It's Hard Out Here for a Pimpin' Korean

Dear Korean,

I have met many Koreans who are originally from Korea, as well as many who were born in the United States. Why does it seem like the Koreans born in the United States are overwhelmingly likely to turn into hard-thuggin' gangsta wannabes, even if they grow up in nice neighborhoods?

Mike

Dear Mike,

Honestly, I met more hard-thuggin' gangsta wannabe white kids from nice neighborhoods than Koreans. But yes, I do agree that proportionally, there is a greater proportion of KA kids who thug out KP ("Korean Pride.") Why is that?

The currently going theory starts from the fact that one way for the mainstream society to weaken the minorities is to depict them as strange and dumb, or--to combine strange and dumb together--feminine. This phenomenon happened consistently with each of the minority races in the U.S. If you look at the Jim Crow arts from the early 20th century, you would notice that denigrating depiction of a black woman is pretty rare. Women are not really denigrated because, well, they're really never a threat. (So Rosa Parks was doubly upsetting to the racists. She's awesome.)

It's a very curious phenomenon that occurs even to this day: it's always, ALWAYS a minority woman who becomes the first one to appear in mainstream TV shows or movies. (Unfortunately, the first Korean woman was Margaret Cho. Not that I don't like her, but it would have been nicer if it were Yunjin Kim.) The Korean's favorite example: the "yellow" Power Ranger from 1994.

Of course black folks are the ones who had to endure this shit for the longest, so they were the first to come up with the solution to this: ridiculously crazy overcompensation! So they grab their biggest guns and their overrated testicles to show the world "we got some black MEN here, crackas!!" All the black rappers' lines about being killahs, soldiers, wariers, or backhand-slappin' pimps are basically this. And they made a fortune out of it! Black people are great.

What KAs (and all Asian American males, for that matter) suffer through is not all that different. Name me one, just fucking ONE unquestionably manly Asian actor that would make you go "damn, that's a real man who throws it DOWN and gets ALL the bitches!" (Note: as much as I love them, martial artists don't count. They really fall into that "strange" category among the strange, the dumb, or the feminine. This might have changed if Bruce Lee lived longer. What a tragedy.) As a Korean man, all you ever are on TV is some castrated male while your women are snapped up by honkies. Wouldn't that make you want to scream "thug life!" and empty the clip? Don't be lookin' fo' me, the Korean is out to get some guns. (Or a machine gun-firing sentry robot. See the post below.)

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

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.

*               *              *

"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]

*                   *                  *

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.

When Korea's E-Sports was at the Brink of Death

Dear Korean,

I heard there was a huge scandal regarding E-sports about 2-3 years ago. From what I've heard, the scale of the scandal was so big that it almost put an end to the E-Sports itself. Would you be willing to explain what exactly happened back then? How did the Koreans react to the scandal?

Avid gamer

It has been more than three years since the Korean wrote the post about the popularity of Starcraft in Korea. Incredibly, it is still one of the most frequently read posts of this blog. Consider this post to be a sequel: how illegal gambling and match-fixing nearly destroyed the world's first professional e-sports league in Korea.

First, a quick review on how Starcraft became a professional sport in Korea. Starcraft was released in 1998. For a game released at that time, Starcraft had an ambitious Internet-based multi-player gameplay. This was ambitious because, at the time, it was not clear who would be able to take advantage of this multi-player design. Remember that 15 years ago, only a small portion of the world's population had Internet, and most of those who did have Internet relied on dial-up connection through the phone lines, utterly inadequate for online gaming.

(source)

Korea, however, recognized the potential of the Internet early on, and began a massive public investment in installing a fiber-optic cable network throughout the country. The result was that, by the end of 20th century, Korea had a national broadband network that boasted the fastest Internet in the world by a wide margin. Using the unparalleled Internet infrastructure, Koreans begin playing Starcraft, the best Internet-based multi-player game available. The rest is history: Korea is the forefront of the worldwide e-sports, with televised video games and professional gamers with rock star-like status.

(The lesson: government is good, and it should be in the business of picking winners and losers. If Korean government did not take the initiative in the late 1990s to invest a fortune in installing fiber-optic cables, but waited instead for private companies to build their own, would Korea be a major player in the high-tech industry that it is today? Would Korea have created, seemingly out of thin air, professional e-sports leagues, an entire new multi-million dollar market that can only grow in importance in the age of the Internet? If you say yes, the Korean has some Ron Paul presidential memorabilia to sell to you.)

Starcraft began becoming professional around 2000. Independent Starcraft tournaments began sprouting up, and cable televisions in Korea would broadcast the matches. In fact, in many cases the cable TV stations were the ones hosting the tournaments, with a prize money funded by its sponsors in exchange for advertisement placements. Soon, a pattern emerged: Korea's Starcraft leagues and players operated somewhat like professional golf--a collection of different tournaments, with varying levels of competition, prize money, and prestige.

For the next several years, the popularity of professional Starcraft leagues would grow exponentially. Then came 2007.

(More after the jump.)

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

#NotYourMascot, and Why You Should Care

Normally, I make it my practice to silently observe the discussion involving other social groups of America. The reason for this is simple: it is important for each social group to speak with its own voice. Even if I wanted to help, it is the better habit to refrain. I have seen too many cases in which good intentions were translated into stumbling, inartful words, setting back the agenda rather than advancing it. That was not going to be me.

Despite those reservations, I feel compelled to speak out in solidarity for the movement against having a racial slur, i.e. "Redskins," as the name of an NFL franchise. I feel the compulsion for two reasons. First, I am a sports fan and a resident of the Washington D.C. area, which makes the name of the local franchise more relevant than those living outside of the region who don't care about sports. Second, I am an Asian American, and I have been mired in the ill-advised hashtag campaign from a few weeks ago that distracted the national attention away from this important issue. Though I have been speaking out on the stupidity of the hashtag campaign, it is undeniable that I, too, contributed to the distraction.

How shall I express my solidarity with the campaign against "Redskins," without running afoul of my personal rule that I should not speak on behalf of others? Answer: I can speak about my own experience, which points toward the same result. Here is my attempt at doing so.

*               *               *

I am a first generation immigrant, having emigrated from Korea to Los Angeles area in 1997. I will not bore you with the sob stories about my adjustment into American life at age 16, since I have already done that in this space already. It would enough to say that, the first year of my American life was defined largely by loneliness. In Seoul, I lived in the same neighborhood throughout my childhood. I had a close group of friends who attended the same elementary school, same middle school and same high school. The move to U.S. was the first major move I remember--and it had to be across the Pacific, in a new land where no one wanted to talk to the new kid who spoke broken English.

(More after the jump)

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

Coach Leta Andrews and TrueHoop

It is because of American Tiger Moms like Leta Andrews that the Korean still has faith in America:

GRANBURY, Tex. — At 7:15 a.m. on Monday, the girls’ basketball team at Granbury High assembled for practice. As always, shirts had to be tucked in, hair pulled back. If a shoelace came untied, it meant running the bleachers. Questions had two acceptable answers: Yes ma’am and no ma’am.

Sure, Coach Leta Andrews had her lighter moments. She might show up at practice in a crazy wig; once she even wore a bikini. But joking around is not how she got her name on the local water tower for winning more basketball games than any high school coach in the country — 1,346 victories, an average of 27 a season, in her 49-year career.

...

“She’s a tough coach,” Jordan said. “She doesn’t let you slack off. Sometimes she makes us cry, but we know it’s for the good. I can’t picture high school without her.”

