Ask a Korean! News: Racial Tension Flaring in Dallas

Oh boy:The African American community in Dallas has been protesting a gas station run by a Korean-born U.S. citizen in a predominately black neighborhood in South Dallas for over a month, taking issue with what they claim were racial remarks by the station’s owner.. . .According to the ministry and the local Korean community, the conflict occurred on Dec. 9, 2011, between the Korean-American owner...

Today, TK Learned:

. . .that sooner or later, big law firms will get their revenge for allowing their associates to have a Christmas break, and a super-sized linkage post will have to suffice when one has to justify one's salary.So THIS is how you mummify Kim Jong-Il. [New York Times]And THESE are the kinds of people who will bow before Kim Jong-Il. [Time]Good overview of the recently deceased Kim Geun-Tae, arguably...

Ask a Korean! News: Coffee in Korea -- Some Statistics

There is an interesting new set of statistics about Korea's fervor for coffee, which was discussed in a recent post on this blog. Basically, the Korean's observation that gourmet coffee exploded in the last five years was correct. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of gourmet coffee shops increased nearly 10 times, and the revenue of gourmet coffee shops increased nearly 17 times.There has been a 15%...

Ask a Korean! News: Thousands of Anti-Regime Fliers Found in Cheongjin

If North Korea falls in the next few years, remember this moment: reports from North Korea say that thousands of fliers denouncing Kim Jong-Un appeared in several locations in the city of Cheongjin. The fliers directly denounced Kim Jong-Un, saying "Down with Kim Jong-Un" and "There is no future with Kim Jong-Un." The paper quality of the flier was poor, which likely means that the fliers were made...

Happy Lunar New Year!

Hope you all had a delicious bowl of rice cake soup, and some sweet cash for bowing to your elders. Here are some old posts about Korea's celebration of lunar new year, and here is one about how North Korea celebrates the lunar new year.-EDIT- To add a few questions about lunar new year . . .Dear Korean, As you may know, Chinese...

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 22. Kim Chu-Ja

[Series Index]22.  Kim Chu-Ja [김추자]Years of Activity: 1969-1988Discography:Before It's Late [늦기전에] (1969)Kim Chu-Ja Stereo Hit Album No. 1 [김추자 스테레오 힛트 앨범 No.1] (1970)Kim Chu-Ja Stereo Hit Album No. 2 [김추자 스테레오 힛트 앨범 No.2] (1970)Stereo Hit Album No. 3 [스테레오 힛트 앨범 No.3] (1971)After Tonight [이 밤이 가면] (1972)Beautiful Sunday...

Pop Music Disappointments, and K-Pop

The Korean saw this some time ago:  12 Extremely Disappointing Facts about Popular Music. Just to give a few samples:Flo Rida's “Low” has sold 8 million copies – the same as The Beatles' “Hey Jude”Creed has sold more records in the US than Jimi HendrixKaty Perry holds the same record as Michael Jackson for most number one singles from an albumThe Korean found this to be pretty illustrative of...

Suicide in Korea Series: IV. How Suicide Spread in Korea

[Series Index]The last post discussed the global sociology of suicides, and how its implications are entirely applicable in Korea. In fact, one of the lessons that can be gleaned form the last post is this:  there is nothing particularly "cultural" about Korea's trend of high suicides. This is an important point, because many observers like to make all kinds of arguments about Korea based on...

Today, TK Learned:

. . . that rain means slower traffic.Must-read piece on how East Asian Studies scholars in the U.S. attempted to silence Iris Chang, author of Rape of Nanking. [Sandcastle Empire]File sharing is exactly like stealing. [The Atlantic]Korean baseball teams hold spring camp in Arizona. [Arizona Daily Star]Pvt. Danny Chen was forced by comrades to crawl 100 meters on gravel while being pelted with rocks,...

Ask a Korean! News: The Business of K-Pop

Here is a fun article from late last year about the business side of K-pop, and how the "idol industry" is dictated by business concerns.*             *            *YG-Version of Girls' Generation -- The Answer Lies In the Stock MarketOn November 21, the media reported news about a new girl group by YG Entertainment ("YG") with a sensational...

Ask a Korean! Wiki: What is Weird About America?

Dear Korean,A friend posted this link to his Facebook profile a couple weeks ago. I had no idea that supermarket checkout-baggers were such a weird thing, that nobody uses checks anymore, and "that so much American cheese is coloured orange." It was mentioned a couple of times in the posting that most of the contributors were from Europe, which is fairly similar to the States, shared culture,...

Liberal Education and Coffee

Korea famously boasts an excellent educational system, which sends over 80 percent of its high school students to college. But as Korean economy faces a persistent problem of youth unemployment, commentators are observing that Koreans are being over-educated. Essentially, the idea is that Korea has youth unemployment because...

Documentary about Tiger JK, with English Subtitles

Reader Marc H. sent along some links for a nice documentary showing Tiger JK and his family, conveniently subtitled with English. You can watch it here, and part 2 is here.Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.c...

Kim Jong-Il's Death - Bonus Question: Do South Koreans Care About Reunification?

Dear Korean, I heard B.R. Myers on a radio interview recently. His idea of the biggest threat to the regime is something like this:"The biggest risk to the regime is that the North Korean public is growing increasingly aware that the South Koreans basically just don't care about the North. The regime has convinced through propaganda that the North needs to sacrifice and lead difficult, poor lives...

Lose Weight with Korean Diet - Part 1

Dear Korean,I have been trying to lose weight. I have lost some, but I am down to the last ten pounds, and can not seem to dispel the weight. Most of the weight loss information I obtain seems to be wrong, so I need a new perspective. I thought viewing weight loss through another culture's view point might help me. How can...

Today, TK Learned:

. . . that it has been an unusually mild winter in Washington D.C.R.I.P. Gordon Hirabayashi, 1918-2012. America owes a debt to him.  [Angry Asian Man]What's wrong with worrying too much about national debt? "[F]amilies have to pay back their debt. Governments don’t — all they need to do is ensure that debt grows more slowly than their tax base." [New York Times]Only one employee is mowing the...

Ask a Korean! News: North Korea Bans the Use of Foreign Currency

Apparently, the first order of business in post-Kim Jong-Il North Korea is to ban the use of foreign currency in markets, such as American dollar or Chinese renminbi, with a potential death penalty against those who violate the order. The order came down on Dec. 30 of last year. This move signifies that Kim Jong-Un is willing to keep trying to revert to a communistic, controlled economy, although...