Recently the Samurai Archives devoted a few episodes of their podcast to dissecting the relationship between military history and Japanese studies. The lead discussant on the program is Nathan Ledbetter, who blogs once a year or so at Sengoku Field Manual but comments regularly at the Samurai Archives forums. In these episodes his focus is […]
Illustration of Rashid-ad-Din’s Gami’ at-tawarih. Tabriz (?), 1st quarter of 14th century. Source: Wikimedia. “One day after the suppression of the Sambyeolcho rebellion, the two comrades in arms, Koryo general Kim Pang-kyong and Mongol general Hsintu enjoyed a moment together in Kaeyong. Presently, Hsintu caught a young sparrow and, after playing with it awhile, he clubbed […]
Image Credit: Washington Post, Interesting things happen in Asia. Over the last few months a lot of interesting things have happened. Yet as 2013 rolls forward I find myself increasingly dissatisfied with the standard explanations American commentators rely on to explain Asia’s great power politicking. This post presents a few themes neglected by many analysts […]
What impact does culture have on cognition? Psychologist Richard Nisbett has conducted dozens of studies to find out the answer to this question. Presented in The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently, the results of his study are fascinating – and their implications far reaching. “Perception: How Germans and Chinese See Each Other” from […]
Via Foreign Policy Watch comes this entertaining documentary on the North Korean film industry: Less than 1,200 Americans have been allowed entry into North Korea since the Korean War. The accounts of their experiences in the bizarre other-world that is North Korea are fascinating – and terrifying. They are enduring testaments to facts normally forgotten: […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. As I have spent much of the last two weeks away from the blogosphere, this one is a bit smaller than usual. THE REPUBLIC Commentator’s DiseaseFred Reed. Fred on Everything. 11 June 2010. Mr. Reed identifies what is perhaps the greatest flaw of our pundit […]
Last month I published a piece detailing the cover up that followed the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan. The evidence at the time was clear: the Cheonan had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo and the South Korean government was desperately trying to keep this story away from the news stands. To this end […]
South Korean navy ship sinks near sea border with NorthBBC News. 26 March 2010. About 40 sailors are missing after a South Korean navy ship sank near the border with North Korea, Yonhap news agency said citing military officials. The patrol vessel, with 104 people aboard, sank after an unexplained explosion tore through its hull. […]
