unhingedkorean

[unhingedkorean]

Bro what the FUCK is going on with my country. Yoon is probably getting impeached and that's 2 impeachments in less than 10 years.

But on the upside the unconfirmed allegations gave me a new pet conspiracy theory. I have to cope somehow.

[unhingedkorean]

fucking korean real estate

in most other places the "security deposit" is like 2-3 months worth of rent, but in South Korea, it's not uncommon for the deposit to exceed the rent for the entire duration of lease.

(Jeonse is another discussion, only talking about paying monthly rent situation)

for example, my rent is 650,000 KRW, so 7,800,000 for 12 months, but the deposit is 20,000,000. People usually get the full amount back, and they use it for the deposit for their next lease.

But when the landlord doesn't return the deposit for no fucking reason? Guess what, the lease isn't terminated because the deposit isn't returned and if you keep living in there, legally you have to pay rent. Nevermind that the only reason you live there is because he didn't return the deposit and you don't have the cash to put down a deposit elsewhere. If you just move out, your legal status as a tenant ceases and your priority as a creditor moves to the bottom of the list so you have to go through legal proceedings to hold the tenancy before you can move out and then you won't have to pay rent, but how am I gonna lease anywhere else when HE HAS MY DEPOSIT MONEY?

Like I landed a job in another city and I had to back out because I couldn't fucking move because the landlord won't give me my deposit back and he has the audacity to tell me legally I have to pay him rent when .

The landlord can literally extort rent out of you by holding your money hostage. Fucked up.

[unhingedkorean]

I've had Feelings about Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard since it was in the news but I didn't put together a coherent thought until now...

College admissions in the United States was based mostly on grades and test scores until circa early 20th century when they decided too many Jewish students were getting in. That's how "it's not just about the high scores; we want ~well-rounded~ students" stuff came to be. (I should mention that there were other, more explicit measures to discriminate against Jewish and other non-WASP students.)

Some marginalized people think they don't want affirmative action because they "don't want other people to think that they only got in because they're [insert marginalized identity]" and instead be acknowledged for their merits and that is a valid feeling but you also gotta realize that your "merits" don't matter because these institutions can just. move the goalpost and redefine what "merits" count. It was never about merits; it has always been about gatekeeping their ~lofty ivory towers~ (I also think we shouldn't be so invested in the "prestige" of these elite institutions but that is another discourse for another day.)

If you look at this and other reactionary SCOTUS cases e. g. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis you will find a pattern in which these "legal advocacy" organizations go looking for people who may or may not have certain causes of action and bankroll their court cases. Even when the grounds are shaky, enough billable hours can make it work and once they get the ruling that they want, they have set a legal precedent which influences every legal case that comes afterward.

Once you understand that this is the game they are playing you will realize that it is better for you to play every card you've got and do what you need to do to make your way into these gatekept places and set the precedent for people like you being in those positions than it is to be a willing pawn for these agendas and allow your identity to be used to disguise the ulterior motives.

I happen to have had the displeasure of being acquainted with some Korean Americans who had partaken in this "Asian Americans against affirmative action" cause (I'm not sure whether they were involved in this specific case) and honestly they're not that meritorious to begin with but I need everyone else to know that having merits won't get you picked any more than DEI policies will.

[unhingedkorean]

made a bsky acc if anyone wants to... same username as my url

[unhingedkorean]

I knew it smh

I've had Feelings about Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard since it was in the news but I didn't put together a coherent thought until now...

College admissions in the United States was based mostly on grades and test scores until circa early 20th century when they decided too many Jewish students were getting in. That's how "it's not just about the high scores; we want ~well-rounded~ students" stuff came to be. (I should mention that there were other, more explicit measures to discriminate against Jewish and other non-WASP students.)

Some marginalized people think they don't want affirmative action because they "don't want other people to think that they only got in because they're [insert marginalized identity]" and instead be acknowledged for their merits and that is a valid feeling but you also gotta realize that your "merits" don't matter because these institutions can just. move the goalpost and redefine what "merits" count. It was never about merits; it has always been about gatekeeping their ~lofty ivory towers~ (I also think we shouldn't be so invested in the "prestige" of these elite institutions but that is another discourse for another day.)

If you look at this and other reactionary SCOTUS cases e. g. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis you will find a pattern in which these "legal advocacy" organizations go looking for people who may or may not have certain causes of action and bankroll their court cases. Even when the grounds are shaky, enough billable hours can make it work and once they get the ruling that they want, they have set a legal precedent which influences every legal case that comes afterward.

Once you understand that this is the game they are playing you will realize that it is better for you to play every card you've got and do what you need to do to make your way into these gatekept places and set the precedent for people like you being in those positions than it is to be a willing pawn for these agendas and allow your identity to be used to disguise the ulterior motives.

I happen to have had the displeasure of being acquainted with some Korean Americans who had partaken in this "Asian Americans against affirmative action" cause (I'm not sure whether they were involved in this specific case) and honestly they're not that meritorious to begin with but I need everyone else to know that having merits won't get you picked any more than DEI policies will.

[unhingedkorean]

Korean Protest Songs (in solidarity with Palestine)

In the spirit of solidarity for Palestine, I would like to offer two Korean songs dedicated for the martyrs of violent oppression. (From our own government... but we inherited our fight from the liberationists that fought against Japanese colonization.) I can only provide English translations, but I hope this effectively conveys the solidarity I have for Palestinians.

The free world demands free Palestine.

Marching for Our Beloved

This song was originally created for two of the victims of Gwangju Uprising Massacre. It is also sung at most leftist protests in South Korea. Other countries have translated and sang this song for their protests, e. g. 2016 China Airlines strike, Hong Kong protests, Myanmar Spring Revolution.

