Most Popular AAK! Posts of 2014

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Here is a quick look back at the most popular AAK! posts of 2014, by the number of page view.

Most Viewed Posts of 2014 (All-Time Posts)

1.  Lose Weight with Korean Diet

2.  The Ultimate Korean Looks List

3.  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Korean Men

4.  Why did the Korean National Soccer Team Got Candies Thrown at Them?

5.  Fan Death is Real 

Weight loss, as it turns out, was the greatest thing that TK has ever written about.

Most Viewed Posts of 2014 (Written in 2014)

1.  Why did the Korean National Soccer Team Got Candies Thrown at Them?

2.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part I - The Accident

3.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part II - Causes and Contributing Factors

4.  What Makes a Good Korean Restaurant?

5.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part III - The Fallout

The sinking of the Sewol ferry was the defining event of Korea for this year, and this blog's readership reflected that. 

TK already has one new year's resolution: blog more often. I have been quite negligent with AAK! this year--especially in the second half of the year. There were great stories about Korea that gathered international attention, such as the Nut Gate, KC Royals Super Fan, etc., that TK could hardly catch up to. In 2015, TK will reduce other commitments and redouble his effort on AAK!

The Korean wishes everyone a warm and happy end of the year. As always, thank you for reading this humble blog. See you next year.

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

Best of the Worst 2014

Come one, come all, to this humble blog's annual holiday tradition: the worst emails of the year 2014! Let's all gather around and wallow in the Interweb's swill of stupidity! Despite seeing the examples of dumb questions from 2008, 2009, 2010 (in Parts I, II, and III), 2011, 2012, and 2013, people simply do not learn.

As usual, these are all real emails that TK really received from real people for the past year. Below, among all the shitty emails that TK has received, he has selected the douche de la douche, the crap de la crap. Other than redacting personal information, not a single thing about the email is changed or modified in any way. TK's comments and thoughts on the emails are highlighted in blue.

*                  *                 *

In Soviet Korea, All Foreigners are Subject to DNA Testing for Racial Identification

re:  I have a question

Hi The Korean! My name is Emily and I am an ethnically Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Polish, Spanish American that looks really Asian. I also speak fluent English and Japanese. I am proficient in Korean and French. So, if I ever lived in Korea, how would I be treated?

Like a person. Moron.

re:  Korean Men and Chinese Women

Hey Korean Person,

I have a question. I am a Chinese woman in my late “tens” (18) and I have never been attracted to Korean guys until recently. Truth is, I actually had a Korean boyfriend before and the experience led me to believe Korean guys frankly, look down on Chinese girls. I read your blog post about what Koreans think of Chinese and as thorough as your post was, I don’t think it answers my questions. It was more of a historical and general viewpoint.

So my question is, what do Korean men think of Chinese women? I know Korean men are men before they are Korean but I am sure most Korean men would never date anyone of African heritage, even if the Kenyan woman happens to have 32D breasts with an amazing smelling vagina. So, Korean men like almost all race have a certain racial preference.

I can pass for either Chinese or Korean in the Winter and Filipino or half Spanish in the Summer so most people can’t really guess my race. I am just afraid that Korean guys might be turned off when they find out I am Chinese. From my experience, I have no problems with Korean Americans but I am talking about Korean Korean men. Koreans born in Korea who had spent the first half of their life in Korea.

Thanks a lot! :)

After many years of bad emails, TK developed a perverse appreciation for bad emails. This type is one of his favorites: an email that starts ok enough, then slowly degenerates into full crazy over several paragraphs.

re:  hellow

hi how ru, my name is amira and i have loads of question cuz im

moveing to korea in maybe 2to3 months got my visa already and i want

to know about life in korea would i make friends, would people be nice

to me, would i get a job and most importantly would i get harrased for

being black i really need information but its hard to get some and

also i had been watching kbs for 10 years such a big fan not just

dramas but everything was interesting i knw one friend in tv lol so i

got another question how would i get my oppa just so i can know the

feeling i would be happy if i can marry a korean too but i dont want

to go that far yet. please help me providing some infos i would

appriciate that thanks

"Here is my imaginary oppa. I love him but I don't want to marry him yet. Too much pressure."