Former players stay in touch. In 1996, Andrews traveled to Atlanta to cheer on Amy Acuff, who had played for her championship team in Corpus Christi and was now competing in the Olympic high jump. Three years ago, shortly after having stents implanted in a blocked artery, Andrews drove eight hours to attend the funeral of Cerny’s mother.

Acuff, a four-time Olympian, said: “I think people often are afraid to discipline kids; they feel it is too harsh or that the kid won’t love you. But I think the root of respect and love is a person expecting and demanding that you be as good as you can be every single moment.”

Andrews longs for more diversity on her team and more gym rats, players who want to win as badly as she does. “Don’t run around like a chicken with your head cut off,” she scolded her offense Monday. But she is not ready to retire. The only win that is important, she said, is the next one.

“I’m not ready to turn this over to these younger coaches,” Andrews told her husband recently. “They just don’t demand enough.”

Texas Coach Demands Best, Has Record to Prove It [New York Times] (emphasis the Korean's).

After hearing so much whining about Tiger Mom's "emotional abuse," it was so nice to know there are still people in America who get it. But over at TrueHoop (one of the Korean's favorite blogs,) Henry Abbott had a different take.

More after the jump.

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

Baekseju, the "100 Year Wine"

Dear Korean,

What is the deal with 'bek sae ju'? I am told that drinking this 'hundred-year-wine' can help you live longer. Are there any actual health benefits to drinking this beverage? How did it get its reputation/name?

Andi

Dear Andi,

You inadvertently stumbled onto a highly interesting example of how a Korean product manages to recall Korea's tradition and repackage it for modern day customers.

First, the name. "Baek Se Ju" [백세주] literally means "100 year wine." The first reference to it came in a 17th century book called Jibong'yuseol [지봉유설], which was a type of encyclopedia, written by a scholar named Yi Su-Gwang [이수광]. The book tells the following tale about baekseju:

A traveler was walking by a road, when he saw a young man had an old man stood up with his pants sleeves rolled up, and was whipping the old man with a switch. The traveler became indignant with the young man's insolence, chastised: "How dare you lay your switch on this old man's leg!"

The young man replied: "This here is my precious only son, whom I had at age 80. And he is turning old like this because he did not drink this wine like I told him. So I am trying to teach him a lesson."

This is a cool story reflective of the kind of ironic humor commonly found in traditional Korea. But the real story is how the modern baekseju appeared in the market.

Baekseju is made by a company called Kooksoondang [국순당] Brewery Co., a company that focuses on brewing traditional wine. Before Kooksoondang decided to mass produce baekseju, the wine was no more than a moonshine recipe available only in small pockets of Korea. Importantly, although Kooksoondang made its baekseju based on the traditional recipe, it added plenty of its own adjustments to come up with what would sell in the broader market. The company put out the wine in the market in 1992, and advertised it with a nifty poster re-telling the story from Jibong'yuseol.

Notice the old man getting hit by a young man

(source)

The result was a huge success. In the early 1990s, there were pretty much only three types of alcohol available in Korean market -- beer, soju and whiskey. Baekseju was perfectly positioned to hit the market for people who wanted to drink but not get shitfaced. (For those who wanted something a bit stronger than baekseju, a popular alternative was quickly hatched -- "osipseju" ("50 year wine"), made by mixing soju and baekseju one-to-one.) The good-for-your-health was a nice narrative to accompany the product, enforcing the message that if you want to avoid hangover the next morning, go with baekseju. Thanks to baekseju, Kooksoondang grew 100 times in terms of revenue since 1992, and has now become the dominant market leader in traditional Korean wine of all kinds. One can fairly say that baekseju opened the door for the rediscovery of Korean traditional wine, although baekseju itself might not be particularly authentic.

Is baekseju actually good for your health? It might be possible -- it is not particularly strong (about 13 percent alcohol), and its ingredients do include many herbs used in traditional medicine. The company does claim that, based on its own experiments, baekseju is just as good as red wine in cancer prevention, and also protects the stomach lining. But at the end of the day, alcohol is alcohol -- it can only be so good for one's health. Instead of thinking too much about the supposed health benefits, one should drink baekseju as a toast to how tradition, a solid product and nifty marketing combined to create one of the most successful products in Korean alcohol market.

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

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 43. Leessang

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

[Series Index]

43.  Leessang [리쌍]

Years of Activity:  2002-present

Members:
Gary [개리]- rap
Gil [길] - rap

Discography:
Leessang of Honey Family (2002)
Re: Development [재, 계발] (2003)
Library of Soul (2005)
Black Sun (2007)
Baek-Ah Cuts the Strings [伯牙絶絃(백아절현)] (2009)
Hexagonal (2009)

Representative Song:  It's Not Me Laughing (feat. Ali) [내가 웃는게 아니야], from Library of Soul

내가 웃는게 아니야

It's Not Me Laughing

날 사랑한다는 말 천번을 넘게 내 맘 구석구석 빼곡히 써놓고

The words, "I love you," you wrote over thousand times filling up every corner of my heart

이제 와 나를 망부석 여인처럼 남겨둔 채 방 한구석 먼지처럼 나를 밀어둔 채

Now you leave me like a woman turned into stone, push me aside like dust in the corner

헤어지자 말하는 너의 뺨을 나도 모르게 때리고

You say let us part; I somehow slap your cheek and

내 발목을 잡는 땅을 억지로 뿌리치며 한참을 걸으며 다짐했어

Walked for long, shaking off the ground that grabbed by ankle, and swore,

다신 내 곁에  널 두지 않겠다고

That I will never put you next to me

여태 널 지키기 위해 했던 나의 노력 그 모든걸 다 오려

All of my efforts so far to protect you, cut them all out,

저 달리는 차들 속으로 던지고 눈물 섞인 웃음을 짓고

Throw them into those running cars, make a smile mixed with tears,

어떻게든 너보다 잘 살 거라는 믿음 저 짙은 어둠속에 새기며

Carve into that thick darkness the faith that I will somehow end up better than you

내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야

Me laughing is not laughing

또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야

And me walking is not walking

너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐

Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you

내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야

Me laughing is not laughing

또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야

And me walking is not walking

너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐

Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you

몇 일이나 지났을까
How many days passed

늦가을 쓸쓸한 거리처럼 물가에 홀로 앉은 낚시꾼처럼
Like the lonely late autumn streets like a fisherman sitting alone by the water

외로움과 기다림에 지친 난 끝없는 줄담배에 기침을 하며
Tired of loneliness and waiting, I cough at the endless stream of cigarettes

미친 듯이 추억속으로 빨려들어가
And get sucked into the memories like mad

애교 섞인 목소리에 꺾인 나뭇가지처럼 쓰러져
To her flirty voice I fall like a broken twig

그녀의 품에 안기고 달콤한 꿈에 부풀어
Held in her arms, dream sweet dreams

영원히 나를 붙들어매라며 농담을 하고
I joke, tie me down forever

어디를 가도 누구를 만나도 언제나 둘이기에
No matter where we go, no matter who we meet, there were always two,

즐거운 분위기에 우린 항상 행복해
Always fun times, so we are always happy

했었지 그랬었지 하지만 이젠 그녀는 내 곁에 없지
It was like so, that's right, but now she's not next to me

