2009: The Year in Review
by Bobby McGill
Dec. 2009

-January, of course, kicked off with the Big O stepping into the big Oval Office. Tears were shed, heartfelt speeches given and the honeymoon lingered on for just a little while longer than usual. Now, here we are eleven months into it and only 45% of Americans feel that Obama’s “Message of Hope” didn’t actually turn out to be the “Message of Nope.” Well, at least I don’t have to say I am Canadian anymore. -Things didn’t fare much better this year for Osaka, Japan’s native son Lee Myung-bak. Though the South Korean president was no doubt happy to see his approval ratings on the rise after they slipped to a dastardly 17% the year before, there wasn’t much else to be thankful for. That nasty scene when he got shouted down at Roh Mu-hyun’s departure service really took the “fun” out of funeral. RIP Prez Roh. -2009 will be remembered as the “Year of the Mask” as millions of Koreans donned surgical masks to avoid catching the Swine Flu. I would imagine cosmetic surgeons took quite a hit with all those people putting on masks and putting off adjustments to what people wouldn’t see anyway. -While 2009 saw a great many tragedies, few compare with the fact that the Yankees garnered another World Series Championship. My dislike for the boys in pinstripes runs so deep that those older, soju-infused Koreans whom call me “Yankee” from time to time have no idea how much it hurts. -One of my favorite shows, Entourage, managed to pull off a fairly decent season this year. Unfortunately, producer Marky Wahlberg tied the knot in 2009, so you can see where the show’s plot line is headed. Dread. Is nothing sacred? -This down economy is tough on everyone. Suicide Bomber jobs in Iraq saw a sharp decline to less than 100 this year compared with 257 in 2008. Parents across the betrodden Iraqi nation saw more and more of their sons staying at home glued to the TV watching reruns of American Idol.

-In the “It’s not my money, let’s give it to someone else category,” this year’s top entry is the U.S. Government who contributed $40 million to the Afghan presidential elections. After the big success of the “Cash for Cars” program, I guess they figured the “Kash for Karzai” program was worth a try. Will blunders never cease? -It was reported in March that the CIA destroyed 92 interrogation tapes they had been using on terror suspects abroad. Among those tapes destroyed were K-Pop sensation Super Junior, Mariah Carey’s Christmas Collection, along with Level’s I, II and IV of the Interchange ESL Listening series. -French President Nicholas Sarkozy, following a meeting with Barack Obama last spring, offered to take into custody all Guantanamo Bay detainees should the U.S. president decide to close the facilities. Interestingly, 84% of the prisoners surveyed said they would refuse to go. -North Korea tested another nuke this year. I speculate that the radiation could increase crop yields by creating rice mutations and that next year South Korea will have to send food to only 99.4% of the North Korean people. -Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was “elected” president for a second straight term this year. Iranians took to the streets in protest demanding that if he was going to accept the fraudulent election results, the least he could do is shave his neck before traveling abroad. -Ethnic riots in western China left 156 people dead in June of this year. A Chinese university student speaking on the condition of anonymity commented to a western reporter: “What riots? I didn’t hear about that.” -And finally, Busan Haps Magazine was launched this year. What significance this has remains to be seen. But of one thing you can be certain: After busting my hump for the past 6 months, you can bet I will probably be on the beach in Thailand while you are reading this. Happy 2010 to ya. You can threaten Bobby McGill at busanhaps@gmail.com