News and notes from around the interweb:
- The President of South Korea is demanding that all bags get manually searched at Seoul Incheon airport because people might hide money in books, and apparently the small amounts of cash that could be involved are a government priority or something?
This would melt down air travel, and be really bad prioritization – you do risk-based searches not blanket ones because focusing on small bills in books distracts from real security and customs interdiction. Such a strange demand.
President Lee ordered to “look through all the books” in response to President Lee’s reply, “You can check if 100 bills are overlapped, but it is a little difficult to find them with the current technology if they are inserted like bookmarks one by one.”
In addition, he said, “People carry books to read, they don’t put them in bags and pass through the checkpoint,” adding, “That’s a little suspicious, so you can search (books) and open them.”
- Every blogger ever: “I do hotel reviews.”
“I do hotel reviews,” claims the woman with a grand total of 23 TikTok followers.
Spare a thought for poor Jacob at the Holiday Inn. pic.twitter.com/EqX7UJr74Y
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) December 15, 2025
- Low cost carrier, where local wages cost less than technology.
It's not much, but it's honest work.pic.twitter.com/lYL8rogUyI
— Community Notes & Violations (@CNviolations) December 15, 2025
- I’m not sure I understand the point of skits like this, but they do illustrate lived experiences.
- Travel to the U.S. in 2025 be like:
A Kenyan living in the USA narrates how they have to walk around with their passport to avoid arrest, detention, and possible deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) pic.twitter.com/IEJSYf2x0o
— The Kenyan Vigilante (@KenyanSays) December 15, 2025
- Cool loyalty moments from 2025 The Atmos Rewards rebrand was absolutely well-executed. I actually find the United-JetBlue partnership disappointing so far, the redemption rates are poor and American was a better partner here. And this is certainly true,
Bilt seemed to launch a new earn-or-burn partner every week this year (what’s the saying? ‘Kris Jenner works hard, but the Bilt team works harder’? )
- Passenger completely bypassed TSA in Philadelphia so he could smuggle prescription cough syrup. And he was caught by random chance.
- As with Rove, you can earn rewards on hotel booking made through Gondola and also earn hotel points.
Gondola.ai is offering a status fast track that increases the rewards you earn.
Gondola members can earn up to 7% cash back on all hotel bookings through 2026.
Here are the key details:
• Book 5 nights or spend $1,500 by January 31, 2026 → Earn Silver status (5% cash back)
• Book 10 nights or spend $3,000 by January 31, 2026 → Earn Gold status (7% cash back)
One of the nice aspects of this challenge is that it’s based on bookings made by January 31, 2026 — not stays completed by that date — giving members plenty of flexibility.
it’s not a strange demand. I hear not only Koreans but also other travelers have smuggled excessive amount of cash through the Korean customs.
When Ben posted about the ICN airport topic, some were quick to claim South Korean presidents are ‘crazy’… uh, no, this one is tame compared to the last one who was impeached and removed for attempting to stay in-power using martial law. We could learn a thing or two.
As to the United-jetBlue partnership, yeah, I also preferred the American-jetBlue NEA, namely because AA included lounge access to B6, but, in this case United has been stingy, no reciprocal lounge access. Lame. However, the redemptions have been fine. Used some United points for B6 Mint and was pleased with the rate.
As for BILT, folks, trouble on the horizon; if Mesa can go under, BILT sans WF is not looking good. February 2026 is the beginning of the end. Don’t hold more than 1,000 points. Transfer out to Hyatt, Alaska, even United. And, now, for Ankur’s goons to come after me again… Peace be with you!
Korean gov is devaluing the won. Dollars and other hard currencies are no good here so Koreans are taking their soon-to-be devalued won, converting them into any hard currency, and then taking them where they can be used or deposited. The limit per year is $50000 per person (so $100K/couple) but some people have millions and want to preserve their wealth. Soon Korea will be like the Philippines with regard to the exchange rate and things will be relatively cheap here as the currency will be greatly devalued. Country has too much debt.
Source: long-time resident
@Billy Bob — You currently reside in South Korea? I have friends there and have enjoyed my visits, but I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that their government is intentionally devaluing their currency. That’s alarmist. Honestly, much of what you said is misleading. Yes, the won is currently weak, but more so because demand for hard currencies like the US dollar is high (same goes for Japan’s yen, though for different reasons, like super low interest rates, all of which has been much to the benefit of American tourists; just got back from a trip there). But, let’s get real, ROK’s debt-to-GDP is around 50%, which is relatively low compared to other developed nations. And, as to your other comparisons, I do ‘like’ the Philippines, too, yet, I would not put S. Korea and them in the same basket, like, at all. South Korea remains a high-income, developed country with strong economic fundamentals and is not on a path toward the economic instability. They’ve had recent political instability, but, they’ve done a better job than the US in holding themselves accountable. *cough*
@ Billy Bob – The Korean government is not devaluing the won. The currency’s weakness reflects market forces, investor behavior, and global monetary conditions, and Korean authorities are in fact working to manage volatility and preserve stability. This bears no resemblance to Japan’s stealth FX posture or China’s managed depreciation framework.
That said, searching books for hidden cash is an indefensible policy choice. Serious illicit transfers move through financial channels, digital instruments, or highly liquid assets, not paperbacks in carry-on luggage. The practice wastes time and resources, erodes traveler goodwill, and substitutes performative enforcement for intelligence-led screening. Incheon is already disadvantaged by its location, to the point that many travelers go out of their way to use Gimpo instead (I know that I do). Adding avoidable security friction will only reinforce that preference, not solve any meaningful problem.
@Mike Hunt — We may not agree on everything, but, at least on E. Asia, we seem to be on the same page. As far as the Japan comparison, I was merely stating the fact that such relative FX is in our favor as American tourists. However, the ICN vs. GMP argument falls flat. ICN is like JFK/EWR to GMP’s LGA/DCA; although GMP used to be the main airport, it’s now a domestic and regional airport at best (and literally limited to 2,000 km), so not even SE Asia included. ICN is still the main airport for Seoul, specifically, and for South Korea, in general. There will not be JFK-GMP flights, likely ever again, much less because of this ‘news’ about the ‘performative’ searches.
The “hotel reviewer” reminds me of the Yelp reviewers on South Park, and we know what they get. The smuggler decided to take 6 bottles of codeine-containg cough syrup as a carryon. So, he wanted to avoid TSA. But, would the stash probably get through without a problem in checked luggage? And, why not drive your stash from PHL to ATL if it’s worth thousands?