Most Popular AAK! Posts of 2014

(source)

Here is a quick look back at the most popular AAK! posts of 2014, by the number of page view.

Most Viewed Posts of 2014 (All-Time Posts)

1.  Lose Weight with Korean Diet

2.  The Ultimate Korean Looks List

3.  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Korean Men

4.  Why did the Korean National Soccer Team Got Candies Thrown at Them?

5.  Fan Death is Real 

Weight loss, as it turns out, was the greatest thing that TK has ever written about.

Most Viewed Posts of 2014 (Written in 2014)

1.  Why did the Korean National Soccer Team Got Candies Thrown at Them?

2.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part I - The Accident

3.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part II - Causes and Contributing Factors

4.  What Makes a Good Korean Restaurant?

5.  The Sewol Tragedy: Part III - The Fallout

The sinking of the Sewol ferry was the defining event of Korea for this year, and this blog's readership reflected that. 

TK already has one new year's resolution: blog more often. I have been quite negligent with AAK! this year--especially in the second half of the year. There were great stories about Korea that gathered international attention, such as the Nut Gate, KC Royals Super Fan, etc., that TK could hardly catch up to. In 2015, TK will reduce other commitments and redouble his effort on AAK!

The Korean wishes everyone a warm and happy end of the year. As always, thank you for reading this humble blog. See you next year.

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

Best of the Worst 2014

Come one, come all, to this humble blog's annual holiday tradition: the worst emails of the year 2014! Let's all gather around and wallow in the Interweb's swill of stupidity! Despite seeing the examples of dumb questions from 2008, 2009, 2010 (in Parts I, II, and III), 2011, 2012, and 2013, people simply do not learn.

As usual, these are all real emails that TK really received from real people for the past year. Below, among all the shitty emails that TK has received, he has selected the douche de la douche, the crap de la crap. Other than redacting personal information, not a single thing about the email is changed or modified in any way. TK's comments and thoughts on the emails are highlighted in blue.

*                  *                 *

In Soviet Korea, All Foreigners are Subject to DNA Testing for Racial Identification

re:  I have a question

Hi The Korean! My name is Emily and I am an ethnically Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Polish, Spanish American that looks really Asian. I also speak fluent English and Japanese. I am proficient in Korean and French. So, if I ever lived in Korea, how would I be treated?

Like a person. Moron.

re:  Korean Men and Chinese Women

Hey Korean Person,

I have a question. I am a Chinese woman in my late “tens” (18) and I have never been attracted to Korean guys until recently. Truth is, I actually had a Korean boyfriend before and the experience led me to believe Korean guys frankly, look down on Chinese girls. I read your blog post about what Koreans think of Chinese and as thorough as your post was, I don’t think it answers my questions. It was more of a historical and general viewpoint.

So my question is, what do Korean men think of Chinese women? I know Korean men are men before they are Korean but I am sure most Korean men would never date anyone of African heritage, even if the Kenyan woman happens to have 32D breasts with an amazing smelling vagina. So, Korean men like almost all race have a certain racial preference.

I can pass for either Chinese or Korean in the Winter and Filipino or half Spanish in the Summer so most people can’t really guess my race. I am just afraid that Korean guys might be turned off when they find out I am Chinese. From my experience, I have no problems with Korean Americans but I am talking about Korean Korean men. Koreans born in Korea who had spent the first half of their life in Korea.

Thanks a lot! :)

After many years of bad emails, TK developed a perverse appreciation for bad emails. This type is one of his favorites: an email that starts ok enough, then slowly degenerates into full crazy over several paragraphs.

re:  hellow

hi how ru, my name is amira and i have loads of question cuz im

moveing to korea in maybe 2to3 months got my visa already and i want

to know about life in korea would i make friends, would people be nice

to me, would i get a job and most importantly would i get harrased for

being black i really need information but its hard to get some and

also i had been watching kbs for 10 years such a big fan not just

dramas but everything was interesting i knw one friend in tv lol so i

got another question how would i get my oppa just so i can know the

feeling i would be happy if i can marry a korean too but i dont want

to go that far yet. please help me providing some infos i would

appriciate that thanks

"Here is my imaginary oppa. I love him but I don't want to marry him yet. Too much pressure."

More ridiculousness after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com. But no stupid questions please. For God's sake, will you please think of the children?

You Are Not Going to Become a K-Pop Star, Stop Fucking Asking

re:  Question

Hi, i have a question would it be weird if i sent you a picture and me singing to see if i have good potential or a good chance at making it in a audition

[NAME REDACTED]

Yes, it would be pretty fucking weird to send you singing to an Internet stranger.

re:  A kpop trainee question

Hi..my name is [NAME REDACTED] and my friend,[NAME REDACTED],and were from the north-east of India and we were wondering if korean entertainment companies would accept us..cuz even though were from India we are actually considered tribals as our forefathers migrated from China so were practically Asians..please answer..thanks

"YG Entertainment proudly presents its newest girl duo, Practically Asians."

re:  HELP ME !!

My name is Dua it means grace in English. I'm 19 years old girl I'm an Arab fan I live in Saudi Arabia . I love korean music and drama it's quite interesting . Can u help me to be an actress . I really can do my best I'll also learn the Korean language .

It's a really new idea to have an

Foreign actress . I know you think me crazy but just think about it . I have think of amazing scenario . 

If u want I won't say im arab I will say I came from Spain or Italy . As u see I can speak English very well I learned it by watching tv an songs . I'm smart girl . Just pls give me the opportunity .

P.s I'm beautiful

Yes you are. 

re:  Koreans and brown people

Hiiii :D I hope u don't mind me asking u a few questions about kpop and brown people. I rly need to get some things straight. Thanks in advance for your answers.

Okay here goes:

What percent chance do u think of a brown skinned person getting into a Korean ent. Company?

If we(brown skinned ppl) pass the audition, do u think we will debut?

Also do u think Koreans will accept us if we debut in a group with Koreans?

Which Korean company is more likely to accept us?

Also, thinking further ahead, if they pay for our flight to seol will they send someone for us at the airport?

re:  Follow up

Can u Pls answer as soon as possible. I'm thinking of auditioning soon. I really want to at least try.

The two emails are from the same person, sent within hours. The "follow up" email just slayed me. You mean you're not going to audition unless someone is waiting for you at the airport in Seoul?

re:  hey there, I just wanted to ask you something. I'm 16 years old and I'm asian. I've been planning to audition to YGE through email and I was just wandering that if you had send your audition clips and files and told you that you passed, will they be the one spending for your flight to korea. Sorry if it's inconvenient. Thanks.

