Ask a Korean! News: New York Times Endorses Fan Death

This is fun:

In a new study, a team of researchers based primarily in Britain sought to review evidence on the effectiveness of electric fans during heat waves that have occurred all over the world. . . . The authors of the new report pointed out that when temperatures climb past 95 degrees, having a fan pointed at you can actually contribute to heat gain, not reduce it.

At those temperatures, being directly in the path of hot air blown from a fan can raise the risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Really? In a Heat Wave, an Electric Fan Can Cool You Off [New York Times] (emphasis added)

This is exactly how the Korean explained Fan Death in this post: the mechanism of Fan Death is dehydration and heat exhaustion. This is consistent with Korean people's general belief regarding Fan Death -- that is, heat, enclosed room and fan pointed directly on the body comes with the risk of death.

Have fun with this, people of Reddit. Thanks for the constant traffic to the Fan Death post, and all the nice things you said about the Korean's intellect. By the way, if you seriously think that Fan Death is rumor spread by Korean government in the 1970s in order to reduce electricity consumption (when the far easier option for the dictatorship would have been to simply ration electricity,) you are a greater moron than you ever suppose the Korean to be.

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

Pyeong, and Old Habits Dying Hard

Dear Korean,

When Koreans talk about the size of their condos they talk in something called pyung, like fifty pyung or one hundred pyung. So far nobody has been able to explain to me what that is. Could you tell me what one pyung is in square footage?

Conde

Pyeong [평] is a unit of measurement that has been in use in Korea, until very recently. It is the traditional measurement unit that managed to survive in Korea the longest.

First, let's cut to the chase -- how large is a single pyeong? Here is the conversion of pyeong into square meters and square feet:

1 pyeong = 3.3058 square meters = 35.5833 square feet

Korea shared its traditional measuring system with other East Asian countries. One pyeong is a square whose side is six cheok [척]. One cheok about as long as a foot -- hence, one pyeong is fairly close to 36 square feet. A typical small apartment/condo in Seoul is around 27 pyeong, which translates to approximately 960 square feet, or 89.25 square meters.

Korea has left behind most of its traditional measurements in favor of the metric system, like most sane countries around the world. *Coughamericacough* Most traditional units of measurements can now only be found in traditional literature. But pyeong has been a gigantic exception: it has been commonly in use until July 2007, when Korean government decided that it was high time to adopt the metric system in all aspects of life. Other traditional measurement units that were discarded include don, i.e. 3.75 grams, which was the unit to measure the weight of gold. (Traditional units were not the only ones that were hit by the new regulations.  For example, electronics manufacturers were also banned from advertising their 40-inch television also.)

What ensued, lasting to this day, was high comedy:  instead of fitting to the round numbers in the metric system, Korean people simply began to opt for the decidedly non-round numbers that formed a round number in the old metrics system. For example, rather than building a condo that is 90 square meters, builders would build and advertise a 89.25 square meters-sized condo -- and everyone understood the number stood for 27 pyeong. 

Even better is what some A/C unit manufacturers did. Previously, A/C units in Korea were sold with a pyeong number associated with it also. That is, for example, a 18-pyeong A/C unit is enough to cool a space that is 18 pyeongs. Once the use of pyeong was banned, air conditioner manufacturers simply began to sell "18 Type" air conditioners -- a thinly veiled reference that the unit is enough to cool an 18-pyeong space.

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

"Red Sun!"

Dear Korean,

My wife is a fan of Korean dramas, and I have also a seen a few series. The other day, a colleague of mine who is even more of a K-drama fan mentioned that he's noticed references to "red sun" in several different series over the past few years, and it has piqued his curiosity. In each instance, a character apparently said the words "red sun" and made some sort of a gesture with his or her arms. My friend asked whether I and/or my wife are familiar with the significance of this reference, but I regret that neither of us can recall ever having seen it.

Are you able to offer any insight into the cultural (popular or otherwise) significance of the phrase "red sun" and the accompanying gesture?

Jeff

The origin of this phrase can be traced back to a single person:  "professor" Kim Yeong-Guk.

