Latest posts by Hyejin Kim from August, 2007
Korea: Korean Beef VS Non-Korean Beef
The Moon Festival, one of the biggest festivals, is coming soon in Korea. One of the customs is to send gifts to relatives or people to whom you would like to show your appreciation. The most popular and fancy gift box is beef. Not just beef… the best is Korean...
Korea: Koreans in UTORO
There are 203 Koreans who are in a small village, Utoro in Japan. They have lived in Utoro since their ancestors were drafted for labor during the Japanese colonization period and they couldn’t afford the fare to go back to Korea. More than 60 years later, they are about to...
Korea: How Much Should One Ethnicity be Emphasized?
The emphasis on one ethnicity (danil minjok) in Korea society has become a problematic issue in international society. A news clip is below. A United Nations committee has urged Korea to recognize the diversity of its society and overcome its obsession with racial homogeneity. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination...
Korea: Coming Out about Academic Degrees
A hot topic in Korea now is the continual coming out of fake academic degree holders. Some of the most respected figures in many fields have been revealed to have fabricated their academic qualifications. A famous theatre actress in Korea was discovered, partly through confession and partly through expose, to...
Korea: National Hero or Terrorist
What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘terrorists’? The word is at the center of a controversy over a lecture given on Korean modern history by a foreign professor. Marmot’s Hole, an American in Korea, writes about the issue. Foreign Professor Calls Kim Gu, Yun Bong-gil ‘Terrorists’: Report...
Korea: The Second Meeting between North and South Korea
The Second North and South Korea summit will be held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang from the 28th to 30th of August. Seven years have passed since the first summit between the South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. As part of an international agreement,...
Korea: Media Entertainment, Lies, Fans, and Tragedy
Korean bloggers have been debating the use and absue of the media the latest, particulary in relation to the cases of a few celebrities. A Korean comedian who had been in hinding after lying several years ago returned to the public view this year. Previously, she had lost a tremendous...
Korea: Netizens’ Opinions ≠ Citizens’ Opinions
As the longer Afghanistan hostage situation continues, there has been increasing divergence in treatment of these issues between main stream media and netizens. Netizens complain that their opinions are not taken as citizens’ opinions. Minoci writes, 이번 아프간 피랍사태에는 두 개의 여론이 존재한다. 대다수 저널들에서 쏟아내는, 의미없는 관습적 수사로서의 ‘국민'이...
Korea: Don't Make Me Older!
In Korea, there are two ways to calculate your age: the Korean way and the western way. Officially, the Korean method is the way to calculate your age in Korea. As soon as you are born, you are age one. No matter when you are born (like 31st of Demember),...
