Ask a Korean! Wiki: Rainbow Hangouts?

The Korean is still a few weeks away from posting, but here is a chance for you to give your own answer in the comment section if you are in the target demographic:

Dear Korean,

I am a Chinese-American in his mid twenties who recently moved to New York city. I am interested in meeting some gay Korean guys. Do you know of any gay Korean bars in New York, especially Queens? Or do you have any suggestions on meeting gay Korean guys in New York?

John

Please don't limit yourself to New York, fellas. Info about any gay Korean hangouts are welcome.

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

The Korean is back from South Africa. A few lessons from the trip:

1. Baboons can open car doors. Ostriches are extremely dangerous (but as stupid as they are dangerous).
2. Northwest is a real shitty airline that deserves a fiery death. (But KLM is awesome -- particularly its business class.)
3. In a proposal, the actual words said do not really matter, because neither the Korean nor the Korean Girlfriend -- now the Korean Fiancee -- will remember within 5 minutes.

In other news, the Korean has a lot of personal things to take care of now, so blogging and responding to emails will be suspended for a week or two.

aaaaand the Korean is now out for vacation in Cape Town, South Africa for two weeks. Adios, gentle readers. Behave -- South Africa has internet too, the Korean hears.

Ask a Korean! News: Special Request from Mr. Joo Seong-Ha

Readers of AAK! know how much the Korean loves Mr. Joo Seong-Ha, who writes Nambukstory. (Search for "nambuk" in this blog to find the collection of translated articles by Mr. Joo.) So when Joo wrote a post asking someone to translate, the Korean had to jump on it. Below is the post. (Link to the post in Korean.)

Do the Right Thing, No Matter How Much You Hate Kim Jong-Il

Even the world's leading press often publish articles that, to me, are difficult to accept. This month I saw two instances of that, and the perpetrators were the world-renowned Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Time. Of course, these papers often carried this type of articles previously.

On the 8th, right after Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang and brought back the reporters, WSJ published an article that spoke of Kim Jong-Il's "kitsch" taste in art. [TK Note: here is the WSJ article.] The article says the picture of large waves in the VIP room in Baekhwawon shows Kim's kitsch taste in art.

This is the painting in question.

The article says the waves symbolizes the power of the dictator and the bird over the sea is remiscent of a natural paradise. Riiight. I felt it was absurd to interpret a seagull flying over a storm as a symbol for paradise.

That painting is known to be the work by Kim Seong-Geun, the people's artist in North Korea who specializes in painting waves. The title of that painting is "Waves of Chongseokjeong", and other renowned works of Kim include "Waves of Haegeumgang" and "Waves of Haechilbo". I do not have much knowledge in fine arts, but paintings of that type would fall under the realism movement.

But WSJ dared to call that painting kitsch. That angered me, because it felt like I became a kitsch person as well -- because I also have a painting of scenary that has a beach with waves hanging in my home. I look at that painting and think about my hometown near the sea. Is my taste kitsch too? Painter Kim also won an award at International H2O Color Competition in Rome -- the judges of that competition must have been kitsch too.

I also have something that I have a hard time understanding. Several years ago in America, I recall a so-called "painting" that had a dot on a white sheet of paper being sold for tens of millions of dollars at an auction. I could not understand why that painting was so expensive, but the true masterpiece was the explanation: "Do you know how feverishly the painter agonized to find the right place to put that dot on the paper?"

I don't know if the painter truly agonized, but to me the painting would not change at all whether or not the painter agonized or not. I wonder if WSJ views this type of "painting" as an example of elegant taste.

No matter how much one hates Kim Jong-Il, this isn't right. If WSJ satirized Hu Jintao that way, there would be a strong, immediate reaction: "Arrogance based on imperialistic ideas," "extension of white supermacist racism", etc. I also hate Kim Jong-Il, but I do not wish to see that type of article again.

Another is an article on Time magazine on the 14th. This weekly news magazine selected the ten worst dressers among world leaders. [TK note: article here] As expected, the number one worst dresser is Kim Jong-Il. The magazine assessed that the same khaki suit, large sunglasses and five-inch platform shoes to make the wearer appear taller is unusually out of style.



The magazine also adds: "[H]is ill-fitting suits ... did little to conceal Kim's paunch."

Let us take a look at the other 9 entries:

Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia
Augusto Pinochet, former President of Chile
Muammar Gaddafi, Supreme Leader of Libya
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Fidel Castro, former President of the Council of State of Cuba
Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela
Mao Zedong, former Chairman of Chinese Communist Party
Jean-Bedel Bokassa, former Emperor of Central African Empire

Pretty much the same as the list of world leaders that America hates. They are all either anti-American leftist leaders or dictators.

Fine, I understand hating them -- but faulting them on their dress is truly low, not becoming of Time magazine's prestige.

Kim Jong-Il's garb is, for him, a product of his agonizing thoughts. The jacket may not cover up much of the paunch, but everyone knows a suit would make the paunch look even more prominent.

I would like to see Time selecting the best dressers among political leaders. The leaders of capitalist countries like America, Britain and Japan always wear a suit -- it makes news when sometimes, they go without a tie and undo the top button on their shirt. I doubt Time would select that to be the best fashion sense.

