South Koreans Search Far for Wives

Towards the beginning of the semester, I posted an article that talked about the implications of Hallyu and its impact on the rising status of Korean men; how Korean men, like Korean everything, were being elevated on a pedestal. I found another article that acts as an interesting counterpart to the aforementioned article. This articles gives an interesting glimpse into what is happening in Korea in terms of the marriage market: it is ironic Korean men are highly sought after internationally (or at least in Asia, but with Daniel Kim on ABC’s Lost, the diaspora may be even further spread), but have a hard time finding a local wife at home.

“Despite the obvious pitfalls, South Korean men increasingly are going abroad
to find wives. They have little choice in the matter unless they want to
remain bachelors for life.”

It is interesting to note the reverse-action taking place in this article.

Some thoughts about the article:

1. cultural differences: the problems the Korean man and his Vietnamese wife face stem from their language barrier and complete ignorance of each others’ culture. But I think the larger problem at hand is each person’s unwillingness to make an effort to learn about the other foreign culture. In today’s globalized society, mixed-marriages are extremely common, and cultural differences are starting to be a thing of the past, as information is so readily available and widely accessible. I know a mixed-couple, where the girl is learning Russian for her boyfriend, and the guy is learning Chinese for his girlfriend; but then again they already had English as a common unifying bond, so it’s probably easier on their part than the Korean/Vietnamese couple who have no way of communicating whatsoever.

2. economic implications: The wife shortage is having a devastating effect on the agricultural communities, already threatened by urbanization and free trade. Without wives, young men won't want to stay on the farm. Without wives, there are no babies to replenish the stock of farmers.

It’s just sad to see that the main motivation of marriage is.. for agricultural/economic gains. There’s something very backward/primitiave about that concept; but when your livelihood depends on having babies to work on the farm, things are different. I guess the luxury of being able to choose who you want to marry freely because of love is something society tends to take for granted.

3. cultural globalization in a different form: The marriage market in Asia is becoming rapidly globalized, and just in time for tens of thousands of single-but-looking South Korean men, most of them in the countryside where marriageable women are in scant supply. With little hope of finding wives of their own nationality and producing children to take over the farm, the men are pooling their family's resources to raise up to $20,000 to find a spouse abroad.

4. commercialized arranged marriages/mail-order brides: I feel it’s rather degrading and cheapens the sanctity of marriage; and even if the marriage is successful, the marital bliss is non-exsistant—the relationship after is just an unhappy union of cultural differences and language barriers.

On roads cutting through the fields, marriage brokers advertise their services on billboards. "Vietnamese marriage," reads a billboard in shocking pink on an otherwise quiet country lane.

South Koreans Search Far for Wives
Facing a shortage of prospective rural brides, many men are forced to look
abroad.

By Barbara Demick, L.A Times Staff Writer
September 21, 2006

NAMWON, South Korea — It was the constellation of acne across her cheeks
that made No. 242 stand out from the other young women who were paraded
before him in a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Jeong Ha-gi, 46, flew to Vietnam on a tour organized for South Korean
bachelors. He was looking for a wife who would be tough enough to withstand
the rigors of life on a rice farm. Trying to distinguish among all the women
with the numbers pinned to their shirts, he decided the one with a bad
complexion might be made of sturdy stuff. They were married three days
later.

Today, they live together in sullen silence, a chasm of cultural differences
between them. She speaks no Korean, he no Vietnamese. They communicate —
barely — with a well-thumbed phrase book. Nguyen Thu Dong, who turned out to
be only 20, doesn't like getting up at 5 a.m. to do the farm chores. She
turns up her nose at kimchi.

"We have a lot of issues between us," said the burly Jeong, who in his
undershirt resembles a Korean version of the young Marlon Brando. "Our age
difference, our culture, our food. But I wanted a wife and she is who I
got."

Despite the obvious pitfalls, South Korean men increasingly are going abroad
to find wives. They have little choice in the matter unless they want to
remain bachelors for life.

The marriage market in Asia is becoming rapidly globalized, and just in time
for tens of thousands of single-but-looking South Korean men, most of them
in the countryside where marriageable women are in scant supply. With little
hope of finding wives of their own nationality and producing children to
take over the farm, the men are pooling their family's resources to raise up
to $20,000 to find a spouse abroad.

The phenomenon has become so widespread that last year 13% of South Korean
marriages were to foreigners. More than a third of the rural men who married
last year have foreign wives, most of them Vietnamese, Chinese and
Philippine. That's a huge change in a country once among the most homogenous
in the world.

To some extent, the globalized marriage market is having a trickle-down
effect, exacerbating the shortage of marriage-age women elsewhere,
particularly China.

"There is a long-standing son preference throughout Asia, but now it is
happening in the context of this 21st century marriage market," said Valerie
M. Hudson, a political scientist and author of "Bare Branches: The Security
Implications of Asia's Surplus Male Population."

The preference for sons has translated in South Korea into 113 male births
for every 100 females. Ultrasound became widely available here in the 1980s,
and the first generation screened for gender before birth is now coming of
marriageable age.

But perhaps an even larger factor in the disappearance of young women from
the countryside is their tendency to move to the cities in search of careers
or urban husbands or both.

