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31 We asked about your favorite and least favorite stories, and gave you the mic to tell us what else you thought of us. Here are a few responses: WHAT you SAy On “Korea’s dying students” (September 2013): “It’s important for us hagwon teach- ers to at least be aware of and hopefully question the system we’re a part of. We should really think about how all the aca- demic stress we place on our students is affecting their well-being and the well-be- ing of Korean society as a whole (i.e. ridic- ulously high suicide rates). I feel like most hagwon teachers blindly accept their role here without calling into question how much we’re really ‘helping.’ I’d like to see more articles that address these issues.” On “Is Korea’s EFL education failing?” (March 2013): “I understood and related to the entire article. It was also nice know- ing other people felt the same annoyances when it comes to English teaching in this country.” On “Gay-Han-Min-Guk” (November 2011): “The Gay-Han-Min-Guk was very fascinating and informative to read on a por- tion of society in Korea that rarely receives an honest and candid look inside. Not only was it informative but it was very thorough in covering a variety of voices from Koreans to foreigners.” On “Getting down to business” (February 2013): “It was great to read about people following their dreams and finding a way to make it happen in a place that isn’t all too friendly when it comes to starting a busi- ness.” On “The truth about relationships with foreigners” (July 2012): “I was interested in seeing more about a growing population in Korea who have been experiencing difficul- ties and what (if anything) was being done to help them from the Korean government.” On general content: “I liked the long arti- cle from a while ba ck that Matt from Popu- lar Gusts and Ben Wagner wrote about the scapegoating of English teachers (“Dear Korea, I still don’t have AIDS, April 2013). I also quite liked your interview with Slavoj Zizek a couple of months ago (“A commu- nist in Seoul,” September 2013). The arti- cles that I’m most likely to read are the ones that involve a proper bit of research that tell me something interesting that I couldn’t find elsewhere. You know — the sort of stuff that involves a bit of proper journalism and expertise. The language barrier between most expats and the rest of Korea creates a real void of information that is generally filled in with hearsay and half-truths, so any arti - cle that rolls up its sleeves and sorts through the bullshit is always welcome.” On “Dear Korea, I still don’t have AIDS” (April 2013): “I thought it was well re- searched, but really it was just speaking to the choir. I like to learn more about things when I read rather than dwell on what I al- ready know.” On “Easy rider: Korea on wheels” (Sep- tember 2013): “The latest series of biking articles aren’t bad by any means, and I own and ride a bike too, but I don’t know why the topic is being covered so heavily lately in Groove mag for such a niche group. Per- haps a larger proportion of Groove’s readers are bikers, but since I’m not so heavily inter- ested in the topic, I’ve skipped all of them in the series so far (and I usually don’t skip articles in Groove).” On “Japan’s shame” (November 2011): “I really haven’t read an article that sucked but the article that upset me was the one about the sex slaves during the war. Very enlight- ening but very depressing.” On “Dear Korea, I still don’t have AIDS” (April 2013): “The one with indignant for- eigners saying they don’t have AIDS. It sucked because it’s not much of an issue to be tested considering the cushy job we’re all given.” On general con tent: “There have been plenty that I’ve not bothered reading just because they haven’t piqued my interest. Generally speaking, though, I have a very low opinion on anything that tries to make traditional/archaic/inconsequential Kore- an bullshit sound all cool and fascinating. I don’t want to hear about temple stays or some shitty kimchi festival in the back of be- yond. I’m much more interested in hearing about the real lives of real people and not what some arsehole’s boring travel adven- tures in provincial Korea.” “Honest restaurant reviews that aren’t fluff pieces. If there’s something bad or not good abut a place, I want to know about it. I think it would be awesome to see a few reputable critics tear a place apart if it de- served it.” “I would be happy if your magazine held the restaurants it reviewed to a consistently high standard (especially foreign-style restau- rants) and called out bullshit when it saw it. I know you’re reliant on such places to pay for advertising, but you do the community a disservice by any review that soft-soaps a sloppily run organization. The standard of restaurants in this country is generally de- plorable and Groove could be part of the vanguard beginning to correct that. I realize that any magazine basically exists as a con- duit for advertising, but Groove could be so much more than that. I mean, look at Time Out in London, for instance — it has come to represent something of the essence and character of London itself. Korea has noth- ing like that, and it direly needs it. Other than that, I think you do a bang-up job. I’d also like to compliment your mag- azine on the generally very good design standards (except for a few of the ads, but I’m sure you have to take whatever you’re given on that score). You’ve had some ex- cellent covers recently, as well — very well conceived and put together. I’m not too en- amoured of the masthead, with its figure- of-eight infinity-double-O thing, but other than that, it’s all pr etty commendable. Well done.” “I like when the issues really focus on a theme. Sometimes it just seems too ran - dom. Also, the voices of the articles are sometimes just too varied.” “Do more comparative food articles. For example, compare Beale St. Memphis style BBQ in Hongdae with JR’s Southern style BBQ in Itaewon.” “In addition to the latest events and hap- penings, the in-depth articles on various dif- ferent topics are really what I think makes Groove stand out! I know they may be more time consuming and difficult to write up, but most of them are really great stuff. Thank you!” FAVoRITE ARTICLE LEAST FAVoRITE ARTICLE LAST THouGHTS