After a long twitter discussion with someone who failed to see the problem with the blackface stuff, other than that it was tasteless and unfunny... two more thoughts.
1. YES. Fighting racist, insulting or degrading depictions of other cultures in Korean media is a worthwhile battle to fight, for this reason:
The things that are acceptable to show on TV are the things my kid grows up watching. The things that are put on TV, and the public discussions around what's OK, and why this was and that other thing wasn't OK to put on TV when kids can see it: these things set the norms for all media consumers in that society, for what's OK to talk about, to laugh at, and what we should be offended at. Those conversations about TV shows become conversations about what Uncle Vernon, or Uncle Chul-soo is OK to joke about and talk about around the dinner table as well, and helps kids decide Uncle Vernon is either a guy with strong opinions, or just a racist ass: media reflects, at the same time as it dictates, what the norms and taboos are for a society.
And after all content and jokes that degrade a particular group, or treat a group as inferior, are either removed from TV, or framed within public discussions about how it's not OK to degrade that group... after the media has moved beyond denigrating that group, and the dinner-table conversation reflects those norms, there's finally a chance kids in that media's society can grow up with a mindframe that is 100% non-discriminatory towards that group.
And that's the goal.
My twitter pal asked me, "Shouldn't you be fighting real battles about workplace discrimination, banking and working rights, to root out racism?" And I say the battle for a non-racist media and the battle for non-discriminatory treatment are one and the same. Because if a person has been raised in a media that respects all people groups (not ignores the fact there are people-groups, but acknowledges and respects the differences), you say "Well shouldn't a brown dude be able to get an iPhone in Korea?" and he'll go "Well, duh!" rather than throwing up a wall of cultural exceptionalist/ethnic stereotype defenses.
2. It's a fair point that not every nation's media is the same. Given the robust free speech in Denmark, and the robust public discussions about what's OK and not OK, I understand why people didn't think it was right to have a Fatwa declared against the muhammad cartoonist - because in that country, free speech is pretty well protected, and everybody gets their turn to be mocked, but everybody gets a platform to shout "I don't like what you said about me!"
The state of free speech in Korea isn't quite that strong: it's in the middle of the pack, press-freedom-wise, and every time Lee "Thin-Skin" Myungbak arrests or persecutes another blogger, podcaster or critic, I wonder how long it will be until Korea's media is truly free. And those who want freedom to partake in "irresponsible reckless name-calling" are just as much in the wrong as those who would arrest them.
As for which media should be allowed to make which jokes, and when, I think a good rule of thumb is to put the shoe on the other foot. How would Koreans feel if East-Asians in the USA were still being portrayed like this:
(source)
If the video's blocked on copyright grounds (they're shitheads, but they like to guard their stuff, those MBC folks), contact me and I'll see to it you get a copy of the video from the uploader.
OK, Korean media people. Here's the thing.
You, collectively, get to plead ignorance ONCE. Once altogether. Not once every three years: there's no reboot button. There are areas where you are supposed to have learned the lesson, and then not do it anymore.
And after that first "oh, we didn't realize," the free pass has expired. Forever. That Get-out-of-jail-free card is one-use only.
In fact, if you look at the makeup - all the way down to the white space around the lips -- it looks like the people who did this blackface DID know enough about blackface to make sure the Korean singers' makeup was identifiable as classic blackface.
And you don't get to say "Oh. That was another TV station/studio/music company that did blackface last time: they should have learned their lesson, but we can hardly be blamed..." Because you have people in your company who have been in the industry, who have been paying attention to the industry, since the last time some asshat did this. (in January)
So pull your head out of your asses Korean domestic media companies. Because your stuff gets put on Youtube, gets watched by all the expats living in Korea. Pull your heads out of your asses because a month after Girls' Generation got on Letterman, and (as is hoped) a whole bunch of new people started to pay attention to The Korean Wave, and began to be interested in Korea... here's what they see:
And that's embarrassing. Embarrassing for Korea, because some people? All they know about Korea is Girls Generation on Letterman, Hyuna's Bubble-Pop video, and now these screenshots.
Embarrassing for all the people trying to promote Korea overseas, to change and improve the image of the country.
Not all Koreans are racist. That's obvious. But Korea's media makes Korea look like a racist backwater from time to time. And with images like this, Korea's media makes Korea look like a really racist backwater.
And the Koreans who aren't racist, have to kick up a storm when this shit does happen, so that it doesn't happen again, and it doesn't take letters from the NAACP or the Simon Weisenthal Center to cause a retraction or an apology.
If this video gets pulled from Youtube (and it might), contact me. I'm in touch with the uploader, who has a copy on their computer.
Oh, but tu quoque, Roboseyo: you see, Billy Crystal wore blackface at the Oscars! Yes. He did. And he got called on it, a lot, because blackface just isn't acceptable. When "chinky eyes" got drawn on a Starbucks cup in America, it caused a bloggy firestorm. Because while America clearly hasn't solved racism (that's not how these things work anyway), America DOES talk about these things, and everyone can learn where the lines are drawn, because everybody is witness, or party, to these discussions.
It was just a little over a month ago - ONLY A FREAKING MONTH since since the last blackface fuck-up on Korean Television. (SNL Korea's blackface Dreamgirls skit). That time I was talking about the ambiguities on the radio -- why should American cultural sensitivities be suddenly forced on the entire world's media, just because someone might put something on Youtube?...
But when I look at these images, and this video... such attempts to contextualize go out the window.
Look at the video above. This is not a video that would only offend Americans sensitized to blackface. Look at these pictures. Find me an African who doesn't find that offensive. (source)
How about this music video. (Bubble Sisters were 2003. We STILL haven't learned, nine fucking years later?)
How about this fried chicken commercial. (Uploaded 2009; not sure when it aired)
This no longer strikes me as an isolated incident. This strikes me as something Korean society needs to have a soul-searching discussion about.
Because if foreigners wearing hanboks is the only acceptable way to put foreigners on TV in Korea -- either in Hanboks, or with bones in their freaking noses... Korea really, SERIOUSLY needs to talk about portraying non-Koreans in the media, in a way that treats them as humans, as adults, as thinking, feeling beings, and not just as embodiments of stereotypes, (source)
or as pretty faces saying Korean men are handsome, Kimchi is delicious, and everything Korea is a wonderful! (Misuda accomplished more than that... but it did put otherness on display...and nobody's explained to me why theopinions of pretty, foreign women (put your emphasis on whichever of those words you choose) are more valuable than the opinions of non-pretty, or non-foreign, or non-women. I wrote about that here.