난 또 외로움에 밤길을 걷지
I again walk the night streets in loneliness

그대 떠나보낸 내 가슴에
In my heart that sent you away

눈물이 차올라 날 흔들며 아프게 해
tears fill up, shaking me and hurting me

그대 떠나보낸 내 두 눈에
To my two eyes that sent you away

어둠이 다가와 또 난 -
darkness comes. Again I -

너를 잊을래 난 너를 잊을래
Forget you, I'll forget you

아무리 외쳐봐도 그게 안돼
No matter how I scream it I cannot do

너를 아껴주지 못해 또 후회하네
I could not adore you, I regret again

너를 잊을래 난 너를 잊을래
Forget you, I'll forget you

아무리 외쳐봐도 그게 안돼
No matter how I scream it I cannot do

네가 웃던 기억 속에 또 미쳐가네
Inside the memories of your smile I go mad again

내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야
Me laughing is not laughing
또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야
And me walking is not walking
너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐
Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you
내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야
Me laughing is not laughing
또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야
And me walking is not walking
너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐
Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you

너 없는 아픔에 모든 건 눈물을 흘리며 코를 푸네
Because of the pain without you I cry and blow my nose at everything

(남자답게 웃고 싶지만)
(Although I want to be a man and laugh)

매 순간 멍해지는 습관 고쳐지질 않고
I cannot fix the habit, I space out

(남자답게 웃고 싶지만)
(Although I want to be a man and laugh)

남자답게 난 웃고싶지만
I want to be a man and laugh but

밥 한숟갈 떠 넣기가 이렇게 힘들수가
How it is so hard to put one spoonful of food in my mouth

날 위로하는 친구의 웃음도 내 눈엔 슬픈 구슬로 바뀌어
Even my consoling friend's smile turns into a sorrowful bead in my eyes

웃으려 웃어봐도 안되는 난 먼 곳으로 -
I try and laugh and laugh, I cannot do, and I am away far -

내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야
Me laughing is not laughing
또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야
And me walking is not walking
너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐
Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you
내가 웃는게 웃는게 아니야
Me laughing is not laughing
또 내가 걷는게 걷는게 아니야
And me walking is not walking
너의 기억 그 속에서 난 눈물 흘려 너를 기다릴뿐
Inside your memories, I only cry while waiting for you

Translation Notes: 
- Rap is so, so hard to translate.
- The entire first 2.5 lines are a dependent clause modifying the subject of the sentence, which goes for four lines!
- The lines break by meaning, which destroys the rhyme. But there was no other choice if the translation was going to make sense. Hooray for accidental rhyming in translation.
- 망부석 is a figure in Korean folk tales, about a woman who was waiting for her husband, a sailor in the sea, until she turned into stone.
- Any ideas for translating 나도 모르게 succinctly?

In 15 words or less:  "Family" men who completed the Koreanization of rap.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Rap is only going to get bigger in Korea, and they are leading the way.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  Actually, this feels just right.

Why is this group important?
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.

Leessang is important because its history neatly represents Korea's localization of rap, and its music represents Korean rap's final form -- for now. The two rappers of Leessang were formerly a part of another rap group Honey Family, a seven-member rap group that styled itself to be like Wu-Tang Clan, a large group that would assemble ad hoc while its members also pursued solo careers. Honey Family also distinguished itself by relying on very little English and staying within Korean language in its rap.

Truthfully, Gary and Gil did not do much in Honey Family -- which made music critics scratch their heads when they launched Leessang. But to everyone's surprise, Leessang took off with its distinctive style. No one will mistake Leessang for the most accomplished technicians, as Leessang's best songs are chill and rhythmical but not exactly replete with ingenious rhymes. But Leessang was nonetheless successful, and their success is almost entirely based on their ability as lyricists, the ability to tell a compelling story with interesting imageries.

Korean-style narratives are generally characterized by conveying overwhelming emotion. In poor formulations of such narratives, the story-telling becomes corny, over-the-top and melodramatic. (Think all Korean dramas.) But in the best formulations of such narratives, the story-telling hits the spot unlike any other. (Think Old Boy.) The song above is a nice representation of Leessang's strength. Simply talking about being heartbroken means little to anyone other than the heartbroken person. But when "laughing is not laughing" and "walking is not walking," one can feel the depth of the pain through those words.

Korean-style narratives, in rhymes constructed in Korean language -- this is what Leessang accomplished, and they deserve acknowledgment because of that.

Interesting Trivia:  The name of the group is a play on word of the name Yi Sang, a Korean novelist/poet of the 1930s who is famous for near-psychotic novels and extremely esoteric poems that often involved nothing but numbers and graphs.

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

Ask a Korean! News: Acclimation of a North Korean

An unusally light-hearted, yet nonetheless insightful, piece from Joo Seong-Ha:

Evidence that I am Becoming a Korean

When I was in China after having escaped North Korea, I heard news on the radio that said, "South Korea produces 4.5 million tons of food waste every year." My jaw dropped -- 4.5 million tons! I, as someone who was in China after having witnessed people starving to death, could not understand the South Koreans who threw food away.

When you think about it, 4.5 million tons of food would feed the entire North Korea. One side starves to death and the other side throws food away -- what incongruence, I thought then.

That must have shocked me a great deal, because I never left any food behind for about three years since I came to Korea. No matter how full I was, I would scrape to the bottom of any serving that the restaurants gave. If I could not finish it, I felt like I was committing a crime to the North Korean brethren who were clutching their hungry stomach.

Having lived that way, my stomach ended up growing by 5 inches since I first came to South Korea. The first pairs of pants that I bought after arriving Korea no longer fit me. I also have several suits that I can no longer wear because they are too small.

Gradually, I began to think that it was only to my damage that I finished all the food -- my cheap conscience was hastening my death, since the lipid accumulated in my stomach would shorten my lifespan. According to the Secret of Life, Aging, Disease and Death [TK: a popular Korean health documentary], having intestinal fat was just like stuffing poison in the body. Also, there was a study in the U.S. that immigrants from poorer countries who become obese in the U.S. are three to four times more likely to die from cancer than native-born Americans who are obese.

So no, this wasn't it. I still have a lot to do, I have to see the reunification, and so on and so forth... So at any rate, I should never contract obesity. Now, after coming to Korea seven years ago, I leave food behind without any sense of guilt. I decisively do not eat any more after I am full.

And there was that time when I got my first job after coming to Korea.

My boss, Mr. Kim, was laughing at an entertainment program with celebrities. I could not understand that for the life of me. I could not understand why he would watch such trashy program that had no educational value, where celebrities showed up as if to parade how stupid they were. I would have read another page of a book for that time.

Humor has a cultural background and code. I don't know if South Koreans would laugh at North Korean mini-series (probably not, since they would not understand it,) but at first I could not understand why they even had the programs like Wootchatsa [TK: name of a program like SNL] or Gag Concert [TK: same]. Even when I tried to laugh, I could not understand when I was supposed to laugh, and it was no fun.

So I asked. "Why do you watch and waste time with that program? Seems like it has no educational value and just turns people into idiots."

The answer flew back. "What do you need 'educational value' for? You just laugh at the moment and forget about it." At that point, I had to re-evaluate him. "Wow -- all that education and wisdom are useless. I thought he was a capable guy, but that's all he has for intellectul capacity? What a disappointment."

Seven years since, I now watch Gag Concert, and laugh and chuckle. I do not schedule my day for it, but I would flip the channels and gape at Two Days One Night [TK: another show name].

Of course I don't go out of my way to watch any entertainment program, but I got to a point of watching it if they happen to be on. There is no telling how I would be in the future.

And another thing. I could not help but drink coffee in Korea in order to meet people. At first when someone took me to Starbucks or Coffee Bean to buy me coffee, I thought "Why would anyone drink this?"

Even after I began to drink coffee, the best coffee for me was the 200 won [=20 cents] vending machine coffee. It seemed strange that people would pay 5000 won [=5 dollars] for coffee that was far worse than the vending machine coffee.

