Ask a Korean! News: Korean Man Murders Mail-Order Bride

Dong-A Ilbo recently ran an awful story about a Cambodian woman who was killed by her Korean husband, with a silver lining that the police was determined to bring the killer to justice. Translation below.

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On March 18 of last year, a fire broke out in the bedroom of an apartment in Gangwon-do, Chuncheon-si Hyoja-dong, killing Ms. C (25 years old at the time,) a Cambodian woman who came to Korea via marriage. By the time the firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had subsided because there was not enough oxygen in the house. C was found dead nude and lying down with the face down. The police designated the husband Mr. Kang (45) as the likely suspect, and began investigating. But Kang was set free in August of that year. The police could not find evidence of arson based on its crime scene investigation, and the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI) also determined that C died through lack of oxygen due to the fire. Sedative was discovered from C's body, but Kang explained that C usually took sleeping pills.

But facing the death of a marriage immigrant woman, the investigation team of the Gangwon Regional Police Agency did not give up its investigation. It also attracted suspicion that Kang purchased life insurance policies in his wife's name also. Exactly one year to the date since C passed away, the police arrested Kang on the charge of murdering his wife by feeding her sleeping pills and committing arson, in order to collect insurance proceeds.

The couple had married in Cambodia on March 2, 2008. Kang, who had two failed marriages, went to Cambodia based on the introduction of K, a marriage broker that he knew previously. K recalled, "Other men usually look for attractive women, but Kang did not care too much about the woman's looks." The police suspects that Kang did not go to Cambodia to find a spouse, but to plan for an insurance fraud.

Kang, a welfare recipient, made his living by collecting insurance proceeds from undergoing a light stroke. He purchased four health-related insurance policies from four different insurance companies from November 19, 2007 through November 24, 2007, only to hospitalize himself at a university hospital in Gangwon-do. Kang traveled to Cambodia with the money he received from repeating hospitalization. Since marrying C, Kang purchased six life insurance policies from six different insurance companies from September through December 2009. The proceeds totaled KRW 1.2 billion [TK: = $1 million]

One insurance company refused to allow Kang to purchase a life insurance policy because he had gone over the company-set upper limit on life insurance proceeds. A representative of the insurance company said, "Kang was very strange. He did not have a regular income, but enrolled in high-value insurances that required him to pay high premium. He particularly focused on insurance collectible upon death, which did not deal with health." An official from Financial Supervisory Service said, "Kang scored 82 on insurance fraud indicator. The indicator is calculated based on the enrollee's insurance and payment, and 82 indicates the likelihood of serial insurance fraud."

Kang tried to persuade C into joining insurance fraud also. Ms. P, another Cambodian bride who knew C, said, "Kang was a bad person. He bought a bicycle to C, told her to ram her bicycle into a car and collect insurance proceeds." Kang's greed for insurance money was endless. He planned to collect on the life insurance by bribing the local police in Cambodia and obtaining a death certificate for his wife, but failed when the local police refused.

Since returning from Cambodia, Kang began searching the Internet with such keywords as "innocent poisoning," "fire death" and "blowfish poison." He also joined a fire insurance on January 15, two months before the fire. Kang, who usually did not cook, would leave the house with a pot on the gas burner, or put a blanket over an electric heater.

On the day C died, Kang was shooting pool at a pool hall at 5 p.m., and returned home complaining of stomach pain. C told the police that he had sex with his wife after returning home; afterward, the wife was about the fall asleep, so he told her that he was visiting a friend in Suwon but returned to the pool hall instead. But the police suspects that Kang returned home, drugged his wife and put the blanket next to the electric heater so that a fire would happen. Kang did not appear to be grieving after the wife died. K said, "A few days after his wife died, C came to me and asked me to introduce C's sister. I refused, flabbergasted, then C demanded that I find him a wife from Uzbekistan. He also threatened me after he came back from the police."

The investigation team secured ample circumstantial and indirect evidence, but could not find a direct evidence. The acquaintances of C and Kang also suspected Kang, but there was no evidence. The family of C declined to speak with the police; apparently Kang had bribed them. Lieutenant Kim Dong-Hyeok of the investigation team emphasized, "We could not let Kang go just because we did not have direct evidence. We wanted to show the truth of the matter, however possible." The fact that the victim was a marriage immigrant also moved the police to action. Captain Kim Seong-Ho, chief of homicide unit, said, "C was young, but she came to Korea to marry her husband for the sake of her family. She could not even communicate in Korea. We could not give up the investigation because we felt terrible that another Korean harmed an immigrant."

The investigation began anew. The police had to prove scientifically that the fire was not simply a negligent accident, but a deliberate arson. Lieutenant Kim strove to present objective data. The investigation team asked for assistance from Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Life Insurance Association, NISI, National Emergency Management Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the School of Firefighting and Emergency Response at Kyungwon University. Professor Choi Don-Mook from Kyungwon University said, "The police will determine the criminal, but we simulated how the fire broke out by reconstructing the crime scene."

Based on this simulation, the investigation team showed that considering the safety switch of the electric heater and the distance between the heater and the blanket, it was impossible for fire to break out based on simple negligence. This became the determinative cause for which the court found in favor of the police at the indictment stage. The police showed that the fire is an intentional arson, and there was no evidence that anyone other than the husband entered the house around the time of the fire. Insurance fraud provided the clear motive for murder.

This case is similar to the 1995 dentist murder. At the time, the husband who was a surgeon was indicted on the suspicion of killing his wife, a dentist, and his one-year-old daughter and setting fire on the house to hide the traces of crime. The court battle lasted eight years, but the husband was found not guilty because no direct evidence was found. The police and the prosecutor in charge of that investigation still considers the husband to be the most likely suspect. Similarly, although Kang admitted the charges of insurance fraud, but strenuously denying the charges of arson and murder.

The investigation team requested the records for the dentist murder case, closely reviewing them to ensure that the investigation did not miss anything. Lieutenant Kim said, "I will be in charge of the case until the court battle ends." He added, "Outside of Korea, indirect and circumstantial evidence is sometimes enough to get a conviction because crimes are becoming more intelligent and the suspect may go to great lengths to hide his crime by committing arson, for example. We will keep hunting down evidence even if it takes the Supreme Court to hand down the conviction, if only to leave a good precedent."

억울하게 죽은 여인 도저히 그냥 둘 수 없었다 [Dong-A Ilbo]

A few thoughts after reading this...

1.  When a person's companionship is essentially purchased with money, it is only a matter of time before something like this happens. The Korean has been critical of Korea's mail-order bride practice from the very beginning of this blog, and he is still disgusted by this retching spectacle. This is a national shame that cannot end soon enough. This practice either needs to be severely regulated at the marriage broker level, or banned altogether until the situation improves. When a person's worth is commodified, the person's life is constantly in danger.

2.  If there is any silver lining to this, it is that the police pursued this case doggedly and is in the course of bringing the murderer to justice. In the process, there was a nice display of collective self-awareness that the Korean discussed in this post. It is not as if Captain Kim felt responsible for C's death. But he understood that Kang, a fellow Korean, exploited C, who put herself in a vulnerable situation by coming to Korea. That in turn gave Captain Kim an extra measure of impetus to be more persistent about his investigation.

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

AAK! Music: Around Thirty by Kim Gwang-Seok (1994)

-NOTE- Blogger is acting up. There are two videos on this post, but somehow you can only see them if you click the title of this post and bring up this post only. Do that to listen to the song. Sorry.

Today's selection is Around Thirty (서른 즈음에) by Kim Gwang-Seok (김광석):

서른 즈음에

Around Thirty

또 하루 멀어져간다

Another day drifts away

내뿜은 담배연기처럼

Like exhaled smoke

작기만한 내 기억속에

In my memories so small

무얼 채워 살고 있는지

What do I fill and live on

점점 더 멀어져간다

Drifts farther and farther away

머물러있는 청춘인줄 알았는데

Thought it was staying youth

비어가는 내 가슴속엔

In my emptying heart

더 아무것도 찾을 수 없네

Nothing more can be found

계절은 다시 돌아오지만

Seasons again return

떠나간 내 사랑은 어디에

But where my love that left

내가 떠나보낸 것도 아닌데

I did not let it leave either

내가 떠나온 것도 아닌데

I did not leave it either

조금씩 잊혀져 간다

Forgotten little by little

머물러 있는 사랑인줄 알았는데

Thought it was staying love

또하루 멀어져간다

Another day drifts away

매일 이별하며 살고 있구나

Living on saying good bye every day

매일 이별하며 살고 있구나

Living on saying good bye every day

Briefly about Kim Gwang-Seok:  Kim debuted in 1984 as a part of a band called 노래를 찾는 사람들 ("People Who Seek Music"), which played a large part in Korea's democratization movement by providing many songs with the underlying message of resistance. He later quit the band and debuted as a solo in 1989, after a short stint as a guest member of a band called 동물원 ("Zoo"). Kim goes on to have more than 1,000 live concerts from 1989 to 1995, a record of some sort. He has two albums with 동물원, four regular solo albums, and two compilation albums. Tragically, Kim committed suicide in January 1996, at the age of 34 -- perhaps the earliest example of celebrity suicide in Korea. Kim was more underground, and his songs were never chart-toppers. However, since his death, there have been five tribute albums in his name, reflecting the broad and everyday appeal of his music. 

