This article is about how the US State Department considers Hongdae and Sinchon, two famous clubbing and bar hopping districts in Seoul, “dangerous areas”. This article brings out two clashing viewpoints from me. One is bewilderment and the other is anger.

I am trying to see why the US State Department would even consider those two areas dangerous. For a city where crime isn’t huge as some major cities, I just cannot fathom what could be listed as dangerous. I mean, yes, since it is a bar district, running into drunkards is not my idea of safe, but it just makes me wonder what they mean by “dangerous”. Yes, crime will always exist, but is it really high in those two areas or is it just another way to prevent Americans from going there? And by Americans I mean those who are affiliated with the US military.
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Tags: discrimination, hongdae, itaewon-dong, mapo-gu, military, seodaemun-gu, seoul, sinchon-dong, south korea, united states, united states state department, yongsan-gu

Sometimes I wish I had a cheaper hobby. As much as I love video games, they really suck my poor bank account empty. It doesn’t help when I have the internet telling me what games are coming out in United States and what games are released in Japan, which I hope some of them do see English localisations! A girl can dream! Now I just need to conjure up more money for these games that interest me in 2009. It’s going to be another expensive gaming year.
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Tags: adventure, ar tonelico ii, console rpg, final fantasy xiii, gyakuten kenji, japan, little king's story, nds, playstation ii, playstation iii, playstation portable, professor layton and the demon's box, puzzle, shimomura yoko, sigma harmonics, star ocean: the last hope, star ocean: the second revolution, suikoden tierkreis, united states, video game, wii, xbox 360

I know nothing about potteries and antiques, especially with their prices. However, I do know that something old is generally worth more than something modern. However, I don’t know if I’d be willing to pay almost $4.2 million bucks on a jar through an auction. Sure, it’s from the Joseon period, sure it’s old, but for a jar? If I was the buyer, knowing how I am a klutz, I’d have that jar damaged the second I have it in my hand. I guess it’s a good thing I cannot afford such antiques!

This is an interesting tidbit, though. To see that such a jar managed to survive this long. Though, I find the artwork on the jar fairly ugly. Maybe it’s just the picture, but it’s not exactly appealing to me. But man, if I had $4.2 million bucks . . . I’d travel the world with that fund.

Tags: antique, auction, baekja, joseon, pottery, south korea, united states

Several years ago, a video blogger by the name of Josh Wolf was imprisoned for not handing over his video to the federal authorities. The video dealt with the G8 protest in San Francisco, and Wolf wanted to protect the people in the video, so he refused to give the video. He spent seven month in prison before he was released.

His story captured Donna Lee’s attention, and she decided to make a documentary out of it. The documentary is called Adventures of Josh Wolf: Activist Video Blogger. The documentary was shown last month at the Mill Valley Film Festival and received great reviews. This is Lee’s first film project, a project she decided to do for a class.

In the future, she plans to submit this documentary to Korean film festivals next year. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see and hear about this like at Pusan International Film Festival!

Tags: california, donna lee, g8 protest, josh wolf, korean-american, mill valley film festival, pusan international film festival, south korea, united states

A man in Iowa has been arrested for being in possessions of “obscene mangas”, those of lolicon and yaoi in nature. His trial will happen on December 2, 2008, and who of all people’s backing him up? Neil Gaiman is, that’s who! He happens to be representing the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund.

Big kudos to Gaiman, who has the strength and the courage to speak out against such violations like these and for supporting someone who’s probably being trialled for all the wrong reasons. Yes, children and youth needs to be protected, but unless this guy actually did molest children and copied the acts he learned from these mangas, by owning such obscene mangas doesn’t automatically make him a “bad” person.

I will admit that I love my yaoi mangas. This news frightens me in ways that shouldn’t be possible. This kind of news makes me realize just how oppressive the world can be on individual freedom. I understand the reasoning for having these obscenity laws. I work with children and youth, so I understand completely! But should they be applied to comics? To literature? To arts?