(This email had no text in the body.)

Another favorite: stupid question entirely contained within the title.

You Keep Saying That Word, But It Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

re:  Korean Video Game Question

Hello,

I'm playing a game that takes place in the three kingdoms period of Korea called Nexus Kingdom of the Winds. In the game, to make things feel more authentic, some unique items and weapons are in a transliteration of Korean. While normally a transliteration tool, and Google translate works, I cannot for the life of me translate the name of one weapon without it sounding nonsensical.

The Weapon is a Bow, as in Bow and Arrows, that is named "Sa Nyang Kkun".

The translations I've found make

Sa = Four

Nyang = Meow

Kkun = Sportsmen or Drinker

Unlike all the other weapons I've translated so far using this method, this one makes no sense. I'm not sure if it's me mistranslating, if it's a problem with the transliteration, or if the original translator, who almost certainly only spoke English, merely mistranslated it.

Any help you can give me in settling this translation once and for all would be helpful.

- Steven H.

To be fair, this is a perfectly good question--but the content of it was just too funny. It's as if thinking "assumption" means "donkey referee avoidance" because the word is made up of "ass," "ump" and "tion (=shun)."

re:  Traduction

Hello,

Can you give me the right Answers for this traduction :

미 차 어 리 ㅅ MI CHA E LIS ???

닉올아우ᄉ Nik ol a u s ???

Club-Name :

고려 KO RYO ???

산ᄀᄃ - 위 ㅌ ㅎ SAN K T - VI T H ???

Thank you

Amazing thing is, this "traduction" is kind of halfway there.

The Straight Up Racists

re:  A question about ajummas

I live in Korea as an English teacher. I understand some levels of Korean culture, but obviously my understanding is far from 100%. I have a Korean-American friend and she is offended when she hears comments from foreigners about ajummas. This past weekend at a dinner party, many Americans were there and at some point the topic of an ajumma came up. My gyopo friend was offended at the conversation. I'm curious as to why. 'I think you guys have too much fun with that word.' Why is talking about this age group of women offensive? We were only laughing about our shared experiences regarding that demographic. It was not hateful.

I'm curious on your take.

Thanks,

Ajumma Is On My Mind

To channel Andrew Ti of Yo, Is This Racist?:  maybe the gyopo friend was offended because "laughing about [your] shared experiences regarding that demographic" is racist.

re:  Why do Koreans tend to think they are like the Mongolians and the Northern Chinese?

I am an ethnic Korean who was adopted by American parents. However, I consider Mongolians and Chinese as defilement and scum. Koreans are to proud and pure to be but made lower to them. I hate Chinese, they steal, they are cheap, snakes and communist, also very rude and vulgar. Mongolians are barbaric and undeveloped.

We are more closer to the Japanese because of our language and genetics. Clearly proven.

Here is a picture for you.

re:  A Question

Dear Korean,

I have heard that Koreans eat dog shit as well to

cure common colds and cancer.

Is that true ?

From,

a Chinaman that likes to rape Korean virgins

Sure, you little cunt who had to use a remailer to send this email.

And Your Question Is...?

re:  Hello

Hello Mr Korean,

My Introduction: I am an Indian living in Bangalore city. I work as a business analyst in the IT industry. I dabble in dance, painting, gardening etc as hobbies.

I came across you blog today and read about how funerals are conducted in Korea. I watched a program about a family which makes hemp clothes and got curious.

I got exposed to Korean culture through television. I watch KBS with subtitles :-) I feel there a similarities in our cultures and was able to related to many things portrayed in the TV programs.

I wanted to write more but it's way past my bedtime and my mind is blank. Will email again...

Regards,

[NAME REDACTED]

He never emailed again. You break my heart, Name Redacted. You break my heart.

re:  (no subject)

So u mean a black person like me are not wanted in your industry because of racism.l thought that was over.its not fair as we blacks also promote,we watch your movies a lot.okay what about black tourist.

The email opened with anger, went to depression, then to bargaining. It's like seeing "five stages of a stupid email" in one short paragraph.

re:  Hi! I'm from Korea. I saw your post ' What do Koreans Think About Turkey?'

Hello. Really nice to meet you.

I`m from korea . And i`m 17years old girl now. (2 Grade of High school).

Today i searched on google

"korea turkey"

And i could see your post.

I really loving turkey. And turkish people

Although i haven`t been there before.

I heard turkish people love koreans and think as "brother who share blood"

Sorry my english skills not good.

But i`m trying now.

Well...

Let`s talk about "2002worldcup"

At that time. I was just a 5years old hahaha right? ;)

I could see korean people`s post..

About 2002 world cup

Turkey vs korea

Actually

Korean people don`t know well about turkey.

Even where turkey are.

(Well.. it is now too)

But..

On 2002

Korean people noticed about turkey.

Long time a go.

Turkey born east asian. Right?

Like.. mongolia.

Turkey born. Huns

Sorry i`m in gym now

Well

Talk to you later

그냥 한국말로 해... (Just write in Korean...)

Sorry, You Got the Wrong Number

re:  LG Australia

The Korean

I have purchased many LG products and found them to be of good quality, but I am extremely disappointed with LG Australia.

I have just purchased a new mobile phone and require a manual to learn how to operate the phone but LG Australia’s Web Site does not operate

correctly and they do not answer the phone. I have inserted the model number on their computer site but it does not recognise the model number

which is a LG OPTIMUS F3 LG – P655k. Can Korean LG correct this problem as it would be a shame to lose sales because of the lack of support from the Australian company.

Regards

Why does it not surprise TK that you need a manual to operate a phone?

re:  yhteistyö ehdotus

Hello,

My name is Andres Sullivan, and I'm writing you from Promtmedia.com, a digital marketing agency located in Estonia. Among my clients, I represent a Finnish company. I'm looking for strong Finnish sites like Askakorean to cooperate with my client's site.

I would like to know if you'd be open to advertising cooperation.

Best regards,

Andres Sullivan

Promtmedia

"Strong Finnish sites like Askakorean." How can a person Finnish writing that sentence without realizing something's wrong there?

re:  Accommodation

Hi,

I am a student from Brunei. My 3 friends and I are looking for the best place to stay for a whole semester (fall 2014) which can accommodate the 4 of us. The most important thing is that (1) the accommodation rate should cost at maximum 1,400,000 per month for the 4 of us. (2) Separate rooms for different genders (2 males and 2 females). (3) a kitchen.

