Happy New Year!

Ask a Korean! News: Not All Jeff Meyers Hate Koreans

Perhaps the readers may remember Mr. Jeff Meyers from Australia, who won the "Hate the Korean" contest back in October. Well, Mr. Jeff Meyers from Los Angeles, California would not let the Jeff Meyers name slandered this way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: My name is Jeff Meyers...‏
From: Jeffrey A. Meyers ([Email redacted])
Sent: Fri 12/26/08 1:55 PM
To: askakorean@hotmail.com

...and I'm married to a Korean gal. I'm enamored of kim chee, bibim bap, and all things Korean. I demand a retraction/clarification immediately -- not all Jeff Meyers are biased against Koreans!

Sincerely,
Jeff Meyers

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Very well Mr. Meyers, the Korean is generally amenable to reasonable requests. So the Korean was getting ready to publish a clarification, when only hours later, the Korean received the following email:

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Title: Koreans‏
From: Jeff Meyers ([Email redacted]@yahoo.com.au)
Sent: Fri 12/26/08 8:25 PM
To: askakorean@hotmail.com

WHY ARE KOREANS SUCH LOWLIFE SCUM?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, what are the odds? Just when the Korean was about the vindicate the good name of all Korea-loving Jeff Meyers, the original Jeff Meyers fires out a random email out of the blue! Do all Jeff Meyers have a psychic communication through space and time? If these two Jeff Meyers touched each other, would their Korean preference explode into neutral?

Strangely, the Korean feels like Ask a Korean! has reached another level.

[Note for those who care about this kind of stuff: the LA-Jeff's email was fully redacted because his domain name gave away personal information, while Australia-Jeff's email was only partially redacted because the domain name gives away nothing.]

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Merry Christmas everyone! For everyone in America, the Korean wishes a happy time with your family. For everyone in Korea, enjoy the second Valentine's Day. (If you are single, do yourself a favor and just stay home.)

Being Black in the Kimchiland

Dear Korean,

I want to teach English in Korea in February. How badly am I seriously going to be treated, assuming I get a position? It's not like America is fat friendly, or Black friendly for that matter, but I hear Korea is 100 times worse. I'm a great person, kind, intelligent, and genuinely interested in learning about Korea and it people and culture. Will that be enough in the long run, or should I just forget going there?

Geralyn

Dear Korean,

I am a black man, born and raised in the United States. For the past four months, I am been diligently studying the Korean language because one day I would like to start a new life in Korea. I am educated and currently working on my Masters Degree and studying for an ESL certification with the hopes of one day taking my education, teaching skills, and the knowledge of Korea's native tongue to the country and make positives enhancements in a country that is continuously going. But my question is, can I go to Korea and become successful? Would I be able to attain a job other than just teaching English? Will the color of my skin overshadow my education, language skills, and the desire to help better its growing economy in the decades to come?

한지훈

Dear Geralyn and Jihoon,

To give a better sense of Korean job market, a post by Yeochin will follow the Korean’s post. Also, please take a look at the discussion already happened on this topic at Expatjane's blog.

The Korean talks much about racism of Koreans and Korean Americans. (See for example here and here.) The Korean has also talked about America is much less racist than Korea (and less so than the rest of the world.) Unfortunately, this may have caused a lot of concerns from African Americans who intend to teach English in Korea.

The Korean thinks he is misunderstood in this regard. One way of understanding the sentence “racism in Korea is worse than America” is to understand it as saying “the manifestations of racism in Korea is worse than America.” That is, there are more ugly signs of racism, such as racial segregation or racially motivated violence.

But the Korean does not mean that when he says “racism in Korea is worse than America.” Rather, the Korean means this: “racism, defined as racially inclined thought-process, is more firmly engrained in Korea than America.” When the Korean says “racism”, he only means this: the belief that one’s race is determinative of one’s characteristics which are often negative.

So is racism worse in Korea? Absolutely. Overwhelming majority of Korean people sincerely believe that your race matters in evaluating who you are. But the relevant question in Geralyn’s case is: “Is racial hatred in Korea worse than that of America?” This is the relevant question because on one’s day-to-day life, expressions of racial hatred would be the only thing that affects the racial minority.

The Korean’s answer to that question is – not really. Once in Korea, black folks will be stared at. They will be subject to some rude comments. But there is little danger of malevolent discrimination, harassment or violence.

Here is an example of racism that is typical in Korea. The Korean attended a wedding in which the bride was a Chinese American and the groom was Korean American. (Wedding was in New York.) During the reception, the family members of the newlyweds took turns with the mic to say a few words. The groom’s uncle stood up and said, “I would like to congratulate [the groom] and [the bride]. I know a Chinese woman and a Korean man work out together well, so I am sure your marriage would be great.” Stunned silence in the audience for a few seconds, then some scattered polite applause followed.

The uncle here sincerely believed that being Korean and being Chinese impute certain characteristics to people. That’s racism. But he meant absolutely no harm to the newlyweds, and not too much harm was really done to the newlyweds at the end of the day. Such is racism in Korea.

(Aside: Keep in mind that the above is a description of Koreans in Korea, not Korean Americans. Because Korean Americans often come into contact with African Americans – usually the poor folks who occupy the same ghetto – they have a clear idea how to deal with a black: with suspicion and disdain.)

However, one thing to note is that such racism – racially inclined thought, to be precise – is a necessary ingredient in racial hatred. Racially inclined thought only needs a small spark to erupt into racial discrimination, harassment, or violence. Foreigners in Korea, including African Americans (more so because they stand out even stronger than whites,) do need to realize when such “spark points” happen in order to avoid any trouble.

The spark points happen when the racial minority appears to threaten the status of the racial majority. Remember, the worst violence against blacks in America happened after the Civil War, when their newly enfranchised status threatened the whites. Vincent Chin was killed in Michigan when Japanese carmakers were threatening the status of American carmakers. (And the American carmakers still did not learn their lessons, but that’s a different story.)

When do non-Koreans in Korea appear to threaten the status of Koreans? The Korean can think of three situations:

1. Working at “Korean jobs” – English teachers mostly do not fall into this category, but immigrants from Southeast Asia and China usually receive the brunt of this. In particular, there is a severe racist hatred against the Chinese in Korea right now. If the current trend continues a little longer, a full-blown France-style race riots are just around the corner for Korea.

2. Being loud in a group, especially in an enclosed space – This could easily happen in a bar with several friends, for example. To Koreans, it could look like the foreigners are “taking over” the space, which may cause resentment. (Yeochin's post touches on this.)

3. Dating Korean women – Interracial relationship is a racist’s greatest fear, especially if it involves a minority-race man and majority-race woman. When a minority-race man dates a majority-race woman, other majority-race men feel their position threatened, because they feel that their possession is being taken.

So, here is the actual advice: if you are going to Korea as an English teacher, do not worry too much about racism in Korea. The worst you would receive most of the time is the incessant staring and some really ignorant comments. You are not in a situation to threaten the status of any Koreans, so you will be let alone.

