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Opinion

Columnists

End of 'han'

One of the hallmarks of Korean culture has been “han,” the supposedly untranslatable concept encompassing the feeling of resentment, angst, victimization, anger, frustration - all rolled into one. The term often comes up in describing Korean culture and the essence of the Korean personality. “Han” is often mentioned with its untranslatable partner, “jeong” - love, affection, rapport, camaraderie, friendship - all rolled into one. I'm happy to report “jeong” is alive and well, in my opinion. But “han” might be on the way out.

2020-10-11 17:21

Congratulations on COVID-19 handling

Korea has done a marvelous job in handling the coronavirus. There has been a recent spike, but like previous spikes, they have controlled it well, with just under 400 deaths at this point. My state of Utah, in the United States, has over 400. Korea's population is around 50 million; Utah's is under 3 million - about 1/16 the size of Korea. If Utah had Korea's record, we would have had 25 deaths. The United States is about six times bigger than Korea. If the United States had Korea's record, rather than losing 200,000 people, at this point, we would have only lost 2,400. The United States' ha...

2020-09-27 16:41

Jokbo adventure

I was recently contacted by a young man, a third-generation Korean American who had some questions about research on his own Korean jokbo - family genealogy. I was pleased to receive the email and happy to answer his questions. But more importantly, I was thoroughly taken with his ability to figure out how to read a genealogy.

2020-09-13 19:19

Japanese influence on Korea

Japan's influence on Korea is still visible in some ways. And invisible in other ways. The Japanese colonial occupation of Korea was a failure in all regards, politically, morally, ethically. But the evil results of the occupation remain in many ways.

2020-08-30 17:15

Traditional Korean 'seoja' discrimination

Two things have set my mind recently to writing about traditional social classes and discrimination between classes. The first was a video I was asked to make for the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles - it was a video, actually four videos, about Pak Ji-won and his lesser-known disciple, Pak Je-ga. More on that below. The second occurred when I binge-watched “Crash Landing on You” in the last few weeks - it was the “throw-away fact” (incidental mentioning) that the main female protagonist, Seri, was born “illegitimately.” This brings up the topic traditionally termed “seoja” - a child born ...

2020-08-16 16:59

'Correct' history

I usually object to the saying that certain words or phrases are untranslatable. I like to think that if one is clever enough, every word and phrase can be translated well. But I have to admit that some translations simply don't work.

2020-08-02 17:26

Sijo contest in LA

The Los Angeles Korean Cultural Center announced the winners of their sijo contest last week. It was an online contest with contestants from all across the United States. This is the first annual sijo contest for the LA Cultural Center, which means they intend to do it again next year and thereafter. This is welcome news and a positive indicator that sijo is catching on in America.

2020-07-19 17:21

Charm of K-drama

Okay, call me slow. Yes, I know everyone else has been talking about K-drama forever. But I've finally gotten on board. The key to my conversion has been “Crash Landing on You.”

2020-07-12 18:17

Improving Korean education

I'm really hesitant to give my opinion on the Korean education system, but on the heels of my article last week about the Harvard admission policy, perhaps I can venture to offer my humble opinions in hopes of improving an already excellent educational system.

2020-07-05 17:20

How to get into Harvard

Personally, my experience at Harvard, a master's degree and a Ph.D., has helped me in many ways to open doors to opportunities along the way. But it has been interesting to me that the word “Harvard” is met with such awe, particularly in Korea. Korea has an understanding of both hierarchy and the value of education, and Seoul National University is often assumed to be the best university in Korea, and Harvard is assumed to be the best university in the world. This may or may not be the case, but I have seen the reaction from many in Korea when the word “Harvard” is heard.

2020-06-28 17:50

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