About this song:  서른 즈음에 is on Kim's fourth and last regular album. In a survey of 40 pop music experts in 2007, 서름 즈음에 was selected to have the most powerful lyrics of the songs of 1990s. The responders said: "Listening to the song automatically makes you look back upon yourself."

Translation note:  작기만한 내 기억속에/무얼 채워 살고 있는지 was particularly difficult.

The Korean on Kim Gwang-Seok:  The barer of Korean soul of late 1980s. Unlike, for example, Kim Dong-Ryul, Kim Gwang-Seok's songs are always situation-specific, and never leaves the emotions of Korea in the 1980s -- no longer desperate for food and freedom, but vaguely afraid of what lies ahead. Even a song that could be more universalistic like this one, knowing what it likes to be facing 30 years of age in Korea of late 1980s doubles the emotional strength of the song.

Kim also represents the last scion of Korean pop culture up to mid-1990s, when a singer could be a star without having to appear on television or go through a production company. His songs are always simple, at times deceptively so -- just a guitar and his unassuming but clear voice. He would be the last of his kind, as a man who would forever change Korean pop music (for good and for bad) was gaining a mythological status right as Kim left this world.

After the jump, another video of Kim Gwang-Seok singing Around Thirty before a live audience.

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

Shin Hae-cheol, the K-Pop Icon

Fate can be cruelly ironic. Only a few days after TK covered him in this space, with hopes to cover him more going forward, Shin Hae-cheol passed away from cardiac arrest on October 27, 2014. He was only 46 years old.

As TK explained previously, Shin is K-pop’s greatest rock icon of the 1990s. Through his outspoken activism and direct communication with his loyal listeners, his influence extended well into the 2000s, and well beyond the consumers of pop culture. No one in the history of K-pop left a footprint quite like Shin’s. Though his life was tragically cut short, it deserves to be known to a wider audience who appreciates K-pop, and wishes to understand where it came from, where it has been.

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K-pop nearly died in 1975. The Park Chung-hee dictatorship saw pop culture, especially rock music, as a threat to public order and ultimately its regime. When Shin Jung-hyeon [신중현], the greatest rocker of the time, refused to write a song praising the dictatorship, the government banned his music and arrested him on trumped-up drug charges. Numerous K-pop artists met the same fate.

Korean pop music, which stood near the forefront of global pop music trends in the 1970s, took a massive step back. Only the inoffensive, melodramatic soft rock could survive for the next decade, as the next dictator Chun Doo-hwan--whose rule ended in 1987--was hardly a fan of rock music either.

Perhaps it was not a coincidence that an upstart band, calling themselves the Infinite Track [무한궤도], came onto the stage as the last contestant of the MBC College Pop Music Festival in 1988, a year after Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship was toppled. The College Festival, which began in 1977, became the new path to stardom after the dictatorship decimated the existing pop music scene. But for a long time, the college bands that performed on the Festival mimicked the larger trend. Their music was soft and meek, tear-jerking without being daring.

That is, until the Infinite Track took the stage. The Infinite Track seemed to be an unlikely band to challenge the status quo--its members were the classic definition of elites, as they were students of Seoul National, Yonsei and Sogang. When the baby-faced lead singer and guitarist Shin Hae-cheol gave the pre-performance interview, few expected what was coming next.

Then the song began, with blaring fanfare. A rush of synthesizer followed. The drums crashed harder than they did all night. The lights of the freshly constructed Olympic stadium--which just finished serving its purpose in the Seoul Olympics--blinkered wildly to the beat. The song, called To You [그대에게], instantly owned the crowd. (It would continue to own the crowd for the next thirty years, as it is one of the favorite songs for Korea’s cheering sports fans today.) When the Infinite Track finished performing, there was no doubt about who won the 1988 College Pop Music Festival.

(More after the jump.)

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

Koran Burning, and the Cowardly Shield of Individualism

The news that Koran burners have blood on their hands is getting surprisingly little publicity in the U.S. To those who are not aware, Pastors Wayne Sapp and Terry Jones in Florida burned a Koran in a church on March 20. On April 1, several hundred protesters surrounded the UN headquarters in Afghanistan, and the protest turned deadly. At least 30 people were killed, including seven UN staffers.

To the extent there was any reaction in America, the reaction was no more than some tut-tuts and hand-wringing accompanied with some mutterings about First Amendment rights. In fact, some people took to task that Gen. Petraeus dared to offer condolences to the people who died in the violent episode. Particularly interesting is this post by W.W., an America-based correspondent for the Economist:

General David Petraeus and Mark Sedwill, NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, issued a joint statement condemning the Florida zealot's zealotry and offering "condolences to the families of all those injured and killed in violence which occurred in the wake of the burning of the Holy Qur'an", omitting to note the agency and responsibility of the zealots actually responsible for the deadly mob violence, almost as if zealots in Florida are expected to control themselves while zealots in Afghanistan are not.

...

But the military occupation of Afghanistan, which is (let's face it) the basis of most anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan, is not Terry Jones' responsibility any more than it is mine, and neither is the behaviour of zealots enraged by his idiotic pyrotechnics. The mob can't pass the buck to Terry Jones any more than Terry Jones can pass the buck to Khalid Sheik Mohammed. The buck stops in each zealous breast. It's imprudent to issue official statements that suggest otherwise—that suggest responsibility rests with those who try to incite and not with those who choose to be incited.

The Wall Street Journal concludes its piece on Mr Petraeus' unwelcome new travails with a quotation from a rioting zealot in Kandahar:

"We cannot see the difference between that man in Florida and the American soldiers here," said Karimullah, a 25-year-old religious student who, like many Afghans, goes by one name and took part in Sunday's Kandahar protests. "They are killing our people here while in the U.S. they burn the Holy Quran. America just wants to humiliate the Muslim world."

Like Terry Jones, Mr Karimullah is just full of it. He can see the difference between the American soldiers in Afghanistan and Terry Jones, if he tries. For example, Terry Jones is not part of the military occupation of Mr Karimullah's country. And the innocent civilians Afghan rioters have wantonly killed aren't American soldiers or Terry Jones.

Zealotry and Responsibility [The Economist] (emphasis added)

The Korean thought this was interesting because it clearly shows something about America that drives this American crazy:  the stunning lack of self-awareness at the collective level, and the willingness to hide behind the ignorant and cowardly shield of individualism at every opportunity.

More after the jump.

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

Excreting the Dregs

Dear Korean, 

Recently, I realized I know more Asian women who are married to white guys than Asian women married to Asian men. Why is that? And why does it bother me so much? (Disclaimer: I do not live in Flushing, Palisades Park, Annandale, Koreatown NY or LA, etc, where Koreans are the majority.) I am already happily married, and I know that whom one decides to fall in love with is none of my business regardless of race, sex, etc. Nonetheless, I am bothered by this trend, not on a personal level but more on a macro level. Don't know why it bothers me but it does. 

Pete

Allow the Korean to open with a poem:

이불을 꿰매면서 (박노해)
Sewing the Blanket (by Bak No-hae)

이불홑청을 꿰매면서
As I sew the blanket cover
속옷 빨래를 하면서
As I launder the underwear
나는 부끄러움의 가슴을 친다
I beat my chest in shame

똑같이 공장에서 돌아와 자정이 넘도록
We both return from the factory; until past midnight
설거지에 방청소에 고추장단지 뚜껑까지
마무리하는 아내에게
To the wife who washed dishes, cleaned the room
and checked the lid of the gochujang pot
나는 그저 밥달라 물달라 옷달라 시켰었다
I simply ordered, give me food, water and clothes

동료들과 노조일을 하고부터
Ever since I began the labor union with colleagues
거만하고 전제적인 기업주의 짓거리가
The deeds of the arrogant, imperialistic capitalist have been,
대접받는 남편의 이름으로
In the name of the esteemed husband,
아내에게 자행되고 있음을 아프게 직시한다
Perpetrated to the wife; this, I painfully face.

명령하는 남자, 순종하는 여자라고
Men order, women obey
세상이 가르쳐 준 대로
So the world taught me
아내를 야금야금 갉아먹으면서
As I ate away the wife
나는 성실한 모범근로자였다
I was a diligent, model worker

노조를 만들면서
As I establish the union
저들의 칭찬과 모범표창이
Their praise and awards were
고양이 꼬리에 매단 방울소리임을,
Just the sounds of bells on the cat's tail
근로자를 가족처럼 사랑하는 보살핌이
Their talk of loving the workers like their family was
허울 좋은 솜사탕임을 똑똑히 깨달았다
Just a puffed-up cotton candy; this, I clearly realized.