I learned a while ago speaking with a reporter from the New York Times that the posts on my blog is being translated and circulated in websites in the U.S. I don't know who does that, but I am grateful that my unworthy writing is regarded highly. [TK note: No, thank you Mr. Joo for writing excellent posts all the time. The Korean wishes he could translate every single thing you write for your blog.]

The reason why I mention this is because if I had to choose one post in my blog to be translated and circulated in American websites, this one is it. If media wishes to criticize Kim Jong-Il, they must do so in a straightforward manner; this type of low blow would only generate negative reaction, leading to more loss than gain.

At any rate, how would Kim Jong-Il look if he wore a suit and a tie, without his platform shoes? Just thinking about it makes me laugh. That would really make him the worst dresser.

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

Great article on older immigrants in today's New York Times:

"Yet experts say that America’s ethnic elderly are among the most isolated
people in America. Seventy percent of recent older immigrants speak little or no
English. Most do not drive. Some studies suggest depression and psychological
problems are widespread, the result of language barriers, a lack of social
connections and values that sometimes conflict with the dominant American
culture, including those of their assimilated children."

Dog – It’s What’s for Dinner

Dear Korean,

I heard that people eat dog meat in Korea. Is it something special, or do they put the dog meat to any meaty meal?

Sibelius
Dear Sibelius,

The answer is no. Dog-eating is one of the things for which is Korea is notorious, and much of it is distorted or misunderstood. For example, Wikipedia’s page on dog meat consumption in Korea is filled with utter falsehood, likely generated by anti-dog meat crowd in Korea. Hilariously, the Wikipedia post cites to some incredibly dubious sources such as Helsinki Times – clearly an authority in Korean culture. Therefore, the Korean will outline the facts about dog-eating in Korea, and follow it up with the Korean’s own opinion regarding the topic.

The “fact” section will be organized in a Q&A style. Because the Korean is feeling rather generous today, for this topic only the Korean will accept any further question on this topic that he did not address through the comment section.

Facts about Dog-Eating in Korea

Q: Do Koreans eat dogs?
A: Yup, they sure do. A good friend of the Korean would not believe him, saying, “I thought it was an untrue and malicious stereotype.” No, it is all true. Koreans eat dogs.

But this is not what happens. (Seriously, the picture is a joke.)

Q: Why do Koreans eat dogs?
A: People eat what’s around them. Protein, especially obtained from a large animal, was traditionally scarce in Korea. Eating a cow was nearly out of the question – each household, if it were lucky, would have a single head of cattle to pull the plow. Pigs competed for the same food that humans ate. Dogs did not. Traditionally, dogs are eaten during the three high heat days of summer, called bok or sam-bok ("three bok").

Q: How prevalent is it?
A: Dog meat is not very prevalent in modern Korea – it is not what people eat every day. You have to visit a restaurant that specializes in dog meat-based dish to get it. There are apparently around 530 such restaurants in Seoul, which is not many for a 12 million people city. Roughly 1 million dogs are slaughtered for food each year. By weight, it is the fifth-most consumed meat in Korea, following chicken, pork, beef and duck.

-UPDATE 4/18/2011- According to the survey commissioned by the National Assembly in 2006, approximately two million dogs are slaughtered for food each year, and it is the fourth-most consumed meat after chicken, pork and beef.

Q: Is dog meat considered a gourmet delicacy?
A: No. It is traditionally a peasant food, and was never considered high-end. Reflecting this status, you would have to get out to the poorer outskirts of Seoul to encounter a good dog meat dish.

Q: What do Koreans think about dog-eating generally?
A: According to a survey conducted in 2000, 83 percent of Koreans (91.9 percent of males and 67.9 percent of females) have eaten dog meat. 86.3 percent of Koreans favored eating dog meat (92.3 percent of males and 72.1 percent of females).

-UPDATE 4/18/2011- According to the survey commissioned by the National Assembly in 2006, 55.3 percent of all adults have tried dog meat. Approximately 75 percent of Koreans are in favor of eating dog meat.

Q: What do Koreans who own pet dogs think about dog-eating?
A: Some pet dog owners in Korea have become extremely vocal against dog-eating, citing all the reasons that are familiar to non-Koreans who find dog-eating unpalatable. Most pet dog owners are more moderate: in most cases, they wouldn’t eat a dog, but do not care about other people who do. Still others distinguish dogs raised as pets and dogs raised as food, and have no qualms about eating a dog. The Korean’s friend who lives in Korea owns a Yorkshire Terrier as a pet but is nonetheless a huge fan of dog meat. She frequently goes to the dog meat restaurant with her Terrier, and says she feels no inner conflict.

-UPDATE 4/18/2011- According to a survey conducted by Bayer in 2007, about a quarter of pet dog owners have tried or enjoy dog meat.

Apparently, looking at this mug does not dim the Korean's friend's appetite for dogs.

However, the distinction between edible dogs and pet dogs is not necessarily ironclad for sellers of dog meat. Recently there was a report that abandoned pet dogs were being trafficked to dog meat dealers instead of an animal shelter, where they are supposed to go. The movie Ddong Gae (English title: Mutt Boy) shows the main character fighting the bullies who ate his dog, which the main character picked up as a stray.

