The Lee Jung Hee Hoax

Dear Korean,

I am curious about your thought on the Lee Jung Hee scandal that happened earlier this year, since it is so bizarre and apparently trending in the various social media. Could you please share some words about the scandal?

Eugenia

TK really, really did not want to get into this one, but it was simply ridiculous how many of you asked this question. So let's go.

The Lee Jung Hee scandal began with a sensational allegation made on a website late June this year. The full version of of the allegations is available in English here. The short version of the allegation is this:  

A woman named Lee Jung Hee, who is in her 40s and has two teenage sons, claimed that she and her sons have been subject to decades of sexual abuse at the hand of her husband. Lee was forced to marry her husband, who was a pastor, in her 20s, after having been raped by him and got pregnant. Since then, Lee's husband forced her into prostitution for 20 years, during which she was forced to partake in orgies while being drugged. Her sons were also forced into the orgies after they became older. All told, Lee was raped by "around 1,000 people" for 20 years, and her sons "around 300 people." The orgies were filmed, and the participants of the orgies sold the videos and shared the profit.

Lee finally escaped in 2014 and called the police on her husband, but there was minimal investigation as the participants of the orgies were politically and socially powerful men. Instead, the police committed one of Lee's sons to a mental institution, where he developed psychosis.

This story started going around the Internet in Korea, because it had all the sensational elements--a twisted mixture of sex, power, religion, denial of justice. Lee and her sons repeatedly made their case on the Internet, writing more testimonials and filming Youtube interviews. Eventually, the story was translated into various languages. The #helpleejunghee hashtag campaign began; there was (and is) a Facebook page also. A change.org petition garnered more than 37,000 signatures. 

Lee Jung Hee and her two sons, from their Youtube interview
(source)

As we know now, this was all a hoax. The monstrous former husband, who was supposedly blocking the police investigation because he was so well-connected with powerful people, was no more than an old pizza delivery man living in a crappy studio apartment. Lee led to the journalists to a rural village, claiming that her perpetrators lived there--not just one or two of the perpetrators, but according to Lee, the whole village was a sex colony that raped her and her sons. (But why would these allegedly rich and powerful men who assaulted her and her sons live in a crappy rural village?) The police did investigate the former husband when Lee initially claimed sexual assault to the police. After four months of investigation, the police did not find any nefarious orgy picture or video, nor did they find any sign of drug use from the former husband.

The real story was simpler and made much more sense. Lee and the former husband were indeed married, and were in the process of divorce. The former husband did beat Lee and the children, which resulted in a favorable divorce for Lee. It was when the husband appealed the decision by the divorce court that Lee began claiming sexual assault. Her story fell apart as soon as the more serious Korean media began their investigation. Earlier this month, Lee was arrested on the charges of malicious litigation and child abuse; Lee's children were separated from their mother and were placed in protective services.

TK stayed away from this story from the beginning for a simple reason: it smelled funny. The story did not make any sense internally. Who would pay to have sex with one woman and two young boys, along with a bunch of other men? Maybe that could happen once or twice, but over 20 years? Really? Who would even pay to watch the video of that happening? Have you even seen what kind of porn is available on the Internet nowadays? But because very unlikely things do happen in real life, TK was willing to let the story play out, and see what the more serious people would have to say about this topic. And as soon as the media scrutiny came in, the story crumbled entirely.

The lesson from the hoax is an enduring one: Internet justice campaign is for gullible idiots. Tens of thousands of people bought into this transparent bullshit because . . .  well, I don't know why. I don't know why people feel compelled to put their name down on something without knowing what is going on. I don't know why people put their name down on something while having no way to know what is going on. (This applies especially to non-Korean people who cannot access regular Korean media.) I don't know why people think putting their name down on some corner of the Internet helps in any way.

The Lee Jung Hee scandal shows once more that this kind slacktivist campaign is no more than a cheap moral masturbation, a blind dog wandering aimlessly and biting anything that gets in the way. The only way to make your sense of justice meaningful is to think critically, and act. Do not just get indignant at bad things, but actually study them, so that you grow the ability to discern what is really a bad thing, and what is a caricature of a bad thing. When you are reasonably confident that bad things are happening, take action instead of talking. Invest your time, put in your money, give your expertise. Protest in the streets, serve the needy, sue the powerful. Much of the world's problems would be no more if people did these things as often as they signed another meaningless Internet petition.

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

Ask a Korean! News: Currency Reform in North Korea (Part 2)

(Continued from Part 1 of the series. Original article in Korean here.)

Mission: Impossible, and North Korea's Utter Failure

There is little possibility that prohibition on foreign currency use, issued as a follow-up to the currency reform, would continue to be implemented. (*In fact, as of February North Korea gave up on the enforcement of the prohibition.) North Koreans who possess foreign currency right now are simply sitting on it, waiting for the time when the exchange rate stabilizes. (*The same today, which is about two months since this article was written.) They absolutely do not think that it would be impossible to use foreign currency in the future.

Another North Korean sources said on January 8: "It has been more than a month since the currency reform, but even today the exchange rate goes up and down by 100 percent so it is impossible to know the exact exchange rate," and added: "It will not be until March when the exchange rate between North Korean money and foreign currency would stabilize. Right now there are few transactions." (*The fluctuation in exchange rate is still great enough to cast doubt as to whether the exchange rate will stabilize in March. The stabilization may come in April.) To this reporter who raised doubt about the possibility of being able to continue using foreign currency under the regime's control, the source boasted: "There is no problem at all. It is not as if we have been using foreign currency because the government told us to use it."

The vast majority of North Koreans who are sitting on foreign currency is party officials. The officers who should be in charge of control are actually the ones who most desire the foreign currency ban to be ineffectual. Therefore, it seems likely that the power of dollar and yuan in North Korea will remain strong. (*This prediction by the North Korean source is proving to be very wise at this point.)

國際先驅導報, a Chinese daily, reported on January 7 that Joseon Trade Bank, North Korea's bank that clears trades, set the exchange rate between dollar and the new currency at 96.9 won per dollar. But North Korea's externally posted exchange rate is meaningless. Customarily so far, the exchange rate between dollar and yuan in North Korean black markets was nearly the same as that in China. In other words, if a dollar is exchanged for 6.8 yuan in China, the same rate holds in North Korea.

In addition, even the currency exchange counters in various regions that are run by the government exchanges foreign currency based on the exchange rate in the marketplace. In other words, the externally posted exchange rate is literally for show; even the regime itself does not recognize that exchange rate internally. (*Recently there has been a report where a high-ranking North Korean official admitted to this. There is no need for Korean media to even discuss North Korea's official exchange rate.)

Interesting thing to note is that the value of foreign currency in North Korea tends to go together with the price of rice, which serves as the standard for the value of goods in the marketplace. The rice price, in turn, goes together with the price of rice in the regions of China close to North Korea. Although there is a seasonal factor, usually rice in a North Korean marketplace costs around 1.2 times the cost in China, reflecting the cost of transportation.

The currency reform devalued the money 100 to 1, but it is likely that the reform will become ineffective and the price of goods will revert to the price previous to the reform. (*Even after 100-to-1 devaluation, the price of goods has already climbed to 25 percent of pre-reform price.) For example, right before the reform, rice cost 2200 won for 1 kg and 1 dollar was 3800 won in old money. According to the spirit of the currency reform, 1 kg of rice should be 22 won and 1 dollar should be 38 won in new money. But only one month since the currency reform, 1 kg of rice sells at 200 won and 1 dollar exchanges for over 100 won. (*At mid-February, two months since the reform, 1 kg of rice sells for 500 won in northern North Korea.) Because everyone is hiding their foreign currency in the face of foreign currency prohibition, the exchange rates for dollars or yuans are fluctuating by hundred percent in the same day.

At this point, the marketplace continues to operate as it did before the currency reform. While they have no choice but to show up at marketplace in order to eat and survive, the merchants and the people are confused by the price that runs on a roller coaster several times a day. As the regime decided to pay the laborers the same face value of salary as it was before the reform, the price will likely continue to rise. (*This is actually happening.)

The merchants at the marketplace are the ones who are harmed the most by the currency reform, but farmers on the other hand received the most benefit. Some farmers find themselves rich overnight because of North Korean farms' distribution system. Unlike laborers who receive a monthly salary, farmers receive their entire year's worth of compensation in cash around December through the distribution process. The distribution amount differs depending on one's "effort count".

