Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Does Bilingualism Make You a Bad Writer?

Dear Korean,

One of my friends mentioned to me recently that children who grow up bilingual (like me and many other Asian-Americans) usually aren't strong writers. I'm not talking about 1.5 generation kids who had their childhood all in one language, or the ones who completely didn't learn their parents' language at all, but kids like me who were born in America and went to school which was taught in English, but came home and spoke only Korean in the house. And this happened ever since I was born. I wonder if its true... that something about not fully grasping one language before learning another actually makes both language a bit mediocre. I'm not sure if its true or not, but I kind of hope its true because that would be a great excuse for me.

Lara B.


Dear Lara,

Your question jumped the line because a recent New York Times article on bilingualism research was particularly relevant for the answer. Here is a sample:
As we did our research, you could see there was a big difference in the way monolingual and bilingual children processed language. We found that if you gave 5- and 6-year-olds language problems to solve, monolingual and bilingual children knew, pretty much, the same amount of language.

But on one question, there was a difference. We asked all the children if a certain illogical sentence was grammatically correct: “Apples grow on noses.” The monolingual children couldn’t answer. They’d say, “That’s silly” and they’d stall. But the bilingual children would say, in their own words, “It’s silly, but it’s grammatically correct.” The bilinguals, we found, manifested a cognitive system with the ability to attend to important information and ignore the less important.

...

We wondered, “Are bilinguals better at multitasking?” So we put monolinguals and bilinguals into a driving simulator. Through headphones, we gave them extra tasks to do — as if they were driving and talking on cellphones. We then measured how much worse their driving got. Now, everybody’s driving got worse. But the bilinguals, their driving didn’t drop as much.

...

People e-mail me and say, “I’m getting married to someone from another culture, what should we do with the children?” I always say, “You’re sitting on a potential gift.”

There are two major reasons people should pass their heritage language onto children. First, it connects children to their ancestors. The second is my research: Bilingualism is good for you. It makes brains stronger. It is brain exercise.
The Bilingual Advantage [New York Times]

So yeah, the Korean would say your friend is totally off base. Bilingualism is a gift, and it makes you better at everything that requires brain power.

As for the Korean himself, being a bilingual helps tremendously toward being a good writer. In the Korean's humble opinion, a lot of beginning writers struggle with perceiving how their writing comes across. They intend to write something, but what they actually put down on the paper ends up not quite sounding like what they intended -- could be too soft, too harsh, too dry, too emotional, etc. (It really does not help that the Internet allows people to write without any sort of training or reflection.) It requires a great deal of self-awareness in order to "hear" your own writing and precisely calibrate the tone and strength of your writing.

In that sense, it is really great to have one language become the meta-language for the other. Because the Korean is constantly shifting back and forth between two languages, he can evaluate, say, the emotional content of what he wrote by trying to phrase what he wrote in the other language. In fact, if you are a budding bilingual, the Korean would highly recommend this exercise that he used to do as a teenager: write a short poem in one of the languages, and write the exact same poem in the other language -- matching not simply the meaning of the words, but imagery, symbolism, emotional evocation, meter and rhyme.

This game is unbelievably difficult, and you will likely not succeed. (The Korean himself has never succeeded, although he thought he came close in one or two tries.) But doing the process itself will force you to assess your strengths and weaknesses in the two languages, peer into the meta-conversation behind the messages and appreciate the different cultures surrounding the two languages. The Korean can hardly think of a more beneficial brain exercise than this.

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

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Confucianism and Korea - Part V: What Can Confucianism Do For America?

[Series Index]

We got this far in the series, so let's take a little detour. The next part of this series will be about how Korea can improve upon its Confucian heritage. But before that, the Korean wants to sketch out a bit about how adopting certain aspects of Confucianism would help America greatly. After all, it is the great tradition of immigrants and America that the immigrants bring the best part of their heritage to be mixed into America, resulting in a stronger, wealthier and more perfect union. There is no doubt that America is great. (Why else would the Korean live here?) But the Korean believes that the American mode of thought lends itself to creating pressure on its society in certain areas, and he believes that Confucianism can relieve some of that pressure.

(Aside:  While we Americans like to consider ourselves to be "multicultural," multiculturalism for many Americans begins and ends at the choice of restaurant for dinner -- and even that does not extend too far when the meat sounds a little too strange. Multiculturalism in America often stops dead upon encountering a radically different mode of thought. When Americans are introduced to such mode of thought, too many of us reject it by calling it "illogical," "backward," "irrational," "not objective," etc. But in order to consider ourselves to be truly multicultural, we must go way past the little morsels that are packaged to our taste -- we must be able to completely step into the shoes of people of other culture and see the world from their philosophical perspective. Confucianism is a great starting point for an aspiring multiculturalist, because it is a sophisticated, functional and highly rational philosophy while at the same time being very different from Western philosophy.)

