Hysterical post from Kimchi Mamas: Twilight is actually a K-drama.No wonder the Korean loathes Twilig...

Indians who are educated in America have a tough time to going back to India, and would rather stay in America. Is this a surprise? Maybe to the know-nothings who think highly educated immigrants do not contribute to America because the immigrants always return to their country.Hooray to immigration, and hooray to Ameri...

Ask a Korean! News: Starvation in North Korea

Did you give thanks this past week? Perhaps you should give some more thanks, after reading this story. This is a story from a North Korean defector lady who put a post on Nambuk Story.Mom, Sis -- We are Humans TooFirst, I would like to thank everyone who reads this post, because I could learn much from your comments.I had a grandmother, a father and a mother who dedicated their entire lives swearing...

New York Times has a report on mixed-ethnicity children in rural Korea. Incidentally, the Korean made the same report, with basically the same analysis, more than three years ago.Gotta catch up, New York tim...

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Korean wishes happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it. This year, the Korean is thankful for having a job, turning the Korean Girlfriend into the Korean Fiancee, great family and friends as always, and another great year for AAK!Here is what the Korean wrote last year for Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving is truly the Korean's favorite holiday, although sadly it is increasingly becoming an inconvenient...

ROLL ON YOU BEARS!!!!...

Alcoholism in Korea

Dear Korean,Why are there so many alcoholics in Korea? Why is it so socially acceptable to be an alcoholic in Korea? What sorts of organizations are there for helping alcoholics in Korea?Someone deeply affected by an alcoholic when living in KoreaDear Drunk Friend,Let us take one question at a time.First, are there many alcoholics...

As always, Deadspin has the best description for Michelle Wie's recent victory:It's about freakin' time that 20-year-old Michelle Wie won a real golf tournament, a two-stroke win in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Now maybe she'll give up this silly dream and finally enroll in dental school.Deadspin: Michelle Wie's Life is No Longer Worthl...

America has hit a new low -- Mexicans are sending money to their relatives in the nor...

Ask a Korean! News: Acclimation of a North Korean

An unusally light-hearted, yet nonetheless insightful, piece from Joo Seong-Ha:Evidence that I am Becoming a KoreanWhen I was in China after having escaped North Korea, I heard news on the radio that said, "South Korea produces 4.5 million tons of food waste every year." My jaw dropped -- 4.5 million tons! I, as someone who...

Two Korean restaurants in Sao Paolo are investigated for selling dog meat. End this oppression of cultural imperiali...

Finally, a school that gets the idea that America's K-12 schools should strive to be the world's best:By the time these fifth-graders at the BASIS school in Scottsdale, Arizona, reach 8th grade they will have the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams, standardised nationally to test high-school students at college level. By the 9th grade, they must do so. As a result, says Michael Block,...

Is Korean Similar to Any Other Language?

Dear Korean,I've discovered this quotation in Wikipedia, that paragon of scientific knowledge: “However, Korean is considerably easier for speakers of certain other languages, such as Japanese; in Japan, it is more widely studied by non-heritage learners.” Is it true that Japanese is considerably easier for native speakers of Korean to learn? What other languages (as suggested by the quotation and...

Interesting NYT article about Korean American adopte...

Mediocre Sports Heroes?

Dear Korean,Why is my father (a first generation immigrant) completely obsessed with any Korean athlete, even the ones that are mediocre at best, simply for being Korean? I do not understand this at all! Chan Ho Park and Hee Seop Choi have done absolutely nothing to warrant the demigod status they've attained in his eyes. Is...