Hello all,

So I am quite a regular reader on AFF in my spare time- granted I dont have much of that but whatever- and I notice that a lot of stories are written set in Korea.

I just want to say right now that I do not intent to be judgemental or passive agressive at all, this is just something I've noticed.

A lot of people say their setting is Korea and consistently reinforce this, but then write something which conflicts with this statement.

I am not talking about the storyline or character personalities. In general, these things could happen anywhere, being fictional and all.

I am talking about fundamental misunderstandings of the country.

For example, the land. I've read stories in which the characters go on a road trip. But the thing is, in real life it takes 6.5 hours by bus to go from the top to the bottom of the country, including breaks (I have made this journey myself). But this story road trip went on driving for days, swapping drivers etc. 

I get it. Many people will draw from their own experiences to create a fictional world. But, in my opinion, the result is something akin to cultural imperialism, perhaps appropriation. This is the extreme, I mean. But if you say it's Korea and then completely Americanise it, right down to the food they eat, why not just set it in America? It would be more authentic to the reader that way.

We all know as writers that good research helps make an authentic world. I was thinking of writing a workshop on different topics about Korean culture in order to help writers know more about the country and some common practices.

This includes honourifics and stuff. Some people are confused about 'Hyung' etc. I once saw the sentence "you're less of a hyung and more of a brother to me". Hyung means older brother.

That's all. Like some kind of neat, compact way to see Korea from someone who has lived in the countryside and also Seoul city, speaks Korean etc.

Do you think this is a good idea? I dont want to step on any toes, just give some facts about the place. People write for fun and I'm not judging, just wanna help.