Back to the Motherland

The Korean will be in the Motherland for a few weeks. There will be relatively few posts for the next few weeks, and the question-answering will be slower as well. He will have many stories to tell upon his return. See you in a few.Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.c...

Cool video of the day in the life Ban Ki-Moon, secretary-general of the United Natio...

Live Chat - 6/24/2011

<p><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=e4fcd96ac4" >Ask a Korean! Live Chat 6-24-2011</a></p&...

Live Chat -- Friday at 10 p.m.

Sorry about the abrupt cut-off last time. Let's try again -- tomorrow at 10 p.m. EST. See you th...

Quick Hitters on Illegal Immigration

First of all, the Korean recommends everyone to read this remarkable story from Jose Antonio Vargas about how he found success in America even as an illegal immigrant. The article is long, but very much worth the read. Some highlights:- Vargas' mother sent him away from the Philippines to his grandparents when he was 12 -- Vargas has never met his mother since. He came to America with forged...

Ask a Korean! News: Korea is a Shining Example of Corruption-Busting. Wait, What?

Well, that's what the New York Times said, at least with respect to soccer:“Zero tolerance” is the in phrase among sports officials these days.Sepp Blatter of FIFA and Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee speak about it. South Korea practices it.This past weekend, 10 Korean professional soccer players were banned for life from playing the game. The men, including one former national...

How do you make yourself attractive to Korean men?

Dear Korean,What can I do to make myself more attractive to Koreans? I am currently learning how to speak Korean and I plan on abandoning English for the most part and making Korean my primary language when I have a good enough grasp of it. I have blonde hair and grey eyes; would it be better to dye my hair black? I heard Koreans are very racist and prefer snow white skin, is this true? Obviously...

Live chatters -- sorry, but there is a power outage in my area right before I put up the next song. I am writing this post with my phone. I will come back if the power comes back soon -- its about 10 20 pm now. Otherwise, we will try again next time. Sor...

Live Chat - 6/16/2011

<p><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=861e3940b8" >Ask a Korean! Live Chat 6-16-2011</a></p&...

Live Chat -- Tonight at 10 p.m. EST

It's been a while, and tonight seems pretty open. Let's chat tonight! Visit the blog at 10 p.m. EST tonight. See you then.Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.c...

The Korean began moonlighting at Marmot's Hole, writing primarily about Korean politics. If you are interested about Korean politics, you can start from he...

Korean Father's Day Gift?

Dear Korean,What do you get your Korean dad for Father’s Day? My Korean dad never lets me know what he needs or wants.ElisaThe Korean is convinced that Korean men -- particularly in late 50s or above -- are the hardest people in the world to buy gifts for. In fact, it is somewhat sad when you consider why. Older Korean men, generally speaking, have worked in poverty all their lives. They did not have...

Tremendous piece about Ichiro and Asian Americans by Jay Caspian Kang. A sample:I believed I was witnessing the collapse of stereotypes about Asians. My letters back to the East Coast, which during the winter had alternated between a weird austerity and cloying anger, focused now on the importance of sports in a society: How a meritocracy like baseball offered anyone a chance to showcase the talents...

Diane Farr, who wrote a nice column for the New York Times regarding interracial dating (involving stories about her Korean American husband) gave a good interview about her new book, Kissing Outside the Lines. A quick sample:What’s so funny is in this exact moment of time, Asians are having like a moment in the sun, between the Tiger Mom and the cover of New York Magazine, and they’re being portrayed...

Confucianism and Korea - Part VI: The Korean on Confucianism in Modern Korea

[Series Index]Finally, here we are -- the last part of this series. This post will be about how Korea can capitalize its Confucian heritage better, or improve upon the Confucian heritage. Put differently, this post will identify areas of Korean society that can use more Confucianism, as well as the same that can use less Confucianism.More...

Drunk Last Night, Drunk the Night Before, Gonna Get Drunk Tonight Like I've Never Been Drunk Before

[TK:  The title of the post is from a song. The Korean will be very impressed if you knew the song. Don't Google!]Dear Korean,Why do Koreans turn their faces away when drinking in front of elderly ?AnnaDear Korean,During a night of drinking with my boss and his colleagues, some of my elders (I'm 31, they're 40-45) told...

Well, this is something.Approximately 1,000 French fans of K-pop conducted a flashmob demonstration in front of the Louvre, demanding that the visiting SM Town stars to extend their visit as the planned concert sold out in 15 minutes. Reports of this demonstration, and the popularity of K-pop in Europe, took up an entire Culture section page in Le Monde.The Korean had thought that K-pop was reaching...

Interesting article about dog meat consumption in China and, like Korea, how people are starting to lose their minds when it comes to dogs.The Korean's post on dog meat consumption in Korea and what the Korean thinks of it is here. Short version: all arguments against eating dogs are eventually reducible to either pure personal preference or bald cultural superiority. Neither is a good enough reason...

Ask a Korean! News: Mr. Joo Seong-Ha on Kim Family Portrait Target Practice

[Index]First of all, some background -- recently, North Korea threw a hissy fit over the fact that some platoons of South Korean army reserved used the pictures of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un as target practice. Mr. Joo Seong-Ha gives a nice insight to the reaction. Below is the translation.*      ...

Great article by Prof. Peter Beck of Keio University of the benefit of the potential Korea-Japan alliance, and what Japan needs to do to make it happen:While Tokyo continues to claim Dok-do, the average Japanese just doesn’t care. Most Japanese would not be able to find the island on a map. Indeed, I could not find a single public sign in Tokyo or any other of the seven major cities I have visited...

The Korean's Summer Barbecue Recipe

The Korean strives to be a reasonable, even-keeled person, but he cannot help himself in one particular area: Korean food. When it comes to Korean food, the Korean will be more unreasonable than a tiger sports dad attending a peewee football game. He will be totally biased, irrational and obnoxious. He will utterly disregard the reasonable preference of everyone else. He will lose his shit and wantonly...

Wesley Yang Replies -- The Korean's Short Reply, and Some Observations

Wesley Yang wrote a reply to my post about his New York Magazine article. Here is the link. I have a brief response, and some observations.First, the response:Asian Americans are unfairly stereotyped. That, I agree wholeheartedly. But what sets me apart from Yang is (as he correctly noted in his reply) that Yang dares to find a causal link "between those stereotypes and the reality of the way Asians...

Very nice New York Times article about interracial dating featuring a Korean American man, his parents, and Diane Farr, the star of Numb3rs on CBS. A sample:Once seated, I began to dissect my burrito, looking to expel anything that might singe my half-Irish, half-Italian and wholly American palate. While running my fork through the black beans, I asked my Korean-American suitor, “Do you intend to...

What is Korean Food?

The Korean is very serious and totally irrational about Korean food. He does not want any of the so-called "globalization" of Korean food that Korean government is pushing nowadays, because it will inevitably lead to vile bastardization of the food. (Like bibimbap with guacamole, for example.)The objection to this view is consistent,...