Weddings, K-Pop, Korean Food & Purity: Who Owns a Culture? Introduction

Jason, over at Kimchi Ice Cream, has a really interesting post up that discusses Korean Wedding Hall culture, and the ways it resembles weddings back home, but that resemblance, in the end, only serves to bring the differences into even starker, more jarring contrast.

This reminds me of one of the most interesting insights Brian in JD had talking about Korean Christmas: Brian uses the "Uncanny Valley" idea to talk about Korean treatments of Western cultural practices, and I think it's apt.

The uncanny valley is a robotics term: experts found that as AI and robots behave more like humans, we respond to them more positively, but beyond a certain point, it creeps us out instead of making us like the robots, and we focus on the differences instead of the similarities: it's easier to sympathise with the cartoonish Mr. Incredible than with the nearly photorealistic characters in the Final Fantasy movie, and in NHL '94 it was SO COOL that you could make Wayne Gretzky's head bleed, but in NFL 2010 those touchdown dances seem a little too graceful for NFL players.

(from Swingers: warning: language)


Jason's description of Korean weddings, which is highly worth reading, seems to support this uncanny valley idea.  I think a wholly traditional Korean wedding, with Korean-only reference points, would be a nicer experience than the "Disneyland/Vegas" wedding Jason describes.  The wedding that seems to want to be taken on Western terms gets under our defenses... but then smacks us in the face even more sharply with its differences, because it seemed to hint that it would meet our expectations for weddings from back home.  It's the old bait-and-switch.

Korean Christmas is another good example of this.  The music is similar...ish; the decorations are similar...ish but it's a freaking couple holiday!!!

I'd like to look a little more at this funny spot where expectations and practices clash between cultures.  I began writing about it, and the post ballooned into what I'll break up into a series, for the sake of me, you, and time.  I'd been planning to write an article about the other side: observations about my Korean students' views of cultural change - for a while anyway, so now seems like a good time.

The three parts will be as follows: first a look Korean cultural change as viewed by Koreans, next, Korean cultural change (especially co-opting of foreign elements) as viewed by expats, and finally, Korean culture abroad: what will Koreans do if Korean culture really DOES become popular in the West, as everybody allegedly wants to happen?  I'll use a lot of my own observations, and stuff I've noticed during this semester's discussion classes, in the series.  Until the next post, you should go read Jason's article about Wedding Halls/Castles.

Jason takes a thoughtful, intelligent look at the way Koreans have taken Western weddings, isolated a few elements, exaggerated a few elements to cartoonish heights, and discarded the rest.  He mentions purity, which triggered some stuff for me, because I've been thinking about writing about this topic of what I call cultural cross-pollination, but from the exact opposite side.

http://kimchiicecream.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/korean-wedding-hallcastle-culture-jason-when-are-you-and-julianne-getting-married-you-should-get-married/