"South Korean women don't want to live in the countryside. They don't want
to do hard labor, getting their skin brown in the sun. The cities are less
traditional, less patriarchal," said Yang Soon-mi, a social worker with the
Ministry of Agriculture.

The wife shortage is most severe here in the southwestern region of Jeolla,
the traditional heartland of Korea. This is one of the few swaths of South
Korea where the rice paddies have not yet been cemented over for gray slabs
of high-rise apartments. On a hot August day, the air is thick with the
chirping of the cicadas, and red peppers are drying in the sun on the
pavement.

On roads cutting through the fields, marriage brokers advertise their
services on billboards.

"Vietnamese marriage," reads a billboard in shocking pink on an otherwise
quiet country lane.

The wife shortage is having a devastating effect on the agricultural
communities, already threatened by urbanization and free trade. Without
wives, young men won't want to stay on the farm. Without wives, there are no
babies to replenish the stock of farmers.

South Korea and Taiwan are tied for the lowest birthrates in the world, 1.1
per woman, according to a study released last month by the Washington-based
Population Reference Bureau. Unlike China, South Korea does not limit
births, and is in fact offering tax incentives to encourage more children.

Many of the villages around Jeolla are virtual ghost towns, with a sparse
population of elderly residents and hardly a child in sight.

"There are only old people around here," said Le Pho, a 22-year-old
Vietnamese woman who married a South Korean a year ago and is now pregnant.
Her child will be the first born in the village, Seogok-ri, in more than 20
years. Despite a regulation, widely ignored, prohibiting doctors from
divulging the sex of the fetus, Le knows already that she is having a boy.

"My husband and mother-in-law are very happy. They've treated me very well
since they found out the baby is a boy," Le said. "The neighbors too. When
they see my belly, they are amazed."

I'm totally diggin your 'Han Style'

Hello Class. Today's post justifies why there are Korean Popular Culture classes in American Universities. Our class is just a realization of one of the goals that the Korean Culture and Tourism Ministry has. Something interesting I thought were the 6 symbols that the Ministry was trying to push last year. Music, alphabet, food, and clothing are aspects of the Korean culture that I expected; however, I was surprised by the other two: rice paper and traditional home. I don't know much about rice paper so I didn't expect it to be a symbol of Korea and also I wish the paper explained what the traditional home meant. Secondly, I was expecting Korean drama/movies to be a symbol of Korea so I am wondering why the Ministry didn't push for that aspect of Korean culture. Yea, this is just a post to let the class know that this Hallyu wave is still going with the help of the Korean Government and our class is a simple proof that Korean Popular Culture is disseminating outside the Korean peninsula.

Culture & Tourism Ministry Announces 2007 Plan
Feb. 9, 2007
Arirang News

The Culture and Tourism Ministry said it will expand exchanges for everything from Korean pop culture to traditional arts. Minister Kim Myung-gon has announced his ministry's to-do list for this year.

The ministry plans to step up this year its promotion of Korean pop culture and traditional brands. Minister Kim told reporters Thursday that one of his ministry's major goals for 2007 is to further support the spread of the Korean Wave or Hallyu and globally market traditional Korean brands under the new slogan "Han Style."

The slogan was developed last year to promote six symbols of Korea. The six are the Korean alphabet, food, traditional clothing, traditional home, rice paper and music. Minister Kim says the promotional campaign will be a two-way affair.

"We will proclaim 'Korea, Sparkling' as the country's new tourism brand to strengthen overseas marketing, and step up activities to promote stays at traditional Korean homes and other types of lodging,” the minister said. “Our culture centers abroad will help expand bilateral cultural exchanges to develop cultural marketing."

By 2011, the ministry says it hopes to have 100 Korean language schools all over the world. On the domestic front, a grand cultural festival in October will celebrate a number of national holidays that occur around the month. The ministry is also striving for better long-term strategies for copyrights, new media and others by launching new teams this year.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry says 2007 will be a year of reform and improvement to prepare Korea for the future. It plans to focus on updating policies for digital and cultural contents, sports and tourism.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200702/200702090018.html

Korean Soaps

When I was reading Goong the manwha, I was expecting all of the scenes from Goong the drama. Of course, since something that is on paper cannot always work for something on screen. The manwha was really funny, especially when we get to see all those characters' embarrassing thoughts (Shin was told that he has to marry at his innocent age of 17, and he was hoping to enjoy his life with "waves of beautiful women"). I think Goong was the second Kdrama I've seen, and it made a great impact on me because it was truly the first time of my exposure to the Korean traditional culture, whether it was the formal language that they used or the way they were dressed to their furniture and education.

* * *

I also found this article comparing Korean dramas with American dramas on production and such:

Korean Vs. U.S. Soaps

Devotees of U.S. soap operas are increasingly voting with their feet, watching them not only on cable or satellite TV channels but engaging in such illegal activities like posting episodes of popular dramas with Korean subtitles online just a few hours after they are broadcast in the U.S. Pundits say as their number explodes, the viewer ratings of Korean dramas are shrinking. More than 1.5 million such fans are estimated to be out there online, more than three times the number three years ago. The cable channel OCN posted two or three times higher viewer ratings than usual on its “CSI Days” in June and October, when it aired seasons of the U.S. crime drama “CSI” 24 hours.