However, if you are going to Korea as an immigrant as Jihoon is trying to, brace yourself. Korea is not a kind place for immigrants, because immigrants who stay in Korea often pose a threat to the status of Koreans. Again, the Korean would stress that there is no violence or harassment. But the quiet bias would often be enough to dash your job hopes, for example.

[The following is written by Yeochin.]

There really isn’t any specific racism in Korea as far as black and white are concerned -- it’s more of a numbers game. Koreans are afraid of large numbers of foreigners. Any foreigners. It could be a group of blond super models. If there is more than four, they will be denied entrance anywhere in Seoul.

There are a lot of examples of this. A few weeks ago a group of friends were denied access to a club. There were almost ten of them. There was a Korean with them and she was kind enough to translate “there are too many foreigners, you can’t come in.” Schools work in the same way. My school hired a man and my boss said – OK, we have a guy, no more guys.

Yeochin’s school just hired an African American. She spoke in a perfect non-regional diction over the phone and is very well qualified to teach. There were two positions open and three candidates; two white and one black. Yeochin was very surprised that the African American candidate was the first one hired. The girl was even demanding and wanted things in her contract changed. Yeochin thought that her boss would forgo this teacher who he described as “Difficult and unappreciative.” Instead, he gave into her demands while announcing to the office that he had just hired a black person, and aren’t we so diverse!

It was like when he hired a male teacher and he kept hinting at the Irish teacher that finally there would be a man around. He acted like he was doing the female teachers a huge favor. Irish teacher kept feeling insulted, like maybe she seemed desperate for a man or something. Our African American teacher was toted around the office in the same way.

So guess what happened when my boss interviewed a new girl and she turned out to be black? He told her ‘no thanks’ of course. We already have one. When the African American teacher who secured her job first heard about this, she just laughed -- she knew Korea was going to be ridiculous about that.

As it turns out, she was worried about getting hired as well. So nervous that she started to learn Korean and knew a lot of basic phrases before her plane even landed. She even prayed at lunch in Korean. She even gave the bosses gifts for hiring her. All this because she was afraid they would look down on her for being black. She was afraid they would not think she was as capable as her white peers. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Truth is, Koreans think all foreigners are lazy and incompetent regardless of their skin tone. This is sadly true. The Korean work ethic is above and beyond anything you would expect. The Korean teachers work twice as hard as the foreign teachers and they don’t get a free apartment and they get the same pay. It’s not a color difference, but a culture difference. hey don’t look down on you for being black, they look down on you for never being taught to work insane amounts of hours for no overtime pay. See?

This goes for Korean Americans as well. Yeochin’s school just hired a Korean American from the Bronx and already they think she will be inadequate compared to her native Korean co-teachers. To quote my boss “This is not America, this is Korea and our teachers enjoy working Saturdays.” A concept that I don’t think has caught on in America unless you work at Burger King.

So go ahead and apply to work in Korea. YOU WILL BE HIRED. You will get a job. Don’t settle for a lame job because you are worried about getting hired. You can have a great job where you want, for how much you want. You just have to be patient.

Yeochin wishes she could put a good word in for you to her boss, but like she said, that quota has already been filled. And if my boss needs to hire another teacher and they turn out to be a man, black or a Korean American my boss can proudly say in all of his diversity training “no thank you, we already have one!" What a hero.

Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! News: Yearly Tradition Happens Again in National Assembly

New York Times reports the yearly tradition of Korea's National Assembly, getting into fights. Right around this time last year AAK! reported a spectacular battle in the National Assembly involving, among other things, a cane and a phone. As 2008 is drawing to close, the Korean was actually wondering why a fight has not broken out yet. As usual, Korean politicians did not disappoint.

Some choice quotes from the Times article:

The parliamentary battle over a contentious free trade deal in South Korea led to a confrontation on Thursday in which opposition lawmakers used a sledgehammer to knock down the doors of a blockaded room in which a committee was discussing the agreement.

Television footage showed fire extinguishers being sprayed at the opposition lawmakers trying to get into the room . At least one person was shown bleeding from the face.

...

Thursday’s assault came after the opposition party had threatened to block the deal by using physical force if necessary. Fearing an attack, members of the foreign affairs committee, under control of the governing Grand National Party, had barricaded themselves inside the room as they met.

Security guards and aides from the governing party stood outside the barricaded doors, where scuffles broke out when a dozen opposition lawmakers showed up. The opposition lawmakers then used at least one sledgehammer and crowbars to tear through the doors, only to be thwarted by piles of furniture thrown up as a second line of defense.

The mayhem failed to prevent the pact from being formally introduced to the committee, a step in the process of bringing it to a full parliamentary vote.

Also, see a Korean article from Dong-A Ilbo here. The article also contains pretty sweet videos of door breaking down and fire extinguisher spraying. A separate Dong-A Ilbo article, in a sterile tone that may as well be discussing last night's baseball game, speaks of the involvement of "weapons-grade" tools such as a sledgehammer, a chain saw, a fire extinguisher, a crowbar, etc. The article notes that "While it was common to have a shoving match in the National Assembly due to the difference in opinions between the parties, it is very rare for such 'weapon-grade' tools were used."

The Korean urges the America's Congress to follow the example of Korean legislature. If Congress is going to be worthless, the least they can do is to provide yearly entertainment. America can add a creative twist to this yearly ritual. Say, the Iraqi shoe-thrower already gave a good example. Let thousand shoes rain upon Dick Cheney! Plus, the Korean is certain that raining shoes is Nancy Pelosi's dream. The Korean cannot see any downside to this proposal. Institute Fight Night Congress now!

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Korean Lessons in Alabama

Dear Korean,

I am a 35 year old English-speaking American living in Birmingham, Alabama. Is there anywhere local for me to take Korean language classes? I have tried local Korean Catholic churches but they tell me they are all for kids. I would like to learn in order to visit the country one day as a Tang Soo Do student.

Anonymous Coward

Birmingham, Alabama!! The Korean's first college roommate was from Decatur, Alabama, "the fourth largest city in Alabama and the home to the second largest Wal-Mart in America!" as he would proudly say. The roommate invited the Korean to his future wedding, and told the Korean to bring a box cutter so that he can cut the rope around his neck after the roommate's friends lynch him. The Korean was not sure if his roommate was joking.

The Korean is shocked that there is a local Korean Catholic church there to begin with. A little help, AAK! readers from the Deep South?

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Lesson in Cultural Gap through an Exercise of Translation

We all have our own way of passing time when we are stuck in a boring situation. We look around, shift weight on our legs, and daydream. One of the things that the Korean does is to translate everything he sees and hears into different languages that the Korean knows. Most of the time it is English to Korean or Korean to English, with a little bit of Spanish, Chinese, and Latin thrown in.