Here's part 1 of my series: Korean cultural change to older Koreans

Tom Waits Interview Text

Pitchfork: There is a rich and wonderful American history of tough, scrappy songwriters-- everyone from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Bob Dylan-- compulsively mythologizing themselves, inventing backstories, changing their names, developing personas to work alongside songs. Is there a Tom Waits mythology? Tom Waits: I’m sure there is. The fact is most of the things that people know about me are made up. My own life is backstage. So what you “know” about me is only what I allowed you to know about me. So it’s like a ventriloquist act. And it’s also a way of safely keeping your personal life out of your business. Which is healthy and essential. I’m not one of those people the tabloids chase around. You have to put off that smell-- it’s like blood in the water for a shark. And they know it, and they know that you’ve also agreed. And I’m not one of those. I make stuff up. There’s nothing that you can say that will mean the same thing once it’s been repeated. We’re all making leaner versions of stories. Before there was recording, everything was subject to the folk process. And we were all part of composing in the evolution and the migration of songs. We all reached out, and they all passed through our hands at some point. You dropped a verse or changed the gender or cleaned up a verse for your kids or added something more appropriate for your community. Anything that says “Traditional,” it’s “Hey, I wrote that, I’m part of that.” Just like when a joke reaches you-- how did it reach you? If you could go back and retrace it, that would be fascinating. Pitchfork: So the second you write something down, it’s fiction. Tom Waits: There is no such thing as nonfiction. There is no such thing as truth. People who really know what happened aren’t talking. And the people who don’t have a clue, you can’t shut them up. It’s the same with your own stories, the ones that circulate around with your family and your friends. We’re all part of the same hypocrisy. Pitchfork: Do you keep a notebook? Tom Waits: Oh yeah, everybody does! Life is too confusing. Monkey wrenches, pocket knives, dog food, instant coffee, lipstick. You gotta get it organized somehow. Pitchfork: Thanks so much for talking with me. Tom Waits: Oh! OK. Alright. I’ll leave you with a few little things out of my book here. In Los Angeles, it’s illegal for a man to beat his wife unless he’s on the courthouse steps. In Tulsa, it’s against the law to open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. In Texas, the Encyclopedia Britannica is banned because it contains the formula for making home brew. In Claradon, Texas, it’s illegal to dust any public building with a feather duster. In Washington, it’s illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag. There are only two things you can throw out the window of a moving car, legally. Do you know what they are? Pitchfork: Um… Tom Waits: Water. And feathers. Everything else you can get in trouble for. http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6492-tom-waits/ http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/arts/music-a-poet-of-outcasts-who-s-come-inside.html?pagewanted=2

Who can say no to a Free Trip To JAPAN!

10 Magazine is having a video contest, and the top prize is a trip for two to Japan.

You should enter the contest.  Holy crap!  A trip to Japan is pretty sweet!  You'll also stay at the Tokyo Hilton, too.  There are other prizes to be won for the other top ten videos, including stays at sweet hotels in Seoul or Busan, and tickets to performances.

Your video will be shown on 10 Magazine's website, so this is a good way to pimp your site if you make videos.  Then, readers will vote on which video they like the most, and a panel of judges' decisions will be weighed along with voter totals, to determine the final winners.  Finally, there'll be an awards ceremony on June 12th.  

You can go here to learn about the contest, or to upload the video you made.

Enter!

More K-Pop And Kiddie Songs:

from here

Lee Hyori has a song with the inexplicable title "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Now, any lover of Dick...VanDyke movies (what?) knows that this is the tune that should pop into your head when you hear the words Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.


Lee Hyori's taking over the phrase, in a song and video that seem to have nothing to do with the original, except a car theme in the video.



Honestly, I like Hyori. She's cute, her music is getting noisier and more fun, and really, what's not to like? She's the apotheosis of a K-pop star, but this trend of nonsense words in English needs to stop.

Does Super Junior's "Bomanama" have any meaning in Korean?


Because to my English eye it reads like this: (though it doesn't SOUND like that in the song, fortunately... or not)


(for the record, Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo was also a mistake)

Also on the butchering things from my childhood front:

No, I am absolutely NOT watching The New Karate Kid with Hong Kong's Jackie Chan playing the Japanese Mr. Miyagi, and perpetuating the idea that "they all look the same; may as well get a Chinese to play a Japanese..." as well as the idea that "them martial arts are all the same too, aren't they?"

Am I Allowed to say I'm Disappointed with Frank La Rue's Discussion of Freedom of Expression?

http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10047&LangID=E

Frank La Rue, a UN Special Rapporteur who just spent 12 days in Korea investigating human rights situations in Korea, with special focus on freedom expression, has given a report about South Korea's progress in supporting freedom of expression.  The summary of his report is linked above, and here.  The full statement can be found as a PDF here.


A few of the most salient points:
(image source)


1. even when they eventually get acquitted, the fact bloggers have gotten arrested for expressing their opinions (see Minerva), throws cold water on public discussion of issues.

2. The Real Name Identification system sucks

3. The Korea Communications Standards Commission has an opaque process for deciding which websites get blocked, which basically means no accountability.

4. It's ridiculous that you can go to jail just for spreading false information.

5. It's also ridiculous that defamation is in the criminal code, rather than just being a civil offense.

6. Freedom of assembly is being stifled... though the laws in the books say it's protected, having to get approval in advance for a demonstration, and the government's ability to block a demonstration for fear that it might block traffic, amounts to a de facto curtailing of that freedom.

