Chris Golightly, a former American Idol contestant who got disqualified from the show after making the top 24, has left Korea.  You might ask, "what the heck is this blogger talking about?" A few months ago, Chris appeared in the Korean version of the American Idol called Superstar K.  While standing out with his bright blond hair, he lasted into the group of final 7 before getting the b ...

In Dallas, Texas, a small dispute over payment on gas at a Korean-owned gas station has almost escalated into a racial conflict between blacks and the Korean. On Dec 9, 2011, Jeffrey Muhammad, an Islam minister, tried to use his debit card to pay for his gas which was at $5 -- below the posted minimum amount for allowed card transaction.  When the Korean owner refused to take his debit card p ...

Byung Hyun Kim, better known as BK Kim to major league fans, is coming to Korea to pitch for Nexen Heroes.  In case you aren't a big fan of the major league baseball, BK Kim gained national notoriety while he was pitching for the Arizona Diamondback for blowing two world series games in 2001 by allowing homes to a couple of Yankees.

Korea has a fever for Bimaxillary Operation.  So, what the heck is Bimaxillary Operation?  Simply put, it is a type of plastic surgery that involves cutting off parts of the upper and lower jaws to shorten the face and/or adjust the position that the two jaws meet. People with protruding lower jaw and/or people with long faces are said to potentially benefit from the surgery an ...

A major part of life in Korea (for Koreans), is how you're being seen and perceived as it pertains to your financial status.  This type of materialistic vanity runs deep and wide ranging from the car your drive, where you live to what you wear.  Depressingly, the Korean youth is no exception to this social DNA.

Personally, I am happy with cheap Korean furniture that come fully assembled and delivered (at no cost!) to my living room.  However, there are many expats among us that still crave for the mass-produced Swedish design furniture called IKEA.  If you're one of them, rejoice as IKEA is coming finally to Korea.

The year 2011 is almost at its end.  Like other years on the peninsula, a lot has happened and there were many idle chatter pages filled on topics ranging from serious to just pure Korean nuttiness.  So, I thought to myself, "why not see which of my bad writings got the most views in 2011?" and here it is -- the 2011 most viewed Idle Chatters.

In case you haven't heard, Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, is dead.  According to the North Korean media, Kim died Dec 17th while on his private train.  The cause of death has been identified as heart attack. Kim Jong Il was born in 1941 and succeeded his father, Kim Il Sung, as the leader of North Korea 17 years ago.  The state of his health has been known to be unstable ov ...

Before I write about this somewhat 'old' topic, I should remind that the title of this little blog section is called Idle Chatter.  I write on sometimes meaningless and even tasteless topics just because they're what's going on in Korea.  With that, let me give you a lowdown on a bizarre scandal involving a Korean TV personality by the name of Sung Joo Han.

Sometimes it is better not to be able to understand what's going on in the society you live in.  Right now, the Republic of Korea is in a bit of a chaos.  Well, a bit more chaotic than usual, I should say. There are many issues ranging from controversies around the FTA with the US, very unpopular lame duck president Lee and a bunch of new TV channels popping up despite significant opposi ...