The Korea Times

Squat, Lee and Linton: Names and identity in today's Korea

At the beginning of my first Spanish class in my London secondary school, our teacher set about giving us Spanish names. If I remember correctly, she dubbed me Miguel. I felt then, aged circa 11-13 years old, and I still feel now that this was a waste of time: I am not Spanish and never will be. Her bid to foist this Iberian moniker on me was actually an attempt to create a new identity for me, one completely out of kilter with reality. It was made even more ludicrous by the fact that she was also my French teacher. Was I to be Miguel one hour and Pierre the next?

Jan 20, 2024By Scott Shepherd

Squat, Lee and Linton: Names and identity in today's Korea

Opinion

Self-help?

Devotees help a penitent carry a wooden cross during the "Jesus del Gran Poder" or Jesus of Great Power procession, in Quito, Ecuador, April 15. Easter has been celebrated around the world during Holy Week, commemorating the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. AP-YonhapBy Scott ShepherdOnce when I was walking out of the British Library, I saw a woman outside on the floor having some kind of fit or seizure. It was a wintery evening ― it may even have been snowy if I remember correctly ― and the library was just closing, so there were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people all leaving through the main entrance, hurrying to beat the rush-hour traffic. And although the woman was lying right outside the main doors and was clearly in need of help, everyone was simply walking past her.I don't know how long she had been lying there, but I suppose it couldn't have been too long. It may have been that in the gloaming of that London evening she was not easily visible, or perhaps the people passing were a

Apr 16, 2022By Scott Shepherd

White House Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year hiatus

Opinion

Ukraine needs Korea's support

A soldier carries a bag as he helps a woman and a child fleeing from Ukraine, on their arrival at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, March 10. AP-YonhapBy Scott ShepherdTime goes past so quickly. Dear reader, you may not remember, but last month everyone was fixated on the Beijing Olympics. Look, she's wearing a hanbok! Hey, the referees are biased! Let's boycott the Games! It all feels like another age, an innocent time of relative peace when no world leaders were ominously hinting at nuclear war.By now, most of us have probably forgotten all about all of February's controversies and fears. Back in those halcyon days, Russia's military build-up seemed to most, including me, to be nothing but a ploy to gain some kind of diplomatic concessions somewhere down the line. Now, instead of worrying about who's allowed to wear the hanbok and wondering whether we should boycott people stylishly falling down snow, we watch with sinking stomachs as the world's largest country invades its much smaller neighbour to the west.And we've been shocked as the apparently mighty Russian army has been

Mar 12, 2022By Scott Shepherd

Opinion

Hanbok stealing?

A performer dressed in the traditional Korean attire of hanbok waves during the opening ceremony for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing, Feb. 4. YonhapBy Scott ShepherdNearly everyone in Korea is furious, it seems, because a Chinese national woman in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony wore the traditional Korean dress, hanbok. Numerous editorials and opinions have been published in condemnation, calling it another item in the long list of aggressive Chinese actions toward Korea. Last year it was kimchi, the argument goes; this year it's hanbok. Get your hands off our culture!Usually I'm pretty much as outraged as anyone else in these situations. This time, however, I find myself unable really to get riled up. I just don't think the criticism is actually justified: I've been reading as much as I can find on the issue, but none of the complaints really seem to stick.To start with, the day after the ceremony took place, Korean Culture Minister Hwang Hee said that the depiction of Koreans as a minority within China could lead to misundersta

Feb 12, 2022By Scott Shepherd

Behind China-Korea skating row, a deeper cultural rift

Opinion

Stop giving us unnecessary drugs

gettyimagesbankBy Scott ShepherdAlmost immediately after moving to Korea, I developed pretty unpleasant stomach problems, probably related to the stress of migrating to the other side of the world. Although it did not seem serious, it certainly wiped me out for a while. Let's not go into details, but I couldn't keep anything down, so over the course of a week or two I lost a lot of weight. Apart from the obvious physical discomfort, having lost that weight was actually pretty good news: I slimmed down very nicely in time for my wedding a month later.After about a week in this rather debilitating situation (I had to sleep on the floor next to the toilet for easier access), I was ordered by my soon-to-be wife to visit a doctor, just to make sure I wasn't about to undergo some kind of horrific death a few weeks before our wedding. Dutifully I limped to the nearest gastrological doctors ― a mere ten-minute walk in this most convenient of countries.Thankfully, the doctor confirmed that none of my organs looked like they were going to burst out of me and I probably wasn't about to die. It

Jan 15, 2022By Scott Shepherd

Opinion

Korea's strict asylum policies and unkind officials

gettyimagesbankBy Scott ShepherdI once flew in an Airbus A380. It's a big plane, so big that it actually has two decks; in fact, it's the largest passenger plane in the world.The Airbuses operated by Korean Air have 409 seats. Picture that plane full of people sitting in their chairs: upstairs in the posh section where they all have cocktail glasses, down below where they clutch their plastic cups ― everyone waiting idly for take-off. Look down the aisles at all the faces, some smiling and chatting, some dozing, but all waiting, all facing the same way, all with the same destination. The crew walk up and down chiding passengers for not wearing their masks properly and for leaving bags in the aisles. It's a big plane, so there are perhaps three pilots and six or seven members of the cabin crew.Now imagine that every person on the plane is a coming to Korea in the hope of receiving protection and recognition as a refugee. It's true; a few of them may really be economic migrants hoping to come for work, but there are many, many people on this plane because they have no choice. They are