We will be studying at Dongguk University, Seoul for 1 semseter (fall 2014)

Many Thanks,

[NAME REDACTED]

For 1,400,000 per month, here is what TK can offer: (1) for males, a couch; (2) for females, a bathtub. Both are located in Washington D.C. How does that sound?

re:  Regarding IAG and JYJ

Hello Askthekorean:

I've been a kpop fan for a few years, and JYJ is one of my favorite boy group. I think part of it was reading about them and how they got to where they are now starting with SM entertainment to ending wirh Cjes entertainment. Overcoming the mess with SME settling just recently, JYJ should be able to go on variety shows but they have not been invited back. That's fine since it's still early enough.

Now the issue with IAG. They were ask to be ambassador for IAG since last year and been promoting for a whole year. Suddenly they aren't good enough to be cast in the lineup for opening or closing act? Or invited to the media interview announcing lineup? AND instead Exo from SM is cast to sing? A lot of people know it's pressure from outside IAG--- aka SME. We all know corruption is everywhere but dang, JYJ just hasn't gotten a break since they got away from SME. It's almost like people are afraid of SME.

Why would IAG who signed a contract with JYJ do that to them? Money? External pressure? You would think no since they can get sue for breach of contract. What's your take on this?

You should really find someone who cares. And get off my lawn.

Sure, TK Will Look Through the Phone Book Now...

re:  Looking

I'm looking for someone in Korea her name is Yi kun Hui

You mean the chairman of Samsung?

re:  where

where is kim hye sung now?

In a way, aren't we all kim hye sung?

re:  Do you know Herbert

Hi,

Do you know Herbert, or are you related to him in any way?

This is very important as i have a useful piece of information to pass onto you.

Ooh yes, I know a Herbert. What is it?

re:  Roommate translate

Hello :)

This is probably the dumbest question you have ever read so i'm sorry if this is not what this blog is for.

I have tried my best to translate it myself but i just couldn't figure it out. So here is my question for you: in episode 9 of roommate at about 27min in the episode chanyeol comes upstairs and the woman laughs at him, i guessed it had something to do with with was written on the screen. Would you please translate it for me?

Thank you :)

from belgium

Ps: i wanted to send the video aswell but i can't seem to find how.

The competition is steep for the "dumbest question TK has ever read," but this finishes pretty high. Do you seriously think TK has memorized, minute-by-minute, Episode 9 of Roommate?

re:  Korean rock song...

Heya, I'm here from your 'ask a korean' website. I used to work with a bunch of korean guys and they would sing this song at karaoke that was so, so good. It was a korean hard rock song about a woman who smoked. It was really rhythmic and emotive. Do you have any idea what I am talking about? It's been so long since I've heard it and I would love to hear it again but I can't seem to find it online.

Thanks for any input you might have.

Rhythmic and emotive. Yeah, that's plenty of detail.

*              *              *

Have your eyeballs melted yet? If they have not, the next email will do the trick. Behold...

::DRUMROLL::The Worst AAK! Email of the 2014!!!::DRUMROLL::

re:  Yoo byung eun

Do you think that the victims of the sunken boat in South Korea in April 2014 was sacrificed intentionally by the Yoo Byung Eun cult leaders to their god--Lucifer?

Researcher

I mean, holy shit. This email hit TK's inbox nearly as soon as the news about the connection between the Sewol ferry sinking broke--which was only about a week after the ferry sinking. Seriously, fuck you "Researcher" for making a mockery of one of the worst tragedies that Korea suffered in the last decade. You win the worst email of 2014.

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

AAK! Music: 90s Icon by Seo Taiji

Because when Seo Taiji puts out a song like this, it deserves to be introduced to the wider audience.

90s Icon
90s Icon

나이가 들수록 늘어 가는 변명들
The excuses grow as I age
세월이 흘러가도 망설임 따위 뿐인걸
Nothing but mere hesitancy as the time passes
내 기타에 스미던 둔해진 내 감성
My senses that used to soak my guitar are dulled
하지만 난 아직도 멈추지 못할 뿐
But still I simply cannot stop

한물간 90s icon
A washed up 90s icon
물러갈 마지막 기회가 언제일까 망설이네
Hesitating to find the last opportunity to disappear
질퍽한 망상 끝을 낼까
Should I finish this wet delusion

낡아빠진 액자에 갇혀버린 환영들
The phantasms trapped in decrepit photo frames
내 바람과 망상들로 내 방을 채워가네
Filling my room with my desire and delusion
덧없이 변해간 나는 카멜레온
I am a chameleon, changing haplessly
내 피부가 짓물러도 조용히 감출 뿐
Even as my skin rots, all I can do is to quietly hide

한물간 90s icon
A washed up 90s icon
화려한 재기의 기회가 언제일까 망설이네
Hesitating to find the opportunity for a spectacular comeback
질퍽한 이 망상 끝을 낼까
Should I finish this wet delusion

난 꿈을 꾸죠 은밀한 비장함 따위는 아니예요
I dream, but nothing like a secret resolve
전쟁도 끝났죠 나의...
The war of mine is over

눈감은 순간 흩어지는 바람에 밀려 버려지는
The scattering wind sweeps away in a blink of an eye
당신의 삶과 같이한 너와 나의 쓸쓸한 이야기
The lonely story of you and me who were with your lives

해답이 없는 고민
A dilemma without an answer
하지만 밤이 온다면 나의 별도 잔잔히 빛나겠죠
But when the night falls, my star will calmly shine

Briefly about Seo Taiji:  Easily one of the top three most significant K-pop artist in history. Everything about the modern day K-pop is traceable to his brilliant mind.

About This Song:  90s Icon is from Seo Taiji's 2014 album, Quiet Night. 

Translation Note:  As is typical with Korean lyrics, many sentences lack a subject, leaving poetic ambiguity as to the precise identity of the person who thinks and feels. Seo Taiji, in particular, is a master of such lyrical construction.

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

Is That Salt in Your Teeth?

Dear Korean,

My friend recently came back to New York after living in Korea for a year. She now swears by bamboo salt toothpaste. She says that bamboo salt is commonly used in Korean medicine and is much healthier that anything available in the US. What exactly is bamboo salt? 

