Friday, December 14, 2007
Korean Romance
I believe that it is. Korea does tend to have a romantic flare and want or more, the need for a fairytale story. Goong, Coffee Prince, My Boyfriend is Type B, all of these popular dramas or movies contain the happy fairytale ending. No, they might not own the world, but the couple pretty much always ends up together.
There is a heavy emphasis on being together in Korea. I know many women in Korea who have only just reached 25 years old and talk about how they need to find someone to marry and fast if they do not have a boyfriend. Is the need for couples based on Confusionism where family plays such a heavy role that people, especially women, find the pressure to start a family of their own?
Maybe I'm totally wrong because I think that America does have a sense of romance as well. Who wouldn't want to live happily ever after? The difference can be seen in the things that are so popular today in Korea like the dramas and game shows where they try to match celebrities up in couples, and the over abundance of couple everythings.
Here Comes Ajumma
Change the Old for New
It is not only women who are taking part in cosmetic surgery, a large number of men in Korea are reported to receive cosmetic surgery. “South Korean Women have a reputation as the most striking in Asia. And the men are also shaping up. Korean actors are currently the region’s premier heartthrobs” (BBC News). The increase of cosmetic surgery and the concern for one’s looks can be attributed in large part to the big popularity increase of Korean popular culture. A large handful of Korean actors, actresses, and entertainers have received cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance and appeal to audiences. It is their images that are being reproduced in masses and being distributed to Korean society and to other countries where the Korean wave has swept. Due to the large number of cosmetic surgery in South Korea, Seoul, South Korea’s capital has a reputation as the place to go for a nip or a tuck. South Korea’s phase has even led to the creation of a new word called “ul-jjang” which can be translated to best face. A person in Korea who is judged to have a very good looking face is called an “ul-jjang.”
The rate at which Koreans are receiving Cosmetic Surgery is alarming. It is amplified by the rise of Hallyu, where actors, actresses, and entertainers who serve as beauty role models receive surgery and is seen desirable by regular people. It seems that with this increase of cosmetic surgery and the new definition of beauty, the oriental and traditional Korean/Asian beauty is lost. Koreans are reforming to a new look, shedding the old one. Can this be seen as an improvement or a crime where the old traditional look is being sacrificed and forgotten?
D-War
Hallyu as a Window
Now, the demand for Korean dramas, movies, and music is bigger than ever. Countries that have been swept by the Hallyu wave pay thousands of dollars to have the right to a drama or movie in order to screen it on their native TV channels. Their want for Korean media seems to increase as new Korean dramas or movies are produced and the popularity of Korean Pop Culture grows. Their want can be almost extended to be called a need. This need according to Youna Kim in The rising East Asian ‘wave’ is due to heart touching emotions that are depicted in the dramas and movies that is alien or not amplified enough in other countries. For instance, in communist China where people live in a rigid society, Korean media gives them a refreshing taste of unrestricted emotions which evoke people to cry and to laugh along with the actors and actresses. Korean media also reminds people from countries such as China and North Korea of the lost aspects in their lives. China under communism lost its traditional values and watching a drama such as Jewel in the Palace, they feel a sense of nostalgia. On the other hand, people in North Korea despite tight government hands smuggle Korean dramas into the countries to enjoy watching them and have a fresh breather from their communist society.
Korea’s influence on other countries and their society seems to increase without a stop through their popular culture. However, as the numbers of Korean media infiltrating other countries get alarming high, will the governments, especially of tightly communist governed countries, stand by and watch as their citizens are influenced by such democratic ideas or take action to ensure that there is more security and regulation against Korean media coming into their country? Moreover, if the government decides to take such actions against Korean media will they find their citizens consenting and following the new regulations? It is a possibility that in the long run the citizens will fight and maybe start a new phase against communist regime for they have been given a glimpse from their walled lives to a liberal world through a window known as Hallyu.
Asian Remakes
The company remaking The Eye seems to have made a career out of remaking Asian films, based on this imdb page of their productions.
What do you all think about these remakes? Personally, I get really annoyed every time I see an Asian remake (especially horror films!) because it is NEVER as good as the original, no matter what. It makes me wonder why people are too lazy to go out and rent the original films, though I realize they must be harder to get ahold of than an American remake. Even so, I have had people tell me that they don't "feel like reading the subtitles" of foreign movies and prefer an American remake to the original. It just puzzles me that Asian media is often criticized for plagiarizing Western media ideas, but when the West does the same thing, no one cares. For instance, I know that Hyori was recently sued for using a melody from a Britney Spears song; however, when an American artist might record a song that sounds very similar to an Asian artist or when a movie is ripped off of an original Asian movie, no one seems to care.