Why do people love U.S. soaps so much? It is mainly because they offer something different from the familiar fare of domestically produced dramas. The Chosun Ilbo asked translators of subtitles of U.S. dramas to compare shows produced in the two countries.

What you can find only in U.S. soap operas

Professions: Medical dramas in Korea are only about love between doctors and nurses, but that is not the case in the U.S. No matter what kind of professions they deal with, U.S. dramas depict their professional world realistically. “Nip/Tuck,” which features two plastic surgeons, as well as “CSI,” “Grey's Anatomy” and “ER” take us by surprise with their detailed and realistic description of the professions they feature. By contrast, most dramas except historical and period dramas in Korea are centered around romance.

Suspense: Korean dramas are filled with secrets, but viewers either know or easily guess what they are. Watch just the first few episodes and you know who will end up with whom and who will kick the bucket. In American soaps, the twists and turns are genuinely surprising in many episodes and viewers can have fun discussing the riddles. Cases in point are “Prison Break” and “Lost.” That is why is many cannot tear themselves away once they start watching.

Seasons: U.S. dramas are made based on thorough preparation by producers right from the planning stage, so they can be shot and shown in several “seasons.” But in Korea, there’s not a big enough pool of actors and they act both in movies and dramas simultaneously, making it nearly impossible for dramas to last several seasons. In the U.S. stars usually have a home either in TV or the movies. If the Korean soap opera “Damo (Female Detective)” were produced in the U.S., it would have run over five seasons.

Episodes: U.S. dramas are centered around events but Korean dramas around relationships. That is why U.S. dramas have titles for each episode, which mostly tells a complete story for 60 minutes. In Korea, the relationships among characters unfold at a leisurely pace throughout the whole drama.

What only Korean soaps offer

Family: Korean dramas put much emphasis on relationships, especially on blood relationships. There are often three generations living under one roof in Korean dramas; that is rare in U.S. soaps. The main reason is cultural differences, but also because U.S. dramas focus more on what characters do rather how they live.

Writers: U.S. soap writers are not as powerful as their Korean counterparts. Usually, one drama season is produced by 10-20 writers together, and you can feel the difference in the language characters use; such differences come up even in a single season. For example, if you hear newly-coined words, it is because young writers wrote the lines. But emotional language has become a unique characteristic of Korean dramas, hard to find in U.S. dramas that focus on particular events. In many cases, U.S. shows even have different directors who attempt to put their stamp on the episode, and sometimes famous movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino in “CSI” and Tobe Hooper in “Taken” have a hand in producing them.

Stars: U.S. dramas do not cast famous stars when they start. The mega-hit sitcom “Friends” ran into trouble when the stars it made tried to command more money after its mid-point. But when it was first aired, all except Lisa Kudrow, who previously starred in one or two B-movies, were still unknown. Kim Yoon-jin who rose to stardom in “Lost,” now commands some W30 billion (US$1=W930) per season or W1.2 billion per episode but was paid less than W100 million per episode in the first season. By contrast, Korean soaps tend to depend on the power of celebrities.

Incurable Disease: U.S. dramas deal with incurable diseases but only as incidental in such medical dramas as “House” and “Grey's Anatomy.” In Korean dramas, however, incurable diseases like cancer and leukemia and memory loss play a critical role in moving the drama along. U.S. dramas rely more on clockwork plots than affliction.

Source

Rain goes commercial

This is not related to Dae Jang Geum but interesting none the less. It seems that Rain's commercial success has epitomized itsef in the form of a jumbo jet. There are plenty of singers and actors in America and across the globe that have their own jets, but I cannot think of any that have their own portraits painted on the plane. Even American hip-hop stars who seem to take eveything the nth degree have not tried anything like this to my knowledge. Is this simply an over the top marketing tool for Rain or can we think of it as a defining moment for Korean Pop culture in general. Its certainly not the same as a billboard or concert in New York City because it is much more mobile.

An ode to Spam (sort of)

Food is an easy way to access a culture (as the wife of the Chilean consul to Seoul has also said). As a Korean-American who's never been back to Korea, Korean food has been the constant reminder in my life of my heritage. But, until reading the John Heffer piece on Korean food, I had not thought about how much it has been impacted by globalization and cultural and political processes that often occur very far from South (and North) Korea. So, I suppose the quote by Bourdieu in Toby Miller's "From Brahmin Julia to Working-Class Emeril" about diet as the "choice of destiny, but a forced choice" is true (qtd. on p. 76). Examples of this forced choice in South Korea are farmers selling their rice and buying cheaper foods to eat and the creation of budae chigae as Heffer outlined. When my parents go out to eat, they really only like to eat Korean food, and so we go to Korean restaurants often. I think that is why I always thought jajangmyun and tangsuyuk were purely Korean dishes. But, Heffer says that during the 1960s and 1970s these Koreanized Chinese dishes were a way for Koreans to have a taste of the "foreign" when international choices were limited (24). Maybe that's part of the reason why my family gravitates towards Korean-style Chinese restaurants when going out to eat -- because when my parents were growing up, eating Korean-style Chinese food represented a treat.

