Korean Gender Reader

(Source)

A poster for Papa (파파; 2012), a rare Korean movie about a genuinely multicultural family. For a review, see YAM Magazine here.

Announcements

— Actresses! The Gwangju Vagina Monologues 2013! The Search Begins (KoreaMaria)

— KUMFA is looking for three volunteers to babysit while moms are receiving barista training (Tales of Wonderlost)

— Seoul’s LGBT Film Festival is Traveling [to other cities]! (The Kimchi Queen)

— Women’s Self-defense Classes in Busan (Busan Haps)

— 2012 Manhwa Art Exhibition : The Colour of Change at Korean Cultural Centre UK (London Korea Links)

Body Image, Health

— Destination: BK Plastic Surgery Museum (Travel Wire Asia)

— KARA member Nicole’s serious diet regimen attracts attention (Allkpop)

— Embracing My Monolids: How I Learned To Work With What I’ve Got (Mochi Magazine)

— Seoul schools cracking down on students’ hair length (The Hankyoreh)

— Is consumer nationalism relevant today? (The Korea Herald)

— Why Barbie Stumbled in China and How She Could Re-invent Herself (Forbes)

— Pic of the day: A quick vocabulary lesson in Chinese fashion buzzwords (Ministry of Tofu)

Censorship, Media

— The ROK Government’s War on Porn (Idiots’ Collective)

Crime

— ‘5 million robbery, theft cases unreported in 2011’ (The Korea Times)

— Police searching for suspect after English teacher sexually assaulted by taxi driver in Gwangju (The Marmot’s Hole)

— Abusive father sentenced to prison (The Hankyoreh)

— Korea’s new recreational drug problem. The “milk shot.” (Korea Law Today)

Dating, Relationships, Marriage

— Dating Korean guy – the clash of prejudices (Loving Korean)

— For better luck in life and love, some Koreans change their names (The Korea Times)

— Four Lame Reasons Why Western Women Won’t Date Chinese Men (Speaking of China)

— ‘Asian Playboy’: You Know You Want to Be One (Radical Ramblings)

Education, Parenting, Demographics

— Korean mother trying to get her kid back after English teacher husband runs away to America with child (The Marmot’s Hole)

— Chinese think tank urges end to one-child policy (Asian Correspondent)

— Elderly Chinese coming down with the “urbanization blues” (Want China Times)

— A declining Japan loses its once-hopeful champions (The Washington Post)

— Asia’s Competition for Brides (Asia Sentinel)

— For Asians, School Tests Are Vital Steppingstones (The New York Times)

— The politics of ageing in South Korea (My Sinchew)

— Singer of mixed ethnicity founds school for multicultural children (The Hankyoreh)

— Should the Adoption Tax Cut be Renewed? (Tales of Wonderlost)

— Divorcing couples with children to get mandatory education (Korea Joongang Daily)

— 30 percent of SNU postgrads can’t study because of excessive tasks demanded by supervisors (Human Rights Monitor)

Economics, Politics, Workplaces, Ladygate

— Korean Male Union & Sexual Harassment 남성연대와 성희롱 (Korean Gender Cafe)

— Opaque, top-down system leaves some expats bitter (The Korea Herald)

— Koreans Don’t Want Male Nurses, Men Rejected from Nursing Schools (Human Rights Monitor)

— Issue of Temporary Workers a Hot Potato Topic (Human Rights Monitor)

— GM Korea commits to goal of 25% female workforce by 2015 (Korea Joongang Daily)

— Samsung now hires more women, underprivileged (Korea Joongang Daily)

— The Korean gender equality myth (Korea Joongang Daily)

— Despite facing some inequality, women worldwide rate their well-being nearly the same as men (Deseret News)

Gangnam Style

— Gangnam Style Is Now the Third Most Popular YouTube Video Ever. Here Are Numbers 1 and 2. (The Atlantic)

— China, South Korea: Gangnam Style in Chinese Universities (Global Voices)

— Gangnam jockeying for center of ‘hallyu’ tourism (The Korea Times)

