Most Popular AAK! Posts of 2013

Here is a quick look back at the most popular AAK! posts of 2013, by the number of page view.Most Viewed Posts of 2013 (All-Time Posts)1. Culturalism, Gladwell, and Airplane Crashes2. Lose Weight with Korean Diet3. The Ultimate Korean Looks List4. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Korean Men5. Fan Death is Real Incredibly, the dog meat post dropped out of the top five list, supplanted by yet-another...

Best of the Worst 2013

It is yet another installation of AAK!'s year-end tradition: the worst emails of the year 2013! This year has been another reaffirmation of the eternal truth that, on the Internet, the supply of stupidity is infinite. Despite seeing the examples of dumb questions from 2008, 2009, 2010 (in Parts I, II, and III), 2011 and 2012, people simply do not learn.As usual, these are all real emails that the...

Thoughts on Jang Seong-taek's Execution

Dear Korean,Now that Kim Jong Un has executed his own uncle-in-law, what do you think is in North Korea's future? What does Joo Seong-Ha think?The Second Generation Vietnamese-American College StudentFor those who do not follow North Korea-related news, this happened: Kim Jong-un, the fresh-faced third-generation dictator of North Korea, had his uncle-in-law executed. Jang Seong-taek, who joined the...

Asiana Crash and Culturalism, Again

The NTSB recently held a hearing regarding the crash-landing of Asiana Flight 214 at the San Francisco Airport earlier this year, in which a testifying expert said that Korean culture may have contributed to the crash. This, again, is giving rise to the discussion about the correlation between Korean culture and airline crashes. For example, as they did previously, CNN put out a vignette...

What Does My Korean Name Mean?

[Series Index] Dear Korean, My question concerns my Korean name. The story I have been told all my life is that I was found on a street corner by a policeman in Seoul and subsequently placed in an orphanage. I was given a name and a date of birth, one of which stuck with me (the birth date), while the other (the name) was abandoned faster than a politician’s promise when I was adopted by a military...

North Korea 2014 Calendar from NK News is Here

If blogs could be friends, Ask a Korean! would be hanging out with NK News all the time, watching KBO baseball and knocking back some Taedonggang beer (as seen in the Economist.) And when the holiday season rolls around, the two blogs would exchange gifts.Unfortunately, blogs can't be friends. So you, the Ask a Korean! reader, can receive the gift from NK News instead! NK News unveiled a gorgeous...

Who's Coming to SXSW 2014?

What is the future of international K-pop?The early stages of K-pop's foray into the international arena was dominated by idol groups, backed by strategic, long-term corporate planning and funds. The dominance was such that the term "K-pop" mistakenly come to be equated to "idol pop," despite the fact that "K-pop" plainly stands for "Korean pop music." Ignorance of the deep history and the broad range...

TK's Favorite Figures in American History

Dear Korean,This past week has included the anniversary of the assassination of JFK and also Lincoln's famous speech at Gettysburg. Both men are admired/respected and shaped our nation for the better. I wondered who in American history the Korean admired/respected (not necessarily political figures) and why.A History BuffHere is a light little post to work off the Thanksgiving turkey. :)Because the...

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Korean wishes happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it. This year, the Korean is thankful for being able to enjoy the perfect Southern California weather, healthy and happy family, lovely wife and great friends old and new, and a record-breaking year at AAK!The Korean does not think he can write a better tribute for Thanksgiving than what he wrote in 2008. So here it is again:Thanksgiving...

Presidential Election and Spy Agency

Dear Korean, With all the accusations about fixing the election last year, what is likely to happen politically?Jen S.Right now, Korean democracy is going through a kind of crisis of confidence. To be sure, it is not the type of severe crisis that Korean democracy has experienced before, such as the military rolling tanks into...

Age of Consent in Korea

Dear Korean,I noticed that the official age of consent in South Korea is thirteen, and wondered why the age was so low. Is this just a remnant of a Korea that used to be a third-world country, or is there another reason? I was puzzled because I thought that generally, Koreans tended to be socially conservative, especially in terms of sexual relations.Kathleen K.There is actually a very simply explanation....

Gender Ratio in Korea

Dear Korean, China currently has an abnormal ratio between men and women of marriageable age. I've heard that is also true for Korea and a few other Asian countries. Has it become necessary for men to seek alternative methods of finding a bride, such as mail-order bride situations?StephTraditionally, and until not too long ago, Koreans favored having a male child. But it has been at least 25 years...

Name Change in Korea

[Series Index]Dear Korean,Here's yet another question for you about Korean names. At the end of last semester I was giving speaking tests to our middle school students, and was taking roll based on the name list given at the beginning of the year. However, several of my students had changed their names in those few months. Not changed their English names, I mean their parents changed their Korean...

50 Most Influential K-pop Artists: 12. Rain

[Series Index] 12. Rain [비] Years of Activity: 1998-present (last regular album in 2008, last single in 2011)Discography:Bad Man [나쁜 남자] (2002)Rain2 (2003)It's Raining (2004)Rain's World (2006)Rainism (2008) Representative Song:  How to Escape the Sun [태양을 피하는 방법] from Rain2태양을 피하는 방법How to Escape the Sun울고있는 나의 모습 바보 같은 나의 모습My crying self, my foolish self환하게 비추는 태양이 싫어 태양이 싫어I hate the sun,...

Excreting the Dregs

Dear Korean, Recently, I realized I know more Asian women who are married to white guys than Asian women married to Asian men. Why is that? And why does it bother me so much? (Disclaimer: I do not live in Flushing, Palisades Park, Annandale, Koreatown NY or LA, etc, where Koreans are the majority.) I am already happily married, and I know that whom one decides to fall in love with is none...

Korea's Problem is Modernity

I recently finished reading Daniel Tudor's Korea: the Impossible Country. (My review of the book is available at Reading Korea.) My reaction was mostly positive:  it was an excellent overview of contemporary Korea, providing a clear-eyed look at achievements and flaws of today's Korean society. As I wrote in my review,...