Why do Koreans Take on Black Music?

Dear Korean,

When I listen to Korean radio stations I hear 90's R&B imitations, right down to the 'oohs' and 'aahs'. For a nation of people that look down on blacks, why adopt the music and dance?

Andrea

There are certain dumb questions that get asked in high frequency, and this has been one of them.

First of all, let's make sure to state what the Korean has stated numerous times before:  racism in Korea against darker-skinned folks is real. If you are a darker-skinned foreigner in Korea, you will be treated differently from Koreans. That much is true.

What makes this question dumb is the inability to distinguish different shades of racism. No one -- certainly not the Korean, who has written many, many posts decrying racism -- disputes that racism is vile. Yet there plainly is a difference between the type of racism behind firing off a callous racist joke, and the same behind burning a cross on an African American's front yard. Many, however, slap the same "racism" label across the board and refuse to think much further. The result is a dumb question like this one.

This inability is not simply annoying. It damages and delegitimizes our ability to address racism effectively. Our response against racist actions must be graduated (that is, be put forth in various differing degrees) according to the depth and effect of the racism behind those actions. Failure to do so reduces the fight against racism to a butthurt, over-sensitive arm-waving. It turns the fight against racism into a joke.

Why do Koreans take on black music? Come on. United States in the 1950s was incomparably more racist than Korea today. There was an official policy of segregation for much of the country; most institutions for social mobility (e.g. colleges) were unavailable to African Americans; rape and lynching were common, and no one was ever convicted for those crimes. Yet Elvis Presley -- who expressly acknowledged the African American roots of his music -- was the greatest superstar of that decade. Gee, why did a white American like Elvis adopt black music and dance?

Allow the Korean to reiterate:  racism in Korea is real. A lot of Koreans genuinely believe that color of your skin is associated with the content of your character. Foreigners with darker skin are often treated poorly, especially if they are in a situation to pose a threat to Korea's racial majority. But that does not mean that a black person would be pelted with stones while walking down the streets of Seoul. That does not mean that Koreans have a categorical and unflinching stance of rejection toward everything African or African American. Koreans take black music and dance for the same reason anyone else did -- because they are beautiful and awesome.

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

Korean Last Names Series: Jeon-Ui Lee

Dear Korean,

I moved to America at the age of 9, and have retained most of my Korean fluency (although it's only about Elementary school level). However, I lost most of the history that I learned during school. One of the things I miss the most is the history of my last name. Unfortunately, no one in my immediate family can give a detailed answer. All my extended family is in Korea and I do not keep in touch with most of them. Is there any way you could help me out? Since I can still read and understand Korean, I was able to track it down to this website (http://www.surname.info/i/jeon_ui.html), however once it gets into hanja and such, it gets too complicated for me. I saw that you had answered some of reader emails regarding specific last names and was hoping that you would look into mine.

Kevin

Three years after the last installment of Korean last name series, we have another entry. Our questioner Kevin belongs to Jeon-Ui Lee clan [전의 이씨], the fourth largest Lee clan in Korea with over 130,000 members living in Korea as of 2000.

Jeon-Ui Lee clan, unfortunately, does not have a story as interesting as Gyeongju Son, which involves a mystical stone bell and such. The first Jeon-Ui Lee was a man name Lee Do [이도], who was a high official for the first king of Goryeo Dynasty. Jeon-Ui refers to an area now known as Chungcheongnam-do Yeon'gi-goon Jeon'ui-myeon, a rural area between the cities of Cheonan and Cheongju where Lee Do received his fiefdom from his king.

The website for Jeon-Ui Lee clan's lineage society is here.

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

"Gook" is a bad word

Dear Korean,

Lately, the guys at my school have started calling my Korean friends and I "gooks". At first we just thought it was an immature thing that they had made up, but it turns out that when my older cousin was in middle school, her math teacher called her and all the other Asians the exact same thing. Is it supposed to be a racist word or just another name to call Koreans/Asians?

Sincerely, Confused "Gook" Girl

This post is more like a PSA, because the Korean believes (or hopes!) that most people would know about this. But apparently, at least some people in the world does not know this, so here it is:

"Gook" is a racist term denoting Asians. In fact, it is right up there with "chink" as the most offensive term to describe Asians.

If you ever hear this term, do not let it slide. Get in the face of the slur-utterer and shake him/her down like s/he owes you money. Because the only way to get the racists to change their ways is to make them learn that they are fucking with the wrong gook.

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

V is for Vendetta?

Dear Korean,

Why do Koreans throw up the peace sign whenever they take a picture?

Sparkle

You mean, like this?

(source)

And like this?

(source)

And like this?

(source)

Oops, maybe not like the last one.

At any rate, it is true that when taking a picture, Koreans very commonly throw up the "V" sign. But why?

Truth is, Koreans themselves are not particularly sure. It is a habit that is practiced without much thought behind it. It is not as if Koreans care much more about peace than any other people in the world, as Koreans generally know the sign as a "V" sign, rather than a "peace" sign. When pressed, some Koreans may give an answer that the "V" sign was popularized by Winston Churchill to signify "victory," and simply caught on thereafter. While the explanation may be plausible (as Churchill did popularize the "V" sign,) this explanation does not reflect that reality that Koreans are hardly thinking about "victory" when they are taking a picture.