Since early 2000s, Kim touted his ability of inducing hypnosis, which according to him helps people retrace their former karmic lives, quit smoking, lose weight, concentrate better, cure depression, etc. The video above is Kim making his pitch on YouTube.

Because of his TV appearances and celebrities who were willing to play along, Kim has been a C-level celebrity in Korea. In particular, his catchphrase has "red sun", which he yells (or firmly states) at the moment his "patient" is supposed to fall under hypnosis, accompanied with a mysterious hand gesture. If you have not caught onto this yet, the phrase does not really mean anything.

Most Koreans rightly recognized this as hokey BS, but the catchphrase gained some traction in Korean pop culture and Internet memes. In a situation involving some form of hypnosis, this phrase sometimes makes an appearance.

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

Culturalism: Fukushima Edition

The Korean has long been an advocate against culturalism -- the instinctive response to blame culture to explain any and all behavior. In today's Financial Times, an excellent op-ed by Prof. Gerald Curtis shows the falsehood of culturalism in the context of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster:

[T]he commission concludes, “this was a disaster ‘Made in Japan.’ Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the programme’; our groupism; and our insularity. Had other Japanese been in the shoes of those who bear responsibility for this accident, the result may well have been the same.”

I beg to differ. Had [Prime Minister] Kan not stormed into Tepco headquarters and tried to exercise some authority over the company’s executives, the situation might have been far worse. . . . People matter: one of the heroes in the Fukushima story was Tepco’s Masao Yoshida, the plant manager who disobeyed orders not to use saltwater to cool the reactors.

. . .

Those inside the Japanese nuclear village do share a particular culture but it is hardly uniquely Japanese. What jumps out from this report are the parallels between the manmade causes of and responses to Fukushima and the “culture” that led to the financial meltdown in the US after the Lehman Brothers collapse and that continues to resist meaningful reform and the pinning of responsibility for this manmade disaster on specific individuals.

The Fukushima Commission report “found an organisation-driven mind-set that prioritised benefits to the organisation at the expense of the public.” Well, if that is Japanese culture, then we are all Japanese.

Stop blaming Fukushima on Japan’s culture [Financial Times]

Here is one additional wrinkle about culturalism with respect to the Fukushima disaster:  beware of self-stereotypes. It is notable that in this particular example of culturalism, it was the Japanese government's official report that engaged in a culturalist self-critique. But that does not make the culturalist explanation any truer. If nothing else, we should be even more skeptical of the self-caricaturing of one's own culture, if only because of our tendency to place too much confidence on such caricatures.

Regardless of the report's ultimate conclusion about Japan's culture, the content of the report states the opposite. Masao Yoshida, the heroic plant manager who defied the management's orders, was hardly the caricature of Japanese culture that the Fukushima Commission Report painted. In fact, the existence of the report itself goes against the culturalist explanation, as Prof. Curtis put it: "If obedience to authority is such an ingrained trait in Japan, how then is it possible for a group of Japanese to write a report that not only questions but lambasts authority, anything but an example of reflexive obedience?"

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

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 18. Kim Hyeon-Sik

We are now finished with Tier 3 - Strong Impact K-pop artists. Beginning with our number 18, these artists are considered the greatest of a given era in K-pop.


18. Kim Hyeon-Sik [김현식]

[Series Index]

Also Romanized as:  Kim Hyun-Sik

Years of Activity: 1980-1991

Discography:

New Songs by Kim Hyeon-Sik [김현식 새노래] (1980)
Kim Hyeon-Sik 2 [김현식 2] (1984)
The Third Album by Kim Hyeon-Sik and Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter:  Love Songs in the Rain [김현식과 봄 여름 가을 겨울 3집: 빗속의 연가] (1986)
Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 4 [김현식 Vol. 4] (1988)
Kim Hyeon-Sik 5 [김현식 5] (1990)
Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 6 [김현식 Vol. 6] (1991)
Self-Portrait (1996)