An "effort count" is a numerical count of the daily labor performed by a farmer. The distribution amount, following the effort count, also depends on the amount of production each farm generated. Therefore, taking North Korea as a whole, a farmer family receives anywhere between several tens of thousand won to several million won. Last December when the farmers received their distribution was when the price for grain and goods, counted in new money, was the lowest. Farmers who anticipated the exacerbating inflation and the rise in price attempted to turn their entire distribution money into goods and sit on them.

This atmosphere is vividly reflected on the January 3rd report by Joseon Shinbo, the official newsletter for North Korean-Japanese Association [TK: 조총련], which described the throng of people at Pyongyang Department Store No. 1. According to the report, the department store spent a week from December 22, 2009 to procure 440 types of items, four million items total, in preparation for the New Year's Day. It must have been a significant strain on the regime to procure this much. But because of the size of the crowd on the morning of the New Year's Day, the department store opened at 7:30 a.m. instead of its normal time, 10 a.m. Just in the morning, 155 televisions and 550 sheets of blankets were sold.

The newsletter said, "There were so many customers that there was hardly room to take a step in the department store. The store at one point had to cordon off the entrance around 3 p.m. because the crowd was simply too big." It added, "There are high-earning families among farmers or miners." It also added, "Lee Geum-Ok, a farmer in Hyeongje-san District, said she received 50,000 won in distribution, and she along with all the farmers in her unit will buy a color television." Also noted is "One farmer who visited the department store that day said his entire family worked at the farm and earned 1.45 million won as a family."

Farmers are convinced that within a few months, the price of goods that they purchased will jump by several times or several tens of times. In fact, except for a few government-run stores in Pyongyang, the price of goods at the marketplace is furiously rising every day. (*The farmers' actions are proving to be a wise move. The farmers who immediately sat on goods with their distribution money made a significant gain.)

The price rises in large part because of stockpiling, not simply by farmers but by everyone. There are many who support the currency reform among those who are able to stockpile. But they do not necessarily expect things to continue to be better simply because their life right now has improved a little. Stockpiling is a reflection of that mindset; they believe that actual goods are much safer than the untrustworthy North Korean money. Because the wholesalers are keeping their goods in warehouses, and regular people are stockpiling what little goods that the regime procures or the grain that come out into the marketplace, the shortage in North Korea is increasingly getting worse. This feeds into the vicious cycle that leads into the rise in price.

Therefore, unless the North Korean regime finds an ingenious way to pull out the goods that individuals are hiding, the social unrest can only grow. Right now the regime is trying to forcibly cut off the supply chain of individually-owned goods by eliminating the marketplace, but that measure has little possibility of success. (*As expected, it has been proven that there was no real ingenious way, and the situation ended with North Korea simply recognizing the presence of the marketplace.) North Korean people, through their experience from the last decade, know that a transaction can happen regardless of time and place as long as they hold the goods.

This round of currency reform also provided South Korea with certain food for thought.

Shortly after the news of currency reform broke, South Korean media was flooded with the sensationalistic news as if riots were impending in North Korea. However, this reporter who investigated North Korea at the same time heard that the public opinion on the currency reform was in fact significantly favorable. Despite this, the media that relayed the currency reform news only contained the voices of angry North Koreans. (*As I said previously, the favorable opinion has changed in the last month and a half.)

Of course, there could be legitimate reasons. The North Koreans who can speak on the phone with South Korea are likely to be the victims of the currency reform. It is reasonable to infer from their ability to communicate with South Korea that they received a lot of money in the process as well. But even more so than these reasons, this reporter detected the prejudice in South Korea that, "North Korea regime can never do anything that may be welcomed by the people, nor should it."

The news of currency reform was relayed mainly through North Korea-related NGOs that engage in anti-Kim Jong-Il activities. It is difficult to blame a politically motivated group for publicizing only the information that is necessarily for their goal. (*Naturally.) But I believe that the media should not jump into that fray, looking only for sensationalistic stories. As long as it was sensational, a report by a nameless Taiwanese media company -- which Korean companies did not even glance at, and has nothing to do with North Korea -- would be quoted in the front page of Korean newspaper and the main story of Korean television news. (*To give a neologism name, it is a typical pingpong reportage.) Truly embarrassing.

Another interesting point is that it is getting increasingly more difficult for the traditional media to maintain its lead in North Korea-related news. In the Internet age when an individual could be a one-man media through such channels as blogs, the traditional media's advantage is disappearing. North Korea's currency reform starkly exemplified this trend. North Korea-related organizations poured out news related to the currency reform, and the traditional media did no more than following them and taking notes.

In contrast, it was the North Korea-related organizations who were engaged in a competition to break news. While these groups sometimes provided incorrect information due to excessive competition, lack of experience and understanding with the press, their political leanings, etc., more notable was that South Korean media does not have the ability to sufficiently distinguish the worthy North Korean news from the worthless ones. (*There were actual examples of simply taking dictations of information that was hardly credible.)

The reportage on the currency reform was also a symbolic moment of the presence of North Korean defector organization, while providing an occasion to question the ability of government agencies (run with a massive budget) to collect North Korean intelligence. While the defector organizations made reports on real time basis, the government only repeated for several days that it could not confirm. There were also reports that Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly continued to chastise the lack of intelligence gathering in North Korea. While the defector organization cannot yet collect much high-level intelligence, it is undeniable that their information-gathering power is increasing.

This reporter tried to avoid listing the current price in North Korea in this article. The price fluctuation and the regional differences in price are so great that, at this point, there is no such thing as a fair price. (*This situation is the same in February.) The North Koreans who were reported unanimously say: "Right now we just have no idea about what's what."

Truly, North Korea has now entered into chaos that North Koreans themselves have difficulty understanding. Even after more than a month since the reform, there is no sign of this chaos abating. (*At this point, three months after the reform, North Korea regime unconditionally allowed the marketplace to open in order to calm this chaos. In the end, the only solution for the chaos was to go back to where things were before the reform.)

That is the magnitude of the shock that the currency reform caused on North Korea. Can the North Korean regime stabilize this chaos and restore planned economy? Taking away the taste of market economy from those who already tasted them may be a Mission: Impossible. (*Conclusion -- Within three months, it has been proven that North Korea made an impossible challenge. It has also been proven that now, North Korea can never return to the planned and controlled economy.)

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

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

(Before we begin – the AsianWeek magazine is now embroiled in a controversy because it published a column by an idiot named Kenneth Eng called “Why I hate blacks.” Since then, AsianWeek pulled the column, fired Eng, and issued an apology. The Korean can’t believe that people are pre-empting what he is about to write. The Korean hopes this post would help.)

Dear Korean,

So what is the relationship of Koreans and black people? Why the prejudice? Why do you think when a white man marries a Korean woman they are viewed as a cute couple, but if it is the same is for a black man they question the woman’s character?

Black man happily married to a Korean for 25 years, and no, I was not in the Army in Korea.

- William J.

Dear Korean,

Please explain Korean people’s strong prejudice against black soldiers (your words). My uncle, a black man, died in the Korean War. This is not an angry email, just an attempt to understand. Thank you.

- Kevin

Dear William and Kevin,

First, to Kevin. The Korean is deeply grateful for your uncle. The Korean is often flip in this blog, but he is most serious in this occasion. If it were not for American soldiers’ sacrifice in the Korean War, the Korean would probably be starving somewhere in communized Korea, writing for the BS website that the dictatorial government set up.

But the Korean is afraid that you misunderstood the earlier post. The Korean is certain that there was relatively less prejudice against black soldiers at the time of Korean War. But there is no question that since then, Koreans (and Korean-Americans alike) developed strong prejudice against black folks – and that is essentially why William’s question arose.

To put it bluntly, many Koreans and Korean Americans tend to be racist toward black people. The Korean wishes it were otherwise, but it is true. Below is the reason why.

Racism as a Heuristic

What is racism? As we all know, racism is broadly defined as passing a judgment upon an individual based on the individual’s race. And racism is an evil because we cannot control our race, and our race has an extremely poor correlation to our character.

However, see it from the judgment-passer’s point of view, and the reason why people become racists begins to make sense. Racism is a type of what cognitive scientists call “heuristics” – basically, making decisions based on analytical shortcuts. A simple example: our cognition tells us that “it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck.” Then our conscience concludes that “it’s a duck.”