Kristin K.

Short answer first: bamboo salt, called juk-yeom [죽염] in Korea, is a type of basked salt. One can manufacture bamboo salt by packing salt into a bamboo tube, and baking the tube in an oven multiple times. 

Bamboo salt baking
(source)

So that is the salt part. But how do we go from salt to toothpaste?

Before toothpaste became common in Korea, Koreans used to brush teeth with either salt or salt water. This worked just fine, as salt is a natural disinfectant. (In fact, brushing with salt may promote gum health.) When TK was younger, public baths in Korea would commonly place a large bowl salt, as older folks preferred using salt to brush their teeth.

Seizing upon this opportunity, Korea's toothpaste makers came up with various types of toothpaste based on bamboo salt. Although Koreans were certainly transitioning to toothpastes, the idea of brushing teeth with salt was still in people's mind. And not just any salt--salt baked nine times in a bamboo tube! Sure it had to be healthier, right?

Advertisement for a bamboo salt toothpaste
(source)

Makers of the bamboo salt toothpaste love claiming that their product prevents gum disease, and is a healthier alternative to other toothpaste. But much to TKParents' dismay, TK is not a dentist, so he is in no position to say if the bamboo salt toothpaste is actually healthier. He did use this type of product for about a decade, with no result that was significantly more positive or more negative than the one you may expect from an ordinary toothpaste, so there is that.

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This year, TK is thankful for his first roasted turkey, a forward progress in his day job and his hobbies, renewed sense of faith, another year of wonderful marriage and another year of loyal readers for the AAK!

Meet Joseph Gobbles, TK's first attempt at roasted turkey. Joseph was delicious.

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

Ask a Korean! News: Assassination Attempt on Kim Jong-un, reported by Joo Seong-Ha

[Cross-posted on Sino-NK]

Mr. Joo Seong-ha deserves to be a personal UNESCO heritage site. The journalist has the most incredible life story: he was a professor at Kim Il-Sung University in North Korea, Then, realizing the tyranny of the North Korean regime, he escaped to China--and was captured, sent back to North Korea and survived the prison camp. On his second try, he succeeded in escaping North Korea for good and seeking asylum in South Korea. Now, as a reporter for one of the most prominent newspapers in South Korea, Joo utilizes his elite North Korea connection to give reports on the country like no one else can. TK has long been a fan of Mr. Joo: a complete list of Joo's articles, translated by TK, is available here.

Recently, Joo broke a story that was never known outside of a handful of North Korean elites: two years ago, there was an attempt at Kim Jong-un's life. Below is the story.

*               *              *

Two years ago, on November 3, 2012, there was an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. That day, Kim was scheduled to visit Munsu Street in Pyongyang. There, he was set to go to Ryugyeongwon, a health club; People’s Outdoor Skating Rink; and a rollerskating rink. These facilities were only several tens of meters away from one another, with a street in between them.

On the morning of that day, a loaded machine gun was discovered cleverly hidden under a low-growing juniper tree near Ryugyeongwon. The gun was immediately reported to the Ministry of State Security. It was clearly an attempt on Kim Jong-un’s life. The assassins were apparently aiming for Kim Jong-un’s visit to the area. Even so, Kim Jong-un summoned enough courage to visit as scheduled.

The North Korean regime never found who was responsible. But the predominant speculation is that a high-ranking person must have been behind it. Kim Jong-un’s line of movement is top secret, with few knowing where he is planned to be. Also, it had to be someone who could smuggle a machine gun in from abroad, as firearms are strictly controlled in North Korea.

(More after the jump)

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

Soon, Kim Jong-un’s uncle Jang Song-taek was named the most likely suspect. The Internal Defense Force (IDF) of the Ministry of People’s Security, which was then under Jang’s command, had built the facilities that Kim Jong-un was due to visit. It was also the generals of the IDF who greeted Kim Jong-un at those facilities. But Jang could not be arrested based on speculation alone. Therefore, from that time, the regime relentlessly spied on him.

Perhaps because of this, Jang Song-taek disappeared from the public eye thereafter. In South Korea it was rumored that he had already been purged. Jang did reappear, but there were only 13 media appearances up to mid-April 2013. In 2012, Jang had accompanied Kim Jong-un 102 times.

To this day, the assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un is top secret, with only a few people knowing that it ever happened. I received this information some time ago, but did not report on it for the sake of my informant’s safety. This is a significant event, and not simply because it happened—although that alone is shocking enough. It is also significant because it is a major piece of the puzzle that explains North Korea’s irregular behavior following the event.

Immediately after the attempt, there were 100 armored cars placed around 30 facilities that Kim Jong-un uses, i.e. administrative offices and residences. The South Korean government also noticed this unusual activity approximately a month later. In early December, a South Korean official said: “Unlike before, Kim Jong-un’s visits now feature heavily armored bodyguards, and there are armored cars nearby. We presume that there was a large protest in North Korea, or there may be someone who is unhappy with his position in the government.”

This was evident from North Korean media as well. Previously when the North Korean media covered Kim Jong-un’s visits, bodyguards rarely appeared. If they did, they were armed only with handguns. But after the assassination attempt, bodyguards with automatic weapons and helmets appeared blatantly in the photos. There were also photos of bodyguards with a golf bag or guitar case, which presumably carried a machine gun, sniper rifle, or other heavy weaponry.

Apparently rattled, Kim Jong-un visited the Ministry of State Security twice in November, ordering a purge of hostile elements. In the same month, North Korea held a National Police Chief’s Assembly and a National Judicial Worker’s Assembly three days apart. The former was the first in 13 years; the latter in 30 years. At these assemblies, Kim Jong-un ordered: “We must discover all the impure hostile elements who maliciously instigate mutinies and chaos; those who wait for the time with a knife hidden inside.”

A campaign to eliminate impure elements began at the same time. Every North Korean governmental organization was told to submit a report on how many hostile elements it had apprehended. North Korean defectors testify that this was the period in which the reign of terror reached its extreme peak. In January the following year, North Korea declared a quasi-state of war, raising tensions to the maximal level both internally and externally.

After the assassination attempt, the bodyguard radius for Kim Jong-un was doubled. Previously, the intensive security zone—that within which a sniper attack would be possible—was 2km. Afterward, the radius was made 4km. The secondary guard area, in which one could conceivably launch a hand-held missile, went from 20km to 40km.

