Globalism

Before last semester, I really did not know much about Korea, only knew that it existed. I didn’t know what their traditional clothes look like nor do I know how their languages sound like. However, last semester, there were a few important things that happened to me that led me to become much more interested in Korea and its culture. First, my roommate is Korean. Second, my Asian friends were talking about Korean drama ever so excitedly. Finally, in my Japanese Pop Culture class, my professor actually brought in a book that housed the entire script to Winter Sonata that essentially taught Japanese people the Korean language! After seeing the cover of that book, I think I had hit the lid that was supposed to contain my curiosity. So when I went back to my room, I asked my roommate if she knew about Winter Sonata (but, of course she would know). She became very enthusiastic about recommending all the top drama to watch and told me to watch them all. I went and *did* watch them all; I was swept by the Hallyu. The drama I thought that really brought the culture to light was Goong, revealing the traditional clothing and customs. In terms of modernity, perhaps Let’s Go to School Sang-doo reflects Korean society the most today: ordinary people dealing with financial issues, unfair justice systems (in terms of lower class citizens), and family issues.

As the Koreans are entering seemingly a paradox between globalization and nationalism, I do agree with Gi-Wook Shin that “globalization…intensif[ies], rather than weaken, ethnic/national identity…”. It is because that people are moving towards modernity, as it is often associated with de-ethicizing a country of her roots, that I believe that people are chasing after what they are losing. Thus, we can start to think of our traditional customs as being special and sacred.

Other than globalism, another factor that strengthens ethnicity is of course media. Before the Hallyu hit the Asia continent, only older people watched saguk dramas. However, the younger generation is watching more of these saguk, although that is mainly because the directors are keener on inserting a love story behind those dramas. This exemplifies the nationalism, the going-back-to-the-past, that the Koreans are experiencing. Nevertheless, it is similar to a cycle. Because the media was able to produce influential material about the traditional Korea, thus more people are interested in that area. As this interest grows, more media will be produced to satisfy the demand. Relating to one’s ethnic identity, which is basically equivalent to bringing out the country’s history, became more popular en masse.

I know, it's getting late. And yes, I'm eating kimchee as I'm typing this.