Because the Korean does this exercise so often (basically every time he rides the subway or gets stuck in traffic, when he is not thinking of something else,) the Korean has gotten pretty good at it – much more so than others who may know both Korean and English fluently, yet do not bother to link the two languages. The Korean not only tries to match the meaning, but tries to match the emotional and evocative content of the original as well.

Recently, Roboseyo put up a beautiful Korean song, which later stuck in the Korean’s head. Accordingly, after the song ran a few times in the Korean’s head, the Korean began translating it in his head, in different variations. Then the Korean decided to write about exactly what went through his head while attempting to translate this song.

The Korean is writing this in order to open up and show a process of crossing the cultural gap. When we read an interpreted text, we are never sure if the translation is completely faithful to the original. We can never be certain that the translation captures everything that the original has meant to capture. This exercise will show exactly what carries over in the process, and what is lost in the process. The song, 찔레꽃, is short yet emotional and evocative, which makes a great case study.

The song was composed, written, and sung by Jang Sa-Ik. First, here is the video of Jang singing the song.



Here is the text of the song.

찔레꽃

하얀 꽃 찔레꽃
순박한 꽃 찔레꽃

별처럼 슬픈 찔레꽃
달처럼 서러운 찔레꽃

찔레꽃 향기는
너무 슬퍼요

그래서 울었지
밤새워 울었지

찔레꽃 향기는
너무 슬퍼요

그래서 울었지
목놓아 울었지

아 찔레꽃처럼 울었지
찔레꽃처럼 춤췄지

찔레꽃처럼 날았지
찔레꽃처럼 울었지

찔레꽃처럼 춤췄지
당신은 찔레꽃

찔레꽃처럼 울었지
당신은

Let us begin the translation. (Note: the words in the video is slightly different from the official lyrics.) The Korean will go paragraph by paragraph, starting with the title.

Title text:
찔레꽃

Initial translation:
Mountain Rose

Thought process:
Is this right? It is according to the dictionary, but the evocative image is completely wrong. Most English speakers have never seen a mountain rose. When they hear “mountain rose”, they would therefore think of the flower as an extension of a rose. In their head, they would run this type of image:


Which is so completely wrong. The beauty of a rose comes from its striking color and the fullness and complexity of its petals’ configuration. But the color of a mountain rose is muted, and its petals are laid out in a single layer, a simple form -- like the following:



Also, “mountain rose” would completely lose the emotional quality of the word 찔레꽃. 찔레 comes from 찌르다, “to prick”. Literally, it’s a “pricking flower”. It’s ironic and sad – a flower that attracts, yet repels! But then again, roses are known for that as well… but the thorns of 찔레꽃 is not nearly as hard or sharp as those of a rose.

Do I want to stay with simple transliteration, Jjillekkot, and let the readers imagine it? But then the flower could become anything, and it would lose a crucial meaning of thorns. Do I want to go with “pricking flower”? That sounds too strong, and too literal. It takes away the subtlety. I’m not happy with this, but that settles it.

Settled on: Mountain Rose.

Text:
하얀 꽃 찔레꽃
순박한 꽃 찔레꽃

Initial translation:
White flower, Mountain Rose,
Innocent flower, Mountain Rose.

Thought process:
Are the commas necessary, although the original text does not have commas? Am I being too condescending for the reader? I think I will stay with them, since the original text does not seem to have an alternate way of reading anyway.

I am pretty confident that “Mountain Rose” has to be capitalized. The original text makes it fairly clear that the mountain rose is a metaphor for a certain person.

The word 순박한 is difficult. My initial thought was “innocent”, but “innocent” sounds like it would describe a child. 순박 entails a little more sophistication; it almost always describes people in the countryside, living a simple life without pretension. Is “simple” the right word? “Simple” doesn’t sound very poetic; it sounds like “basic”, a very dry word. But English-speakers talk about being “simple folks” as well.

The word “white” is surprisingly bland when translated, because it loses the historical reference. Traditional Koreans – living in simple times! – dressed in clear, bright white. Koreans are sometimes known as 백의민족, “the people in white dress”. Starting with the word “white” clearly indicates that this song is really about a person, not a flower.

Is there any way to convey this idea in English? Not really – it would take a longer explanation, destroying the poem. But this at least makes me shift further away from “innocent”. Paralleled with “white”, “innocent” really sounds close to “childlike”. This song is not about a child.

Settled on:
White flower, Mountain Rose,
Simple flower, Mountain Rose.

Text:
별처럼 슬픈 찔레꽃
달처럼 서러운 찔레꽃

Initial translation:
Mountain Rose, sad like a star,
Mountain Rose, doleful like the moon.

Thought process:
The word order is annoying. The word “Mountain Rose” comes at the end of the sentence in both paragraphs, but “Sad like a star, Mountain Rose” initially did not make sense to me. But clearly, this paragraph is about repetition, not about changing the cadence. I think I’ll change the order.

The word “sad” in English also sometimes means “pathetic”, which annoys me. “Sorrowful” would be the perfect fit with respect to its meaning, but does that flow? 슬픈 is juxtaposed to 서러운, which means that the translation for 슬픈 has to be a shorter word than the translation for 서러운. “Sorrowful” and “doleful” are the same length. I don’t think I have a choice – “sad” has to be it.

Is “doleful” the right word for 서러운? A 서러운 person is probably crying, possibly drunk. I really wish I can think of some English texts that had the word “doleful” – I just can’t think of any image associated with the word. It somehow sounds like “depressed”, which is less expressive than 서러운. “Mournful” is another possibility, but that brings in death, which is something else entirely. Again, not happy, but this will have to do.

Settled on:
Sad like a star, Mountain Rose,
Doleful like the moon, Mountain Rose.

Text:
찔레꽃 향기는
너무 슬퍼요

Initial translation:
Mountain Rose scent is
Too sad.

Thought process:
This ruins the cadence. First line is 6 syllables, followed by 5 syllables in the next. In English, the first line is 5 syllables, followed by 2 syllables. Need a longer word than “sad”. I wonder if I can get away with just “Rose” instead of “Mountain Rose”…

Settled on:
Scent of the Rose is
Too sorrowful.

Text:
그래서 울었지
밤새워 울었지

Initial Translation:
So I cried
All night I cried.

Thought process:
This is hard. The original text does not show who cried – I just threw it in there to make sense of it for now.

Korean language does not require a subject in the sentence to be grammatically correct. Korean poets used this feature to deliberately create ambiguity. This flower could be anyone – I, you, the Mountain Rose, any simple Korean dressed in white. Cheating ahead, the last few lines say “You are Mountain Rose”, partly relieving the mystery. But changing to “So you cried” will still destroy the deliberate ambiguity.

How important is this ambiguity? Do I want to preserve it, at the risk of being grammatically incorrect in English? (Not to mention confusing the hell out of readers who are unfamiliar with this type of ambiguity?) But I think the central beauty of this poem lies in this ambiguity. It has to stay. Hopefully some commas will relieve the confusion?

Also, let’s not forget the cadence. The two lines have the same number of syllables. Since “all night” has to stay, find a different word for “so”.