Clearly, the assassination attempt shocked Kim Jong-un. This was the time when the top brass of the military constantly changed, presumably because Kim’s distrust of the military was at its peak. By July 2013, more than half of North Korea’s commanders had been replaced. The generals’ ranks changed constantly as well.

Recently, Kim Jong-un has been traveling more on his personal jet. While some have seen this as a show of confidence in his safety, the opposite may be the case. Traveling by land covers a lot of ground and takes time. If someone knows the schedule ahead of time and hides an explosive along the way, it is difficult to prevent an attack. In contrast, the personal jet only requires control over the airport and a small number of support staff.

Of course, South Korean radar shows Kim Jong-un’s personal jet. And Kim has been taking a wooden boat right in front of the South Korean navy. It appears that Kim is confident that neither South Korea nor the United States will assassinate him, causing the chaos of a North Korean collapse. In contrast, he seems to fear the interior of North Korea more; during his three years, Kim Jong-un has not visited more than half of North Korea.

(source)

As of now, there is no way to know if Jang Song-taek attempted to assassinate Kim Jong-un, or if the purge of Jang has anything to do with this attempt. But after Jang was executed, a picture appeared on the pages of the South Korean media. In the picture, Jang was standing with his hands behind him, while others were busy clapping—the implication was that Jang had lost Kim Jong-un’s favor by being arrogant. That picture was from November 3, 2012. I wonder what Jang Song-taek was thinking that day; but his thoughts are now buried forever.

2년 전 김정은 암살시도 진실 최초 공개 [Nambuk Story]

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

Shin Hae-cheol's Quotes

(source)

Shin Hae-cheol was perhaps the freest talker in all of K-pop history. His fame was built on his ability to speak critically and incisively, as much as it was built on his innovative music. Here is a selection of his quotes that showed the manner of Shin Hae-cheol's speech.

• "The world will self-destruct if young people were never negative or cynical. The world needs the younger generation to look down on the older generation."
  
  
• "It's easy to think that achieving your dreams is the be-all, end-all. But I hope everyone remembers that there are things that you must not lose in the course of achieving your dreams, that the dreams do not necessarily lead to happiness. God does not care what dream you achieve; but he does enormously care whether you are happy."
  
  
• "I think talking about the society or the politics is all part of music. When you start thinking that politics and society have nothing to do with music, that's when music starts getting strange."
  
  
• "Some of the music by Rain and DBSK received a rating that says it is harmful for the youth. But right now, what's happening at the National Assembly is hardly instructive for the youth. The National Assembly should be designated as a harmful location for the youth; it should be rated R, and should not be shown on television, including the news, to protect the children."
  
  
• (To his wife) "Before I was married, I had such strong suicidal tendencies that I received therapy for it. Since we had children, I was naturally cured because I was so happy. Even in the next life, I want to be your husband. In the next life, let me be your son, your mother, your brother, your dog--anything to keep us tied."
  
  
• "We should not take revenge. We may not be able to forgive. In between those two, we can reconcile."
  
  
• "Not being embarrassed that you're worried, taking anxiety as a natural part of life--that, I think, is the first step toward resolving that anxiety. It's not as if your life gets truly better if that anxiety goes away.  . . .  But the worst thing is to lie to yourself, that you're not worried."
  
  
• "There is a lot of criticism toward the young generation, about how they are not willing to work hard. But there is a difference between working in a situation in which one can dream, and working in a situation in which one cannot see anything. Labor without future is not the answer. The young people are standing in darkness; they cannot tell if a cliff is just a foot away. It's not the case that they do not move because they are too tired; they cannot move because they cannot see ahead."
  

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

Shin Hae-cheol, the K-Pop Icon

Fate can be cruelly ironic. Only a few days after TK covered him in this space, with hopes to cover him more going forward, Shin Hae-cheol passed away from cardiac arrest on October 27, 2014. He was only 46 years old.

As TK explained previously, Shin is K-pop’s greatest rock icon of the 1990s. Through his outspoken activism and direct communication with his loyal listeners, his influence extended well into the 2000s, and well beyond the consumers of pop culture. No one in the history of K-pop left a footprint quite like Shin’s. Though his life was tragically cut short, it deserves to be known to a wider audience who appreciates K-pop, and wishes to understand where it came from, where it has been.

*                *                *

K-pop nearly died in 1975. The Park Chung-hee dictatorship saw pop culture, especially rock music, as a threat to public order and ultimately its regime. When Shin Jung-hyeon [신중현], the greatest rocker of the time, refused to write a song praising the dictatorship, the government banned his music and arrested him on trumped-up drug charges. Numerous K-pop artists met the same fate.

Korean pop music, which stood near the forefront of global pop music trends in the 1970s, took a massive step back. Only the inoffensive, melodramatic soft rock could survive for the next decade, as the next dictator Chun Doo-hwan--whose rule ended in 1987--was hardly a fan of rock music either.

Perhaps it was not a coincidence that an upstart band, calling themselves the Infinite Track [무한궤도], came onto the stage as the last contestant of the MBC College Pop Music Festival in 1988, a year after Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship was toppled. The College Festival, which began in 1977, became the new path to stardom after the dictatorship decimated the existing pop music scene. But for a long time, the college bands that performed on the Festival mimicked the larger trend. Their music was soft and meek, tear-jerking without being daring.

That is, until the Infinite Track took the stage. The Infinite Track seemed to be an unlikely band to challenge the status quo--its members were the classic definition of elites, as they were students of Seoul National, Yonsei and Sogang. When the baby-faced lead singer and guitarist Shin Hae-cheol gave the pre-performance interview, few expected what was coming next.

Then the song began, with blaring fanfare. A rush of synthesizer followed. The drums crashed harder than they did all night. The lights of the freshly constructed Olympic stadium--which just finished serving its purpose in the Seoul Olympics--blinkered wildly to the beat. The song, called To You [그대에게], instantly owned the crowd. (It would continue to own the crowd for the next thirty years, as it is one of the favorite songs for Korea’s cheering sports fans today.) When the Infinite Track finished performing, there was no doubt about who won the 1988 College Pop Music Festival.

(More after the jump.)

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

Having become an overnight star, Shin briefly dabbled in (gasp!) musical career as an idol. (For the rest of his life, Shin Hae-cheol would gag whenever someone showed him this ad that he appeared in.) But Shin Hae-cheol’s musical ambition went far beyond being a pretty face singing love songs. After two albums, Shin formed N.EX.T in 1992. N.EX.T, shorthand for “New Experiment Team,” would become K-pop’s preeminent rock band for the next decade.

