America, here's what happened with North Korea while you were asleep (thread):

1. Kim Jong Un apologized for the Sept. 22 lethal shooting of a South Korean govt. worker. He said it "shouldn't have happened" and he's "sorry to have disappointed." nknews.org/2020/09/kim-jo… 2. NKorea also gave their side of the story. A note said that North Korean soldiers burned the bloody object the victim was floating on — not the victim's body itself. They also say they fired ~10 rounds *after* the victim would not answer Qs/may have been reaching for something.

BREAKING: Seoul mayor Park Won-soon was reported missing to police by his own daughter. (Per @yonhaptweet)

https://twitter.com/yonhaptweet/status/1281151572483833859

Mayor Park has been running the city since 2011 and is 64 years old. No details yet on his condition or where he could have gone ...

Like any war, the Korean War — which started 70 years ago today — still lives on in people’s lives. My grandmother was traumatized by the loss of her sister & my grandfather, who came from the North, lost almost his entire family and suffered from classic PTSD. (Thread) My mother grew up in a poor, postwar society with these traumatized parents & never got a college education. Obviously that had an affect on my generation, although I consider us very fortunate. You can read in between the lines, here.

It's getting hot here in Seoul. In Pyongyang, it's around 85 degrees today (29 celsius) and North Korean state media put out a photo of a kid eating some shaved ice. Mood. Quoting the KCNA here: "The stalls serve shaved ice mixed with strawberry, tomato, red bean and blueberry juices, and ice cream and carbonated sweet water."

US friends: S. Korea had the 2nd largest #COVID19 outbreak in the world ~2 months ago. Today, they report 4 new cases, all imported from abroad. How did we get here? Govt prep, AFFORDABLE (often free) mass testing, social distancing, *invasive* tracking of infected folks. Masks were publicly distributed, subsidized & rationed. Quarantined folks were sent elaborate govt care packages. The Korean CDC briefed the media every day. Innovative testing ideas (drive-thrus, testing phone booths) were deployed quickly. Results came back in <24 hours.

A testament to how trauma is nothing to make light of: Pseudo Cushing’s Disease. Basically, a person goes through something so horrible that their body changes how it releases hormones, & that person blows up like a balloon. Weight gain. Organ damage. Even stroke or heart attack. My point: No matter how advanced medicine is, this *fairly new* condition shows how little we understand about life experience’s effect on the body. Know what you don’t know. & This should be a backdrop to everything: How we judge others, how we read the news, how we report info

I am again reminded of how people with *underlying health issues* are forgotten amid this #coronavirus pandemic. I have gone out of my way to read about how people with certain diseases exhibit #COVID19 differently & are more vulnerable. But it took serious work to find that info So, good-intentioned memes listing out the symptoms and how they differ from the conventional flu may do public good... But they can also be a disservice to the sick. The sick must shoulder the burden of digging up confusing white papers & reading about how to protect themselves.

My American friends: I am actually more concerned about #coronavirus in the US than in South Korea. We may have 7k cases, but we have a remarkably low death rate (0.66%). Aggressive, early testing & a very affordable, world-class medical system helped a lot. But in the US, I am concerned that (1) tests will not be disseminated as much, (2) the impossible costs of US healthcare will drive people away from being tested & treated, (3) the self-flagellating work culture will keep people from skipping work— especially those without PTO...

Facebook won its case against the Korea Communications Commission in court yesterday, effectively scrapping the $327,000 fine first levied after Korean telecom users complained of slow loading times. This is actually a fascinating story. A thread on why:
bnanews.bna.com/tech-and-telec… Experts tell me S. Korea is the only country in the world with a unique "sender-payment" system, which was written into law in 2016. Basically, the law says that telecom companies (ex. KT) have to pay when they send large amounts of data to another telecom co's network (i.e. SKB)

🎵 Now this is a story all about how my life got flip-turned upside down (feat. @CSAIRGlobal). Pay close attention if you fly to/from Asia a lot. (1/?) (2/?) Last night, I tried to check into my flight from Rome to Korea (with a stopover in China). I got as far as picking my seat. Then the website started to have errors, so I shrugged, and figured I'd check in myself the next day. No biggie.

Everyone complains about student loans, and some even have the nerve to complain about how hard it is to be middle class and not yet "that much aid." I can understand that, because any countdy that demands 100k+ for a standard degree has some serious problems... But hold up There are many smart, dedicated kids out there who in low-income families. Their options are even fewer. A few grand from FAFSA isn't going to buy them an education, and maybe they've got nobody who can cosign private loans. So what's their option, you ask?