The Korean is having a very busy time right now. He just graduated, and now he has to move in two days. It doesn't help that his apartment is not packed up at all.
Looks like the new post will be another week. But the Korean promises to make it a good one.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Ask A Korean! News: Prince Fielder's hereto unknown Korean connection
Dear readers, the Korean is currently borrowing the Korean Girlfriend's laptop in order to report this amazing news of significant consequence.
On Friday, the Korean was watching the New York Mets versus Milwaukee Brewers baseball on his newly acquired HD TV, and the current major league home run leader Prince Fielder stepped into the box. Fielder is in the Korean's fantasy baseball team, the Inland Empire 66ers, so the Korean paid close attention.
Then the Korean noticed something so improbable that at first the Korean disbelieved his own eyes. The Korean reached for his remote, desperately hit "rewind" and "pause" on his DVR over and over and again, but it was there. So here is the news, reported for the first time here at Ask A Korean!:
Prince Fielder has a neck tattoo that says wangja ("prince") in Korean on his left neck. See the picture below.
I mean, what the hell. Seriously, who the hell gets a tattoo in Korean? (Unless there is a good reason to, like Hines Ward who has his name tattooed in Korean because he is half-Korean.)
The Korean has no idea how to feel about this. On one hand, it could be seen as evidence that Korea is becoming more recognized in the U.S. in various ways. Formerly, East Asia consisted of China and Japan, and Korea was kind of an afterthought. But tattoo in foreign language is usually done because it is considered "exotic", so the Korean is not sure if this is the case that Korea is more known in the U.S.
The overwhelming feeling that the Korean experienced (especially upon looking at the picture again) was how stupid neck tattoos look. The Korean always thought neck tattoos were silly, but seeing one in letters that the Korean can recognize was really the clincher. Even if neck tattoos were in English, they are usually done in some Olde English font so they are not readily readable.
But Prince Fielder's neck tattoo is written in plain, legible Korean. It is as if some regular Korean dude was hanging out and drinking with Prince Fielder one night, then Fielder passes out, and the Korean dude picked up a marker and wrote it on his neck as a joke. (Like poor Zach Braff here in Garden State.)
Did anyone else notice any Korean tattoos on people? The Korean would love to hear your story. Please write on the comment, or email the Korean.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
On Friday, the Korean was watching the New York Mets versus Milwaukee Brewers baseball on his newly acquired HD TV, and the current major league home run leader Prince Fielder stepped into the box. Fielder is in the Korean's fantasy baseball team, the Inland Empire 66ers, so the Korean paid close attention.
Then the Korean noticed something so improbable that at first the Korean disbelieved his own eyes. The Korean reached for his remote, desperately hit "rewind" and "pause" on his DVR over and over and again, but it was there. So here is the news, reported for the first time here at Ask A Korean!:
Prince Fielder has a neck tattoo that says wangja ("prince") in Korean on his left neck. See the picture below.
I mean, what the hell. Seriously, who the hell gets a tattoo in Korean? (Unless there is a good reason to, like Hines Ward who has his name tattooed in Korean because he is half-Korean.)The Korean has no idea how to feel about this. On one hand, it could be seen as evidence that Korea is becoming more recognized in the U.S. in various ways. Formerly, East Asia consisted of China and Japan, and Korea was kind of an afterthought. But tattoo in foreign language is usually done because it is considered "exotic", so the Korean is not sure if this is the case that Korea is more known in the U.S.
The overwhelming feeling that the Korean experienced (especially upon looking at the picture again) was how stupid neck tattoos look. The Korean always thought neck tattoos were silly, but seeing one in letters that the Korean can recognize was really the clincher. Even if neck tattoos were in English, they are usually done in some Olde English font so they are not readily readable.
