Blogging is certainly not the exclusive domain of expats living in Korea, but it does seem to play a particularly important role within this community. The majority of (but, by no means all) newcomers to Korea speak little to no Korean, are unfamiliar with Korean culture and are a visible minority due to their non-Asian physical features. The resulting sense of ‘otherness’ seems to have led to a sense of common identity amongst these otherwise disparate people and a strong community composed of native English teachers has formed in Korea. Blogs are one of the factors helping to form and influence this community’s identity.

For my Master’s dissertation, I am examining blogs as a new form of archive and their relationship with community identity. In many ways, blogs have helped to form and hold together the native English teacher community in Korea. Having no formal archive, the native English teachers of Korea have turned to the Internet to keep their records. Alongside websites such as Dave’s ESL Cafe (http://www.eslcafe.com), blogs are used to share information, wisdom, and advice. Additionally, I am exploring issues such as what happens to blogs when they are no longer updated and what can be done to preserve them. Many people will question the need to preserve blogs. My friend’s reaction when I explained my dissertation topic to her was, ‘why the hell would you want to preserve blogs?!’ That’s a good question. The answer, in my opinion, is that amidst all the dross there is a wealth of information to be found in blogs that is not available elsewhere and much of it is of cultural and historical significance.

Today’s archives are rife with personal diaries and papers which allow us a glimpse into the past. But, what of the archives of the future? How many people today actually keep a pen and paper journal or write letters home? In the future, what will the ‘foreigner’ community in Korea look like… when a foreigner meets another foreigner will they still experience ‘should I wave and say hello or should I not’ awkwardness? will foreigners still be greeted wtih random ‘HELLOs!’ from strangers as they walk down the street? will foreigners still be helping each other to track down ‘good’ cheese? These are just a few of the issues that have been discussed in numerous Korea-related blogs and they have helped to shape the expat community, composed mainly of native English teachers, in Korea. How will future generations of expats living in Korea reflect upon these issues unless Korea-related blogs are archived in some manner? A failure to preserve blogs may create a black hole of information for future generations of archives users.

BUT, this has all been my opinion…. what do YOU think? Do you have a blog? Do you feel that blogs help to create a sense of identity for native English teachers living in Korea? Do we need to preserve them? Do you even read blogs? Fill out the questionnaire and tell me what you think (click on the ‘questionnaire’ tab above)!