Bonus Episode!
My ATINY friend, Ru, and I reminisce about our trip to Coachella to see the first kpop boy group to play there, ATEEZ! We discuss our planning, our adventures in surviving people who don't know how to mosh, ATEEZ's career and their set on Weekend 1.
We then go off on a tangent about ATEEZ's Towards the Light: Will to Power tour stop in NYC at Citi Field and our thoughts on Seonghwa's emotional ment.
Then we get back on track about Coachella and contemplate whether we would ever go back again.
TIMESTAMPS:
-00:00:00-00:18:35 Intro, Basic info about Coachella, Background on ATEEZ
-00:18:36-00:53:00-Coachella festival and planning
-00:53:01-00:58:39 -Day 1 of Coachella
-00:58:40-01:16:54- Content warning: Near crowd crush experience
-01:17:00-01:19:18 - Coachella weather
-01:19:19-01:36:46 - ATEEZ's set on weekend 1
-01:36:47-01:47:13 - Towards the Light in New York Citi Field and reaction to Seonghwa's ment
-01:47:14-01:51:18 - After ATEEZ's set
-01:51:19-01:54:18- Is ATEEZ behind us right now?
-01:54:19-01:59:33 - Coachella Day 2 and Day 3 impressions (FLO, Taking Back Sunday, Tiger JK, Yoon Mirae, Bibi, Jackson Wang, Atarashi Gakko, Yoasobi, Number i, the Rose, and more)
-01:59:34-end - Conclusion and would we go to Coachella again
LINKS:
Season 6 Episode 6
We look at the latest news surrounding Korean inter-country adoption, including the preliminary findings from Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission is investigating whether certain Korean inter-country adoptions were handled appropriately in response to questions filed by Korean adoptees.
LINKS:
South Korea's Adoption Reckoning (full documentary) | FRONTLINE + AssociatedPress [YouTube]
South Korea reveals new evidence of ‘violent and systemic’ forced adoption abroad [Guardian]
South Korean truth commission says it found more evidence of forced adoptions in the 1980s [AP]
Adoptees from Korea left ‘stateless’, and searching for their roots [Hankyoreh]
Almost 10% of Korean adoptees may be stateless [The Korea Herald]
South Korean adoption fraud rocks Denmark as victims demand answers [Daily Sabah]
“We have a right to know our history”: Fraudulent records keep Korean adoptees from the truth [Hankyoreh]
All records must be unsealed for Korean adoptees who want it, argue experts [Hankyoreh]
Korean truth commission to investigate hundreds of possibly fraudulent overseas adoptions [Hankyoreh]
Adoption agency found liable for human rights abuses for first time in S. Korea [Hankyoreh]
Adam Crapser’s Bizarre Deportation Odyssey [The New York Times Magazine]
Adam Crapser vs. Republic of Korea [The Korea Times]
South Korea grants extension to truth commission as investigators examine foreign adoption cases [AP]
Seoul Searching [ABC]
Representatives Smith and Bacon and Senators Hirono and Collins Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Close Loophole and Grant Citizenship to International Adoptees [AdamSmith.house.gov]
Congress Introduces the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024 [Adoptees United]
FAQ: Child Citizenship Act of 2000 [travel.state.gov]
Adam Crapser: Adoption to Deportation to living in Mexico [YouTube]
International adoption leads to family health mysteries for Minnesotans [Sahan Journal]
Season 6 Episode 5
We cover the book Many Lives Intertwined by Hyun Sook Han
Mrs. Han was a strong-willed, very honest social worker in both Korea and the United States as well as an adoptive mother.
We will learn more about the Korean adoption process in the 1950s-1960s, including the adoption of mixed race Korean children, from the social worker perspective.
LINKS
Hyun Sook Han, Korean Social Worker and Adoption Pioneer, Dies at 83 [New York Times]
Season 6 Episode 4
We cover the book A WAR BORN FAMILY: African American Adoption in the Wake of the Korean War by Kori A. Graves
Dr. Graves explores the unique issues surrounding the adoption of Korean Black mixed race children during 1950s-60s from Korea to African American adoptive parents in pre-Civil Rights Era United States.
We also take a brief look at the story of Milton Washington. Check out the links below!