편리한 이론과 절대적 권위와 상식으로 포장된
몸서리쳐지는 이윤추구처럼
Like the shuddering pursuit of profit,
wrapped in a convenient theory, absolute authority and common sense,
나 역시 아내를 착취하고
I, too, exploit the wife, and
가정의 독재자가 되었다
Became the tyrant of the home

투쟁이 깊어 갈수록 실천 속에서
As the struggle deepens, in my actions
나는 저들의 찌꺼기를 배설해 낸다
I excrete their dregs
노동자는 이윤 낳는 기계가 아닌 것처럼
That, as the laborers are not the machine that lays profit
아내는 나의 몸종이 아니고
The wife is not a servant of mine;
평등하게 사랑하는 친구이며 부부라는 것을
That she is a friend, a spouse, who loves equally
우리의 모든 관계는 신뢰와 존중과
민주주의에 바탕해야 한다는 것을
That all of our relationship must be
based on trust, respect and democracy
잔업 끝내고 돌아올 아내를 기다리며
Waiting for the wife, who will return after finishing overtime
이불홑청을 꿰매면서
Sewing the blanket cover
아픈 각성의 바늘을 찌른다
I prick the painful needle of realization

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Pete's question is common among Asian American men. It is hardly a secret that there is a massive gender disparity in interracial marriages involving Asian Americans. 5.2% of Chinese American men are married white women; 14.5% of Chinese American women are married to white men. 7.9% of Filipino men are married to white women; 27% of Filipino women are married to white men. 18.8% of Japanese American men are married to white women; 38.1% of Japanese American women are married to white men. 5.2% of Korean American men are married to white women; 24.4% of Korean American women are married to white men.

To this reality, Pete's reaction is common among Asian American men: we are vaguely bothered, even as we recognize that it is none of our business who falls in love with whom. What is going on?

(More after the jump)

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

AAK! Music: Rainy Apgujeong by Brown Eyes (2002)

It's raining in New York. Here is a song for the rain, for the Korean's hometown. Today's selection is Rainy Apgujeong (비오는 압구정) by Brown Eyes.

비오는 압구정

Rainy Apgujeong

비오는 압구정 골목길에서 그댈 기다리다가 나 혼자 술에 취한 밤

Rainy Apgujeong night when, while waiting for you in the alley, I got drunk by myself

혹시나 그댈 마주칠까봐 두시간 지나도록 마냥 기다리네

 Just in case I run into you, for over two hours, I just keep waiting

Oh rainy day 어쩌면 이젠 못볼지도 몰라

Oh rainy day. We may never see each other now

일부러 니가 다시 날 찾기전엔

Unless you purposefully look for me again

Oh rainy day tonight

Oh rainy day tonight

너와 나의 인연이 여기까지일까

Is this it for the tie between you and I

며칠전까진 여기서 널 보곤 했는데

 Just a few days ago I used to meet you here

오늘은 전화도 꺼놨나봐

Today, looks like you turned off your phone too

그대 목소릴 닮은 서운한 비만 오네

Only the rain, apathetic like your voice

Oh rainy day tonight

Oh rainy day tonight

너와 나의 인연이 여기까지일까

Is this it for the tie between you and I

며칠전까진 여기서 널 보곤 했는데

 Just a few days ago I used to meet you here

오늘은 전화도 꺼놨나봐

Today, looks like you turned off your phone too

그댈 기다리다가 나혼자 술에 취한 밤

The night when, while waiting for you, I got drunk by myself

혹시나 그댈 마주칠까봐 두시간 지나도록 마냥 기다리네

 Just in case I run into you, for over two hours, I just keep waiting

Oh rainy day

Oh rainy day

어쩌면 이젠 못볼지도 몰라

We may never see each other now 

일부러 니가 다시 날 찾기까전엔

Unless you purposefully look for me again 

Oh rainy day tonight

Oh rainy day tonight

너와 나의 인연이 여기까지일까

Is this it for the tie between you and I 

그대 목소릴 닮은 비만 오네

Only the rain, like your voice

Briefly about Brown Eyes:  Brown Eyes is an R&B band made up of Yoon Geon (real name: Yang Chang-Ik) and Na-Eol (real name: Yoo Na-Eol). The band released its first album in 2001, and has released three albums so far. Their eponymous first album sold 700,000 albums without the band holding a single concert, which has to be a record of some sort. The band had a long hiatus in 2002 after the second album's release, during which Na-Eol performed as a part of a different band called Brown Eyed Soul while Yoon Geon went solo. The two released the third album under the Brown Eyes name in 2009; Yoon Geon said that both Na-Eol and Yoon Geon will by and large pursue solo careers, but will release music under Brown Eyes name from time to time, pending Na-Eol's completion of his military duties. The entire proceeds from the third album was donated to World Vision, a Christian charity.

About this song:  Rainy Apgujeong was listed on Brown Eyes' second album, titled "Reason 4 Breathing?"

Translation notes:  The lyrics that were originally in English are highlighted in blue.

- Apgujeong is a nouveau riche district in Seoul that is known for chic fashion boutiques as well as upscale shopping, restaurants and bars.

- 인연 and 서운한 were very difficult to translate. They turned out very inelegant. The Korean hates these moments.

- The first line of the song was also very inelegant -- even more so because the underlying message of what it means to be hanging out at Apgujeong is entirely lost.

The Korean on Brown Eyes:  Although sometimes slips into the banal Korea-friendly soft rock, overall very good R&B, and very good voice. Considering the two's success with their later efforts, had a potential to dominate the K-pop scene for a long time if they stayed together.

Significance in K-Pop History:  (1 = instantly forgettable; 5 = popular at the time, ultimately forgettable; 10 = transcendental history-maker)  5.5 out of 10.

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

Ask a Korean! News: North Korean Riot in 1998

It has been a while since the Korean translated from Nambuk Story, a North Korean blog run by Mr. Joo Seong-Ha, a Kim Il-Sung University graduate who defected from North Korea. The Korean has been translating his incredible stories and invaluable insight partly because they are informative, and partly because of a sense of duty that the world needs to know what has happened in Korea, and what is happening now. This story  is long, but the world must know. Incredibly, although this happened more than 10 years ago, the story is only getting told now from a defector through Mr. Joo. Below is the translation.

*            *           *

My name is Lee Choon-Gu, 35 years old. I escaped from North Korea and defected into Republic of Korea, my dream world. I am from Hwanghaebuk-do Hwangju-gun.

At this point, I have largely forgotten the hunger and struggle I experienced in North Korea before I defected. But I can never forget the laborer's riot at Hwanghae Steel Refinery at August 1998, in Hwanghaebuk-do Songrim-si. North Korean regime's inhuman barbarism that quelled this riot will forever stain the pages of history.

In early August of 1998, I came to stay with my aunt at Songrim-si to get through the dire food shortage. Songrim-si is known for having one of the largest steel refineries in North Korea. My family came to rely on my aunt's because her little business of carrying around and selling things was doing ok at a place with a high density of laborers, nearly 100,000 employees of the steel mill. The three of us -- myself, wife and child -- abandoned the house at Hwangju-gun, got to help my aunt selling fish and eat what little food available. I was so thankful for my aunt and uncle then. My uncle was working at the automated line within the Hwanghae Steel Refinery.

At this time, the situation was the same everywhere in North Korea. Even in Songrim-si filled with laborers, the monthly food ration amounted to corn power worth a day or two. The laborers did not show up to work, severely dropping the factory's productivity. The factory officials visited my aunt's house several times to persuade my uncle, who could not report to work. The officers said a few words like "Let's try to overcome this difficulty and be loyal to the Dear Leader," but my uncle hardly cared.

I think it was around August 10, 1998. There were rumors all over Songrim-si that there is a public execution by a firing squad, executing eight Hwanghae Steel Refinery officers at the public stadium. Apparently the manager and the secretary of the steel mill began discussing how to feed the laborers, and the assistant managers participated. The conclusion was to sell pressed steel plates to China in exchange for corn.

The manager and the secretary of a steel mill are candidates for Labor Party Central Committee and members of the elite power structure. They were supposed to report something like this to the Central Party, but decided to handle within the steel mill. They knew that the higher-ups would not approve because the steel plates were for the military, etc. At the meeting, the secretary and the manager explained, "We are not being reactionaries; we are trying to produce steel by feeding the laborers and have them participate in production." At the same time, they pleaded the officers to keep it secret.