Here are some of the areas where adopting the Confucian mode of thought might improve upon American society:

Greater Awareness on the Relational Standings

Americans are individualist people. Taking "individual responsibility" is a noble act in America. American notion of human rights is nearly always formulated as "individual human rights." Americans always urge to "see people as individuals." And there is absolutely no doubt that such world view has advanced Americans to a level of freedom enjoyed by few others in all of human history.

(More after the jump.)

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

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

AAK! PSA: Superstar K Auditions in New York

Exciting news for all the K-pop fans in America -- you can now audition to be a K-pop star! Below is the press release from Mnet.

*                 *                 *



Mnet (www.mnet.com), the only television network targeting fans of Asian pop culture, has announced that for the first time New York will be the site of the U.S. auditions for Korean TV megahit Superstar K Season 3 – an international singing competition that is scouring the world for top talent to bring to Korea this summer. Being held in New York City on June 25th at THE TIMES CENTER (www.thetimescenter.com) on 41st and 8th Ave., the auditions are open to anyone regardless of age, race or music genre, who will be given the opportunity to try out on the spot.

Superstar K (SSK), the television phenomenon that captured an audience throughout Asia, is the most watched cable show in Korean history. Season 1 attracted 720,000 contestants worldwide, and Season 2 drew a record breaking 1,350,000 contestants. Season 3 is returning with the promise of larger prizes and greater opportunities for the winner, including a cash prize of 500,000,000 Korean Won, approximately $500,000 US dollars. This season, contestants who pass the final round of the U.S. audition in New York will receive a round trip air ticket to the Superweek in Seoul, Korea. Accommodations and meals will be provided throughout the Superweek. SSK will also be responsible for the cost of training, accommodations and meals for the top 10 finalists until the contestant is eliminated.

Following the theme of diversity, SSK3 has incorporated some welcoming changes, including featuring special guest judges in addition to the three main judges, in order to provide diversified professional opinions to the emerging talents. In regional auditions, more guest judges are added to lend a different perspective and fairness to the viewers and contestants.

Unlike the previous seasons, SSK3 is now open to solo artists and groups. To cater to artists with instrumental talents, SSK will provide various instruments such as keyboards, drums to contestants so they can fully demonstrate their potential during the auditioning process.

Superstar K Season 3 premieres August 12. For more information about the U.S. audition and application details, visit www.mnet.com.

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

Monday, May 23, 2011

Ask a Korean! News: Mr. Joo Seong-Ha on Kim Jong-Il's Visit to China

[Index]

Right now, Kim Jong-Il is paying a surprise visit to China. As usual, Mr. Joo Seong-Ha is right on top of it. Below is the translation of his recent blog post.

*              *              *



The term "Strong Country" [강성대국] appeared first on the editorial of North Korea's Rodong Shinmun for August 22, 1998. At the time, North Korea set 2002, when Kim Jong-Il would be 60 years old, as the time by which the Strong Country would be achieved. But in 2002, the regime changed its tune, saying: "This year is the year of the new reform toward building the Strong Country." It was a self-admission that it had failed to build a Strong Country.

But that same year, North Korea executed the July 1 Plan for Economic Management Reform which incorporated a great deal of market economy elements. In September, the regime announced the Shinuiju Special Administrative District, with Yang Bin as the minister. These announcements were quite enough to surprise the North Koreans, who hoped that they were finally coming to perestroika and glasnost. At least until 2005, when the reform faction headed by Prime Minister Park Bong-Ju was eliminated in a massive purge.

Once again, the goal time for the Strong Country is approaching, this time in 2012. The economy is not very different from the way it was 10 years ago. If the current trend continues, North Korea's public opinion will completely abandon its regime from which nothing can be expected. This would be a serious threat to the regime stability. Kim Jong-Il knows this very well, but right now he has neither the rice nor money to give to his people. So right now, he is pulling out his last card. Like he did in 2002, he is trying to plant hope and expectations. If he could make a show of massive development in the cities of Rajin, Seonbong and Shinuiju, North Koreans would think: "This time we must be really opening up. We held on this far; let's hang on just a little more."