1982 original recording

the words said in the beginning before the song begins:

우리가 죽음을 이기고 합쳐지듯이 남녘땅과 북녘땅이 합쳐지소서 just as we defeat death and become united may the southern land and the northern land be united

a newer version by labor activist and musician Choi Do-eun

The lyrics are as follows. The versions vary a little because it was primarily spread underground due to government censorship, but the gist is the same.

사랑도 명예도 이름도 남김없이 한평생 나가자던 뜨거운 맹세 동지는 간데없고 깃발만 나부껴 새날이 올 때까지 흔들리지 말자 세월은 흘러가도 산천은 안다 깨어나서 외치는 끝없는 함성 앞서서 가나니 산 자여 따르라 앞서서 가나니 산 자여 따르라

And my own English translation with some poetic liberties:

no love, no honor, no name to leave behind a burning oath to keep going forward our entire lives comrade is nowhere to be seen, only the flag flutters let us not waver until the new day comes the time will pass by, but the mountains and the rivers know the endless roar of the awoken lead the way and the living will follow lead the way and the living will follow

Song of Wildfire

This is a tribute to a labor acitivist who died from torture by intelligence agency

밤새 내렸던 빗물에 젖어 어느새 들판에 초록빛의 노래 추운 겨울에 눈보라 치면 들불로 타오른 해방의 노래 타다 꺼지면 이몸 마저도 재가 되도록 붉게 타오르리라 이땅의 민중 민주의 그 날은 눈물과 피의 꽃이 만발하리라 캄캄한 어둠의 질곡 속에 불꽃으로 타오르라 타다 꺼지면 이몸 마저도 재가 되도록 붉게 타오르리라 먼훗날 노동 해방의 그 날은 반동의 피로 붉게 도색하리라 해방의 찬란한 길목에서 불꽃으로 타오르라 먼훗날 노동 해방의 그 날은 반동의 피로 붉게 도색하리라 해방의 찬란한 길목에서 불꽃으로 타오르라 해방의 찬란한 길목에서 불꽃으로 타오르라

my English translation with some poetic liberties:

wet from the rainfall all night already a green song on the grass field in the cold winter when the blizzard hits a song of liberation ablaze in wildfire if the fire goes out, even this body will burn up red into ashes on the day of people's democracy on this land the flowers of tears and blood will blossom everywhere in the turmoil of darkness, burn up into flames if the fire goes out, even this body will burn up red into ashes the day of workers' liberation will be painted red with the blood of the reactionaries be the flame that blazes the glorious path to freedom on the day of workers' liberation will be painted red with the blood of the reactionaries be the flame that blazes the glorious path to freedom be the flame that blazes the glorious path to freedom

[unhingedkorean]

[unhingedkorean]

actually so fucking mad rn. westerners only care about korea if it benefits them somehow and of all things to latch on to it's the transmisogyny cancer. because they havent traumatized enough of us already ig. shut the fuck up about 4b i dont wanna see it.

[unhingedkorean]

Thinking about the time my mother thought it was normal for a 1st grader to take the subway to school across the Han River by herself.

In retrospect I agree with her but everyone else does not. One day I went to a park another subway stop away with a classmate because to me 6 year olds going places on the subway was a normal thing to do and the friend’s nanny freaked the fuck out because she couldn’t find the kid after school. The park security called my mother because he saw a couple of six year old children out in the wild and went “I must call her parents” and my mom was just like. Yea she can take the train home. He was like “????? she said she was in the first grade????”

[unhingedkorean]

[unhingedkorean]

Umm what the fuck US presidential election???

[unhingedkorean]

Mandatory caveat that Obama’s presidency had problems so the tumblr people don’t try to shoot me but anyways I often think about this one interview that Obama did a few years ago and in it he was asked what he was most proud of in his presidency and he was like we severely upped the efficiency of most household appliances in the US and reduced our carbon footprint a lot with that and helped people save on energy bills and that’s the sort of thing nobody ever notices

And he was right. I’d heard nothing about that. And I looked into it and there was a massive effort during his presidency to improve the efficiency of everyday household objects and do stuff like give people the means to install solar panels and track how much electricity they were using.

I missed this and I’m a person who’s generally in tune with what’s going on politically. Like there’s so many unsexy mundane things the government is working on all the time that are super important. And I kinda like the idea that a president’s proudest achievement is that he made your appliances eat up a bit less of your electric bill.

[unhingedkorean]

[unhingedkorean]

I can't explain how much I love baguette child. I would protect them with my life.

[unhingedkorean]

Posters for National Theater of Korea's production of Macbeth, designed by Yuni Yoshida and photographed by Noh Juhan. [1][2]

[unhingedkorean]

"porn brain" is a far right conspiracy theory, misogyny in porn is a result of structural societal misogyny and not the cause of it, the way to help sex workers is decriminalization and worker's rights, banning sexual expression is fascist. i will not be taking questions at the time.

[unhingedkorean]

One would think tech companies would appreciate an opsec-conscious applicant but even they are all “what are you trying to hide” and recruitment portals often have “only whitelisted domains allowed” issue. And if it says they have an issue when you enter the info at least you know, but sometimes they just yeet your application into the void.

Also this does vary by region but Google and other email providers often let you skip phone verification esp. if you are on private browsing, and using calls instead of SMS is usually possible (although landline in a different location would make it untenable)

Google sucks ass, but in terms of applying for jobs and whatnot I can’t think of a single reason having a Proton email would be better than a gmail.com

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