Representative Song:  My Love by My Side [내 사랑 내 곁에] from Kim Hyeon-Sik Vol. 6

내 사랑 내 곁에

My Love by My Side

나의 모든 사랑이 떠나가는 날이

The day when all my love departs

당신의 그 웃음 뒤에서 함께 하는데

Is with you behind your smile, but

철이 없는 욕심에 그 많은 미련에 당신이 있는 건 아닌지 

I wonder if you are in the childish desire and those many regrets

아니겠지요

No, you would not

시간은 멀어짐으로 향해 가는데

Time heads toward separateness, but

약속했던 그대만은 올 줄을 모르고

You, despite your promise, are not coming, and

애써 웃음 지으며 돌아오는 길은 왜 그리도 낯설고 멀기만 한지

Why is the way back, forcing a smile, so unfamiliar and far

저 여린 가지 사이로 혼자인 날 느낄 때

When I feel myself being alone between those frail branches

이렇게 아픈 그대 기억이 날까

Would this painful memory of you come back

내 사랑 그대 내 곁에 있어 줘

My love, you, please be by my side

이 세상 하나뿐인 오직 그대만이

Only you, the only one in the world

힘겨운 날에 너 마저 떠나면

If even you leave in these difficult days

비틀거릴 내가 안길 곳은 어디에

Where will I be held, stumbling

Translation note:  This is one of the most difficult songs the Korean has ever translated for this series.  As it stands, the translation is a total mess, because the original lyrics in Korean is poetically forced. Suggestions are always welcome.

In 15 words or less:  The voice of the 80s.

Maybe he should be ranked higher because...  Few singers defined an era like Kim Hyeon-Sik did.

Maybe he should be ranked lower because...  He did not have any impact outside of music.

Why is this artist important?

Considering the massive impact that he will make, Kim Hyeon-Sik's beginning in 1980 was meek. Although a couple of songs in his first album gained some popularity, Kim did not become a household name until his second album in 1984, with the headlining song I Loved You [사랑했어요]. But reportedly, Kim himself was not particularly satisfied with this album, in which he was mostly a vocalist for songs written by someone else.

Kim's third album in 1986, in contrast, truly had his finger prints. Kim formed a band, christened Spring Summer Fall Winter [봄 여름 가을 겨울], specifically to create his third band. (The keyboardist for SSFW was Yoo Jae-Ha.) Each band member contributed his own songs into the album, giving the album the diverse colors of rock, blues and fusion jazz. But undeniably, the keystone of the album was Kim's gravelly, Louis Armstrong-like voice, which tied together the album as a single theme.  Kim's third album sold over 200,000 copies, and is considered one of the greatest in K-pop history. (SSFW eventually spun off and became its own band, still playing to this day.)

Kim, however, was not the type who could enjoy his success into the sunset. He chain-smoked and binge-drank. He also smoked marijuana, still considered a very serious crime in Korea. Kim's health declined rapidly. When he was sober and in between the trips to emergency room, he would spend the days holding concerts and the nights recording songs. Alcohol-induced liver sclerosis finally took his life in December 1990, while he was still in the middle of recording his sixth album. Kim was 42. The title song of his last album, My Love by My Side, dominated the airwaves in 1991; the album would sell more than a million copies. As it turns out, Kim's last album was also the last meaningful album of the 1980s K-pop, as in the following year, a supernova would change K-pop forever.

Interesting trivia:  Kim attended Samcheong Elementary School in Seoul, the same elementary school as another K-pop legend of the 1980s -- Jeon In-Gwon of Deulgukhwa.

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

No Evolution in Korea?

Dear Korean,

This is horrifying. I knew many are stupid this way in the US, but I hadn't realized that S. Korea was worse - although with the large Christian population, maybe it's not surprising. (No offense to Christians, I just have trouble with people who can't reconcile religion and science.) Is this likely to be a permanent state of affairs in S. Korea, or is there an intellectual/scientific majority who will re-instate evolution in schoolbooks?

(With apologies if The Korean doesn't believe in evolution either, but I don't think that's possible.)

Judith H.


Don't worry -- the Korean is Christian, but he believes in evolution. He cannot see how anyone can deny evolution.

