Korea’s “First Room Salon”
A history lecturer is scandalized for saying that Korea's historical heroes visited a room salon. Not the same one as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
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In Search of Koreans in Cuba: A Tale of Jeronimo Lim
On a vacation to Cuba, I did not expect to be picked up by a granddaughter of Jeronimo Lim, a Cuban Revolutionary who also happened to be Korean.
Beyond Infantilizing Portraits: South Korean Adoptees Speak Out
Adoptees are often pitied as victims, or told they are lucky. Korean adoptees living in South Korea challenge assumptions about who they are.
Haebangchon’s Forgotten Past: A Stairway, A Shrine and The War Dead
There’s a nondescript stairway on the outskirts of ‘the hip Haebangchon.’ The steps once led to a Shinto shrine for 7,000 spirits of Japan’s war dead.
The “Comfort Women Deal” between South Korea and Japan: Six Alternative Views
One doesn't have to be a nationalist to be alarmed that the deal between South Korea and Japan completely ignored the survivors and their 24-year campaign.
Halmeoni
Reminiscing of my halmeoni, whose memories inform who I am.
South Korea’s History Textbook Whitewash
By revising the history textbook, the government will whitewash the past to bolster the conservative cause at the expense of the education system and South Korea’s international reputation as a democracy.
When We Became Gangnam
They ruined once-beautiful Gangnam of my infancy, and Gangnam has ruined them in equally beautiful revenge.
Deconstructing the Dongdaemun Design Plaza
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza celebrates its first anniversary. But I cannot help but think of it as state-imposed plastic surgery on the face of Seoul.
Memories of Dictatorship from Not Long Ago
As someone who has experienced South Korea's history, I have deeply mixed feelings toward dictatorship. But I also feel ambivalent toward unfettered freedom.
History Guides the Future in South Korea’s Latest Blockbuster
A historian's commentary on the recent South Korean blockbuster "Ode to My Father" and its relevance to the modern-day Korea.
Admiral Conquers South Korean Cinema, Exposing Fissures in Politics
A movie about a revered historical admiral break records and leads to commentaries about politics in post-Sewol South Korea.