... if those are the only images foreigners get in domestic Korean media, we'll have another generation growing up who are unable to think of Korea's relationship with the world in any frame other than "us and them" and that's not a healthy attitude for a country that wants to be a global player.
The cultural argument needs consideration: last time around, I argued it's ethnocentric to say the whole world must ascribe to our values of what's offensive... but it's also ethnocentric, and just fucking disrespectful, to say "because we're a different culture, we're allowed to mock your racial/ethnic/gender identity group as much as we like. You just don't understand us." (And it's dishonest to continue hiding behind "We don't know any better" (you get to play that card once) or "You weren't the audience" (that's not how things work in the hyper-connected information age. Everybody sees everything all the time). Does Korea really want to be considered an elite/advanced nation? Then set that "Korea's still a developing country" excuse to rest and start taking ownership.
So between the type of tunnel vision that says "Everything that offends me must disappear from everywhere" and the type of tunnel vision that says "Because we don't share every aspect of your cultural history, we're allowed to brazenly continue practices that we are well aware are offensive to a lot of people" we need to find a middle ground where all involved cultures feel they're being respected. It needs to be a reciprocal conversation: not just a dictation of one media's mores to another culture, nor a flat cultural argument and a subsequent refusal to listen.
And the way to find that middle ground is to talk about it. Continually -- these kinds of discussions are never completely finished (cf: Billy Crystal), but every time we revisit the same themes, we've come a little farther, learned a little more, and are more likely to get things right. So let's talk about it. In English, and also in Korean.
Because here's what happens next: Korea's One Use Only "Get out of Jail Free" ignorance card has already been played (back in freaking 2003, when the Bubble Sisters used blackface)
Now that the free pass has already been used, every subsequent time garbage like this gets on Korean Television, or in Korean newspapers, bloggers are going to write about it. And send letters to groups like the Simon Weisenthal Center and the NAACP about it, and contact the journalists we know, and share it on facebook and twitter. And cause as much embarrassment as possible for korea, until the TV producers who say "Yeah, sure, paint her face black. It'll be funny." Stop saying that. Until the KTO has a sit-down with the chairperson of MBC and says "Stop undoing our Korea promotion work with your racist brain-sharts." Until SM Entertainment and JYP lay a little smackdown on local Korean media for making their Hallyu venture harder to achieve because instead of "K-pop? Weren't they on letterman" the initial respons becomes "Korea? Isn't that the country that still makes blackface jokes?"
And while we're here, let's not forget: there's already an anti-Hallyu backlash in Japan, and other places. As Block B discovered, it doesn't take much to get an entire nation up in arms at a percieved slight (cf: Jay Leno's dog eating joke and here), and you never know when this or that story unexpectedly goes viral. If MBC decides to mock the Thai, or Filipinos, or Vietnamese, next time their variety shows can't think of a joke, if the next target are some dirty Chinese instead of some blackface pickaninnies, that rumbling anti-Hallyu backlash could crystallize into something too big, and too angry, for an apology video to smooth over.
Korea wanted a place on the world stage. Well, now that you're here, this is what happens. Everybody watches everything, and dirty laundry gets hung out for the world to see. There are no more secret shames, so let's hope Korean TV programmers, music video producers, and the like, start treating non-Korean cultures with a little more respect and responsibility.
We haven't forgotten about you, T-ara. Don't worry.
I'm No Picasso added a response to it, with an interesting post about the way women in Kpop videos these days are taking on the Male Gaze directly - with Hyuna as a prime example of that - rather than pretending it isn't there.
It's been an interesting conversation, but I'd like to tie it in with one other thing:
Basically, here's the rundown:
K-pop girl bands started targeting males in their 30s and 40s. All well and good... those guys have money to burn! The problem is, especially when the performers in these girl groups are underage, it gets kind of uncomfortable for older men to be leering at videos of underage girls in short skirts shaking their asses, now, doesn't it?
To get around this, the discourse of the "ajosshi fan" was invented. Ajosshi fans, or uncle fans, claim their feeling toward the girls' is like a friendly uncle’s feelings toward his niece - a little paternal, a little protective, but most of all, innocent and de-sexualized. This is a convenient justification, because by claiming to be an “uncle fan” a guy can pretend he hasn’t noticed that these band members are chosen and the videos are designed for sex appeal. By throwing up his hands and shouting "Uncle" he gets to ogle underage girls, but the "Uncle fan" explanation lets him off the hook without feeling like a creep. Kind of like the creepy uncle who tries to look down his niece's shirt while going on about how she's growing up. I'm sure my female readers could comment on how NOT benign such affection is... even though sometimes it probably is meant in all innocence.
To be fair: not every “uncle fan” is a creep, but if we acknowledge that sexual interest IS part of the K-pop girl group package, we can start discussing things like guidelines for the appropriate use of underage girls in k-pop groups. And we can recognize that the "uncle fan" explanation may be true for some men who claim to have "paternal feelings"... but the number of men who truly have only "uncle-ish" feelings is probably fewer than the number of men who claim that's why they're avid followers of K-pop girl groups.
And let's just call bullshit on that anyway... because if I saw any of my nieces dressed in the kinds of uniforms k-pop girls wear, dancing that way, and saw thousands of men my age staring at the videos, I wouldn't be proud and paternal. I wouldn't want to give her a squeeze around the shoulders, a chuck on the chin, and say "nice job, niece." I'd be shocked and upset and want to stand in front of the TV to block it, not to watch it again, if it were my niece. If we could ask every "Uncle fan" who watches these videos, "How'd you feel if it was your daughter up there, dressed like that," I think we'd find the "Uncle fan" fiction doesn't hold water. (Hell, I bet we could just ask them how many of the words to the songs they know to find out which ones don't give a damn about the girls, and just like looking.)
If we aren’t honest enough to admit that K-pop is selling sex, then I think it’s dishonest to act like there’s nothing sexual about dressing a young girl up in the uniforms they wear in K-pop videos.