In fact, Koreans are not really trying to convey any meaning as they throw up the "V" sign. If one really tried and forced a meaning behind the gesture, it would be:  "Yes, I am aware that I am having my picture taken, and I am mildly happy that I am doing so."

Then why do it? The best answer might be -- why not? When taking a picture, particularly while standing still, what to do with your hands always presents an awkward dilemma. Might as well do something with them, and a "V" sign is as good as any. It's something, and it kind of looks cool. This explanation may be unsatisfying, but given that Koreans hardly assign any meaning to the "V" sign as they are taking a picture, it may be the only possible one.

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

Ask a Korean! Wiki: What to Tell Your Family?

Dear Korean, 

Please comes to know this stranger from the East Coast, U.S. henceforth as the Blankard. The Blankard is a recently certified ESL teacher. The Blankard comes from a family that greatly disapproves of the Blankard's choice to pursue South Korea to teach, for they fear for their Blankard, even if the Blankard himself feels apprehension only about 'leaving the nest,' as they say. I have read The Korean's posts from 2010 (Q: Is Korea a dangerous place? A: "No, no more than it has been in the last 40 years"), as well as the more recent posting about the Japanese radiation. These topics are cited as causes for "that part of the world being very volatile." The Blankard himself seeks ways to reassure his concerned family.

The Blankard

Well, the Korean has never had any issue with the Korean Family about his desire to be in Korea. (In fact, the Korean Parents would likely favor it.) As the Korean is recovering from his vacation, let's turn this one over to the readers:  readers, if you came to Korea for a mid- to long-term stay, how did you deal with your over-anxious family?

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

Gone Fishin'

The Korean will be on vacation for about two weeks, dear readers. Please be understanding if there is no new post, or your question is answered even more slowly than usual.

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

Boundaries, Man, Boundaries

Dear Korean,

I am an American woman but have been living in Korea for almost five years now. There has been something irking me lately. Even though I'm fluent enough to have general conversations in Korean, many people in my social circle seem to regard me as an English tool. My Korean boyfriend, who is currently changing jobs, has lately asked me endless English questions and wants me to help him with English essays. Of course, as his girlfriend, I want to help. But he also has asked me to help another friend with his essays, and another of his friends, upon finding out I am a native English speaker, also requested help--- a 16 page essay!!!! >.< This was way too much, and although my boyfriend admitted it, he still said "please help my friend." Meanwhile, another friend has been wondering if I could tutor her younger cousin in English. And another previously asked me to help her with English reading.

I love the Korean friends I've met and I certainly enjoy the company of my Korean boyfriend. But am I doomed to be considered an English tool who should cough up her English knowledge whenever and wherever it is requested? Do all Koreans see my white face as an English skill? Is there any way to have a relationship with a Korean and not to be considered useful this way at the same time? How do I establish boundaries within my Korean relationships that show them I want to be accepted as a person, not as a potential language tool!? 

I'm an English speaker, not a walking dictionary

Here is a problem that the Korean rarely encounters, if only because he is living in the U.S. So once again, here is a guest post from I'm No Picasso. As an English teacher in Korea, she would be in a better position to answer the question.

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

As my boyfriend and I sat down to dinner at a galbi restaurant one night, he abruptly launched into a tale about how his friend, a college-aged woman, had recently broken up with her Western boyfriend. As those of us who live here and who are surrounded by these kinds of intercultural, interracial relationships know, there are a few go-to reasons for why the break up may have happened. I asked him which one it was.

"He was really grumpy. He always got mad at her about small things."

Fairly normal breakup fare, intercultural relationship or not. But my boyfriend is not prone to dishing out gossip about other people just to have something to talk about. I had a feeling he had something on his mind, something he maybe wanted to run past me.

"Why was he grumpy? Or is that what you're trying to ask me?"

It was. It turned out the small thing his friend's boyfriend was continuously being grumpy about was her requesting his help with her English assignments. Before my boyfriend had gotten halfway through his explanation, I was already visibly cringing. 

(More after the jump)

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

No Won in Your Wallet

Dear Korean,

Do wealthy Koreans carry something in their wallets other than won notes? In many K-dramas I've watched, someone--usually a rich someone--will offer payment that looks like a sort of check or money order. The recipient will often say, "Ah..that's too much!" Any idea what these slips of paper are?

Don W.

Don is probably referring to this type of piece of paper:

(source)

Pretty good eyes to recognize that the slip of paper is probably a check or a money order. This is called 자기앞수표 in Korean, or "banker's check." It is essentially a pre-printed check that entitles the holder of the check to the amount listed on the check. (Usually KRW 100,000, but the amount can be KRW 1 million or 10 million.)

It is important to note that this is not cash -- it is a commercial paper that may be exchanged into cash, but not itself cash. Although it is sometimes used like cash, many places of business would refuse to take banker's check as a form of payment. (For example, more often than not, you would not be able to use the banker's check to pay for your meal at a restaurant.)

