- 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 the most respected among all of Korea's democratization activists. [Busan Haps]
- The answer: I hope to God they do not. The question: Will Girls' Generation succeed in America? [The Atlantic]
- New Jersey Supreme Court now has a Korean American justice. [Philly.com]
- There are now two Korean American generals in the U.S. military. [Korea Herald]
- The reason why the idea that Groupon was a multi-billion dollar company was stupid. [Bloomberg]
- "I'm not a racist. I eat tacos!" [The Atlantic]
- La mere tigre. [The Economist]
- Having harsh immigration law in your state = arrest Mercedes-Benz executive who was visiting your state to inspect his company's factory in your state. [NPR]
- Study shows class sizes do not matter for achievements. They could have saved money and simply look at Korea's public schooling system, which crushes international exams while having 40 to 50 students in a class. [Washington Post]
- For the first time, Korea's two largest parties have women chiefs. [The Peninsula]
Monday, January 30, 2012
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.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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% increase in the total consumption of coffee between 2006 and 2011 such that by 2011, every Korean over 15 years of age drank 1.4 cups of coffee every day. Although the vast majority of coffee consumption still comes in the form of instant coffee mix, between 2006 and 2011 the consumption of coffee beans increased by 19.2% every year.
Most importantly (for the purpose of showing the spread of high-end coffee,) the increase of high-end coffee consumption is coming from outside of Seoul. In the five largest cities in Korea after Seoul, the number of gourmet coffee shops increased by 24.1%, and their revenues by 96.8%. The same numbers for Seoul is 2.3% and 45.2%. Even within Seoul, the increase is not coming from the posh parts of the city, but from the grungier neighborhoods like Dobong-gu and Gangbuk-gu.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
There has been a 15% increase in the total consumption of coffee between 2006 and 2011 such that by 2011, every Korean over 15 years of age drank 1.4 cups of coffee every day. Although the vast majority of coffee consumption still comes in the form of instant coffee mix, between 2006 and 2011 the consumption of coffee beans increased by 19.2% every year.
Most importantly (for the purpose of showing the spread of high-end coffee,) the increase of high-end coffee consumption is coming from outside of Seoul. In the five largest cities in Korea after Seoul, the number of gourmet coffee shops increased by 24.1%, and their revenues by 96.8%. The same numbers for Seoul is 2.3% and 45.2%. Even within Seoul, the increase is not coming from the posh parts of the city, but from the grungier neighborhoods like Dobong-gu and Gangbuk-gu.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Monday, January 23, 2012
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 within North Korea. North Korean regime blockaded all roads in and out of Cheongjin, trying to find the culprit.
If there should be serious anti-regime movement, Cheongjin, the third-largest city in North Korea, may well be the epicenter of such movement. Cheongjin is an industrial center far away from Pyongyang, with a decent-sized middle class who is privy to outside information flowing from the nearby Rajin-Seonbong special economic zone.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
If there should be serious anti-regime movement, Cheongjin, the third-largest city in North Korea, may well be the epicenter of such movement. Cheongjin is an industrial center far away from Pyongyang, with a decent-sized middle class who is privy to outside information flowing from the nearby Rajin-Seonbong special economic zone.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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 New Year is around the corner and it is widely seen as one of the largest annual celebrations in the world. It got me thinking, is Korean New Year (Seollal) celebrated among Korean's as widely as Chinese New Year among the Chinese? Or has it fallen out of practice like other traditional holidays?
Kevin B.
The Korean is not sure about calling lunar new year as "Chinese New Year" or "Korean New Year," but at any rate, seollal is still very much widely celebrated in Korea.
I'm a Korean American who immigrated to the U.S in late 1980. Maybe I'm wrong or just can't remember, but I'm pretty certain that people didn't celebrate Lunar New Year in South Korea back in the 1970s during Park Chung-Hee times. Would you happen to know when Lunar New Year became a holiday in South Korea?
Sae
The answer is: 1989. The Korean previously described the vacillation between solar and lunar new year in Korea. Short version of the story is that, although Koreans traditionally celebrated lunar new year, Japan imposed solar new year in the period leading up to the colonial times. But even after the liberation in 1945, Korea could not completely make up its mind about how many holidays to assign on each new year's day. In 1954, Korean government officially relegated the lunar new year to a regular working day, and instead made solar new year's day a three-day holiday. Subsequent Korean governments tried their best to get Korean people to celebrate the solar new year, by claiming that "double new year's day" [이중과세] was wasteful, and solar new year's day was more modern. This policy continued until 1985.
