Author: J Scott Burgeson
Publisher: Eunhaeng Namu, 2005
Link to online store *
Publisher description:
Once upon a time, before there were blogs, there were zines. Like vinyl records, they were perhaps too cumbersome to really thrive in the digital age of instaconvenience, and yet for some, they remain a preferred choice, just as scientific research has proven conclusively that vinyl offers truer, superior sound to CDs or MP3 files. For a brief moment in the 1990s, the international zine scene came to the Korean Peninsula and burned most brightly, like an exploding supernova that leaves flashing, psychedelic retinal afterimages for years afterwards. The effects of that alien invasion were far-reaching and long-lasting, and are still being felt to this day, as the book you now hold in your hands verifiably attests. Indeed, Korea Bug is more than just a book – it is the record of a revolution.
J. Scott Burgeson has been described as Korea’s most successful zinester to date, and Korea Bug is a collection of the very best Korea-related material he has produced over the years for his zine Bug. This is neither uninformed, navel-gazing blogosphere chatter nor shallow, rah-rah propaganda for Korea, Inc., but rather rigorous cultural criticism with a bracing, adrenaline-charged punk spirit. Whether interviewing the last colonial-era gisaeng or courtesan in Seoul shortly before her death, or slipping stealthily onto Yongsan Garrison Army Base to debrief and American intelligence analyst for U.S. Forces Korea, Burgeson is a culture spy par excellence. From Russian hostesses to Busan to top-ranked shamans in Seoul to incredibly strange books about Korea written by honkies, Burgeson buzzes high and low in relentless pursuit of the real and the surreal, the ridiculous and the sublime, and, ultimately, the closest thing to the truth.
If you thought you knew what Korea was all about, Korea Bug is guaranteed to make you think again.
LKL says:
The sort of stuff you can’t find in some of the more serious cultural books out there. Ever been interested in what a shaman does? The Bug has interviewed one, and we get the low-down of the bitchiness in top shamanistic circles. Read this collection, and you’ll find yourself becoming interested in things you never knew existed. How about Yi Paksa, King of Disco Ppongtchak? After reading the Bug’s interview, I’ve just got to track down the classic album Shinparam Yi Paksa! (신바람 이박사!), which sold between 1 and 10 million copies, depending on who you believe.
LKL rating: 
. Read our review of this book here.
Entry on Goodreads.com here.
* Where the book is available from a number of sources, they are prioritised as follows: (1) Amazon UK site, or Bookshop.org for the more recent uploads (2) Amazon US site (3) Other sites in US or Europe, including second-hand outlets (4) LTI Korea, where the title is advertised as available from there (5) Onlines stores in Korea. Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon UK site contain an affiliate code which, should you make a purchase, gives a small commission to LKL at no additional cost to you.