James Pearson : A Window Into Korean Internet Culture

Not everyone in Korea or foreigners abroad want to hear about national advertising initiatives that focus on mainstream issues like K-Pop, Hallyu or ancient Korean Kimchi culture. Instead, many want to know what ordinary Koreans are talking about and how they feel while going about their daily lives.  But where do they go to find out about these kind of things without Korean language skills? Well, stepping in to fill this void last year was a website called Korea Bang, developed by two postgraduate Korean Studies students hailing from the United Kingdom. Geared primarily at offering English translations of Korea’s most popular online stories and related comments, KoreaBang.com has grown rapidly to become one of the most visited English language websites in the world to focus exclusively on Korean daily life and culture. To find out more, Korean Kontext spoke to one of the sites two founding editors, Mr. James Pearson. Through an in-depth interview with Pearson, we found out how the site plays an important role for both the general public and serious Korea watching communities. Pearson also gave details about the unique lens that the site provides and detailed some of the stories that often lay untouched by English language media.