Then why do people carry this piece of paper around? Answer: until June 2009, the highest denomination in won notes was KRW 10,000, or a little less than $10. One of the side effects of Korea's miraculous economic growth since the 1960s meant that people began to exchange larger and larger values very quickly. By 1990s, much like Americans, many Koreans would carry around $100 to $200 (i.e. KRW 100,000 to 200,000) in their wallets, and it was a significant hassle to carry 10 to 20 sheets of the KRW 10,000 notes in one's wallet.

The use of banker's check decreased after the introduction of the KRW 50,000 note in 2009, but until then, it was a common sight for the KRW 100,000 banker's check to get whipped out, usually with the same gusto that an American might pull out a $100 bill.

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

20th Anniversary of Los Angeles Riots

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, which began on April 29, 1992. The riots themselves preceded the Korean's time in America, as he was an 11 year old living in Seoul. But having immigrated to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the many scars left by the riots on Korean American community were quite palpable.

The Korean remembers the 10 year anniversary of the riots in 2002. Although Korean American community of Los Angeles sustained the greatest damages from the riots, the memorial coverage of the riots mostly skipped over Korean American community. Then-President George W. Bush visited Los Angeles to commemorate the occasion, but did not visit Koreatown or meet with any Korean American civic leaders. We will see if that will change this time around.

In the meantime, please do check out the top-notch coverage of the LA riots at KoreAm magazine. In particular, make sure to check out the oral accounts of those Korean Americans who were in the middle of the chaos, and the map of the destroyed Korean American businesses.

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

Jasmine Lee, the First Non-Ethnic Assembly Member (Part II)

[Part I]

Now, for the second part of Eric's question:

Also, it seems that the Saenuri Party is making a greater effort than other parties to appeal to immigrants to Korea. From a western perspective, this is perplexing as one would expect a progressive party to be more, well, progressive. Could you help to provide some context on this?


Certainly. Given Korea's upcoming presidential election at the end of this year, the Korean will use this question to give a bit of primer about Korean politics, which would help one understand this oddity.

As of today, Korean politics can be divided largely into two camps:  conservatives and progressives. Broadly speaking, Korea's conservatives and progressives generally follow the same direction as the rightist and leftist politics of the United States or Europe. But there are peculiar aspects in Korean politics, owing to Korea's history, that drive Korea's conservatives and progressives into unexpected directions. Thus, to understand Korea's political landscape, one must first understand modern Korean history.

[Full disclosure:  The Korean and his family have been staunchly progressive, so read the rest with that bias in mind.]

Here is a very fast recap of modern Korean history. In 1945, Korea gained independence from Japan at the conclusion of World War II, but was immediately divided into North and South Korea. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea; Korean War ended in 1953. From 1953 to 1988 (or 1993, depending on who you ask, which is explained further below,) South Korea went through a series of fascist dictators, who justified their murderous dictatorship by (1) pointing to Korea's miraculous economic rise, and (2) citing the threat of North Korea attempting to invade the south once again. After waves and waves of democratization protests, South Korea's first democratic administration was established in 1988 (or again, 1993, depending on who you ask.) Since then, Korea has had 3 or 4 presidential elections, leading to this point.

(More after the jump.)

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

AAK! PSA: Free Screening of "My Heart if Not Broken Yet"

The Women's Global Solidarity Action Network (WGSAN) will be hosting a free documentary film screening of "My Heart is Not Broken Yet", a powerful testimony of Song Shin-do Halmoni's continued fight for justice as a former "comfort woman" (women who were drafted into military sexual slavery during the Japanese occupation in World War II). Come watch this courageous survivor, witness her story, and help raise global awareness so we can get this issue resolved in 2012. "My Heart is Not Broken Yet" tells the story of the trail and struggle of Song Sin-do Halmoni who has continually campaigned for redress on the issue of the "comfort women." Although she lost the trial she states that "my soul is undefeated" which reveals her desire to fight for justice. The film screening will be on Sunday, April 29th at 3pm in the 시청각실 (screening room) on the fourth floor at the Seoul Women's Plaza. To get to Seoul Women's Plaza, go out exit 3 of Daebang Station (대방역) on line 1, walk 50m into the left alley.

Directions: http://www.seoulwomen.or.kr/nhpeng/intro/directions.jsp

For more information email: womens.global.solidarity@gmail.com

For the facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/264581113632923/

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

Jasmine Lee, the First Non-Ethnic Assembly Member (Part I)

Dear Korean, 

I was wondering what the Korean thinks about the election of the first naturalized Korean citizen to the National Assembly as part of the Saenuri Party's proportional list. The views expressed in this article appear to represent a radical fringe. The views in this editorial seem like a reasonable response. Clearly there is a range. However, I am curious how most Koreans feel. Is it seen as an important milestone in the development of Korea as a democratic multiracial society? Do most Koreans view this in a way that would be analogous to the first female/minority/openly gay member of parliament in a non-Korean context?

Also, it seems that the Saenuri Party is making a greater effort than other parties to appeal to immigrants to Korea. From a western perspective, this is perplexing as one would expect a progressive party to be more, well, progressive. Could you help to provide some context on this?