At any rate, this article on Nature magazine got a lot of publicity, especially thanks to the Huffington Post article that re-transmitted the Nature magazine article. Time magazine and Los Angeles Times covered the story as well. So what happened with this? Have all Koreans lost their minds? Hey, those stupid Koreans believe in Fan Death, so why not "creation sciences"?

Here is a rule of thumb on dealing with bizarre news from Korea in English-language media:  be very, very skeptical, until you have independent verification from a reputable Korean media as well. Certainly, bizarre things happen in Korea. But if they do, it is extremely unlikely an English-language media would break the news -- English-language media simply do not have enough resources to track down bizarre stories coming out of Korea. If there is a bizarre story regarding Korea that gets a lot of play outside of Korea but not in Korean media, your bullshit radar has to be on high alert.

That is exactly what happened with this story. The Korean reads two Korean newspapers every morning, and he has not seen any coverage on this topic. Only after the Huffington Post article did Korean newspapers begin covering this issue, and only perfunctorily at that.

Let's get to the bottom line first:  is Korean science textbook going to drop the discussion about evolution? Short answer -- nope. In fact, there was never any danger that creationism would prevail in Korean science textbooks.

(More after the jump.)

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




First, we need to go over how textbooks are made in Korea. For each subject, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) would issue a guideline on the topics that need to be included for each subject. Then each textbook company publishes its own textbook, following the MEST guideline. The textbook company makes the decision on the precise format of the textbook, including diagrams and examples. MEST, however, has to approve the final product before the textbook is released in the market.

Having said that, this is the whole story. Like Judith mentioned, Korea does have a large Christian population -- 25% of the country, approximately. Some of them are hardcore fundamentalists who sincerely believe in creationism. The group that represents these creationists, called Society for Textbook Revise (STR), has attempted to attack the references to evolution in Korean science textbooks in any manner possible.

What STR did manage to pull off with three textbook publishers was this: STR convinced those publishers that two diagrams in their books -- one about the evolution of horses, and the other about archeopteryx -- and the text accompanying them were scientifically incorrect. Notice the claim here:  the claim was not that the diagrams were against creationism. The claim was that the diagrams were scientifically incorrect.

The incorrect diagram about the evolution of
horses in some Korean science textbooks
 (source)

And you know what? Technically, they were right! The diagram above showing the evolution of horses is horribly outdated, and the pictures no longer comport with the current scientific consensus. The text accompanying archeopteryx said archeopteryx is the middle step between dinosaurs and birds, which is also technically incorrect -- archeopteryx is considered a close relative to the true ancestral birds, not itself a true ancestral bird. So the three textbook companies decided that they would drop the two diagrams in the next edition of their textbooks.

Pay close attention to what actually happened here. What got dropped was two diagrams and the accompanying texts about evolution that were scientifically incorrect -- not the theory of evolution. It is not possible for the textbook publishers to drop the discussion about the theory of evolution, because that would violate MEST guidelines. Further, not even the decision to drop the two diagrams was final, because MEST still had to approve the new textbooks that the publishers proposed to make.

But of course, STR nutcases thought they scored a huge victory for creationism, and started trumpeting their "victory." By and large, Korean media yawned -- exactly one national newspaper (and a relatively minor one at that) covered the story, and even that story made it quite clear that all that got dropped were diagrams. But the Nature magazine decided to run with the story, with a sensational headline that read: "South Korea surrenders to creationist demands," and here we are -- Korea is branded as a dumb country that doesn't believe in evolution.

After this story caused an international sensation, MEST reaffirmed that the theory of evolution must be included in science textbooks, and indicated that it would even deny the proposed deletion of those diagrams. (Rather than deleting the diagrams wholesale, they are to be replaced with more accurate diagrams and texts.) And the major Korean media continued to yawn, only reporting MEST's statement that the theory of evolution will be alive and well in Korean science textbooks.

But hey, if two of America's largest news networks can't even get the biggest story of the year right, perhaps it makes no sense to expect anyone to get anything right about Korea.

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