The first album for N.EX.T set the tone for the band’s entire career. N.EX.T’s music was constantly sophisticated, layered and unconventional. It tended to be heavy on keyboard and synthesizer, reflecting Shin Hae-cheol’s lifelong love of electronic sound. The tunes were varied, though always organized around a particular theme for each album.

Through its lyrics, N.EX.T also distinguished on the more direct message that it imparted. The words for the songs flew over the existential heights, then sharply descend to a quick witted attacks on many iniquities of the Korean society. In this sense, N.EX.T became the true heir of the rock’n roll spirit of K-pop that was nearly killed in the 1970s.

The influence of N.EX.T over the 1990s K-pop fans cannot be overstated. For music fans aged 15 to 35 at the time, it was either Seo Taiji or N.EX.T. (Which is ironic, because Seo Taiji and Shin Hae-cheol are cousins, and considered each other best friends rather than rivals.) By then, Seo Taiji was already the “Cultural President,” revolutionizing the very foundation upon which K-pop had stood until that point. But N.EX.T, as the leader of the counter-culture, stood toe-to-toe with Seo Taiji although the band’s media appearance was no more than a fraction of Seo’s.

All good things must end, and so it was with N.EX.T. The band went into hiatus in 1997, and Shin studied music in England. Shin briefly partnered with Chris Tsangrides, producer for Judas Priest. Later, it was revealed that Tsangrides appropriated one of Shin Hae-cheol’s songs, titled Machine Messiah, to create a Judas Priest’s song, Metal Messiah. (Shin Hae-cheol publicly noted that Tsangrides was not allowed to take his music, but avoided any legal or other retaliatory action out of his respect for Tsangrides and Judas Priest.) Thus, Shin Hae-cheol became arguably the only K-pop artist whose music was plagiarized by a major Western rock band.

*                  *                  *

Parallel to his music career, Shin also maintained an active public life as a public intellectual, pundit and campaigner. He led the charge in the “Tomorrow is Too Late” album series, which collected the biggest names of K-pop of the time (including Seo Taiji, Kim Jong-seo and Lee Seung-hwan) to sing about protecting the environment. Through a song from N.EX.T’s 1995 album, Shin Hae-cheol led the campaign of abolishing the absurdly antiquated law that prohibited Koreans sharing the same last name from marrying. (The law was in fact abolished in 1997.)

When the creators of an indie movie called Jungle Story--a biopic of then-unknown indie rocker named Yoon Do-hyeon--asked Shin Hae-cheol to compose the soundtrack for the movie, Shin invested his own money to make the highest quality album possible, to the point that the movie’s soundtrack ended up earning much more money than the movie itself. For the 20 year anniversary of iconic poem anthology The Dawn of Labor [노동의 새벽], Shin took the initiative to come out with the commemorative album.

Shin Hae-cheol (left), on the 100 Minute Debate
(source)

Shin Hae-cheol did not apologize for his progressive politics. Shin holds the dubious distinction of a singer who most frequently appeared on the “100 Minutes Debate,” a respected TV political debate program. This was often because Shin Hae-cheol was the only public figure who was willing to get on television to make a case for such controversial issues as marijuana legalization and abolition of laws against adultery. He actively campaigned for progressive presidential candidates (including former president Roh Moo-hyun,) and was at the forefront of the anti-Iraq War protests and protests against conservative governments. The infamous concert in which PSY rapped about killing American soldiers was Shin Hae-cheol’s handiwork.

But arguably, Shin’s biggest non-music imprint is none of the above; it is the Ghost Station. Sometimes known as the Ghost Nation, Ghost Station was the late-late night radio show that Shin Hae-cheol DJ’ed from 2001 to 2012. And it was absolutely nothing like anything that existed on any Korean television or radio. Unlike most radio programs, Ghost Station rarely invited any guests and played few music. (When Shin received complaints that Ghost Station did not play enough music, he would sometimes play a 22-minute-long medley of ancient Korean pop songs just to mess with the listeners.) The entire program was essentially consisted of Shin Hae-cheol speaking for an hour or two, often reading off of the listeners’ stories submitted through the Ghost Station message board.

True to form, absolutely nothing was off limits on Ghost Station. Shin encouraged his listeners to drop the honorifics and address him in banmal. Ever the iconoclast, Shin favored stories from the socially marginalized. Ghost Station was likely Korea’s first broadcast program that featured regular discussion about homosexuality. When Ghost Station did play music, it favored up-and-coming indie music that did not receive regular media exposure. His adoring listeners eventually gave Shin Hae-cheol his favorite nickname: the Demon Lord [마왕].

*              *              *

Shin Hae-cheol's funeral arrangement.
(source)

Shin Hae-cheol’s death was sudden and unexpected. Shin had just released a new single, with a full album to come shortly. In September, Shin Hae-cheol also announced that N.EX.T. was re-forming with all new members. There is some chance that Shin’s death was due to medical malpractice. Regardless of the cause, the genius who defined Korean rock for a decade, and touched the lives of many for much longer, collapsed and never recovered.

When his passing was announced, Shin Hae-cheol’s personal favorite song, titled Freshwater Eel’s Dream, topped all charts in Korea. (The song is embedded in the beginning of this post. Shin used to say that this song would be played at his funeral.) More than 15,000 fans attended his funeral, as did his dear friend Seo Taiji, PSY, Yoon Do-hyeon and numerous other luminaries of K-pop history. All radio stations of Korea dedicated several hours to playing only Shin Hae-cheol's music, bidding farewell to one of the brightest, the most enduring stars of K-pop history.

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

History Behind Seo Taiji's Sogyeokdong

[Cross-posted on Dramabeans]

Dear Korean,

Recently, Seo Taiji released a song called Sogyeokdong. From the music video and my limited Korean skills, I gathered that Sogyeodong must be a historical place. What exactly transpired there and what is the significance of the setting for Seo Taiji's music video? 

Curious person with poor Korean skills :(

Here is a simple rule for AAK!:  if you ask something about the new Seo Taiji song, your question will be published. First, let's listen to the music in question.

소격동
Sogyeokdong

나 그대와 둘이 걷던 그 좁은 골목계단을 홀로 걸어요
I walk alone, on that narrow alley stairs that the two of us used to walk
그 옛날의 짙은 향기가 내 옆을 스치죠
The thick scent of the past sweeps by me

널 떠나는 날 사실 난...
On the way I left, actually I...