But Prince Fielder's neck tattoo is written in plain, legible Korean. It is as if some regular Korean dude was hanging out and drinking with Prince Fielder one night, then Fielder passes out, and the Korean dude picked up a marker and wrote it on his neck as a joke. (Like poor Zach Braff here in Garden State.)Did anyone else notice any Korean tattoos on people? The Korean would love to hear your story. Please write on the comment, or email the Korean.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
Friday, May 11, 2007
DisasterDisasterDisaster
Bad news everyone. The Korean's laptop is dead - cause of death: drowning. (The Korean spilled water on it.)
Fortunately, the Korean Brother will bring the Korean a new computer, but that won't be until next week. So no post until then. Thank you all for reading.
Fortunately, the Korean Brother will bring the Korean a new computer, but that won't be until next week. So no post until then. Thank you all for reading.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
So this guy went into a Korean bathroom, and there was no toilet paper...
Dear Korean,
Why do some bathrooms in Korea (western-style ones) say that you should put used toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet instead of the toilet itself? I would think that a trash can just sitting around full of fecal used toilet paper would be a big health hazard. The flush on the toilets seem to be perfectly strong and don't jam up, yet many bathrooms still have big notices telling people to put their waste paper in a trash can instead.
If It's Brown, Flush It Down
Dear Bathroom User,
You just never know if the toilet would jam up with excess amount of toilet paper. Some people definitely go completely overboard with the amount of paper required for the act. In fact, this is not unique to Korea either -- the exact same problem happens in America, especially in skyscrapers with complicated plumbing systems. The solution for the New York skyscrapers apparently is to use single-ply toilet papers (possibly because of the health hazard that you mentioned.) So we have this hilarious consequence of all these Wall Street bigwig banks and law firms using single-ply toilet paper.
Speaking of Korean public bathrooms, until the late 1990s very few Korean public bathrooms (ones in subways, etc; bathrooms in restaurants and shopping centers are not included here) had toilet paper, because people would routinely steal them. People generally carried their own Kleenex for emergency use, but almost all Koreans (especially men, who don't carry a purse) experienced a situation in which he was forced to contemplate the next step after he has relieved himself. So a very popular series of jokes in Korea involves a situation in which someone runs out of toilet paper in a public restroom. The Korean's favorite one is the following:
Two guys were sitting in the public bathroom stalls, when the first guy talks to the second guy:
A: Er, excuse me. Do you have any toilet paper?
B: I'm sorry, I do, but just enough for myself.
A: Oh come on, can you please help me out?
B: No way man, I'm sorry.
A: Look, I'll pay you $10 for that toilet paper.
B: I'm sorry, I really need this.
$10 bill is slipped into B's stall from A's stall.
A: Alright then, do you have ten $1 bills?
Do you have any good no-toilet paper jokes? Send them over this way, and the Korean will post them.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
Why do some bathrooms in Korea (western-style ones) say that you should put used toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet instead of the toilet itself? I would think that a trash can just sitting around full of fecal used toilet paper would be a big health hazard. The flush on the toilets seem to be perfectly strong and don't jam up, yet many bathrooms still have big notices telling people to put their waste paper in a trash can instead.
If It's Brown, Flush It Down
Dear Bathroom User,
You just never know if the toilet would jam up with excess amount of toilet paper. Some people definitely go completely overboard with the amount of paper required for the act. In fact, this is not unique to Korea either -- the exact same problem happens in America, especially in skyscrapers with complicated plumbing systems. The solution for the New York skyscrapers apparently is to use single-ply toilet papers (possibly because of the health hazard that you mentioned.) So we have this hilarious consequence of all these Wall Street bigwig banks and law firms using single-ply toilet paper.
Speaking of Korean public bathrooms, until the late 1990s very few Korean public bathrooms (ones in subways, etc; bathrooms in restaurants and shopping centers are not included here) had toilet paper, because people would routinely steal them. People generally carried their own Kleenex for emergency use, but almost all Koreans (especially men, who don't carry a purse) experienced a situation in which he was forced to contemplate the next step after he has relieved himself. So a very popular series of jokes in Korea involves a situation in which someone runs out of toilet paper in a public restroom. The Korean's favorite one is the following:
Two guys were sitting in the public bathroom stalls, when the first guy talks to the second guy:
A: Er, excuse me. Do you have any toilet paper?