This is the motivation that compels Kim Jong-Il to again visit China while bearing the criticisms of "beggar's diplomacy." To Kim Jong-Il, regime stability comes before his people. If he could maintain his regime without doing something, he would not have dragged his ill body to China three times in the last year.

Even Kim Jong-Il is not able to estimate the popular rage when he has nothing to give in 2012. The special economic zones are the inevitable card for the regime stability. If he manages to plant a seed of expectation and hope in the people's minds, he can maintain his power for the next few years until he died. He can also buy the time to firmly transfer the power to Kim Jong-Un. Should the special economic zones succeed, they would also relieve the pressure on the Kim Jong-Un regime, which would only go deeper into the hope.

Of course, Kim Jong-Il's dog-and-pony show for his people comes with a risk. North Korea's system is accustomed to decades of isolation and want. It has an immunity to the negative effects of holding the door shut to a degree that horrifies the world. But opening up that door is not a game that Kim Jong-Il is used to playing. The North Korean regime might have been able to endure the lack for decades, but not endure the excess for just a few years.

But the reality of North Korea is that it must at least pretend to open its doors despite such risk, because the risk of failing to do so is even greater. Next year, North Korea will probably crack open its doors while standing ready to slam it shut when things go wrong. But once the door opens, no one knows what will happen next -- whether a breeze or a hurricane will enter through that opening.

노구 김정일의 ‘마지막 카드’ [Joo Seong-Ha's North Korea Real Talk]

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

Friday, May 20, 2011

"Roboticity" and Violin -- Reaction from a Reader

Really good reactions to the Korean's post keep hitting the Korean's inbox, and he is learning a lot from them. This one from N.S., a former violin instructor (and a current law student) was extremely enlightening toward addressing the silly argument that Asian classical musicians are supposed to be wooden and robotic.

(Posted with permission, with some edits from the Korean.)

*               *               *

Dear Korean,

I read your "Tiger Mom" and "Paper Tiger" pieces via links through other blogs. I thought they were terrific and will read more. As a parent and a soon-to-be "Biglawyer", they spoke to my concerns, and I really liked the way you took ethnic themes and got beyond them to questions of wider concern. You're right, of course: any "tiger parent" is going to take their kids farther than they'd get with lackadaisical, cut-corners, low-energy-low-involvement parenting.

I used to be a violin teacher. In my experience, it wasn't that Asian kids were robotic; rather, their skill level was higher than their talent level relative to other kids.  Highly talented Asian kids would of course play very well. But even moderately talented Asian kids would play fairly well -- well enough to sit at the back of the second violins in all-state orchestra, instead of first chair.

Meanwhile, moderately talented white kids wouldn't put in the work necessary to compete with Asian kids at their talent level. It's true that moderately talented Asian kids would tend to sound rather "drilled," but on the other hand, moderately talented white kids would play out of tune, suffer memory lapses and miss shifts. And they would do all that with phrasing and pacing just as boxy as those of the "drilled" Asian kids. Meanwhile, the truly talented Asian kids would eat everyone's lunches and outplay less hardworking kids on every metric: phrasing and musicianship, intonation, bow control, articulation, whatever you could name. That's what you get when you have both skill and talent. Drill alone isn't sufficient for playing like Cho-Liang Lin or Kyung-Wha Chung or Nobuko Imai. But it is necessary, and anyone saying otherwise is dreaming.

*               *               *

One caveat -- N.S. was specifically commenting on the stereotype about how Asian American children are supposed to be robotic because of their upbringing. He is NOT making a racist comment about the supposed abilities of white violin students. There are obviously many, many talented white violin players in America and in the world, and N.S. as a violin instructor would be the first to know them. Don't get it twisted.

This comment particularly hit close to home because Chung Kyung-Wha that N.S. mentioned is the Korean Wife's violin heroine. The timing of this post is particularly appropriate, because Chung's mother Lee Won-Sook passed away just a few days ago, at age 93. Lee was the original Tiger Mom -- she had seven children, and raised four of them to be world-class classical musicians. (The other three became a successful businessman, a professor, and a doctor.) She wrote two books on childhood education, and the stories she told in those books make Prof. Amy Chua look like a hallmark of indulgence. For example, Lee would carry a hammer and nails in her purse, check every single seat of a concert hall where her children would play, and fix the chairs that might creak.

To close, here is a beautiful rendition of Zigeunerweisen by Chung. Pay attention at around 6 minute mark for a show of ridiculous virtuosity.