The steel mill's boat at Nampo seaport took the steel plates to China to be exchanged for corn. The steel mill's assistant manager and other officers were on the boat to negotiate with the Chinese. Of course, the laborers on the boat would not know the specifics of this transaction. They returned with a boat full of corn exchanged with the steel plates, and were about to moor the boat at Nampo.

Suddenly, young men in plainclothes jumped on the boat brandishing handguns, and showed their identification. The ID said Pyongyang Chief Security Bureau Inspection Division, the embedded enforcers who are known to operate through direct orders from the North Korean regime. They arrested everyone on the boat, tied them up and took them away somewhere in a car -- a rare thing to see in North Korea. Apparently, the arrest happened because someone snitched. All this I heard from the laborers from the boat, who were let go because they did not know anything. The streets were filled with indignant murmurs wondering who snitched. The murmurs also voiced the people's praise for the officers' brave decision for the laborers.

Next day at 9 a.m., the city public stadium was filled with laborers and residents with heavy hearts. With my uncle, I saw the eight people to be executed getting dragged out from a truck. Probably because of torture, they could not walk; the plainclothed young men of Pyongyang Chief Security Bureau Inspection Division dragged them to the stakes. Even as they were being tied to the stakes, my uncle who worked at the steel mill could not tell who was who. Although it was summer, everyone was wrapped in thick cotton winter clothes with their eyes covered.

Then the people from some kind of central tribunal read the sentencing statement for death penalty. It said for the treason that violated the Party's sovereign leadership and sold the republic's supplies to a foreign country, the assistant manager and head of sales who were arrested on the boat, and other related assistant managers and head of production -- eight officers -- are to be executed immediately. Suddenly the murmurs grew, expressing a sense of injustice. "Execution is too much; it's not like they were trying to feed themselves."

But some dozen shooters lined up in front of the prisoners with automatic rifles, and sprayed bullets on command. The shrieking sound of bullets lifted up and put down the small stadium, and the shot prisoners all squirted blood, slumping forward. Facing this enormous scene of murder, the people fell quiet. But after the storm passed, the outraged yell of the people began to burst out here and there, swaying the stadium. My uncle and I were also agitated, and joined voices to hurl curses of whose meaning we did not even know.

As if to represent them, a middle-aged woman jumped in front of the microphone that was used to read the sentencing statement. The people around me all pointed to her and said she used to be a nurse for the Great Leader (Kim Il-Sung). My uncle said the woman was a designated nurse for Kim Il-Sung at Bonghwa hospital at Pyongyang, who came back to her hometown Songrim-si to live a high life while earning the trust of the central party. I could feel my gaze sharpening as I heard my uncle, thinking that woman would spout some garbage to justify the execution. I could feel the other people also sending her a hateful glare. But the woman's voice reverberating from the mic was completely unexpected:

"How dare you execute in this barbaric manner? The steel mill officers tried to get the corn only to produce and please the Dear Leader. They should be punished if their method was wrong, but they did not deserve execution. The executed officers tried to feed the laborers to get them to work. They weren't trying to feed themselves. Killing them like this was barbaric ..."

Before she could finish, the plainclothed young men rushed in, dragged the woman away from the microphone. They kicked her with their boots, and put a gag in her mouth. Then they tied her up, dragged her to the stake where one of the prisoner just died. They kicked away the slumped body of the executed prisoner, and tied the woman on the stake. Then a middle-aged, plainclothed man -- not the judge who read the statement -- stepped up. He was directing the men from the Inspection Division. He said icily, "Anyone who disobeys our socialist sovereign system is executed immediately. Everyone behave accordingly." Before he even finished, three shooters fired nine shots at the woman.

As the woman, who was alive just earlier, fell into a pool of blood, the people were petrified as if their mouthes froze over. Shivering with terror, they could not even breathe loudly; not even a rustle could be heard in the stadium full of people. My uncle and I, shocked with fear, left the stadium and came home. Even at home, no one -- including my aunt and my wife, who were there also -- tried to say anything. It felt as if the moment we say anything, someone will rush in and bury bullets in us again.

The next day afternoon, the rumor began to spread in Songrim-si that the outraged steel mill laborers risked death, rushed the factory and began protesting. Several thousand laborers gathered to conduct a sitting protest at a road within the factory, chanting, "No more purges of officers" and "Officers who tried to feed us for the mill did nothing wrong." The Songrim-si people did not spare the words of encouragement: "The laborer class is truly a class of their own," "Laborers are fearless." A protest like this in North Korea could not even be dreamed of.

The protesters decided to occupy the factory sitting down, until a representative from the regime heard their demands. As they heard no word until dark, they continued to protest over the night. We fell asleep as we heard news about their protest.

I woke up as my wife was shaking me. As I was opening my eyes, I was startled by the eardrum-piercing noise. The dull roar of caterpillar rang the windows and shook the floor -- it had to be tanks. They must have been moving so closely together that I could not tell how many there were. I looked at the clock; it was nearly 4 a.m. My aunt and uncle, both awake, stared at the outside noise with bewilderment.

"Is there a war?" "I think so." My aunt and uncle spoke to each other. My wife and I looked at each other, widening our eyes with agreement. Korean War started in early morning also; the dark blue daybreak with the sounds of tank seemed like war.

"What do we do? Go find out what happened. We might have to make a run." My uncle and I hurriedly put on our pants as my aunt nagged. Once outside, we began running after the tanks that already passed by. Other people were running in front of and behind us. They were running toward the mill. The steel mill was about a mile and half from our house. We kept hearing the tanks in the mill's direction. The streets were filled with people running toward the mill. As we were running, I asked my uncle -- aren't the tanks going to the protesters? My uncle glanced at me and dismissed the notion right away, saying "What would tanks do there?"

Suddenly, the people stopped running, frozen where they were standing to hear the blasting guns. Hundreds of blasts were mixed with shrieking screams. It was like a dream, as if those screams were piercing my heart. After about ten minutes, the sound of guns and the laboring sound of the tanks stopped, only the sound as if the stationary tanks were starting up again. Then the chaotic sound of crying, inside the mill. The people rushed into the mill, and then stopped, shocked at the scene before them.

The asphalt-paved road inside the steel mill had a river of viscous, dark dead blood. In the middle of every person who cried together, dozens of horrendously squashed dead bodies were strewn about, next to messy piles of severed arms and legs. The rising stink of blood was retching. Hundreds of soldiers were haughtily aiming their guns at a group of men, who appeared to be the protesters. All the bodies looked like they were run over by the tanks or shot.

Soon, the people surrounded the bodies of their family and began wailing. As if there was no protest to begin with, there was only a sea of tears. The people could hear from what the protesters said: a dozen tanks and hundreds of soldiers on trucks came before the sitting protesters. The laborers were ordered to scatter, but they did not budge. Then, following a signal, the protesters fell with the loud sounds of gunfire, and the tanks rolled into the protesting ranks. Dozens of sitting laborers in the front were suddenly swallowed up into the tank's tracks. The frightened protesters screamed and scattered.

The next day, bulletins from Social Security Bureau (currently People's Security Bureau) appeared on the streets. They said the leaders of the protest who threatened the socialist system and caused a disloyal incitement would be judged in the name of the people. It was like a state of martial law, as the young soldiers with guns prowled the alleyways.

Two days later, there was another public execution of three laborers, who were supposedly the leaders of the riot, with a middle school teacher and a young woman. The crime of the middle school teacher and the young woman was to steal a radio from a Korean-Japanese who returned to North Korea from Japan. They were unlucky -- during the state of martial law, they were caught by the security bureau agents who were looking for any excuse to execute someone.

My wife was sitting in the front of the public execution, and she said among the prisoners, her eyes were drawn to the frail-looking young woman. After their crimes and the judgment of execution by firing squad were read, the two plainclothes from the Chief Security Bureau approached the woman. They struck her jaw to dislocate it, and put in her mouth a small spring held in their hand. The small, round spring stretched up, pushing out her mouth. She writhed in pain. Then she was shot several times, dying at the stake. My wife was in shock. Trembling, she could not sleep for several days.

No one in Songrim-si dared to even breathe loudly for the entire August. This is the event that is known to have been suppressed by Pyongyang's Chief Security Bureau.

직접 목격한 북한 노동자 폭동, 탱크로 밀어버린 현장은 [Nambuk Story]

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

SXSW Day 6 Notes: Day Trip to San Antonio

SXSW was drawing to a close on Sunday. Rather than seeing the last few showcases, I decide to follow the five Korean bands' show at San Antonio, a 1.5-hour drive from Austin.

After picking up my travel mates, we first head over to Salt Lick barbecue, considered one of the best barbecues in Texas. Salt Lick was located about an hour away from Austin, at a town called Driftwood, Texas. I could hardly think of a more appropriate name for a Texas town with fine barbecue. We get there just in time to beat the massive lunch crowd.

