[KS] Bloggers in/on Korea: which ones are any good?

[Afostercarter at aol.com]

Dear List-comrades,

Another question. I'm new to the world of Korean blogs.
Amid all the rant and dross, which ones are any good?

I only really began to explore these thanks to NKZone,
http://nkzone.typepad.com/nkzone
which calls itself a blog - much too modestly, for what is
in fact an indispensable scholarly resource on current events
in and pertaining to North Korea.

Rebecca MacKinnon, NKZone's onlie begetter, helpfully
provides a list of Korea bloggers (right sidebar of front page,
in among many other NK-related links). One of those thus linked to
is itself a very long list of Korea blogs in English: see
http://korea.banoffeepie.com/

Trouble is, it takes forever to wade through all this.
Worse, too much of it is trivial, ephemeral, narcissistic, angry,
prejudiced, axe-grinding, vulgar, polemical, and generally wearying.
(I suppose that people who have the time and urge to indulge in this
sort of thing may not always be motivated by sweet reason alone.)

Though I'm not averse to a bit of polemic myself, even the better blogs
often emit more heat than light. Enough of sound and fury, already!
Too many are written by white male North American expats, who sound
as if they've had it up to here with Korea and need to get it off their 
chests.

Conversely: among the famously Web-savvy but largely inward-focussed
South Korean netizenry, are there not any who see the value of keeping a blog
to explain the Korean viewpoint(s) better to the world, in the global 
language?

In principle, blogs can be a valuable and vital resource. Could anyone
who has dug deeper kindly recommend any that are really good?
- whether as resources, or in maintaining scholarly standards of debate.

Here's one, to start the ball rolling. (Thanks to Anne Berkeley for the 
link.)
Antti Leppänen is a Finnish cultural anthropologist. His blogsite not only
contains valuable information on Korean society and social policy, but 
also patiently debates with the likes of the Hankyore and other 
"progressives"
on issues such as the true meaning of social democracy. See:
http://hunjang.blogspot.com/

Kind regards to one and all,
Aidan FC

AIDAN FOSTER-CARTER
Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University 

17 Birklands Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 3BY, UK 
tel:    +44(0)  1274  588586             mobile:  +44(0)  7970  741307 
 fax:   +44(0)  1274  773663             ISDN:   +44(0)   1274 589280
Email: afostercarter at aol.com               website:  www.aidanfc.net







I mean: are of academic interest, use scholarly
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