Copyright infringement. Intellectual property rights. In a sentence? They don't exist. Koreans have historically done an exceptional job at innovation. Throughout the well-documented portion of Korea's ancient history lies a common theme: Koreans can do it, and they can do it better than you. Let's take a look at the first portion of that theme. This train of thought can be likened to America's "inalienable rights" creed. We feel that things like religion and self-expression are rights that no one entity owns - therefore we take personal ownership of our own religion and thoughts. I feel that it is one aspect that makes Americans so individualistic. This "nobody owns that right" thought can be applied to innovation for Koreans.... Show more

Thanks everyone who commented on my previous post, I really enjoyed hearing about what you guys like ^^ I've talked about him before some time ago, but today this post is going to be about 비 again, because he's just released his 5집 and although I know a few of you don't like him, I'm a big fan and really happy! It's been 2 years, almost to the day, since he last released an album, which was his 4집 Rain's World, with singles like I'm Coming, 내가 누웠던 침대 (In My Bed) and With U. In the 2 years since then, 비's gone through a lot of changes in his career. He attempted a world tour that was mostly cancelled due to bad management, and when his contract with JYP Entertainment expired he chose to not ignore it - something that recieved a lot of... Show more

Korean Dramas. They're here. Get used to them. These television shows are comparable to primetime television programming in America (think Grey's Anatomy or Heroes). These Korean series bear little resemblance to what we refer to as "daytime" television. The production format is closer to a "miniseries" (think Band of Brothers or Lonesome Dove). However, when westerners hear the term "K-drama" or "soap opera" we instantly think of cheesy dialogue, unnecessarily long pauses, overacting, unrealistically overdone characters, and untimely bizarre deaths (think General Hospital or The Young and the Restless or your dramatic cousin on your dad's side). While the Korean equivalents certainly share some of the surface level similarities,... Show more

I sat my linguistics exam yesterday. THANK GOD THAT IT'S OVER. I don't know a single person on that course who enjoyed it in the end, no matter how enthuisastic they started out. I just hope that I've passed, fingers crossed! Now I have 2 weeks worth of Romanticism history to catch up on ... *dies* I just have to keep on reminding myself that all of this is so that I can go study Korean in my dream university. Today, instead of talking about the music that I like, I wanted to ask, what music do you like? How did you start listening to Korean music? What are some of your favourite artists, or favourite songs? Do you listen to Korean music more than the music of your own country or another country? I'm always very interested to see what... Show more

Swimming Safety. Koreans have had a long affair with swimming. Korea is a peninsular country surrounded by water so naturally, Koreans have been swimming for recreation for some time. However, danger lurks in those calming waters...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's set the stage. In America, typically we teach our children to do three things as soon as possible: feed themselves, ride a bike, and swim. Don't get me wrong - we don't throw kids in the pool and hope they resurface eventually. Traditionally though, whenever a family goes swimming the toddler goes in the pool while the adult teaches the child how to swim. Little by little, once the child gains confidence, we typically encourage him or her to swim relatively unassisted... Show more