Q: I heard dog meat is illegal in Korea. Is that true?
A: It is more correct to say that dog meat is in legal grey area. Livestock Processing Act of Korea sets forth various standards for how livestock may be raised, slaughtered, processed, sold, inspected, etc. Oddly, dogs do not fall under the definition of “livestock”. This is an odd omission because the definition of “livestock” includes horses, which Koreans almost never eat. (The Korean's guess would be that whichever aide to the legislator who drafted the law copied a non-Korean law without thinking too much about it.) This does not mean that dog meat is illegal; it just means that Livestock Processing Act does not regulate the processing of dog meat. Instead, it is regulated by Food Hygiene Act, which simply defines “food” as “all foodstuff, except taken as medicine.”

But dog meat-abolitionists of Korea often argue that this indicates the Korean law’s recognition that dogs are not for eating. On the other hand, however, the National Tax Board of Korea issued an opinion that dog meat restaurants may receive the same tax treatment for their purchase of dog meat as, say, the tax treatment that a barbecue restaurant receives for its purchase of beef. So it’s fair to say that this issue is muddled.

Several years ago, there was some attempt on the part of Seoul city government to regulate dog meat processing in order to ensure it is processed in a hygienic manner. However, the vocal minority vigorously opposed the “legalization” of dog meat, and the idea was dropped.

Q: How are the dogs raised and slaughtered?
A: Because Livestock Processing Act does not cover dog meat, dog-ranchers (so to speak) and dog meat sellers essentially go for the raising/slaughtering method that generates maximum profit. This generally leads to unsightly living conditions for edible dogs, similar to those of pigs or chickens in industrialized farming in the U.S., only in a smaller scale. Dogs are raised in a small cage and sold alive until they get to meat market. Then they are generally electrocuted before being processed and shipped to restaurants.

Freshly slaughtered dogs in a market in Korea that specializes dog meat wholesale.

Q: Is it true that the dogs are tortured before they are killed?
A: Again, because Livestock Processing Act does not cover dog meat, there is no restriction about how to kill a dog for meat. At the meat market, the need to slaughter the dogs quickly usually means dogs are electrocuted, similar to cattle. However, especially in rural areas where people slaughter dogs to cook and eat on their own, the common method is to hang the dog and beat it to death, in an attempt to tenderize the meat. (This, however, may be counterproductive; while beating the meat does tenderize it, an animal that dies in a stressed state generally produces tougher and less tasty meat.) A figurative expression in Korean for a severe beating is “like beating a dog on bok day.”

Q: Enough with the cultural stuff, let’s get to the food – How is dog meat cooked? Is it like a Chinese restaurant, where you can get the same dish in different meat? (e.g. beef fried rice/chicken fried rice/shrimp fried rice/dog fried rice?)
A: The answer to the second question is no. Dog meat is generally cooked in two different ways – in a spicy soup or steamed and braised. (The same soup is sometimes made with goat meat.) In addition, dog meat broth made with herbs is considered medicinal, and is often prescribed by oriental medicine doctors in Korea. It is supposed to be an energy booster.

Dog meat, two styles

Q: What does dog meat taste like? Is it good?
A: It tastes closest to goat meat – like extremely lean beef, with a little bit of its own aroma (a little like lamb). Yes, it is very tasty.

Q: What does the Korean think about dog-eating in Korea?
A: Glad you asked, made-up-questioner!

The Korean's thoughts on dog meat, and additional questions/objections about dog meat, after the jump.

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

The nutcase who stole Choi Jin-Sil's ashes was arrested. He claims that Choi showed up his dreams and asked him to let her out.

Former Korean president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kim Dae-Jung passed away last night. He was 83.

One of the Korean's favorite quotes is from Kim: "Conscience that does not act is on the side of evil."

This is interesting. A South Korean company is planning to sell bottled water extracted out of the DMZ.

Ask a Korean! News: Gyopo Makeup

Here is an extremely interesting article from Dong-A Ilbo (albeit with questionable journalistic standard and near-total ignorance about America,) which somewhat ties into the tanning question and immigrant time warp.

If you don't know, "gyopo" is a Korean term for Koreans living outside of Korea. For the record, the Korean knows nothing about makeups (gyopo or otherwise,) which made the translation a little difficult.

"Why Do They Completely Change in America?": Truth about Gyopo Makeup

Wonder Girls, touring in the U.S.

In late 2007, figure skater Yuna Kim was featured as a cover model for International Figure Skating, a well-known figure skating magazine. The Korean fans were surprised at the cover, wondering if the cover model was really Kim because the makeup with dark complexion and exceesive eyeliner -- as if following the older figure skater Michelle Kwan -- was too awkward. However, American fans who saw the cover said Yuna Kim was very pretty. This sparked a heated debate on "gyopo makeup" among Korean fans, who were accustomed to young Yuna Kim's bright and light-spirited makeup.

Emphasized Hues on the Cheeks and Strong Eyeliners are Corny?

The makeup style of Wonder Girls, who are currently touring in the U.S., is also a popular Internet gossip fodder. The fashion and hair style reminescent of the movie Dream Girls, set in 1960s-70s, have been the same from Korea, and therefore did not create any controversy. But a controversy rose regarding the dark skin tone and complexion makeup, which looks like the makeup worn by singers in Itaewon (near the U.S. Army base) in the 1980s and is therefore considered corny. This is another rendition of "gyopo makeup" controversy, similar to Kim Yuna's case.