However, I realize that I have a different perspective from most Americans because I've seen both sides of the argument. I've seen American artists sample Indian music or steal ideas from Indian music, but I've also seen EXTREMELY blatant plagarism in Indian movies (Oldboy/Zinda, When Harry Met Sally.../Hum Tum, etc). I just get irritated that a lot of American people will refuse to see the other side and admit that maybe the original Asian movie is better than the American remake.
What are your all thoughts?
korean are problem
this article we read is hard for me to relate to Korean pop culture. but when I was reading art part, one idea came up which is about Korean art problem.
recently when i was reading Korean newspaper in japanese, i can see this problem" Shim jung ah". She made up her education back ground and got trust with it. with that trust, she was making money to sell fake arts. this shim jung ah problem made a new problem about fake arts in Korea. I dont know about him at all but according to news, lee jungsub who is a very famous artist in Korea, his drawings of 75% were fake.
this shim jung ah's problem became social problems in Korea I think
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Cyworld or Facebook?
"Cyworld" is a little more to Korea than "Facebook" might be for an average American teen or college student, however. According to Erick Schonfeld's Cyworld Ready to Attack Myspace, an estimated 90% of Koreans in their 20s, and a grand total of a third of Korea's entire population is signed up for this virtual homepage. This was a shocking percentage, since neither "Facebook" or "Myspace" come near the amount of users that "Cyworld" apparently has. I am aware that even major Korean celebrities put up "Cyworlds" for use in public.
Erick Schonfeld's article was from July of 2007, which might be considered a little dated, but I was still excited to find out that Korea has opened up "Cyworld" to U.S. users as well. This U.S. version of "Cyworld" was opened up around mid-August, and apparently had a few technical problems near the beginning of its debut. But the main concern of opening "Cyworld" in the U.S. was whether the targeted audience (teens) would use this virtual site or not. It was clear that there were obvious cultural differences between Korea and the U.S. For instance, many were worried that the "cutesy" value of "Cyworld" would not appeal to American users as much as it may for Korean users. Also, although Koreans may be enthusiastic about spending money on buying their virtual homepages various decorations (i.e. furniture, tiles, curtaines, etc.), it was predicted that the U.S. version of "Cyworld" would most likely run on money from advertisements. For these reasons, the U.S. version of "Cyworld" was altered in a way that would appeal more to their tastes.
Schonfeld states in his article that, "The bulk of Cyworld revenue comes from the sale of virtual items worth nearly $300,000 a day, or more than $7 per user per year. By comparison, ad-heavy MySpace makes an estimated $2.17 per user per year." It amazes me that Koreans are so willing to use money on something they technically are unable to physically own. However, as I read further into Schonfeld's article, things made a little more sense. In Korea, "Cyworld" also represents a certain class status. If you keep your page blank, you're rated lower than others whereas you might attract many viewers if your page has been decorated to its fullest extent. I remember my friends in Korea were near obsessed with this "Cyworld", and they were constantly changing the music and designs of their homepages; even my mother and her friends were pulled into this craze for a while.
I found it interesting to see that these webpage obsessions exist in other countries as well.
Any thoughts about "Cyworld"?
By the way, this is the link to Eric Schonfeld's article: http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/27/technology/cyworld0727.biz2/index.htm
and the link to the U.S. version of "Cyworld":
http://us.cyworld.com/ as well as the link to the Korean version of "Cyworld", which may take a little longer to load (note the difference in profile structure for users in the U.S. and users in Korea):
http://www.cyworld.com/main2/index.htm
The New York Philharmonic to Play in North Korea
However, there have been several occasions where an American orchestra has visited a Communist nation in order to help improve national tensions pertaining to politics. For instance, in 1956, the Boston Symphony has visited the old Soviet Union, and the Philadelphia Orchestra has visited China in 1973.
The concert was first proposed by North Korea in July when the U.S had talks in Berlin. The North Korean vice foreign minister, Kim Kye-gwan expressed that the country intended to invite the orchestra to with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher Hill. Thus, in August, the North Korean culture ministry faxed an invitation to the New York orchestra.
The New York Philharmonic is composed of many members; eight of them begin Korean-Americans. I believed that this would be a problem; however, the North Korean authorities have been very “understanding.” The eight Korean-Americans will be granted entry along with foreign journalists. Furthermore, North Korea has even permitted to let the orchestra play the “Star Spangled Banner.”
