CedarBough T. Saeji
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thekpopprof.bsky.social
CedarBough T. Saeji
@thekpopprof.bsky.social
human- a professor of #Korean and East Asian Studies. Research on performing arts (traditional mask dance dramas, K-pop and hip-hop), media, museums, tourism... #kpop #kdramas 한/영. 합기도, cycling, food, coffee
Pinned
Do you want to find the best #books on #Korea? Well, I don't have time to read everything, but I do have some recommendations. These are, mostly, academic books. I don't read many mass market books on Korea, and when I do, I'm often annoyed with their facile shallow misunderstandings.
Evil people like this walking around looking totally effing normal. I'm not for capital punishment, but in this case a bit of facial branding might be appropriate. www.news1.kr/society/cour...
최대 텔레그램 성착취 '목사방 총책' 김녹완 1심 무기징역
"범행 수법 매우 잔혹·악랄…사회로부터 영구히 격리" 역대 최대 규모 텔레그램 성 착취방을 운영한 총책 김녹완(33)이 1심에서 무기징역을 선고받았다.서울중앙지법 형사합의26부(부장판사 이현경)는 24일 범죄단체 조 …
www.news1.kr
November 24, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
It is time for manga! Manga is a style of graphical storytelling that has its roots in Japan. But it is not just "a book". Manga, as Cohn 2010 mentioned in his article, can also be considered as a visual language. For example: Who understands the meaning of a bleeding nose?
#manga
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 AM
24 Nov 4pm PACIFIC
"Korean Folklore and Mythology in Tabletop RPGs: Minki Kim and Nine Heavens Press"
w. #KimMinki #WangSixiang #TimothyTangherlini
#gaming #RPG #Korea

Registration: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 AM
One of the cool things about my students is they are mini-experts on this and that. There's always a student in every class who watches/listens/plays/reads more extensively than me in whatever we're talking about for the day
The art in #manga is very distinct, with highly expressive visual style that often succeeded in emphasising emotion through panels and characters, making storytelling quick and relatively easy to grasp. Chapters in one manga volume are short which makes it more addictive for people to consume-
November 23, 2025 at 12:04 PM
어제하고 오늘 저는 한국 #무형문화유산 #공연 두 개 갔어요.
어제는 #수영지신밟기, #고성오광대, #수영야류 였고요.
오늘은 #기장오구굿 봤어요.

이 공연들 다 무료였고, 접근성도 좋은 곳이었어요.
( #수영사적공원 이랑 #구덕민속예술관 요.)

두 번째 장소는 길 지나가는 사람들 들리기엔 좀 멀리 있어서 소리가 안 닿을 수도 있지만…

#Busan
November 23, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
www.cbr.com/manga-indust...

I just read this article about work related injuries of #mangaArtists and it reminded me of the fan reactions I keep seeing when I read #Webtoons, because the moment an artist starts making the chapters shorter and immediately people start to complain in the comment +
The Manga Industry Needs to Stop Hurting Its Talent
The manga industry is full of incredible talent. Sadly, it also has a horrible habit of hurting that talent through stress.
www.cbr.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
AI is getting so good that people can’t even tell what’s real anymore. Images, stories, songs: all blending into this uncanny space where authenticity feels optional. And that’s the part that scares artists the most: not that #AI creates, but that audiences stop noticing who creates.
November 18, 2025 at 3:09 AM
This is an interesting development. In Korea where real people perform anonymously as virtual artists who only appear through the interface of technology, a court has ruled that insulting the avatar is the same as insulting the person who gives life to that avatar.
With the rising popularity of virtual idols, the issue of consent and boundaries of virtual figures arises. Since many "real" idols struggle with a huge amount of hate and different comments, just imagine how bad it can be when the audience does not see the artists as humans who have feelings.
November 19, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Really thoughtful thread on the nature of celebrity in #China.
In mainstream imagination, popular entertainment is usually seen as a light, apolitical space. However, Sullivan and Kehoe point out that, at least in China, celebrities are not simply cultural products. They are “symbolic assets” produced through institutional training and political discipline.
November 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
South Korea is one of the most sexist countries I have ever visited. But no one told me so before I left. Nobody in my relatives knows that Korea is something so different from Hallyu . That includes, of course, Kpop, food, video games and so on. I think that people who are obsessed with
November 13, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
The #Hongdaeguy “skits” aren’t just funny, they’re a snapshot of a culture where mocking, cornering, or embarrassing women gets brushed off as “content.”
People laugh. It trends. Women are left with the discomfort everyone else ignores.