Heuristics is a big part of the way humans deal with things, because humans don’t have the time to evaluate everything around them. It is effective to engage in heuristics because first of all, it takes too much energy to remember everything about a certain thing. Think of it from the perspective of evolutionary biology. Suppose we were out hunting, and our fellow was killed by a saber tooth tiger. Do we remember everything about that saber tooth tiger for a future reference? No, we only remember the most salient features of the animal, which would be its size, color, and the two fangs.

Heuristics is efficient because in most cases, humans don’t need a 100 percent right answer. Going back to the example, suppose while we are roaming the field hunting, we run into an animal that appears to be large, yellow-ish, and has two large fangs. Do we stay and completely evaluate whether or not this animal is in fact a saber tooth tiger and therefore dangerous? No, we run for our lives.

So heuristics work in two steps. First, when we encounter a new thing, we create a “tag” in our mind to associate with the new thing’s characteristics. Always, without fail, that tag is a highly visible and readily identifiable trait. Second, when we see that tag in another new thing, we draw conclusion that the second new thing is the same as the first thing. The process is hardly foolproof, but it’s extremely effective – it probably allowed human race to survive this long.

The application is the same in our modern life. We always create a quick tag to describe things around us, (e.g., “George W. Bush is an idiot,” “Southerners are conservative,” “Canadians are slow”) and for most things we don’t bother to learn more. We do it because we don’t need to learn everything about everything, and we can’t possibly learn everything about everything. The next step is the same too. For example, popular perception has created a heuristic statement of “blonds are dumb.” Once we have that heuristic in our head, next time we see a blond, our mind will point toward “dumb.”

So, as we consider Koreans and racism, we have to think in terms of heuristics – what the markers are, and what the conclusion is.

Racist Heuristic Step 1 – Markers

Heuristic markers are something that stands out very prominently. Then, what stands out more than how different black people’s appearances are from Korean people’s? The skin tone of a black person is something that no Korean has ever seen. But it goes beyond the skin tone. The question that the Korean gets asked most from his Korean relative and friends about black people’s appearance is: how do they manage their hair, especially if they are braided? Do they even wash it? If they do, how?

In short, black people are really, really foreign to Koreans – to a much greater degree than white people. At one point in Korean history (until shortly after Korean War,) white people were just as foreign. The Korean’s parents’ generation would talk about how white people have blond hair and a big nose. (One derogatory Korean term for a white person is ko-jaeng-i, roughly translated as a “noser” or “nosie.”) But several decades passed, American movies and TV shows steadily streamed into Korea, and Korean people got used to white people. Although white people looked different from Koreans, they seemed like a variation on a theme. (Do you now understand why colored people make such a big deal about how Friends had no black person in it?)

Racist Heuristic Step 2 – Conclusions

So when a Korean sees a black person, his/her skin tone, coarse hair, etc are the only thing that stays in mind. In some sense, it is already racist at this step because that Korean would not probe deeper into that black person’s character. But what makes Koreans really racists are the heuristic conclusions that they derive from the skin tone.

What are the conclusions? The same conclusions that the mainstream society gives to black people – lazy, dirty, prone to crime, addicted to drugs, closer to animals than humans. Why is that?

In part, it has to do with a bias within Koreans with regards to skin tone. Koreans are, being Asian, yellow. But actual skin tone of any given Korean in fact varies by a ton – nearly covering the spectrum of the whitest of the white and the blackest of the black. And among Koreans, there is a bias of favoring the light-skinned people, and disfavoring dark skin tones. Why? Because dark skin means that you are one of the peasants, out in the field and working all day under the sun. Light skinned people are the nobility – they can afford to stay at home and out of the sun.

Absurdly—evidencing that old habits die hard—this line of thinking still somewhat persists, and one standard for a Korean beauty is (in the Korean’s opinion) sickly paleness. Hot, sexy tan is fairly popular in Korea now, but that is an extremely recent phenomenon – no older than 7~8 years. (Largely thanks to this woman on the right. Her name is Lee, Hyo-ri, a very popular singer.) So between white people who are paler than noblest Korean, and black people who are darker than the commonest Korean, there is a built-in disadvantage.

Also, one cannot ignore the racism in the American mainstream. Whatever racism we have as a country, we indirectly teach it to the new immigrants to our country and to the whole world through our dominance in movies and television shows. No one in the world, and certainly no Korean, is dumb enough to not realize that in a movie, a black guy always dies. Especially in Korea where people have no chance to see a black person other than through mass media, there is no way for their racist perception to be corrected by actually knowing a black person.

But the Korean thinks it’s fair to say that, as Bill Cosby pointed out, at least some black people provide the fodder for those conclusions. (The Korean will leave the question of whether or not the mainstream society is responsible for the high rate of black crime, drug addiction, etc., to another day.) On this point, another factor to consider is that a lot of Korean Americans live in the ghetto, doing business right in the middle of it. Often they are victims of crimes, often perpetrated by black folks.

Especially in the 1992 LA Riot, the rioting black folks looted the stores in their neighborhood, most of them owned by Koreans. (The MTV documentary on the LA riot made in 2002 devotes a portion to the riot’s impact on Korean Americans.) Stories spread from Korean Americans to Koreans in Korea, and the reputation of the black folks was shot down further from the already low status.

Then again, heuristics being what it is, if there is a black robber robbing a Korean-owned liquor store, the only thing that the store owner will remember is the fact that the robber was black. And the racism perpetuates.

So, What Next?

The Korean situation is merely a mirror to the larger problem of we have as a society. Korean people are no better or worse than anyone in world – everyone in the world relies on heuristics, and racism is such a strong force even to this day because of it. Even in America, which in the Korean’s opinion the least racist country in the world, plenty of people rely on racist heuristics.

For example, Fisher DeBerry, former Air Force football coach, when asked why his team was losing, remarked that it was because his team lacked speed because Air Force team did not have enough black people on it – all the while the equally black-player-sparse Brigham Young University was putting up a 9-win season. But then again, who has not thought about whether being black makes you a better athlete as s/he watched a sporting event?

The only way to combat racist heuristics is to make people aware that they are making a snap decision that is wrong, unfair, and evil. America has been trying to do this for the last several decades, and slowly it has been making progress. We must keep this up.

The Korean will end this in a hopeful note. In 1999, a Korean grocer, Mrs. Chung-Bok Hong, was shot and killed by robbers at the parking lot next to her store in South Central Los Angeles, heart of the LA ghetto. Her funeral was held in a catholic church in South Central, and hundreds of mourners packed the church, most of them black residents of South Central. Many of the mourners did not know her real name; everyone in the neighborhood just called her “Mama.” Here is a part of the story from the LA Times:

A few blocks away, graffiti writers had covered a wall outside her store with messages revealing a tangle of emotions. "Nothing but love for you, Mama," said one. … Jerrell White, an African American resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 34 years, said Hong was accepted in South-Central because she treated people with dignity, regardless of their station in life. "She didn't take no B.S. from you," he said. "But that was all right, because she was Mama."

Now there’s a woman who did not rely on racist heuristics, but consciously decided to look past people’s colors and into their character.

(If you would like to read the whole story, it ran on Feb. 12, 1999, byline Steve Berry, headline CALLS FOR JUSTICE MARK FUNERAL OF SLAIN GROCER.)

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

Can Non-Koreans be Korean Actors?

Dear Korean,

I have been doing some acting and modeling in Brazil, China, Thailand, etc. for some time now. I love acting and I'm planning in going to Korea to get a degree on acting there. How is the acting bussiness for Westerners in Korea? I know that Koreans are a little bit racist towards skin colour and some other things, so I think this could be a barrier for entering the business.

The Working Actor

Dear Working Actor,

Although it is true that Koreans can be racist, that is hardly a barrier for a non-Korean to get into acting. In fact, Korea's racism often helps a non-Korean find an acting/modeling job, provided that the said non-Korean is (or appears to be) white. Especially when it comes to modeling/acting for advertisements, the field is wide open for attractive non-Koreans.

Of course, whether or not this trend is
a good thing is a completely separate discussion.
(source)

If you can somehow get yourself to speak Korean fluently, you will have absolutely no problem finding gigs as an actor. After all, Korean dramas and movies occasionally feature non-Koreans, and decent-looking non-Koreans who can speak Korean fluently are hard to find. When the Korean was younger, there were exactly four non-Korean actors who ever showed up on TV -- two women and two men, playing every single role that required a white person in a Korean drama.

(If you are curious, the two men were Robert Holley and Charm Lee [born as Bernhard Quandt], and the two women were Ida Daussy and .... blanking on the other woman's name. She was older than Daussy. Does anyone remember?)

