Identity
Gender, feminism, adoption, LGBT issues, Korean identity and more
These Aren't Random Objects. They're Hidden Cameras
Roll camera: a gleaming white basin inside a cubicle, an amber-tinted tile floor. Two seconds in, a young woman with a bob walks in, wearing brown leather platform boots. She turns around, raises her black leather skirt, pulls down her underwear, then squats. It takes about two minutes for her
It Was Just Our Body. It Was Just Underwear
Editor’s Note: In July, online media outlet Dotface uploaded an interview with an elementary school teacher, titled “My Teacher is a Feminist.” In the interview, the teacher said, “Have you seen the schoolyards at elementary schools? They don’t belong to girls. Those that play soccer and run are
The End of DACA: Is South Korea Ready for a Wave of Deportees?
Update (Sep. 15, 2017): Since this piece was published, reports have surfaced that Donald Trump is close to sealing a deal with congressional Democrats to write DACA into law in exchange for increased border security funding. There are different interpretations of what this means, and uncertainty over the future of
Alpabet or Alphabet? The Case for a New Hangeul
“I heard from the horse’s mouth it’s the most scientific alphabet in the world,” I once overheard a South Korean student say as he showed a Westerner a display on Hangeul, Korea’s indigenous alphabet, at the National Museum of Korea. Get over it, I thought, annoyed at
Where Are All the Women in South Korea's Democracy Protests?
Moon Young-me was one of the five million South Koreans estimated to have come out onto the streets in June 1987. She was bare-faced, wearing no makeup or fancy clothing. That was the norm for the student protest culture at the time. She was a 21-year-old history major, a transfer
KÉ Interview: Singing Against Homophobia
In the middle of Unnie Choir’s last number, Enan Ahn started to cry. She was one of the fifteen women singing “Into the New World,” a 2007 single by K-pop group Girls’ Generation. The lyrics were admittedly corny — “there’s no use in waiting for a miracle, it’
The Enemy Is Within Our Ranks
Two narratives generally dominate the portrayal of South Korea’s most important holidays, Chuseok (the Autumn Harvest) and Seollal (the Lunar New Year), which was just last week. There’s the happy narrative: Extended families get together to celebrate over traditional home-cooked Korean dishes; smiling celebrities in hanbok promote the