^ Arai-sensei opened the Pandora's box of people wondering if this is bait, when she said that she would not call this work yuri. So I would not say that this is a baseless worry. (This is discussed in the thread for the series starting on the bottom of page 34.)

I have returned! However, I fear what I have gathered will be disappointing.

I met my (future) boss while he was on a trip abroad and asked him what he thinks the Han in Hanguk stands for. Surprisingly, he had no answer ready. He eventually guessed that it probably is a marker for ethnicity, but wasn't sure. When I mentioned that I had heard that it was derived from Samhan, the other Korean in attendence seemed to recognise that connection, but wouldn't make a strong claim either. Most fascinating to me was that he did not seem immediately offended when I mentioned that it was suggested to me that it was the same Han as in Han-Chinese.

So in total the conversation just made me more confused and gave me no real answers. For now I will personally believe the Samhan story and try to figure out more once I actually am in Korea, though that's still a little ways off.

PS: Hadn't thought about a lack of nutritional diversity in Japan, but that sounds pretty good to me. Certainly should be a larger factor than living on what is technically an island.

So as for the term Han meaning Kingdom. I will admit that I originally stumbled on this when reading some historian-reddit, where the question about the meaning of Han in the name of South Korea was asked. (See https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/8xlnmj/why_do_koreans_call_themselves_han_daehan/)
I don't speak Korean, so I will also admit to having no personal experience with this word. However, the Three Kingdoms reference seems to check out, at least according to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Korea
See also the article for the names of Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Korea#Han

Sadly, it's hard to check this further, because the sources are... in Korean. Either way, the usage of the word Han in reference to Kingdoms may have waned, since the Three Kingdoms era took place around the time when the term Han first appeared in China.

As for the Han being an older described ethnic group than anything in Europe... I mean, I understand the point you are making and I didn't want to suggest that Han is not a valid descriptor. I just dislike the way the Chinese state is currently wielding it. That said, literally the first two groups I could think of, that being the Franks and the Basque people, are older than that term.

I didn't want to stir up trouble mind you. I just saw the claim that Koreans are Han and having been to Korea thought that they probably wouldn't like to be called Han. So I started digging a little bit. I am by no means an expert and am likely wrong on a lot of this.

PS: There are groups of humans that are believed to be diminutive due to Insular dwarfism. In particular there are a few 'uncontacted peoples' for which people suspect that this is true (see the Sentinelese). They may just also simply be short for different genetic reasons or because these groups are small this may be an outlier measurement unrelated to insular dwarfism. But Japan is way too big for this to be the deciding factor. If something like this is the reason, then it would have to be because of a general lack of nourishment in the area, which I think hasn't really been a problem in Japan.

PPS: I am moving to Korea soon and my Korean boss there is history-obsessed. So I will try to get him to explain this to me and report back. Then at least we will have it from the horse's mouth so to say.

last edited at Sep 4, 2024 4:03PM

To tell you the sad truth, I mainly hear about Korean men trying to date Japanese women (and succeeding) because they say Korean women are too demanding and bitchy, and Japanese women are kind and submissive. Really weird how the stereotype of the demure Asian woman works inside of Asia as well.

last edited at Aug 31, 2024 6:35AM

Han is a fairly recent term in an ethnographic sense. Dating about 1500 years back. The term for the ethnic group of the majority in Japan (Yamato) is supposed to start with people that arrived in Japan 2000 years ago. (Yamato is also a super loaded term like Han.) I can't find much about the Koreans having a specific term for this, but there were definitely people on the Korean penisula before Han was a term.
It's absolutely fair to say that all of these peoples have a common origin dating somewhere around 2500 years back in roughly the area of China. But I doubt either the Japanese or the Koreans would be happy to simply be subsumed into the term Han. Especially since that term is loaded with a lot more assumptions about culture and beliefs through Chinese propaganda.

Edit: The Koreans use the term Han, but Han just means something equivalent to Kingdom in Korean and they conceptualise their nation as the descendants of a period of three Kingdoms in the area. Thus they are the people of these Han, which refers to a different Han than the Han Chinese. This also apparently helps the South Koreans to currently distinguish themselves from the North Koreans, who use Joseon.

last edited at Aug 31, 2024 6:04AM

@Zesc Koreans in general are 'normal' in terms of height, at least measured by European standards. Japan is the outlier here, likely because of genetic trends due to being an island nation.

I almost didn't pick this one up on Bookwalker since the cover for the first volume has a very different vibe from the actual story. Glad I read it anyway!

I feel like no one will read this, but I just want to vent. Trigger warning for sexual assault and attempted rape if you haven't read the manga.

Chapter 14 depicts Mai very clearly trying to rape Renako. It's so textbook that I am astonished. Renako even processes the event in exactly the way a textbook would expect a rape victim to respond. Including blaming herself, gaslighting herself, and thinking that somehow 'No.' 'Wait.' 'I said no!' 'I'm not ready for this yet.' 'Cut it out.' 'I'm sorry I can't yet.' 'STOP IT!' and explicitly telling her that she does not want to be undressed did not communicate her lack of consent clearly enough. (I am reading the official English release for anyone trying to match the quotes exactly.)

I bring this up because I genuinely believe that the author does not realise that what Renako went through was a rape attempt. The tone of the encounter tries to remain comedic and the rest of the volume is about Renako and Satsuki believing that somehow Renako has to now take care of Mai because Mai getting rejected and slapped by Renako (as a response to the attempted rape) deeply hurt Mai's feelings.

This baffles and infuriates me beyond belief. What the fuck is going on in this manga?! I am hoping against hope that somehow the next volume adresses this explicitly, but it seems that instead we are setting up a harem. What?!

last edited at Sep 29, 2023 12:49AM by MrEngenious

I never thought sneakerhead yuri was something i wanted until i had it! I love these weird girls. But wow, 20000 yen today is $135, i also wonder where she got the money for them.

She buys them while they're still affordable

That was the affordable price.

It does feel a bit odd though, since she also said that she used to wear nothing but hand-me-downs and her brother had to get a job to buy her her first new pair.

She could have a part-time job now, since she is older. These could also be more gifts from her brother. Or their family's economic situation just improved.

Anyway, this couple is incredibly cute.

PA-san needs more love.

From following the band for years, I am pretty sure that Margaret is at most gender-fluid and maybe just a performing persona, though in that case it would be a very consistent one. But judging Margaret by their appearance and immediately concluding that they are trans seems a bit rash.

last edited at Jan 26, 2023 4:24AM