Interview with HonestTea

RaGe

Belgium9951 Posts

March 31 2008 17:55 GMT

So pubbanana nominated HonestTea to be the next interviewee. It didn't take long for us to get together and do the interview.

This one is probably the longest of all the ones already done. I assure you it's reading it all through if you're somewhat interested in HonestTea as a person.

If you haven't read the previous interviews yet click here

State your Name, Age, Country of residence and korean-shyness level in ilovezil percentage (100 being maximum).
Name: Keo
Age: 24
Country: South Korea
Korean-shyness level: I once punched a white guy who was being obnoxious in the street, and I look straight into the eyes of models for work. Thus less than 10%. Oh and BTW, if that white guy is reading this, please know that I feel horrible about that night, that you owned me fair, and that I've been looking for you to buy you a drink ever since. PM me.

What's your occupation? You work in a model agency?
No, but I often work with models. I have an assistant-level job in the film production industry. Mostly commercial shoots so far, but these days we're preparing a theater length movie.

Your English is extremely good for a Korean? Who or what do you owe this to?
Like anything else that one is extremely good at, luck and hard work.
I got lucky in my upbringing: I was born in the States and lived there until I was nine. Then my family moved back to Seoul and I've been here ever since. Plus I went to an international high school and college in NYC. The hard work came later, because the upbringing alone isn't enough to get really good at any language.

And all that hard work for only one goal: being able to seduce the TL.Net Bot in her own language. How did that relationship end? No censoring please.
Bitch is stuck up, is all.
I mean, I don't want to bad mouth my past relationships but sometimes I get the impression that there are a few commands missing in that code, feel me? She's not the cleanest sneaker in the closet.

Yes! Sneakers! Another obsession of yours, or am I mistaking you with someone else?
Yes, although I've cut back on my spending habits and I'm ashamed to call it an obsession now.
I have 30 pairs and 10 books of sneaker histories and anthologies, but man, there are people out there with much, much more. It might seem like a lot for TLnet, but I'm just a minnow compared to the grand ocean of sneakerheads.

A kind of general question: Why does a person capable of speaking, reading and writing Korean visit TL.net and not the information filled boards of fomos/fighterforum etc. ?
You know, when I first joined, that is been a question I would have struggled to answer. When I first joined TLnet, I was thinking to bring some of the Korean stuff to the outside. I had lurked for a long time, but felt no need to join the community because I honestly had little to gain. So when I did join, I did so mostly to translate stuff, or relay news, organize schedules, stuff like that. Honestly if it wasn't for the fun of doing that then I would have had no use for TLnet.
But these days TL coverage is simply amazing. In any tourney TL is right there with the most recent results, news, data, analysis, everything. As someone who has access to both TLnet and all the Korean outlets, I find myself going to those Korean sources less and less.
Almost not at all, actually. I can just go to TLnet for results, calendar, VODs, whatnot, and (bear with me just one moment) TLnet has an awesome community. Nowadays I only drop by the Korean forums for the high-level analysis (which is still higher than TL), player interviews or the wacky fandom (which still gets much lost in translation).

So the short answer:
I go to TLnet because:
1) The community and how awesome they are: there really is no internet community quite like it.
2) Because I don't need the Korean sources any more, with how much TL has grown.

And do you think this is about the same reason all the other koreans contributing to the site stay too?
Hmm, I can't speak for everybody, but I would imagine so. When I first offerred a translation I was surprised by how ready and appreciative the community was. It really encouraged me to do more, to translate news and tourney information and eventually weekly schedule previews. I imagine the happy feelings that MDT gets when he brings over the fandom, or the feelings that Yakii gets when he brings videos are similar to mine two years ago.
Besides, the progaming scene is a lot of fun, so much fun that people want to share it with others if they know how to.
I don't know if other Koreans are satisfied with TLnet's coverage, but I am, and it's become all I need. The others, I mean it seems like they still spend most of their time on Korean forums.

How was hanging out with Rekrul, MidiaN, Tasteless, lilsusie and PuertoRican?

True Love.