Eric M.

First of all, a bit of background on how the legislature elections work in Korea. Korea's legislature is called the National Assembly [국회]. It has 300 members who serve a four-year term. The election system is slightly complicated. 246 of those seats are given to “regional representatives” — i.e. candidates who win a geographical electoral district on a first-past-the-pole basis. 54 seats are given to “proportional representatives,” namely party representatives. This means that each voter casts two votes — one for the representative for her own electoral district, and the other for the party that she supports.

The “district” votes and the “party” votes are counted separately. The “district” votes are counted to determine the winner of the electoral district. The “party” votes are counted to determine how many seats would be assigned to each party. Each party that wins more than 3% of the “party” votes receives a seat based on the support. For example, if a party won 10% of the “party” votes, the party would receive five seats, or approximately 10% of 54 seats. Each party puts out a proportional representative slate that would take those seats. In this scenario, the first five people on the party’s slate would take those seats.

The National Assembly
(source)

The last Assembly election was held on April 11. In the last election, the conservative Saenuri Party (also known as the New Frontier Party, or the NFP) put Jasmine Lee at number 15 on the slate. NFP won 42.8% of the "party" votes in the last election, giving the party 25 proportional representatives -- which means Lee was in, becoming the first naturalized Korean citizen to be an Assembly member.

(More after the jump.)

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

Ask a Korean! Wiki: What to do with Asian Names?

Dear Korean,

We are adopting a sweet little boy from the Seoul area. My husband is Lebanese/American and I am European/American. We were planning on keeping the name his birthmother had given him which is HaJin. However a Chinese/American male friend didn't think this was a good idea. My friend stated that growing up Asian was difficult enough, and he and his Asian friends were grateful to have been given more English sounding names. What are your thoughts on this?

Paige K.

That issue is a tricky one not only for adoptive parents, but also for a lot of young Asian American parents. Paige's Chinese American friend is not wrong -- it is tough enough to look different, and adding the extra effort of telling people how to pronounce your name all the time, only to see them never remember your name, could be a rather alienating experience. But on the other hand -- especially for adoptees, who have a difficult time retaining their heritage culture -- using the given name could serve as a good reminder of one's heritage. One form of compromise among Korean American parents is to choose a name that can operate in both in English and in Korean (e.g. "Mina".)

As for the Korean himself, he hopes to give the Korean Baby a Korean first name and an English/Christian middle name, so that while the child could go by the English name, the priorities would be clear, especially when it comes to everything legal.

Having said that, let's hear from our readers. Asian Americans, how do you feel about your ethnic names? What did/will you do with your children's names?

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

The Korean on "An Economist Gets Lunch"

The Korean is a faithful reader of Prof. Tyler Cowen's blog Marginal Revolution. Like Prof. Cowen, the Korean is also a resident of Northern Virginia, and he cares about food deeply. So the Korean is expecting his copy of Prof. Cowen's An Economist Gets Lunch with great interest. The Korean did not read the book yet, but based on the reviews, it sounds fascinating -- Moneyball for lunch selections, as it were. A lot of what Prof. Cowen suggests makes perfect sense. For example, it makes sense to go for the ugly-sounding dish in a nice restaurant, because the dish had better to be good if it deserved a place on the menu. (Oven roasted bone marrow at Blue Duck Tavern in Washington D.C. comes to mind as a good example.)

But the Korean couldn't help but furrow his brow a little bit at the part of the book about selecting good ethnic restaurants. For example, in the New York Times book review that discussed Prof. Cowen's favorite Ethiopian restaurant:

It’s a sports bar, which seems like an unlikely choice, but not to Professor Cowen’s way of thinking. He chose it precisely because it was an unlikely choice. An American sports bar might mean Buffalo wings and cheeseburgers, but an Ethiopian sports bar? “They are making no attempt to appeal to non-Ethiopians,” he said.

How does he know it is good? Ethiopians eat there. It’s crowded. People look prosperous. But the two-page menu offers more clues. A few American items are tucked down in a corner, but other than that it is all Ethiopian. It has Ethiopian breakfast items. The descriptions are sparse, because why would they need explaining to its core audience? There are dishes on the menu that he doesn’t recognize. “That’s always a good sign,” he said.

At a first glance, all of the above seem to make sense. If you want the best Ethiopian food, it makes sense to look for the place that cater more or less exclusively to well-off Ethiopians. However, that idea rests on a critical assumption:  well-off Ethiopians know how to look for the best Ethiopian food. The Korean's problem with this assumption is -- at least when it comes to Korean food in America, that assumption is completely false. I cannot speak for any other ethnic cuisine in America, but I would not be surprised similar trends occurred in other immigrant communities.