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

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Ask a Korean! News: Sen. Grassley Says Goodwin Liu has "Communist China" Mindset

Here is a bit of a background. Goodwin Liu is a professor and associate dean of Boalt Hall Law School at U.C. Berkeley. President Obama nominated him to join the bench at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where upon confirmation Liu would be the only Asian American judge in the circuit that includes such heavily Asian states as California and Washington.

Republicans have been filibustering Liu, and that's fine -- that's what opposition parties do. But apparently, Sen. Chuck Grassley from Iowa woke up this morning and thought: "Well, the bamboo ceiling has been a hot topic this week -- maybe I will bring on the ceiling to the Senate floor for a show-and-tell."


You heard the man. If you didn't, here is the text:
Does [Liu] think we’re the communist-run China? That the government runs everything? That it’s a better place when they put online every week a coal-fired plant to pollute the air, put more carbon dioxide into the air then we do in the United States, and where children are dying because food is poisoned, and consumers aren’t protected, and where every miner in the China coal mines is in jeopardy of losing their lives? That’s how out of place this guy is when he talks about “free enterprise,” “private ownership of property,” and “limited government” being something somehow bad, but if you get government more involved, like they do in China, it’s somehow a better place.
Daily Kos put it perfectly: "The racist old bastard isn't even trying not to be a racist old bastard." Now the Korean really wants to be nominated for a federal bench, if only to hear Sen. Grassley talk about how the Korean thinks North Korea is a better place than America. (Liu is a Taiwanese, which makes the comparison quite apt.)

Over-under on the number of comments before some idiot tries to justify Grassley's statement? The Korean thinks the line is 5.5, and the Korean is taking under.

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

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Excellent Examples of "Saving Face"

I'm No Picasso has an excellent post about the concept of "saving face" in Korea, supplemented with great, specific examples. A sample:
The biggest catalyst to my beginning to understand, come to terms with, and even sort of like face saving was meeting my old main co teacher. Why? Because she was fucking excellent at it. ... A good example of this was when a friend of mine sent me a message on Monday telling me that her coworker's father had passed away, and she knew she was supposed to give money, but she didn't know how much was appropriate to give, and would I please ask my coworkers. ... I asked my old co. Head Teacher jumped in before she could answer and said that 30,000 won was enough.

I saw it all over my old co's face -- that wasn't the right answer, in her opinion. I could see her struggling with how to handle the situation. She glanced up at me over the cubicle and made a slight face. Then she turned to Head Teacher and, in Korean, explained that even though 30,000 won was probably enough for us public school teachers, because there are a lot of us, don't you think private school teachers should give a bit more? Since there are not as many of them in an office. Old co knew that I would understand this in Korean. Head Teacher probably assumed that I wouldn't.

Head Teacher shot her down. No. Thirty thousand won is plenty. My old co glanced at me again to make sure that I was listening and understanding, and then she said, in Korean, I think more like fifty thousand or even more might be better in that situation, but I don't really know.... I'm just guessing.

Head Teacher stood by her answer. My old co shot me one last look. And then she dropped it. For all that Head Teacher knew, I hadn't caught any of this. But my old co had successfully corrected the situation for me, without calling Head Teacher out directly.
The Korean will be addressing this concept sooner or later also, but this is a terrific explanation. Please go read the whole thing.

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

Reaction to "Why You Should Never Listen to Asian American 'Writers' of Angst"

The Korean has received a lot of comments and emails expressing agreement with his reaction to Wesley Yang's "Paper Tigers" article. Below is a reaction from reader T.J.S., posted with his permission. The Korean is posting T.J.S.'s email because his experience is exactly what the Korean envisioned as he was writing the reaction.

*                 *                 *

Dear Korean,

I just wanted to write to thank you for the very thoughtful and comprehensive smackdown of Wesley Yang's "Paper Tigers" article. My sister posted that article on her Facebook page for comment and I found myself shaking my head in disgust for many of the same reasons noted in your blog post.

I, like you, am a Korean-American lawyer practicing in the D.C. area. I am happily married to a gorgeous and wonderful woman. I earn a six figure income. I did well in school (although I probably slacked more than many of my Korean-American peers). Indeed, on paper I would appear to be the type of robot-Asian stereotype that Yang derides. However, before I went to law school I was a professional musician -- poor, touring all the time and partying more than was probably healthy. In other words, I was living the type of life that one with the stereotypical "Asian-American values" would never get into. The thing is, throughout that period of my life, I still revered my mother (who raised me and my sister alone after my father passed away when we were young, put us through school, and managed to put herself in a comfortable financial position in life by sheer hard work, discipline, and frugality), still worked hard (managing and booking the band before we got management as well as consistently practicing and improving as a musician), and still stayed true to the values that my mother instilled in me.

