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Opinion

Columnists

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

American sijo movement

Last week I wrote about the sijo contest hosted online by the Sejong Cultural Society based in Chicago. And I've heard rumors of another sijo contest being organized in Southern California. This gives me hope that the “sijo movement” that I've been waiting for is getting off the ground! The response from the article last week was welcoming, so I've decided to write a little more about the winners in the contest.

2020-06-21 17:04

American 'sijo'

I have set up a research foundation, the Frog Outside the Well Research Center, where I work on three areas - and only three areas - where I have some degree of expertise. They are: traditional Confucian practice, the re-evaluation of Korean history, and encouraging the writing of “sijo” in Korean and English.

2020-06-14 18:05

Need for new history

When I first arrived in Korea, in November 1965, Korea was a very poor country. It had hardly begun to recover from the Korean War that had ended 12 years earlier. Per capita annual income was $125. South Korea in those days was much poorer than North Korea and was one of the absolute poorest countries in the world. Korea had been victimized by Japan and by the catastrophe of the war. The history of Korea that I started to learn then was a story of victimization - told in terms of the many depravations Korea had suffered at the hands, or swords, of foreign invaders. It was a poverty-stricken...

2020-06-05 17:04

12 pillars of peaceful Korean history

As I look back at my 10 plus articles arguing that we should look at the peaceful and stable tradition of Korea, it occurs to me that there are two more items I should cover. I'll call these the “twelve pillars” of the peaceful and stable strain within the narrative of Korean history, to which “no religious wars” and “a remarkable ability to recover from wars” should be added.

2020-05-31 18:07

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