I think that Spam's journey to Korea and its lasting significance in Korean food culture is a great example of cultural globalism. In the article below, it talks about how Korean Spam actually has less sodium than the American version, which is an example of the "glocalization" that Heffer describes when talking about the Coca-Cola company and its worldwide success. On a more personal level, I have always loved eating it in my mom's kimchi chigae, and I have great memories of my mom frying up some Spam dipped into egg for breakfast with some rice and kimchi. And, I plan on going to the Spam museum in Minnesota one day (in an ironic sort of fashion, of course).

P.S. This has nothing to do with Korean food, but Heffer's discussion about the use of bad English in Korean advertisements made me think of this article.

(The following article about the Korean love of spam is from 2005, which is why I can't find a proper link for it.)

When Only Slabs of Pink, Jellied Byproduct Will Do
By Barbara Demick, LA Times Staff Writer

SEOUL — Stroll into an expensive department store and walk straight past the $180 watermelon with a ribbon twirled just so around its stem. Don't bother with the tea in a butterfly-shaped tin for $153, or with the gift boxes of Belgian chocolates or French cheeses.

If you're looking for a gift that bespeaks elegance and taste, you might try Spam. The luncheon meat might be the subject of satire back home in the U.S., but in South Korea, it is positively classy. With $136 million in sales, South Korea is the largest market in the world for Spam outside the United States. But here, some consider the pink luncheon meat with its gelatinous shell too nice to buy for themselves, and 40% of the Spam is purchased as gifts.

Especially during the holidays, you can see the blue-and-yellow cans neatly stacked in the aisles of the better stores. South Koreans are nearly as passionate about packaging as the Japanese are, and the Spam often comes wrapped in boxed sets. A set of 12 cans costs $44.



"Spam really is a luxury item," said Han Geun Rae, 43, an impeccably dressed fashion buyer who was loading gift boxes of Spam into a cart at the Shinsegae department store before the recent Chusok holiday.

Chusok is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, and the biggest gift-giving occasion of the year here. On this holiday alone, Korean distributor CJ Corp. estimates, 8 million cans of Spam change hands.

Han's intended recipients were her employees, among them a young single man and a married woman with children. "Everybody loves it," Han said. "It is so easy and convenient."

She was expecting to get her own complement of Spam as well — in previous Chusok seasons, about a third of gifts she received were food sets that contained at least one can of Spam. "My children are in high school and they love it," she said. "I cook it in jjigae stew with kimchi.

"It goes very nicely with red wine," said another shopper, 44-year-old Kim Hwa Yeon, a stockbroker in a crisp navy blue suit and pearls, who said she was buying for clients.

Spam's success in South Korea is one of those cultural mysteries — a bit like the reverence for Jerry Lewis in France — where an image is improved in translation. South Koreans take their Spam quite seriously and seem mystified as to why it is a subject of parody among Americans.

"I can't understand what is funny about Spam," said Jeon Pyoung Soo, a CJ Corp. executive who is brand manager here for Spam.

Jeon recalled a recent visit to Austin, Minn., where Spam's manufacturer, Hormel Foods Corp., has created a museum devoted to the history and cult of Spam. Highlights include a 1970 Monty Python skit in which a group of Vikings drowns out all other conversation with a chorus of "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam." (The skit is credited with the word "spam" coming into use to mean unsolicited e-mails that likewise clog a computer's inbox.)

"Everybody was laughing and smiling but me," said the 27-year-old Jeon, who went to business school in the United States and is fluent in English. "I knew all the words, but I didn't get the joke."

Not coincidentally, Spam is also popular in Hawaii, the Philippines, Okinawa, Guam and Saipan, all places with a history of a U.S. military presence. The "Miracle Meat in a Can," as it was touted after its launch in 1937, was a staple of the GI diet during World War II and the 1950-53 Korean War.

Until 1987, South Koreans had to buy black-market cans of Spam that had been diverted from U.S. military bases. Then CJ Corp. bought the rights from Hormel and began producing its own version at a factory south of Seoul.

In the postwar years, Spam was a special treat for South Koreans, who could rarely afford meat and didn't have refrigeration at home. It is harder to explain its cachet today in the world's 11th-largest economy, where there is no shortage of fresh meat and things associated with the U.S. military are considered low class.

Moreover, other American brands haven't done well here, perhaps because South Koreans have a strong attachment to their own cuisine, as is evident to anyone who has seen them carrying their own stocks of kimchi while traveling abroad.

"There are so many cases where foreign brands have failed. Kellogg's cereals, for example. It was not possible to pass on American breakfast tastes to Koreans," said Kim Tai Joon, the head of the processed-meat division of CJ Corp. "But we have adapted Spam to the Korean food culture to the point that people think of it as a Korean food."

The South Korean version of Spam has less salt than the American recipe, and somewhat different spices. Koreans don't eat it in sandwiches like Americans do, but rather fried with rice or in a soup or stew. Sometimes it is rolled into kimbab, the Korean version of sushi.

"It is easy for old people and children to chew," said Choi Hyun Ju, a 28-year-old sales clerk who was wearing a red miniskirt and high white boots to promote Spam at the Shinsegae store, when asked to explain Spam's popularity.