Skirts that show panties - this costume led to... either the costume or the song, or the video being banned. Can't be bothered to check. Girls' day: "Twinkle Twinkle" and buddy, if you're watching this video for the music... you're lying. (discussed here and here)
But whether Hyuna is successful at projecting the kind of sexuality she wants to project or not (which is the point of Eat Your Kimchi's beef), here's what videos like hers do:
When the girls are, as INP says, looking directly at the camera, acting like adults instead of little girls, they're confronting the male gaze that ogles them in their videos. If the girls are using aegyo, I'm an uncle watching a video that's telling a cute story about girls acting like children and being cute... that happens to be sexy (oh, but that's not why I'm watching it: I'm watching it because I like those cute childish faces and that funny fairy tale storyline that involves licking oversized prop lollipops bwahaha).
Videos like this give me that "out"
But with Hyuna, I'm watching a sexy video that's a sexy video because it's a sexy video that happens to be a sexy video, and there's no pretending about it. I'm not attracted to the childish costumes, and I can't pretend that's why I watch, because there AREN'T childish costumes and baby-faces. They pull the rug on the "Uncle fans" and say, "You're going to watch the video because it's sexy, and we're not giving you any short-cut or justification. Because we're f$&#ing sexy, and that's that."
Brown Eyed Girls is making videos like this. (mentioned by Eat Your Kimchi in their Troublemaker review)
You can't pretend that's anything other than a sexy video.
So now, let's actually talk about sexiness in Kpop videos, instead of inventing fictions, justifications, and fishy discourses that excuse ourselves from having to admit what the video, and these kpop bands' sculpted images, are really about.
I had a long talk with my wife about which K-pop group could make it in America, if any. Two years ago, I would have said probably not. Now... I'm starting to believe. I read an article this year suggesting that, with the rise of K-pop, this is the first time in a long time, that South Korea is attracting more of the world's attention than North Korea with its military brinksmanship, and I think I agree.
In previous conversations, the reasons I posited that K-pop hadn't made it so far were as follows:
1. To make it in America, as a person from a different culture, a number of things have to converge. You have to have most, preferably all of these features...
Be fluent in English and/or cool enough to come across in an English interview (see this post)
OR have some transcendent/singular ability in some area (Ricky Martin's dancing talent, Shakira's ass-shake, Gloria Estefan's stunning voice to draw examples from the latin invasion)
There (probably) needs to be a star - an individual at the center of it (sorry SNSD: too many, too indistinguishable.)
That star needs to have an attitude that appeals to American audiences -- some sass and color. (This is one of the main places where Boa fell short - the "kid works really hard and makes good" narrative goes over well in Asia... to make it in America, more is needed. The Mickey Mouse Club graduates who never established their own persona have evaporated. Without the nude photo leaks, nobody'd remember Vanessa Hudgens, and Justin Timberlake really established his own uniqueness as a star not with the Mickey Mouse club or his solo work (good as some of it is) but with "Dick In A Box" which was something we hadn't seen a popstar do before.
You need a sound, and maybe also a look, that's not like something else... or you need to take the sounds that are out there and do them better than anyone else.
You need a really, really great song for your debut. I think this is where Boa fell short -- she's an amazing dancer, and a decent singer, but "I'll Eat You Up" just wasn't there.
2. You need to work to make it in America -- my last post talked about BNL touring 300 nights a year, for years, to build up a following ready to spread the word once they had that really great radio song ready (even they needed a really, really great song to finally catch on).
But my stance on this one is changing... because of YouTube, which is basically achieving the same thing bands used to gain with those endless tours: establishing a fanbase ready to buy tickets next time you're in town.
The crucial question is simple: is YouTube (even with its dedicated Kpop channel) enough to get people out of their chairs and buying concert tickets, ordering CDs, posters, and t-shirts? I don't know if it is -- it's certainly less likely to do so than a friend excited about the show they went to, burning me a copy of their CD, or inviting me to join them at the concert, next time the band's in town.
On the other hand... Hyuna's video for "Bubble Pop" has 23 million views on YouTube, as of this writing. And you know what else? Justin Bieber got there mostly on strength of his YouTube channel. I'm not sure how many video views equals the threshhold these days to say "OK. Time for this singer to tour America and try to consolidate those YouTube views into a real fanbase" -- and maybe (as with Bieber), YouTube only works with stuff targeting tweens. Who knows? But I'm asking these questions now, where I used to sniff contemptuously at K-pop's chances of making it in America.
3. You need An American Producer/Promoter With Clout and Connections IN AMERICA to get your foot in the RIGHT doors.
This MIGHT be why the Wondergirls never quite took America by storm (though they might yet). Hero, as good as it was on its own (and hot on the coattails of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), also got a big boost when Quentin Tarantino, with all his credibility among film lovers, stuck his name on it. Somebody from America - who knows that well what sells there - needs to invite Kpop to America, saying "Hey. I think you're going to sell here. And I'm gonna help." With all his YouTube fans, Bieber still needed an agent to agree with his YouTube fans about his talent.
4. As a scene, K-pop is too narrow, and not robust enough to generate world-class talent.
When K-pop was all just lines of boys or girls dancing in step and singing songs written by Swedish songsters (or plagiarized by Korean songsters), under one of three all-powerful labels -around 2009- I'd have agreed with you... but strangely enough, the audition shows and the survival shows -- Superstar K and "I Am A Singer" have brought actual singers and musicians into the forefront over the last two years, in a way that makes me believe that Korea's media is approaching a point where real talent will find a space that will let it find an audience, and grow. Older singers, and raw-talented ones, are finding the stage they needed, and kids who didn't pass the JYP audition are getting "Korea's Got Talent" love and "Superstar K" love, and radio play. And concert tours. I feel a lot better about the scene now, that it'd capable of generating sustainable talent, and letting real talent rise.
Who's tried to make it so far?
Wondergirls didn't have one star for people to latch onto, and "Nobody" was almost there - the retro look was cool, but anybody in America would spot it as being copped from "Dreamgirls" - so much for "something we haven't seen before." I also don't think their English songs were different enough from what else was out there for them to make a splash... add to that the language limitations (and how their pronunciation and intonation sounded a touch off when singing in English)...
Boa is extremely talented, but didn't stand out from the crowd enough, and (worst of all) her song and video didn't. WonderGirls made more noise, partly by zeroing in on an audience (Tweens, by opening for the Jonas Bros.), and having a more distinct look.
Rain's English wasn't good enough, despite getting a lot of help from Stephen Colbert. And he's too old now to lead the next stage of the Korean Wave.
Who has the best shot?
So what now?
If Lee Hyori were 23 right now, and had just two ounces more sass, I'd pin my hopes on her. She came along eight years too early, or she'd be the clear choice.
