Two interesting articles about Korea and Korean Americans in New York Times recently.

Thomas Friedman writes that the world needs more American leadership, extensively quoting from Korean officials. The Korean wholeheartedly agrees.

Second generation Korean Americans are coming up with interesting Korean fusion food that is gaining in popularity. The Korean is actually a purist when it comes to Korean food, so he is ambivalent about this development. Thank you for the readers who sent the story. The Korean already saw the article by the time it was emailed, but thank you anyway.

But the Korean cannot let that story pass without saying this. About a decade ago, the Korean and the Korean Brother discussed a plan to retrofit a truck such that it can grill galbi on a stick. We would have taken it to the beach and sell it to the passers-by. Unfortunately, the Korean and the Korean Brother had to go to college and end up at boring jobs. We would have been millionaires.

Mongolian Spank Marks

Dear Korean,

A friend mentioned that many Korean children are born with a blue birthmark located at the base of the spine. He said it was from a genetic trait from Mongolian invaders centuries before. Is this true?

Unsigned

Dear Anonymous Coward,

No, it is a myth. In fact, it is a very good example of how two pieces of truth meld into a highly believable piece of falsehood.

Here is the piece of truth number 1: Korea did suffer extensively from Mongolian invasion in the 13th century -- so much so that much of Korean traditional culture as it survives today has a strong Mongolian influence. (For example, the red dots placed on the bride's cheeks in a traditional Korean wedding, like the picture.)

Piece of truth number 2: a little more than 80 percent of Korean babies have a blue birthmark right called "Mongolian Fleck". Usually it's a single dark blue dot in a size of a quarter on the buttcheek, but it could be larger. The birthmark usually fades away after a few years, and completely disappears by early teens.

But this is the part of confusion that created the myth -- the name "Mongolian". The name came about because it just so happened that the German biologist who first named the phenomenon simply decided to call it that way in 1885. This led to the false impression that Mongolian Fleck is something that only happens among Mongolians. Then the next step for a confused Korean mind is -- hey, didn't we get invaded by Mongolians long time ago? It must be the mark of that invasion!

Of course, that's not true. Mongolian Fleck frequently appears among Africans, Turks, Spaniards, and Native Americans as well. It has nothing to do with a specific people or a country. Korean babies had Mongolian Flecks before and after the Mongolian invasion.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Pre-Figuring Mixed Children

Dear Korean,

My mom is full blooded Korean and my dad is of Irish and Canadian heritage. My girlfriend and I have been talking about having children at some point. We wonder what our future kids might look like. This is where my question for you comes from. My girlfriend is a full on red head. Bright red hair (I say orange, but that ticks her off), pale white skin, freckles... a Ginger-American.

That said, do you or any of your readers know of a couple consisting of a Korean man and a red headed woman and if so what do their kids look like? I realize that anyone's story would not be an indication of what would happen between my girlfriend and I, but I'm curious.

John

Dear John,

The Korean has no children (that he knows of), so the answer will have to come from the readers. Obviously genetics is not something we can predict, but it would be interesting to hear about the different manifestations of the mixture. The Korean's observation has been that white-Asian babies are usually born more or less with full Asian features, and their white features show later as they grow.

Readers, don't limit yourselves to white-Korean combinations. Let's hear them all.

Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

From Attorney General Eric Holder:

Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race. It is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation’s history this is in some ways understandable. And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us.

The Korean said the same thing 2.5 years ago, and he has been doing his part.

Ask a Korean! is featured on January's issue of KoreAm Journal.

Ask a Korean! News: Nationalism (and Americans' Not Getting it)

The Korean absolutley loves the NBA and his Los Angeles Lakers. So he was not going to miss any part of the NBA All-Star Weekend, including the Dunk Contest. Among the contestants was the first European player ever to participate in the Dunk Contest, Spaniard Rudy Fernandez of Portland Trailblazers . Check it out.



Pretty sweet dunks, and the Korean thinks the judges underrated him. But the point that the Korean made about nationalism, and the fact that Americans don't understand it, was in full display in this little vignette.

In the first dunk, Fernandez takes off his own jersey and shows off the jersey of Fernando Martin, the first Spain-born player to play in the NBA. The significance of it is utterly lost on the commentators. To be sure, NBA All-Star Weekend is about antics and fun. This is the only time in the year when you can see Dwight Howard trying to cross over Kobe, and laugh at him for failing miserably at that. So it is somewhat understandable that the commentators are not very much into honoring a Spain-born basketball player whose career was cut short by a car accident.

For the second dunk, Fernandez enlists the help of Pau Gasol of Los Angeles Lakers, a fellow Spaniard. Now this is a major sin for the commentators. You can tell it particularly rankles Reggie Miller, a former star player for the Indiana Pacers, who says in incredulity, "This is a division rival right here, Portland and Los Angeles. What's up with that?"

This is a case of Americans simply not getting it. In the mind of Fernandez from Spain, a nationalistic country, Rudy Fernandez represents Spain first, Portland Trailblazers second. So it totally makes sense for Rudy Fernandez to get the help from Gasol, the most high-profile Spanish player in the NBA, rather than, say, Brandon Roy of the Portland Trailblazers.

Clearly, there is no right answer in this. Fernandez is correct in some respect. He could have been signed by any NBA team, and he could traded at any moment. Portland Trailblazers cannot be more important than Spain. On the other hand, Reggie Miller is correct in some respect as well. NBA All-Star is about representing NBA teams, not where the players are from. If Dwight Howard of Orlando Magic, native of Atlanta, Georgia, got a help from his former high school teammate and fellow Georgian Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks, there would have been riots on the streets of Orlando. This little episode is a great illustration of how Americans think, as opposed to the rest of the nationalism-inclined world.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

Ask a Korean! News: Yet Another Case for Immigration

Look at the assimilation of this Korean cow! It learned to surf!



Many thanks to Marylee S. for the link.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.