North Korea is in currently disabling its nuclear facilities. This performance is supposedly going to speed up resolutions between the United States and North Korea. In fact, according to the North Korean ambassador to the U.N, this concert is to promote the friendship between the two nations. Christopher Hill, American nuclear envoy, believes that this invitation as a sign that North Korea now sees America in a different perspective. Thus, George Bush has sent a personal letter to Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader, urging a full description of North Korea’s nuclear plans. In his letter, he also hinted at a possibility of diplomacy pertaining to the two nations.
Though I believe that this is a very good effort between the two nations, I have many doubts that an American orchestral concert will ease the tensions between the two countries. North Korea and the United States have both gone back-and-forth on diplomatic matters by consistently “breaking their promises,” creating a gaping distrust between the two countries.
http://english.kbs.co.kr/mcontents/issue/1495553_11694.html
Korea's Growing Appetite for Fast Foods
When I was browsing through Chosunilbo for any interesting articles I could write about, I found one called Obesity Becomes Huge Problem in Korea (here's the link if anyone is interested: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200502/200502130020.html). Im Ho-Jun, the author of the article, states, "Some 10 to 15 percent of people under 20 are overweight... 30.6 percent of adults were overweight and 36.2 percent suffered from abdominal obesity." This was slightly shocking to me, because I always had the impression that Korea mainly had a diet concentrated around healthy foods, that also had had numerous healthy benefits. For instance, I remember learning that kimchi helped heart problems concerning cholesterol (through garlic). With this newly learned percentage of obesity, however, my intial impression of a healthy Korea was slightly diminished. When further reading through Im Ho-Jun's article, I also found that Koreans spent an amount equivilent to approximately 1.43 billion USD in the year 2005, solely for medical treatments or problems concerning obesity. The government of Korea has yet to view this increasing rate of obesity as a major concern, however, as they have not yet considered it as any threat to the nation.
In a more recent article by Chosunilbo called No Trans Fat Does Not Mean No Worry, however, it explains that Korea has begun to take action to promote healthier living for the citizens of its nation. Major fast food and bakery companies such as Orion and Crown Bakery had rung in the new year (2007) with a ban on trans fats. What Chosunilbo is concerned about in its article, however, is that saturated fats have now taken the place of trans fat; they argue that these saturated fats can eventually become just as dangerous as trans fats quoting a Dr. Ha Jae-ho that, "Consumers should pay attention to more than just the amount of trans fat in their foods."
I personally believe that there is no possible way to completely eliminate harmful fats from anyone's diets. It is inevitable that even without fast foods or baked goods Korea would on the whole still continue consuming these harmful fats. However, I do agree that action taken against the rise of obesity wouldn't hurt Korea as a nation.
Response to 2002 World Cup
Korean females have been most involved in three sports, speed skating, archery, and golf. I would actually like to talk about golf and explore the topic a bit because it is a huge trend in Korea to play golf, whether you are male or female. Golf is a sport that many Korean Women are seen in, and making quite an impression. A few of the well known players are Sae Ri Pak, Aree Song, Jeong Jang, and of course, Michelle Wei.
Just recently Sae Ri Pak was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was the first to really make a scene on the LPGA and at a very young age. Why do I know all of this? Mainly because my father and every relative I know in Korea wanted me to play golf when I was younger, and I did.
"Pak's accomplishment has greatly encouraged the Korean people, and she serves as a role model for young golfers at home. I hope she will continue to win titles and help elevate the honor of Korea," said Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
Is this need for honor the key to the golf craze in Korea? There are now 45 Koreans in the LPGA when in 1998 there were just 3 Koreans including Sae Ri Pa. Perhaps golf was a sport that females in Korea could participate in and because of their great success, use it as a sort of feminist tool to push women to do better and better in golf. That may be a stretch, but I believe there must be some reason why golf is so big in Korea, especially for women.
Do you have any ideas on this?
Movie Culture
On Joongangdaily.com, I came across an article that described the last one-screen theater to exist in Korea. Hwayang Theater was built in 1964 and was renamed to Dream Cinema in 1999. The article discusses how cinema culture has changed throughout the years in that movie theaters today show/screen more than one movie at once. The Dream Cinema plays movies that have been released for a long time and about to come out on DVD. Recently, it has been decided that the movie theater is to be closed due redevelopment of the surrounding area. The closing of Dream Cinema is important because it is the closing of the “history of old-time single-screen theaters in Seoul”. Now that theaters today have become “state-of-the-art multiplexes” rather than theaters that screen single movies, it is understandable that the appeal for the latter has been diminishing over the years.
In order to celebrate the theater in the last months before closing, Kim Eun Joo, the owner, decided to play classic movies, such as Dirty Dancing, the Sound of Music, and Ben Hur up until the day the bulldozer arrives. The article discusses how the closing of Dream Cinema not only has an effect on the owner, but how it also influences the other workers that have been involved with the cinema for a number of years, such as the security guard, the projectionist, and theater sign painters.