vm.tiktok.com/ZNdKcv96T/
TikTok - Make Your Day
vm.tiktok.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Honestly, the easiest way to avoid trouble is just to not use #AI. The second easiest way is to use AI to help you brainstorm or help you reorganize something you've written but you're struggling to tame. #ChatGPT
November 14, 2025 at 10:01 AM
For most people there is only one 'c word' with a very specific meaning, but in my classes there are two other 'c words' I really try my hardest to convince students not to use. And yet....

Do you know what the 'c words' are the students should avoid?

#KoreanStudies #academia
November 14, 2025 at 6:52 AM
I just want to be able to spend like two hours concentrating on really evaluating new #music, but the end of the semester is so brutal due to my much-too-large classes (without TAs), and a mound of #grading to get through. I can't even keep up with the #ADOR developments. Adulting sucks.

#Academia
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
"China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
Here’s a gift link (no paywall) to the article, “Catholic bishops condemn ‘indiscriminate mass deportation’ in rare statement”:

wapo.st/448fDw6
November 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Recently I've been enjoying this artist, #Mushvenom #머쉬베놈 . Weird name, but fun music.
youtu.be/_cgH1Z4lBVw?...
머쉬베놈 (MUSHVENOM) - 날다람쥐 (Drop out hop in) Official MV
YouTube video by 머쉬베놈
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 5:31 AM
설문 조사 작성자들이 한국인 응답자를 더 긴급하게 찾고 있어요. 특히 공공기관이나 지역 단체에서 일하시는 분들이 필요하다고 해요. 혹시 그런 분들께 이 설문을 전달해 주실 수 있을까요? Unfortunately, it is only in English.

#disinformation
The survey will be open until 16 November 2025.
Survey and more information: anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Disrupting Disinformation Ecologies: Global Survey
This global survey focuses on initiatives to counter disinformation initiatives at the local level. Disinformation impacts many sectors, and many sectors are involved in localized responses. We invite...
anu.au1.qualtrics.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:15 AM
A thread wrestling with the thoughts stirred up by #YourNameEngravedHerein #gay #gayfilm #queer #1980s #Taiwan #ReligionandHomosexuality
It's time for Your Name Engraved Herein!!
This movie didn't just show me the struggles, friendships, memories and experiences of homosexual people in Taiwan in the late 1980s. It expressed and showed what a closeted life can lool like and what impact it can
#yournameengravedherein #taiwanesefilm
November 9, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
Last week I finished watching Your Name Engraved Herein and wow.. This movie broke my heart. #YourNameEngravedHerein #TaiwaneseFilm
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Got an amazing idea for a new research article and I just want to follow this idea and ignore the two revisions due back to the journals of articles I already wrote. #AcademicLife #AcademicProblems #AlsoGrading
November 8, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by CedarBough T. Saeji
The world would be immensely better if more religions and their believers had even a tenth of the dedication the Sikhs do to doing good for people with no gatekeeping or expectations of anything other than "you are a fellow human in need and we can help you"
Folks, if you are hungry, please contact your local Sikh gurdwara. Or just show up for langar, which most gurdwaras do several times a week, for a free meal. Lots also do weekly or monthly drives giving out groceries.

No conversion necessary. Feeding anyone who is hungry is a key part of Sikhism.
A lady on TikTok has been calling churches pretending to be a mother with a baby who needs formula and several churches turned her away. But wouldn’t you know that when she called a Mosque (Islamic Center of Charlotte) they immediately said yes.

[Source: www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMpoxsaW/ ]
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 AM
These students speak super fast, but they made English, German, and French subtitles. You might enjoy their analysis of #cute culture in #EastAsia #Japan #Korea #China
Can you leave them a thumbs up?

youtu.be/kw7ZKipvoqg?...
Weaponized cuteness : from control to creativity in East Asia
YouTube video by Friederike Wolf (Frieda)
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 6:53 AM