But old habits refused to die. In 1985, Korean government made an awkward compromise by designating lunar new year's day as "Folk Tradition Day" [민속의 날], and made it a one-day holiday. In 1989, Korean government finally relented and restored lunar new year's day as the proper "New Year's Day" [seollal, 설날], which was to be a three day holiday. The solar new year's day instead became a two-day holiday. Finally, in 1999, the solar new year's day became a one day holiday, and that is the system that is currently in use.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
-EDIT- To add a few questions about lunar new year . . .
Dear Korean,
As you may know, Chinese New Year is around the corner and it is widely seen as one of the largest annual celebrations in the world. It got me thinking, is Korean New Year (Seollal) celebrated among Korean's as widely as Chinese New Year among the Chinese? Or has it fallen out of practice like other traditional holidays?
Kevin B.
The Korean is not sure about calling lunar new year as "Chinese New Year" or "Korean New Year," but at any rate, seollal is still very much widely celebrated in Korea.
Dear Korean,
Sae
The answer is: 1989. The Korean previously described the vacillation between solar and lunar new year in Korea. Short version of the story is that, although Koreans traditionally celebrated lunar new year, Japan imposed solar new year in the period leading up to the colonial times. But even after the liberation in 1945, Korea could not completely make up its mind about how many holidays to assign on each new year's day. In 1954, Korean government officially relegated the lunar new year to a regular working day, and instead made solar new year's day a three-day holiday. Subsequent Korean governments tried their best to get Korean people to celebrate the solar new year, by claiming that "double new year's day" [이중과세] was wasteful, and solar new year's day was more modern. This policy continued until 1985.
 |
| Promotional cartoon from Korean government, circa 1981 The old man is trying to direct people toward the lunar new year, but over the shining buildings at the end of the road toward the direction of "solar new year," it says "Modernization." (source) |
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Friday, January 20, 2012
50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 22. Kim Chu-Ja
[Series Index]
22. Kim Chu-Ja [김추자]
Years of Activity: 1969-1988
Discography:
Before It's Late [늦기전에] (1969)
22. Kim Chu-Ja [김추자]
Years of Activity: 1969-1988
Discography:
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 (1973)
Kim Choo Ja (1973)
Where Should I Go (1974)
Kim Choo Ja (1974)
Now (1974)
Deserted Island [무인도] (1974)
Kim Choo Ja (1980)
Kim Choo Ja Vol. 1 (1980)
Kim Choo Ja Vol. 2 (1980)
The Way [가는 길] (1980)
Blow, the Wind [불어라 바람아] (1980)
Kim Chu-Ja Comeback [金秋子 컴백] (1988)
Representative Song: It's a Lie from After Tonight
In 15 words or less: Queen of the 70s; Korean pop music's first sex symbol.
Maybe she should have been ranked higher because . . . Few other artists have dominated a decade like Kim Chu-Ja did.
Maybe she should have been ranked lower because . . . She did not create her own music.
Why is this artist important?
Kim Chu-Ja ruled the 1970s. This short and simple statement is quite enough to describe the entirety of Kim Chu-Ja's spectacular career. To be sure, her career was greatly helped by the genius of Shin Joong-Hyeon, who supplied the trend-setting psychedelic and soul music. But like with Lee Sora, the vessel of creativity matters. Without Kim Chu-Ja, Shin Joong-Hyeon could not have realized his vision either.
And boy, did Kim ever realize Shin's vision. Until Kim Chu-Ja, pop music in Korea featuring a woman was an ossified formula of the Japanese-influenced trot music sung in high pitch by a woman who was standing still, like a plastic mannequin with a voice box. Take, for example, the album cover of Lee Mi-Ja, the epitome of Korean female trot singer who preceded Kim Chu-Ja by about five years:
In contrast, take a look at Kim Chu-Ja's album cover.
And of course, this one.
Even in the conservative Korea of the 1970s, everything about Kim Chu-Ja was sexy. Her sultry, breathy voice charged Shin Joong-Hyeon's songs with implied debauchery. Unlike the emaciated female celebrities that would come to dominate the scene for the next 20 years, Kim Chu-Ja had plenty on her body that she was not afraid to show off in her dances. She wore tight jeans or mini skirts, with cleavage-boasting tops to boot. In short, Kim Chu-Ja was Korea's first female pop star who overtly used her sex appeal.