Seven years since, I now have turned into someone who enjoys the aroma of a latte. Now I know that the 5000 won coffee is definitely worth more than the 200 won coffee. Of course, I still cannot bring myself to pay for the coffee. I do not yet understand why what is essentially a cup of water costs as much as a meal. But I do appreciate it when someone buys me an expensive cup of coffee.

The last one. When I first came, the politicians under investigation always said, "I am truly innocent." Seeing that, I thought, "Why would a National Assemblyman, a representative of the people, sell his reputation for some tens of million won [=tens of thousands dollars]? There has to be something wrong."

On top of that, they always say "I swear upon my honor that this is the truth." When I see that, I thought: "Right -- this has to be a frame job, since that politician is willing to bet his honor that he must have built all his life. A National Assemblyman's honor cannot be had for that cheap."

I have been in South Korea for seven years. Now when I see a politician who says "That is not true at all," I say: "Come on -- how do you deny such an obvious thing? Tsk tsk."

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

Ask a Korean! News: Nambuk Story on North Korean Succession

It's official -- the 27-year-old (seriously!) Kim Jong-Un, son of Kim Jong-Il, is named as the successor. There is plenty of coverage about Kim Jong-Un, but not nearly enough about other family members of Kim Jong-Il who are also rising to prominence. And as always, Mr. Joo Seong-Ha of Nambuk Story has got that covered.

*                  *                  *

Kim Jong-Un was officially introduced as the successor as he was appointed to be a general at North Korean Labor Party Representatives Meeting. Also, his aunt Kim Gyeong-Hee was appointed as a general of North Korean military, establishing the "Kim Jong-Il Family Management System." It appears that Kim Jong-Il's governing style, thus far appointing his lackeys formally at major posts for him to micromanage, will also change toward the family at major posts operating those areas. At the core of establishing family management system are Kim Gyeong-Hee and her husband Jang Seong-Taek.

In particular, the most prominent part of the appointments is the fact that Kim Gyeong-Hee was elevated to a general, soaring into the core of the power. In addition, Jang Seong-Taek -- Kim Jong-Un's uncle by marriage -- is already the chairman of administration of the Labor Party, having a firm grip on North Korea's security apparatus. Last April, He was also appointed as the vice chairman of the National Defense Committee, the highest power organization of North Korea. Much interest is commanded on what role the husband-and-wife patrons Kim Gyeong-Hee and Jang Seong-Taek will pay in order to assist Kim Jong-Un's succession plan.

Who is Kim Gyeong-Hee?

Kim Gyeong-Hee, who received the title of "general" on the 28th, is well known for being Kim Jong-Il's only sister, aunt of Kim Jong-Un and wife of Jang Seong-Taek. But the past of Kim Gyeong-Hee as a person is not very well known.

Kim Gyeong-Hee was born as the third child of Kim Il-Sung on May 30, 1946. At birth Kim Gyeong-Hee had two older brothers, Yura (childhood name of Kim Jong-Il) and Shura. But Shura drowned in a lake several months after Kim Gyeong-Hee was born. There are stories that as Shura was splashing in a knee-deep lake, the terrified Kim Jong-Il who was playing with him could only hide and watch. Afterward, when Kim Il-Sung wanted to scold Kim Jong-Il, he frequently said, "That's why you could only watch as your brother drowned." It is said that it was Kim Jong-Il's Achilles' heel.

In 1949, when Kim Gyeong-Hee was three years old, her mother Kim Gyeong-Sook also died while giving birth, as she could not stop bleeding. Afterward, Kim Il-Sung lived with the daughter of Hong Myeong-Hee, author of the novel Im Ggeok-Jeong. After liberation, Kim Il-Sung married Kim Seong-Ae, who was a secretary working with Kim Il-Sung. As Kim Seong-Ae became her stepmother, Kim Gyeong-Hee spent her childhood unloved, which had a large influence on her emotional development.

Kim Gyeong-Hee's looks and personality very closely resemble those of her mother Kim Jeong-Sook. Kim Jeong-Sook was a tough woman who won Kim Il-Sung's love with sheer devotion of, for example, drying Kim Il-Sung's underwear with her body heat during the negative 30 degree cold during their years as communist guerrillas. There is a story that when young Kim Il-Sung cheated on her, Kim Jeong-Sook had Kim Jong-Il stand against the wall with an apple on his head. Then she told Kim Il-Sung, "Don't sleep around if you want to save your child," and shot the apple with a pistol. Even Kim Il-Sung feared Kim Jeong-Sook.

Kim Gyeong-Hee's personality is well demonstrated through her dating Jang Seong-Taek. Originally, Kim Il-Sung was planning to get a son-in-law from the military, so that Kim Jong-Il would assist him within the Party and the son-in-law would assist him within the military. But Kim Gyeong-Hee was deeply into Jang Seong-Taek, who was her classmate. Kim Gyeong-Hee would tease Jang Seong-Taek, who sat in front of her, by tickling his ear with a blade of grass. They eventually fell in love.

To stop this, Kim Yeong-Ju, brother of Kim Il-Sung, transfer Jang Seong-Taek to Wonsan University of Economics. But it is said that Kim Gyeong-Hee would drive her father's car herself down to Wonsan, doing laundry for Jang Seong-Taek at his dormitory. The faculty at Wonsan University would be in an emergency because they thought the Great Leader was making an unannounced visit, and would be surprised when a young woman gets out of the Great Leader's car to walk to the dormitory. Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il had to capitulate to her stubbornness.

But the marriage with Jang Seong-Taek was not very smooth. A persuasive rumor says they do not have any children. There are stories that there was one daughter named Jang Geum-Song who committed suicide, but there is also a rumor that she was adopted.

Kim Gyeong-Hee, dissatisfied with her married life, hit the bottles since the 1980s. According to Fujimoto Kenji, a Japanese chef for Kim Jong-Il, recalled in his memoir that Kim Gyeong-Hee would drink whiskey like wine, and she was unstoppable when she became a belligerent drunk. Fujimoto also wrote that Kim Gyeong-Hee was catty toward Jang Seong-Taek, and treated Jang like a subordinate or a house servant, yelling in front of many people, "Drink more, Jang Seong-Taek." According to Fujimoto, Jang could say nothing.

Since her brother was nominated as the successor, Kim Gyeong-Hee was the subcommittee chairwoman and then the vice chairwoman of the Labor Party's Committeeon International Affairs. She was appointed to be the chairwoman of the Labor Party's Committee on Light Industries in 1987, and was in that post since then. Chairwoman of Light Industries Committee was a seat that was somewhat removed from the power center.

But regardless of the position, Kim Gyeong-Hee played a very important role, albeit unknown to the outside world, for her brother. As her brother Kim Jong-Il changed his women in the order of Seong Hye-Rim, Kim Yeong-Sook, Go Yeong-Hee and Kim Ok, Kim Gyeong-Hee handled the dirty work. She was like the queen in feudal Korea. It is said that Kim Gyeong-Hee was the one who blocked the new of Kim Jong-Nam's birth between Kim Jong-Il and Seong Hye-Rim from reach the ears of the father Kim Il-Sung. She was also was the one who sent Seong Hye-Rim to Moscow after Kim Jong-Il feel for Go Yeong-Hee.

It is said that Kim Jong-Il's women were terrified of their sister-in-law Kim Gyeong-Hee. Kim Jong-Il's children also grew up in Kim Gyeong-Hee's interest. Beyond this, Kim Gyeong-Hee handled the marriage of her husband Jang Seong-Taek's brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces.