등 밑 처마 고드름과 참새소리 예쁜 이 마을에 살 거예요
I will live in this pretty village, with icicles on the roof and sparrows chirping
소격동을 기억하나요 지금도 그대로 있죠
Do you remember Sogyeokdong? It still remains the same

아주 늦은 밤 하얀 눈이 왔었죠
On a very late night, the white snow fell
소복이 쌓이니 내 맘도 설렜죠
As they piled on, my heart stirred too
나는 그날 밤 단 한숨도 못 잤죠
I could not sleep that night, not even a wink
잠들면 안돼요 눈을 뜨면 사라지죠
Don't fall asleep; it all disappears when we open our eyes*

어느 날 갑자기 그 많던 냇물이 말라갔죠
The stream that used to be so big suddenly dried up
내 어린 마음도 그 시냇물처럼 그렇게 말랐겠죠
My young heart, like that stream, must have dried up too

너의 모든 걸 두 눈에 담고 있었죠
In my two eyes, I carried everything about you
소소한 하루가 넉넉했던 날
The days when the small days were more than enough
그러던 어느 날 세상이 뒤집혔죠
Then one day, the world turned upside down
다들 꼭 잡아요 잠깐 사이에 사라지죠
Everyone hold on tight; it all disappears in a moment

잊고 싶진 않아요 하지만 나에겐
I do not want to forget; but to me
사진 한 장도 남아있지가 않죠
Not even a single photo remained
그저 되뇌면서 되뇌면서 나 그저 애를 쓸 뿐이죠
I can simply try, repeating to myself, repeating to myself

아주 늦은 밤 하얀 눈이 왔었죠
On a very late night, the white snow fell
소복이 쌓이니 내 맘도 설렜죠
As they piled on, my heart stirred too
나는 그날 밤 단 한숨도 못 잤죠
I could not sleep that night, not even a wink
잠들면 안돼요 눈을 뜨면 사라지죠
Don't fall asleep; it all disappears when we open our eyes*

*Translation note:  Although TK assigned "it all" and "we" as subjects in this sentence, in the original Korean lyrics it is unclear who is opening his/her eyes, and exactly what is disappearing. Because Korean language does not require a subject in a sentence, this type of poetic ambiguity is common.

*                   *                   *

As the questioner gleaned, Sogyeokdong [소격동, pronounced "soh-kyok-dong"] is an actual place in Seoul. Located within Jongno-gu [종로구], it is in the heart of the old Seoul, abutting the Gyeongbokgung [경복궁] palace on the east side. Together with Samcheong-dong [삼청동], Gahoe-dong [가회동], Jae-dong [재동], Gye-dong [계동], etc., it is a part of the neighborhood called Bukchon [북촌]. Because of its quaint narrow alleyways and well-preserved traditional Korean houses, Bukchon today is a popular tourist destination. 

Due to its central location, Sogyeokdong has been at the forefront of Korea's turbulent modern history. However, Seo Taiji did not choose to sing about Sogyeokdong simply for the sake of history. He actually grew up in the neighborhood, having attended the nearby Jaedong Elementary School (which is Korea's oldest elementary school, established in 1895.) In an interview, Seo said that he simply wanted to sing about his childhood, but doing so would have been impossible without touching upon the history he had seen. The result, in TK's estimation, is a more elegant expression of the sinister sense of fear and loss that permeated the experience of Korean children at the time.

Seo Taiji was born in 1972, which means he experienced his Sogyeokdong childhood in the early to mid-1980s. What was going on in Korea in the 1980s?

(More after the jump.)

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

It is important to remember that, until late 1980s-early 1990s, South Korea was under authoritarian dictatorship. To be sure, the situation was better than North Korea's--but not by that much. In December 1979, General Chun Doo-hwan rolled tanks into Seoul, threatened the then-president Choi Gyu-ha at gunpoint, and later appointed himself to be the president. When the citizens of Gwangju protested the coup d'etat, Chun sent paratroopers to the city and murdered more than 600 people.

During Chun's dictatorship, the democratically elected National Assembly was no more than a shill. The true, shadow government was located in Sogyeokdong, under the name of the Defense Security Command. Growing up in the neighborhood, Seo Taiji likely could not help but notice the swirl of chaos surrounding the area.

Accordingly, in the music video for Sogyeokdong, one can see a number of historical tropes. The main boy character is wearing a military uniform, which is a standard issue in the 1980s. The dictatorship, in large part, justified its existence by playing up the threat of North Korean invasion. In order to instill constant fear, schoolchildren were required to take "military training" as a subject starting middle school. The boys would learn how to line up, march and handle a mock rifle, while the girls learned how to apply first aid. (Incredibly, "military training" remained as a high school subject until 2007.) 

Another scene of the music video shows the air raid drill: periodically, Koreans had to undergo the nighttime air raid drill, during which people were instructed to turn off all lights so that the incoming North Korean bombers could not see the targets below. (Or so the dictatorship told the people.) A modified version of this drill still goes on to this day in Korea, which tends to alarm tourists and foreign journalists into thinking that a war broke out between South and North Korea.

The Sogyeokdong music video also makes one direct allusion to a historical event. When the boy and the girl sit together on the stairs, one can faintly hear the radio speaking about 학원 녹화사업, or "School Greening Project." Like other dictatorial project names, the School Greening Project had little to do with planting trees around schools--instead, the "greening" was a code word for brainwashing. 

During the School Greening Project, college students who were involved in the democratization movement were forcibly drafted, i.e. randomly arrested and sent to military bases. There, the students were beaten and tortured until they agreed to serve as the government's spies within the democratization movement. It is believed that approximately 1,100 students were forcibly drafted during the School Greening Project; six were killed in the process.

Six college students who were killed during the School Greening Project.
(source)

The music video is not clear on what exactly happened, but it appears clear enough that someone in the girl's family is being taken away. One can see soldiers rushing to the girl's house, and there is a struggle. The lyrics of the song also allude to the event, as they repeatedly sing about disappearance, full stream running dry, and being left without even a single photograph.

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

Korea's Labor Productivity, and How to Interpret Data About Korea

An article titled Seven Reasons Why Korea Has the Worst Productivity in the OECD, from March 2014, has been recently making rounds in TK's Facebook feed again. It was a dumb article at the time of the publication, and it remains dumb today. Regardless, the article continues to receive approving reactions--which merits pointing out exactly what is dumb about this article.