If Wondergirls were going to catch on, they probably already would have. As it is, they'll probably be remembered as a good second try (after Rain) but not quite the charm.
Girls' Generation has too many members, and the aegyo will never play outside of Asia, and Asian fetish circles (who, rest assured, will find their YouTube videos without a US Tour's support)
Honestly, as handicapping goes, she can 'pop' well - the ass-shaking dancing move in the video "Bubble Pop" - but Shakira, Beyonce, and a few other performers who are also great dancers simply...um... have more to pop (sorry). Hyori's stomach was closer to being a unique selling point than Hyuna's popping will ever be. Meanwhile, I don't hear enough from her musically to set her apart, and she simply isn't charismatic enough in her videos (Hyori was), to convince me that she has a real shot. I like what she's doing for K-pop in Korea (more about that later), but I don't think she'll be the flag-carrier to bring K-pop abroad.
The artists I think have a legitimate shot at making it in the west?
The aforementioned 2NE1 might be on their way - Will.I.Am joining the 2NE1 brigade certainly won't hurt.
These four ladies have an attitude that will play well in America's celebrity culture, and a style that works in the post Gaga pop scene. If their English is good enough, and they're ready to be caught by a paparazzo, pouring beer on a producer's head? They have a better shot than Boa.
The other one I like:
IU.
1. She's actually talented. Like, legitimately.
2. She can sing the lights out if she wants to. (embedding disabled) And she'll need to.
3. She was trained in the Kpop machine (including this abortion of a song, released before they figured out what to do with a person who had actual talent) - which means she can dance, she's trained in the image and media stuff, and knows how to put in a day's work on her musical craft. Watch her dancing with the backup dancers on her latest song: her movements are clean and intricate: she's good at it (even though dancing won't be her stock in trade: she'll go as far as her voice takes her, and no farther.) She's ready to do the work required of her.
4. Her videos are cool (except that marshmallow song) - and once her company figures out how to make them 1.5 (or sometimes four) minutes shorter each, they'll be even better.
5. She's pretty. And young. All of that together: I think she's the only Korean artist I think has even a remote shot of making it in the West without being fluent in English. (Bonus if she is, though)
My only remaining caveat: if she develops a little more personality and color (her face is kinda blank in the latest video, which won't sell her - not with Lady Gaga out there making monster snarls) and finds a way to make her clean image also be sexy (which can be done), I'd say she's the closest we've got - considering age, talent, image, etc., to a solo artist poised to make inroads in the West. And honestly? I'm rooting for her. She might be my favorite right now.
WonderGirls' song "Act Cool" is kinda catchy, frankly. Sassy - if an attitude infusion is what JYP thinks will get WonderGirls over the hump -- it caught my ear in a 7-11. It's a "boast track" where the newest WonderGirl tells everybody how awesome she is...
only problem to me: the sound of her rapping reminds me of another rapper I know:
Jaden Smith, Will Smith's kid. (here featured on a Justin Bieber track... see where I'm going here?)
(yes, I listened to Justin Bieber's album. Had to look into him - 12 million followers on Twitter, Canadian, etc.. Kid's talented. At 12 years.)
[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(36)] The Korean Wave and Korean-Americans
The epicenter of the Korean Wave was East Asia, but gradually Korean popular culture has reached the shores of other continents as well. Although its popularity in non-Asian regions is not as pronounced as it has been in East/Southeast Asia, the growing interest in and visibility of Korean popular culture in different parts of the world signifies its emerging position in the global cultural landscape.
In this increasing dissemination of Korean culture, the role of overseas Koreans is noteworthy since they are usually at the center of the consumption of their culture in foreign countries. Before the emergence of the Korean Wave, it was mostly introduced to the local population by Koreans living in other countries.
Since the Korean Wave has grown internationally, overseas Koreans have become crucial forces behind its promotion, as they are probably the most enthusiastic and closest followers of Korean pop culture in most non-Asian countries.
Korean-Americans' role in the spread of the Korean Wave deserves attention. Their residence in the United States, the center of the global pop cultural industry, their close connection with Korea and their extensive travels enable them to effectively take part in trans-Pacific cultural exchanges.
Some of them, including Korean "yuhaksaengs" (students who study abroad), have been creative forces behind the Korean Wave as they became successful pop stars or influential producers in Korea. There have also been indications that they may become effective bridge-builders between the Korean and U.S. entertainment fields. A few Korean-Americans have had promising receptions in Hollywood in recent years.
Since the United States is the most coveted market for ambitious Korean entertainers and production companies, Korean-Americans' success and their potential mediating power in Hollywood are considered significant. Let us focus on their roles as consumers, disseminators and creators, and discuss how Korean-Americans have been involved in the trans-Pacific flow of Korean pop culture and what that means to the pop culture world.
It is common for immigrants to make an effort to retain their heritage. Often they consume news and cultural products from their countries of origin. Hence, long before the emergence of the Korean Wave in Asia, Korean-Americans had extensively enjoyed Korean pop culture, at least in metropolitan areas where access to it was relatively easy.
Ethnic media including TV, radio and newspapers, as well as ethnic video stores, proliferated in big cities where Korean-Americans have been concentrated and provided a variety of cultural information from Korea on a daily basis. In this sense, Korean-Americans' consumption of Korean pop culture is not a new phenomenon.
However, the success of the Korean Wave attracted new groups of Korean-American followers (such as the U.S.-born young Korean-Americans who previously showed little interest) and facilitated the circulation of Korean pop culture beyond the boundaries of ethnic Korean-American communities.
Their consumption is related to several factors. The first is the increasing availability of Korean pop cultural products and the amazing speed of information sharing. As mentioned earlier, in U.S. metropolises a variety of ethnic media is available depending on the region and the size of the ethnic media market. In addition, various ethnic businesses such as ethnic video rental shops, bookstores, and different types of ethnic cultural spaces (including cafes, clubs, clothing stores, hair salons, etc.) contribute to Korean-Americans' easy and extended access to "homeland" popular culture.
Then there is the internet, which offers completely new possibilities. Through the internet, simultaneous and interactive consumption of pop culture has become possible. For instance, some Korean-Americans consult with their friends and family in Korea for their selection of pop cultural products through online communication and are actively involved in cultural spheres through their online interaction. (Many young Korean yuhaksaengs have blogs or home pages on the Web, which are important sources of transnational connections and cultural flow. They also tend to actively participate in various online communities.)