Settled on:
Therefore, cried.
All night, cried.

Text:
찔레꽃 향기는
너무 슬퍼요

Initial translation:
Scent of the Rose is
Too sorrowful

Thought process:
Same as earlier.

Settled on:
Scent of the Rose is
Too sorrowful.

Text:
그래서 울었지
목놓아 울었지

Initial translation:
Therefore, cried.
With all my heart, cried.

Thought process:
Gah! Another tricky Korean word. 목놓아 울었지 would be translated as one English word, “wailed”. Literally it means, “crying by letting your throat go.”

What about “wailed and cried”? It’s redundant, but it fits the cadence. (If you had noticed, the Korean does not even try to rhyme. That’s far too difficult.) That will have to do.

Settled on:
Therefore, cried.
Wailed and cried.

Text:
아 찔레꽃처럼 울었지
찔레꽃처럼 춤췄지

Initial translation:
Ah – cried like Mountain Rose
Danced like Mountain Rose.

Thought process:
Normally, “Ah” is a bit difficult because Koreans say “Ah” in the way Americans say “Oh” – that is, whenever they just realized something. But the “Ah” here is meant to signify the wailing sound. So I will leave it here. I am also getting used to the “no subjects” thing in English. Hopefully the reader will as well.

Settled on:
Ah – cried like Mountain Rose
Danced like Mountain Rose

Text:
찔레꽃처럼 날았지
찔레꽃처럼 울었지

Initial translation:
Flew like Mountain Rose
Cried like Mountain Rose

Thought process:
Finally, an easy line!

Settled on:
Flew like Mountain Rose
Cried like Mountain Rose

Text:
찔레꽃처럼 춤췄지
당신은 찔레꽃

Initial translation:
Danced like Mountain Rose
You are Mountain Rose

Thought process:
Capitalizing "Mountain Rose" pays off here, because "You are the mountain rose" hurts the cadence.

Settled on:
Danced like Mountain Rose
You are Mountain Rose

Text:
찔레꽃처럼 울었지
당신은

Initial translation:
Cried like Mountain Rose
You did

Thought process:
That worked out well.

Settled on:
Cried like Mountain Rose
You did

Done! Let us look at the final product:

Mountain Rose

White flower, Mountain Rose,
Simple flower, Mountain Rose.

Sad like a star, Mountain Rose,
Doleful like the moon, Mountain Rose.

Scent of the Rose is
Too sorrowful.

Therefore, cried.
All night, cried.

Scent of the Rose is
Too sorrowful.

Therefore, cried.
Wailed and cried.

Ah – cried like Mountain Rose
Danced like Mountain Rose

Flew like Mountain Rose
Cried like Mountain Rose

Danced like Mountain Rose
You are Mountain Rose

Cried like Mountain Rose
You did

Final checkup on the finished product:
Doesn't look too bad. Still dislike the fact that all the meaning behind "white" was lost. Still not sure how readers would react to fourth and sixth stanza, which lack the subject in the sentence. But not sure how I could improve -- I can only hope that it makes sense.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you have it. As a closing remark, the Korean would like to make a few points.

1. Translation is hard work. Be grateful to those who do it for you, even if they do not convey everything that they could possibly convey.

2. If you wish to learn about a culture, not knowing the language of the culture is fatal. See how many nuances you are missing in that short little poem turned into English?

3. If you are conversing in a certain language with a person who acquired that language as an adult (for most of AAK! readers, that would be Koreans who learned English later in their years, like the Korean himself,) imagine the hard work of the person you are speaking with. Realize that there are a lot of emotion that the person simply cannot convey fully. Also, realize that at least some of what you say will be lost upon the listener, even if the listener knows the definition of every word you said.

The Korean does not wish to overexaggerate. The fundamental theme of AAK! is that Koreans -- and by extension all humans of all races and culture -- are essentially the same as you and me. We are all people. Cultural gap can certainly be crossed.

But such crossing is, needless to say, imperfect. We lose some things when we cross that bridge. The aspiration behind this exercise was to demonstrate what exactly makes across the bridge, and what gets lost en route.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Theatre Programs in Korea?

Another chance to help a fellow reader, folks.

Dear Korean,

My girlfriend and I are both adopted Koreans living in Minnesota. We're both actors in our late 20's, and are exploring possibilities regarding teaching theatre in Korea for a period of 6 months or more next year. While it's pretty easy to find opportunities to teach English at schools, privately, or in hagwons, I'm curious if you would have any suggestions regarding teaching theatre to high school, college, or adult ESL students. We're mainly interested in living and working in Seoul, but I'd love to learn about any programs that exist. And if programs don't exist, are there certain colleges that would have staff or drama programs that might be interested in starting a program like this?

Korean American Theatre Junkie

This is a pretty technical question, so any lead would be appreciated.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Iodine makes you smarter. Remember what has a ton of iodine? Seaweeds! Remember Korean women only eat seaweed soup for three straight weeks after giving birth? When Korean women breastfeed, they are essentially feeding "get smart" juice to their babies.

The Matters of Ornithoids and Apis Mellifera

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Now, a moment with the latest creation of Korea's greatest musician ever.



Taiji is god.

A bit old, but a nice article on the New York Times about immigration and returning to the mother ship.

As the Year-End Gift Giving Period (YEGGP) approaches, the Korean will recycle last year's post on gift-giving for Koreans. Please refer all gift-giving questions and suggestions here.

For those who are too lazy to click, here is a quick summary: there is no ultra-special, super-secret, culturally-relevant "Korean gift", except for a select few occasions. Stop being so scared about appearing to be politically incorrect. A gift given from the heart cannot offend anyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Korean would like to wish all readers happy Thanksgiving, wherever you may be.

Thanksgiving is truly the Korean's favorite holiday, although sadly it is increasingly becoming an inconvenient roadblock for American retailers to get the Christmas shopping season going early.

Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays, save perhaps the Independence Day. It is the day for immigrants. The Pilgrim's dinner with the Native Americans symbolize our ideals as a nation of immigrants: newcomers and the natives, on the same table, sharing a meal.

Beauty of history lies in that the patterns in its fabric repeat endlessly. On the Thanksgiving Day of 1997 -- some 380 years after the Pilgrims -- the Korean Family arrived at the port of Los Angeles International Airport, full of anticipation for the Land of Opportunity. The Korean Family was greeted by natives, the distant family friends who have lived in the U.S. for decades as Korean Americans. And like a beautiful fugue, the pattern repeated once again; the natives helped the immigrants to get settled in, and begin their lives in the new world.

Thus, Thanksgiving Day is doubly special for the Korean Family. We never miss celebrating it. We are thankful for all the great things in our lives, but most of all, we are thankful to be in America. Like the Pilgrims who were grateful for their new lives and new opportunities, the Korean Family is grateful, each and every year, for our own new lives and opportunities.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Dear Readers,

The Korean got an early start on the Thanksgiving Break, and decided to visit California. See you again soon.