— ‘Glee’ Goes ‘Gangnam Style’ (Korea Realtime)

— Why PSY? (Big Hominid’s Hairy Chasms)

— “Gangnam Style” creates tourism boom for Korea (Brand Republic)

— Gangnam Style exposes Seoul’s folly (FT)

— Riding the Korean Wave From ‘Gangnam Style’ To Global Recognition (Global Asia)

— Psy’s follow up song to “Gangnam Style” postponed (Allkpop)

LGBT, Sexuality

— Cops looking at Japanese websites on Korean prostitution (The Marmot’s Hole)

— Imbalance of Power and Rape in the Korean Gay Community (Korean Gender Cafe)

— [Special reportage- part III] Runaways’ prostitution (The Hankyoreh)

— [Special reportage- part IV] Runaways live with the pain of rape (The Hankyoreh)

— Gay Celebrity Tweets Halloween Party Photos, Netizens Argue (Korea BANG)

— One woman’s controversial campaign to legalize prostitution in China (The Economist)

— Coming out in the countryside (Seeing Red in China)

— Taiwan Gay Pride Draws Thousands Pushing For Same-Sex Marriage (The Huntington Post)

— The Most Influential LGBT Asian Icons (The Huntington Post)

Miscellaneous

— Rise of the Tiger Nation (The Wall Street Journal)

— UN body recommends alternative to military service (The Hankyoreh)

— Beautiful Defectors: An Exploration of South Korea’s “Now on My Way to Meet You” (Sino-NK)

— One in nine defector women work in tea houses, bars (The Marmot’s Hole)

— Tackling the Myth of the ‘Super-Asian’ (Scene Asia)

— Is Ladies’ Paradise (of consumerism) a Man’s Creation? (Korean Gender Cafe)

Pop Culture

— “No sluts allowed in dramaland?” Yoochun’s fans demand firing of his co-star (Dramabeans)

— Bad Girls Do It Well: Policing Korea’s Idols, Part I (Mixtapes and Liner Notes)

— TV Hosts Too Sexy For Morning Show, Netizens Disagree (Korea BANG)

— Cloud Atlas under fire for casting white actors in ‘yellowface’ makeup (The Guardian)

— 50 Shades of Racism: Cloud Atlas Yellowface (Asianaut)

— Variety As a Source of Controversy: What Gives? (Seoulbeats)

— How big is Iron Man 3’s “Fu Manchu” problem? (io9)

— What’s Happened to DSP Media? (Seoulbeats)

— NU’EST detained because of their fans (new levels of obsession unlocked!) (Enewsworld)

— K-pop and Escaping Real Life (Seoulbeats)

— With Suzy as JYP’s sole breadwinner, is JYP at risk of losing their ‘Big 3’ title? – Basically a Suz (Omona They Didnt!)

— Why Do You Like K-Pop? (The Atlantic Wire)

— The K-pop Formula: Cute or Sexy, Pick Your Poison (Seoulbeats)

— K-Pop Film Shortlisted for Amsterdam Docu Awards (The Chosun Ilbo)

— Solbi reveals how she proved it wasn’t her in alleged sex tape (Allkpop)

— Twitter: where idols publicize private matters (Angry K-pop Fan)

— On the T-Ara Scandal: Look out, kid, they keep it all hid (Frank Kogan)

— Cultural Appropriation in J-pop (J-Popping)

— Big in Japan: J-Pop, by Canadians (Scene Asia)

Social Problems

— Half a million disabled suffer for 12 hours a day (The Hankyoreh)

— Three Teenage Girls Jump to Their Death in Busan (Busan Haps)

— Experts call for overhaul of system to assist the disabled (The Hankyoreh)

— South Korea: Need to show more commitment to improve its human rights record (Human Rights Monitor)

— Revised rules restrict migrant workers’ rights to choose jobs (The Hankyoreh)

— Hospital banned from providing free medical care to the poor (The Hankyoreh)

(Links are not necessarily endorsements)