Here, the Korean should take a quick detour and remind everyone about his own peculiar stance with food, especially Korean food. Simply put, I am an irrational Korean food purist. I have been called "Korean food Wahhabbist." I despise any and all efforts to steer Korean food away from the way it is supposed to be. (And "the way it is supposed to be" is defined as the way it is made in the place of the dish's origin, i.e. a particular region in Korea. And yes, that means I despise much of Korean food in Korea also.) When I comes to Korean food, I am a deranged lunatic. When it comes to Korean food, I am more unreasonable than an obnoxious sports dad attending his child's little league baseball game. I will utterly disregard the reasonable preference of everyone else. I will lose my shit and wantonly issue death threats to anyone who gives a bad Korean food recipe. So take this post as what you will.

Having said that, how is it the case that well-off Korean Americans still are not competent judges of good Korean food?

Korean Americans have been living in the U.S. in large numbers since the 1960s, and at this point it is fair to say that Korean American cuisine has developed a number of subtle differences that distinguishes it from traditional Korean cuisine. A few of those divergences are positive -- for example, Korean Americans expanded the potential of soondubu soup (spicy soft tofu soup) by adding more, and more diverse, ingredients, to the point that the American-style soondubu soup was reverse-exported back to Korea.

But the Korean would daresay that vast majority of changes applied to Korean cuisine applied by Korean Americans have been negative. One major difference in Korean versus Korean American cuisine is the infantilization of flavors -- going from sophisticated to crude, from complex to one-dimensioned. Much of Korean food in America is one or more of too sweet, too spicy, too salty, etc. Sweetness, in particular, is the all-encompassing evil that completely downgrades Korean food in America. Proper Korean food hardly uses any sweetening agent, but overwhelming majority of Korean restaurants in America liberally use sugar in their food. For anyone with discerning taste, it is vile.

Korean restaurants in America also take many shortcuts to save the cost and effort. Faking umami through the use of MSG in any brothy Korean food is an easy example. Less noticeable (at least to those who never had the real thing) are the "cheap restaurant tricks" that Korean restaurants use in certain types of food. For example, seolleongtang [설렁탕] is a cow's leg bone soup, whose broth becomes milky white after many hours of slowly boiling the bone in low heat as the collagen in the bone slowly melts out. But instead of spending those many hours, Korean restaurants use a shortcut -- take the regular, store-bought beef broth, and add coffee creamer (!) to it.

[-UPDATE, 4/18/2012- Lest there should be any misunderstanding, this is not to say that "cheap restaurant tricks" are used exclusively in Korean restaurants in America. Most of those tricks originated in Korea, and are still used to cheap restaurants in Korea. The difference is that in Korea, the customer base knows enough about Korean food such that "cheap restaurant tricks," for the most part, actually stay within cheap restaurants. In the U.S., that is not the case -- coffee creamer seolleongtang can be found in the places that look like they are supposed to be decent places.]

Then there is the influence of American eating habits creeping into Korean food in America. Vegetables are the backbone of Korean cuisine, as Korea has more than 1,000 edible vegetables and herbs. Korea also has a huge variety of seasonal fish, thanks to the fact that it is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. To keep those vegetables and fish for a long period of time, Koreans have developed a number of pickling and fermentation methods that add a great deal of complexity to those ingredients. (Kimchi is the prime example of this.) In a typical Korean meal, vast majority of the food served will be vegetables or fish, and a lot of them are pickled and/or fermented. But in America, Korean BBQ is the de facto representative of Korean cuisine. Nary a fermented side dish (which invariably takes much more effort to make) can be found. In a disturbing trend, the newer, more "hip" Korean restaurants are doing away with the last vestige of vegetables in Korean BBQ by getting rid of the lettuce wraps that would always accompany the meat.

All told, Korean food to Korean American food is a movie to a pornography -- the entire endeavor is reduced to a single, crass purpose, which is achieved by artificial "enhancements." Yet Korean restaurants, even those only patronized by well-off Korean Americans, merrily stay in business. How?

Ever wished as a child that you could eat your cereal with chocolate milk, or have a piece of cake for breakfast? That's what has happened with Korean food in America. Unmoored from parental supervision (in this case, the centuries of tradition,) Korean Americans have made Korean food in America cheaper, easier and simpler, at the cost of quality. It is particularly notable that most well-off Korean Americans in America did not start out well-off -- they arrived poor, but became middle class through hard work. While Korean Americans' immigrant work ethic deserves lavish praise, it would be ludicrous to claim that those Korean Americans arrived at America with highly sophisticated culinary aesthetics. (Because rare is the case that a group of wealthy people immigrate to America, the Korean would think that similar trend may hold with other ethnic cuisines.)

The presence of young Korean Americans, second generation and beyond, drives this trend to a much deeper nadir. The second generation Korean Americans grew up without ever exploring the ceiling of what Korean food could be, or establishing the floor of what Korean food, at a minimum, should be. Yet, by virtue of their minority status, they become false representatives of authenticity to mainstream America, which is never all that good at appreciating finer differences within a given ethnic group. Even David Chang, probably the most famous Korean American chef in the U.S. right now, apparently "had no idea there were such endless varieties of namul," or seasoned vegetable dishes, in Korean cuisine. To me, that is an inexcusable level of ignorance -- namul is (or, at least, should be) on a Korean table every meal, every day. If you do not even know the characteristics of one of the most foundational components of Korean food, what the hell do you know?