Korean fans of Wonder Girls are agitated, claiming the makeup to be "terrorism" against the teenage girls. On the other hand, Korean American fans of Wonder Girls retort that it is a necessary adaptation to operate in the U.S.

Gyopo makeup controversy also arose when Miss Koreas appeared in international stages. Miss Korea 2006 Honey Lee and Miss Korea 2007 Ji-Seon Lee, who showcased elegant beauty in Korea, appeared with darker makeup for Miss Universe competition. The makeup attract criticism from Korean fans, who said they should not win based on such non-Korean image.

How did gyopo makeup, which gets a relatively low mark in Korea, come about?

Beauty in Korea is Different From Beauty in America?

The origin of the term "gyopo makeup" is unclear, but fashion experts say the term slowly took root around 1990s. Gyopo in the term refers to the Korean immigrants in California, who take up a considerable percentage of Koreans living abroad.

Gyopo makeup boldly expresses eyes, nose and mouth, with a special emphasis on cheek bones. It also gives dark complexion, smokey eyeshadows and strong, perky lips. Other characteristics of gyopo makeup include strong impressions created by upturned corner of the eyes, and hair that gives the maximum-volume feel.

Prime examples include Chinese American newsanchor Connie Chung who appeared on ABC, or Korean Americans May Lee or Elena Cho of CNN.

As to the origin of gyopo makeup, the first explanation offered is that it was a natural result of adapting to the strong sun and open nature and culture of California. Ms. K (age 39) of Houston said, "I came to America about 10 years ago when natural makeup was in vogue in Korea, but I was surprised to see the dark circles around Korean American women." She added, "Longer the gyopo women have lived in America, more accepting they were with stronger makeup."

A number of Korean Americans said, "Asian women's faces are not very three-dimensional, so they intentionally use darker makeup to emphasize the cheek bone." They also explain that the makeup is darker because unlike Korea where light skin is preferred, America likes tanned complexion.

A reporter for Korean American daily newspaper based in Los Angeles, said, "At first, the strong makeup looked awkward, as if the trend went back to Korea in the 1980s. But because the climate as well as the culture are completely different from Korea, I just accept it as a natural consequence." In other words, the makeup methodology that developed as a result of adaptation to the locality's culture and environment should not be criticized as "corny".

Pictures of Yuna Kim that created the "gyopo makeup" controversy

Big Eyes, Emphasized Cheek Bones -- Asian Women Seen by Westerners

On the other hand, there is analysis that gyopo makeup responds to how white people of America views Asians.

Elle Korea, which reported Yuna Kim's gyopo makeup controversy in 2007, offered at that time that "gyopo-style makeup connects with the Asian women style preferred by white people of America." Citing examples of Disney movies such as "Mulan" or "Pochahontas", it explained that slanty eyes and strong cheek bones, relatively disfavored by Asian women, are loved in America as a typical Asian image.

There are other interpretations, such as that it was an attempt for Asian American women to appear stronger, or that unlike Korea or Japan where fashion trends change very fast, Asian American women remain in the American trend.

Finally, there is an argument that the expression of "gyopo makeup" betrays the changed power relations between Korea and the Korean American society.

Choi Young-Il, a cultural analyst, offered, "In the past, America and Made-in-America mark were the symbols of the cutting edge of culture. But since 1990s, the views on America changed, and the younger generation's changed perspective and self-assurance are indirectly expressed in the term 'gyopo makeup'."

In other words, the expression of gyopo makeup appeared as the admiration for Korean Americans faded. Mr. Choi pointed out "The expression 'gyopo makeup' is problematic because it has a mocking connotation. There needs to be an effort to understand each other's culture on equal basis."

It must be noted that majority of Wonder Girls' fans in America are Asian American teens. It remains to be seen whether the gyopo makeup of Wonder Girls will capture the hearts of white American teens who regard Pochahontas as typical Asian beauty.

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

Just for the sake of information, here is a picture of Yuna Kim as a model for advertisement in Korea.

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

Holy shit. Someone broke into Choi Jin-sil's grave and stole her ashes.

압박과 설움에서 해방된 민족
싸우고 또 싸워서 되찾은 이 나라.

Crime and Punishment in Korea

Dear Korean,

I hear that the crime rate is rising in South Korea, despite the good economy. Do you have any theories about the rising crime rate in South Korea?

Anonymouse


Dear Anonymouse,

Is the crime rate rising in Korea? To see if that is true, there is no better place to look than the website of the National Police Agency in Korea, which provides this chart that lists the statistics for the five major crimes (murder, robbery, rape, burglary, assault):




But with this chart alone, it is a little difficult to see the overall trend. Therefore, following is a graph created by the Korean:

The graph is made to show the overall increase and decrease of each crime category. The Korean used the number of reported crimes rather than the number of arrested crimes, for obvious reasons. The 2001 values are held at 100, and the lines show the year-to-year percentage variations.

From this graph, one can observe several things:

First, in the short term, the number of overall crimes did increase from 2004 through 2008. But counting from 2001 through 2008, the number of crimes are more or less stable, as a regression line drawn in the middle through the "Total" line would be nearly flat.