Information is shared at the speed of a click, and the delayed cultural gap caused by time lag is a matter of the past for the internet generation. Korean-Americans who are not familiar with the internet may still rely on traditional sources, such as ethnic TV or newspapers. Yet the speed of information transmitted by those media has also accelerated, so they are not far behind in getting the latest news from Korea, either.
Second, the development of communication technology and transportation has reduced the distance between Korea and Korean-Americans not only in a physical, but also a psychological sense. Visiting Korea has become much easier than ever before and contacts with family and friends in Korea have increased significantly through phone calls, online chatting, and home page postings, as well as actual visits.
Thus, despite geographical separation, Korean-Americans and Koreans have multiple means of reducing the gap. The common cultural references created by the shared consumption of Korean pop culture across borders provides a foundation on which they can construct a sense of a transnational community.
Third, for some Korean-Americans, their consumption of Korean pop culture is related to their search for an identity and a community. As minorities, many Korean-Americans experience a sense of marginalization. Even those born and raised in the United States often feel that they lack full-fledged cultural citizenship in the United States.
Moreover, it is difficult for Asian-Americans (including Korean-Americans) to find a positive role model in the "mainstream" U.S. media because Asian-Americans have long been almost non-existent or portrayed stereotypically. In this light, Korean popular culture could provide them with a way to learn about their heritage and, to some extent, a reference base on which they could build a sense of identity and belonging.
Korean-Americans also take an important part in the dissemination of cultural information and products across the Pacific. For example, ethnic Korean TV channels, which are mainly geared toward Korean-Americans, unwittingly attracted non-Korean viewers. Indeed, when the Korean Wave became a phenomenon in Asia, the programs became important sources for curious viewers to get a taste of Korean pop culture.
Moreover, at school or at work, Korean-Americans expose their friends, classmates and co-workers to Korean culture. Among the younger generation, in particular, the dissemination of cultural information is a natural and widespread practice, so young Korean-Americans and yuhaksaengs are pivotal in the spreading of Korean pop culture among American youths.
The main groups of people who show interest in Korean pop culture are usually other Asian-Americans. Like many Korean-American youths who are knowledgeable of Korean pop culture, many young Asian-Americans are also well-informed of what is going on in their countries of origin.
If the Korean Wave has been big in their countries of origin, Asian-Americans youths tend to develop interest in Korean pop culture through their transnational connections and sometimes seek information from their Korean-American friends. Hence, the popularity of the Korean Wave in Asia is transmitted to the United States through transnational Korean/ Asian populations.
Korean-Americans' dissemination of cultural information and products does not flow only one way, however. They also disseminate American pop culture to Korea - from food to even drugs. In particular, the yuhaksaeng and their family members (especially mothers) play a key role in the trans-Pacific cultural flow because they are truly "footloose" transnationals who frequently cross national and cultural borders.
The role of overseas Koreans as creators is not as clear-cut as their roles as consumers and disseminators. One the one hand, it is undeniable that Korean-Americans have been crucial creative forces at least in certain genres of Korean pop culture. On the other hand, it is arguable whether their contribution to and role in Korean pop culture is truly creative rather than merely an interpretation and dissemination of U.S. (to some extent, Western) pop culture.
Since the 1990s, Korean-Americans and yuhaksaengs have left remarkable footprints in Korean pop music. R&B, hip-hop and rap were either introduced to or popularized in Korea by Korean-American musicians starting in the mid-1990s, and many Korean-American and yuhaksaeng musicians have been the leading voices in those genres ever since.
The limited opportunities Asian-American musicians face in the U.S. pop music industry, combined with the Korean music industries' active recruitment of Korean-Americans (they are viewed to be more familiar with the previously-mentioned genres), resulted in their proliferation, especially in groups such as H.O.T., G.O.D., Drunken Tiger, Shinwha, and S.E.S., just to name a few.
Solo acts such as J, Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Jung-hyun and Crown J are also from the United States. Additionally, transnational Koreans educated in American institutions or strongly influenced by the American music style have played a crucial role in the construction of Korean music trends. Seo Tae Ji and Boys, Cho Pd and Psy belong to this group.
Moreover, some aspiring actors and actresses who face serious obstacles in the United States due to the lack of opportunities and role models for them have headed for Korea and become successful. Some even gained international fame in Asia due to the Korean Wave.
They have then utilized their success in Korea/Asia as a stepping stone to enter the U.S. market as a Korean or an Asian star. Kim Yunjin, who appears in American TV series Lost is a good example of this.
As these examples demonstrate, Korean-Americans have played an important part in the making of contemporary Korean popular culture. However, if we ask whether they are truly creative agents of Korean pop culture, the answer is somewhat dubious because, thus far, what they have done is not too far from disseminating information (for example, hip-hop and rap) from the United States to Korea.
They largely remain students or imitators of Western artists in the same genre instead of independent artists with their own voices and styles. Of course, this maturation will take time and it will be interesting to see if they can come up with innovative cultural products. Until that is accomplished, the evaluation of Korean-Americans' creative role in the Korean Wave remains open-ended.
Korean-Americans and other Asian-Americans have long tried to establish their niche in the U.S. cultural scene. In recent years, such efforts came to partial fruition as the visibility of Asian-Americans and the representation of their own voices, based on their unique experiences and heritage, began to improve. The U.S. media's increased featuring of Asian-Americans is partly related to domestic changes such as multiculturalism and the increased purchasing and cultural power of Asian-Americans.
Perhaps more importantly, the media conglomerates' interest in the Asian market, the hottest media market in the world in terms of its potential and size, propelled the increasing presence of Asian/Asian American entertainers.
The interest also facilitated Hollywood studios' selection and appropriation of Asian themes. They shot films on Asian locations, added more Asian characters (though many of them still stereotypical), and even remade successful Asian films and texts (including animation and comic books).
Asian and Asian American stars are hired as lead characters in movies because of their marketability in Asia and beyond. In this environment, Korean/Korean-Americans actors, actresses and other cultural workers have increasing opportunities to expand their horizons in the United States and eventually in the world market. Yunjin Kim, Rick and Karl Yune and John Cho are just some names with whom U.S. audiences have become familiar. In Wolverine, the upcoming X-men spin-off film, Daniel Henney will test his luck in the U.S. market as well. Then there is Rain (Bi), whose Hollywood film was recently released and another is in the making. In the fashion world, too, a growing number of Korean/Korean-American designers have begun to attract the mainstream fashion industries' attention (take Doo-Ri Chung, for example).