Kim Gyeong-Hee, who has directly managed the growth of the royal family, accepted a new role in 2010. Instead of being a quiet supporter, she emerged on the forefront as an active patron so that her nephew can succeed the regime without difficulty. In particular, Kim Gyeong-Hee's rapid emergence appears to imply that as far as the succession issue is concerned, Jang Seong-Taek is not fully trusted either.

Who is Jang Seong-Taek?

Jang Seong-Taek, vice chairman of the Labor Party's National Defense Committee and Kim Jong-Il's brother-in-law, is noted to be the person with the greatest role in Kim Jong-Un's succession while Kim Jong-Il is in ill health.

Jang's father is said to be a colonel in the military. Jang was born in 1946 in Cheonnae, Gangwon-do to an unremarkable home. As Jang was admitted to Kim Il-Sung University and became classmates with Kim Gyeong-Hee, his destiny would change completely. Kim Gyeong-Hee was enthralled by Jang, who was not only a good organist but also a good-looking smooth-talker, and married him despite her family's opposition.
Jang, who suddenly became a part of the royal family from his low beginning, did his best to win the heart of Kim Jong-Il since then. In the mid-1970s when Jang was a chair of Subcommittee on International Affairs in the Committee on Organized Instructions of the Labor Party, Jang built a luxurious villa for Kim Jong-Il for the purpose of relaxation. It is also known that around this time, North Korean diplomats began to sell narcotics to establish the "loyalty fund."

In 1978, Jang -- who liked to drink and party -- began to host feasts like the ones held by Kim Jong-Il, with his cronies and women. This was caught in Security Bureau's surveillance, and was reported Kim Jong-Il. Kim Jong-Il was enraged. It was infuriating that his brother-in-law, living with his sister, would party with other women, but even more infuriating was Jang dared to imitate him. Jang had to be "revoluntionized" by working as a pit boss at Gangseon Steel Mill for two years.

In 1989, Jang was appointed to be the chairman of the Labor Party's Committee on Youth Organization, and in 1995 he was appointed to be the chairman of the First Committee on Party Organization. But because he was Kim Jong-Il's brother-in-law, Jang (referred to as "Chairman Jang") lived as the Number Two in power since 1980 regardless of his position.

Jang Seong-Taek faced another adversity in 2004. Kim Jong-Il, long suspicious of the fact that Jang planted his people in major positions of the regime, relegated Jang in the name of "causing division" and "wasteful spending." Jang's men in key positions were all dragged to gulags for political prisoners or "revolutionized" in rural areas. In 2006, Jang returned to power as the chairman as the Committee on Labor Organizations and Capital Construction. But as he reached the bottom twice because of Kim Jong-Il's orders, Jang appears to be perfectly obedient to Kim Jong-Il's orders.

Outside of North Korea, people debate either Jang is a reformist or a conservative. But Jang is no more than someone who will do anything to preserve his position and win Kim Jong-Il's favor, and his stance can always change. This is the lesson he has learned through 40 years as a royal in-law. Thus, it seems likely that also in the process of Kim Jong-Un's succession, Jang will lower himself and be absolutely loyal so as not to be out of Kim Jong-Il's good side.

How do North Koreans view many civilians being promoted to generals?

It is unprecedented for North Korea to award the title of "General of the People's Army" to civilians such as Kim Jong-Un, the aunt Kim Gyeong-Hee, former acting secretary of the Hwanghaebuk-do Labor Party Choi Ryong-Hae and chairman of the Party's Committee on Organized Instructions Kim Gyeong-Ok. There are cases in which a high-ranking military general would quit the military, assume a major post of the Party or the government, then return to the military. But there is no case in which a pure civilian was appointed to be a high-ranking officer of the North Korean military. The only exception so far was when Kim Jong-Il received the title of Supreme Commander, as he was appointed to the chief leader of the North Korean military in 1992.

It was expected that Kim Jong-Un would be appointed as a general. After Kim Jong-Un was selected to be the successor, North Korean regime described him as "Comrade General Kim" in the propaganda. But no one expected Kim Gyeong-Hee, Choi Ryong-Hae and Kim Gyeong-Ok to become generals.

Particuarly surprising is Kim Gyeong-Hee's appointment. There are only five female generals in the history of North Korea, and all of them were brigadier generals. In the early 1990s, North Korea's Mansudae Creative Company [TK: a propaganda art factory] did make an oil painting depicting Kim Gyeong-Hee, dressed in a general's uniform and smiling at the top of Mt. Baekdu along with Kim Il-Sung in his Great Supreme Commander uniform and Kim Jong-Il in his Supreme Commander uniform. But no North Korean would have expected that the depiction would come true.

It appears that ordinary North Koreans would react cynically to this round of appointments. Even in 1992 when North Korean system was relatively functional, people gossiped about Kim Jong-Il's appointment as the Supreme Commander that "It's ridiculous to have someone whose experience is no more than playing soldiers as a child as the Supreme Commander." At this time when the people's loyalty completely evaporated, it is easy to guess the people's reaction. In particular, in North Korea where the idea of male superiority is strong and nearly all men have military experience, it would be difficult to accept that a woman without any military experience is suddenly appointed as a general only because she is the sister of Kim Jong-Il.

North Korean generals are organized from the top as Great Supreme Commander, Supreme Commander, Vice Supreme Commander, Four-star General, Three-star General, Two-star General and One-star General. [TK: The appointees are Four-star Generals.] Among them, only Kim Il-Sung is the Great Supreme Commander. There were four Supreme Commanders:  Kim Jong-Il, Oh Jin-Woo, Choi Gwang, Lee Eul-Seol. Oh Jin-Woo and Choi Gwang are dead. There have been 13 Vice Supreme Commanders so far, and dozens of Generals. Even a Vice Supreme Commander would naturally bow to lower-ranked Kim Gyeong-Hee and Kim Jong-Un. Some say the title of general for Kim Gyeong-Hee is an honorary one, but there is no such thing as an honorary general in North Korea.

Personally when I heard the news that Kim Gyeong-Hee was appointed as a general, I thought, "North Korea finally dropped all pretense." I felt that the devastating finale was near.

인간적으로 본 김경희와 장성택 부부의 삶 [Nambuk Story]

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

Presidential Election and Spy Agency

Dear Korean,

With all the accusations about fixing the election last year, what is likely to happen politically?

Jen S.

Right now, Korean democracy is going through a kind of crisis of confidence. To be sure, it is not the type of severe crisis that Korean democracy has experienced before, such as the military rolling tanks into the heart of Seoul to claim power. Nonetheless, when the nation's spy agency intervenes in the nation's presidential election to favor one candidate over the other, it is a serious concern.

First, some background. It all started in December 11, 2012, mere eight days before Korea's presidential election. The ruling, conservative New Frontier Party, to which the outgoing president Lee Myeong-bak also belonged, fielded Park Geun-hye as the candidate. On the progressive side, the Democratic United Party's Moon Jae-in was gaining steam as the popular independent Ahn Cheol-su bowed out of the race and expressed support for Moon. Park and Moon were neck-and-neck in polls, although Park led slightly in most polls.

Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in
(source)

On the night of December 11, a team of Democratic United Party officials and the police rushed to an apartment in Seoul. Earlier, the DUP had received a tip from an insider: the National Intelligence Service, Korea's spy agency, was running a division of some 70 agents who was engaged in a systematic campaign on the Internet to put up comments on popular websites, expressing support for Park and disparaging Moon. The informant also tipped that one such agent was working out of the apartment, to which the DUP officials rushed to with the police.