Ask a Korean! News: "Charity Angel" and the Insanity of Anti-Communism

Recently, the Korean had a spirited debate on the Marmot’s Hole, on the topic of whether Sunshine Policy was a failure. The Korean’s position was that it was not. Although Sunshine Policy may not have been the most smashing success, in the very least it enabled engagement between the two Koreas. And the Korean believed that this achievement was underrated because the detractors of Sunshine Policy often underestimate the insane level of antagonism between the two Koreas. And recently, the perfect piece of news came up to show the amazing insanity in the inter-Korean relation.

Dear readers, meet the beautiful Moon Geun-Yeong.


Moon, 21, debuted as a child actress in 2000 at the age of 13. Because of her sheer adorability, she became a huge hit since, appearing in various movies, dramas, and advertisements. Recently, Roboseyo did a tribute the series of advertisements featuring Moon. (Perv.) Here is one example.





As it turns out, Moon doesn’t just look like the sweetest sweetheart in the world – she is in fact the sweetest sweetheart in the world. She has been the biggest individual donor for Community Chest Korea, a charity organization, donating around $800,000 over six years anonymously. Since she is now 21, she has been donating since she was 15 – anonymously! She has also been known to donate generously for various other charities.

Adorable, yes? Praise-worthy, yes? Positively angelic, yes? Korean media agreed, and spent many pages and airtime praising Moon’s good deed. Dubbing her the “charity angel”, they praised Moon’s kindness, her fine upbringing, and being a pioneer in establishing a charity culture in Korea.

Enter this guy. Man in the picture is Ji Man-Won, a professor known for his raging conservative politics, the concept which includes fervent anti-Communism and pro-military dictatorship (because it helped the Korean economy grow) in Korea.

As it turns out, Moon’s maternal grandfather was a communist guerilla who fought in South Korea during the Korean War. Also, Moon’s family is from Gwangju, a known stronghold for democratization movement and the home of Gwangju movement, a citizen uprising which was brutally suppressed by the military dictatorship, killing dozens. Moon’s maternal grandfather’s brother fought and died in that movement as well.

That did not sit well with Ji, who posted three articles about Moon after the media attention for her charity work grew. Below are some of the excerpts, translated by the Korean.

First Article – “Is Producing Charity Angel a Leftist Strategy?”

On Nov. 13, 2008, Community Chest Korea revealed that Moon Geun-Yeong was the actress in her 20s who donated $850,000 over the past 6 years. Since then, the leftist locusts have been obsessing to make Moon a heroine. …

But it does not sit well that the charity angel Moon is a granddaughter of a communist guerilla, and that she grew up with the love from that guerilla until her grandfather passed away in 2005. Although being a granddaughter of a communist guerilla cannot be faulted because guilt-by-association was abolished during Jeon Du-Hawn administration [read: early 1980s], it does not feel good that until three years ago, she must have received a lot of communist guerilla’s teaching while being loved by the communist guerilla grandfather. …

Recently, the fact that people from the Environmental Movement League and Environment Foundation and those from Kim Dae-Jung/Roh Moo-hyeon [read: non-conservatives] were handcuffed for corruption must have acted as a huge burden on the leftists. Leftists must have felt the need to change this milieu. It was already well known that the cute actress Moon was a granddaughter of a communist guerilla. It appears that Moon’s holding the firm position as an angel by raising her profile in TV dramas, and in addition praising her as an anonymous charity angel who donated $850,000, is a psychological warfare to create an image that communist guerillas are not people with horns, but they are people who are like angels. ...

Second Article – “Moon Geun-yeong is for Communist Guerilla’s Propaganda”

Searching for “Ryu Nak-Jin” [Moon’s grandfather] on a search engine shows a video file. The content was just as I expected. It was an advertisement that Moon was pretty, a good actress, has a kind heart, and has a great family. She was everyone’s adorable little sister, her maternal grandfather was a member of the unification movement, her great uncle was a fighter for democracy, and her uncle and aunts were patriots enough to be investigated by the police.

That is, communist guerillas are members of the unification movement, the communist guerilla family is a family with good heritage, the family that raised the daughter that did the goodliest thing in the world.

In short, it says communist guerilla family is a great family. This is a psychological warfare by the guerillas – as much as Moon’s good deeds are advertised, the message that communist guerilla family is good spreads as well. Also, I think they are engaging in a multi-purpose psychological warfare of diluting the disgust against communist guerillas and of eliciting a positive sentiment against Honam [region in which Gwangju sits] by turning Moon into an ideal woman. …

Third article – “North Korea’s Plan and the Case of Moon Geun-Yeong”

Moon vs. other good people

There are many people who do good deeds that are unimaginable to ordinary people. … These are the people who give their body, more precious than money, although they cannot produce a spectacularly large sum of money that would be decorated by the media. …

Next in order are those who contribute money. The charity from those who earn much, for example Bill Gates, is a good deed that not anyone can do. …

I have searched a few articles from the past. … It is up to the readers where Moon’s donation of $850,000 over six years to Community Chest Korea ranks among these righteous good deeds. But unlike these other good deeds, Moon’s good deed has a much larger impact. Even conservative media is praising Moon, creating video files with strong communicative power spreading strange messages. …

This writer does not find fault with the good deed and praising the good deed. The fault is found in the manner of praising and the hidden message latent in such praising.

The full drivel can be found here.

Remember folks, this is 2008. All this was only written within this week. Imagine how insane things must have been during the military dictatorship, which ended in 1993. For example, in the 1970s, the government investigated Gim Chu-ja, then a popular singer, because apparently her dance moves were codes for communist spies.

At least the Korean is comforted by the fact that even the most conservative Korean medias roundly criticized Ji. However, even more sickening is that there are at least some people who agree with Ji. This guy compiled the comments attached to the article on Chosun Ilbo, the most conservative newspaper among all. The Korean presents a selected few translated below. The Korean would laugh, except he knows they are serious when they wrote these:

“The charity angel’s deed itself should be praised, but if there is such a circumstance behind it, of course we should be wary. It would have been unimaginable without Mr. Ji Manwon’s insight. If you are not going to express respect to his patriotism, at least do not criticize him.”

“It totally makes sense. Moon donated under leftist governments, not under rightist government.” [Note: the last year of Korean conservative government was 1998, when Moon was 11, before her debut.]

“Those who slander Ji are mostly naïve people, leftists, stupid people, and those who know nothing; those who slander him most vigorously are the leftist flag-bearers who are carrying out their mission, and some but not all members of regional associations. People must know.”

“All the celebrities who were unknown or unpopular but raised their profile during Kim Dae-Jung and Roh Moo-Hyeon administration must be investigated. It smells suspicious.”

“You cannot deny that Dr. Ji’s point is correct and keen. Moon Geun-Yeong, granddaughter of Ryu Nak-Jin who denied the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea and lived and died as an enemy, must clearly reveal her view and position on her grandfather.”