Tags: comic book legal defence fund, iowa, lolicon, manga, neil gaiman, obscenity law, united states, yaoi

I’m impressed. Not only is Obama’s new economic committee head advisor a Korean-American, but the advisor’s a woman. WOO HOO. That just added double kudos in my book. Added to that is the fact that she’s only forty years old. Hah! Sometimes age is nothing but a number. Who says you need to be anciently old to know how to get the job done? Well, providing she does get the job done, I hope she’ll do a fine job with her new position.
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Tags: audrey choi, barack obama, choi sook nyul, east germany, fulbright scholarship, harvard, korean-american, pyongnyang, united states, wall street journal, west germany, white house fellows

Thai Title: Rung tua thii paet khawng khwaam rak
International English Title: Rainbow Boys: The Movie
US DVD Title: Right by Me
Regarding the image to the left, the boys are listed as follow (from left to right) - Ek, Tat, and Nat.

Premise: Based off of Alex Sanchez’s young adult fiction, Rainbow Boys, which is about three high school boys who have their own love triangle going on, are coming of age with their transition into adulthood and their sexual orientations, and go through other difficult issues like parental abuse and homophobic abuse.

In this Thai film, it’s pretty much the same thing, except replace high school with college, and obviously replace the American setting with a very Thai one. Tat (Jackie) and Nat (Pimpong Isarasena na Ayudhya) are best friends and polar opposites from one another except for their sexual orientations. Nat’s effeminate and out of the closet while Tat’s more studious and not out of the closet, especially towards his parents. Nat likes Tat. Tat, however, likes the basketball star, Ek (Palat Ananwattanasiri), who is supposedly straight, with a girlfriend, but that’s all pretty much questioned when Tat and Nat sees Ek at a gathering for gay youth. Later, Tat tutors Ek in math, Tat comes out to his parents, Tat helps Ek through his sexual identity crisis, and Nat comes to his own terms with his own life.
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Tags: alex sanchez, film, glbt, jackie, palat ananwattanasiri, pimpong isarasena na ayudhya, romance, thai, thailand, united states

While it may be presumptuous to say that I am 100% bilingual, it is safe to say that I am bilingual, only not 100%. Unlike a lot of my peers who had mixed families, where one of the parents was Korean, I was lucky enough to have a mother who spoke her native language to me 95% of the time. Of course, I’m sure living in Korea gave me an advantage over my peers who lived in the states for the most part, but I’m thinking about the ones who have lived here most of the time instead.

It’s funny. At work, my Korean ahjumma co-workers keep praising me at how I’m so lucky to speak English and Korean well. Even the other day, when I went to do my hair, I was a translator for my friend, and the stylist told me that he’s jealous that I am fortunate to speak both languages. Even my mother, gets praises from her peers, saying that she’s lucky to have a daughter who speaks Korean and English instead of just the latter. I admit, being bilingual really is a useful skill, but I will admit that my Korean’s pretty weak. Sure, I can speak, read, and write Hangeul, but my speaking skills are at the level of an eight-year old, and my reading and writing skills are of those belonging to a seven-year old.
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Tags: ahjumma, bilingual, discrimination, hangeul, hangukuh, language, south korea, united states

To say that I have never driven in Seoul, South Korea is a lie. To say that I have driven on the US military bases in Seoul, South Korea is the truth. However, to say that I have never driven on South Korean soil is the truth. Confused? Bottom line: I have yet to drive outside of the US military bases in Seoul or anywhere in South Korea. Why? Here’s why:

1) Public transportation is cheap and effective.
2) I live near the base so I can easily walk to and from there.
3) I think I’d rather jump off of the Seoul Tower before even attempting to drive in the dreaded traffic.
4) I usually do not go anywhere far to need a car.
5) I have a personal chauffeur by the name of Daddy, and I’ll take advantage of that as long as I can.
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Tags: han river, military, seoul, seoul tower, south korea, traffic, transportation, united states

Ningin has always had a lot of visitors from South Korea and other Asian countries. We’re quite proud of that actually because it means we’re transcending national and cultural boundaries. It doesn’t matter who or where you are, if you’re interested in Asian media, we’re happy to have you here! So to better serve our international members (and really everyone in general) allow me to introduce Tara Popp, our newest blogger from South Korea:

차렷, 경래, 안녕하세요! (Cha-lyut, gyung-lae, ahnyoung-ha-sae-yo! = Attention! Bow and say hello!) Well that is one way to say hello in South Korea, especially at an institute, I suppose.
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Tags: camp zama, citizen, japan, kanagawa, military, seoul, south korea, tara popp, united states