The police and the officials actually managed to speak with the young woman who was living in the apartment. She denied that she was an NIS agent. The police and the DUP officials left the apartment when the woman agreed to cooperate with the investigation by turning over her computer to the National Elections Commission. However, when the NEC officials later visited the apartment with the DUP officials, the woman locked herself in and refused to come out. For the next 40 hours, DUP officials and journalists laid siege of the apartment until they could obtain a warrant from the court.

Video of the seiged apartment. Through the door, the young woman can be heard

claiming that she was not an NIS agent.

On December 13, the young woman--who in fact turned out to be an NIS agent--emerged out of her apartment and sued the DUP officials for defamation, claiming that she maintained neutrality in politics. She also turned over her laptops to the Seoul Metropolitan Police, which initially estimated that it would take at least one week for them to analyze the NIS agent's Internet activity.

(More of the jump.)

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

SXSW Interview: Crying Nut

(source)

If there were a world rock band Olympics, Crying Nut would probably be the captain of Team Korea. Formed in 1995, the first punk rock band of Korea has maintained the same membership for nearly two decades. In the interim, the band preserved its youthful, explosive energy while becoming veterans of international tours.

The Korean met Crying Nut at their hotel. The interview was conducted in Korean; the translation was the Korean's own.

TK:  Please say hello to everyone.

Crying Nut:

Rock 'n roll, yeah! Hello, I'm Captain Rock [TK Note: real name is Han Gyeong-rok], bassist for Crying Nut. [Gibberish; laughter]

Hi, this is the guitar for Crying Nut, Lee Sang-myeon. [Attempted gibberish; laughter]

I am Kim In-soo, accordion and keyboard.

Lee Sang-hyeok for drum!

[In Japanese] I am the vocal and guitarist Park Yun-sik.

TK:  Please introduce Crying Nut for those who don't know you yet. How did you come to form the band?

Han:  The four of us [except Kim] were all friends since elementary school, so we always played together. We met In-soo in 1995. He was a DJ at the time. We formed Crying Nut together then. We are Korea's first punk rock band. We have seven regular albums so far. And we go anywhere there is a good live stage to perform on.

Kim:  We go anywhere we can drink.

TK:  This is your second SXSW. How is it different from the first time?

Lee SM:  We had a great time when we first came here! It was amazing to see a city full of rock music. I think we felt the pressure that we should really do well then. This time, we just want to have fun.

TK:  What did you think about the audience reaction last night, from K-Pop Night Out?

Han:  Fantastic!

Lee SM:  We were surprised by the enthusiasm. It was moving.

Park:  We are world stars.

Kim:  But you could totally tell the part of the crowd that was there for Jay Park, another part that came for HyunA.

TK:  Crying Nut is one of the oldest continuing rock bands in Korea. How do you think Crying Nut's music evolved over time?

Han:  We are like bibimbap. We began as punk rock, but every one of us has a different taste. We blend them all in and create our music.

Lee SH:  We were probably more rebellious at first. Now I think we became more romantic.

Kim:  I recall seeing a 70-year-old film director receiving a lifetime achievement award, and saying in his speech that he still doesn't really know much about movies. That's how I feel about music.

TK:  Who would you call your influences?

Lee SM:  There are too many; we can't list them all. We listened to a lot of alternative at first. Before that, heavy metal.

Park:  Dead Kennedys, Pixies.

Han:  Irish rock nowadays. Gypsy music too.

Lee SH:  New Age, classical. Enya.

Park:  I like funny bands. There were some Mexican bands here at SXSW who played with the luchador masks on. They were funny as hell. Their music was shit though.

TK:  On the other side of the ledger, do you see your influence over Korean bands that came after you?

Han:  We were probably a terrible influence. When we were playing at Club Drug [in 1995], we saw all these high school kids listening to our music. Later, we saw them all forming bands and playing music. Of course they all played different kinds of music, but all the punk rock bands learned from us. No Brain learned from us, too. [TK Note: this is quite a statement, because No Brain began playing at Club Drug around the same time Crying Nut began.]

Lee SM:  Regardless of what music they play, I do feel that the later bands look up to us because we were able to stay with the same members for so long.

TK:  In your long career, what changes have you seen at the Hongdae scene?

Lee SM:  Now there is a huge diversity in music, and the quantity of it increased a lot too. When we started out, there were only so many genres of music.

Lee SH:  There is a different mentality behind it also. When we started, there was this weird pride about not appearing television, not trying to promote. You were a traitor if you showed up on TV. Now it is just normal for bands to do whatever they can to promote themselves. And of course, that's just the normal way of doing things.

TK:  As Korea's premier rock band, do you have any thoughts on how the word "K-pop" is used in the international market?

Kim:  I think the definition will change over time, but frankly I don't care that much. Things change when they cross over to a different place. A lot of these smaller differentiations in musical genre are about American and British music; they don't end up being applicable in Korean setting. So calling some Korean music "K-pop" but not others doesn't really make sense. I think "K-pop" is just pop music of Korea.

TK:  Do you plan on checking out some of the acts at SXSW?

Lee SH:  I've been listening to a lot of the bands here through the SXSW app.

Park:  That's high tech. I just wrote them all down. [Shows the note.]

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

I am not Watching Super Bowl This Year

The Korean is boycotting the Super Bowl this year. In fact, the Korean will never watch the NFL again, unless the league finds a way to dramatically reduce the level of brain damage that the players suffer. If this means American football no longer exists in the current form--instead evolving into something like touch football or rugby--I'm fine with it. If this means the death of football in America, I am ok with it.

Here is why.

*               *               *

One of my fondest memories from law school involves 1987 Chicago Bears. Not that I watched the Chicago Bears in 1987--more accurately, the memory involves a virtual simulation of the '87 Bears. 

In law school, my closest friends--let's call them JA, RT, and SW--and I wasted a lot of time together. RT had bought a hacked Xbox from eBay, which came pre-loaded with many classic NES games. One of the games was Tecmo Bowl, a video game from 1988 that primitively simulated the NFL at the time. RT and JA would play Tecmo Bowl together, while SW and I would watch the game, drink beer and crack jokes. 

RT favored San Francisco 49ers, which featured a fearsome aerial attack with Joe Montana. JA would always play Chicago Bears, relying on Walter Payton's running game. But--because we were idiots--the absolute highlight of the game featured neither of the Hall of Famers. For us, the moment we always waited for was when Chicago's safety made an interception of Montana's pass. Then the cheesy, 1980s NES graphics would flash this across the top of the screen: "INTERCEPTION!!!!!" This would be followed by these following letters: "DAVE DUERSON!!!!!!!" 

None of us has ever heard of Dave Duerson, who was a safety for the Chicago Bears in Tecmo Bowl. But that did not stop us from cracking jokes--mostly juvenile puns involving the last name "Duerson." The longest running joke was that each time Duerson made an interception, he would "Duer" RT's mom. The joke kept running because the virtual Dave Duerson would make plays like clockwork. Duerson in our Tecmo Bowl games would make about 10 interceptions a game, largely because of RT's overconfidence in the Niners' West Coast Offense. With SW, a masterfully funny guy, this joke expanded into the ones featuring various places and manners in which Dave Duerson would have sex with RT's mother.

For one Super Bowl, we decided that the four of us should kill 100 cans of Coors Light that day, and play more Tecmo Bowl before the game came on. With about five beers in, I foolishly declared that I would shotgun a can of beer each time Duerson made an interception. I don't remember how many cans of Coors Light I drank in what could not have been more than a 20 minute span, but they were enough to make me black out for the entire Super Bowl game, muttering: "Dave Duerson, you did this to me, you're awesome."