The verdict? It was a phenomenal barbecue, but Franklin barbecue was a little bit better. Salt Lick's side dishes were better than Franklin's, but really, do you go to a barbecue place to eat side dishes?

(More after the jump)

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

Korea was never a Part of China

Dear Korean,

I’m from Singapore and visited Korea for the first time last week. I went to the National and National Folk Museums in Seoul, and noticed that the Koreans talked mostly of their early relations with China as one of “international exchange” or “cultural exchange”, seemingly having forgotten that Korea was a vassal state of the Chinese empire and paid tribute to it in order to maintain autonomy. Will the Koreans never admit to having been part of China? 

Keith

Short answer: Koreans will never admit such a thing, because Korea has never been a part of China.

The confusion most comes from misunderstanding the term "vassal state." The concept of "vassal state" (alternately known as a "tributary state") does not really exist any more, nor has it truly existed in the history of the Western civilization. But it does vaguely sound like "colony" of the early 20th century vintage, which leads to the confusion that Korea was a part of China. That is simply not the case. "Vassal state" is a diplomatic concept that was unique to pre-modern Northeast Asia. The concept must be understood within that context, because it makes no sense outside of it.

(It must be noted that nationalistic Chinese and Japanese deliberately sow this confusion. By doing so, nationalistic Chinese exaggerate the reach of the Chinese Empire; nationalistic Japanese justifies Imperial Japan's invasion of Korea, by claiming that Korea was simply going from one colonial master to another.)

Depiction of Korean tributary envoys to China, by Kim Hong-do, circa late 18th century
(source)

Put yourself in pre-modern Northeast Asia for a moment. There is one nation in the center--China, or 中國 (literally, the "center country")--that has been clearly superior to all nations surrounding it in every aspect of civilization, including military, trade, arts, philosophy and science, for two thousand years. 

Stop there, and let two thousand years sink into your brain. Think hard about how long that time is. Think about how old your grandparents are, and think about how many more generations you have to travel upward to hit two thousand years. Think about how much of our current tradition we take for granted, and how old those traditions are. Americans love to talk about their democratic tradition, but the age of that tradition is barely more than ten percent of the Chinese empire's history. Americans look to Europe for a deeper tradition, but European tradition prior to the Renaissance--which began in the 14th century--was nothing to write home about. 

This exercise is necessary because we the modern people often get myopic, and think that beliefs of the past are dumb or absurd. Not so: if Chinese hegemony has been true for two thousand years, it is simply true to anyone living within those two thousand years in China or near China. It is like living next to the Roman Empire that never went away until the 20th century. In such a situation, it would actually be irrational to think anything other than that the world revolves around China.

In those two thousand years, Northeast Asia was a "sinosphere"--a vast region in which China acted as a center of gravity of every aspect of human civilization. Of course, other nations in the region, including Japan, Vietnam and Korea, developed their own civilization which was quite glorious in its own right. But every nation in the sinosphere shared roughly the same governing philosophy, religion, social structure and writing system, all of which ultimately originated from China.

In this sinosphere, the emperor of China naturally considered himself to be the ruler of the entire civilized world. To the Chinese empire, the entire world consisted of: (1) China, (2) civilized nations that are vassal states to China (i.e. having a diplomatic relation with China,) (3) civilized nations that are not yet vassal states to China ( i.e. having no diplomatic relation with China,) and (4) uncivilized barbarians. During the Qing Dynasty in the early 19th century, China even considered the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and England to be China's vassal states.

Informed by Confucianism (the shared ideology in sinosphere,) there was a mutual obligation between China and its vassal states. China provided vassal states with governing legitimacy, military security and (relatively) free trade. Vassal states, in return, provided a pledge of loyalty, acceptance of the Chinese emperor as the ultimate governing authority and regular tributes.

(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: 50. Pipi Band/Pipi Longstocking

[Series Index]

Finally, the 50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists series kicks off in earnest. The series will progress by providing a fairly detailed look at each artist's music career, such that by the time this series is over the reader can have a workable knowledge of K-pop history and its major players. If you have have not already, the Korean high recommends reading the earlier parts of this series to place the ranked artists in proper context.

Just to remind everyone, this list is arbitrary and capricious to the Korean's whim, and reflects the Korean's many biases. But that does not mean it is completely off the reservation -- much thought went into trying to make this list as objective as possible. To help organize the ranking, the Korean divided the 50 artists into four tiers: Legends, Best of an Era, Strong Impact and Notables. As we start from the bottom, here is the first of the notable K-pop artists.

50. Pipi Band [삐삐밴드]/Pipi Longstocking [삐삐롱스타킹]

Years of Activity: 1995-1997

Members:
Lee Yoon-Jeong [이윤정] (Vocal - in Pipi Band)
Kwon Byeong-Joon/Goguma [권병준/고구마] (Vocal - in PiPi Longstocking)
Kang Gi-Yeong [강기영] (Bass)
Park Hyeon-Joon [박현준] (Guitar)

Discography:
Cultural Revolution [문화혁명] (1995)
Impossible Mission [불가능한 작전] (1996)
Red Bean Fish Buns [붕어빵] (1996)
One Way Ticket [원웨이 티켓] (1997)
Pipi Band Pipi Longstocking: The Complete Best [삐삐밴드 삐삐롱스타킹 The Complete Best] (2004)

In 15 Words or Less:  La Resistance of the Weird.

Representative Song:  Strawberry [딸기], from Cultural Revolution

딸기

Strawberry

설탕에 찍어 딸기를 먹었어

Had a strawberry dipped in sugar

딸기밭에서 하루종일 놀았어

Played all day at the strawberry field

한참을 놀다보니 하루가 다갔어

Played for a while and the whole day passed

하루는 왜 스물네 시간일까

Why is a day 24 hours

수박 아줌마는 얼룩무늬 치마

Lady watermelon wears a striped skirt

참외 할머니는 귀머거리 할머니

Grandma melon is a deaf grandma

사과 외숙모는 친절한가봐

Auntie apple seems nice

딸기 내 친구는 사랑스러워

Strawberry my friend is lovely

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

딸기가 좋아

I like strawberry

딸기를 사달라고 졸랐어

I asked someone to buy me strawberry

딸기를 먹지 않고 웃기만 했어

I didn't eat strawberry, just smiled

나는 왜 이렇게 너를 좋아하는걸까

Why do I like you so much so

나는 왜 니가 좋은지 몰라

I don't know why I like you

그건 정말 몰라 (예) 나도 몰라

I really don't know (yeah) I don't know either

새빨간 딸기는 너무 아름다워

Bright red strawberry is so beautiful

포도 아저씨는 꿈꾸는 사람

Uncle grape is a dreamer

설탕에 찍어 딸기를 먹었어

Had a strawberry dipped in sugar

좋아 좋아 좋아 딸기가 좋아

Like like like I like strawberry

좋아 좋아 좋아 딸기가 좋아

Like like like I like strawberry

딸기가 제일 좋아 

I like strawberry the best

맛있어 

It's good.

Maybe they should have been ranked higher because...  Arguably, they kicked off the indie scene in Korea.

Maybe they should have been ranked lower because... While their indirect influence lived on, their direct influence was for the most part limited to just one album. Does this make them more influential than, say, Jang Yoon-Jeong [장윤정]?

Why is this band important?
The year is 1995, when K-pop was nearing its decisive turning point in 1996/1997. The pop culture scene just exited the oppressive mood of the military dictatorship that lasted until 1993, and was on its way to the heavily commercialized form of today. The mainstream artists were mostly dance "musicians" who peddled soulless music accompanied with catchy tunes, plagiarism and plenty of lip synch, or talented singers selling out their abilities to saccharine "ballad" songs. The underground music scene, whose resistance to the contemporary politics fueled much of its creativity, was fading along with its nemesis. The famous indie music scene in front of Hong-Ik University was not yet to be.

Enter Pipi Band, who bucked the trend in every way. The band involved no dancing. The tunes were scratchy and strange. The lead (female!) singer was not terribly pretty, and could not sing. (There are unconfirmed rumors that she was brought into the band specifically because she was so bad at singing.) Their lyrics were at best nonsensical, at worst insane. They rarely appeared on TV. But they kicked and barged their way into public consciousness by the sheer force of their weirdness. Just one listen was all you needed to furrow your brow in confusion, and turn to your friend and ask, "Have you heard this song?"

This weird band became more famous. But the raised profile only appeared to goad the band into becoming even weirder and more resistant to the prevailing trend. On television, they would sing with a bullhorn instead of a microphone to mock other "singers" who resorted to lip synching. If a TV show compelled them to play canned music, they simply stood around and refused to play the instruments. Everything finally came to a head when Pipi Longstocking -- the changed name of the band after they replaced the vocal -- spat at the camera and raised their middle finger during a live telecast of a popular music program. Ban from television followed, and the members split up to go their own way.