The door has opened, although still only for a selected few. But such a possibility is a crucial one, and how this opportunity is seized and how the momentum can be developed into a system of reliable networks could determine whether more Korean/Korean-American faces and voices can be represented in the global media.
Of course, the success of individual entertainers is not equivalent to the success of Korean pop culture. It is possible that they could become mere tools for Hollywood to more effectively sell its products to Korea and Asia. At the same time, however, it is true that they have great potential to become significant bridge-builders and cultural agents between Korea and the United States (and the East and the West) and even creators of global pop culture.
Considering the fact that we are living in a transformative time in which Western cultural hegemony continues to linger, but, simultaneously, local/regional cultures' power and influence are growing, their potential is indeed quite great. If this potential materialized, Korean/ Korean-Americans may contribute to the spread and development of the Korean Wave in a new way.
Sorry to fire this one off so hastily, but I'm right pissed.
2 reasons you should cancel your Korea Herald subscription and sign up to the International Herald Tribune instead:
1. Installment 34 in the "Korean Wave, Even Where it Doesn't Exist" series: "No Wave, just a Korean breeze in Poland". . . didn't show up on the KH Online until a few days after it was published, it seems, placing it behind the "special members only access" filter, so that I can't bring its text onto my blog and mock it (which I've decided will be an ongoing series here, until the hallyu self-congratulation-in-the-dark stops Today's self-aggrandizement: Mongolia!).
2. Taking any damn opportunity to toss in a swipe at Foreign English Teachers in Korea. The last paragraph of this article brings English Teachers into a story that has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with foreign English teachers. Adding wanton swipes at scapegoats and easy targets does not qualify as journalism. Propaganda, maybe. Offensive, definitely. Garbage, dear readers. Just garbage.
Go ahead and read it: reprinted here, because the KHOnline doesn't allow me to link to its articles. It's pretty short.
Quite a story, too -- the way the news is presented it sounds like all 21 were banned in one day: were they on a tour together, trolling the underage sex shops of Asia? Were they all wearing "Pedophile Sex Tour" nametags handed out by their tour company when they got caught by immigration? Were there obscene pictures painted on the side of their tour-bus?
Korea Herald's write-up (author not given) on American pervs getting blocked from entering Korea:
Korea bans entry of 21 American pedophiles
Korea Thursday banned the entry of over 20 Americans convicted of sex crimes against minors as part of global efforts to crack down on pedophiles, the Ministry of Justice was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.
The unprecedented entry ban on foreign pedophiles came after the ministry received profiles of the 21 Americans from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it said.
"The information from the United States referred to those who have been convicted of assaulting or having sex with minors under 14 in the U.S. and have since traveled to Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Korea," said Park Young-joon, a prosecutor in charge of immigration regulations at the ministry.
Under its immigration law, the Korean government can ban the entry of foreigners when they are deemed to be prone to violating social order and disrupting customs in the country.
The move comes as the Korean government has been relaxing visa rules for foreign English teachers to meet the growing demand for native English speakers. But the loosening of rules has prompted concerns that some foreign teachers may be unqualified or involved in illegal activities.
2008.05.08
(my emphasis added)
I'm glad they were blocked and banned from entry. What a sordid lot.
But, were they applying to be English teachers? Because if not, by hauling English teachers into this article in the last paragraph, the Herald is taking a chance to stoke flames and race-bait, plying on anti-foreign sentiment and slinging some mud on English teachers, just because there's a lot of mud nearby to be slung.
When Cho SeungHui went on his killing spree at Virginia Tech, the last line of the article in the New York Times was not "Cho Seung-hui is from Korea; some Americans have noticed that Koreatowns are growing in nearly every American city." Just to foment suspicion of all Koreans, because of the actions of a few. There were no articles anywhere in the mainstream American media like this, after Korean Park Hanse got caught molesting American kids.
I'm getting really f***ing tired of this kind of piss-poor, racist, yellow journalism.
(PS: I'm typing this as my coworker is waiting on hold, phoning California to find out more information about the apostille he needs to have his criminal background check verified by Korean Immigration, due to TIGHTENING visa requirements for English teachers.)
Update: The Joongang Daily has made the link between these pedophiles and English teachers, too, but at least tried to connect it with the topic at hand. They did name-drop accused pedophile/former English teacher Christopher Paul Neil's name, but omitted the fact he was Canadian -- because that's inconvenient to their apparent purpose of stirring up fear and suspicion of American illegal teachers. They also made factual errors about the length of stay for Americans on a tourist visa (they say 90 days, it says 30 here).
Notable quotes from Joongang:
“U.S. citizens are eligible to stay in Korea for up to 90 days without a visa, and some work illegally as English teachers once they arrive as tourists,” Jin said.
“There was a case of a pedophile wanted by Interpol who had worked as an English teacher in Korea before being arrested in Thailand. Since parents are very concerned about such situations, we decided to ban the 21 Americans,” Jin said. Jin was referring to last year’s arrest of Christopher Paul Neil by Thai authorities after an intensive manhunt. Last October, the 32-year-old suspect, named as Interpol’s most-wanted pedophile, was apprehended shortly after he fled Korea.
Neil was accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen boys in three countries, not including Korea, and putting pictures of the assaults on the Internet with his face blurred.
Although five of the blacklisted 21 had visited Korea as tourists, they had not worked as English teachers, according to Jin.
By Ser Myo-ja Staff Reporter [myoja@joongang.co.kr]
Repeat: they had not worked as English teachers -- so why the connection, other than good, old-fashioned, xenophobic muckraking?
From the Korea Times, which did better than its rivals, brushing on the connection in a way that has some credibility, without bringing up names (Chris Neil) or situations (relaxing immigration laws, which is a half-truth at best) that qualify as scare-mongering:
"We have frequently detected the arrival of native English speakers on tourist visas who illegally teach at language institutes. Some of them have even molested Korean children,'' Park [Young-joon, a prosecutor] said. "It was not possible to sort out foreigners likely to commit sex crimes against children in Korea due to a lack of information. Thanks to the list, however, American sex offenders will be denied access to Korean kids,'' Park said.
1. "Some of them have molested Korean children"? Care to provide a reference for that? To my knowledge, no foreign English teacher has ever been convicted of that charge (and given the way the media here blows up over any transgression by a foreign English teacher, and the fact I have ears, and can read, I would have heard of it. 2. "Lack of information"? Isn't that what the criminal background check system is for?