B: I'm sorry, I do, but just enough for myself.
A: Oh come on, can you please help me out?
B: No way man, I'm sorry.
A: Look, I'll pay you $10 for that toilet paper.
B: I'm sorry, I really need this.
$10 bill is slipped into B's stall from A's stall.
A: Alright then, do you have ten $1 bills?
Do you have any good no-toilet paper jokes? Send them over this way, and the Korean will post them.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
Friday, May 04, 2007
Swing a dead cat to hit a Kim
Dear Korean,
Why do so many Koreans have the last name of Kim? What's a "high" Kim and what's a "low" Kim?
Walter H. Sakai
Professor of Biology, Santa Monica College
Dear Professor Sakai,
There really are a lot of Korean Kims. Kim is the most common last name in Korea, making up roughly 20 percent of the population -- which makes it about 10 million Kims. According to Los Angeles Times article that spoke about racial diversity in Los Angeles County, Lopez and Kim were two examples of ethnic last names that were more common than Smith. Other very common last names are Lee (15 percent) and Park (10 percent). Kim, Lee, and Park put together is about 45 percent of the Korean population.
Why so many Kims? Kim was the last name for the oldest and longest dynasty of Korea, namely Silla Dynasty, born in 57 BC and perished in 935 AD. In the early period, Silla had three rotating last names for kings -- Park clan was the one that started the Dynasty, then Seok clan, then Kim clan. Over time, Kim clan became the most powerful, and eventually all Silla kings were from the Kim clan for over 700 years. Since Kims were royalties and noblemen, their population was bound to become large.
There is not exactly a "high" or "low" Kim, but Kims (just like all other last names in Korea) are divided into a number of clans and subclans. The largest Kim clan is Gimhae Kims, which has more than 4 million members. There are certain last names that used to only belong to lower-class people (e.g. Cheon, Bang, Ji, Chu, Ma, Gol, Pih). But the significance of family lineage has greatly diminished in the modern era; frankly, no one but old coots care about last names in Korea anymore.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Some meta-questions
Dear Korean,
Why do you refer to yourself in the third person?
Gretchen
Dear Gretchen,
Because the Korean thinks it's cool.
Dear Korean,
Why do you refer to your answer seekers as cowards?
Linus Cheeseater
Dear Linus,
Only the ones who don't sign their names are cowards. At least give a first name, or give a funny pen name for the entertainment of all. You are on a good start.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
Why do you refer to yourself in the third person?
Gretchen
Dear Gretchen,
Because the Korean thinks it's cool.
Dear Korean,
Why do you refer to your answer seekers as cowards?
Linus Cheeseater
Dear Linus,
Only the ones who don't sign their names are cowards. At least give a first name, or give a funny pen name for the entertainment of all. You are on a good start.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
My Sassy Girl?
Dear Korean,
How do Korean guys reconcile the wife-beater rep with images like that of the guy in "My Sassy Girl"? My cousin loves the movie and runs around saying "wanna die?" in Korean.
Baffled Chinese
Dear Baffled Chinese,
Easy. My Sassy Girl is a comedy. It's funny because it's so obviously untrue.
As an aside, the Korean never understood the appeal of My Sassy Girl. Someone please explain why that movie is any good. It appears that there is an American remake of that movie in the works -- if this is going to be another Infernal Affairs/The Departed debacle, the Korean will pop a vein in his head.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
How do Korean guys reconcile the wife-beater rep with images like that of the guy in "My Sassy Girl"? My cousin loves the movie and runs around saying "wanna die?" in Korean.
Baffled Chinese
Dear Baffled Chinese,
Easy. My Sassy Girl is a comedy. It's funny because it's so obviously untrue.
As an aside, the Korean never understood the appeal of My Sassy Girl. Someone please explain why that movie is any good. It appears that there is an American remake of that movie in the works -- if this is going to be another Infernal Affairs/The Departed debacle, the Korean will pop a vein in his head.
Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
