Korean Gender Reader

A reminder that Busan’s first ever drag prom is happening tomorrow, with all proceeds going to charity. Please click on the image for the details, or here for the Facebook page. Hope to see you there!^^

Update: I’ve just been asked to also pass on the news that, on Sunday, celebrated author Krys Lee will be coming to the 10 Magazine Book Club meeting to discuss Drifting House, her internationally acclaimed debut collection of short stories (many of which deal with many issues prevalent in Korean society and recent Korean history). Held at 2pm in the Cafe Bene Book Cafe in Itaewon, see the Facebook page for the details.

Body Image/Health:

— Overheard in a Cafe: Korean-Koreans Lamenting Their Weight (Korean Bodega)

— Actress Lee Chae-young under fire for tweets degrading the overweight (Allkpop; Korea Bang)

— Korea has many beautiful people. Korea also has many wealthy cosmetic surgeons. (Alleyways; see here and srslsly also)

— Takeaway Trolling: Attack of the Midnight Snack (Korea Bang)

— A Tumblr of photoshopped blue-eyed K-pop idols? (My First Love Story; update)

Crime:

— Closure still not brought to allegedly abused Indonesian crews (The Hankyoreh)

— Suwon murderer sentenced to death (The Korea Times)

— Sexual Harassment on Korean Buses (I’m No Picasso)

Dating/Relationships/Marriage:

— 5 Famous, Inspiring Asian Men Who Also Married Non-Asian Women (Speaking of China)

— Facebook Group Shout-out: Western Girls Married to Korean Guys

— $60,000 Will Buy You a North Korean Wife (The Marmot’s Hole)

The English Spectrum Series at Gusts of Popular Feeling:

— Part 34: The rising tide of unqualified foreign instructors

— Part 35: Warrant for Canadian English instructor who molested hagwon owner

History:

— Picture of the Day: 1904 Gisaeng School In South Korea (ROK Drop)

— Parents of Girls Killed In 2002 USFK Armored Vehicle Accident React To the 10 Year Anniversary of the Tragedy (ROK Drop)

— The Camptown Prostitution Workshop (Hello Korea!)

— Photo: Feet of Chinese woman, bound, compared with tea cup and an American woman’s shoe (via Sociological Cinema)

— May, 1970: Juvenile Delinquency Up (Gusts of Popular Feeling)

— Picture of the Day: Korean Women In 1904 (ROK Drop)

— Defense Ministry finally admits thousands of child soldiers were drafted during Korean War (The Chosun Ilbo)

LGBT/Sexuality:

— Law on Contraceptive Pill Changes (Korea Bang; Kitty Kitty Korea)

— Sex, Anti-Korean Sentiment and Videotape (The Marmot’s Hole)

— Queer Comrades: Interview with Stijn Deklerck (YAM Magazine)

— Two Weddings and a Funeral: Interview with Kim Jho Kwang-soo (YAM Magazine)

— The Importance of Kim Jho Kwang-Soo (YAM Magazine)

— Male Homosexuality in the Japanese Media (YAM Magazine)

— Korea’s only openly gay comedian reveals split with boyfriend (K-Pop Express)

— Can Korea ever accept homosexuals? (Asia One News)

— China, Hong Kong: ‘Happy Ad’ for Student Abortions Ignites Debate (Global Voices)

— Oh my gay and lesbian K-pop Tumblrs (Occupied Territories; update/disclaimer)

— Bumper Year for Adult-Oriented Korean Movies (The Chosun Ilbo)

Misc:

— Meet fighter pilot Liu Yang, China’s first woman in space (io9)

— For Liu Yang, sexism is still the final frontier (Want China Times)

— ‘Sexy’ Mandarin language school slammed by Chinese feminists (The Telegraph)

— Guangdong TV apologizes for bikini hosts (China Daily USA)

— Why China Doesn’t Like Barbie, Best Buy or DIY (Daily Finance)

— Humor, tears on North Korean defector TV show (The Chicago Tribune; The Telegraph {automatic video})

(The worst and best G20 countries for women, Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Politics/Economics/Workplaces:

— Celebrity Suicides, Netizen Trolling, and the “Success” of the Real Name System (Gord Sellar)

— The Importance of Women for the Future of Korea (The Hankyoreh)

— Too early for a woman president: Lee Jae-oh (The Marmot’s Hole; The Wall Street Journal)

— Young Korean men will still have to choose between jail and the barracks (The Hankyoreh)

— Lady Business: When Men Are Condescending at Work (Bitch Magazine)

Pop Culture:

— Celebrity Suicides: An Unfortunate Trend (Seoulbeats)

— Understanding K-pop Fan Fiction (Angry K-pop Fan)

— Latest K-Pop Invasion: The Fans (The Wall Street Journal)

— Young At Heart: Debunking K-Pop’s Age Limit Myth (Seoulbeats)

— Far East Movement try to break Asian stereotypes with “Fetish” (MTVK; note that the music video automatically opens)

— Counterpoint: f(x) Still Has the Math Right (Seoulbeats)

— Opinion: Asian-American women pay price for lurid rumors about actress Zhang Ziyi (inAmerica)

— Making Sense of English phrases in K-pop songs (Angry K-pop Fan; see here and here also)

Pregnancy/Childbirth/Demographics/Parenting/Education/Multiculturalism:

— Multicultural Military ‘Inevitable’ (The Chosun Ilbo)

— Military Becomes More Multicultural (The Chosun Ilbo)

— On Shock and Awe in Intercultural Parenting (On Becoming a Good Korean {Feminist} Wife)

— Happy Father’s Day! 5 Most Famous Dads in Korean Entertainment! (Soompi)

— Korean society struggles to embrace multiculturalism (The Korea Herald)

— Sungkyunkwan University won’t accept bullies (The Korea Times)

— Korean Airlines Gaffe: Kenya’s “indigenous people full of primitive energy” (AlJazeera; see also The Marmot’s Hole)

— Word of the Day: Pinkerton Syndrome – and Korean Racism/Racialized Insecurity (The Unlikely Expat)

— Mongolian Kids in Korea (The Unlikely Expat)

— My Kid’s Not Cold; or The Possible Reason Korea Has the Lowest Birthrate in the World (Asia Pundits)

— Korean society aging fastest (The Korea Times)

(Links are not necessarily endorsements)