At some point, however, I realized that I wanted a family, financial security and all of the other things that working and succeeding in the real world bring. I live a far more comfortable life now. But I certainly don't think that I sold out in any way. I still play music (both live and recording), except now I can afford the guitars and home recording equipment that were beyond my reach when I was a starving artist. I still stay true to my fairly rebellious nature. I just think about the future more and yes, I sacrifice for it. I suppose Wesley would call me a sell out or something like that, but I care not about what that dude thinks. He seems to think that you can only be either an "artist" or a materialistic robot-Asian -- he does not realize (or refuses to acknowledge) that you do not have to be one or the other. Individual people are not so easily put into easily categorized boxes -- unless they are like Wesley Yang.

In any event, enough about me. I just wanted to say thanks -- you pretty much nailed the exact reason why I found Yang's article so distasteful.

Best regards,

T.J.S.

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

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 28. Deux

[Read more reviews from the Korean from the Library Mixer. To join, click here.]

[Series Index]

28. Deux [듀스]

Years of Activity: 1993-1995

Members:
Kim Seong-Jae [김성재] (vocal, rap)
Lee Hyeon-Do [이현도] (vocal, rap)


Discography:
Deux (1993)
Deuxism (1993)
Force Deux (1995)

Representative Song:  We [우리는] from Deuxism


우리는
We

[Song]

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

주위를 아무리 둘러봐도 내 곁엔 항상 어둠뿐이었어
No matter how much I looked around, only darkness was next to me
느낄 수 있는 건 나의 힘든 거친 숨소리 하나일 뿐
Only thing I could feel was my labored short breath
무너져 버린 희망 또 후회 속에 난 지내 왔지
I have lived in the crumbled hope and regret
하지만 이제 나는 저 알 수 없는 빛을 향해 달려가고 있어
But now I am running toward that mysterious light

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

[Rap]

모든건 생각하기에 달려 있는 거야
Everything depends on how you think
너 그리고 나 다들 모두 마찬가지야
You, me, it's the same for everyone
내게로 주어져 있는 생은 나에게 소중한 걸
The life given to me is precious to me
나는 살아가며 이제 깨닫게 되었어
Now I realize as I lived
언제까지나 힘들지만은 않을 꺼야
It will not be difficult forever
비록 지금의 그대가 믿을 수 없어도
Although you cannot believe it now
지금이 힘들어도 그대가 믿기만 한다면
Even if today is difficult, as long as you believe
언젠가 새로운 모습이 돼 있을 꺼야
Someday you will be a new person

[Song]

나에게 힘든 수많은 일들 나를 쓰러지게 만들었어도
The numberless difficult things may have made me fall
나에겐 앞으로 더욱 많은 날들이 남아 있을 뿐이야
But I only have many more days in the future
무너져 버린 희망 또 후회 속에 난 지내 왔지
I have lived in the crumbled hope and regret
하지만 이제 나는 내 앞에 있는 그댈 향해 달려가고 있어
But now I am running toward you in front of me

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

[Rap]

나 이제 난 알리고 싶어 나의 뜻을 생각을 의미를 모두에게
Now I want to let everyone know about me, my will, my thought and my meaning
지금 비록 힘들어도 그건 언제나 계속은 아닐 꺼야
It may be hard now but it will not last forever
잘 들어줘 이건 언제나 현실, 그리고 사실이야
Listen up this is always the reality and the fact
지금까지는 쓰러져 있다 해도 괜찮아 그러니까 지금 일어나
It's okay if have been down so far, so get up now
우리의 새로운 날을 지금 기다려
And expect our new days

[Song]

난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가?(지금) 저 멀리서 누가 날 부르고 있어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) someone is calling me from afar
난 누군가? 또 여긴 어딘가 (이제)우린 앞을 향해서만 나가겠어
Who am I? And where is this place? (Now) we will only move forward

Translation note: The Korean is getting ambitious -- maybe he will try making the next rap rhyme.

In 15 words or less: The first "authentic" rappers in K-pop.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Their brand of rap would become the standard for future Korean rap.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  Only three albums, and Lee Hyun-Do's solo albums were awful flops.