Of course, it is highly unlikely that a non-Korean will be a top star in Korean acting scene. In all likelihood, a non-Korean actor will be typecast into a minor role. It might be enough to make a living, but stardom is improbable. But there is at least one case where a non-Korean character was cast as a lead for a big-budget Korean drama. Tamra, the Island depicts a story of a British sailor who gets shipwrecked in Jeju island in the 17th century. The role of "William" the sailor was played by Pierre Deporte (also known as Hwang Chan-Bin), a French actor who cannot look more different from Koreans:

If you really need help, Deporte is the guy on the right.
(source)

Deporte's selling point, again, was his fluent Korean, acquired through his Korean stepmother. Although the show was unfortunately cancelled in the middle of the season, it had enough niche support for a DVD edition that contained additional episodes. So there is at least one precedent for a non-Korean actor to be a legitimate star in a Korean drama. Given that it took Asian Americans more than a century of living in America before there was a TV show about us (and a cringe-worthy one at that,) the Korean would say Korea is actually making a decent progress.

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

Korea's Presidential Election - Part I: Park Geun-hye

Dear Korean,

Can you explain a little bit about the current Korean presidential election, mainly about the candidates running today? What are the problems S.Korean citizens are most concerned about and should be concerned about as well as the candidates' positions on those issues. And who would you prefer, if you do care?

Paul K.

Korea's presidential election is now approximately 40 days away, and exciting times are ahead. First, if you are completely unfamiliar with the general landscape of Korean politics, the Korean would recommend reading this post first for an introduction.

Let's address Paul's question in reverse order. What are the biggest issues at hand for the upcoming presidential election? Interestingly, this election has been a relative anomaly because there has not been a big campaign promise that is dividing the electorate. For example, in 2002, the winning candidate Roh Moo-hyun promised that he would move the capital away from Seoul to promote balanced regional growth. In 2007, the winning candidate Lee Myung-bak promised that he would construct a Grand Canal that would make transportation more efficient. Each promise was controversial, and Korean electorate spent a great deal of time debating them.

This time around? Not as much. To be sure, there currently is a very strong policy demand from Korea's electorate -- namely, expansion of the welfare state. But the demand is so strong that even the conservative candidate, who might oppose such initiative under regular circumstances, is promising free childcare for children between ages of 0 and 5, increased welfare payments for the disabled, expansion of public housing, etc. While there are certainly differences in the specifics of the campaign promises from each candidate, it is fair to say that the campaign promises are at least directionally the same. Thus, the current election is driven more by the personalities of the candidates, and the standing ideologies that they represent, rather than any particular policy ideas. Which is just as well, because each candidate in the running are extremely interesting in his/her own way.

Thus, this series will examine the three major candidates currently running in the presidential election, and what the standing ideologies that they represent. As of now, the three major candidates are:  Park Geun-hye of the conservative New Frontier Party, which is the majority party of the National Assembly and the current holder of the Blue House; Moon Jae-in of the progressive Democratic United Party, the minority party of the National Assembly, and; independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, a Seoul National University professor who made a fortune through a start-up anti-virus software company. Then the series will conclude by giving the current state of play.

At this point, full disclosure:  the Korean supports Moon Jae-in of the DUP. Each part of this series will examine each major candidate. At the end of the series, the Korean will briefly explain why he supports Moon. First up is Park Geun-hye, after the jump.

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

Military Service Series: Part I - Mechanics of Military Service in Korea

Dear Korean,

What is it like in the Korean Army? At what point after these two years could they call you to actually have to shoot and fight people?

Nicky

Dear Korean,

I came across virtually no first-hand literature on the effects of the mandatory military enlistment of South Korean men once they reach a certain age. However, from what I've gleaned, it is nonetheless a truly transformative event. It is also a subject that I hesitate somewhat to breach with contacts. What do they go through in the military? What happens after? How are they “different”? Do they end up as “messed up” as some sociological literature implies?

Me

Dear Korean,

I'm a U.S. citizen and I recently just found out that all Korean Men citizen have to serve at least 2 years of military service, or they get imprisoned or banned from Korea. What would happen if a U.S. citizen immigrated to South Korea and became a citizen? Would they have to do military service?

A Teen


Dear questioners,

Full Disclosure: the Korean never served in the Korean military. He left the country before the eligible draft age, so he does not have to. This qualifies the Korean as a draft dodger in the eyes of a number of Koreans. Talking about Korean military as a draft dodger is a tricky business, because a lot of emotions on the part of Korean men ride on the military service. If you are a type of person who watches NASCAR only for the slight chance of a spectacular crash, this may be the post for you.

The Korean already wrote a bit about the military experience in Korea here. Of course, the takeaway from that post is this picture...



... which gives an idea of what Korean military experience is like. (That pose is called Wonsan pok-gyeok, which translates to "bombing of Wonsan." Wonsan is a port city in North Korea. This punishment is applied liberally for various causes, such as being slow in marching, losing a soccer game, or overcooking sarge's ramen.)

Military draft in Korea takes a long time to explain, so the Korean will have a three part series. Part I will describe the mechanics of actually serving in the Korean military as a draftee. Part II will describe the life of Korean soldiers in the military. Part III will describe the impact of military service in Korean society.

The Mechanics of Serving in the Korean Military

This is the fact that is the most important in understanding how Koreans approach their military duty: Korea is still technically at war against North Korea. The Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Therefore, the military administration in Korea operates on the assumption that there will be another war in the scale of Korean War, which killed several million soldiers and civilians.

One can say the military practice in Korea begins in high school, where there is a separate class for military drills, like Physical Education for example. However, military drills class has become less and less war-related in the recent years, getting to the extent that it now focuses more on emergency response than actual drills.

That aside, all Korean men between the age of 18 and 35 must serve a mandatory military duty. [-EDIT 8/16/2011- As of January 1, 2011, the upper limit for draft eligibility was raised to 37 years of age.] The length of the duty depends on where you go and what you do, but it used to be generally between 2.5 to 3 years. A new plan recently introduced would gradually shorten the length down to 1.5 years by 2014. Generally, Korean men elect to report for duty at the end of their second year in college, such that they may return to finish two years of the college. Usually you can defer enlistment as long as you are in school, up to age 24.

The question of “where you go and what you do” clearly is the most important one. Obviously military involves fighting on the frontline – and Korea has a long frontline against North Korea. To determine the assignment, all Korean men over the age of 18 must report to the local draft board to have a physical examination. The examination categorizes men into seven levels, and people below Level 5 do not have to serve in active duty.

Achieving Level 5 and below is fairly difficult; you really have to have some severe injury, such as a torn ACL, missing index finger, serious mental illness etc., to qualify. However, there are certain non-health related issues that would disqualify one from serving, generally described as “people who would create disharmony in the unit.” Interestingly, another group that falls into this category is people who have excessive tattoos, because tattoos are generally considered a sign for a gang membership.

Another group of people who are considered liable to create disharmony in the unit is non-ethnic Koreans or mixed heritage Koreans. Therefore, to answer A Teen’s question, no, naturalized Korean citizen would not have to serve. The Korean heard someone claim that naturalized Korean citizen may volunteer to serve, but he had not seen a policy that actually supports that claim.

Levels 1 through 4 must report for an active duty, which means they all go through 5 weeks of basic training. After the basic training, they are assigned to various posts throughout Korea. The Korean will list them from toughest to softest.

Instead of working as a plain soldier, draftees have the option of volunteering for tougher assignments such as the marines, paratroopers, Special Forces, military police, etc. Even after being discharged, these men tend to carry themselves with a lot of pride. (Read: “won’t shut up about it.”)

Then there is a regular infantry, most common in number. Part II of this series will describe their experience in greater detail.

But military is not just about going out to fight. Certain types of alternative service options, such as working as a part of the police force or the firefighting outfit, are also available. Also available are relatively less grueling positions, such as chaplain, judge advocate general, medics, interpreters, and assistant professors at the military academies. Obviously, a professional license is usually a prerequisite in getting such positions, which means some Korean men opt not to enlist in the middle of their college life and choose instead to study for the medical school, for example. There is even a semi-professional “military team” that plays as a part of sports leagues so that star athletes may continue playing during their service.