7. Teachers and government officials should be free to express political opinions... even if they disagree with the police.

8. It's also ridiculous that public officials can sue for defamation (and even press criminal charges) when they're in public positions, and it's natural for their actions to come under scrutiny because of the position they've taken.

9. The ban on commenting about upcoming public officials elections is also uncool, especially when the law is interpreted in a way that makes people feel like they can't discuss key issues.

OK, fair enough.
Like the article mentions, I'm more interested in comparing those situations to how things were in those regards, in Korea, 15 years ago, than in comparing Korea with other countries that have been free democracies for longer.  After all, 1987/1993 is not really that long ago, and most people will tell you that one of those two years was the one when Koreandemocracy really, REALLY began.

Here's the thing that really disappointed me:

"Mr. La Rue met with 16 State institutions; however, he was deeply disappointed that he could not meet with the President, the Prime Minister, nor a single Minister of Government. “Despite my requests, I was unable to meet with the Prosecutor-General nor members of the National Intelligence Service, despite the fact that I came to the country on an official invitation,” added the expert."

 the unhelpful attitude of high-level government officials concerns me more than any of the particulars of Korea's freedom of expression situation.  Getting stone-walled - nothing more than the lip-service of inviting the guy in the first place - seems to me to give an indication of how important the current government considers freedom of expression.  That's disappointing.  And concerning.  But mostly disappointing.  And also very, very 1973.

Shit, am I allowed to say that?  Why do I need to ask myself that question before I post?


My two bits on the elections stuff: between the real name identification system, and the election commentary ban, here's what I think:  (image from here)


1. Now that Youtube won the war with Korea, and Koreans are allowed to upload to Youtube without giving their ID number, that opens the door for other google services to hold to the same standard.

2. Now that blogger platforms can come in all Korean settings, as well, and...

3. Now that mobile devices are finally forcing Korea to update its internet standards and come in step with international norms, and people are going to start using iPhones to check blogs, and have trouble with accessing Korean webpages on those devices...


I predict that a lot of Koreans will move to platforms like blogger, where their anonymity is a little safer, and that in either these or the next elections, we'll see a huge increase in Korean presence on blogger and other non-Korean blog platforms, where people can talk a little more freely about issues like this.

Fact is, Korea can't block google, or they lump themselves with China as "enemies of the internet" - there'd be an outcry.

And eventually, the conservatives in power will finally, FINALLY realize, that it's impossible to control information in today's world... unless you want to be like China.  And maybe even then.


Last thing, re: freedom of speech: (picture is from here)


Rue mentions that a culture of tolerance regarding criticism should be promoted.  I agree.  I have no idea whether La Rue paid any attention to netizen bullying, or only police bullying of people practicing free expression, but I do know that there's a group thatseems to have a "hit list" of what they call "Anti-Korea Blogs" they're trying to take down.  The irony is that the behavior of Korea Sentry is exactly the kind of narrow-minded, myopic, "truth is secondary to whether I agree with it" attitude that many of the anti-Korea blogs discuss.  By bullying and hounding the people who say things they don't like, Korea Sentry at least partially proves them right.  These clowns too, would do well to realize that you can't stop information.  Even if you intimidate a blogger (and create/confirm a bad impression of Korea while you're at it - who's stirring up hate for Korea and Koreans when your behavior is so obviously hateful?) you just stir up more negative talk about Korea and Korean netizens, and the blog will turn up again on google cache soon enough anyway.

So far, I haven't had much trouble with the "Why do you hate Korea" crowd myself... for obvious reasons. 

Knock on wood.

On the other hand, from KRD:

You simply cannot have a free society without the right to criticize, or to raise controversial points. We need this discussion. We need to be allowed to speak without fear of being killed or deported. We need to have the right to speak openly, and we need to have the right to speak anonymously. Dangerous precedents are being set this year in South Korea, and without intervention – without some sort of change – this country will become a little more like its buddy up north.

 Update: speaking of Mad Netizens, Brian D. has this one about Korea's latest internet pariah.

Writing from prisoners: my friend Tamie

My friend Tamie writes an awesome blog called "The Owls & The Angels" and these days she's teaching a writing class to inmates at a prison in the town where she lives.