Second, number of burglary mostly drove the total number of crimes. Burglary and assault make up the most number of crimes -- put together, they make up 97 percent of all reported five major crimes. Since the number of assaults stayed more or less stable, increase in burglary (especially between 2006-2008) drove the number of total crimes.

Why did burglary increase in 2007 and 2008? That seems to be simple enough to explain: 2007 is when the economy started cratering. Because Korean economy is extremely export-dependent, any slowdown in spending in a major market (the United States in this case) has a big impact in Korean economy. The worries over subprime mortgage was percolating in the U.S. by 2007, which mean Korea was already facing a downturn in economy. It seems reasonable to think that bad economy caused more thievery. On a related note, it is interesting that robbery decreased all the way until 2007, then picked up in 2008. It could be a sign that poverty-driven criminals (as opposed to those who commit crimes for other motives) are getting more desperate.

Third, what really jumps out from the graph is the large increase in rape cases -- nearly 50 percent increase since 2001. Why is this happening? The Korean is no criminologist, but based on his observation of crimes reported in newspapers, he has two hypotheses. First, the Korean society is becoming more sexually charged, with children getting exposed to sex at younger and younger ages, particularly over the Internet. But the Korean society's taboo against discussing sex lingers on, depriving Korean children and teens from getting adequate sex education to match the more sexualized atmosphere in which they live. This hypothesis is borne out by the fact that more reported cases of sexual assaults are committed by teens.

Also, social stigma against victims of sexual assault has been steadily decreasing in Korea. At the same time, as Korean women become more independent and self-assured, there is certainly more awareness among Korean women as to what is sexual assault and what is just something that happens at a party that you are not supposed to talk about. Therefore, more victims of sexual assault are willing to report the crime, leading to the increase in the number of reported cases. But again, these are just hypotheses.

Just for fun, how do U.S. and Korea compare? According to Wikipedia, U.S. has 5.8 homicides per 100,000 people, similar to such illustrous nations as Georgia, Albania and Ethiopia. Korea has 2.18 homicides per 100,000 people, similar to Czech Republic, Finland and United Kingdom.

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

Happy birthday, Magic Johnson!

Ask a Korean! News: Deja Vu, Anyone?

At the first sign of Barack Obama doing something big and disputed like the healthcare reform, political discourse in America has been getting uglier and uglier such that utterly stupid people are dominating the news.

First, we have the birthers, like this lovely lady right here:





What is a "birther", you ask? This New York Times article gives a nice overview of the history of "birther" movement:

“Birthers, for the uninitiated, is a term used by the media to ridicule
those who believe that the president’s Hawaiian birth certificate is fake and
that because he was ostensibly born in Kenya, not the United States, he was
never eligible to be president in the first place.”

Prominent media figures like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh have taken the birther movement seriously enough not to dismiss it out of hand, although there have been "scores of embarrassing legal defeats, and even after tussles between the attorneys who’ve turned frivolous lawsuits about the president’s citizenship into full-time jobs.”

Then there are those who oppose Obama's healthcare plan for utterly stupid reasons. Mind you, while the Korean would like to see a single-payer health insurance system like the one Korea has, he is fully willing to recognize that there are two sides of the debate, and those who oppose a government-sponsored program definitely have serious and valid arguments.

But then there is this kind of people, who contribute nothing to the debate:

At a town hall meeting held by Rep. Robert Inglis (R-SC), someone reportedly
told Inglis, "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." "I had to politely
explain that, 'Actually, sir, your health care is being provided by the
government,'" Inglis told the Post. "But he wasn't having any of it."

Or people who say this:

“This is about the dismantling of this country,” Katy Abram, 35, shouted at Mr.
Specter, drawing one of the most prolonged rounds of applause. “We don’t want
this country to turn into Russia.”

The Korean wishes this type of stuff was limited to a small number of delusional people. But no -- even politicians as prominent as Sarah Palin (don't laugh -- she is still prominent) drops this gem:

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down
Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats
can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in
society’ whether they are worthy of health care.”

Gee, where has the Korean seen all this before -- people buying into crazy conspiracy theory that has little basis on fact or logic, spurred on by media and politicians. It all seems so familiar...

Oh yeah, right here.


Oh geez, the Korean remembers the American expats in Korea who just loved skewering those Mad Cow protesters. How Korean educational system bred citizens with lack of scientific knowledge and critical thinking; how Koreans are dumb lemmings who would be fooled into anything; how this could only happen in Korea, the land of stupid retards.

The Korean is absolutely not saying all American expats in Korea said such things, or even all American expats in Korea who were critical of Mad Cow protests said such things. There were many valid criticisms to be made against the Mad Cow protests, and many American expats did make such sensible criticisms.

But as to those Americans who just could not get enough to calling Koreans stupid, the Korean only has this to say: WHO'S STUPID NOW, BITCHES? At least Mad Cow Disease was real, no matter how unlikely it was; Obama is a certifiable American citizen, and there is no chance that is not an American citizen. I hope your hat is fucking delicious.

