Gift-Giving and Bribery Culture in Korea Koreans are some of the most generously-giving people in the world. In particular, they enjoy giving gifts and helping each other when in trouble, especially financially. The extent of Korea's underground economy, whereby Koreans give, help, and ..
Curse of Koreas Regionalism Like many things in society, ``regionalism" is a two-edged sword: It gives each region its own unique brand and recognition that can be, and often is, used for its own fame and prosperity.
Is Korea Mecca of Cosmetic Surgery? One of the strangest things observant foreigners notice in Korea is how beautiful the movie and TV actresses are.
Can We Ever Understand Korea? In 1989, I published my first book on Korea, ``MARCHING ORDERS,'' Greenwood Press, in which I said of Korea: ``The military men who took over the country in a junta in 1961 and gave their fellow citizens marching orders were no less than founders ..
What Are The 10 Greatest Evils of Our Time? I am going to list what I believe to be the "10 greatest evils" of our time, both in Korea and in the U.S. Surprisingly, in these matters, Korea is an eager imitator of the U.S., more copiously in some areas than others. Let me try to explain :
Is Suicide Preventable? The issue of communal suicide is now in the Korean media as several groups have attempted or succeeded in carrying out a joint-suicide pacts. Reports are that Korea's suicide rate leads the OECD nations by a wide margin. There is much anguish and i..
Is TV Reality Creator or Reality Killer? Korea's infatuation with TV is quite alarming. Its moods, thoughts and action-decisions are virtually dictated through the TV medium. With this comes the danger of ``altered reality," now poised to take on Korea just as it has already invaded and..
Is Korea at Margin of World Culture? Of all the nations that aspire to be at the summit of the world, Korea is at the very front. Its effort to reach world-ranking is as touchingly obvious as it is ferociously determined.
Is English in Korea Only for Koreans? My continuing search to explain Korea's miserable English leads me to another one of the ironic reasons. Koreans learn and use English with other Koreans, not with English-speaking people. Among the thousands upon thousands of English words and phr..
Is Korean Language Scientific? One of the constant elements in the pride of Korean heritage is the reference to the Korean Language being the most-scientifically-superior among world languages. They point out the logical manner in which the system is constructed and the variety..
10 Things That Have Improved, 10 That Need Improvement We have been in Korea for 15 years now and somehow this milestone seems to demand some sort of cultural reckoning on Korea. Has Korea changed and improved much in that period? Yes and no. Here I am going to list the things, in my view, that have..
What Kind of Democracy Is This in Korea? Three events, one in the United States and two in Korea at the same time, have inspired me to raise the above question. The event in America is the news that comedian-turned-politician Al Franken has been declared the winner in a contested Senate r..
Lifestyles of Different Foreigners Here There are many foreigners in Korea. Because our lives center on exchanging our ideas and feelings with other English-speaking people in Korea, we tend to focus exclusively on those who use English as their main medium of expression. But who are t..
Koreas Emotion, Americas Psychology Looking at the way feelings are produced and expressed in Korea and in America leads me to conclude that the two, although going by the general rubric of ``feelings,'' are completely different. Risking over-generalization but compelled by the benef..
Korean Blood, Real and Imagined Truly advanced nations value more "modern" or even "post-modern" qualities in their social system and substance than referents to blood-connections. These nations encourage "functions," "roles," "institutions," "rules," "education," "diversity," "c..
Possibility Is Not Probability in Korea Korea is rapidly becoming a possibility society. Everywhere you turn, in the media and on billboards, and in the general push of society and culture, you find Korea's excitement about what is possible.
Why Do Customers Become Idiots? At virtually all department stores, you encounter a person or persons stationed at the entrance to the parking lot whose job is to bow to you as if you were the conquering hero or the master of a plantation returning to his mansion.