She wrote a beautiful piece, brimming with respect and compassion, for the inmates she interacts with there. You should read it.

She also has a blog where she publishes (with permission) the writings of her students. You should read it, too, and write comments.

Go read, dear readers. This is important. Humanizing other people humanizes us.

Tamie writes:

My brother told me recently that he thinks someday future generations will look back on the US incarceration system as we now look on slavery or genocide: as something unthinkable and horrifying, something we cannot understand how humans could do to one another. The more I hear the full stories of the people in jail, the more I am convinced that my brother is right.

Random thoughts:

1. Instead of rating movies with stars, I think the new rating for a movies' quality should be:

(top)
Watch it in the cinema, then buy the DVD and watch all the special features.
Watch it in the cinema twice. Tell your friends about it.
Watch it in the cinema.
Download it and watch it fullscreen.
Download it and watch it while doing other stuff.
Download it and skip to the action/nude scenes.
Avoid it.
Watch it ironically so you can rip it in front of your friends later.
Watch it ironically, but be too embarrassed to talk about it later.
(bottom)

2. (My facebook friends will recognize this)

Little words count for a lot: a student dropped the 'with' and told me,
"Yesterday I ate out my wife at a restaurant."

3. I look dazzling in a suit. (last weekend, instead of 2S2, here's what I was up to)

Lecture on Freedom of Speech

In light of Michael Breen's recent situation, you might be interested to know there's a special lecture on freedom of expression in Korea going on tomorrow.  Information here, from Ben Wagner, in a comment on Brian's blog.

Opportunity to see the 4 Rivers Project in Person

Got this message earlier this week, than punted on posting it. Sorry. If it's not too late, here's a chance to go see the 4 Rivers Restoration Project - President Lee's hotly contested big project - in person.

To get an idea of what the 4 Rivers Project seems to be doing to the river ecosystems, look at this, from nanoomi.  (photo from link)



Here's the message I got from a contact:

Want to see what is happening to the rivers under the 4 River Restoration Project? Them come walk along the South Han River on May 15, 2010. This trip is brought to you by the Eco Horizon Institute of Korea. Don't miss the chance to get the tour in English!!!!!

Program: Walking along NamHanGang road, visiting Yeoju 4 river project construction sites, talking with SuGyeong Buddhist Monk

Who: Foreigners interested in learning about the 4 River Restoration Project

Cost: 20,000 won (have to wear comfortable shoes for a walk)

SCHEDULE:

9:30 Meeting at Gangbyun station exit 2, in front of Techno Mart

Get on a eco tour bus

11:30 Arrive at Yeoju

1130-130 Walking along 바위늪구비 BaweeNeupGubi

1:30-2:30 Lunch

2:30-4 Walking along DatDunRi - Sunrising mountain road

4-4:30 Gangcheobo(catch basin)-Construction site visit

4:30-5:30 생명평화여강마당 (신륵사) Visit Life Peace Garden at SinReuksa Temple

5:30-7 수경스님과의 대화 Discussion with SuGyeong Buddhist Monk

7-Departing for Seoul

RSVP: Vanessa Falco, mettaness@gmail.com 010-4694-4720

Jiyoung: happy_jiyoung_yun@yahoo.com

Large and Tall T-shirts: General Request

Hey there.  I have a few friends who are taller and/or larger than the average Korean, who need to buy a few new t-shirts for the summer.

So... especially these days, when there are more big and tall Koreans than ever before, there MUST be more big and tall shops where Korean folks can get the big and tall sizes they increasingly need...

Where are they?  Can any of my bigger-than-the-average-Korean readers - particularly the females - recommend a place where my friend could either buy, or have made, some summer wear?  She's looking either for a tailor where they actually know how to fit larger women (not just slapping an elastic waistband on a tent with feet holes), or a shop where they have sizes for her.  She's also a bit tired of digging around the big-and-large shops along "wanna buy a suit" street in Itaewon, where she's been all through the wringer with bad experiences.

So... help me out here, folks.  Directions are good, links to google maps are better, links to websites for shops and even online stores help, too.

I know someone will come through for me on this one.  My coworker is waiting on it.

Rob