[And before you say anything about how there is not yet massive protests by birthers or idiotic opponents of healthcare -- put them in a country where half of the population live in one single geographical area that is connected by the fatest Internet in the world, the most extensive cell phone network in the world, and extremely efficient mass transit, and see what happens.]

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

Ask a Korean! News: Double Dose of Joo Seong-Ha on Euna Lee and Laura Ling

Two recent posts from the Korean's favorite North Korea blog Nambukstory were very interesting. If you don't know, the proprietor Joo Seong-Ha of Nambukstory is a graduate of Kim Il-Sung University and was on track to be an elite officer in North Korea, until he defected the country. He was actually captured in China and sent back to North Korea, suffered in a gulag for several years, then defected again and finally made down to South Korea. Then he became a reporter for Dong-A Ilbo, one of the most read newspapers in South Korea.

As evident from the posts below, Joo is not very sympathetic to Euna Lee and Laura Ling. The Korean does not necessarily agree with everything Joo says. However, they are certainly worth a read.

Propaganda Following Clinton's Visit to North Korea (posted Aug. 5, 2009)

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited North Korea unannounced. The morning paper would be flooded with the meaning of the visit and different analysis, so I will save my words on those topics. Instead, I will write about something that likely would not come out on newspapers or television news.


As we have seen many times over, it appears that North Korea again achieved its objectives. Now that they were successful in luring someone as big as Clinton, the only thing remaining for them is to maximize the effect of the visit.







There is much analysis about whether Kim Jong-Il would send a message to Obama via Clinton; I think Kim would. In fact, Kim has been in love with the U.S. for a very long time. But love is not something that can blossom when only one side of the deal holds the love.

Kim Jong-Il would like to align his regime with the U.S. as long as his regime is maintained, but the U.S. does not want to align itself with an authoritarian regime like North Korea. In other words, the interests of the two parties conflict. Keeping up with America's demand for human rights even at the most basic level -- shutting down the concentration camps for political prisoners, for example -- would shake the foundation of the North Korean regime. In addition, Kim cannot get out of his father's shadow. Because he grew in that shadow, it is difficult for him to transition to capitalism.

But Kim knows that if he cannot normalize relationship with Obama administration, which is very conciliatory toward North Korea, normalization of relationship with America is just a pipe dream. So it appears that Kim would try to send some form of enticement to American government somehow.

And -- now for the topic about which I really wanted to write -- how would North Korea propagandize  Clinton's visit to its people?

This propaganda happens in a way that is different from the Rodong Shinmun [newspaper] or Joseon Jung'ang TV. It actually happens through internal lectures geared toward the people. In other words, the propaganda is not shown externally.

Because I have heard numerous such lectures in North Korea, when the news of Clinton's visit came out I immediately thought of the title of the lecture to be given:

"Finally, American bastards kneel before Dear Leader."

Of course the precise expression may differ, but the general framework would not be very different.

When I was attending Kim Il-Sung University, there was a constant stream of lectures from the Chief Lecturer of the Central Party -- in other words, the best lecturer in North Korea. He is a talented man, extracting the best possible analysis out of any given situation. Having been educated by such a person for years, I have a rough guess of how he would play it out.

North Korea consistently relies on the "Porcupine Theory," which goes likes this: "There are many things for a tiger to eat in the mountain, so why would it choose to hunt a porcupine?" North Korea likes to compare itself to a small but spiked porcupine, as all of its people can be mobilized and are generally military-ready.

It would also connect Clinton's visit to the missile tests in April and the nuclear weapon test in May: "At first, Obama underestimated us and said dumb things, but Dear Leader taught him a lesson. Once we fired a satellite and tested a nuclear weapon, America has gotten scared. Eventually, it gave in and paid a visit to the Dear Leader. Clinton is no small fry; he was the Democratic Party president before Obama. America sent the biggest personality it could send." Or so the lecture would go.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I forgot to mention this -- the education about the greatness of Kim Jong-Il: "Our Dear Leader's courage is simply the best. In the face of adversity not even his eyebrow flinches, not even against America. He toys with the world's greatest power. The Earth turns on the axis of Dear Leader's willpower."

And at this point disparagement of South Korea would come in, like this: "The puppet traitor Lee Myung-Bak became blindsided after trying to follow its master's will. He was wagging his tail while not even knowing what his master was thinking of, and now the situation is out of his hands. He must be getting sick thinking about how to curry favor with us. But we will not be that easy. Until he begs for mercy for his past misdeeds against us, we will never engage him." They need to set it up this way so that in the future when the North-South relation becomes strained, they can propagandize: "They want to beg for mercy, but we are not talking to them to teach them a lesson."

Then the question is whether the North Korean people would believe in this kind of lecture. Unfortunately, I think most would. They have been fooled for the last several decades, but did not necessarily get smarter about this. Of course, no one would believe them if the regime announced that it would give regular rations, but this is a little different. Because Clinton did appear after the missile and nuclear test, it does look like the tests caused Clinton to come. In my view, because North Korean people are desperate enough to put their hopes on straws, they would believe the regime's propaganda and begin to have some hope that things will get better somehow.

At any rate, it looks like the journalists would come back to America with Clinton. I recommend reading the post that I wrote on March 19, "Do the two detained American journalists deserve sympathy?" The analysis was written exactly two days after the journalists were captured. In the end, just like I predicted, they spent several months at a hotel (or a guest house, which is better than a hotel,) in North Korea and came back just fine.

