This Week’s Wandering News

• I’ll lay it out plain: South Korea is pretty touchy when it comes to criticism from outsiders, and the flak the nation has caught recently over such oddball cultural phenomena as the mad cow scare and the Wonder Girls has made for some heated debate in the blogosphere. But criticism seems to be better taken when it is tempered with praise. Expat blogger Roboseyo, who has been living in the country since 2003, posts an insightful and sensitive piece, “The Magic Wand: Five Things I’d Change About Korea” that presents a balanced view of South Korean society’s thrills and ills — via ZenKimchi.
• For frequent flyers, there is a sea of often conflicting and useless advice on how to avoid jetlag, but the BBC reported this week on a fresh take that seems to make sense — if you can stand starving yourself. According to recent study, going without food on your flight resets your circadian clock and can help you adjust to your new time zone more quickly.
• Chinese wedding photographer Wang Qiang never planned on capturing a tragedy when he went to a shoot on May 12, but by the end of the session the French missionary church he was using as a background was a pile of rubble. New York Times Blog “The Lede” posts on his stunning perspective of the quake in “Disaster Caught in a Wedding Lens“.
• It is perhaps the essence of travel blogging: sharing experiences so that others can roam vicariously. Nerd’s Eye View hosts the The Carnival of Cities, with writers taking us on a virtual tour from Portland to Nanjing and everywhere in between.
• And on the gear front, Rapha Cycling is coming out with some really cool stuff for those who choose to roam on two wheels. Cool Hunting’s review of the 11-liter Fixed Backpack is really tempting me to buy one — with waterproof zippers and a snug pouch for your laptop, it looks like a travel writer’s dream.