That is not to say that Kim Chu-Ja was no greater than the cheap pretty dolls that litter the Korean pop music scene today. Ultimately, it was her undeniable musical talent that made her the icon of the decade. But awakening the raw animal spirit that still animates Korean pop music to this day was Kim's defining achievement. If you got into K-pop because of KARA's butt dance, you have Kim Chu-Ja to thank.
Interesting trivia 1: Kim's song It's a Lie was banned by the military dictatorship, on the allegation that it instigates distrust. The military government also suspected her dance in It's a Lie to be a hand signal for North Korean spies.
Interesting trivia 2: When Kim refused the marriage proposal by her manager, her manager struck her face with a broken bottle. She received over 100 stitches and six plastic surgery operations as a result.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
거짓말이야
It's a Lie
거짓말이야
It's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
사랑도 거짓말 웃음도 거짓말
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
거짓말이야
It's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
사랑도 거짓말 웃음도 거짓말
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
그렇게도 잊었나
Is it really forgotten like that
세월따라 잊었나
Forgotten with the time
웃음 속에 만나고
Met in the smiles and
눈물 속에 헤어져
Parting in the tears
다시는 사랑 않으리
I will never love again
그대 잊으리
I will forget you
그대 나를 만나고
After you met me
나를 버렸지 나를 버렸지
You left me, you left me
거짓말이야 거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
It's a Lie
거짓말이야
It's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
사랑도 거짓말 웃음도 거짓말
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
거짓말이야
It's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
사랑도 거짓말 웃음도 거짓말
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
그렇게도 잊었나
Is it really forgotten like that
세월따라 잊었나
Forgotten with the time
웃음 속에 만나고
Met in the smiles and
눈물 속에 헤어져
Parting in the tears
다시는 사랑 않으리
I will never love again
그대 잊으리
I will forget you
그대 나를 만나고
After you met me
나를 버렸지 나를 버렸지
You left me, you left me
거짓말이야 거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie
거짓말이야 거짓말이야
It's a lie, it's a lie
In 15 words or less: Queen of the 70s; Korean pop music's first sex symbol.
Maybe she should have been ranked higher because . . . Few other artists have dominated a decade like Kim Chu-Ja did.
Maybe she should have been ranked lower because . . . She did not create her own music.
Why is this artist important?
Kim Chu-Ja ruled the 1970s. This short and simple statement is quite enough to describe the entirety of Kim Chu-Ja's spectacular career. To be sure, her career was greatly helped by the genius of Shin Joong-Hyeon, who supplied the trend-setting psychedelic and soul music. But like with Lee Sora, the vessel of creativity matters. Without Kim Chu-Ja, Shin Joong-Hyeon could not have realized his vision either.
And boy, did Kim ever realize Shin's vision. Until Kim Chu-Ja, pop music in Korea featuring a woman was an ossified formula of the Japanese-influenced trot music sung in high pitch by a woman who was standing still, like a plastic mannequin with a voice box. Take, for example, the album cover of Lee Mi-Ja, the epitome of Korean female trot singer who preceded Kim Chu-Ja by about five years:
 |
| (source) |
 |
| (source) |
 |
| Dayam! (source) |
That is not to say that Kim Chu-Ja was no greater than the cheap pretty dolls that litter the Korean pop music scene today. Ultimately, it was her undeniable musical talent that made her the icon of the decade. But awakening the raw animal spirit that still animates Korean pop music to this day was Kim's defining achievement. If you got into K-pop because of KARA's butt dance, you have Kim Chu-Ja to thank.
Interesting trivia 1: Kim's song It's a Lie was banned by the military dictatorship, on the allegation that it instigates distrust. The military government also suspected her dance in It's a Lie to be a hand signal for North Korean spies.
Interesting trivia 2: When Kim refused the marriage proposal by her manager, her manager struck her face with a broken bottle. She received over 100 stitches and six plastic surgery operations as a result.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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 Korea's high suicide rate. This is a mistake -- common humanity is quite enough to explain the entirety of Korea's trend of high suicides. The global phenomenon of suicides clearly show that Korea's high level of suicide was something to be expected out of a country that rapidly industrialized. Every single country in the world has seen a dramatic rise in suicide rate as it industrialized. Every single country in the world that industrialized later than others saw its suicide rate faster than the countries that industrialized earlier. It would defy common sense if Korea was an exception.
This does not mean, however, that the precise way in which Korea came to have such high rate of suicide is uninteresting. As long as we do not draw the wrong conclusion -- i.e. Korea is culturally predisposed to high suicides -- the manner in which Korea experienced increased suicide is worth exploring. So in this post, we will take a discursive look at how suicide spread in Korea in the last 15 years or so.