Back in Minnesota, even some Hormel executives find it difficult to explain why their product is so admired abroad.

"It is a curious thing about Spam that in the Far East, it is taken very seriously, while in the United States, particularly on college campuses, it has this quirky, kitschy retro feel to it," said Julie Craven, public relations manager for Hormel.

Long ago, the company decided that since it couldn't elevate Spam's image at home, it might as well embrace its cult status. The company runs a Spam fan club, sells products ranging from Spam pajamas to books such as "The 100 Best Spam Jokes," and has released collector's-edition cans to mark last year's opening of the Broadway musical "Spamalot," which lampoons both the meat product and the Monty Python movies.

"When it comes to Spam," Craven said, "we get the joke."

Drama, drama, drama

I’ve watched some Korean historical dramas outside of class and some for class. I want to make a few comments about what they do well, not so well, and then just some opinions.

One thing all of the dramas I have seen have in common, and do quite well, is they vividly and thoroughly recreate historical settings. The research and attention paid to the hanboks, hairstyles, dwellings, social climate and even food results in a rich atmosphere of immersion. Koreans do make dramas well in general, and I imagine that at least a facet of this is the calculated effort to show off traditional Korea to both other Koreans and especially foreigners. In that respect, the dramas are very successful. I notice they tend to center on just one specific event or institution from Korean (typically Chosǒn) history, which allows for a complete and imaginative recreation of that aspect. Hwang Chini respectfully and impressively brings kisaeng to a modern audience; Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin paints an intriguing and decisive period of Korean history, running a gamut of themes from conspiracy and betrayal to victory and nationalism.

I think even the most diehard Korean drama fan can admit that the shows aren’t flawless. Some of these complaints apply to serialized drama in general; some are specific to certain Korean shows. The plots are utterly one-dimensional and predictable. Antagonists spend all their screen-time scheming and watching schemes coming to fruition, usually accompanied by foreboding music to vanish any doubt that the characters shown are, in fact, the antagonists. Protagonists are typically innocent victims of these malevolent forces, but will ultimately overcome hardships through purity, wit and friendship. Another flaw, noticeably in Daejanggum but possibly in other shows as well, is the frequent visual and auditory flashbacks, sometimes of events that were on screen just minutes ago. As a result, the drama does not require or even encourage any thinking or contemplation. If the writers are trying to communicate a central theme, subtlety disappears in a puff of repetition and spoon-feeding. The accessory actors often grossly overact their parts with comical effects, a fault of which from time to time the principal actors are no less guilty.

If the previous paragraph sounds overly harsh, I do enjoy the dramas in spite of their shortcomings. Some of the problems are simply emergent properties of serial drama genre itself. I am not sure about how they are broadcast in Korea, but in the United States and other countries, these types of drama are broadcast midday to a very wide audience. As clearly evidenced by their popularity, the writing and acting doesn’t have to be Shakespearean to be popular and enjoyable. The shows must be carefully crafted to appeal to different tastes, generations, and even nationalities which are the target audiences of most dramas. I tend to avoid the majority of drama for this reason, but the Korean dramas maintain enough charm and appeal to make me keep watching to find out what happens next. And in the fundamental goal of the drama, which is to entertain, they do not disappoint.

Korean Popular Culture

Korean Popular Culture

Food for Thought

I think that Julia Child brings up interesting points in her response to the cultural globalism of food. I never really thought of how the medium of TV and satellite INTERNATIONAL TV can really have an effect on a global scale. It is not just the medium of TV that has allowed technologically the “word” of food to spread, it is the dedicated time that more and more people around the globe spend watching TV.

Globalization is usually referred to with respect to technology or other vibrant booming fields of commercialism. However, with fast food chains making leaps across seas as can be seen in any developed countries, food is jumping the borders. Child highlights these “jumps” (to say) very well and her argument is very well constructed. I personally connected with the McDonald’s examples. Having traveled quite a bit to these countries I don’t even really notice it out of place to see a Mac on the corner of a street in Shanghai or in a rural area of Kanto. However, it is with the advent of TV that drives the interest abroad and allows marketing to be done by itself just by people being exposed to international satellite. In other words, the market in a foreign country has already been exposed and is familiar with the popularity of Mac so it is not necessary to heavily advertise. Furthermore, it is important to realize that each segment of the market in foreign countries can greatly differ. Their image is also very tied to cultural globalization but really tied to their own cultural norms and boundaries that companies may not realize nor recognize. For example, Mac in Japan is more of a location of hanging out rather than necessarily eating the bite sized burgers. Yet, they have been exposed to Mac through TV for long times.

One point that Child makes on page 79, notes about imported cuisines. First, this is an interesting because we need to consider cultural popular cultural scopes. As with the commercial global expansionism that we discussed a few weeks ago, we need to remember that having more globalism, especially of food, is a daily cuisine that is essential for daily survival. A lot of restaurants will be forced to go out of business because of the new Mac around the corner. Many nationalists and patriots view that as a takeover of their country and we cannot just excuse the fact that these people will not embrace these foreign brands with open arms. The government might put a stop on the influx of foreign cuisine RESTAURANTS not necessarily the cuisine. There is no reason why these restaurants that currently culturally cannot adapt globally and serve a wide variety of food, even though they don’t want to they may have to stay in business. Thus, in conclusion, I feel that the globalization through TV of cuisines needs to be examined from many different angles taking into account cultural boundaries and customs set by restaurants and the countries in which they exist.