The same type of people can be found criticizing Chosun’s editorial that condemned Ji. If you would like to venture in, the link is here. Try organizing by “thumbs up”, and the most despicable comments rise to the top.

This is utterly insane. But this episode is a perfect glimpse into how Korea was before it was democratized. Ji Manwon's views were exactly the mainstream view during the military governments of Korea, which only ended in 1993. Needless to say, politics of that era was just crazy. There was no reason, only madness. Although severely marginalized, the insanity is still surviving to this day.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Nice article about Michelle Rhee, a Korean American chancellor of the D.C. public schools.

As the Korean had said, Europe is pretty far behind America in eradicating racism.

Three interesting articles about education.

Racial Imbalance Persists at Elite Public High Schools

School District Tries to Lure Asian Parents

Start-Up Teaches Math to Americans, Indian-Style

The Korean gave an interview with UCLA Radio about our new president.

The Korean realized he hates his own voice. (But it sounds so great once it reverberates through the Korean's cranium....)

How Dare You Call Me by My Name!

Dear Korean,

I was wondering why when you first meet a Korean, you can't casually call them by their first names. I've become acquainted with this guy on a professional level and we've talked on several occasions, but he has never addressed me by my name – come to think of it, I don't think he's ever asked what it was – even though he's pretty much asked every other question about me. Is it just this weirdo or is this a common Korean code of conduct?

Confused Korean American Chick


Dear CKAC,

The person you are dealing with is certainly not a weirdo. Not calling first name is a common Korean code of conduct, particularly in a professional setting. In fact, doing otherwise is extremely rude.

Confucianism is too often used to explain away Korean culture, and the Korean thinks it is unjustifiably overused. However, at least this much is clear: Confucianism envisions a society with a clear hierarchy. Every individual in the society has a rank, determined by age, family relations, or social status. People’s interaction every day must involve signifiers that remind each person where they stand in the society. Usage of one’s name, as such, is one of the most important signifiers.

In Korean manners, being able to use someone’s first name either meant very close intimacy or extreme superiority. Therefore, relatively few people may call you by your first name. Here is the list of those people: your parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts; your older (but not younger) siblings; your close friends of the same age or older; your owner (if you are a dog, cat, or other pets, or a slave in the old days.) That’s it.

On the other hand, here is the list people who can NEVER call you by your first name: your younger siblings; your children, nephews, nieces; your in-laws, regardless of age; your co-workers, regardless of rank; anyone who is younger than you, regardless of how close they are to you.

How would these people call you? For families and extended families, there is a particular term for each relation. For example, the Korean Brother (younger) has to call the Korean hyeong, the term for “a man's older brother”. (Although he rare does nowadays - the Korean Brother has gotten uppity ever since the Korean Family moved to America.) The Korean Sister-in-Law (older) has to call the Korean doryeonnim, the term for “a woman’s younger brother-in-law.” Yes, it’s that specific – men and women have different terms for each position in the family tree.

For people met through professional acquaintance, the correct term is to use the person’s last name, followed by his rank or profession. Thus, if you are a manager (bujang) whose last name is Kim, you would be called Kim bujang-nim. (nim is an honorific, which makes the whole thing translate to “Manager-Sir/Madam Kim”.) If you are an owner of a store whose last name is Kwon, you would be called Kwon sajang-nim. (sajang means “owner of a business,” so you are being called “Owner-Sir/Madam Kwon”.)

(An aside: unlike U.S., an attorney is a respected profession in Korea. Therefore, a lawyer whose last name is Lee would be called Lee byeonhosa-nim (“Attorney-Sir/Madam Lee”). Among Korean American attorneys, a convenient acronym of BHSN is used in emails. However, what would one do in a Korean law firm to show the rank? After all, everyone in a law firm is a lawyer, but managing partner of the firm has to be differentiated somehow. Answer: at least in the case of the largest law firm in Korea, the managing partner is called “Dr. Kim” (Kim baksa-nim), so that he can be signified as being “higher” than ordinary BHSNs.)

So, here is an important piece of business etiquette in meeting Koreans. Like any other business meeting, people would shake hands and introduce each other’s first and last name, sometimes exchanging business cards. But after that, first names are not to be uttered. This is so important that the Korean will repeat again. Never, never, never, never, never, NEVER use a Korean person’s first name in a business meeting. Dropping your pants and pissing in the person’s briefcase would be only a little ruder than calling him/her by his/her first name. Recount the people in the “okay to use first name” category – they are all family or close friends, except the “dog owner” category. When you just met a person for the first time, you are neither family nor friend. So guess what calling them by their first names mean?

(However, because contemporary Koreans are familiar with Americans’ barbarian habit of calling people by their first names, it may be ok if the Korean businessperson with whom you are meeting explicitly tells you to call him/her by his/her first name.)

Here is a bonus point: the word for “you” follows the same rule as first names. So watch out for whom you call neo or dangsin – in a wrong situation, the word “you” in and of itself could be a swear word. So instead of, for example, saying “I like your idea” in a business meeting, Koreans would say “I like Kim baksa-nim’s idea” (while speaking to Kim baksa-nim, or Dr. Kim, as if they are talking about someone who is not there.)

There is one important group that was not covered – what about husbands and wives? Traditionally, they did not call each other’s names either. Instead, they called each other yeobo, the term that is still in use in modern Korea, translated as “honey” or “sweetie”. However, the etymology of yeobo is definitely not as romantic as "honey"; the term originally means, “look here”. Yup, Koreans knew all about romance.

Another traditional term is dangsin, which simply means "you", although this term is used in more intimate situations. (Almost all "you" in old Korean pop songs are dangsin, while new Korean songs tend to use neo or geudae more often for "you" -- an interesting development.) Alternatively, after having children, husbands and wives often call each other as their children’s father and mother. That is, if a child’s name is Jinyoung (a solid, unisex name), the husband may call his wife Jinyoung umma (Jinyoung’s mom), and the wife may call her husband Jinyoung appa (Jinyoung’s dad). Romance all the way, those Koreans.

However, modern times have a way of changing traditions. So while many husbands and wives still use the old terminology, still others go on a first-name basis. (Because your spouse is your best friend!) Or others retain their terminology while they dated. Thus, (because women tend to be the younger one in a relationship,) many younger wives call their husband seonbae (“class senior”, the term for anyone who went to the same school before you did,) or [first name]-ssi (“Mr. [first name]”, the catch-all term for all other ambiguous situations, often happening during dating scenarios.) Or – horror of all horrors to purists like the Korean himself – some young wives carry on calling their husbands oppa, women’s term for calling older brother or men who are a little older them.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Books about Korea

Dear Korean,

I was wondering if you could list a few Korean books for me about its culture and history. I am 100% Korean but I was born in the U.S. and so I don't know much about Korea's history. I wanted to educate myself since my college doesn't offer any classes.