(Update: for the sake of full disclosure: Matt, from popular gusts, provided a link to one incidence of foreign teacher sex-crimes on the comment board. However, given the behaviourof Korea'sown teachers, and the sheer number of foreign teachers in Korea, it remains one-sided and unfair to slur all English teachers by drawing connections where there are none. See bottom for more. Update again: Also, LiveWithPassion has given us a wealth of links on my comment board, but all the articles are in Korean, so I can't vouch for them, but they're there.)
Fact is, Korea, no matter how many safeguards you set up, a Christopher Neil is eventually going to sneak through them, just like a Cho Seunghui or a Park Hanse is going to sneak through America's safeguards. Yeah, screen the incoming people. Do your best. Set up the criminal background check: I don't even have a problem with that. I'll jump through the hoops because I want to be here. I like it here (except when I read tripe like this).
But don't make people afraid of things they don't need to fear, by making specious connections, by painting an entire population by the acts of a deviant few whose acts are just as disgusting (probably more) to all the honest, hard-working, moral English teachers in Korea, as they are to the concerned mothers and the old men who give me dirty looks on the subway, because to them, my white-skin means I must be an uncertified, illegally working, pot-smoking pedophile, too, like that guy s/he read about in the paper.
OK now. For your soundtrack needs, hit play on the clip below, and start reading.
Mahna Mahna, by The Muppets (1976 version)
I'm heading into dangerous, controversial waters here. . .
There is a cultural phenomenon here in South Korea that partly comes from being sandwiched between China and Japan, two countries which have given Korea a great deal of historical grief. It just plain rankles here, that China and Japan continue to have more influence than Korea in geopolitics -- more people, more money, etc.. Due to this, Korea has the national equivalent of "Short Man Syndrome."
This phenomenon is not unique to Korea, of course: walk up to any Canadian and say, "But honestly, Canada's basically the 51st state, right?" and you might get a response something like this:
Try telling an All-Black rugby-player from New Zealand you like his Aussie accent, or mutter "Ireland is part of the UK, right?" to a leprechaun, and you'll be farting four-leaf clovers for a month, either way. Ask anybody whose teacher once said to them, "You know your older brother always handed in his homework on time..." people like to be known for who they are, and not just for who's nearby.
Add on top of this inferiority complex, a deep, intense (and, yeah, rightful) pride in Korea's current situation, having clawed out of abject post-Korean-War poverty, and developed into one of the richest nations in the world. Then, raise that to the power by which nationalism was programmed into school-aged Koreans during Korea's industrial revolution in the '60s '70s and '80s (as a way of unifying the people, suppressing dissent, and getting everyone to buck up and build infrastructure and industry without complaining, the way they needed to do, to [html nerd joke] [cliche] rise from the ashes of the Korean War [/cliche] [/html nerd joke]), and you have a fierce national pride that likes to show itself around.
You can see this here in Korea, in the large number of what The Joshing Gnome calls "Kimchi Boosters"; I'm debating whether to use that phrase, or coin my own: "Kimcheerleaders". These are the folks who will tell you that Kimchi cures SARS, that the Japanese language came from Korea (possibly, partially true), that Korea invented the printing press (partially true, though its effect was not as revolutionary here as Gutenberg's movable type printing press in Europe), that Korean is the most scientific language in the world (their lettering system is; the language itself is as messy and goofy as any living language composed of more than 1's and 0's).
This can be exploited: my strategy for getting a new class of students to like me goes as follows:
1. Explain I've lived here a long time. 2. Show enough knowledge of Korea's culture and history to prove my interest in them. 3. Compliment Korean food, hospitality, culture, language, etc., until everybody's smiling. It's really just that easy, as long as you play by the rules.
Now I have nothing against a healthy degree of national pride, and sometimes, the warm, deep pride some Koreans have in their country, the affection and ownership people feel for their culture and compatriots can be touching. At other times, it comes across as a bit needy -- you know the girl who walks around asking people, "Do you think I'm pretty?"
(bad language alert: Eliza Skinner as Amy, the platonic ideal of the needy girl)
But you know, every country is guilty of varying degrees of boosterism. In this post about sexy music videos starring underage girls, among many other things, esteemed K-blogger Gord Sellar mentions a "standard, near-universal conviction among Koreans that a positive image of Korea must be presented to the world" that makes a serious discussion about any Korean social issue nearly impossible, "as soon as it involves even one Westerner."
Now I don't mind being positive, but I refuse to be a sycophant just to get what I want (other than in the classroom), and so, when it goes too far, it is time for a reckoning. And Korea Herald, it is time you got yours.
There's something called "Hallyu" (what? Haven't you heard of it?) that is a source of oodles of national pride these days in the Republic of Korea. Basically, Korean pop music, TV Soap Operas, and some movies, have become quite popular in much of Asia and a handful of other places, because of high production values, more conservative/less racy content than what you'd find on American soap operas (love triangles, rather than wanton infidelity; life-threatening diseases, rather than gay romances; domineering mothers-in-law, rather than date-rape), and a closer similarity between Korean cultural values and other Asian cultural values, that makes it easier for other Asians to relate to Korean soaps than to American ones.
Awesome, right? It's great! Well, heck, yeah! But here's the thing. Because of that inferiority complex, the moment the Hallyu starts gaining recognition, that aforementioned tendency to be loud and proud kicks in.
Why am I writing about this? Any non-Canuck who's spent time around a Canuck has heard their Canadian friend drop a "He/She's Canadian, eh?" into a conversation about the likes of Feist, Jim Carrey, Neil Young, Michael J. Fox, or Steve Nash -- but here's the difference. [Most] Canadians don't twist a conversation around to the topic of basketball, just to bring up the fact Steve Nash is Canadian; we don't say things like "Godfather II, eh? Speaking of sequels, have you seen the Back To The Future trilogy?" just in order to squeeze in an exultant, "Michael J. Fox is Canadian! HAH!"
Some Koreans do. Not all -- many, maybe even most Koreans are rational about their nationalism, but the ones who aren't. . . well, clear the room, bud!
Stephen Colbert encountered the Kimcheerleaders: Time Magazine runs an annual online poll for "Who is the most influential person of the year?" You may have heard of Stephen Colbert. Having heard of someone would probably be an important requirement for being the most influential person in the world, yah? Well, turns out, a few Korean netizens heard about this Time online poll, and decided that Korean Hallyu popstar Rain should top the list, and started a ballot-box stuffing campaign that led to this exchange:
(which stirred up outrage among those same Korean netizens. . . what did you expect, goofballs?)