Probably the softest positions are the “defense industry” positions, in which eligible males would work for companies that contribute to the national defense for the length of the service. The process of being qualified for these positions – because it is perhaps the least physically grueling “military” experience – is somewhat shady. The companies that appear to be unlikely to contribute to the defense industry, such as KIS Pricing (a company that evaluates bond prices) or NHN, Inc. (holding company for Naver, Korea’s equivalent of Google), are allocated slots for the defense industry positions. Hiring for those positions are equally shady, as those positions are usually filled with the children of the wealthy and powerful.

Equally soft is the “Public Service Agents” positions, usually reserved for Level 4 people – those who qualify for active duty, but just barely. If you live in Korea, these guys are the men in green uniform working at a subway station or a local government office. Public Service Agents essentially work as a government clerk, and are subject to much ridicule by most other Korean men.

A bit of an anomaly is KATUSA, i.e. Korean Augmentation To U.S. Army. Draftees may volunteer for KATUSA if they score high on an English exam. Because there are usually more qualified applicants than available slots, there is a lottery process after the exam. As the name implies, KATUSA draftees serve their duty at USFK bases. KATUSA is also considered somewhat soft because you are allowed to go home at night and do not report on the weekends.

Of course, in addition to the draftees, there are career military men who enter the military academy or stay on after their mandatory service as a non-commissioned officer. ROTC is also a popular option, since you can enlist as an officer for your service.

After serving in active duty, Korean men are considered to be serving in an inactive duty. For eight years after the end of service, Korean men are supposed to report for a mandatory training up to 100 hours a year. In case of a war, Korean men in the 8-year period are drafted to fight. Also in case of a war, all Korean men between ages 18 and 45 are drafted for labor mobilization.

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

Military Stories

(If you are not familiar with the concept of Goon-dae, please read this post first.)

A reader sent the Korean this:

My daddy loves to tell his military stories! The most traumatic to me as a young girl (regretfully, his firstborn was a girl, and by over five years - although he adjusted by making me a badass) was the story about digging tunnels through snow in his underwear in the bitter Korean winters.

The most traumatic story about The War, which was always told when I would complain about my writing callus on my right middle finger, was that the Korean men who wanted to avoid being drafted into the war would cut off the top joint so as not to show that they were "learned." I think this story is a little questionable - but it was also echoed by John Irving in "A Prayer for Owen Meany."

Also, we used to torment my younger brother together by telling him to be tough because his military time was impending. This continued until my brother was about 14 or so and the weeping was no longer funny. Like I said - my daddy made me a badass.

Great column- informative and funny!

Korean Girl
Birmingham, Alabama

Honestly, the Korean is amazed by the fact that Korean people are alive in Birmingham, AL. The Korean's roommate in his freshman year in college is from Decatur, AL (which the Korean Former Roommate stresses that it is the fourth largest city in Alabama -- as if that means anything -- and home to the second largest Wal-Mart in America.) The Korean is invited to his wedding, and the Roommate told the Korean to bring a rope cutter, so that the Korean may get down from the tree after the Roommate's Klan friends attempt to hang him.

The Korean is certain that naked trench-digging must have happened during the Korean War. The Korean War was a low-tech, trench warfare, and the provisions for the Gook-goon ("National Army" of South Korea, as opposed to In-min-goon, "People's Army" of North Korea) were pretty crappy. So maybe not quite naked, but certainly in thin or tattered clothes.

But the callus part can't be correct; you need to cut off your index finger to avoid the army, so that you can't pull a trigger. (That is exactly what happens in Prayer for Owen Meany -- a good novel by John Irving.) The correct version of the story is this: during the Korean War, the learned men, who are the only people who developed a learning callus in their middle finger in those times, cut off their middle finger because the People's Army would kill anyone who is learned, because learned = no physical labor = rich = bourgeois oppressor.

But this is more of an urban legend. It is true that sporadically, the People's Army rounded up the landowners and learned men of a village and killed them all. But if the middle finger-severing was a common occurrence, there must have been a lot of old, learned folks missing a finger, and that is simply not the case. At best, it may have happened to no more than a few people, and the story spread due to its preposterous gruesomeness.

At any rate, thank you Korean Girl for sending in a Goon-dae story! Over the winter, the Korean hung out with some friends who finished their service, and again heard an earful of military stories. Here are the two funniest ones:

1. One friend of the Korean's friend served as a driver for a 3-star general. On the first day of his assignment, he was extremely nervous, because in the military, a general can punch out God. As he drove, military protocol required him to say "byeon-sok hap-ni-da!" ("switching gears!") every time he switched gears. Instead, he was so nervous that he ended up saying "byeon-sin hap-ni-da! byeon-sin hap-ni-da!" ("transforming! transforming!") After the unfortunate driver said that a few times, the general retorted, "hap-che-neun an-ha-nyah?" ("Do we also combine together?" -- a la Voltron.)

2. The Korean's friend served as a military photographer. One day, one sergeant was supposed to receive a medal from a 4-star general, and the Korean's friend was present to take the picture. Before the sergeant received the medal, he was supposed to first salute the general, then state "Byeong-jang, Kim Han-soo!" ("Sergeant Kim Han-soo!") Instead, he got so nervous in front of the general that he ended up saying "Byeong-jang, Kim Byeong-jang!" ("Sergeant Kim Sergeant!" -- this probably happened because in the Korean military, people address you by your last name, followed by your rank.)

The Korean is still waiting to hear hilarious Goon-dae stories, so please readers, email away!

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

Is It Safe to be in Korea Now?

Dear Korean,

Six months ago I decided to get certified to teach English abroad and have been researching South Korea in plans to go in September of this year. As I progress in my certification I can't help but notice the tension and heightened alert on the activity in North Korea, as it is in the news almost daily. Korean, is this a bad time to be considering a move to Busan to teach English as a foreigner? Do South Koreans feel on edge and threatened by their difficult siblings in the North? Would you consider moving to Korea or would you seriously reconsider with the political climate in the region right now?

LakerDynasty09

Dear Most Excellent Pen Name,

Yes! Lakers! World champions!

Sorry, the Korean had to work off the euphoria he has had since Sunday. Your question is serious and timely, so let us look at it. The question is really two parts: (1) Is Korea more dangerous than usual? (2) Is it safe to be in Korea right now? The short answers to the questions are no and yes. Allow the Korean to explain.

First, the danger of North Korea previous to the nuclear testing has always been underestimated, particularly in the American media. Currently, most of North Korea’s artilleries and short-range missiles are lined up against the Armistice Line – which means North Korea can turn half of Seoul into dust at any time it wants, without using any nuclear weapon or long-range missile.

The Korean had his doubts in the beginning stage of North Korea’s nuclear testing and ICBM development several years ago, but it seems increasingly clear that North Korea’s nuclear weapons and long-range missiles are meant to be used as a bargaining chip against the United States, not against South Korea. Joo Seong-Ha, one of the most legitimate analysts of North Korea called the idea of North Korea's developing ICBM to attack Korea a "sophism", because "it can attack Korea with a cannon at any time."

This situation is not new; this situation has essentially been the same since the 1970s. American media is reacting right now to North Korea’s missiles and nuclear weapon because of they affect the United States – and such reaction is justified. But that does not mean that Korea is a more dangerous place than before.

Then the natural question is – is it (and has it been) safe to be in Korea? Truly, there is only one scenario in which it would be dangerous to be in Korea – a full-scale war in the Korean peninsula. This scenario is extremely unlikely. Again, quoting from Joo, North Korea cannot even handle South Korea even if South Korea voluntarily offered itself to be under Kim Jong-Il’s rule. Therefore, the reenactment of Korean War – in which North Korea genuinely attempted to overtake South Korea under its rule – is completely out of the question.

Even the terrorist attacks that North Korea used to engage up to mid-1980s no longer have a purpose. Until mid-1980s, there was a tiny sliver of possibility that if the South Korean president was assassinated, for example, the ensuing chaos may enable North Korea to overtake South Korea. But that was over 20 years ago. In a race between North Korea and South Korea, South Korea won decisively and definitively. Everyone in the world knows this, including Kim Jong-Il, North Korean leadership and every North Korean person.

In fact, the true measure of danger posed by North Korea is the 48 million canaries in the coalmine – 48 million South Koreans. After all, these are the people who remember the actual invasion, and dealt with North Korea’s threat for the past 60 years. These are the people who would be most directly affected if North Korea’s danger were true. The Korean remembers that during the 1980s, whenever North Korea made a saber-rattling gesture, the canned and dried goods section of the supermarket would empty out for days, as South Koreans prepared for war by hoarding those goods.

[This type of scene was common in 1980s whenever North Korea made a threat.]