This article had me thinking about a few things after. We can see that movie culture has changed throughout the years, but has it changed for the better or worse? The owner of Dream Cinema, Kim Eun-Joo, compared the “degraded culture of going to movies” to “going to a neighborhood supermarket wearing slippers”. The uniqueness and spirit of Korean cinema is being lost, as there will no longer be tickets that are thin and rough, as well as the irreplaceable theater posters which are drawn by hand. Are we sacrificing traditions and historical artifacts in place of other developments and advancements in society? I feel as though the article is an example of the struggle of balancing and maintaining the past while further progressing into the future. Some things are lost and some things are kept, but how and who determines such things?
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2883587Korea’s last one-screen theater about to close by Chun Su jin
December 6, 2007
KPop Celebrity Gossip
- Shinhwa boycotted the MKMF Awards show because of their old record label, SM Entertainment. SM pressured the producers of MKMF to cheat various members of Shinhwa out of well-deserved awards as they back the awards show financially.
- The same company, SM Entertainment, has cheated former boyband H.O.T. out of a lot of money.
- SM Entertainment is also withdrawing a lot of money from current boyband Super Junior - it's said that they can't afford cars .
MKMF Awards 2004 or 2005 (where BoA performed My Name):
- BoA changed her image to a "sexier" image during this performance.
- BoA has been constantly pressured to lose weight by her record label; you can see a significant difference from her younger days and this performance. The pressures on her seem to be a strain mentally as well as physically based on the crying during her speech.
- Rumors that she has to sleep with Lee Soo Man (founder of SM Entertainment) for various purposes; some people speculate that this is why she has been in Japan for a long time and seems reluctant to return to Korea.
Of course, this is all hearsay -- have any of you heard rumors similar to this? Any disparate rumors? I find all of this extremely interesting, though some of it may be extremely far-fetched to someone who knows the Korean music industry well.
To me, it seems that the Korean music industry is different from the American music industry in that even established, wildly popular artists such as H.O.T. or BoA don't have a great amount of control over their record label or their music. This may be naivete on my part, but while young and upcoming artists may have difficulties with their record labels, popular American artists such as Beyonce or Britney Spears seem to have a good portion of control over their careers. Do any of you have articles related to this issue?
Power of Sports in Korea
After watching the YMCA Baseball, I found it a coincidence to find this article on joongang daily.joins. com. The article, written by Pat King Deputy Editor, discussed one of the most crucial, momentous, monumental moments in Korean sports. It wasn’t the World Cup in 2002 or the 1988 Olympics. The important event which he mentions is the 1936 Olympics which took place in Berlin. This momentous occasion was also described in Gwang Ok’s book, “The Transformation of Modern Korean Sport: Imperialism, Nationalism, Globalization”, which focuses on the connection between sport, religion, and nationalism and how sports evolved during the times of “Japanese invasion, oppression, and control”.
King writes that sports, to Koreans, were more than simply games but rather a means of preserving their nationalism, individuality, Korean identity, and independent spirit. The article highlights the 1936 Olympics when a Korean marathon runner named Son Gi-jeong won first place. Still, the event was not all happy for Son as he recounted the award ceremony with resentment due to the fact that he was forced to wear a symbol of the Japanese flag on his uniform. He stated later on that he felt “desperate and ashamed. . . wearing a shirt with the Japanese rising sun on the left chest” . The Korean citizens were bothered by this as well and we see this when the Dong-a Daily, a domestic newspaper, publishing the same picture except they altered the Japanese flag on Son’s uniform. Gwang’s continued to identify himself as a Korean and this act against “Japanese propaganda”, provided as almost a “moral-booster” for the Korean citizens. The Korean people were able to recover “much-needed national identity” and pride in their nation. Gwang also mentions in his book how modern day sports has been influenced by Christian missionary schools, YMCA, foreign language schools, and the “opening up of Japan in the 19th century”. This part was also interesting since it was related to what we watched in the YMCA Baseball movie where Europeans came into Korea to teach the people the game of baseball. I have become increasingly aware of the power of
Gwang further writes that sports were a means for Western cultural imperialism to counterbalance Eastern political imperialism. Sports were not always popular, however, especially when it was first introduced in Korea. As time slowly progressed, sports became more widely acceptable and popular to young men, and then to girls and women. It is interesting to see how the power of sports to unify a nation and how it has evolved into such an integral part of Korean society as we see it today. It was also intriguing to see how sports were used to give purpose and identity to the Korean nation during the turbulent times of Japanese colonization.
