<html><div style='background-color:'><P class=RTE><FONT size=2>To: Aidan Foster-Carter</FONT></P>
<P class=RTE><FONT size=2>From: Michael Anderson </FONT></P>
<DIV class=RTE><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=RTE><FONT size=2>You might remember me from an e-mail exchange (hint, I'm an editor at a news agency in Seoul). I promised myself I'd leave you professors alone, but I subscribe to the mailing list and have some recommendations for you.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=RTE><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=RTE><FONT size=2>The futility of your appeal to an agenda-less weblog aside, this one: </FONT><A href="http://oranckay.net/blog/"><FONT size=2>http://oranckay.net/blog/</FONT></A><FONT size=2> and this one: </FONT><A href="http://blog.marmot.cc/"><FONT size=2>http://blog.marmot.cc/</FONT></A><FONT size=2> are written by long-time Korean residents who both seem fluent in Korean and, while a bit "polemical" at times, are impressive for keeping up on curent affairs. Also, </FONT><A href="http://kimcheegi.blogs.com/budaechigae"><FONT size=2>http://<FONT color=#008000><STRONG>kimchee</STRONG>gi.<B>blogs</B>.com/budaechigae</A> </FONT><FONT color=#000000>is run by a soldier stationed here and is very interesting for military-related news. </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=RTE><FONT size=2>The others are all part of the anarchic flux that is the Internet, and even angry white men who live in Korea and write about it occasionally have insights, so they're worth perusing with the requisite grain of salt.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>>From: Afostercarter@aol.com
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: Korean Studies Discussion List <Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws>
<DIV></DIV>>To: Koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [KS] Bloggers in/on Korea: which ones are any good?
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 06:35:21 EDT
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Dear List-comrades,
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Another question. I'm new to the world of Korean blogs.
<DIV></DIV>>Amid all the rant and dross, which ones are any good?
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>I only really began to explore these thanks to NKZone,
<DIV></DIV>>http://nkzone.typepad.com/nkzone
<DIV></DIV>>which calls itself a blog - much too modestly, for what is
<DIV></DIV>>in fact an indispensable scholarly resource on current events
<DIV></DIV>>in and pertaining to North Korea.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Rebecca MacKinnon, NKZone's onlie begetter, helpfully
<DIV></DIV>>provides a list of Korea bloggers (right sidebar of front page,
<DIV></DIV>>in among many other NK-related links). One of those thus linked to
<DIV></DIV>>is itself a very long list of Korea blogs in English: see
<DIV></DIV>>http://korea.banoffeepie.com/
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Trouble is, it takes forever to wade through all this.
<DIV></DIV>>Worse, too much of it is trivial, ephemeral, narcissistic, angry,
<DIV></DIV>>prejudiced, axe-grinding, vulgar, polemical, and generally wearying.
<DIV></DIV>>(I suppose that people who have the time and urge to indulge in this
<DIV></DIV>>sort of thing may not always be motivated by sweet reason alone.)
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Though I'm not averse to a bit of polemic myself, even the better blogs
<DIV></DIV>>often emit more heat than light. Enough of sound and fury, already!
<DIV></DIV>>Too many are written by white male North American expats, who sound
<DIV></DIV>>as if they've had it up to here with Korea and need to get it off their
<DIV></DIV>>chests.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Conversely: among the famously Web-savvy but largely inward-focussed
<DIV></DIV>>South Korean netizenry, are there not any who see the value of keeping a blog
<DIV></DIV>>to explain the Korean viewpoint(s) better to the world, in the global
<DIV></DIV>>language?
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>In principle, blogs can be a valuable and vital resource. Could anyone
<DIV></DIV>>who has dug deeper kindly recommend any that are really good?
<DIV></DIV>>- whether as resources, or in maintaining scholarly standards of debate.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Here's one, to start the ball rolling. (Thanks to Anne Berkeley for the
<DIV></DIV>>link.)
<DIV></DIV>>Antti Lepp?en is a Finnish cultural anthropologist. His blogsite not only
<DIV></DIV>>contains valuable information on Korean society and social policy, but
<DIV></DIV>>also patiently debates with the likes of the Hankyore and other
<DIV></DIV>>"progressives"
<DIV></DIV>>on issues such as the true meaning of social democracy. See:
<DIV></DIV>>http://hunjang.blogspot.com/
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Kind regards to one and all,
<DIV></DIV>>Aidan FC
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>AIDAN FOSTER-CARTER
<DIV></DIV>>Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>17 Birklands Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 3BY, UK
<DIV></DIV>>tel: +44(0) 1274 588586 mobile: +44(0) 7970 741307
<DIV></DIV>> fax: +44(0) 1274 773663 ISDN: +44(0) 1274 589280
<DIV></DIV>>Email: afostercarter@aol.com website: www.aidanfc.net
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>I mean: are of academic interest, use scholarly
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