Most Popular AAK! Posts of 2011

Here is a quick look at the most popular AAK! posts of 2011, by page view.Most Viewed Posts of 2011 (All-Time)1.  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Korean Men2.  The Ultimate Korean Looks List3.  AAK! Wiki: Oppa! Oppa! Oppa!4.  Why is StarCraft Popular in Korea?5.  Dog Meat in KoreaThe never-ending quest of the Internet for Korean men will never end.Most Viewed...

Kim Jong-Il's Death -- Assorted North Korea Questions

To round out the posts about Kim Jong-Il's death, here are all the North Korea-related questions received in the last few days.Dear Korean,I read this on CNN:In addition, the South Korean government asked church groups to refrain from lighting Christmas trees near the demilitarized zone between the two countries due to...

Best of the Worst 2011

End of the year is coming . . . which can only mean one thing . . . the annual list of worst questions of the year!! Compared to the ridiculous glory of last year, this year's crop has been relatively tame -- but still, there are some real doozies.Every email below is a real one, copy/pasted without any editing. The worst email of the year is at the bottom.*            ...

Kim Jong-Il's Death - Under-Appreciated Points to Watch

Having watched the news analysis and commentaries for the last week and a half following Kim Jong-Il's death, here are a few points that, in the Korean's estimation, a lot of people under-appreciate or simply get wrong.1.  Change is coming.Many observers said, essentially, that nothing will change; North Korea has survived this far, and there is no reason to believe that anything will change....

Kim Jong-Il's Death -- More Articles from Joo Seong-Ha

Here is a summary of a few more articles by Mr. Joo Seong-Ha, published since yesterday's post.Ten Real Concerns by Ordinary North Koreans[권력승계 시기-방식엔 관심없는 北주민들… 그들이 진짜 신경쓰는 10가지] (Dec. 26, 2011)Joo notes that ordinary North Koreans could not care less about when and how Kim Jong-Un succeeded the throne, because they know that their lives will not change. Joo then notes ten points about which North...

Kim Jong-Il's Death - Summary of Articles by Mr. Joo Seong-Ha

Here is one more introduction for those who have not been acquainted with Mr. Joo Seong-Ha.  Mr. Joo is a former North Korean elite, who attended Kim Il-Sung University and was a professor at the same university. He defected from North Korea in 1996, was captured in China and survived a North Korean gulag. He defected again in 1997, and this time he successfully reached South Korea. Now, he is...

Merry Christmas

Dear Korean,Hope you and your wife have been doing well. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your three-parter with answers to the students from Jangheung High School. I may actually adapt some parts of it for my students. I particularly appreciate your vulnerability in the section about loneliness.Occasionally...

Kim Jong-Il's Death - The Korean's Thoughts

If you remember where you were when you heard a piece of news, that's a big news. The Korean was reading a newspaper in his living room back in Korea, when he learned from the front page that Kim Il-Sung died. He was on a conference call at work in New York when someone on the call broke the news that Michael Jackson died. And this time, the Korean was walking up the stairs at a hotel near San Luis...

Still Traveling, Sorry

Sorry folks, the Korean is back in California with his family and still traveling around Santa Barbara wine country. He will be back with his reaction re: Kim Jong-Il's death and other topics in a couple of da...

Kim Jong-Il is dead

the korean is traveling and cannot say much right now except he will be celebrating tonight. have your say in the meantime...

1000th Wednesday Protest, and Lies about Comfort Women by Imperial Japan Apologists

As the Korean discussed previously, there was the 1000th Wednesday Protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul this past Wednesday. At the protest, there was an unveiling of a statue, commemorating the Comfort Women.The statue is a statue of a girl sitting down. There is an empty chair next to the girl,so that visitors...