Pat King Deputy Editor
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2882843
November 17, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
YMCA
Hallyu
Fashion Can Prolong Hangeul
His latest item – a design which incorporated the Korean alphabet as a pattern for the dresses – was a major hit at the Paris Pret-a-Porter Collection in February 2002. Ever since, his trend of Hangeul has spread to not only his clothing line, but also to bed sheets, cell phones, and other accessories. He will soon even design a cigar with his Hangeul design too.
He became inspired by Hangeul through letters from two friends, singer Jang Sa-ik and artist Lim-Ok-sang. “If Jang's handwriting is like flowing water, Lim's handwriting is like fire bursting with energy,” Lie said. Thus came his first 51 dresses embellished and empowered through the flowing Hangeul letters at his first Paris Pret-a-porter Collection entitled “L'ombre Lunaire” in February 2002. He received very commending reviews.
“Most foreigners don't know that Korea has its own writing system,” Lie said. “They believe we might speak differently from the Chinese but use the same Chinese characters. After all, not all nations are lucky enough to have their own letters.” Thus I believe that he modernized “old Korean writing” originally being on paper, into “new Korean writing” onto flowing fabrics of contemporary clothing.
His design of incorporating Hangeul onto dresses has created the 2006 Hangeul Exposition: “Hangul Mode” in Who's Next & Premiere Classe. This exposition was composed of more than 40 designers, including those from overseas, developing their own ideas and designs pertaining to the Hangeul dress.
“Sooner or later you'll see foreigners wearing clothes that bear Hangeul all over the world,” Lie said. He then came to explain that celebrities in even Russia now wear clothing with Hangeul letters. Another Hangeul fashion show of his is the “Swinging East.” This show demonstrates the goodwill for Korea-China cultural exchange through. The clothing is composed of long dresses, decorated with Hangeul and Hangja, Chinese characters. He also includes a black dress in the hanbok design and belts with the traditional mother-of-pearl patters. While the models strut down the runway, the background music of this show is composed of traditional Korean drums, which add to the East Asian “mood.”
Lie stated a quote that really struck me for it was very relevant pertaining to our Kpop class. “It's fun working with Hangeul, which allows me to insert letters and poems. Then foreigners ask what all of these mean and I get to explain the content of the poem or piece of Korean history. I feel proud to have this opportunity to promote Korean culture. Koreans are so used to Hangeul that they've become dull to its true value and beauty. This is not so in the eyes of foreigners. The important thing is to re-create tradition in a modern way.”
http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20070919013
On “The Rising East Asian Wave: Korean Media Go Global” by Youna Kim
Towards the end of the section, Kim writes that awareness and interest of Korean media has led to the interest of the culture as well, and has even led to the self-reflection of the Japanese. While this seems like a positive way to look at Korean-Japanese relations, is this really the overall indication of
“Art, Advertising, and the Legacy of Empire”
This goes for the stereotypes given in television commercials as well. How many TV ads have you seen with a powerful woman taking charge of a situation and using her brains to solve a problem? How many have you seen of woman wistfully looking over a piece of dessert or acting embarrassed by their dry, dull hair, before they discovered the new no-guilt, low-fat yogurt that tastes just like key-lime pie or the new hair dye that brings shine and strength to their ‘do? How do you feel about the use of women in advertising? Are we supposed to assume that everyone who sees ads in magazines knows that the women don’t really look like way and that it is an unrealistic goal to try to look the same? Even if we do know that the images are airbrushed and unrealistic, can we truly stop ourselves from—even involuntarily—secretly feeling that those are images of true beauty and something to aspire to look like?
Korean Art
"Thank You"
This drama could also be labeled as a medical drama due to the fact that the main, male characters are doctors and there are several scenes that take place in the emergency room. What is interesting about “Thank You,” is that during these medical scenes, there would be subtitles that pop up, supplementing the dialogue with explanations of medical terms. Because of the seemingly educational effect of this drama in the definition of medical terms and the promotion of awareness about AIDS, “Thank You” goes against the postmodernist theory of popular culture.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Comfort Women
I found an article a long time ago on Korea-Japan relations and I’ve been curious ever since on the Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty of 1965, which was mentioned in the article. Apparently, according to this treaty,
President Park Chung-hee decided to use the money, then, for public service projects—the construction of industries and transportation between
The topic of comfort women is still a huge debate in politics, however. An article released on December 09, 2007 writes about how there is a new movement within the European Parliament to demand
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20071209003&part=103&SearchDay=&page=1
However, I’m stuck on the Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty of 1965. Even though none of the monetary compensation reached the Korean comfort women, I can understand
I’m confused. This treaty confuses me because I feel like it gives