LINKS:
Dr Kori A Graves Biography [Rutgers]
A War Born Family - [NYU Press]
World’s Largest ‘Baby Exporter’ Confronts Its Painful Past [New York Times]
Jim Crow Laws [History. Com]
Occupational Segregation in America [Center for American Progress]
Lives Less Ordinary -Black, Korean, stateless: A Slickyboy’s American dream, part 1 [BBC]
Lives Less Ordinary - Black, Korean, stateless: a Slickyboy’s American dream, part 2 [BBC]
Adapted Podcast - podcast about Korean adoptees
Kori Graves on Black Korean Adoptees - [Time To Say Goodbye Podcast]
Season 6 Episode 3
In this episode, we discuss the book Palimpsest: Documents From a Korean Adoption by Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom.
Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom is a Korean-Swedish adoptee who discovers some shocking truths about the circumstances surrounding her adoption.
We explore some of the secrets of the Korean intercountry adoption and learn about why some adoptees and adoptee advocates are accusing the South Korean government and the government of the country they were raised in of not enough oversight over South Korean adoption practices of the late 20th century.
LINKS:
Legally 'orphaned' to be adopted transnationally [The Korea Times]
Paper orphans [CBC]
Dutch gov't broke law by destroying adoption files: Inspectorate [NL Times]
South Korea’s truth commission to probe foreign adoptions [AP]
When her mother came to see her, Holt lied and said she’d already been adopted [Hankyoreh]
‘Korea is hiding our past’: the adoptees searching for their families – and the truth [Guardian]
Season 6 Episode 2
We discuss the book From Orphan to Adoptee: US Empire and Genealogies of Korean Adoption by SooJin Pate
This book gives some background on how Korea came to be one of the countries to adopted out the most children to other countries. Learn about how the US government and Americans played a big part in this practice, which continues to this day. There is so much more to this book than discussed here, but hopefully you can some small additional insight into the early days of Korea inter-country adoption.
LINKS:
The Janchi Show - 004 // SooJin Pate + Choco-Pies! [The Janchi Show]
Paper Orphans [CBC]
Christianity and Korea - How did the religion become so apparently prevalent in South Korea? [The Diplomat]
Season 6 Episode 1
This season will be about Adoption from Korea.
In this first episode, we discuss the book ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW: A MEMOIR by Nicole Chung.
We are joined by special guest and Korean American adoptee, Kim!
LINKS:
Bonus Episode with Teeny and JoJo where we talk about our experience at KCON LA 2023!
Find out what ticketing was like, what interacting with artists was like, whether anyone actually experienced a black ocean, and how we dealt with natural disasters during a major Kpop convention!
Presenting Idol Book Club: A Little Bit Biased - a spinoff of our Idol Book Club series!
This time, instead of focusing on books read by kpop idols, my friend, Ash, and I explore the act of being a fan through reading a Japanese book about a Jpop fan, IDOL, BURNING by Rin Usami.
LINKS:
For this bonus episode, I give you my initial impressions and first reaction to the book Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS by BTS and Myeongseok Kang.
I have some thoughts about the structure of the book, a few random bones to pick with some of the topics, some newer things I learned, and what I see as parallels between The Beatles and BTS!
Season 5 Episode 2
In our second episode about the book Flowers of Fire by Hawon Jung, we explore how the bodies of women and girls were used to build up the nation of South Korea.
The government needed the physical labor in the form of factory girls to help gain economic strength, which helped usher in the "Miracle on the Han River."
Comfort women were used not only during WWII, but after, as well, and it was the government who oversaw the system of comfort women working in camptowns.
The government also needed women to give birth to babies, yet also controlled reproductive health access for women in more recent years.
Mature themes will be discussed in this episode.
Links:
Blood, puss and pitiful pay: Why Korean factory workers are calling it quits [Hankyoreh]
A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers [The New York Times]
After 40 years in US camptown sex trade, S. Korean woman rejoices in court victory [Hankyoreh]
Koreans & Camptowns: Reflections of a Mixed-Race Korean [Korean American Story.org]
Polish Women Hold 'Black Monday' Strike To Protest Proposed Abortion Ban [NPR]
Korea decriminalized abortion, but has anything actually changed? [Korean JoongAng Daily]
Not illegal but not legal: The murky landscape of abortion in Korea [The Korea Herald]
Season 5 Episode 1 - CONTENT NOTE: Discussions of sexual harrassment and assault
This season we discuss the book Flowers of Fire by Hawon Jung
Episode 1 is about the #MeToo cases in Korea of Seo Ji Hyun and Kim Ji Eun.
We also discuss the concepts of Hoesik and Flower Snakes.