But what did South Koreans do when North Korea recently tested the nuclear weapon and long-range missile? Nothing. The Korean media reported it around the clock, as they were obviously big news. But on the ground level, few even blinked. Even for South Koreans, the possibility of North Korea affecting their lives was too remote to care. If South Koreans do not feel any danger, there is no reason anyone else should.

If you don't believe the Korean, here is Korea Beat's excellent compilation of the top 10 most read articles on Naver (Korea's version of Yahoo!) on the week ending on May 31, during which North Korea tested the nuclear weapon:

1. An initial report that police had confirmed the death of former president Roh Moo-hyun.
2. Park Ji-sung.
3. Park Ji-sung.
4. Park Ji-sung.
5. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final.
6. Park Ji-sung.
7. More on the Champions League final.
8. An initial report that Roh had left a suicide note.
9. Park Ji-sung.
10. In Japan, Lim Chang-yong recorded his 14th save of the season by striking out three consecutive Nippon Ham Fighters.

If you still don’t believe in the Korean, here is the tally of all deaths caused by North Korea since the fall of Soviet Union in 1991: 17 (13 soldiers/police, 4 civilians) died in the course of capturing the 13 spies who infiltrated South Korea by a submarine on the eastern coast of Korea in 1996; one prominent North Korean defector was assassinated in Seoul in 1997; 5 seamen died in the naval skirmish that occurred in 2002; A North Korean guard shot one South Korean tourist who was touring Geumgang Mountain in North Korea and went outside of the restricted area in 2008. That’s 24 deaths in 18 years, average 1.33 deaths per year. Consider this in contrast: in 2007 alone, lightning strikes killed or injured 22 South Koreans.

If you wish to be extra careful (or make your parents worry less,) you can register yourself with the American embassy in Seoul, which has an evacuation plan ready for all American civilians of which it is aware in case of an emergency. But really, when you are thinking about visiting South Korea, North Korea should really be one of your last worries, ranked right around lightning strikes and Fan Death (which is real).

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

Help the Korean Destroy a Family

[The Korean's note: the following email has been edited for privacy and other concerns.]

Dear Korean,

My name is [REDACTED], Filipina and I've been in Korea for almost three years. Yes, three years of hardships in understanding your culture through the family of my husband.

I met my Korean husband through a Wedding Match in the Philippines. I don't actually know about "Wedding Match". I passed all the questions and answers. My husband, with the help of an interpreter, told me that he has a mother (73 yrs. old), and 4 kids from his first wife. Only 3 children (twin girls of 19 years old and a son of 10 years old) are with him because the first born chose to live with her mother. He is divorced since 2003. So his mother is the one who takes care of the 3 while he is the one who provides for their needs.

I didn't have any second thought of not choosing this man (46 yearrs old at that time), since he got older kids who (I thought) knew already how to take care of themselves and have responsibilities and initiatives.

My struggles started when I woke up the next morning. There were many garbages in their veranda, used cups/plates on the floor. Used towels/clothes in front of the bathroom door. Even panty with blood was left inside the bathroom (would you believe?). That's not all--when I visited the twins room (they went out already), GOSH! the clothes were scattered on the floor, even their makeup, everything as in EVERYTHING! Is this a house of responsible people?

I didn't know their language then and my husband inculcated on my mind, "What you see here is Korean style." I told to myself, "AHH, KOREAN STYLE - LAZY AND DIRTY PEOPLE!" I just shrugged my shoulders and did all the household chores. His mother was the one who cooked the food and I was the one who cleaned. But after cleaning, laundrying, and throwing the garbage, the dirtiness started again when the kids (actually they are not kids anymore) arrived home. I was waiting for their halmoni to say a word, but my waiting was futile.

The scene in that house was the same everyday. As days passed by, little by little, I learned the language and met some Korean people. So, a good chance to confirm if the style in our house was their style also. They all said, "NO, ARE YOU A FOOL? WHY ARE YOU DOING THOSE THINGS! YOU ARE THE WIFE AND NOT THEIR MAID! Remember, they still have their mother."

From those words, I began to change my being "maid" to them for almost two years and I let their halmoni do all their things: laundry, throwing the garbages, washing their plates, etc. Because of my "rebellious" ways, my husband and I are always fighting. He said, why do I let his mother do all those things, she's old already and has a backache. I retaliated, "If that so, why she doesn't she command her grandchildren to help her?"

And with that, I will close this letter with a question, "Why some Korean men beat their wives (my husband beat me twice).

Dear [REDACTED],

I am not joking when I say this: LEAVE YOUR HUSBAND. NOW.

I'm terribly sorry to tell you, but Korean men (in Korea -- I am a Korean-American myself) would never marry a Southeastern Asian like yourself if they had a choice. Your husband went to Wedding Match because NO KOREAN WOMAN WOULD MARRY HIM. There's probably a reason for that, and what you described shows the reason.

Again, I'm sorry to be crude, but your husband went to Wedding Match exactly because he needed a maid whom he can have sex with. That's all he wants out of you, and he will continue to treat you that way.

Please see an older post of mine. Your husband is basically the same type of guy in the article. He thinks he spent a good amount of money bringing you into Korea, and he will get mad when he thinks he is not getting his "money's worth."

Don't believe any of the bullshit your husband says about "Korean style". As you know already, it is a lie. The same goes for his violence -- he is not beating you because he is a Korean, he is beating you because he is a bad person who thinks he can buy people.

You must leave your husband. If you need help finding any battered women shelter or free counseling service, I would be happy to help. Best of luck, and keep in touch.

The Korean

Dear Korean,

Thank you very very much for giving attention to my letter, and also for offering a help.

I want to bring my baby in the Philippines and go back here to work. Is that possible? I'm not a Korean citizen yet. We filed our citizenship a year ago. And some of my friends who got their citizenship already told me that I have to wait this year (November) for the release of my citizenship. Is it possible to divorce him because of the reasons I've mentioned to you? Can I get an alimony for that? How about the beatings?

If I stay here more, there is a possibility that he can do that again if I don't want to embrace their Korean "style" in our house. You advised me to leave him. If you give me answers to my above-mentioned reasons, I will leave him AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Thank you and waiting for your reply.

[REDACTED]

---------------------------------------

Okay folks, if you read this far, the Korean needs your help. The best that the Korean can do sitting in New York is some Google searches, and that is not enough. The Korean knows that some of you guys live in Korea. Be a good person and boost your karma. Please send the Korean any information about free legal clinic, battered women shelter, etc., etc., in Korea. Thank you in advance.

[Note: The Korean hesitated putting this up on the blog, but realized that this poor woman probably found this blog by searching for "why do Korean men beat their wives" or "Korean Philippines marriage" type things. This post will probably pull this blog up closer to the top of the search list if any other person who needs help searches for those terms in the future.]

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

-EDIT- Can anyone who speaks Tagalog quickly help out the Korean? Promise this will be quick and easy -- just need to read two emails.

Affirmative Action and Asian Americans: the Korean's Take

Dear Korean,

Perhaps you’ve already seen this, but I found this column interesting. I wondered what your thoughts are on this.

Kimberly


Dear Kimberly,

Thank you for the article – the Korean found it interesting as well. The full article is worth reproducing here, because it does present an issue that many Asian Americans consider to be significant.

SAT SCORES aren’t everything. But they can tell some fascinating stories.

Take 1,623, for instance. That’s the average score of Asian-Americans, a group that Daniel Golden - editor at large of Bloomberg News and author of “The Price of Admission’’ - has labeled “The New Jews.’’ After all, much like Jews a century ago, Asian-Americans tend to earn good grades and high scores. And now they too face serious discrimination in the college admissions process.

Notably, 1,623 - out of a possible 2,400 - not only separates Asians from other minorities (Hispanics and blacks average 1,364 and 1,276 on the SAT, respectively). The score also puts them ahead of Caucasians, who average 1,581. And the consequences of this are stark.

Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade, who reviewed data from 10 elite colleges, writes in “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal’’ that Asian applicants typically need an extra 140 points to compete with white students. In fact, according to Princeton lecturer Russell Nieli, there may be an “Asian ceiling’’ at Princeton, a number above which the admissions office refuses to venture.

Emily Aronson, a Princeton spokeswoman, insists “the university does not admit students in categories. In the admission process, no particular factor is assigned a fixed weight and there is no formula for weighing the various aspects of the application.’’