In that post, I asked what would happen if the captured people were South Koreans. And as if the North Korean regime decided to show me what would actually happen, a South Korean worker was detained in Gaeseong about a week after I wrote that post.

Now, the time has come when the difference between the "citizens of the continent" and South Koreans starkly reveals itself. I am reminded again that a country needs to be strong.




American Journalists Must Not Act Like Martyrs (posted Aug. 6, 2009)

This morning, many morning papers carried on their first page the pictures of American journalists reuniting with their families.





CNN is also repeatedly showing the video of the journalists deplaning as well as this picture.

I understand that the images are newsworthy, but I am not very pleased about seeing these images over and over again.

The American journalists must shed their martyrdom image. Strictly speaking, they are illegal border jumpers -- not to mention the fact that they were caught fooling around the border of the scariest country in the world. They are lucky to not have gone through worse.

Their situation is only special in that they were caught in North Korea, since many different places in the world would not take kindly to illegal border jumping. America is no exception. I would like to suggest the American press that before endowing the journalists with the halo of martyrdom, look first at how the people who were attempting to illegally cross the U.S. border via Mexico are rotting in its own country's prisons.

The journalists so far did not say much, but surely there will be many interview requests forthcoming. In those interviews, I really hope the journalists don't say they were having such a hard time. The reporters would know what North Korean defectors would go through if the defectors are caught and sent back to North Korea, because the reporters investigated those stories themselves -- although it may be silly to compare the status of American citizens and that of North Korean defectors.

But take for example Chinese citizens, who are foreigners to North Korea as much as Americans are. I have seen with my own eyes Chinese persons being arrested after having illegally crossed the Duman River [which forms NK-China border]. They spend several months in the same prison that keeps the defectors, receiving insults and food that is fit for pigs -- although they were not beaten, and did receive more food than defectors.

Given that situation, the journalists received a special treatment. In what country in the world are illegal border jumpers kept not in prison but in a "guest house" or a hotel, with exercise and leisurely walks being allowed? They even managed to call their family through international call. Even America does not guarantee human rights that way. They received the best possible treatment that illegal border jumpers could possibly receive, and they should be thankful.

In addition, I am sure many were wondering upon their return: what are in those bags?

[Note: Nambukstory does not allow copying its pictures, and the Korean could not find the identical picture online quickly enough. Please see the original post for the picture, which shows the journalists in North Korean airport with several bags.]

They certainly must have been empty-handed when they were captured, but through a little over four months of North Korean life, they now have luggage worth two or three bags. I thought about what those bags are carrying as well -- they seem a little too big for clothes and makeup. I thought it may be possible that North Korean regime gave them some gifts for the reporters' family, in consideration for the mental anguish they went through. North Korea is fully capable of contriving such a show. If that were the case, the journalists may set a record as illegal border jumpers who received several bags of gifts on the way back.

Even if they received no more than some clothes, they were treated extremely well -- especially if they received that much to fill those bags. When I was arrested and sent to North Korea, I wore the same piece of half-sleeve t-shirt and pants that I wore during summer and shivered in bitter cold in forced labor during winter. I could not wash my clothes because I only had one set, and it was not as if I was in a situation to wash clothes. North Korea is a barbaric country like that. The journalists should feel fortunate that they received a treatment that was much, much better than that received by North Korean people in such a country.

The journalists did not say much yesterday, but they stated that every day, every moment they feared being sent to a gulag. Although it appears clear that they were worried, I do not feel very inclined to believe the words "every day, every moment". If they were truly gripped by such fear, they have no right to work as journalists, as they lack the most basic judgment of reality.

It does not take a journalist to make a reasonable guess that there will be no harm, physical or otherwise, to a person who is definitely going to return to America and testify about how they were treated. And it is laughable that they were thinking about gulags when they managed to make international phone calls while living in a guest house.

Guest houses are better than hotels in North Korea; "guest house" is the name for summer and winter homes for Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Currently, many of Kim Il-Sung's guest houses are empty. Also, safe houses by special branches of the government are also known as guest houses, which also have the best amenities in North Korea for VIPs. They may have been mentally anxious, but no amount of money would buy the experience of staying at guest house in North Korea.

And I really hope that they are observing the result of their adventurism. Above all, Kim Jong-Il has been loving it since they were captured. One only has to look at Kim's huge grin since the Clinton visit. Obviously, there will soon be propaganda about how America bowed to North Korea. Thanks to the journalists, Kim Jong-Il can deceive the 20 million North Koreans and mobilize them into forced labor.

I only wish that the journalists reflect upon the sins created by their playing heroes and upon the special treatment they received, and live on quietly. But if they further show up on television trying to drum up sympathy by shedding tears and creating an image of a martyr, that would be just unbearable to watch. They really do not have the right.

* Here is my belated reply to certain comments:

1. Couldn't the journalists cry a little after having been reunited with their family after so long?

Answer: I was not commenting on the crying while meeting their family. Of course they can cry after being separated for a while. All I asked was for them to refrain from showing up on media and pretend they deserve sympathy.