I. Middle-Aged Men After Post-East Asian Financial Crisis
As the Korean explained in the previous post, if there was anything surprising about Korea's suicide trends, it was that the rate of suicide was extremely low as the country developed economically in the 1980s, not that the rate is as high as it is today. As recently as 1995, Korea's suicide rate was 10.8 per 100,000, lower than the current-day OECD average of 11.1 per 100,000. But by 1998, Korea's suicide rate exploded to 18.4 per 100,000. And it is safe to say that this astonishing rise is entirely due to East Asian Financial Crisis, which completely destroyed most of then-existing social safety nets in Korea.
(More after the jump.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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 Korea's high suicide rate. This is a mistake -- common humanity is quite enough to explain the entirety of Korea's trend of high suicides. The global phenomenon of suicides clearly show that Korea's high level of suicide was something to be expected out of a country that rapidly industrialized. Every single country in the world has seen a dramatic rise in suicide rate as it industrialized. Every single country in the world that industrialized later than others saw its suicide rate faster than the countries that industrialized earlier. It would defy common sense if Korea was an exception.
This does not mean, however, that the precise way in which Korea came to have such high rate of suicide is uninteresting. As long as we do not draw the wrong conclusion -- i.e. Korea is culturally predisposed to high suicides -- the manner in which Korea experienced increased suicide is worth exploring. So in this post, we will take a discursive look at how suicide spread in Korea in the last 15 years or so.
I. Middle-Aged Men After Post-East Asian Financial Crisis
As the Korean explained in the previous post, if there was anything surprising about Korea's suicide trends, it was that the rate of suicide was extremely low as the country developed economically in the 1980s, not that the rate is as high as it is today. As recently as 1995, Korea's suicide rate was 10.8 per 100,000, lower than the current-day OECD average of 11.1 per 100,000. But by 1998, Korea's suicide rate exploded to 18.4 per 100,000. And it is safe to say that this astonishing rise is entirely due to East Asian Financial Crisis, which completely destroyed most of then-existing social safety nets in Korea.
(More after the jump.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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, hours before he killed himself. [Daily Mail]
- Hyundai Elantra is the 2012 North American Car of the Year [Yahoo]
Thursday, January 12, 2012
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 Market
On November 21, the media reported news about a new girl group by YG Entertainment ("YG") with a sensational headline. The headline from OSEN [TK: an entertainment newspaper] read: "YG's New Girl Group Contracted Not to Have Plastic Surgery." The story reported: "In its exclusive contract with a seven-member girl group to be debuted early next year, YG Entertainment is reported to include a clause that prohibited plastic surgery." It also quoted comments from a YG representative: "The new girl group is entirely consisted of members who did not receive any plastic surgery, and their contract with the company specifies that they would not receive any plastic surgery in the future." The representative further said: "The contract was made possible because the company focused on creating a new girl group that emphasizes the members' natural beauty."
The representative added: "This girl group began with looking at the pretty singers from other management companies, and wondering what color they would take if they performed YG's music. The previous color for YG emphasized talent, but good looks are now included as well. It will be a group that has not existed in the pop music market previously. This group already garnered attention because it would include Kim Eun-Bi, from Mnet's Superstar K 2. Right now it has seven members, although it could add one or two more. They are planning to debut by early next year."
The purpose of this news article appears to be rather clear, considering the timing and the content. The article ran two days before YG's initial public offering with KOSDAQ. It is common-sensical to view this as an information leaked in order to create a buzz right before the IPO. Regardless of the type of business, releasing information about a promising new product right before an IPO is not even a strategy -- it is just common sense.
YG Announces Plans to Benchmark Other Management Companies
But actually, the article was rather shocking, not in the least to the fans of YG, because the girl group described in the article is contrary to YG's original image as a label in every conceivable way. It was akin to YG attempting to imitate SM Entertainment, DSP Media or Core Contents Media. To a certain extent, it could be seen as a betrayal of YG's original direction. The article blatantly states: "This new girl group is the first group where YG can confidently say that we took the looks into account," and plastic surgery was unnecessary because of their excellent looks. By adding the extra bit about how they were "looking at the pretty singers from other management companies," YG reveals that it is benchmarking other management companies.