A few years ago, however, when I worked as a reader for Yale’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, it became immediately clear to me that Asians - who constitute 5 percent of the US population - faced an uphill slog. They tended to get excellent scores, take advantage of AP offerings, and shine in extracurricular activities. Frequently, they also had hard-knock stories: families that had immigrated to America under difficult circumstances, parents working as kitchen assistants and store clerks, and households in which no English was spoken.

But would Yale be willing to make 50 percent of its freshman class Asian? Probably not.

Indeed, as Princeton’s Nieli suggests, most elite universities appear determined to keep their Asian-American totals in a narrow range. Yale’s class of 2013 is 15.5 percent Asian-American, compared with 16.1 percent at Dartmouth, 19.1 percent at Harvard, and 17.6 percent at Princeton.

“There are a lot of poor Asians, immigrant kids,’’ says University of Oregon physics professor Stephen Hsu, who has written about the admissions process. “But generally that story doesn’t do as much as it would for a non-Asian student. Statistically, it’s true that Asians generally have to get higher scores than others to get in.’’

In a country built on individual liberty and promise, that feels deeply unfair. If a teenager spends much time studying, excels at an instrument or sport, and garners wonderful teacher recommendations, should he be punished for being part of a high-achieving group? Are his accomplishments diminished by the fact that people he has never met - but who look somewhat like him - also work hard?

“When you look at the private Ivy Leagues, some of them are looking at Asian-American applicants with a different eye than they are white applicants,’’ says Oiyan Poon, the 2007 president of the University of California Students Association. “I do strongly believe in diversity, but I don’t agree with increasing white numbers over historically oppressed populations like Asian-Americans, a group that has been denied civil rights and property rights.’’ But Poon, now a research associate at the University of Massachusetts Boston, warns that there are downsides to having huge numbers of Asian-Americans on a campus.

In California, where passage of a 1996 referendum banned government institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, Asians make up about 40 percent of public university students, though they account for only 13 percent of residents. “Some Asian-American students feel that they lost something by going to school at a place where almost half of their classmates look like themselves - a campus like UCLA. The students said they didn’t feel as well prepared in intercultural skills for the real world.’’

But what do you do if you’re an elite college facing tremendous numbers of qualified Asian applicants? At the 2006 meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a panel entitled “Too Asian?’’ looked at the growing tendency of teachers, college counselors, and admissions officers to see Asians as a unit, rather than as individuals.

Hsu argues it’s time to tackle this issue, rather than defer it, as Asians’ superior performance will likely persist. “This doesn’t seem to be changing. You can see the same thing with Jews. They’ve outperformed other ethnic groups for the past 100 years.’’

Which leaves us with two vexing questions: Are we willing to trade personal empowerment for a more palatable group dynamic? And when - if ever - should we give credit where credit is due?

Do Colleges Redline Asian-Americans? (Boston Globe)

As the article described, Asian Americans present a dilemma to colleges. In practically every objective admission criterion colleges tend to examine, Asian Americans destroy the field. At this point, even the Asian American stereotype of “math genius but not well-rounded student” is outdated. Asian Americans parents have long since figured out and adjusted their educational emphasis to what the elite colleges demand. The new generation of Asian American college applicants are modeled after Dr. Jim Yong Kim, the current president of Dartmouth College. They are class presidents and varsity quarterbacks on top of being valedictorians.

 

Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a.k.a. "Every Korean Mother's Dream"

So Asian Americans have high test scores and GPAs. Their extracurricular activities are excellent. They have shown leadership qualities. They often do this while being at a substantial disadvantage in terms of family wealth and other background, such as overcoming the language and cultural barrier. In other words, there is no “objective” way for a college to refuse an Asian American applicant, other than drawing a blatant – if unspoken – red line that limits the number of Asian Americans, simply by virtue of their race. Is this a good thing?

You might be surprised, because the Korean actually does think it is a good thing.

First of all, allow the Korean to first state his preferred end result: meritocracy must be an important element in college admissions. The meritocracy must involve clearly stated criteria such as test scores, quality of extracurricular activities, quality of letters of recommendation, and so on. And the Korean is not advocating that college campuses mirror exactly the local or national racial mix. There must be some sort of middle ground. The Korean does not know where the proper middle ground is. But the middle ground is probably not the 55 percent Asian American campus as it is in University of California, Irvine.

To explain why the Korean thinks so, allow the Korean to quote John Dewey: “Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” Because the Korean experienced two drastically different educational systems (Korean and American,) the truth of Dewey’s quote resonates even stronger with him. In fact, many of Korean educational system’s flaws (despite its numerous strengths) can be traced to this: Korea treats its schools as a place where students prepare for the real world, as opposed to treating it as the real world in and of itself. Thus, learning knowledge is emphasized, while learning social skills gets a short shrift.

The same principle must apply to colleges. College is not a meal ticket given for a certain set of “good behaviors”. It is a place where one receives education. And if colleges do not adequately reflect the “life itself” as Dewey said, they cannot provide adequate education.

 

Education that solely relies upon what is taught in the classrooms is incomplete at best.
(Not that Columbia University, pictured here, has anything to do with that.)

And the inescapable feature of American life is that Americans constantly deal with other Americans who can be very different from them. This difference need not be racial or cultural. The difference can originate from geography, social class, gender, sexual orientation, or any old thing. However, to ignore the need to handle racial and cultural differences in American life is to put blinders on one’s eyes. And obviously, the skill of handling racial and cultural differences in American life will not come solely through classroom education, if it comes at all in that manner. Students need to learn this skill simply by being around people who are drastically different from them.

Obviously, the differences that need to be represented cannot only be racial. Colleges (especially elite ones) must strive to replicate to some degree – not exactly, mind you – the larger American society in every manner. It needs to have geographical representation, wealth representation, sexual orientation representation, you name it. The more difference elite college students encounter, the better education they will receive.

The Korean draws this conclusion from his own experience. He is firmly convinced that University of California, Berkeley is the place that made him the person that he is today. Berkeley did so by providing a very diverse student body. For the first time in his life, the Korean met someone from Decatur, Alabama – the home of the second largest Wal-Mart in the world, according to him. A former amateur boxer who started college at age 25. A blind person who ended up becoming a school tour guide by memorizing the script in Braille and walking backwards with her cane pointing the other direction. A future NFL starting quarterback. An heiress who has a building on campus named after her family. Meeting and interacting with them gave the Korean a much more nuanced appreciation of the country and the world in which he lived.

 

The greatest college in the world.

One of the Korean’s favorite college memories is this: The Korean was friends with a charismatic deaf person who ended up serving as the Executive Vice President of the student government that oversees over 30,000 students. His friend was such a socially adept smooth talker that, other than the hearing aid on his ears and his pitchless voice typical of a deaf person, the Korean hardly noticed that his friend was much different from him.

One day, the Korean went to the beach with his friends. After dark, we set a bonfire, sat around it and talked. Because the fire was hot on his face, the Korean spoke with his two hands cupped around the lower part of his face, without thinking much about it. But whenever the Korean talked, the Korean’s friend waved his hand at the Korean, as if he was brushing something aside. The Korean did not understand. After a few seconds, finally another friend explained: “Justin can’t read your lips if you cover your face like that.”

It was a minor episode at the time, but somehow it stayed in the Korean’s mind. It was such a little thing that the Korean himself did not even perceive, but that little thing blocked out the entire communication for Justin. You would think that someone who moved from one country to another at age 16 would be able to appreciate the differences in radically different people. But the moment that stays with the Korean’s head had nothing to do with his experience of adjusting wholesale to a completely different culture. It had to do with his experience of something that was nearly imperceptible at the time but somehow resonated greater and greater until it became a personal philosophy-defining moment.

This is what education should be. Ideal education would provide everyone with this type of moment. Boston Globe columnist Kara Miller’s last question is a perfectly fair one: “When - if ever - should we give credit where credit is due?” The Korean does not know exactly where that line should be. But that is hardly a reason for not having a line. With help of research and experts, we engage in dicey line drawing all the time. (For example, why is the speed limit on some highways 65 mph, not 60 mph or 70 mph?) The line should be drawn at the point where Asian Americans students, like all other students, receive a meaningful education in living in a highly diverse society. And if meritocracy must take a less-than-100 percent role in the determination of who gets a chance to be educated in one of hundreds of elite universities in America, that’s how it should be.

After the jump, a couple of quick hitters that did not exactly fit anywhere.

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

Best of the Worst 2009

Here is another round of the best of the worst emails sent to the Korean, with the Worst Email of 2009 Award at the end. Again, these are all real emails from real people, with absolutely no edit other than adding the first name.