Pipi Band is important because they kicked off two very significant trends in K-pop that live on today -- resistance to the new mainstream, and being weird. Although the corporatized, pre-packaged "bands" are currently the mainstream in K-pop, Korea still has a robust counterculture that involves true singer-song writers and artists who are willing to push the boundaries of normal. Although the band's direct influence was not much more than a flash, it did what every pioneer did -- pointing to the road less taken, although they themselves may have only taken a few steps toward it.

Interesting Trivia:
- Vocal Lee Yoon-Jeong is a daughter of Lee Gyeong-Jae, a prominent politician. She was a ballerina by training. Currently, she is a stylist for the recent crop of celebrities.
- The bassist Kang Gi-Yeong used to belong to Sinawi [시나위], probably the greatest heavy metal band in K-pop history. He has now taken the stage name of Dalparan ("Moon Blue") [달파란], and remains influential in Korea's indie music scene.

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

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 35. Song Dae-Gwan/Tae Jin-Ah

With these two towers of trot, we conclude the "Tier 4 - Notable" section in the top 50 ranking.

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

[Series Index]

35.  Song Dae-Gwan [송대관]

Years of Activity: 1975-present

Discography:
(Regular albums only; "special" or "best" albums are too numerous and disorganized to trace.)

Sunrising Day [해뜰날] (1975)
The Looks [모습이] (1976)
20 Songs from Song Dae-Gwan [송대관 20곡집] (1976)
Song Dae-Gwan Solo [송대관 독집] (1977)
Me [나] (1977)
Myeongdong Vagabond [명동 나그네] (1978)
If You Go [당신이 가신다면] (1978)
Mi, Where are You [미야 너는 어디에] (1979)
With the Wife [아내와 같이] (1979)
Because of Jeong [정 때문에] (1989)
Who Are You To [네가 뭔데] (1991)
92 Song Dae-Gwan [92 송대관] (1992)
93 Song Dae-Gwan [93 송대관] (1993)
The Wife's Birthday [아내의 생일] (1994)
Song and Life [노래와 인생] (1998)
Memorial Album for Best Artist Award [최고 가수상 수상 기념] (2000)
Collection of Jo Dong-San [조동산 작품집] (2001)
Sorry I Loved You [사랑해서 미안해] (2005)
New Beginning [새출발] (2006)
For a Long, Long Time [오래오래] (2008)
Good Vibe [분위기 좋고] (2009)

Representative Song:  Four Beats [네박자] from Song and Life

네박자
Four Beats

니가 기쁠때 내가 슬플때 누구나 부르는 노래
When you are happy, when I am sad, the song that everyone sings
내려보는 사람도 뒤를 보는 사람도 어차피 쿵짝이라네
A person looking down, a person looking back, after all they are all koong-jjak

쿵짝 쿵짝 쿵짜자 쿵짝 네박자 속에
Koong-jjak, koong-jjak, koong-jja-ja koong-jjak, in the four beats
사랑도 있고 이별도 있고 눈물도 있네
There is love, there are partings and there are also tears
한구절 한고비 꺾고 넘을때
Each refrain, each peak, as it is repeated and climbed over
우리네 사연을 담는
Carrying the stories of us
울고 웃는 인생사 연극같은 세상사
The crying and laughing matters of our lives, the matters of the world like a play
세상사 모두가 네박자 쿵짝
All the matters of the world, just four beats koong-jjak.
쿵짝 쿵짝 쿵짜자 쿵짝 네박자 속에
Koong-jjak, koong-jjak, koong-jja-ja koong-jjak, in the four beats
사랑도 있고 이별도 있고 눈물도 있네
There is love, there are partings and there are also tears
짠짠 짜라라라 짠짠짠 짜리 짜리라라 짜라짠
Jjanjjan Jjararara Jjanjjanjjan Jjari Jjarirara Jjarajjan

나 그릴울때 너 외로울때 혼자서 부르는 노래
When I am longing, when you are lonely, this song that we sing alone
내가 잘난 사람도 지가 못난 사람도 어차피 쿵짝이라네
A person who's so great, a person who is not so, after all they are all koong-jjak

쿵짝 쿵짝 쿵짜자 쿵짝 네박자 속에
Koong-jjak, koong-jjak, koong-jja-ja koong-jjak, in the four beats
사랑도 있고 이별도 있고 눈물도 있네
There is love, there are partings and there are also tears
한구절 한고비 꺾고 넘을때
Each refrain, each peak, as it is repeated and climbed over
우리네 사연을 담는
Carrying the stories of us
울고 웃는 인생사 연극같은 세상사
The crying and laughing matters of our lives, the matters of the world like a play
세상사 모두가 네박자 쿵짝
All the matters of the world, just four beats koong-jjak.
쿵짝 쿵짝 쿵짜자 쿵짝 네박자 속에
Koong-jjak, koong-jjak, koong-jja-ja koong-jjak, in the four beats
사랑도 있고 이별도 있고 눈물도 있네
There is love, there are partings and there are also tears
짠짠 짜라라라 짠짠짠 짜리 짜리라라 짜라짠
Jjanjjan Jjararara Jjanjjanjjan Jjari Jjarirara Jjarajjan

Translation Note: Koong-jjak is an onomatopoeia for the sounds of a drumbeat. It has no meaning otherwise.

Interesting Trivia:  Song Dae-Gwan's grandfather was Song Yeong-Geun, a registered Independence Movement Patriot recognized for serving as a regional leader in the March 1 Movement in 1919. He was imprisoned and tortured by Imperial Japanese authorities, and died a few months after he was released from prison.




35.  Tae Jin-Ah [태진아]

Years of Activity: 1982-present

Discography:
(Regular albums only; "special" or "best" albums are too numerous and disorganized to trace.)

Gyeong-Ah's Love [경아의 사랑] (1982)
Tae Jin-Ah 2 [태진아 2] (1989)
Tae Jin-Ah 3 [태진아 3] (1990)
Tae Jin Ah Vol. 4 (1991)
Tae Jin-Ah Vol. 5 [태진아 Vol. 5] (1992)
93 Tae Jin-Ah [93 태진아] (1993)
95 Tae Jin-Ah [95 태진아] (1995)
97 Tae Jin-Ah [97 태진아] (1996)
98 Tae Jin-Ah [98 태진아] (1998)
2000 Tae Jina (2000)
2002 Tae Jin-Ah [2002 태진아] (2002)
Fool [바보] (2003)
2004 Tae Jin-Ah [2004 태진아] (2004)
2005 Tae Jin Ah [2005 태진아] (2005)
Good Woman [착한 여자] (2005)
Ajumma [아줌마] (2006)
2007 Tae Jin-Ah [2007 태진아] (2007)
2008 Tae Jin Ah (2008)
Love is Better than Money [사랑은 돈보다 좋다] (2010)

Representative Song:  Okgyeong-i [옥경이], from Tae Jin-Ah 2

옥경이
Okgyeong-I

희미한 불빛 아래 마주 앉은 당신은
You, sitting across under the dim light
언젠가 어디선가 본 듯한 얼굴인데
The face seems familiar from somewhere some time
고향을 물어 보고 이름을 물어봐도
Try asking her hometown, try asking her name
잃어버린 이야긴가 대답하지 않네요
Might be a lost story, she does not answer

바라보는 눈길이 젖어 있구나
The gazing eyes are moist
너도 나도 모르게 흘러간 세월아
The time that flowed away without you or me noticing
어디서 무엇을 하며 어떻게 살았는지
Where, what, how have you lived
물어도 대답없이 고개 숙인 옥경이
Asked, but Okgyeong hangs her head without an answer

바라보는 눈길이 젖어 있구나
The gazing eyes are moist
너도 나도 모르게 흘러간 세월아
The time that flowed away without you or me noticing
어디서 무엇을 하며 어떻게 살았는지
Where, what, how have you lived
물어도 대답없이 고개 숙인 옥경이
Asked, but Okgyeong hangs her head without an answer

Translation Note:  Okgyeong is an old-school woman's name. It is actually the name of Tae Jin-Ah's wife.

Interesting Trivia:  Tae Jin-Ah is a stage name constructed by taking one letter from three prominent trot singers -- Tae Hyeon-Sil, Nam Jin and Nah Hoon-Ah.



In 15 Words or Less:  The twin pillars of trot that kept the genre alive.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  How much does trot mean in the K-pop scene today? Is it any more than a novelty act?

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Longevity counts when it comes to influence. There might be only one or two other artists who had a 30+ year run of success like these two.

