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...

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

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...

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

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

Three interesting articles about education.Racial Imbalance Persists at Elite Public High SchoolsSchool District Tries to Lure Asian ParentsStart-Up Teaches Math to Americans, Indian-St...

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...

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. LinaDear 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...

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

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,...

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...

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...

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?...

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,”...

President Barack Obama: The Series

Dear readers,It’s a new day in America.This morning, the Korean walked around a three-block radius to find a copy of New York Times to keep, but every New Yorker apparently had the same idea – every newsstand has completely run out of newspapers. For this historical occasion, the Korean prepared a two-part series on Obama administration...

The Korean would like to urge all Americans to get out and vo...

Ancient Yellow Fever Sold Here

Dear Korean,Were there any intermarriage between Koreans and other ethnicities (during the 1500s-1800s) and if so, what were the ethnicities likely to be? I've been very curious to know if in fact we are mixed because we are often mistaken for Japanese or mixed with Caucasian. I know that this "mix" is not recent and was probably...

Ask a Korean! News: Japanese Air Force Chief Fired for His Remarks on WWII

The Korean wrote a four-part series on Korea-Japan relation already. On the issue of apology, this is what the Korean wrote:To its credit, Japan did officially apologize for its colonial past several times, including at the level of the Japanese Emperor and Prime Minister. In fact, especially in the 1990s, Japanese Prime Minister Hosokawa and his successor Murayama both apologized pretty sincerely,...