More ridiculousness after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com. But no stupid questions please. For God's sake, will you please think of the children?

AAK! Music: 90s Icon by Seo Taiji

Because when Seo Taiji puts out a song like this, it deserves to be introduced to the wider audience.

90s Icon
90s Icon

나이가 들수록 늘어 가는 변명들
The excuses grow as I age
세월이 흘러가도 망설임 따위 뿐인걸
Nothing but mere hesitancy as the time passes
내 기타에 스미던 둔해진 내 감성
My senses that used to soak my guitar are dulled
하지만 난 아직도 멈추지 못할 뿐
But still I simply cannot stop

한물간 90s icon
A washed up 90s icon
물러갈 마지막 기회가 언제일까 망설이네
Hesitating to find the last opportunity to disappear
질퍽한 망상 끝을 낼까
Should I finish this wet delusion

낡아빠진 액자에 갇혀버린 환영들
The phantasms trapped in decrepit photo frames
내 바람과 망상들로 내 방을 채워가네
Filling my room with my desire and delusion
덧없이 변해간 나는 카멜레온
I am a chameleon, changing haplessly
내 피부가 짓물러도 조용히 감출 뿐
Even as my skin rots, all I can do is to quietly hide

한물간 90s icon
A washed up 90s icon
화려한 재기의 기회가 언제일까 망설이네
Hesitating to find the opportunity for a spectacular comeback
질퍽한 이 망상 끝을 낼까
Should I finish this wet delusion

난 꿈을 꾸죠 은밀한 비장함 따위는 아니예요
I dream, but nothing like a secret resolve
전쟁도 끝났죠 나의...
The war of mine is over

눈감은 순간 흩어지는 바람에 밀려 버려지는
The scattering wind sweeps away in a blink of an eye
당신의 삶과 같이한 너와 나의 쓸쓸한 이야기
The lonely story of you and me who were with your lives

해답이 없는 고민
A dilemma without an answer
하지만 밤이 온다면 나의 별도 잔잔히 빛나겠죠
But when the night falls, my star will calmly shine

Briefly about Seo Taiji:  Easily one of the top three most significant K-pop artist in history. Everything about the modern day K-pop is traceable to his brilliant mind.

About This Song:  90s Icon is from Seo Taiji's 2014 album, Quiet Night. 

Translation Note:  As is typical with Korean lyrics, many sentences lack a subject, leaving poetic ambiguity as to the precise identity of the person who thinks and feels. Seo Taiji, in particular, is a master of such lyrical construction.

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

Is That Salt in Your Teeth?

Dear Korean,

My friend recently came back to New York after living in Korea for a year. She now swears by bamboo salt toothpaste. She says that bamboo salt is commonly used in Korean medicine and is much healthier that anything available in the US. What exactly is bamboo salt? 

Kristin K.

Short answer first: bamboo salt, called juk-yeom [죽염] in Korea, is a type of basked salt. One can manufacture bamboo salt by packing salt into a bamboo tube, and baking the tube in an oven multiple times. 

Bamboo salt baking
(source)

So that is the salt part. But how do we go from salt to toothpaste?

Before toothpaste became common in Korea, Koreans used to brush teeth with either salt or salt water. This worked just fine, as salt is a natural disinfectant. (In fact, brushing with salt may promote gum health.) When TK was younger, public baths in Korea would commonly place a large bowl salt, as older folks preferred using salt to brush their teeth.

Seizing upon this opportunity, Korea's toothpaste makers came up with various types of toothpaste based on bamboo salt. Although Koreans were certainly transitioning to toothpastes, the idea of brushing teeth with salt was still in people's mind. And not just any salt--salt baked nine times in a bamboo tube! Sure it had to be healthier, right?

Advertisement for a bamboo salt toothpaste
(source)

Makers of the bamboo salt toothpaste love claiming that their product prevents gum disease, and is a healthier alternative to other toothpaste. But much to TKParents' dismay, TK is not a dentist, so he is in no position to say if the bamboo salt toothpaste is actually healthier. He did use this type of product for about a decade, with no result that was significantly more positive or more negative than the one you may expect from an ordinary toothpaste, so there is that.

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