Why are these artists important?
As discussed previously in this series, trot has an awkward place in Korean pop history. It has very obvious roots to Japan's colonization of Korea, which evokes many bad memories. The music itself is thoroughly unoriginal, with its cheesy lyrics, unimaginative use of the same instruments (punctuated by the dreadful beats from mechanical drum boxes,) and the same goddamn one-two beat that just does not change no matter how many different songs are "composed." Instead of an expression of artistic endeavor, titles of trot albums read like an automobile model. ("Have you heard the 2005 Tae Jin-Ah yet?")

Young K-pop fans who follow the pretty faces like DBSK or SNSD consider trot to be decrepit. The too-serious K-pop aficionados (the Korean himself included) consider it to be hackneyed, stale, unoriginal. But the haters of trot must face this inevitable, uncomfortable truth that in Korea, trot simply refuses to die. One can talk about all the flaws of trot as a music until one's face turns blue, but trot fans of Korea will only turn up the volume.

So forget all your high-brow theories of what makes music great. Forget all the bullshit about conveying wrenching emotions or using innovative new sounds. And just listen to the music. Better yet, watch a performance live. Then you can understand why artists like Song Dae-Gwan and Tae Jin-Ah survived as celebrities for more than three decades. The one-two beat may be overused, but it's still catchy as hell. The lyrics are cheesy, but they still contain a sharp bit of satire or a maudlin piece of melancholy. It is so easy to bop your shoulders, so natural to sing along. (And another thing -- look at their clothes. They're pimps! Is there any other K-pop genre that comes with such surreal, over-the-top fashion sense?)

In fact, surviving is the perfect term to describe the career of Tae and Song. Korea in the 1970s and 80s was a very, very different place from Korea today. People liked different things back then. Yet Song Dae-Gwan and Tae Jin-Ah somehow churn out seemingly the same music year after year for more than three decades, and they keep showing up on TV while the younger, prettier faces change every month. And Korean people of 2010s are still attending their concerts, still buying their records. Even the younger generation is slowly returning to the fold, as Song and Tae act as a producer for a new generation of younger trot singers. Say what you will about their music, but there is no denying their influence.

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

Swing a dead cat to hit a Kim

Dear Korean,

Why do so many Koreans have the last name of Kim? What's a "high" Kim and what's a "low" Kim?

Walter H. Sakai
Professor of Biology, Santa Monica College

Dear Professor Sakai,

There really are a lot of Korean Kims. Kim is the most common last name in Korea, making up roughly 20 percent of the population -- which makes it about 10 million Kims. According to Los Angeles Times article that spoke about racial diversity in Los Angeles County, Lopez and Kim were two examples of ethnic last names that were more common than Smith. Other very common last names are Lee (15 percent) and Park (10 percent). Kim, Lee, and Park put together is about 45 percent of the Korean population.

Why so many Kims? Kim was the last name for the oldest and longest dynasty of Korea, namely Silla Dynasty, born in 57 BC and perished in 935 AD. In the early period, Silla had three rotating last names for kings -- Park clan was the one that started the Dynasty, then Seok clan, then Kim clan. Over time, Kim clan became the most powerful, and eventually all Silla kings were from the Kim clan for over 700 years. Since Kims were royalties and noblemen, their population was bound to become large.

There is not exactly a "high" or "low" Kim, but Kims (just like all other last names in Korea) are divided into a number of clans and subclans. The largest Kim clan is Gimhae Kims, which has more than 4 million members. There are certain last names that used to only belong to lower-class people (e.g. Cheon, Bang, Ji, Chu, Ma, Gol, Pih). But the significance of family lineage has greatly diminished in the modern era; frankly, no one but old coots care about last names in Korea anymore.

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

Technical Proficiency and Creativity

The Korean always enjoys reading Anthony Tommasini's take on classical music on the New York Times. His recent article regarding the increasing technical ability of classical musicians (specifically pianists) is quite interesting:

Ms. Wang’s virtuosity is stunning. But is that so unusual these days? Not really. That a young pianist has come along who can seemingly play anything, and easily, is not the big deal it would have been a short time ago.

The overall level of technical proficiency in instrumental playing, especially on the piano, has increased steadily over time. Many piano teachers, critics and commentators have noted the phenomenon, which is not unlike what happens in sports. The four-minute mile seemed an impossibility until Roger Bannister made the breakthrough in 1954. Since then, runners have knocked nearly 17 seconds off Bannister’s time.

Something similar has long been occurring with pianists. And in the last decade or so the growth of technical proficiency has seemed exponential.

But will this focus on technical proficiency kill creativity and expression? No, Tommasini says -- just the opposite:

But more recently younger pianists have not been cookie-cutter virtuosos. Technical excellence is such a given that these artists can cultivate real personality, style and flair: artists like the Ukrainian pianist Alexander Romanovsky, whose 2009 recording of Rachmaninoff’s “Études-Tableaux” for Decca is wondrously beautiful, or the highly imaginative Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski, an exceptional Bach interpreter.

...

Martha Argerich can be a wild woman at the piano, but who cares? She has stupefying technique and arresting musical ideas. I would add Krystian Zimerman, Marc-André Hamelin and probably Jean-Yves Thibaudet to this roster. There are others, both older and younger pianists. Again, lovers of the piano can disagree about the musical approaches of these tremendous artists. But that they are all active right now suggests that a new level of conquering the piano has been reached.

Virtuosos Becoming a Dime a Dozen [New York Times]

This conforms with the Korean's long-standing belief about true creativity:  to be truly creative, one has to be really, really technically good at something first. Only after there is a foundation of ability to actualize one's vision can there be a materialization of creativity.

(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: 32. Patti Kim

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

[Series Index]

32.  Patti Kim [패티김]

Years of Activity:  1958-present

Discography:
(Patti Kim did issue albums prior to 1969, but the information online only traces back to 1969.)

Stereo Highlight Vol. 3: The White House [스테레오 하이라이트 Vol. 3: 하얀집] (1969)
Patti Kim Stereo Vol. 5 [패티金 스테레오 Vol. 5] (1970)
Patti Kim '70 (1970)
Patti Kim '71 (1971)
'74 Bronze Medalist in the Third Tokyo World Music Festival ['74 제3회 동경 가요제 세계대회 동상 수상] (1974)
Wind [바람] (1974)
Patti Kim Greatest Hit Album Vol. 5 (1975)
Stereo Lifetime Vol. 1 [스테레오 일대작 제1집] (1976)
Patti Kim Sings Love [사랑을 노래하는 패티김] (1978)
Unforgettable by Patti Kim [패티김의 못잊어] (1978)
Homecoming Grand Concert [귀국 대공연] (1978)
Love that Left Autumn Behind [가을을 남기고 간 사랑] (1983)
Patti Kim '84 (1984)
Light and Shadow [빛과 그림자] (1985)
Hit Song 1 [힛송 1] (1986)
Patti Kim (1990)
Patti Kim (1991)
Life is a Small Boat [인생은 작은 배] (1994)
Love is the Flower of Life [사랑은 생명의 꽃] (1997)
Patti Kim (1999)
The One & Only (2008)
Friendship [우정] (2009)
Patti Kim Golden Best (2009)

Representative Song:  Love that Left Autumn Behind, from Love that Left Autumn Behind.

가을을 남기고 떠난 사랑
Love that Left Autumn Behind

가을을 남기고 떠난 사랑
Love that left autumn behind
겨울은 아직 멀리 있는데
But the winter is far away yet
사랑 할수록 깊어가는 슬픔의 눈물은
The tears of sorrow that deepens as I love
향기로운 꿈이었나
Were they a fragrant dream
당신의 눈물이 생각날때
When I recall your tears
기억에 남아있는 꿈들이
The dreams remaining in my memory,
눈을 감으면 수많은 별이 되어
When I close my eyes, will turn into countless stars
어두운 밤 하늘에 흘러가리
And flow in the dark night sky


아 그대 곁에 잠들고 싶어라
Oh how I wish to sleep by your side
날개를 접은 철새처럼
Like a migratory bird with folded wings
눈물로 쓰여진 그 편지는
The letter written with tears
눈물로 다시 지우렵니다
I will erase again with tears
내 가슴에 봄은 멀리 있지만
Though to my heart, spring is far away
내 사랑 꽃이 되고 싶어라
How my love wishes to be a flower

아 그대 곁에 잠들고 싶어라
Oh how I wish to sleep by your side
날개를 접은 철새처럼
Like a migratory bird with folded wings
눈물로 쓰여진 그 편지는
The letter written with tears
눈물로 다시 지우렵니다
I will erase again with tears
내 가슴에 봄은 멀리 있지만
Though to my heart, spring is far away
내 사랑 꽃이 되고 싶어라
How my love wishes to be a flower

Translation Note:  The words "migratory bird" loses all poetic meaning in English and turns into a clunker that weighs down the romance of the song.

In 15 Words or Less:  Korea's first pop star.

Maybe she should have been ranked higher because...  Patti Kim debuted in 1958. Just think about how old your parents were in 1958. And she is still going strong to this day as a septuagenarian.