Lina

Dear Lina,

The Korean would offer Carter Eckert's Korea Old and New. Since it was published in 1991 it may be a little dated, but it is solid overview of Korea history. For a little more trivial interest about how life in Korea was in early modern days, the Korean would recommend Dawn of Modern Korea by Andrei Lankov, which is a fascinating book. But beyond that, the Korean never had any need for a comprehensive Korean history book in English.

So readers, help out Lina here. The Korean knows some of you guys are actual scholars with fancy titles in universities and such. With everyone's input, this would be a great resource for self-motivated people who would like to learn more about Korea.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Really awful pictures of Unit 731 experimentations can be seen here.

Ask a Korean! News: Depressing News about Depression

Actress Choi Jinsil's death highlighted, among other things, the inadequacy of Korean approach for mental illness, particularly depression. On that theme, Dong-A Ilbo reports that nearly 80 percent of depression patients in Korea stop taking anti-depressants within three months without consulting their doctors. Amazingly, 53 percent of the patients decide to stop the treatment after only one month, although anti-depressants generally require 6 months to take effect. This rate is two to three times higher than depression patients in Europe.

The article cites the prejudice against mental patients as one of the leading causes of patients' stopping the treatment. One of the examples given in the article is that of Mr. Kim, age 30, who developed depression while searching for a job. After seeing some improvement after one month of treatment, Mr. Kim stopped treatment against the doctor's advice for fear that the history of depression treatment would hinder finding a job. He returned to the doctor 6 months later, with stronger symptoms of depression.

In the last two or three years, the Korean has observed Korean society's attempt to change the public perception of depression. However, clearly more work could be done.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! News: Hollywood to Cure Oldboy's Deficiency by Removing All Asians

Old readers of this blog would know that this is a topic that really pisses off the Korean:

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park's "Oldboy." ... Spielberg had been looking for an opportunity to make a film with Smith, who would play the kidnapped man if all the pieces fall into place.

(Source)

This is bullshit. This is going to be The Departed all over again.

The Korean does not play the race card very often, but this situation calls for it. This flurry of Asian movie remake has racism written all over it. Yellow face doesn't sell; Asians are too foreign.

The Korean does not buy the idea that the remakes are happening because Americans are too lazy to read the subtitles. How do you explain the wild success of Life is Beautiful, Pan's Labyrinth, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, all shown in American theaters with subtitles?

In fact, all three movies were so successful that they were all available in English-dubbed version in theaters and on DVD. You are telling the Korean that Oldboy, a legend among Korean movies that hooked numerous non-Korean moviewatchers to Korean movies for the first time, would not sell in American theaters with subtitles or dubbing? That makes no sense.

The fact that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was fine without a remake featuring Chuck Norris, but Oldboy requires a remake featuring Will Smith, is telling. Hollywood is operating under the assumption that people would watch Asians wielding swords and walking on air, but not Asians portraying intricate emotion that accompanies a complex plot. This is purebred racism, no more, no less.

:::SPOILER::SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED OLDBOY::SPOILER:::

Who knows -- maybe Spielberg would be less shameless than Martin Scorsese, and this film would contain some genuine creativity on his part, making it a true derivative rather than a straight-up plagiarism like The Departed. In fact, casting Will Smith shows a little bit of potential in that direction. Smith adds a little bit of humor element to the Oh Daesu character, and his reaction to the crazy confinement may make the movie entirely different. Also, the Korean has a hard time believing that there will be a graphic display of incest in a Spielberg movie.

After all, Oldboy is based on a Japanese cartoon, at least as far as the 15-year confinement part. Creativity relies heavily upon borrowing. So if the American version of Oldboy adds something new and unexpected to the story while maintaining the basic setup of the movie, the Korean would not get upset. However, if the movie ends up being like The Departed's plagiarism of Infernal Affairs, down to dialogues, character appearances, camera angles and stage setup, the Korean will just lose it.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

-EDIT 11/13/08 8:42 a.m.- While reading on this topic, the Korean found this gem:

If this is not a conclusive argument against the remake, the Korean does not know what is. (Source)

President Barack Obama Series: The Korean's Thoughts

The Korean is quite happy about this result. When the Korean first saw Barack Obama – at his televised speech at the Democratic National Convention four years ago, the Korean was convinced that Obama was going to be the president someday. He just didn’t think it would happen so soon. Especially as a racial minority, the rise of Barack Obama to the top truly gives the Korean hope.

But beyond the Korean’s personal reaction, what more can be said about the significance about the Obama presidency? That was the question that faced the Korean as he set out to write his reaction piece. The Korean does not believe in wasting in words, and he hates talking about things that had been ably articulated already.

The Korean likes to talk about race relations, and this election obviously presents a lot to talk about. But because of the historic nature of this election, writers with far greater skills and time than the Korean have already explored all kinds of angles. The effect of this election in other country’s race relations? Check. The effect of this election in America’s whites? Yup. What about this election’s effect on fat-thin relations of our nation? To quote Sarah Palin, you betcha.

However, there is one angle that people have not been talking about just yet – perhaps because the question is a little too delicate to be asked. But this is one question that has been nagging the Korean during the entire Obama campaign: doesn’t Obama’s victory eliminate all excuses for black men of America?

One recurring theme in American racial politics is the various explanations for the status of black men in America. The statistics are clear – African American men are more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to be jobless and in poverty, etc. To an uninformed mind, the natural question that follows is: what’s wrong with black men? Why can’t they get a job or stay out of jail?

To this, racial politics provided various reasons, all of them tracing back to racism in mainstream America. The police uses racial profiling; the jury is more likely to convict a black man; the employers are less likely to hire black men, and quicker to fire them, etc. And so far, these explanations have held water.

But now, we have a flippin’ BLACK PRESIDENT. The President! Of the United States! You can’t get higher than that! All the racism in the world didn’t stop him from reaching the highest possible place in the world! The Korean can’t stop using the exclamation marks! It’s unbelievably unbelievable!

To be sure, the Korean is NOT saying that the election of Obama made all racial problems magically disappear. The Korean doubts that anyone in America truly believes that. However, the Korean thinks that a subtle shift in gears is inevitable for mainstream America. By having a black president, an example of personal responsibility against all odds has become very, very available. Now, if anyone tries to explain the unique challenges that black men in America face due to racial discrimination – perhaps in a debate about Affirmative Action? – half the listeners will think to themselves: “that didn’t stop President Obama.”

This shift will be more pronounced because of Barack Obama himself. Obama did not endorse the old-school racial politics, in which black politicians are supposed to embody the interests of the African American subgroup, and fight the systemic bias against racial minorities in the mainstream society. (In fact, if Obama took to this line, it would have been a guaranteed loss for him.) While Obama recognized the larger forces of discrimination, his message for racial minorities never wavered from the idea of personal responsibility.