(More after the jump.)

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

50 Most Influential K-pop Artists: 15. Kim Geon-mo

[Series Index]

15. Kim Geon-mo [김건모]

Also romanized as:  Kim Gunmo

Years of Activity: 1998 - present 

Discography:
Picture Painted After Parting [이별 뒤에 그린 그림] (1992)
Kim Geon-mo 2 [김건모 2] (1993)
The Wrong Encounter [잘못된 만남] (1995)
Exchange Kg. M4 (1996)
Myself (1997)
Growing (1999)
#007 Another Days... (2001)
Hestory (2003)
Kimgunmo 9 (2004)
Be Like... (2005)
Scarecrow [허수아비] (2007)
Soul Groove (2008)
Everything's Gonna Be Alright (2009)
Autobiography & Best [自敍傳 & Best] (2011)

Representative Song:  잘못된 만남 [The Wrong Encounter] from 잘못된 만남 (1995)

잘못된 만남

The Wrong Encounter

난 너를 믿었던 만큼 난 내 친구도 믿었었기에

Because I trusted my friend as much as I trusted you

난 아무런 부담없이 널 내 친구에게 소개시켜줬고

I introduced you to my friend without thinking twice about it

그런 만남이 있은후부터 우리는 자주 함께 만나며

After that encounter we simply got together a lot

즐거운 시간을 보내며 함께 어울렸던 것뿐인데

Having a good time and hanging out together

그런 만남이 어디부터 잘못됐는지 

But at what point did such encounters turn wrong?

난 알 수 없는 예감에 조금씩 빠져들고 있을 때쯤 

As I was slowly stepping into mysterious apprehension

넌 나보다 내 친구에게 관심을 더 보이며 

You were paying more attention to my friend than me and

날 조금씩 멀리하던

Slowly distancing me

그 어느날 너와 내가 심하게 다툰 그 날 이후로

Then on that day when you and I got into a big fight

너와 내 친구는 연락도 없고 날 피하는 것같아

You and my friend stopped calling and began avoiding me

그제서야 난 느낀거야 모든 것이 잘못돼 있는 걸

Then I finally realized that everything went wrong

너와 내 친구는 어느새 다정한 연인이 돼있었지.

You and my friend had already turned into lovers

있을 수 없는 일이라며 난 울었어

I cried, thinking how this could be

내 사랑과 우정을 모두 버려야 했기에

Because I had to lose both my love and friendship

또다른 내 친구는 내 어깰 두드리며 

Another friend of mine tapped on my shoulder

잊어버리라 했지만 잊지 못할것 같아

And told me to forget it all; but I don't think I can

너를 사랑했던 것만큼 내 친구도 믿었었기에

Because I trusted my friend as much as I loved you

난 자연스럽게 너와 함께 어울렸던 것뿐인데

I simply hung out naturally together with you but

어디부터 우리의 믿음이 깨지기 시작했는지

Since when did our trust begin to crack

난 알지 못한채 어색함을 느끼면서

I did not know; I kept feeling awkward

그렇게 함께 만나 온 시간이 길어지면 질수록

And the longer the time we spent hanging out like that

넌 내게서 조금씩 멀어지는 것을 느끼며 난 예감을 했었지

I felt you were slowly drifting away from me, and then I sensed it

 넌 나보다 내 친구에게 관심이 더 있었다는 걸

You were more interested in my friend than me

그 어느날 너와 내가 심하게 다툰 그 날 이후로

Then on that day when you and I got into a big fight

너와 내 친구는 연락도 없고 날 피하는 것같아

You and my friend stopped calling and began avoiding me

그제서야 난 느낀거야 모든 것이 잘못돼 있는 걸

Then I finally realized that everything went wrong

너와 내 친구는 어느새 다정한 연인이 돼있었지.

You and my friend had already turned into lovers

있을 수 없는 일이라며 난 울었어

I cried, thinking how this could be

내 사랑과 우정을 모두 버려야 했기에

Because I had to lose both my love and friendship

또다른 내 친구는 내 어깰 두드리며

Another friend of mine tapped on my shoulder

잊어버리라 했지만 잊지 못할것 같아

And told me to forget it all; but I don't think I can

In 15 words or less:  Korea's king of pop, the "National Singer".

Maybe he should be ranked higher because...   In the entire history of K-pop, his popularity is matched or exceeded by probably no more than three or four other artists.

Maybe he should be ranked lower because...  At the end of the day, what exactly did he achieve musically?

Why is this artist important?

Take any K-pop musician at his/her peak. Then imagine asking Korean people at the time how they feel about that musician. What would be the response? In most cases, a certain group of Korean people would love that artist, and other groups will not. Jo Seong-mo, for example, enjoyed a level of popularity that is matched by few others in Korean pop music history. Yet at the end of the day, his popularity was propelled mainly by women in their teens through 30s. Few in the history of K-pop transcend that level. Korean women who are older than mid-20s could care less about Girls' Generation. Even PSY, he of a billion Youtube hits, has his detractors in Korea.

For those shining few who rise above that bar and become beloved by the entire nation, Korean pop culture bestows a moniker:  국민가수, the "National Singer." Depending on whom you ask, there are only three to five "National Singers" in the history of K-pop. But no matter whom you ask, the name Kim Geon-mo will come up as the representative "National Singer". 

To be sure, one can nitpick on Kim Geon-mo until the cows come home. He never was much of a singer;   this lack of talent was painfully exposed in the first episode of the reality show I am Singer, in which Kim suffered the disgrace of becoming the first singer to be dropped from the show. He did not compose his greatest hits, and he never created music or lyrics of any depth. (The lyrics of The Wrong Encounter, Kim's greatest hit, is positively cringe-worthy in its juvenility.) In fact, the moment he began composing his own songs was the moment when his career began sliding downward. At the end of the day, he was not much more than a dancing entertainer, who scored high on likability.

Make that "scored astronomically on likability," actually. Measured strictly by popularity, Kim Geon-mo's three-year peak from 1993 to 1996 was probably greater than any three-year peak of any K-pop artist in history, save maybe two (whom we will discuss later in this series.) Kim's perceived lack of natural talent ended up becoming a plus for his likability, as the narrative of his career became that of an underdog--who was not particularly handsome nor musically talented--that nonetheless succeeded against all odds. In the mid 1990s, Kim Geon-mo ruled the K-pop world like virtually no one else did, because absolutely everyone loved him. Even Seo Taiji, who is on the short list of K-pop's Greatest of All Time, avoided releasing any album when Kim Geon-mo released an album. 

Although Kim himself did not possess any particular musical talent, his popularity itself would become his musical legacy. Because of Kim Geon-mo, various dance music genres--reggae, electro-pop, sanitized hiphop--would graduate from the state of being imported music to become Korea's own. Kim Geon-mo was the moment in which dance music would become K-pop's mainstream. 

Interesting trivia:  In college, Kim Geon-mo majored in traditional Korean music.

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

"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.

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 20. Crying Nut

[Series Index]

20.  Crying Nut [크라잉넛]

Years of Activity: 1998-present

Members:
Park Yoon-Sik [박윤식] - Vocal, Guitar
Lee Sang-Myeon [이상면] - Guitar
Han Gyeong-Rok [한경록] - Bass, Guitar
Lee Sang-Hyeok [이상혁] - Drum
Kim In-Su [김인수] - Accordion, Keyboard

Discography:
Run the Horse [말달리자] (1998)
Circus Magic Traveling Troupe [서커스매직유랑단] (1999)
Love Song Under the Water [하수연가] (2001)
Old Radio [고물라디오] (2002)
Cow at the OK Corral [OK 목장의 젖소] (2006)
The Uncomfortable Party [불편한 파티] (2009)

Representative Song:  Circus Magic Traveling Troupe [서커스매직유랑단] from Circus Magic Traveling Troupe.