Korean Dramas - The Formulaic Nature of Romantic Comedies

When you look at Korean dramas, at least the romantic comedies, they seem to be Cinderella stories and follow a basic formula:

1. (usually poor) Girl 1 Meets (usually rich) Guy 1
2. Girl 1 falls in love with Guy 1
3. Girl 2 (usually Guy 1's old flame/current crush and often of the same social class/wealth/education, etc) appears and causes misunderstandings between Girl 1 and Guy 1
4. Guy 2 (who is usually more sensitive, richer, nicer, more sincere than Guy 1 and who I usually like better because he only has eyes for Girl 1) appears and comforts Girl 1 causing more misunderstandings between Girl 1 and Guy 1
5. Girl 1 and Guy 1 eventually solve their misunderstandings, get back together and live happily ever after (even though I'm usually cheering for Guy 2)

Both Goong and Sassy Girl Chun-hyang, both seem to follow this formula.

*Spoilers*

In Goong, commoner Shin Chae-gyung finds out she's been engaged with the Crown Prince of Korea Lee Shin because their grandfathers were friends. They marry and go live in to the palace because Shin's girlfriend, Min Hyo-rin, rejected him since she wants to go abroad and be professional ballet dancer. Meanwhile, Lee Shin's cousin and competitor to the throne Lee Yul comes back and pursues Shin Chae-gyung avidly. At the same time, Min Hyo-rin is jealous that of Shin Chae-gyung and Lee Shin's budding relationship and begins pursuing Lee Shin again. Many misunderstandings, scandals, crying scenes ensue. Finally Lee Shin and Shin Chae-gyung get back together and go off together somewhere (at least in the drama) with Lee Shin's sister inheriting the throne.

Sassy Girl Chun-hyang is pretty much the same. Poor, daughter of a cabaret singer, Chun-hyang and relatively richer, son of a police commissioner, Myong-rong are forced to be married (due to a misunderstanding) by their parents and high school teachers. Chun-hyang and Myong-rong fall in love gradually. Myong-rong's old flame, Chae-rin comes back after being dumped by her boyfriend and pursues Myong-rong avidly. Meanwhile, Byeon Hak-do, the rich director of a talent agency, meets Chun-hyang and is totally enchanted by her, even though she's about half his age....I think she's around 16-17 and he's ~30. Misunderstandings, separation, mountains of tears ensue. Finally Myong-rong and Chun-hyang get back together at the end and live happily ever after.

So why do I like Korean romantic comedies? After all, the plots are extremely predictable.

Perhaps its the setting?
To be honest, I like the manhwa (comic book) of Goong much better of the drama in terms of plot, but the drama totally swept me away with the beautiful houses/palaces, the colorful and beautiful clothes, and great soundtrack (even though I don't understand a word of Korean).

Or perhaps its the actors/actresses?
In terms of male actors, I think Oh Ji-ho (오지호) from Fantasy Couple is pretty hot and in terms of female stars I think Han Chae-yeong (한채영) from Sassy Girl, Chun-hyang has a good figure and Song Hye-gyo (송혜교) from Full House is quite beautiful.

Or perhaps I just like the formula itself...as I and probably the rest of the Korean drama-watching population may be romantics as heart and the perfect (personality and wealth-wise) guys in the dramas give us plenty of fuel to fantasize about...

Finally, let me end with some recommendations in terms of Korean dramas. If you liked Goong and/or Sassy Girl, Chun-hyang you may also like the following, most of which follow the Cinderella formula:

Sweet 18: poor/middle-class girl with prosecutor/illustrious family guy
Full House: Poor girl and movie star main guy
My Girl: poor swindler girl with rich hotelier guy
Fantasy Couple: Reverse Cinderella with rich girl and poor guy