This means that even following Prof. Cowen's advice does not necessarily lead to good Korean food. In Manhattan, for example, one could always find a restaurant around 32nd street that makes no attempt to cater to non-Koreans; that is crowded with prosperous-looking Koreans; whose menu is exclusively comprised of Korean food items with little English description accompanying them. Yet, no matter -- that restaurant will serve shitty Korean food laced with so much MSG that, if you have sensitive stomach like my wife, it will give you the runs all day long.

By my count, the New York metro area (Manhattan, Long Island, New Jersey) only has three or four good Korean restaurants. (Please note that this is "good" in the scale of "great-good-tolerable-inedible.") Northern Virginia has one that could be considered good.

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

What do Koreans Think About Turkey?

Dear Korean,

I always wondered what Korean people think about Turkey and Turkish people. I was in high school during 2002 World Cup. I was shocked when i see the large Turkish flag on the stadium carried by Koreans. Maybe there were always a love for Korean people in Turkish community. But that was the time I realized that. Two cultures have many similarities, and during the Korean War Turkey sent soldiers to Korea and there is a cemetery for Turkish soldiers in Busan. And during World Cup we felt like we were at our homeland.

Do new generation know about Turkey and Turkish people. What they know and think about us?

Ishak M.

The Korean receives many questions of a similar type:  "What do Korean people think about [Country X]?" In most cases, the answer is simple -- unless Country X is a country with which Korea interacts frequently (e.g., United States, Japan, China,) Koreans are unlikely to have any strong feelings about the country one way or the other. Any thoughts Koreans may have about that country would be no more than fleeting, inconsequential stereotypes.

But there are a few countries around the world that are exceptions to this trend -- that is, although Korea does not interact with them all that frequently, Koreans nonetheless have a relatively concrete feeling toward them. Turkey is one of those countries.

Koreans supporting Turkish national soccer team during 2002 FIFA World Cup
in a game against China, held in Seoul. (source)

Why Turkey? For this simple reason -- during Korean War, Turkey sent soldiers in aid of South Korea. In fact, Turkey sent the most number of soldiers (5,460) after the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and had the most number of casualties (741 dead, 2,068 wounded, 163 MIA) following United States and United Kingdom among those countries that sent soldiers.

One should never underestimate just how grateful South Koreans are about being helped in that war. To this day, most Koreans would first associate Turkey with "blood ally" [혈맹]. It also helps that, since the end of the war, Turkey and Korea have maintained a healthy distance that is so crucial to a good friendship. (This is in contrast to the United States, which undoubtedly did a lot of things to annoy Koreans partially because it has been a little too close, eating away at the good will it earned by having been the greatest help in Korean War.) The fact that Korean pop culture ended up being popular in Turkey later is just gravy.

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

The Korean on Pro-Japanese Collaborators

Dear Korean,

The issue over so called "Korean collaborators" is quite the hotbed issue amongst the general Korean populace. Many so-called collaborators are dismissed by Korean nationalist historians, and Koreans in general as vile traitors to Korea and the Korean people. However, to simply dismiss these "collaborators" as such is a gross oversimplification, if not unfair. For example, Helen Kim was a champion for Korean woman's rights and access to education, but she is oft-characterized as a Japanese collaborator. Yes, Helen Kim was a "collaborator" in the sense that she fully cooperated with the Japanese. However, is it entirely right to dismiss her as a vile collaborator? At a time when rights and opportunities of Korean women were limited, Helen Kim embraced the option that she felt would best improve the situation of Korean women. For Kim, collaborating with the Japanese was the only way for Korean women to gain modernity and improve their livelihood.

Anyways, to put all of this into a question: What is the Korean's personal opinion on so called "Korean collaborators?" And how does the Korean assess the way in which a person such as Helen Kim is reviled as a traitor by Korean historians and Koreans in general?

T.S.

First, a little bit of background. As T.S. correctly stated, the pro-Japanese collaborator issue is an extremely sensitive one. Because the Imperial Japan's colonial rule over Korea was so unmitigatedly awful, for a Korean to be associated with the Imperial Japan's rule is a social death sentence. T.S.'s example of Helen Kim is a good one. While her achievement as Korea's first female Ph.D. and early feminist was undeniable, equally undeniable is her call for Koreans to sacrifice themselves for Imperial Japan's victory in World War II. Accordingly, her place in Korean history is very much in dispute.

Helen Kim [김활란]
(source)

The discourse surrounding the collaborator issue in Korea is not unlike the discourse surrounding racism in America in a number of ways:

(1) Both issues are spurred by incredibly painful historical memories. (Although, to be sure, slavery and Jim Crow lasted far longer and was just as abhorrent, if not more so, as Imperial Japan's rule over Korea.) 

(2) Because of the origins of those issues, the discourses surrounding those issues are highly emotionally charged. (Although, this being the Internet, the obvious point must be noted -- being emotionally involved is hardly an indication of being in the wrong position.) 

(3) Also, because of the origins of those issues, the consequence of being on the wrong side of the issue is extremely damaging. Being labeled a racist in America is a social death sentence. Likewise, being labeled a collaborator in Korea is enough to completely erase one's historical achievements. 