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We have a Korean American lady here at work that is very friendly um she always smiles at me and waves but carefully

 I am not sure if she is interested or just being extra nice her face seems to light up when I am around and she always makes prolonged eye contact she is attractive and I am sure she probably could get a date quite easily more in her age

 I  would love to be better friends with her but just think it would be odd  since I am about 20 years older than her I am not sure what to make of it  sure I  am very attracted to her  but I don't get to close cause I an 46 and she is 27 

we are both single but I was raised a catholic witch always make you feel guilty for being attracted to some that much younger   I will probably never approach her because of this and Its been a very long time since I asked any one out on a date or to  her ask if she is interested  and  we don't bump into each other  every day

but when we do It sure ad's excitement to my day I have wrote off a couple of times to being just being overly nice and pleasant

I think she just very nice person but every now then she'll get wave and I get self conscious cause she always seems to go out of the way say hello

- John F.

John, the blog is called Ask a Korean. You are supposed to ASK something, creepy old man. 

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Can you give websites where I can check these plumbers and the plumbing industry. Which government sector do they belong? Thanks.

- Ivy M.

Ivy, as the most Internet savvy country in the world, every toilet in Korea comes equipped with the TiSP technology. It belongs to the Ministry of Information and Sanitation, at www.secureshitter.go.kr.

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I am a black man.

I know you probably get this a lot, but here it goes.

I am truly sorry that we (as black people) are SO ignorant to even try to be helpful in society, so even though my apology will not warrant anything, I want to say I AM SORRY.

sorry for being ignorant to you and your brothers and sisters, Sorry for not trying to learn what makes all of us truly different, and consequently realize how much alike we are deep inside.

sorry for choosing money and women out of internationalfamily or brotherhood.

sorry for blaming everyone else for our problems, and I know I wish I could blame all of mine on everyone else; but really, I am sorry that this country is so secret in trying to eliminate all of us. we are in the 90% and truly I will fight anyone who is a threat to my brothers and sisters, you who are included in that number, with many whites, hispanics, and asian, etc.

We only want to belong, because we have lost our Identity, so we created our own through hip hop

we are lost, and we need help to regain family and unity

I am not a college guy, I am nothing more than a producer

and a day laborer

I just want to say, talk to those who would listen

help point those who need direction, the right way.

I am proud that you all maintain your morality through all of these dark times.

Let me say that it will only get worse, but know that I love you

as a brother,

a friend

and for our mother earth

and God

in his many great names but the one true name

the Creator of all things

blessings to you

and to those who would create them for themselves.

- Rick H.

Rick, the Korean can assure you that he does not get this a lot at all. God bless you too.

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Hello,I wonder if you could answer my questions about Jumong,the series are being showed in my country recently.

1.when did Lady Yesoya die?(how many years did she live after Jumong?)

2.Does the name Yesoya and Sosoeno  has a special meaning?

3.Did Sosoeno leave the palace by her own will at the end?

Thanks alot in advance

- Ladan A.

Ladan, the Korean dislike ruining the end of the show. That’s just rude.

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I need your help I work with korean people and I feel very attach to them since they been so nice to me. I recently got into an argument with one of then and I feel really bad I feel so bad that I want to quit my job but  I know that if I quit it will affect them more since they speak very little english  and spanish. What can I do since I am very hurt and yet I am still there .

Thanx

- Mayra G.

Mayra, in this economy, there will be many who will be happy to fill in for you.

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Im a woman trapped inside a man's body. Is there any place where i can get a sex change in Korea? About how much would that be?

- Rex P.

Umm….

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Dear Korean,

My girlfriend is Korean and I am American.  I am a tad younger than her and, for the most part, our sexual experiences are amazing.  We have had concurrent orgasms several times.  However, sometimes, while we are making Love, she gets in a tremendous amount of pain.  I should say that she is 41.  Can you help me?

- Justin B.

No, Justin. No.

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Dear Korean,

When people think "white" they tend to picture an American, or at least, a westerner.

But obviously people can be Asian-American, or African-American.

So that said, I was wondering if a white person born in, say, Japan or Taiwan would be considered a white asian?

- Elizabeth C.

First, you tell the Korean how many angels can dance on top of a pin.

*          *            *

Hi:  I own an entertainment company and need a Korean performer(s) for tomorrow morning in Boston for a corporate event.  Could you call me as soon as you get this message?  I really appreciate it.  You might know who to put me in touch with.  Thank you

- Craig S.

Craig, the Korean is afraid of clowns.

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pls read the pic for me. is it the name of any company? pls help me.......

- Arun C.

Arun, it is indeed the company that makes virtually everything in Asia – the company’s name is “Quality Certified”. You will find their products all over Japan.

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Hi,

    I saw your blog on the net and i just wanna ask some help.. hmmm..
can you share to me on how to look like a korean.. using some
eyeglass how to choose a eyeglass to look like a korean and some tips for the hair
too.. my hair is like this .. http://poenyaqoew.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/200611020909114201d3vh0.jpg, or like this ..
it looks like this when i used blower
http://sookyeong.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/mclee8645_39940383.jpg ...

and how to dress like a simple korean guy..

btw I'm Red from Philippines..
19 years old guy.. ^^

Thanks!

- Reden M.

Red, you seem pretty Korean already. Nice tie in the second pic. Where did you get it?

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Hi!  What are the best hostess bars in Flushing and/or Manhattan?  Thanks.  Pat

- Pat W.

Pat, your mom wanted to keep her business on word-of-mouth basis only.

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  Hey, My name is berenice and i'm mexican and I live in u.s.a New york and i been living here for 13 years. And I STILL DONT have papers nor  visa nothing.  And i want to go and live in korean and get acting classs over there. I know some engilsh. But i want to move over there really bad in korean cause is so beautiful. I want to get prepare over there. and take singing class but i ONly have mexico passport. and ID . can I still move over there and get this opportunity. I have husband who believes in my dream and that could send me money. Let me know is that all you need to move other. Or is there another way? Please help me cause it seems is the only way. Please write me soon.

- Berenice

Thirteen years in America, and you STILL DON’T know how to write in proper English. Good luck learning Korean.

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I have a Korean!!! o como se diga..jejeje
¿Pregunta al coreano? mmm y no puedo pedir directamente uno?? jijiji..


YO QUIERO UN KOREANOOO!!! jajajajaja que te doy la direccion de casa y me lo mandas por mensajeria privada o tengo que ir a recojerlo a correos??
Y puedo pedir algun oppa en concreto ?? ..mmm... pos si puede ser Gong Yoo , T.O.P.  o  So Ji Sub te lo agradeceria en el alma... o bueno si hay que pagar un plus por ellos está hecho!!

Aqui me quedo en españa esperando contestacion eh??

Annyong!!

P.D.: quien dice un coreano, dice dos o tres... no hay problema, yo les hago sitio en casa.. :P

- Uxia P.

Querida Uxia, ?cual es mas extrano – hecho de que usted esperaba que El Coreano entenderia espanol, o de que el puede?

(Dear Uxia, which is stranger – that fact that you expected the Korean would understand Spanish, or that he can?)

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Illegal alien having a baby in US with a US citizen and want to go back to mother country with the baby.

is it possible?

- Anonymous Coward

Anything is possible. Just do it.

*          *            *

Korean -

I have married a Korean woman.  It has been a mostly pleasant experience, however, her feet stink.  Not just a slightly foul odor but some kind of clinical stink, like some smell created in a laboratory.  What is it about the Koreans that make their feet smell this way and how can I reverse its effects? 

I know you won't let me down. 

Thanks. 

- Jay O.

Jay, non-Koreans may not know this, but when you mix han and jeong, you end up with some nasty funk that comes out through feet. Rub some kimchi on it.

*          *            *

im mixed with black and white asian girls hate me why

- Anonymous Coward

Probably has something to do with your personality. And the fact that you ask dumb questions.

*          *            *

Can the Wonder Girls, SNSD, Super Junior, SHINEE, and Kara come to Westminster Mall in California and go to Asian Garden Malll at Westmister also. If some or one or all can come to these places, give me a call at [PHONE NUMBER] and tell me the date. by the way i am a kid. Thank You. From Amanda from California.

- Amanda T.

Sweetie, please never give away your phone number to an anonymous blogger ever again. Even if he promises Wonder Girls.

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And now, drum roll please – the winner of the Worst AAK! Email of 2009, after the jump.

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