a saloon providing nail care, cooking lessons and other services.

Also from the Joongang Ilbo is an editorial about the dangers of American protectionism, saying the 1997 version contributed to the Asian Financial Crisis the following year. Pretty soon I'm gonna have to make an FTA category on this site to accomodate this renewed, um, interest in the United States passing the KORUS FTA as-is. It's such an ironic interest, as we've seen with the various trade barriers South Korea itself has on foreign goods, and as we recall from the anti-beef demonstrations this past spring and summer. Brendon Carr has an unusual bout of wisdom today as he writes about the cell phone market in the US and South Korea. South Korean phones make up 43% of the US market, whereas US-made phones make up . . . 0% of the South Korean one.

And, since I don't want to start a whole 'nother post on it, here's a little follow-up to this morning's entry about the wives of foreign dignitaries subjected allowed to make kimchi at a festival in Seoul. I don't want to get a reputation as someone who writes only about Korea, so I thought I'd share a couple of examples of Koreans who just can't get enough of America and its long history. Here is a boy dressed as a soldier. Early settlers in America fought bravely against the Indians who tried to keep the land to themselves. Our country wasn't yet free from English rule, so we remember their struggle well against the savages. His uniform also reflects the influence of many cultures in our country, which is known as a "melting pot."



Next here is a little girl in the arms of a woman wearing traditional American clothing. American women have always been hard-working, and their clothes reflect that. Their dresses allow for complete freedom of movement. Today, many countries have imitated this style, and have also adapted "earth tones," a uniquely American invention, to their own purposes. When foreigners see pictures like this they are reminded of America's superior medical care. In some countries, babies like this are usually given up for adoption because their parents don't care about them. That's not true in America.



Next we see a young foreigner making a traditional American basket. American baskets have four distinct sides and can be used for carrying all types of goods. This little girl is making her basket in a traditional folk village of Pennsylvania, one of the most important states in the world. It is purely for fun. In other countries, little Asian girls make baskets for profit in factories, but Americans don't do that. Why don't you try making a basket?



Finally, here are a couple pictures of foreigners enjoying the Civil War, which was fought in our country from 1861 to 1865. Do have Civil War in your country? Nobody knows who exactly started it, although we know that European countries may have wanted to exploit the conflict for their own economic gain. After four bloody years our country finally realized the dream of unification. In the first picture you will see soldiers dressed in gray. Many foreigners like these uniforms because they don't like dark-skinned people. However, in America we have a black president, and are very progressive when it comes to race relations.



In the second picture you'll see some foreigners posing with women in traditional American clothing. In the background is a flag that is known as the "Confederate flag." It is an important part of our history, however some foreigners use it as decoration. We must fix the mindset of yellow people like that.