(4) Because of such severe consequences, all kinds of distortions enter into the discourse regarding these issues, making an uninhibited discussion on these issues very difficult. To wit:

(a) At least partly because it is such an easy way of discrediting one's foe, people are quick to resort to the accusation of these issues.
(b) For the same reason as (a) above, the line between who is and who is not a racist or who is and who is not a collaborator is constantly blurred, particularly when politics are involved. In Korea, even being the children of collaborators comes with some level of stigma, on the theory that the collaborators who benefited from betraying their country passed on that benefit to their children, giving them unfair advantage at the cost of their country.
(c) Counter-intuitively, the extremely severe consequences hinder a forthright discussion on who indeed is a racist/collaborator. On this point, writer Teju Cole said it best: 

"There is an expectation that we can talk about sins but no one must be identified as a sinner: newspapers love to describe words or deeds as "racially charged" even in those cases when it would be more honest to say "racist"; we agree that there is rampant misogyny, but misogynists are nowhere to be found; homophobia is a problem but no one is homophobic." 

Similarly, simple logic dictates that countless number of Koreans would fall under the (broader) definition of "collaborators," considering the number of Koreans who must have cooperated with the Imperial Japanese government on some level. Yet, except for scattered outbursts of accusations (often politically motivated,) many who truly deserve the label of "collaborators" (or their descendants) continue on unnoticed.

So, what does the Korean think about all this?

His personal stance for dealing with racism is the same as dealing with the collaborator issue. In the "chink-gate" involving Jeremy Lin, the Korean wrote:

Any condemnation of the writer himself must be made cautiously, keeping in mind the explosive power that the accusation of racism has in contemporary America. Just as much as we urge people to carefully consider racism in expanding number of situations, we must be ready to undergo an equally careful analysis before exposing people to harsh consequences. While not avoiding judgment, let us be generous with it.

Same is true for the collaboration issue in Korea. The judgment of the collaboration issue must not be avoided, because the crime, and the after-effects of that crime remaining to this day, are simply too great to be ignored. The collaborators at the top -- the high-ranking Korean officials who forced the emperor to hand over Korea's sovereignty to Imperial Japan -- actively sold out their country for their personal gain, condemning Koreans to 36 years of mass murder of independence activists, forced labor in war efforts leading to millions dead and injured, systemic rape of hundreds of thousands of women and live human experiments of biological and chemical weapons. The collaborators at the bottom -- the low-level Korean officers for Imperial Japan -- acted as the eyes, hands and feet of Imperial Japan that brutally oppressed their fellow Koreans, again for their own personal gain. Together, they irrevocably distorted Korean history, and caused untold amount of pain, suffering and death.

If the crime is so hideous, why must Koreans be generous to those criminals? For this simple reason:  neither you nor I are much better than them. Indeed, the call to be merciful to those who sin comes from this humbling realization -- that, if we were put in the same situation as those who sin, there is great likelihood that we would sin just the same. Koreans who are ready to condemn the collaborators to eternal vilification must, at some point in the process of that condemnation, confront the fact that in all likelihood, they may have acted the same. This self-confrontation is not made frequently enough, and even when it is made, it is done with an inflated self-evaluation of awareness and courage.

(With respect to that inflated self-evaluation, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates put it perfectly. To people who say "If I was a slave I woulda rebelled!", Coates says:  "Fool, you woulda picked that cotton.")

In short, the Korean's principle is this: do not eschew condemnation, but be generous with the condemnation's consequences. As a practical matter, this means a full disclosure and exploration of everything that happened, and of the roles that everyone relevant played, during Imperial Japan's rule of Korea. But in order for that to happen, those who are making those disclosures and explorations must do so in the spirit of truth-seeking and generosity, rather than that of vendetta and spite. Recognizing both the good and bad of imperfect people who were facing forces greater than their own does no more than speaking to what is human. In doing so, Koreans will be able to finally elevate the independence fighters in their proper place -- truly extraordinary people with superhuman courage.

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

The Korean does not know what book you should read

Here is a public service announcement, because the Korean constantly receives this type of question:

From this blog, you will not get an answer for a question like this one:  "I want to learn about XYZ aspect of Korea. Could you please recommend some books on it?"

It is a perfectly legitimate question, but one that the Korean is utterly unequipped to answer. Here is the problem: the Korean never reads any book about Korea in English. He learns about Korea by reading . . . wait for it . . . books and articles written in Korean language, written by Korean people. Unless he wants to learn something specific that involves a non-Korean perspective (e.g. U.S. perspective on Korean War,) there is little reason for him to read about Korea in English. When it comes to learning about Korea, Korean-language sources are always more accurate, more nuanced, more vivid and more contemporary. Given the abundance of excellent books about Korea in Korean language, the Korean simply cannot be bothered to read any book about Korea in English.

In fact, this language issue is something that mildly peeves the Korean, because many of the so-called "experts" on Korea actually cannot speak or read a lick of Korean. If a person who could not understand a word of Spanish claimed herself to be a Latin America specialist, she would be laughed out of the room. Yet that is the situation we have with Korea -- a lot of people who claim to know a lot about Korea cannot even decipher what Koreans are saying. Consequently, a lot of analysis about Korea -- especially if the analysis about a slightly more involved topic -- often miss the mark completely.