Why is this group important?
The Korean will recycle what he wrote for his primer on Leessang:
The transplantation of rap in Korea has been an interesting progress for contemporary observers, because rap's importation into Korea is happening in real time, right now. After all, the first K-pop song that may legitimately be considered as a "rap" song only appeared in 1992, and the progress of rap in Korea since has been well-documented through albums, television shows, music videos, etc.
If Leessang represents the completion of the localization of rap, Deux represents the beginning. While it was not the first musician/group to use hiphop music, Deux was the first one to completely dedicate itself to rap and hiphop. The most impressive thing about Deux is -- it imported what was once a completely new kind of music, and Korean public loved them. To be sure, some of their efforts are cringe-inducing in their cheesiness. (Especially their music videos.) But their best songs play surprisingly well to this day, and provided a blueprint for the future of rap in Korea. Much of Korea's trends in rap -- including rhyming Korean and English words, sections of rap "slotted" into a song, etc. -- begin with Deux.

Unfortunately, this promising group was cut short by the tragic death of Kim Seong-Jae, who died of drug overdose. Band mate Lee Hyeon-Do insisted that Kim did not take any drugs. Kim's girlfriend was investigated for a potential murder, but she was not charged. Lee continued his solo career, but the daring creativity of Deux was no more.

Interesting trivia:  Before starting their career as Deux, Kim Seong-Jae and Lee Hyeon-Do were back dancers to one of the biggest stars of early 1990s, Hyeon Jin-Yeong. While extremely popular at his height, Hyeon fizzled after two albums without leaving much imprint on K-pop history.

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

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ask a Korean! News: Adoption Day

The Korean knows that many Korean adoptees and adoptive parents read this blog. As their questions pile up, the Korean is planning on a big series on adoption -- hopefully coming out in the next few months. (Still have to finish the Confucianism series and want to have one other series before getting to the adoption series.)

Consider this a bit of a preview: May 11 in Korea was the sixth annual Adoption Day, established to raise awareness on issues about adoption in and from Korea. And here is one major point to know about adoption in Korea: it must be understood within the context of Korean society, and in particular how it treats its women. For the most part, the birth mothers did not "give up" their children -- even if they put their children up for adoption, in most cases they did not want to. The translated article below gives a glimpse of the birth mothers' experience.

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"A child is not some thing you can give up. I never gave up; the circumstances did."

On Adoption Day, May 11, the cry of the mothers who had to send away their child to the arms of another because of insurmountable circumstances brought tears to the eyes of the audience gathered at Social Welfare Fund Center at Seoul. In the first "Event for Single Mom" hosted by KoRoot, an organization that assists international adoptees, and Korean Association of Families with Unmarried Mothers, two mothers who sent their children to international adoption shared their heart-wrenching story.

Ms. Kim (37) said, "I gave birth to my daughter by myself in 1999, at age 24. I signed the papers giving up my parental rights and put my daughter in the adoption agency," and said as she sobbed, "At first I did not feel the motherly love, but once I saw the face of my daughter I could not bear to send her away. I begged the agency to return my daughter, but they refused because I signed away my rights and I had no way to earn money." She said, "I wanted to raise my own daughter somehow, but I had nothing and had no place to live together. I did not give up my child because I wanted to," and said, "I thought I was going insane after I sent away my daughter. I started drinking although I never really drank before; I did all kinds of things."

Ms. Kim said, "I am here because I hope my words will help other unmarried mothers," and urged, "the government should take the lead in creating an environment in which a mother can raise a child on her own, then pursue adoption if that fails."

Ms. Noh Geum-Ju (52) had her son, her son who was born in 1976 when she was 18, adopted to the United States against her will; she met her son 29 years later in 2005. She mustered the courage to speak as well. Ms. Noh said, "My husband was a gambling addict; I had barely given birth and could not even breast-feed yet, but my husband made me go to the blood bank to sell my blood," and said, "I ran away from home for about 20 days to teach my husband a lesson, but his other family sent the child away to the adoption agency."

She said, "I hate those words, 'give up the child.' I did not give up my child; others did." She wiped her tears as she said, "Regardless, I could not protect my son as his mother. I am a sinner. I have lived with the mindset that I deserve any stoning I get." She insisted, "Right now the young unmarried mothers may be at a loss, but I want them to never lose heart and protect the child with their own hands," and said, "Our society must build the frame in which mothers can raise their child on their own. Please stop pointing fingers."

Ms. Noh added, "the name 'Adoption Day' should be changed into 'Adoptee Day' -- the name sounds like it is encouraging adoption," and added, "the mother's heart cries out like an unending stream whenever she hears the word 'adoption.' I hope the government will be more sensitive to that."

