(Source)
Yes, my KTX tickets and hotel are all booked. Hope to see you at Gyeongbokgung Station (경복궁), exit 3, at 6pm tomorrow! :D
Announcements
— Korean Unwed Mothers Families’ Association looking for 10 volunteers to go on this year’s Chuseok camp to Yeoncheon (Tales of Wonderlost; see also What is KUMFA)
Body Image,Health
— Pandora by KARA: Appropriate for Playing on City Buses? (Alleyways)
— Hands, Hips, Legs and Butts: Girl Groups’ Dances (Seoulbeats)
— Beautiful Genes? But ‘Idol’ Looks Good On Everyone (Seoulbeats)
— G-Dragon receives attention for his womanly curves in “Crayon” MV (Allkpop; see also Occupied Territories)
Censorship, Media
— Does Secret Need To Change Their Choreography? (Seoulbeats; see also What’s Your Poison and SB Exchange #25: It’s Secret Time)
— Sadism, incest, bestiality, oh my! (The Marmot’s Hole; see also The Herald Voice on Facebook)
— Regulation of Users Required to Use Real Name Online Abolished (Human Rights Monitor)
— New Regulations on Downloading Porn Confuse Netizens (Korea BANG)
Crime
— More sex offenders to be chemically castrated (The Hankyoreh)
— Sexual Assault Against Children (Human Rights Monitor)
— Random Stabbings in Seoul Brings Social Instability (Human Rights Monitor)
— So, did banning prostitution lead to increase in sex crimes? (The Marmot’s Hole)
— Sex Criminal Escapes from Jail In Daegu (ROK Drop)
— Amy Arrested for Illegally Using Propofol (Omona They Didn’t!)
— Foreign teacher sent to prison for molesting students (Gusts of Popular Feeling)
Dating, Relationships, Marriage
— Comparing Marriage in the Middle Ages and Korea’s Choson Dynasty: 서양의 중세 초기와 조선의 결혼비교 (Korean Gender Cafe)
— Craigslist ad (Dating in Korea)
— Guy Talk: I Date Outside My Race Because My Race Doesn’t Want To Date Me (The Frisky)
Education, Parenting, Demographics
— Tiger mothers in Singapore: The prime minister goes into battle against pushy parents (The Economist)
— Non-traditional families on the rise in South Korea (Asian Correspondent)
— Why the Korean School System Is Not Superior (New Politics)
— Korean-Australian woman finds she was falsely adopted (Tales of Wonderlost)
— Went to see 미쓰마마 (Bittersweet Joke), a documentary about unwed mothers in Korea (Tales of Wonderlost)
— Babies’ Lead Levels: Who knew baby-proofing could reach such heights? (Shotgun Adventures)
— Schools successfully experimenting with vegetarian meals (The Hankyoreh)
— Multicultural students jump 5-fold over past 6 years (The Korea Times)
Economics, Politics, Workplaces
— Mother’s Job Most Important Factor in Having 2nd Child (The Chosun Ilbo)
— Mistreatment of Part-time Workers (Human Rights Monitor)
— Nobody Told Asia About “The End of Men”: Mara Hvistendahl takes on Hanna Rosin (Foreign Policy)
— Directing all my rage at Slate’s logrolling of “The End of Men” (Feminéma)
— The-End-of-Men-Richer-Sex Reality Check #6 (Sociological Images)
— What is Violence in the Workplace? 2-Page Guide Translated into Korean (Worksafe BC; PDF)
LGBT, Sexuality
— Reading List: Korean Lesbians and Heteronormativity: From the Experiences of Six South Korean Lesbians (The Kimchi Queen)
— Queer Offerings at the Busan International Film Festival (The Kimchi Queen)
— Survey: Japanese school girls having less sex (Asian Correspondent)
— South Korean host bars – for women (BBC)
— What is a Room Salon? (Korea Law Today)
— S Korea transgender show scrapped after protests (The Hong Kong Standard; Korea Joongang Daily)
Pop Culture
— Koreans Have No Idea Why Americans Love Psy But They Can Learn From It (Asian Junkie)
— Commentary: Psy and the Acceptable Asian Man (Init_Music)
— Viral Video Gets North Korean Propaganda Treatment (The New York Times)
— Korean wave and the Gangnam style (ABC Radio Australia; radio program)
— Graphic: Number of views of K-pop Videos on Youtube, 2011 (SERI World)
— An Ode to the Stellar Females in Variety (Seoulbeats)
— Why have Korean dramas eclipsed even Mexican or Latin American serials and long-running American soaps? (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
— Review: Wayfarer: New Fiction By Korean Women (Korean Modern Literature in Translation)
Social Problems
— The Truth Behind Students’ Suicide (Human Rights Monitor)
— September Issue: Opening the Dialogue on Suicide (KoreAm)
— Runaways flee abuse at home, end up in prostitution (The Hankyoreh)
— South Korea: Golden Lion Winner ‘Pieta’ Reveals Society’s Dark Side (Global Voices)
(Links are not necessarily endorsements)
The Grand Narrative 
Holy crap, is that G-Dragon’s real butt?!
LikeLike
Sorry no, it’s one of his (female) back-up dancers:
Q) Was the short skirt one of the outfits that you’ve always wanted to wear? (laugh)
A) I purposely wore that to look funny. I was trying to direct the music video with some comic scenes, from a Pinocchio to a lady. But the back shot is not me. I don’t know why it got so controversial. That’s one of my backup dancers. I’m telling you again, that’s not me! (laugh)
LikeLike
I’m glad to hear you’re coming to Seoul, but sad I won’t be able to go to the meet up as my family is here visiting. Have a great stay!
LikeLike
Thanks, and I did!
LikeLike
Don’t know if it’s worth a link — I’m moving into Yonsei campus this week (or rather on Monday) and browsing the newest edition of the English language student paper I came across this – “A Different Color of Sexual Identity” http://annals.yonsei.ac.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1248.
I don’t know if the survey they quoted is recent or not, but there are some interesting figures. (87% ‘accept homosexuality’, 58% support same-sex marriage, 42% gay adoption).
LikeLike
Oh, it definitely is! Thanks.
I had no idea you were in Korea by the way. Or are you just arriving with your move to Yonsei?
LikeLike
Just arriving now. Hope to stay here until next summer, with a break.
LikeLike