(Rain [or 비 - Bi, the Korean word for rain] himself: handsome, isn't he? Sure he is, but all my readers back in Canada and USA who don't have Korean roots or friends read Stephen Colbert's name and went "Oh, him," and then read the phrase "Hallyu popstar Rain" above and went, "Who?")
(update: call me a hater if you want, and nothing against Korea, but THIS does not happen to the world's most influential person.)
(soundtrack time: Feist. She's Canadian, eh?)
Mushaboom
Korea's pleased with itself about Hallyu, as it well should be, I suppose. Hallyulluyah! But this self-congratulation sometimes goes too far.
The Korea Herald, which fancies itself a legitimate news source, has been publishing a running series about the Korean Wave as it appears in various countries around the world. Here is their article about Spain, and it deserves, quite frankly, to be mocked. I don't hate Korea, I don't hate Hallyu, and I don't even have a problem with a series of full-page articles about Hallyu in a major English language newspaper (Korea Herald calls itself "The Nation's #1 English Newspaper").
But here's the thing: there is no hallyu in Spain! The first ten or so installments in the series covered countries where the Korean Wave was a true cultural phenomenon: in Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc., the Korean Wave merited full write-ups.
Now, we're on installment #32: Spain. I'm gonna write that number out for emphasis: THIRTY TWO.
The headline shows almost everything you really need to know about both the Korea Herald, AND the Korean Wave in Spain: Spain discovers Korea and crys out for more [sic]
Some choice snippets from the article:
. . .the majority of Spaniards may still have difficulty finding Korea on the world map. High-level visits from the King of Spain, politicians and members of parliament to Korea usually get little attention in the national media.
Meanwhile, Korean companies chose not to label their products as "Made in Korea," instead veiling them among well-known Japanese products in Spain.
Weak sauce, boys. Weak sauce.
In 2000, President Kim Dae-joong visited North Korea for the first time since the separation of the two Koreas. This historic news appeared in Spanish newspapers, which helped make Korea more familiar to Spain.
This is the best you can do? Why is this series still going? Keep grasping at straws. . .
The year 1999 was the year of letting go of Korea's inefficient traditions and actively seeking ways forward. However, there were negative consequences such as higher suicide and divorce rates, which nobody could ever thought of in a traditional, Confucius society [sic]. Women became more independent in all aspects, and new ways to choose partners for marriage were put in place following the changes in the familial values.
And this has to do with the Korean wave in Spain how?
Between 2004 and 2007, more than 13 Korean movies arrived in Spain, including "Memories of Murder," "Run Dim," "Two Sisters," "Samaritan Girl," and "The Host." During these four years, the percentage of Korean movies shown in theaters went up by 400 percent.
From 3 to 13. Wow, let me sit down before I get washed away. (sarcasm over) How did they do? Were they all unqualified smash hits, because if they weren't, why are you doing write-ups about the Korean wave in countries where there is none?
[Both Korean and Spanish movies] often tell love stories accompanied by violence and sorrow, but always end happily and humorously. Also, [Korean movies] indirectly show Korean culinary habits that are quite different from that of Spain. Besides the different food, what is more interesting to the Spaniards is how the food is displayed in a table based on a combination of colors, size and portion. There is no single way to eat Korean food. People can enjoy the liberty of choosing what they want to eat and how much they want to eat.
I know I only watch foreign movies to learn how other cultures eat. Don't you? Wait! Wait! There's a straw over there! Get it! Quick!
What can be done to insure the success of the Korean Wave in the future?. . . Given the fact that Korea is so little known in Spain, it may be more effective to target more traditional, historical Korean values and images than to make it modern, since this tends to fail to impress upon the viewers with a particular, rememberable [sic] image.
It is necessary to come up with a delicate marketing strategy to reach out to a larger population in the long term. Korean people are known to be peace-loving, integrationists and nationalists. They deserve to be proud of their own country and of escaping from the extreme poverty in the 50s and 60s with hard work and individual motivation. Spain finds all of these factors interesting, once they are exposed to them.
As I said before, from a newspaper that wants to be taken seriously, this is laughable, friends. Sorry. I don't mind national pride, I don't even mind a little boosterism for fun, but this Hallyu series has gone on too far, like this clip:
Yesterday they had the next installment, number 33, a summary of which might read, "a series of if/then speculations on how the Hallyu could gain a U.S. audience among non-Asian-immigrant Americans, and why Americans would like Korean wave TV soap operas if they watched them."
Hallyu-wood is an amusement park about the Korean wave. Its site is a jewel of unintentional comedy and overblown rhetoric. (HT to Brian for this link and the clip below. . .)
I just wonder if the Herald's editors realize that these full-page write-ups of made-up speculation and KimCheerleading narcissism have the exact opposite of their intended effect: rather than making me think "Hey! Korean culture is awesome and it's spreading around the world!" writing like this, grasping for international validation where there is nothing but ignorance, instead shines a glaring spotlight on the aforementioned inferiority complex, and ends up portraying Korean culture as a little delusional, narcissistic, self-aggrandizing, and self-important (as well as making the Herald look like nothing better than a propaganda-rag or a tourist brochure, rather than any kind of respectable news-source). Is it really THAT important for outsiders to think you're cool? Will you really not be satisfied until we give you what you want and write in reams of letters to the editor saying, "I never realized Korea was so great until I started reading the Herald!", like the self-esteem case moping around the party saying, "Do you think I'm pretty? God, I'm so fat!" and waiting for someone to say, "No, that's not true. You're beautiful"? Why does it matter so much that outsiders from every country approve of the Korean wave, that a major English newspaper will write a half-year-long series of self-congratulatory pieces that have devolved into near-fictions, speculations, and self-parodies? Will it not stop until there's been a full-page article on all 195 countries in the world? (Week 184: Vatican City: The Pope likes Lee Young-ae!)
Hallyuwood.
is an amusement part dedicated to Hallyu. As any regular reader of this blog knows, I love Korea, and Korean culture -- if you don't believe me, take a look around. But if your friend has a bit of food stuck in his teeth, making him look silly, you'd tell him, "Hey, bud! There's something in your teeth," right? This kind of rabid boosterism makes Korea look foolish to any outside observer -- such a voracious craving for validation is a sign of insecurity, and friends, Korea IS a major player. . . if it'd only realize it is and start acting like one!