자식 입양보낸 모성의 절규 “버린 거 아니에요” [Dong-A Ilbo]

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The Korean will save his thoughts until later, but he just want to add a caveat here: if you want to discuss, PLEASE think about how you come across. Adoption issue is very, very, very, very, very, very, very sensitive to everyone involved. Please feel free to discuss, but if you are not capable of discussing a difficult issue with the requisite rhetorical sensitivity, shut up and let others talk.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
For the certain Im Jae-Bum fan who frequents this blog, the Korean presents this video. =)


By the way, Im was going through 104 degree (40 degree Celsius) fever as he sang this song and was immediately hospitalized after this performance.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Why You Should Never Listen to Asian American "Writers" of Angst

[Note: This post is a reaction to Wesley Yang's article on New York Magazine, titled "Paper Tigers".]

First, I have to clarify and apologize for my use of the term "Writer" in this post. I myself am a writer of sorts. Obviously, I like writing. I would not have spent years writing a blog for a hobby otherwise. I also admire other good writers. I voraciously consume their works and attempt to improve my own writing by emulating them.

But, in my mind, there are writers, and there are "Writers" -- and I hope that the capitalization in the term "Writers" makes clear that the term, as I define it, does not refer to people who write for living or people who enjoy writing. My definition of Writers points to a peculiar breed of writers, frequently encountered in places like New York. The defining characteristic of Writers is their undeserved sense of self-importance. "Writers," for one reason or another, have achieved little or nothing in their lives. But that does not stop them from assuming their air of smug arrogance. In fact, in their little universe, the nothingness of their being is a perverted evidence of their genius, so far ahead of their time that the lowly world does not understand. So they often hate the world, and hate their parents who set the world order. They hack away toward building a masterpiece that, in their minds, even the stupidest of the people with whom they are forced to share the oxygen will not be able to deny. A handful of them do succeed, but most fail. Even those who succeed often leave a trail of misery for themselves and their family and friends in the wake.

I know Writers well because I have a lot of Writer within myself. I read a ton of books as a child, and I have always written well. I received a lot of praise and compliments from my teachers and parents of my friends for my reading and writing habit. As an elementary and middle school student, I was one of those insufferable 12 year olds who thought he got everything in life figured out because the grownups could not answer his clever little questions. Left unchecked, I would have been a Writer too -- the kind that bloviates on the unfair world that fails to recognize my genius, the kind that wonders why the stream of praises and compliments stopped coming just because I am no longer a 12-year-old smart aleck but a 30-year-old college graduate without a job.

Instead, I received enough good education from my parents and my schools to know that the world is full of people who are smarter than I -- and they spend less time bragging about it. I learned that B-students routinely beat the snot out of A-students in life with unrelenting diligence and effort, that nothing in life will be handed to me just because I can put together a set of some pretty sentences. I might yet change my job and make my living by writing things, but I will never become a Writer. In fact, my pen name for this blog -- The Korean -- is a self-mockery of my Writerly tendency that still rears its head from time to time. On this blog, I constantly engage in a third-person speak to remind myself how ridiculous I sound if I started taking myself too seriously.

(More after the jump)

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


Friday, May 06, 2011

What Became of Korea's Royal Family?

Dear Korean,

I am British and although this hasn't been on the news much you may have heard we are about to celebrate a Royal Wedding. Although I suppose that you will probably find the whole thing ridiculous (It isn't, the kitsch provides excellent presents for American Friends and Relatives) I was wondering whether you could explain the current status of the Korean Monarchy (ie, what has happened to them since they were overthrown after Korea's independence from Japan) and the general attitude towards them.

Her Majesty's Subject.


It has been more than a week since the royal wedding, but the Korean still has not stopped crying...

NOT! Are you kidding? As a proud American, American media's dotage upon the royal wedding appalled the Korean. The Korean means no offense to Her Majesty's Subject, and he wishes the newly married couple well as he wishes for every newlyweds. But regardless, didn't Americans fight a war or something to get away from the British royal family and its shindigs? George Washington must have been spinning in his grave last weekend.


You are committing treason, OK! Magazine.

But this is an interesting point, so let's dive in. As most people know, Imperial Japan annexed Korean Empire in 1910. In 1945, Korea re-emerged as two sovereign states, neither of which had a king. Then what happened with Korea's royal family? The fate that befell on his family was perhaps not as severe as those Koreans died in forced labor or were mobilized into forced prostitution, but it is a tremendously sad and tragic reflection of the decline and fall of Korea in the early 20th century. Let's travel back four generations.

