Welcome, Daum readers.

It appears that June Cho has decided to publish a piece, "美 누리꾼들 ‘Thank you, Korea!’" (American netizens say, "Thank you, Korea!"), at Daum News about Marmot and other "Americans" thanking Korea for its generous contribution of aid and assistance for the victims of Katrina. Among other bloggers, I am mentioned as having posted a message of thanks.

While I realize she has good intentions, I am usually a bit apprehensive when I am mentioned in some forum without my knowledge or permission. In the past, I have been deliberately mistranslated, I have been misquoted, and I have been quoted out of context. Not just by Korean sources, but even by a major world-renowned newspaper. For that reason, I wish June Cho would have given me a heads-up before publishing my blog address.

The very post where I give a message of thanks also suggests I am dismayed at the reaction of some individuals to Marmot's "thank you" posting. At one point I suggested Marmot should have retitled it "Thanks for nothing." While "thanks for nothing" is certainly not my sentiment, I worry that, as has happened in the past, someone with less than perfect English skills might easily misinterpret which side of the argument I'm on. [As an aside, lately some of the knee-jerk sentiment at Marmot's has been leaving me with a "What the hell am I doing here?" feeling, enough so that I am considering going on indefinite hiatus from the Hole, since there may be better, more effective ways to put my blogging time to good use.]

Still, I'm glad that June Cho wrote her piece. As someone who has one foot in Korea and one foot in America, I want the two sides to thrive together. I have almost zero connection with Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, but the damage and carnage from Katrina has made me sick, and I'm overjoyed that Koreans are reaching out to these people in need.

If you have a chance, go to this post and donate money to the Korean Red Cross fund for Katrina victims.