Maybe she should have been ranked lower because...  Did she do a single musically special thing that lived beyond the prime of her career?

Why is this artist special?
For people who like to indulge in imagining a post-apocalyptic world, Korea in the 1950s was a close approximation. Korea began the 20th century as an extremely poor and backward country, followed by 36 years of brutal and exploitative imperial rule. After a short-lived run after the liberation, it would enter into a civil war that was as much a total war as any other war in modern history.

When the Korean looks at Patti Kim's career, a single number arrests his sight and does not let go: 1958. Only five years after the war that leveled everything and killed or wounded around four million people. Four million lives. Can you even imagine that? Just for a frame of reference, right now Japan is (rightly) receiving an outpouring of international support after its horrific earthquake, which had a toll of around 25,000 dead/wounded/missing people. In the wake of an utter, total destruction, how does it make sense to hope?

More pertinently, how does it make sense to hope that one would make a career as a singer? Remember, "pop stars" did not exist in Korea in the 1950s. Heck, "pop culture" did not exist in Korea. There were some popular singers, but their status was roughly equal to clowns at a traveling carnival in modern day America -- entertainers, yes, but not rich and not respected. Few Koreans of the 1940s grew up dreaming to be a star. Most probably did not know what that meant. Which makes Patti Kim's artistic career all the more remarkable.

Born as Kim Hye-Ja, Kim began her career as a singer for the U.S. military stationed in Korea. She took the stage name of "Patti" for Patti Page, one of the hottest names in American pop music scene at the time. In fact, they bear a fleeting resemblance to each other:

(Source) (Source)

Kim continued her career by becoming an exclusive singer for the club at what is now the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul. Since then, Patti Kim's career was nothing but pioneering and trailblazing. She was the first Korean pop singer to be invited by NHK broadcasting studio of Japan for a concert. She was also the first Korean pop singer to hold a concert at the Carnegie Hall. She appeared on Tonight Show by Johnny Carson. And she continues to chug along, still holding concerts at 72-year-young. Although she did not really break any grounds as a musician -- someone else composed nearly all of her songs -- her stage presence is reported to be legendary.

Given the strength of Korea's pop culture worldwide, it is amazing to think that its roots trace back to a USO show or a dark nightclub of a hotel. But that is so, and Patti Kim was in the middle of it.

Interesting trivia 1:  Patti Kim's song Parting [이별] is rumored to be one of Kim Jong-Il's favorite songs.

Interesting trivia 2:  This turned up in the Korean's research and he couldn't not share.

Look at that scandalous cleavage!! In Korea of 1960s!! (Source)

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

Taxonomy of Korean Drinking Places

Dear Korean,

I recently stayed in Seoul for a while and was looking for a place to have some wine. However, my Korean friend told me I should careful about where I step into, because there are many different kinds of 'clubs' - there's the normal dance clubs for young people, and then there's hostess clubs/ host clubs, there are dallan jujeom  for businessmen only, then there's all the "bangs," like noraebang, PC bang, DVD bang. Could you give me a glossary of the different kinds of 'clubs' or 'bars' that's available in Korea, so I don't wander in by mistake? I saw a shop named "Bacchus" and wanted to go in for wine till my friend told me that it was "errm... for guys.... to sleep....."

Wandering Female in Seoul

What better way to come back after two weeks than talking about drinking?! 

Let's get right into it. Koreans drink, and they drink in all kinds of places. Here is a taxonomy of places where you can enjoy adult beverage in Korea. Like every attempt to categorize human society, the categories below are not hard-and-fast but are generalized groups.

Tier 1:  Hangouts with Alcohol

There are places in Korea where one can drink, but alcohol is not the main attraction. For example:

- Restaurants:  Nearly every restaurant in Korea sells alcohol, although one would primarily visit a restaurant to have a meal. The selections are usually soju and beer, and sometimes makgeolli. This is a very broad category that is particularly susceptible to a sliding scale. That is--some restaurants are closer to eating places, while other restaurants are closer to drinking places. Where a restaurant falls on that scale depends largely on the types of food it serves. Seafood restaurants, for example, would fall closer to the "drinking place" end of the scale.

- Convenience Store:  Korea does not have the silly public drunkenness laws that most places in the U.S. has, which means it is possible to drink virtually anywhere in Korea. One of the popular hangouts is the plastic table/bench in front of a convenience store. You simply purchase your choice of alcohol and food from the store, and plop your butt down on them chairs. Most convenience stores, in fact, sell packaged foods that are popular with drinkers.

Just like this.
(source)

Certain parts of Korea (e.g. Jeolla-do, or southwestern Korea) takes this concept to an entirely new level. Not only can one drink in front of storefronts, one can even order relatively high-quality cooked food. 

- Outdoors:  Outdoors? Yes, outdoors. TK means it: you can really drink just about anywhere in Korea. At the beach? Yes. On the river bank? Yes. While hiking on a mountain? Hell yes. In fact, if the weather is warm enough, there will be mobile vendors selling drinks while walking around those places.

- Sports Venues:  Simple enough. Baseball, soccer, bowling, pool--none of these places would be as fun as they are without alcohol.

(More after the jump.)

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

SXSW Interview: Smacksoft

(source)

Smacksoft, led by frontwoman Whang Bo-ryung [황보령] (known in the U.S. market simply as "Bo",) is one of the few rock bands in Korea that are indisputably led by a woman leader. Smacksoft has been critically acclaimed for its colorful music that translates well to audiences of different cultures.

The Korean met Smacksoft at the lobby of their lodging. The interview was conducted in Korean; the translation is the Korean's own.

TK:  Please say hello to everyone.

Hi people, my name is Bo-ryung Whang. I'm the vocal and I play guitar.

Hello, I'm Smacksoft's drummer Seo Jin-sil.

Hello, I'm the bassist Shin Gee-yong.

How are you, I am Rainbow 99, the guitarist.

Hi people, I am Hanul. I play the synthesizer.

TK:  How did Smacksoft start?

Bo:  I have been playing as a solo since 1998. We held an audition for members, and Smacksoft began in 2007.

TK:  How would you describe Smacksoft's music?

Bo:  It's post-punk. It defies categories, mostly based on rock, alternative and electronica.

TK:  This is your first SXSW. How are you enjoying it?

Seo:  This is way too much fun.

Shin:  It's really different from Korea's rock festivals. In Korea, you play before a single, huge crowd. Here, each bar and club has its own, small show. The whole city is involved. I wish Korea would have something like this, too.

Rainbow 99:  It's so much more fun than expected. It's fun to watch the people here too.

TK:  Any artist at SXSW that you want to see in particular?

Bo:  We are a bit too busy to follow a particular band.

Hanul:  The lines are too long for big names anyway. I just want to stroll and watch a lot of different acts.

Bo:  There was one young woman band who does hardcore rock. I wanted to see her.

TK:  Who would you call as your musical influence?

Bo:  J.S. Bach. You know, Johann Sebastian. Velvet Underground. Bauhaus. Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Cure. Simon and Garfunkle, Bob Marley, the Pixies. Suzanne Vega. I like everyone. Sonic Youth.

Seo:  I'm not into Sonic Youth.

Bo:  How about we all go around and talk about the music we like then.

Hanul:  Sigur Ross, My Bloody Valentine. [Bo:  I like them too!]

Rainbow 99:  Brian Inoue. Vision of Disorder. Yo La Tengo.

Shin:  Pink Floyd.  [Rainbow 99:  I hate them. Their earlier stuff was ok though.]

Seo:  I like jazz. Chet Baker, Bill Evans. I like Red Hot Chili Peppers too.

TK:  Would it be faster if you just listed the stuff you don't listen to?

Rainbow 99:  Sure. I'm not into "K-pop."

Hanul:  Music from hot countries, like reggae. I also hate the trot medleys that they sell at highway rest stops in Korea. Regular trot is fine; just that fast medleys.

Bo:  There is some jazz with discordant notes. I can't stand it.

TK:  How do you see Smacksoft's music evolving, going forward?

Bo:  We just want to make good sound. The music equipment has made that so much easier. With computers, it is much easier to add anything we want, and just put on some more acoustic stuff. In our most recent fifth album, we have a lot of rock, electronica and ambient noise. We try not to get tied down to a certain genre.

TK:  How did you feel about your SXSW experience?

Bo:  I love people. I love music. I love Austin and SXSW! It's so wonderful here.

Seo:  It was far beyond expectation. I really want to come back.

Bo:  Maybe we should leave our instruments here.

Shin:  Seeing so many artists was great. It was so much better than seeing just the headliners.

Hanul:  Rock festivals in Korea are too similar to one another. I wish they combined to form just a couple of festivals with more tradition, and have something like this in Korea.

Bo:  It could totally happen around Daehak-ro. We should talk to the mayor.

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