Food, Culture, and Pride

The function of food goes beyond satisfying the hunger. The ramifications from the food consumption manifest in various forms. For instance, a recent study has found that binge eating disorder has surpassed anorexia and bulimia combined as the most common eating disorder. Therefore, food can serve as an agent that infringes pressure on people; it can also be utilized as a vehicle in which people seek a solace or pleasure.Besides the physical transformations that food has on people, it also engenders a sense of pride. When people go to restaurants they often ask, "What kind of restaurant are you going?" The most likely answer to the question would entail the country in which the food originated such as Chinese, Italian, Ethiopian, or what-have-you. The emphasis on the ethnic nature of the food highlights the authenticity and the ownage attached to the cuisine. One possible reason for the regional attachment to food could be that it embodies culture; food epitomizes one's culture. The fact that consuming food is one of the most prominent and salient "events" throughout the course of one's daily routine, it provides numerous opportunities for a particular food to introduce that culture to people. Therefore, due to the food's ability to percolate a certain culture to people, it could generate a fierce competition for the ownership of that food between nations. The age of globalism - the movement of ideas, materials, people, and culture - has amplified the urgency in the self-proclamation of the foodstuff as their own. In conjunction with the increase of the cultural fluidity around the world, each country is pressured to formulate a more formidable marketing strategy to maintain the authenticity of their food.A dispute over Kimchi between Korea and Japan illuminates on the idea that food functions as a proxy for one's culture (http://www.american.edu/TED/kimchi.htm). The words become interchangeable to some people because of the strong association between the two. When Japan claimed kimchi as their food at the 1996 olympic in Atlanta, Koreans were alarmed by such declaration. This event not only challenged Korea in economics, but more importantly it disparaged and invalidated Korean culture by claiming kimchi as their own condiment. This incident infuriated many Koreans because of its overt and conspicuous attack on Korean culture; according to the Japanese, kimchi belonged to them.When we talked about territorial disputes between Korea and Japan and Korea and China, one of the things at stake was nationalistic pride and self-identity. Food cannot be an exception in creating the need for maintaining one's pride and identity. As the dispute over kimchi has demonstrated, food is more than "this thing that goes in your mouth."In this sense, Jewel in the Palace masterfully utilizes food as one of the venues to disseminate Korean culture. Websites dedicated to this drama revealed that it provided a myriad of opportunities for different kinds of Korean food to be known throughout the world that otherwise have been buried under the immense popularity of kimchi. Hence, food functioned as a cultural ambassador.

Very Useful Link to Watch Dramas

Hi everyone, as I was browsing on the internet I found a very useful link for everyone. You have to create and id, but it's completely free. Unfortunately you can not watch the shows on full screen unless you donate to the site, but if you enlarge the screen it is still big enough to clearly read the subtitles. This site is very helpful since it organizes the episodes neatly unlike youtube where you have to search thoroughly to find what you are looking for. There are Korean, Japanese, and Chinese dramas and movies contained in this site. Some of the shows that we've already learned about (Emperor of the Sea and Jewel in the Palace) are also on this site. I hope this helps everyone and have fun watching! :)

Go to www.crunchyroll.com and then look under dramas.

Daejanggeum the Musical

I found a recent article on Digital Chosun about how Jewel in the Palace is slated to become a musical this May. The musical will debut in Korea, and since the television series was such an international hit (it aired in 50 countries!), the creators plan to bring the musical overseas. In the article the producer of the play is quoted saying, “We have here today people from a Chinese theater, a Japanese broadcaster and a Singaporean stage company. They're very interested in the musical 'Daejanggeum,' and want to show it in their countries."

The spread of Jewel in the Palace is cultural globalism at its finest. The series - which showcases traditional Korean history, cuisine, and culture, and features a Korean heroine - is being celebrated all over Asia and the world, and has an enormous base of loyal fans spanning the globe. The show has sparked interest in Korean history and culture while bolstering S. Korea's image as a producer of great dramas and modern culture. It has popularized Korean actresses and actors, and opened the door to other opportunities to spread Korean culture through venues like the upcoming musical.

This also relates back to a previous post by Sandy (February 3rd), which discusses how commercialization is closely tied to cultural globalism. The Korean historical figure of Jang Geum has been commercialized into a television series, a musical play, and (soon, if not already) t-shirts and other fan paraphernalia. The musical will likely market a CD, and a Jewel in the Palace movie deal can't be far behind. All of these commercial goods only make it easier for Korean cultural globalism to continue.

The article's text is pasted below, or you can read the original here.

"Daejanggeum" Musical to Debut on Stage This Year

A Korean historical TV drama that was a big hit in many Asian countries is now ready to move to the stage as a musical. Called "Daejanggeum" in Korea and also known as "A Jewel in the Palace," the producers are hoping to take the musical overseas after first showing it to local audiences.

Elaborate costumes, a tight plot and talented performers. The new production of "Daejanggeum" has all of those elements, and is set to hit the stage in May. The production is based on the TV drama of the same name about a woman who goes from royal chef to court physician.

“‘Daejanggeum' has aired in 50 countries, so its storyline is well-known and it has name value,” Song Seung-hwan, the musical’s producer, said. “We have here today people from a Chinese theater, a Japanese broadcaster and a Singaporean stage company. They're very interested in the musical 'Daejanggeum,' and want to show it in their countries."

The TV series set a host of records during its run in Korea between September 2003 and March 2004. It was also a hit in other Asian nations such as Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. The musical version could ride on the coattails of the Korean Wave or hallyu, and further spread Korean culture and influence throughout the world.

The musical's production company PMC is already famous for creating the hit percussion dance show "Nanta."
PMC says it'll focus on the Korean market this year with shows in July in Daegu and at Seongnam Arts Center south of Seoul in August. The company will then seek to hold performances next year in Southeast Asia and other countries.

8 Asians

Just thought I'd post a link to an interesting site I came across. It's called 8 Asians and can be found at http://www.8asians.com.

The description from their website:

There are a lot of blogs out there. Blogs about cities, blogs about adorable animals, blogs about wine and coffee and everything in between. I haven’t noticed any decent, well written blog collectives about Asian-Americans, or Asian-American life, or life AS an Asian-American. Not just politics, but politics to lifestyle to entertainment to just about everything in between. (Actually, I correct that: Hyphen Magazine’s blog is quite good. But that’s a sole voice in a virtual sea of voices and opinions of the Asian community.)

