Ask a Korean! News: To Give, or Not to Give?

Mr. Joo Seong-Ha of Nambuk Story wrote a very compelling post laying out the dilemma of providing aid to North Korea. Below is the translation:*                            *                            ...

AAK! Music: Hope by Kim Dong-Ryul (2000)

Inspired by a marathon session at a noraebang last night, the Korean is starting a new corner - "AAK! Music". This corner will provide a Korean song, the translated lyrics and a brief overview of the artist and/or the song. The song selection is guaranteed to be arbitrary and capricious to the whim of the Korean, but he will take requests and translate them if he likes the request. (Hint: the Korean...

Here is something that drives the Korean crazy:Learning a language sometimes seems as difficult as dieting. The solution is to figure out how to stay interested after the novelty wears off.To counter boredom, online language programs have introduced crossword puzzles, interactive videos and other games to reward users for making progress.The Web Way to Learn a Language (New York Times) (emphasis is...

Koreans are world champions of text messagi...

Important Announcement: Email Change

After years of tribulation with Hotmail, the Korean finally got sick of the ineffective spam filter and terrible search function. The Korean can now be reached at askakorean@gmail.com. If you are waiting on a question, no worries -- all of the old emails are intact, and the Korean will continue going down the line.Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com (Note...

The Korean is vaguely disturbed by this article: Over the last few years, the tiny College of Saint Rose in Albany has seen applications increase at least 25 percent annually, minority admissions rise and its standing in the U.S. News and World Report rankings climb more than 20 rungs.Its secret? Lifting a page from the marketing playbook of credit card companies.Last fall the college sent out 30,000...

Why Do Koreans Like Cute Things?

Dear Korean,Since I arrived in Korea, I have wondered about the national obsession for cute things. I know of no other place where grown men and women so enthusiastically pose for photos with cute robots, over-sized teddy bears, wear cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse paraphernalia, and... well, the list goes on. Cute cartoon cows...

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Highlights???

Dear Korean,I was writing because I have been in Korea for a couple of weeks now and I am starting to get some roots. I know that this is a superficial question but I am a high-maintenance girl. I was wondering if there was anywhere that a westerner could get her hair done as in highlights. I don't think that most Korean hair salons have the correct highlighting ingredients for a blonde westerner.High-Maintenance...

Earthquake in IT?

Dear Korean,Why do Koreans refer to Haiti as 아이티 (A-ee-ti)? My understanding is that the Haitian pronunciation contains an "H" sound. I imagine it would have been easy to replace the '아' with a '하'. Is it simply a matter of a single individual's (perhaps someone in the media) pronunciation mistake carrying over to an entire...

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Korean Men in NYC -- Where Y'all at on Friday Night??

Dear Korean,Simple question, where do single korean men hang out in NYC? Where can i meet them ? :)Geraldine J.Dear Geraldine,That's a hot girl name. Fellas, where should Geraldine go tonight?As to the Korean himself, he will go home to his fiancee and watch the Lakers at Madison Square Garden with a nice glass of Merlot. Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@h...

Is Cilantro Kryptonite for Koreans?

Dear Korean,Why do Korean people hate cilantro (aka coriander/chinese parsley)? In all of my experience, this is like the kryptonite of the Korean race. I live in China where there are tens of thousands of Koreans -- and lots of cilantro. If you ask a Korean what they hate most about China almost unanimously the answer is "cilantro"...

Good article on "colorism" in America:The Senate leader [Harry Reid]’s choice of words was flawed, but positing that black candidates who look “less black” have a leg up is hardly more controversial than saying wealthy people have an advantage in elections. Dozens of research studies have shown that skin tone and other racial features play powerful roles in who gets ahead and who does not. These factors...

And also, hope everyone has a good Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Asian Americans owe much to Dr. King, since the fact that recent immigrants like the Korean and countless other Asian Americans can have the chance to succeed in America is entirely due to the Civil Rights Movement.Thank you Dr. King, for making the American Dream possib...

Go Vote for CPAF!!!

More about CPAF:If you are a caveman who don't know how to vote on Facebook, Here is an easier link: http://www.votecpaf.org/Here is a video featuring Sandra Oh, Lisa Ling, Laura Ling, Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Sheetal Sheth and others:(You can also see this again at here: http://www.teddyzee.com/cpaf/)More videos!Check out CPAF's YouTube Channel for the latest videos...

Ask a Korean! News: North Koreans Directly Connect with South Korea via Chinese Cell Phones

Excellent article on Dong-A Ilbo about how cell phone is playing an invaluable role in getting information from North Korea, written by none other than Mr. Joo Seong-Ha of Nambuk Story. Translation below.*                      ...

Ask a Korean! News: Mixed Heritage Men Eligible for Draft

Here is a positive step for race relations in Korea:Starting next January, externally visible mixed heritage men will also serve in active duty in case they are considered eligible for active duty by the draft board.According to the Military Manpower Administration's statement released on the 14th, starting next January mixed heritage men (Caucasian/African heritage) whose mixed heritage is clearly...

Public Service Announcement: Vote for Center for the Pacific Asian Family on Facebook

Dear Korean,I read your blog religiously and am a big fan. The issue we are dealing with deeply impacts the Korean community...The Center for the Pacific Asian Family was fortunate enough to finish in the top 100 in the Chase Community Giving program on Facebook, earn a $25,000 grant and become eligible for the next round of Facebook voting from January 15-22. The top finisher will win $1 million...

The Korean's English Acquisition, and the Best Method to Master a Foreign Language, Guaranteed

Dear Korean,My name is The English Teacher. The English Teacher has a question for The Korean. The English Teacher read the Korean's recent post about the interesting 바보 Ray. In that post, The Korean said that he came to America at the age of 16, without knowing English. The English Teacher can judge by The Korean's prose that...

Korean American Simon Cho, who entered America illegally at age 4, now represents America in Vancouver as a short track speed skater in the U.S. national team.Hooray to immigration making America bett...

New York Times selected Seoul to be one of the 31 places in the world to visit in 20...

The Korean watched that one movie this past weekend -- you know, the movie that everyone is talking about only because everyone is talking about it. (It involves blue aliens.)Overall, a fine movie. Watching it on IMAX 3D helped. Here are the Korean's petty, nitpicky, spoiler-free impressions:(1) People have called it Dancing with Wolves with aliens. The better analogy is Princess Mononoke with aliens.(2)...