His most revealing moment was his Father’s Day speech. It’s not just that Obama emphasized that black fathers need to step up and take personal responsibility – it’s that he did that with incredible specificity. The Father’s Day speech literally drew a picture of a lazy black father for the whole world: “don't just sit in the house and watch "SportsCenter" all weekend long.” In another campaign stop, Obama told a mostly African American crowd that they can’t let their children have “eight sodas a day,” “a bag of potato chips for lunch,” or “cold Popeyes for breakfast.”

The Korean’s reaction to this was: is Obama crazy? Does he have a death wish (for his campaign)? Did he decide that he doesn’t need black votes anymore? How is airing out black folks’ dirty laundry going to help him? Of course, it turned out that the Korean was wrong – Obama was just fine getting African American votes. Perhaps African Americans themselves are getting tired of the old racial politics as well.

Nonetheless, the forces of systemic, societal racism are still very real, and they daily affect the lives of racial minorities. The fight against such forces must continue. But -- irony of ironies -- as a black man rises to assume the presidency, the fight against racial discrimination may have gotten more difficult.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com

President Barack Obama Series: Interlude

Now, for a moment of levity --

In 8 years, there will be schools named after Barack Obama! There will be "Barack H. Obama Elementary School" or "OHS - Obama High School".

Even more amusing is, what would the school mascot be for OHS? The mascot for every single John F. Kennedy High School that the Korean knows of is "Fighting Irish", a decidedly racial mascot. So what about Barack Obama High School? "Black Knights"? "Hapa Warriors"? Suggestions are welcome!

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

President Barack Obama Series: Korea's Reaction

Dear Korean,

What is the Korean news media saying about our new president-elect Barack Obama? My mom reports that according to some Korean radio program, an Obama administration would not be beneficial for South Korea. 진짜? Is that the consensus in S. Korea?

Annalog


Dear Annalog,

First, a shout-out to your lovely blog.

For the ease of writing, “Koreans” in this post means “Koreans in Korea,” not “Korean Americans.”

There are mainly two reactions from Korea about the Obama administration: admiration for American democracy that enabled black presidency, and caution for his stance on free trade and U.S. military outside of America.

First, Koreans are genuinely impressed by the fact that America did elect a black president. Because there is so much publicity about the history of racism in America, Koreans have a perception that America is an extremely racist country. The fact that a black candidate won shatters that perception.

Certainly, there are some detractors. Some media outlets in Korea are noting that Obama is half-white, practically raised as a white child by his white mother and maternal grandparents in a relatively racism-free Hawaii, or that his father was not a descendant of a slave, but a well-off Kenyan elite. However, overwhelming majority of Korean newspapers are expressing nothing about admiration on this point, some using this opportunity to look back upon Korean people’s own (crappy) treatment of racial minorities in Korea.

However, Koreans are concerned about what Obama administration may bring to the U.S.-Korea relations based on Obama’s campaign stumps. Essentially, Korea needs two things from U.S.: trading in a preferred status, and military guarantee in case of a North Korean invasion. McCain administration would have guaranteed both. John McCain repeatedly asserted the virtue of free trade agreements, and no one would doubt that McCain would react swiftly and decisively if there were a North Korean invasion of South Korea.

On the other hand, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the South Korean auto industry were two of Barack Obama’s favorite whipping boys during his campaign. Obama consistently stressed that KORUS FTA was not fair with respect to its auto industry arrangements, suggesting that he would renegotiate it.

Few Americans know about KORUS FTA, but all Koreans know what KORUS FTA does for Korea. Except for a small group of vocal minority (farmers who would lose business to cheap U.S. agricultural products,) everyone in Korea loves the FTA. Koreans realize that they must trade or perish, and they fully understand the benefits of KORUS FTA. Indeed, although the presidency of Roh Moo-Hyun, preceding the current president, is considered an unmitigated disaster, his success in negotiating KORUS FTA is considered a significant achievement.

So it does concern Koreans a great deal when Obama calls KORUS FTA “badly flawed”. In fact, how Obama presidency would affect the FTA is the dominating headline in Korean newspapers right now. This is probably where Annalog’s mother was coming from.

The Korean thinks Obama was not serious about these characterizations. Democrats need union voters, and union voters dislike free trade agreements. If you remember, one of the issues during the Democratic primary was whether Obama and Hillary Clinton opposed NAFTA strongly enough. Once past the primary, Obama could not turn around and say that he favored free trade agreements; he had to continue the same message, not in the least because he needed to differentiate himself from McCain, who is vocally pro-free trade agreements.

So the Korean personally thinks that Obama will not go as far as his rhetoric may have suggested. But truly, no one knows if Obama meant what he said, or was throwing out campaign-specific sugar words. If Obama seriously tries to significantly alter KORUS FTA, Korean people’s opinion of him will quickly turn.

Another possibility is more remote, but potentially much more disastrous for Korea. Before the economy dominated the headlines for the last month of the campaign, the war in Iraq was the top priority in the presidential campaign. And Obama’s stance was quite clear: Iraq war was a mistake, and the U.S. military will get out as soon as practicable.

This gave rise to a valid concern: is the United States heading toward more isolationism under Barack Obama? It would not be very surprising if it is – American people are tired of dealing with another country’s mess, especially when they have their own economic mess to deal with. Then, as a country that depends heavily upon the U.S. military for its security, Korea may be in a more precarious position that it was before.

Of course, North Korea is not Iraq. No one was thinking about preemptively attacking North Korea, and such attack definitely would not happen under Obama administration. Thus, Korean War II would only happen when North Korea, again, invades the South. The chance that U.S. would not assist South Korea in such case appears quite remote.

But while the chance may be remote, it did increase by a little bit by having Obama administration rather than McCain administration. For example, consider this scenario: around March 2009, Kim Jong-Il suddenly dies. The top two factions of North Korea began to commandeer their own section of the army and begin a civil war. One of the factions, sensing defeat, asks for Chinese intervention. Chinese army gathers by the Yalu River, and begins the march toward Pyongyang.

South Korean government, sensing once-in-a-century opportunity for reunification and a real danger of Chinese occupation of half of Korean Peninsula, decides to roll its military in a race toward Pyongyang. Of course, South Korean government does not realistically expect that it can win a war against China; it is counting on the fact that, if South Korea were ever seriously threatened, U.S. military would intervene. Meanwhile, the U.S. military is still mostly tied up in Iraq.

Everything above is a realistic scenario, and the question is – would the Obama administration provide military support? The Korean is inclined to say yes, if South Korea is seriously threatened. (U.S. may, however, let the South Korean army get destroyed in Pyongyang.) However, this is just an educated guess, and America, under President Obama, may as well say no. Then it would be a disaster scenario for South Korea.

So all in all, the future of Korea-U.S. relations under the Obama administration is not all sprinkles of flowers and candies. As an American, the Korean prefers Barack Obama. (Although, unlike other liberals, the Korean would not have minded John McCain presidency.) However, Korea just needs two things from the U.S.: trade and security. McCain would have guaranteed both. Whether Obama would provide those two things are not as certain. There is the source of Korean people’s concern over the coming Obama presidency.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.