2. Didn't the journalists go through a lot, such as mental stress?

Answer: Of course they must have gone through a lot. Everyone feels stressed when the environment changes; it happens at your work too. I did not say they were not allowed to feel stress or anxiety while being under arrest in North Korea.

3. Isn't it too ungenerous to criticize when they were trying report on North Korean defectors?

Answer: Reporting on North Korean defectors in China and jumping the North Korean border to get a nice picture are two different things. The journalists themselves said they voluntarily crossed the border. (If North Korea kidnapped them, America would have never reacted this way.) Could they really not report on North Korean defectors if they did not step on the North Korean soil along the border? Such senseless action makes me question if they truly were motivated by concerns for North Korean defectors, or by a desire to make their own names.

Already the journalists are saying things like there were rocks in the rice given in North Korea, or how they missed fresh fruit and vegetable. I am totally blown away. It is a country that does not even really have refrigerators; such complaint is more fit for tourists. Were they expecting to be treated like heads of states? Meanwhile, North Korean people are having a hard time eating rice to begin with. How good of a treatment was it necessary for them to not say such things?

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

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Online Job Search

Dear Korean,

I am a KA, and I run a somewhat successful business doing IT consulting and have thought about trying to go international with it. I've Googled all over the place for jobs in Korea and the only thing that comes up are ESL jobs. As Internet saavy as I imagine mainland Koreans to be, do you know of internet resources that mainland Koreans check out when job hunting?

Anonymous Coward


Dear Anonymous Coward,

The Korean never had a job in Korea, nor has he ever searched for one. Readers, got anything?

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

Here Comes the Sun -- Run Away!

Dear Korean,

I noticed many Korean women do not like to sunbathe, and I noticed that many of them often wear very wide brimmed hats, and avoid getting tan in general. Is having fair and light skin a big factor in beauty for many Korean women?

Jack in California


Dear Jack,

Yes.

The Korean will even answer a follow-up question. Why do Korean beauty standards involve pearly white skin? Simple -- 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.

The fact that this attitude survived for so long is an indicator of how slowly people's frame of mind changes, even as the circumstances that surround those people change rapidly. Korea began industrializing in mid-1960s, and by 1970s Korea could no longer be called an agrarian society. By then the majority of the lower class of Korea no longer worked on the field, but worked in a factory indoors. To be sure, the factory workers had their own appellations to denote their low station in the society. But aversion to tanning is clearly based on the agricultural economy and field work. How long did Korea to take shed a paradigm based on its agrarian past?

Answer: between 30 and 40 years. Tanned face did not become an acceptable form of beauty until early 2000s, when this woman came along:

Her name is Lee Hyori, whose sheer force of hotness made Koreans accept that tanned skin could indeed be beautiful.

But aside from the delay in changing beauty standards in Korea, there is another level of delay that operates among Korean Americans, such as the ones that Jack saw in California. Simply put, Korean Americans have their own paradigm that either very slowly follows the paradigm of Koreans in Korea, or often does not follow at all. And the way beauty standards have been changing provides an interesting example of this phenomenon.

Take Hyori for example. For about a stretch of 3 to 5 years, she was the biggest star in Korean pop culture scene, about equivalent to Britney Spears' peak in terms of popularity and exposure. (Remember the stretch between around 1999-2002 when Spears was the only female celebrity who mattered?) Wherever you went in Korea, Hyori's (hot, hot, hot) images were plastered everywhere in the forms of TV shows, music videos and advertisements. An average Korean living in Korea, seeing such images, could slowly accept that tanned body can be beautiful as well.

But what about Koreans who live in the U.S.? Most Korean Americans immigrated to the U.S. prior to early 2000s. There has not been any massive exposure of Hyori in America. (In fact, there basically has been no exposure at all.) Korean Americans generally knew who Hyori was, but were not perfectly aware of the ground-breaking nature of her celebrity, exactly because Korean Americans did not see Hyori everywhere like Koreans in Korea did. Therefore, while Koreans in Korea moved onto a new standard of beauty, Korean Americans retained the pre-2000 standard of Korean beauty, as if being stuck in a time warp.

There will be another time to more fully discuss the "immigrant time warp", but the Korean thought this was a great example. The Korean has found that understanding the immigrant time warp is most helpful to the second generation Korean Americans who have a hard time understanding their parents. In most cases, they do not know that their parents think not just like Koreans, but more like Koreans of the 1970s (or whenever they immigrated). But more discussion on this later.

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

Bill Clinton! In North Korea! To defend his wife's honor! Actually, to get the two reporters out.

Ask a Korean! News: the Korean's Thoughts on Prof. Gates Saga

Enough has been said about the Henry Louis Gates Jr. debacle, so the Korean does not have much to add, except one personal impression --

The Korean realizes that this is unreasonable, but he cannot believe that the officer did not recognize Prof. Gates. Gates is America's foremost scholar when it comes to race relations, and his books are as much of a classic in race relations as Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is in physics. For the Korean, this was like arresting Elvis in Graceland. It made no sense.

Everyone has been approaching this as a race relations problem. But perhaps this is more of education problem. This whole thing could have been avoided if the officer knew who Prof. Gates was -- as all Americans should have.

(Ugh, who is the Korean kidding? Americans don't even know enough to be American citizens.)

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