Dec 12, 2021By Scott Shepherd

Korea's strict asylum policies and unkind officials

Opinion

Reform 'Suneung'

Students head to a high school in Seoul to take the College Scholastic Ability Test, also known in Korean as the “Suneung,” a national college entrance exam that is held once a year, Nov. 18. YonhapBy Scott ShepherdLast week saw Korea's yearly university admissions exam take place, accompanied as usual by an autumnal flurry of headlines. Given the world's current obsession with Korea, it's hardly a surprise that the test made international headlines. The test's English name is the College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT, but it is known more commonly as the “Suneung.” The news often highlights the fact that planes are diverted to avoid distraction during the English Listening segment, or that police are on standby to help any students unfortunate enough to run late on the big day.Underlying it all there's often a sense of implicit mirth at how over the top the whole thing is. And of course, comedy is sometimes the best response, an idea that Josh “the Korean Englishman” tapped into when he filmed native English speakers being flummoxed by its Engl

Nov 27, 2021By Scott Shepherd

Expert criticizes Korea's college entrance exam for being too difficult

Opinion

Our obsession with unreal beauty

gettyimagesbankBy Scott ShepherdSomewhere to the right of this text there is a picture of me. It's publicly visible, but on the rare occasions that I go outside, I can stroll the streets, dodging the motorbikes and busses safe in the confidence that any beloved Korea Times reader who happens to pass me will almost certainly fail to recognize me.It's a professional photo, you see. I sometimes wonder why I got it done. I guess it's because I recognize that we ― me included ― are all pretty lazy when we look at each other. It's so much easier to judge people based on what we can see at a glance: clothes, hair, skin and so on. Assessing character takes so much more time and effort.And since I want people to judge me favorably, I went to a professional studio. It had an assortment of mystical equipment: lights and lenses and things that look like umbrellas ― unfathomable objects all. The photographer gave off an unmistakably artistic aura, like something out of a cartoon; he had flowing hair, skinny purple jeans, square glasses.For most people, taking photos in a studio is utterly unnatur

Nov 6, 2021By Scott Shepherd

Opinion

Korean language is not degrading - it's evolving

gettyimagesbankBy Scott ShepherdHangeul Day 2021 is, sadly, over. The last crumbs of the “batchim”-themed cakes have been swept away, the Hangeul board games are back in the cupboard gathering dust, the balloons in the shapes of “nieun” and “rieul” lie deflated in the corner. Yet, as this year's celebration of King Sejong's ingenious alphabet system fades into memory, we can't seem to escape from news and opinion pieces about the Korean language.The hottest topic for the past month has obviously been the addictive Netflix series, “Squid Game.” Many have noted that the English subtitles changed the meaning, which is perhaps true but rather harsh on the translators. The nuances of shifts in honorifics and the forms of address can hardly come across properly in that little caption box at the bottom of our screens. I do think, though, that the word “oppa” could have simply been transliterated, rather than translated to “babe.” After all, Psy taught the West that word almost a decade ago.Outside the world of Netflix,

Oct 23, 2021By Scott Shepherd

Korean language is not degrading - it's evolving

Opinion

The reality of adopting a kitten in Korea

Our new pet cat, Podo / Courtesy of Jeong Ki-poomBy Scott ShepherdSince our wedding, my wife and I have been thinking about getting a cat ― by which I mean that I've been trying to convince my wife to let us get one. And last week, after over two years of careful consideration (pleading), we (my wife) finally decided that we were ready.So off to the animal rescue center we trundled.Weirdly, not long afterward ― indeed, while I was still trying to get my thoughts together for this piece ― The Korea Times published an article about what appears to be a kind of utopian animal rescue shelter, called the Bom Center in Paju. I suppose there's something in the air these days in Korea.We live nowhere near Paju, so we happily settled on our local animal rescue center. The process was pretty straightforward. The person at the desk ― I suppose a veterinarian nurse ― led us through the hospital to the animal viewing room, and presented in turn each of the kittens up for adoption. We chose the youngest, signed some forms, paid for a few (pricey) medical procedures, and we were off. On the way hom

Sep 25, 2021By Scott Shepherd

Scott Shepherd

Read more

Squat, Lee and Linton: Names and identity in today's Korea

Self-help?

Ukraine needs Korea's support

Hanbok stealing?

Stop giving us unnecessary drugs

Korea's strict asylum policies and unkind officials

Reform 'Suneung'

Our obsession with unreal beauty

Korean language is not degrading - it's evolving

The reality of adopting a kitten in Korea

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