Of course, there are extraordinary people who manage to overcome the language barrier by the sheer force of astute on-the-ground observation and personal networking with important players in Korea. (Don Kirk, a veteran journalist who covered nearly every important event in modern South Korean history, comes mind.) But in most cases, the equation works out exactly how one would expect to work out:  if you can't understand Korean, your knowledge about Korea will always be limited, and often erroneous.

All of this is a long way of saying:  don't come here for book recommendation, because you won't find it. Sorry.

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

Ask a Korean! News: Serial Murders of North Korean Officials

More indications that North Korean regime is falling apart at the seams:  since last year, there have been a series of murders targeting the North Korean equivalent of police chiefs. According to the Dong-A Ilbo article by Joo Seong-Ha, there have been five cases of murders or attempted murders of high-ranking security officers, who are most directly involved in conducting surveillance on and extorting people. In February 2011, a local security bureau chief was killed in Cheongjin by getting hit by stones at night. In June 2011, a brigadier general working at Kim Il-Sung Political University was axed to death in Yanggang-do. In November 2011, a local security bureau chief was severely injured in Yanggang-do after having been attacked with an ax. Around the same time, a local security bureau chief was axed to death in Pyongyang. Finally, in January of this year, a security bureau chief and his entire family was found murdered in their home in central Pyongyang.

This series of murders are significant for two reasons. The more obvious first reason is that these are not simple cases of errant murders. Killing a security bureau official in North Korea is a crime that would damn the entire extended family to a gulag. The reports say that murders of low-level security bureau officers have so common that they are not even newsworthy in North Korea any more.

The second reason for the significance of these murders is that two of these murders happened in the middle of Pyongyang, the capital that is not only supposed to be safe, but also supposed to hold only the most loyal to the regime. What is more, the last murder in Pyongyang occurred during the mourning period for Kim Jong-Il, where North Koreans were admonished not even to breathe too heavily.

North Korean regime is slowly losing control, and the loss of control can only accelerate.

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

Ask a Korean! News: Shooting in Oakland

First Cho Seung-Hui, now this? Yesterday, Korean American Goh Won-Il shot up his former school at Oikos University in Oakland, California, killing seven and injuring three. Goh was captured alive after fleeing the scene.

Oikos hardly deserves the name "university," as it is a barely accredited school that was located in a nondescript office park near the Oakland Airport. The school is known to be run by Korean Americans, and only has a few hundred students. The Korean would hazard a guess that it is mostly an I-20/diploma mill.

Goh apparently has a troubled personal history, as his mother and his older brother (who was a sergeant in the U.S. army) passed away last year. His precise motive for shooting, however, is as yet unknown.

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

Who Takes the Wedding Money Gifts?

Dear Korean,

With all the monetary wedding gifts, who does that belong to? Does it go to the couple? Or does it go to the parents? Traditionally in the US, the money is suppose [sic] to go to the couple regardless who it came from and meant for them to pay off their wedding expenses and use for their future living or towards buying a house etc...

J

The Korean's first caveat would be that no Korean custom is as hard-and-fast as it seems. Instead, the application of a Korean custom depends heavily on the situation and the people involved. This should be an obvious point, but for a lot of people, it is not. Even though it is usually out of good intentions to be respectful of Korean culture, too many people treat Korean customs to be this monolithic, unchanging thing that must be strictly followed no matter what the circumstances. Relax! If you are not a Korean person, always remember the Foreigner Rule.

Standard envelope for
wedding gift money
(source)

Having said that, here is a quick recap. In Korea, giving cash for major occasions, including weddings, is perfectly fine. Therefore, it is not uncommon to have a large pile of cash after the wedding is over. Then a question could arise -- who takes the cash? Technically, the answer is:  the parents. But it is more important to understand why the parents take the money.

The parents take the money because in Korea, the parents of the newlyweds generally pay for the wedding. In fact, this question is rarely actually raised because, in most cases, even the huge pile of cash is still not quite enough to cover the wedding expenses. Even if the cash were somehow enough to cover the wedding expenses, Korean parents generally shoulder a much greater burden than wedding expenses -- the groom's family usually buys a house for the newlyweds, while the bride's family buys the furniture and electronics with which to fill the house. The two families exchange expensive gifts for the immediate and extended family as well, again usually out of the parents' dimes.

Another consideration is that the parents are essentially receiving a return on the many, many cash gifts that they have made throughout their adulthood. By the time they are marrying off their children, Korean parents have paid an untold sum of money to their families, relatives and friends for every major occasion. Those gifts are made with an implicit expectation that someday, they will get them back in some measure by the same families, relatives and friends.

But of course, like everything else in Korea, this custom is constantly in a state of flux. If the newlyweds ended up paying for the entire wedding themselves, there is some room to say that a portion of the cash gift belongs to the newlyweds. However, in most cases, the cash gifts will be gone by the time they were applied to the wedding expenses, making this a non-issue.

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