Links:
Hawon Jung: Bio [BenBella Books]
KBS World Interview w/ Author Hawon Jung [KBS World]
4 women testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial that they were sexually abused. Here’s what they said [CNN]
Seo Ji-hyun, The South Korean Prosecutor Who Spoke Up & Sparked The Country's MeToo Movement | TIME [YouTube]
Female prosecutor opens up about sexual harassment [The Korea Herald]
'Hoesik' can help blow off steam, or spark unfortunate events [The Korea Herald]
As South Korean government proposes flexible overtime rules, some fear workers may suffer [Reuters]
This country wanted a 69-hour workweek. Millennials and Generation Z had other ideas [CNN]
In the throes of South Korea’s #MeToo, it’s “very hard to speak up” [Mic]
More women coming forward with stories of sexual abuse following Seo Ji-hyun’s allegations [Hankyoreh]
#MeToo: South Korea gives more jail time to harassers [USA Today]
How #MeToo movement is pushing for revision of South Korea’s defamation law [The Korea Herald]
One of the representative kpop groups of the Hallyu Wave, Super Junior, had a documentary come out about them called Super Junior: The Last Man Standing! In this bonus episode, my friend, Ash, and I recap and talk about our impressions of the documentary as well as some of our own personal memories.
My friend Emma and I discuss my recent experience at an ATEEZ fansign! Not only do we go into entering both video call fansigns and in-person fansigns, but we discuss meeting celebs in general and how the year 2019 in kpop really shook my faith in celebrities.
Some quick corrections from the episode: I say "area code" when I meant to say "country code." The country code for Korea is +82, not +88.
Also, I mention "Backstaging" Broadway shows, but the I think the term I meant to use was "Stage dooring."
My new instagram is @kpopbookshelf !
Our second Idol Book Club pick is I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee!
This book was read by RM from BTS, who is my cousin Teeny's ultimate bias!
Teeny and I discuss our thoughts on this breakout bestselling book about mental health. We reference an interview with the author, Baek Sehee, done by the Korea Society, which you can check out here.
If you're finally about to attend your first kpop concert, but you have some questions and don't know what to expect, check out this episode! My cousins and I will be answering questions about kpop concerts from first time kpop concert goers that I saw on the internet!
JoJo and Teeny (no relation to Atiny), will join me in sharing some information, advice, and impressions of our time at the ATEEZ Break the Wall concert in November 2022.
Please note that we are just providing some friendly advice and opinions, but we are not kpop concert experts, nor do you have to take any of our advice if you don't want to!
For more tips/tricks on concert planning, you can also check out the episode where I discuss our experience at BTS Permission to Dance Las Vegas here.
Today's Idol Book Club pick was recommended by kpop idols RM and Suga of BTS!
Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
Our guest is Jess from ATC Presents: Daebak K Rambles Podcast! Find her @atcdaebakpod on Instagram and Twitter.
Listen to the end to find out who we would cast in a fantasy casting of a K drama version of this book (to date, we don't know if there will be a K drama based on this book!).
ABOUT THE BOOK & AUTHOR
SCHOOL BULLYING IN KOREA
ALEXITHYMIA
Ever wanted to read a book you saw your idol reading? Ever wanted to join a low-pressure book club? Now you can join me with a new sub-podcast, Idol Book Club with KPop Bookshelf!
Find out which book we'll be reading and who recommended it by listening to this episode!
Next month, I'll be joined by Jess from ATC Presents Daebak K Rambles podcast and we'll discuss the book!
Idol Book Club episodes will be posted periodically during KPop Bookshelf's hiatus (hiatus needed for reading purposes).
Join our discussion on my instagram when the discussion episode drops!
Buy the book or check it out from your local library.
Season 4 Episode 5
Radhika and K^2 from the Gogo Gayo! Podcast join us to discuss the book STRAIGHT KOREAN FEMALE FANS AND THEIR GAY FANTASIES by Jungmin Kwon.
Whether or not a K-pop idol is actually gay, there is no shortage of fan content where they are imagined to be gay, and many straight women love this! Be it fan fiction, fan art, fan service, or eyebrow-raising choreo, straight women love to consume queer or queer-coded content when it comes to their idols!
LINKS:
S4E4
We discuss the book FLIP THE SCRIPT by Lyla Lee, which features a bisexual main character who is also a K-Drama actress! Does it get any better?
We also consider the increasing amounts of queer K content in Korean media, and casting k-pop idols in BL (Boys' Love) K-Dramas.
[LINKS]