Fun, of course. Everybody was manner, as you'd expect. I guess people might be wanting hot gossip or Rekrul confirmations or whatnot, but there really isn't much to say. We hung out. It was fun. And I don't kiss and tell. ^_^

..Or was it?

So let's talk about your personal SC skill now. What race do you play and what's your Iccup rank estimate?
For the past five years, I've played about two games per year.
I insist on random even though my Terran is atrocious and my Zerg is an affront to humanity. (My Protoss is merely shameful)
On Iccup I'd be whatever is the lowest rank, except lower.

Is this psychological warfare, a plan to conquer the TSL ladder in the last 3 days?
Oh absolutely not. I am the only soul on TLnet who would have actually *learned* something from the Kennigit - Yubee LT x50 showmatch. I would have sat down in front of my screen with notepad and pencil.

Ok, some community-based questions now.
Favourite poster?
I like IntoTheWow's posts. There's a certain blend of clever humor and fluffly naivité to them, although the naivité part could just be an act. He reminds me of Katamari Damacy.

Worst poster?
I would say TL.net Bot, but we've discussed her already.
Haha, yeah she doesn't count.
I think it was oneofthem? Guy who thought he was smart and turned every discussion into slush.
Basically, I don't like people who think they are smart when they are in fact only talking to themselves - especially on the internet. If they were truly smart, then they'd get their point across even on the internet. I'd rather people troll or spam macros, because at least that's funny and hey, it's the internet, so relax.

Favourite forum (TL:FE and News excluded) ?
Tourneys. Even though I know who won what match, sometimes I like to trawl through the live reports and read reactions. It's always fun to watch us be fans.

I hope you are familiar with the two-word questions I always ask my interviewees?
With the format, yes. Go ahead.

Yubee > Kennigit or Kennigit > Yubee?
Oh it's like choosing between feet: left or right? Hmm..
I get the sense that yubee might be something of a procrastinator, thus, we are kindred spirits. Yubee > Kennigit.

balla: Rekrul or PuertoRican?
oh ho ho.. How should I explain..
You have just asked me: "Brightness: Sun or Moon?"
Poor PuertoRican.
He's a great guy for sure and Rek isn't some perfect guy or anything like that. But that particular catagory... that's just the way it is.

Ok, to make PR a bit happier here (I think): GosuGamers.net or SCForAll.com?
Erm. I've heard of GosuGamers before? Never been to either site. Sorry, other foreign SC coverage people!
Then judge purely on name. Judging based on graphics would make PR kill himself.
I guess then it's GosuGamers, because it has a Korean word in it. Plus you can call it "GGnet" and it has another meaning, that's still related to SC.
SCForAll, I can't take seriously. By name alone, it sounds like a site that would have been hosted on GeoCities seven years ago. Again: sorry, non-TL webmasters!
PuertoRican is the webmaster of SCForAll.com.
Oh shit, now I feel horrible. Well I'll say this: PR is a "make-it-happener" for e-sports, especially internationally.

InControl: Ban or promote to Mod? Yes you have to choose.
Oh god I'd be loathed to do either. I like Inc but if those were my only options, I'd choose the one that would be better for TLnet: Ban.

Ok. Let's finish up here. I'm gonna let Yakii pick the next interviewee, but in case I never get to interview him: Who would you pick to be next and why?
R1CH. I would love for the technical crew of Tlnet to get more spotlight. They do so much, top professional level work and get little credit.

I hope you enjoyed the interview as much as I did. Any shoutouts?
I enjoyed it very much. You really brought the questions!
Shoutout to... mods and staff, particularly FE writers, except for Plexa, that lazy bastard. I think FEs are really important, just as important as TSL actually.
Shoutout to the technical people, R1CH, SoBob, Pop, and the coders because they seriously deserve more credit for their amazing work.
Special shoutout to Mani for owing me 5 bucks and to Hot_Bid, because he's never gonna give me up, he's never gonna let me down, he's never gonna run around and desert me.

That was it! I hope it was a nice read. As always, feedback is welcome.