First Generation: Emperor Gwangmu

We go back four generations because the demise of Korea's royal family arguably starts in 1907. While Korea officially disappeared in 1910, in practicality Korea lost is sovereignty in 1905, when the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 was entered into. Under the treaty, Korea became Japan's "protectorate," and lost the ability to conduct its own foreign affairs. A governor from Japan was sent to Korea to conduct Korea's foreign affairs instead. It goes without saying that the treaty was not entered into in a fair manner -- dozens of armed Japanese soldiers were staring down the emperor and the officials when the treaty was signed.


Emperor Gwangmu

Emperor Gwangmu (also known as Gojong) of Korea could plainly see where this was going. Although the 1905 Treaty stripped his ability to conduct foreign affairs, the emperor sent secret envoys to 17 major powers, including United Kingdom, France and Germany, to protest the forcible signing of the 1905 Treaty. The highlight of this effort was in 1907, when three Korean envoys were sent to the Second International Peace Convention at the Hague. Although Japan froze out the envoys from attending the convention, Yi Wi-Jong, one of the three envoys, managed to give a speech imploring for help in a separate conference. (The speech fell on deaf ears.)


The three secret envoys to the Hague: 
Yi Sang-Seol, Yi Joon, Yi Wi-Jong

Although the emperor's efforts did not create any result, Imperial Japan did not take kindly to Emperor Gwangmu's extracurricular activity, and demanded that he abdicate his throne. The emperor acquiesced, giving way to his son, Emperor Yunghui (also known as Soonjong) -- who would become the last emperor of Korean Empire.  Former Emperor Gwangmu died in 1919. Although this is not certain, there are ample indications that he was poisoned.

More after the jump.

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


Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Ask a Korean! News: Crucified (!) Person Discovered in a Remote Quarry

This probably does not have much to do with Korea other than it happened in Korea -- crazy is crazy no matter what the location. But it is pretty crazy. Translation below.

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The police is investigating a case in which a man, in his 50s, was discovered dead crucified to a cross in a Biblical fashion. According to the Gyeongsangbuk-do Mun'gyeong-si Police Agency, Mr. Kim (58 years old, Gyeongsangnam-do Changwon-si Seongsan-gu), a taxi driver, was found dead in Mt. Doondeok in Gyeongsangbuk-do Mun'gyeong-si. The police said when Mr. Kim was found dead at 970 meters above sea level at Mt. Doondeok, he was reenacting the scene in which Jesus was crucified on the cross. Mr. Kim was found wearing a crown of thorns, and his feet were nailed together. Both of his hands were also nailed to the cross. Mr. Kim was wearing only white underwear; his legs and neck were tied to the cross with a rope. His right side had a wound created by a sharp weapon.


Wooden cross discovered at the site.

Also discovered on cite was the sketch to design and produce the cross, a whip that was apparently used to strike the body and cut pieces of wood. In front of the cross, there was a round mirror that reflected Mr. Kim on the cross. Inside Mr. Kim's car, discovered approximately 100 meters away from the scene, were a tent, a hammer, a drill, a knife and a memo pad that contained notes on how to be crucified. According to the medical examiner who checked the scene, the nail was directly inserted into the feet. However, there were signs that the holes were drilled into the hands first, then slid into the large nails already attached to the cross.


Sketches of cross design, discovered at the site.

The area is a quarry that had not been operational for a long time, and few ever visit the site. It is difficult to approach, as it is surrounded by large rocks. The police is weighing on the possibility that a religious fanatic or a psychopath who held a grudge against Mr. Kim committed the murder, but is not excluding the possibility that Mr. Kim killed himself with help from another. The police is particularly focusing on the fact that Mr. Kim was known to be a Christian, and the day when the body was discovered was May 1, the Easter weekend. The police instituted a multi-front investigation in order to discern the recent tracks of the dead and establish the precise cause of death. A representative from the Police Agency said, "We found that Mr. Kim was involved with a certain cult; we are trying to see if that fact is relevant here," and added, "We will find the precise cause of death after the autopsy."

가시관 쓰고 대못 박힌채… 50대男 ‘십자가 주검’ 미스터리 [Dong-A Ilbo]

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

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The upcoming movie Priest is based on a Korean cartoon series. This probably is the first case where a Hollywood movie is based on a Korean cartoon series. Here is the cover of the first issue of the comic book:



The preview looks decent.

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