First, the article itself. The author Michael Kocken, writing for Business Korea magazine, begins with this:

Korea was recently named the worst place for worker productivity in the OECD, which was featured in a recent article by this magazine. This news is not surprising for any professional previously or currently working in Korea, as the notorious overtime hours coupled with years of low growth have been a widely-discussed issue over the past few years.

Then the article makes the familiar, banal complaints about Korea's corporate culture:  Korea's corporate structure is too rigid and hierarchical; there is no honest and direct communication; worker distraction from the Internet and smartphones; hungover workers, valuing form over substance, new workers who are poorly equipped, and the need to put in useless "face time."

Typical office scene in Korea. Is this the home of low productivity?
(source)

What's dumb about this article?

First, the article's starting premise is flatly untrue. Korea's labor productivity was not the worst in the OECD. Korea's labor productivity per worker in 2012 (which was the most recent data available as of the article's writing) was at 23rd place among the 34 OECD member states. Sure, 23 out of 34 is still in the lower range. But it is a far cry from being at the worst place.

But let's be generous and make an ample allowance between the bottom third and the rock bottom. After all, it would be good for Korea to aspire to be on the above-average side of the OECD. However, even this allowance cannot save this article. The main problem with the article is that the author does not seem to understand what "labor productivity" means. This is apparent from the second sentence of the article's opening paragraph, which refers to Korea's long overtime hours. Even setting aside the factual inaccuracy that TK noted earlier, this is a strange statement.

Why is it strange? Because OECD measures labor productivity by, essentially, dividing "output" by number of hours worked. (The precise methodology is somewhat more complicated, especially on how one defines "output." If you are interested in the actual methodology, you can find it here.) This necessarily means that the longer one works, the lower the labor productivity, because if you increase the denominator while holding the numerator at the same level, the result is always a smaller number. In other words, Korea's labor productivity is low because of long overtime hours, not despite the overtime, as Kocken appears to imply.

This leads us to the most important lesson:  what OECD means by "labor productivity" is not what an ordinary person would think. When OECD states Korea has low labor productivity, the word "productivity" is not being used in the same manner in which regular people talk about being "productive at work." But the latter is exactly how the author Michael Kocken uses the term "productivity." Then the article simply runs with the incorrect understanding of the term, and make the trite, stereotypical complaints about Korea's corporate culture.

(More after the jump.)

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



Well then. If Korea's low labor productivity doesn't mean what a regular person may think it means, what does it actually show?

Korea's low labor productivity shows that the value creation in Korea's economy is heavily concentrated. The OECD report that focuses on Korea makes this very clear (at pp. 4-5): Korea's labor productivity is excellent in areas for which Korea is known, and very poor in other areas. Specifically, Korea's labor productivity in manufacturing is world-class, while labor productivity in service industry is below par. (As of 2010, labor productivity in Korea's manufacturing sector ranked second in the OECD.) In fact, labor productivity in Korea's service industry is only half as much as that of Korea's manufacturing industry. This ends up dragging down the whole of Korea's labor productivity per worker, because over 70 percent of Korean workers work in the service industry.

Why is the labor productivity in Korea's service industry so low? There are largely two reasons. First, unlike Korea's manufacturing industry, Korea's service industry does not compete in the global market. For example, Korea's legal industry was a closed market until very recently; foreign law firms will not be able to fully operate in Korea until 2017. Same is true for Korea's medical industry, whose market will not open to international hospitals until much later, if it ever does. Absent world-class competition, it is not a surprise that Korea's service industry does not have world-class labor productivity.

Second reason is that the Korean economy has an inordinately huge number of mom-and-pop shops, which technically belong to service industry. One of TK's favorite Korea trivia is:  Korea has 12.2 restaurants per 1,000 people, whereas Japan only has 5.7 restaurants per 1,000 people and the United States has 1.8. As much as Koreans love their food, gastronomical pleasure alone does not explain why Korea has nearly seven times more restaurants per capita than Americans do.

Because Korea has had a weak social security network, few Koreans could truly afford to "retire"--that is, take their savings, add them with governmental assistance, and stop working. Instead, upon "retiring" from their initial career, most Koreans have to take their savings and open up their own business to generate enough money to get through old age. This leads to a proliferation of restaurants, a business with pretty low initial barrier to entry. In particular, franchise restaurants--which are very easy to open without much experience--makes the barrier to entry even lower. (By the way, this is a large part of the reason why Korea has so many different fried chicken restaurants everywhere.)

And of course, this trend is hardly limited to restaurants: as of 2011, 28.2 percent of all Korea's workers were self-employed, which is a huge proportion compared to the OECD average of 16.1 percent. (In fact, the same number for Korea in 2010 was eye-popping 36.8 percent.) Such mom-and-pop shops naturally have low labor productivity, because the hours tend to be long and the value created tend to be small. And there are far too many of them in the Korean service industry.

The low labor productivity of the mom-and-pop shops weighs down the labor productivity of the entire service industry, which in turn weighs down the overall labor productivity of the Korean economy. This is arguably the most important reason why Korea tends to have low labor productivity.

*                   *                   *

The lesson here is simple: be diligent. If you are going to write about data regarding Korea, actually look at the data. Let the data speak, instead of inserting your own bias.

As shown above, OECD's labor productivity has nothing to do with Korea's corporate culture. If Korea's corporate culture were dragging down Korea's labor productivity, one should expect to see that drag across all sectors. But data says that is not true. Korea's manufacturing sector has world-beating labor productivity--and it is not as if Korea's manufacturing giants (e.g. Samsung, Hyundai, LG) are known for their touchy-feely lack of hierarchy. Having accurate knowledge about what labor productivity indicates, leads to the accurate conclusion:  if Korea is good at something, it has excellent labor productivity in that area; if Korea is not as good, its labor productivity in that area is poor. Simple as that.

Do you think Korean work culture is too hierarchical, to Korean economy's detriment? Fine, make that argument. TK is skeptical of the claim that the corporate culture which created a world-beating manufacturing sector can be a problem somehow, but he is willing to entertain a good argument to the contrary. Find actual data that supports your contention, and we will have a debate. But don't bring in irrelevant data because it kind of sounds like the thing you are going for--because that's just lazy, and laziness is what often leads to dumb articles like this one.

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