Will this be the blog that can handle all that? Well, we certainly hope so. 8 Asians is a collaborative blog of eight different people of Asian decent. We’ll be posting about whatever Asian issues are currently relevant in our lives, whether it be pop culture or current events or politics. Think “The View,” with Star Jones and Rosie O’Donnell and that chick from Survivor. Now, replace them all with Asian-Americans and Asian-Canadians. Yeah.

The site was created by Ernie Hsiung (Little.Yellow.Different.) who is relatively well known in the major blogging circles and has even had numerous articles written about him by magazines such as The Advocate, US Weekly, and Time.

Korean Druggies?

I will have to say that this post is quite a depressing post. According to this article, some Korean parents are taking their children-a lot of them who are perfectly normal, to "learning clinics" so that they can get methylphenidate (MPH)-an amphetamine-like stimulant to help their kids be number one in their classes. At one angle, I see this article pointing out a merge of two popular cultures: 1)the old popular culture of constantly studying where GPA is a student's central and only motive to getting up in the morning and 2) the new popular culture where the use of drugs are prevalent and almost shamefully accepted. This article points out the fusion in that the old culture is using the new culture to achieve its point: raise the gpa. Unfortunately, like the article mentioned, MPH has its bad effects and in the end, it is a drug. I am even more disspointed in the way that these mental disorder clinics are being called "learning clinics" and that many of these doctors are just giving away these unnatural stimulants to normal kids. It was also interesting how one of the korean Doctors defended the drug by stating mentioning that MPH is accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and states that MPH is used more than it should be in the US as well. So I guess in Korean people's minds, if Americans are doing it, it should be ok. *shakes head*
-deekoh

"Study Pill" Abuse Rampant Among Korean Students
-ChosunIlbo
Feb. 1, 2007
A medication used to treat sufferers of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is being abused by Korean students who want to improve their concentration. Called a "wonder drug" for its power to improve study abilities, increasing numbers of students are taking methylphenidate (MPH) to boost the grades. While the drug causes few side effects in patients with ADHD, experts warn that it can lead to appetite loss and depression in abusers.
Around 20 clinics and medical centers including child psychiatry hospitals in the affluent Gangnam and Bundang areas of Seoul are prescribing the drug, also known by its trade names Concerta, Metadate and Penid. Many of these businesses advertise with banners calling themselves "learning clinics". Such clinics are also turning up in a few Gangbuk areas and emerging cities around the suburbs.
◆ Learning Clinic Bustled with Students Looking for the Drug
"Lee" turned to the drug after her class ranking dropped from second or third in middle school to below 20 after she entered a prestigious foreign language high school last year. She sought help at a learning clinic in Gangnam, Seoul. Along with six months of psychotherapy, Lee was prescribed MPH.
"She tried everything to improve her concentration, including brain respiration, clairvoyance and fast reading," her mother said. Lee's mother gives her two or three MPH pills a day, hoping the drug will help Lee improve her grades.
In a learning clinic in the affluent Daechi-dong area of southern Seoul Tuesday, around 10 students and their parents lined up after lessons at nearby private cram schools. "My child can't concentrate and he's doing poorly at school," said a mother with a middle school boy. "I brought him here because I think he might have some mental disorder."
Another woman who brought an elementary school boy said, "His brother is fine but he's too active and distracted. I'm worried he'll do badly at school, so I brought him here."
There are already 350 students registered with this clinic, and staffers say they get about 10 calls a day from parents seeking help for their kids. "Sometimes we run out of the drug if too many students visit," an employee at another learning clinic said. "Some children come here for treatment, but many students are just looking to raise their GPA."
◆ Drug Has Potentially Dangerous Side Effects
The amphetamine-like stimulant MPH is commonly used to treat ADHD, a disorder caused by problems of dopamine secretion, a neurotransmitter in the brain which affects learning and self-control. People with ADHD are often distracted, impatient and forgetful. The drug is most commonly imported from the U.S.
Although it has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, MPH has potential side effects such as appetite loss, sleeplessness, nausea, anxiety, hallucination, dizziness and depression.
Professor Hwang Jun-won of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division at Seoul National University Hospital said that students in the U.S. are also abusing MPH, where the number of people who take the drug is more than three times the number of people with ADHD.
Professor Hwang Sang-min of Yonsei University’s Department of Psychology said ADHD is a controversial disorder. "ADHD is difficult to diagnose, and the diagnosis can be rather arbitrary depending on the doctor," she said. "I had a student who was doing badly at school and had been diagnosed with ADHD after just a simple, unreliable test in a hospital. I suggested he ignore the diagnosis."
The president of a learning clinic in Gangnam area agreed that some clinics prescribed the drug "excessively", but said that his clinic was more careful. "In order to prevent mis-diagnosis, we administer a two-and-a-half-hour battery of tests that includes a sentence completion test, a concentration test, intelligence test, emotional disability test and personality test," he said. "Then we counsel the patients and their parents before diagnosing ADHD and prescribing MPH."
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200702/200702010034.html