(More after the jump.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
* * *
YG-Version of Girls' Generation -- The Answer Lies In the Stock Market
On November 21, the media reported news about a new girl group by YG Entertainment ("YG") with a sensational headline. The headline from OSEN [TK: an entertainment newspaper] read: "YG's New Girl Group Contracted Not to Have Plastic Surgery." The story reported: "In its exclusive contract with a seven-member girl group to be debuted early next year, YG Entertainment is reported to include a clause that prohibited plastic surgery." It also quoted comments from a YG representative: "The new girl group is entirely consisted of members who did not receive any plastic surgery, and their contract with the company specifies that they would not receive any plastic surgery in the future." The representative further said: "The contract was made possible because the company focused on creating a new girl group that emphasizes the members' natural beauty."
The representative added: "This girl group began with looking at the pretty singers from other management companies, and wondering what color they would take if they performed YG's music. The previous color for YG emphasized talent, but good looks are now included as well. It will be a group that has not existed in the pop music market previously. This group already garnered attention because it would include Kim Eun-Bi, from Mnet's Superstar K 2. Right now it has seven members, although it could add one or two more. They are planning to debut by early next year."
The purpose of this news article appears to be rather clear, considering the timing and the content. The article ran two days before YG's initial public offering with KOSDAQ. It is common-sensical to view this as an information leaked in order to create a buzz right before the IPO. Regardless of the type of business, releasing information about a promising new product right before an IPO is not even a strategy -- it is just common sense.
YG Announces Plans to Benchmark Other Management Companies
But actually, the article was rather shocking, not in the least to the fans of YG, because the girl group described in the article is contrary to YG's original image as a label in every conceivable way. It was akin to YG attempting to imitate SM Entertainment, DSP Media or Core Contents Media. To a certain extent, it could be seen as a betrayal of YG's original direction. The article blatantly states: "This new girl group is the first group where YG can confidently say that we took the looks into account," and plastic surgery was unnecessary because of their excellent looks. By adding the extra bit about how they were "looking at the pretty singers from other management companies," YG reveals that it is benchmarking other management companies.
(More after the jump.)
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
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, politics, history etc.
I guess I'd like another perspective on "America's Quirks." I would love to hear the substantive, as well as the off-base insubstantive comments. What are the most striking differences you've noticed from living in the States for so long? What do Koreans living in/visiting the states bitch about when they're blowing off steam over a $13 (!!!) bottle of Chamisul?
Just Curious
Just off the top of his head, and keeping strictly on the frivolous side, here are a few things the Korean has found peculiar about America:
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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, politics, history etc.
I guess I'd like another perspective on "America's Quirks." I would love to hear the substantive, as well as the off-base insubstantive comments. What are the most striking differences you've noticed from living in the States for so long? What do Koreans living in/visiting the states bitch about when they're blowing off steam over a $13 (!!!) bottle of Chamisul?
Just Curious
Just off the top of his head, and keeping strictly on the frivolous side, here are a few things the Korean has found peculiar about America:
- Wearing shoes indoors. HATE HATE HATE it. So disgusting. The Korean will never get over this.
- Insane amount of soda drinking. The Korean is pretty certain that in his first year in America, he drank more soda than he ever drank in his life at age 16.
- Ridiculous portions of food. (Discussed in this post.)
- Ice in every drink.
- Excessive use of napkins.
- General preference for cooler temperature in everything (ambient, food, drinks, etc.)
- Drinking alcohol only (i.e. without eating something at the same time.)
- Music too loud in bars.
- Cell phones have the same area code as any landline, instead of its own prefix. (In Korea, all cell phone numbers begin with 010 no matter where you live.)
- To address a mail, going from small to large (i.e. "Number-Street-City-State-Country-ZIP") instead of large to small ("Country-Province-City-Number-ZIP").
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Documentary about Tiger JK, with English Subtitles
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
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 entire U.C. Berkeley campus, and some professors don't have telephones. [Washington Post]
- More schooling leads to higher IQ. [Marginal Revolution]
- Ban Ki-Moon's humor is of a painful kind. [Foreign Policy]
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 the last attempt at reverting to a controlled economy -- the currency reform (apparently done at Kim Jong-Un's initiative also) -- was a miserable failure.
There is no reason to believe that this measure will have a different fate. Some North Korean watchers go so far as to say that this order can't be actually implemented, because it is practically impossible to stop the use of foreign currency in North Korean market. At the wholesale level, virtually all transactions are done in either dollars or yuan. If the regime does try to enforce this order, North Korean commerce (what little there is) would be completely paralyzed.
The more Kim Jong-Un tries to strengthen his grip over his country, the more quickly it will slip away. The total loss of control won't be long.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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