서커스매직유랑단
Circus Magic Traveling Troupe

[Intro]

안녕하세요 오늘은 김선생이랑 같이 나왔어요
Hello! I came out with Dr. Kim today
아이고 김씨 아저씨도 나오셨네요
Oh my, Mr. Kim came out too
아랫마을에 장이서서 서커스가 왔데요
The village is holding a market and a circus came
아~ 그럼 우리한번 가볼까요
Ah -- then should we go take a look?

아이구 장에 나오니 사람 참 겁나게 많네요
Oh my, the market is so crowded
글쎄 써커스단 이름이 뭐래요
What's the name of the circus by the way?
서커스 매직 유랑단 이래요
They call themselves Circus Magic Traveling Troupe.

[Song]

헤이! 헤이! 요기조기 모여보세요 요것조것 골라보세요
Hey! Hey! Come one, come all. Pick one, pick all
우리들은 서커스 매직 유랑단
We are Circus Magic Traveling Troupe

안녕하세요 안녕하세요 우린 매직 서커스 유랑단
Hello hello we are Magic Circus Traveling Troupe
님 찾아 꿈을 찾아 떠나간다우
We travel to find our honey and our dreams
동네집 계집아이 함께 간다면
If a girl from the town will come with us
천리만길 발자욱에 꽃이 피리라
Flowers will bloom at her footsteps for ten thousand miles

우리는 크라잉넛 떠돌이 신사
We are Crying Nut, traveling gentlemen
한 많은 팔도강산 유랑해보세
Let's wander around the sorrow-filled Eight Provinces
마음대로 춤을 추며 떠들어보세요
Dance and talk as loud as you want
어차피 우리에겐 내일은 없다
For us there is no tomorrow anyway

오늘도 아슬아슬 재주 넘지만
Again today performing the thrilling stunts
곰곰히 생각하니 내가 곰이네
But to think and think, and I am the bear
난장이 광대의 외줄타기는
The midget clown's tightrope walking is
아름답다 슬프도다 나비로구나
Beautiful, sorrowful, a butterfly

우리는 크라잉넛 떠돌이 신사
We are Crying Nut, traveling gentlemen
한 많은 팔도강산 유랑해보세
Let's all wander around the Eight Provinces filled with sorrow
마음대로 춤을 추며 떠들어보세요
Dance and talk as loud as you want
어차피 우리에겐 내일은 없다
For us there is no tomorrow anyway

커다란 무대위에 막이 내리면
When the curtain falls on the big stage
따뜻한 별빛이 나를 감싸네
The warm starlight shrouds me
자줏빛 저 하늘은 무얼 말할까
What does that violet sky say
고요한 달 그림자 나를 부르네
The silent shadow of the moon calls me

떠돌이 인생역정 같이 가보세
Let's go together on the vagabond life journey
외로운 당신의 친구 되겠소
We will be friends for you who are lonely
흥청망청 비틀비틀 요지경 세상
Extravagant, stumbling, kaleidoscopic world
발걸음도 가벼웁다 서커스 유랑단
The steps are light for the traveling circus

오늘도 아슬아슬 재주 넘지만
Again today performing the thrilling stunts
곰곰히 생각하니 내가 곰이네
But think and think, and I am the bear
난장이 광대의 외줄타기는
The midget clown's tightrope dancing is
아름답다 슬프도다 나비로구나
Beautiful, sorrowful, a butterfly

우리는 크라잉넛 떠돌이 신사
We are Crying Nut, traveling gentlemen
한 많은 팔도강산 유랑해보세
Let's all wander around the Eight Provinces filled with sorrow
마음대로 춤을 추며 떠들어보세요
Dance and talk as loud as you want
어차피 우리에겐 내일은 없다
For us there is no tomorrow anyway
떠돌이 인생역정 같이 가보세
Let's go together on the vagabond life journey
외로운 당신의 친구 되겠소
We will be friends for you who are lonely
흥청망청 비틀비틀 요지경 세상
Extravagant, stumbling, kaleidoscopic world
발걸음도 가벼웁다 서커스 유랑단 헤이
The steps are light for the traveling circus. Hey!

Translation note 1:  The song contains a lot of cultural allusions that need full background to understand.

- In traditional Korea, the market was consisted of traveling merchants who would appear every five or seven days to set up shop. Very rudimentary circus troupe sometimes travels with the merchants. This persisted in rural Korea through 1960s and early 1970s, and still continues to a very small degree to this day.

- The "Eight Provinces" is an idiom that refers to Korea, as traditional Korea was made up of eight provinces.

- The reference to "bear" is designed to evoke Korean old saying, "The bear dances and the owner takes the money," which is used in a situation when someone went through a lot of effort that ended up benefiting someone else.

Translation note 2:  There was no good way to translate 흥청망청 비틀비틀 요지경 세상. As always, suggestions are welcome.

In 15 words or less:  The reigning kings of rock in Korea.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because. . .  Greatest rock band of Korea in the 2000s. Doesn't that count for more?

Maybe they should be ranked lower because . . .  Has rocked mattered that much in Korea in the past decade?

Why is this artist important?
Seeing today's K-pop scene, it is difficult to believe that only 25 years ago, rock was the king of Korean pop music. But it was true -- through late 1980s, legendary rock bands like Deulgukhwa were dominating the charts, radio waves and TV times. Starting from early 1990s, however, Korea's rock began to cede the public stage to dance, hiphop, and general corporatization of pop music. By early 2000s, Korean rock was at a nadir. It appeared that, against the depressed consumer market following the East Asian Financial Crisis, the album market ravaged by the introduction of Internet downloads, and the swarm of manufactured idols backed with massive capital, Korean rock was gasping for its last breath in the self-segregated enclaves of Hongdae and Daehakro.

However, as its adherents have reminded the world for decades, rock will never die. Korean rock came back in a huge way in the early 2000s, and Crying Nut was the band that led the charge. How? Arguably, Crying Nut is the best translator of Korean sensibility into rock format since Deulgukhwa of the mid-1980s. The band's best songs consistently invoke the slightly retro, nostalgia-inducing images of Korea (well represented in Circus Magic Traveling Troupe) and marry them sometimes with manic energy, at other times with deep sentimentality.

Crying Nut has been building momentum in the underground indie scene, but it truly exploded into the scene during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, for which the band composed the official supporters' anthem for Korea's national soccer team. This opportunity for an outpouring of passion once again proved that there was no better music than rock to express overwhelming energy; rock bands like Crying Nut and Yoon Do-Hyun Band would lead the rebirth of rock by holding massive outdoor concerts that doubled as a viewing party for the World Cup. The renewed appreciation for rock reverberates in Korean music to this day, as more talented indie bands are marking their territory even as the manufactured idol groups march on their path toward world domination.

Interesting trivia 1: The two Lees of the band are twins.

Interesting trivia 2: Apparently, the band was formed after the members, who were high school classmates, went out on a field trip and saw a guy with a guitar attracting many girls. Therefore, initially the band was made up of five guitarists. The owner of the club in which the band was set to perform had to forcibly allocate the appropriate instruments for Crying Nut to be a legitimate band.

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